SATURDAY RECORD PLAY: BEST-EVER SHOW FOR INDIA AT PARA ASIAN GAMES 24 OCTOBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard WEST ASIA Double medallist Mona Agarwal (C) will be one of the flag-bearers | PCI BIBI STARTS MAJOR MILITARY DRIVE Israel announced a major military operation in West Bank on Friday after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers in an attack near Hebron PAGE 9 As the continental event comes to a close on Saturday, the country registers historic haul to occupy fourth place as of Friday. A look... MORE REWARD WITH LESSER STRENGTH A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Despite 168 para-athletes for this edition, which was nearly half of the contingent size that went to the Hangzhou Games in 2023, India returned with 114 medals, including 30 gold. In the previous edition, India had sent 309 para-athletes and they finished fifth on the medal tally with 101 medals, including 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze | P11 PLA patrol deviation tied to Festive cheer Net FDI inflows LAC disturbances, says govt STATE OF THE ECONOMY AI FILM GETS NO TAKERS IN CHINA More than 10K screenings of ‘Sanxingdui: Future Past’ are scheduled for Friday, but cinegoers are not excited | P9 Delhi-Chennai flight take-off aborted after security threat EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi AN IndiGo flight, carrying over 160 passengers, had to abort its take-off on Friday after a security threat was detected while it was taxiing, airport sources said. After checks, the aircraft departed over 112 minutes later. It turned out to be a hoax. Flight No. 6E-6091 was scheduled to take off from Terminal I by 3.15 pm, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. It finally departed for Chennai at 4.57 pm. According to Delhi airport sources, “The air traffic control at IGIA received a message from one of the pilots stating that a note reading ‘Don’t fly 6E 6091’ was found in one of the lavatories by a crew member. Hence, the plane had to abort the take-off, and it was taken to an isolation bay.” The source added, “We do not know if it was written on the wall or on a piece of paper.” Another source said that the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) considered it a non-specific threat since the word “bomb” was not used. “So, anti-sabotage checks were carried out,” the source added. An IndiGo source said, “The aircraft was taxiing before take-off when a security threat was detected. The plane was quickly isolated.” eludes Street went up 44% amid oil shock during Apr-Aug A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi INDIAN equities continue to bleed through the festive season when buying sentiment is typically strong. The benchmark indices—BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50—settled in the red in all four trading sessions of this week, with the broader indices facing a much steeper decline. On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher but later plunged 797.02 points, or 1.08%, to hit an intraday low of 72,452.37. It later recouped some losses to settle at 73,123.83, down 125.56 points, or 0.17%. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 87.65 points, or 0.39%, to close at 22,600 after tumbling 315.65 points, or 1.39%, to a low of 22,372 on Friday The . Nifty Midcap 100 declined 2.21% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 2.94%. Investors lost over `20 lakh crore this week as the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed firms came down from `473.46 lakh crore to `452.40 lakh crore. Friday’s The decline is 74,000 73,249.39 close primarily attribPrevious 73,123.83 uted to elevated close crude oil prices 73,000 amid g rowing tensions in West Asia. At about $116 per barrel, 72,000 am 9 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 4 pm Brent crude oil CHANGE is trading near a -125.56 (-0.17%) six-month high. For India, persistently high crude prices pose risks to imported inflation, corporate margins, and currency stability If oil prices remain . high, it could also lead to foreign fund outflows, further hurting domestic equities. “Indian markets are currently seeing selling pressure primarily due to global factors with elevated geopolitical tensions, rising bond yields and the sharp rise in crude oil prices, which increased concerns around inflation, margins and the current account. At the same time, tighter global liquidity and higher interest rates have reduced risk off sentiment,” said Shweta Rajani, associate director, Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd. Rajani explained that historically, the festive season that starts from the Navratri days till the end of Diwali has been favourable for equities. The Nifty50 and Sensex have fallen by around 14% since the beginning of this year. If the bearish trend continues till December, it would be the first time in the past 10 years that Indian equities give negative returns in a calendar year. According to Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, the sharp correction in AI- and data centre-related stocks across global exchanges has deepened market volatility . AMID the exodus of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from Indian equity markets, net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have provided a silver lining, rising 44% year-on-year to $13.8 billion during April-August 2026, up from $9.6 billion in the first five months of last fiscal. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) October bulletin released on Friday, net FDI stood at $3.3 billion in August, supported by sustained gross FDI inflows and a moderation in the pace of outward FDI. The RBI data showed that gross FDI inflows rose 20% y-o-y to $11.1 billion during the AprilAugust period, while net outward FDI increased 26.5% to $17.7 billion, compared with a 41.9% rise a year ago. In August, outward FDI flows moderated, with more than half directed towards Singapore, the Netherlands and the US. India recorded negative net FDI NET FOREIGN DIRECT AND flows from AuPORTFOLIO INVESTMENT gust to Decem2024-25 ber 2025 before Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 recovering in the Net FDI 6.2 -2.8 -2.8 0.4 final quarter of the previous fiNet FPI 0.9 19.9 -11.4 -5.9 nancial year. In 2025-26 (Provisional) the current fiQ1 Q2 Q3 Q4 nancial year, net FDI again Net FDI 5.2 2.1 -5.1 4.5 slipped into negNet FPI 1.6 -5.7 -0.2 -13.5 ative territory in 2026-27 (Provisional) May and June as outward investQ1 Q2 ments exceeded Net FDI 3.1 10.7* inward inflows. Net FPI -9.6 -0.3 Financial serv(Figures in $ bn) *Data for July-August ices, communication services, computer services and manufacturing accounted for 73% of total FDI equity inflows during April-August 2026. Singapore, Japan, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates and the US were the major sources of inward FDI, together accounting for around 81% of total inflows. The rebound in FDI comes amid a sustained sell-off by FPIs to the tune of $9.8 billion during April-August, data showed. RBI also reported a sharp rise in its net dollar purchases in August, buying $43.26 billion on a net basis, more than double the $18.65 billion purchased in July The increase came amid sig. nificant inflows of NRI deposits into banks. India received around $136 billion under the RBI’s special dollar swap window, with Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR(B), deposits crossing $127 billion in August. Meanwhile, RBI flagged concerns over rising inflationary pressures stemming from the West Asia crisis and recurring trade tensions, alongside multi-decade-high sovereign bond yields and elevated public debt. However, it noted that sustained domestic demand and the services sector continued to support economic growth. BSE SENSEX Source: RBI bulletin FLOP J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA and China continue to use established diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and prevent misunderstandings along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday, amid a row over remarks by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief Shatrujeet Kapur about an ongoing faceoff in Arunachal Pradesh. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to questions about Kapur’s reported comments, said disturbances along the India-China border occur when Chinese troops deviate from “established patrolling patterns.” He, however, did not provide specific details about the reported face-off in Arunachal Pradesh and referred questions on operational matters to the Ministry of Defence. Arunachal standoff On ITBP chief Shatrujeet Kapur’s lowdown on the face-off in Arunachal, MEA didn’t elaborate on locations involved, nature of the confrontation or whether the situation was still on “We have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns,” Jaiswal said. “Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and mili- RIGHT TO LIFE: HC TAPS STUDENTS TO CHECK PUBLIC LOOS The students will photograph the facilities, document their condition and receive an honTHE capital’s public toilets orarium, the bench said. are in for a surprise cleanliNoting that the results of ness check by social work stu- the MCD’s efforts to maintain dents. The Delhi High Court hygiene and infrastructure has roped them in to inspect had been unsatisfactory, the public conveniences the Mu- court said the inspection renicipal Commission ports could help the of Delhi (MCD) mainadditional commistains, saying clean sioner in charge of toilets are a matter of sanitation initiate right to life. corrective measures. Apart from the A bench of Acting T he high cour t obligations Chief Justice Nitin W pointed out the link imposed under Sambre and Justice between clean toilets the Directive S a n j a y S h a r m a Principles..., the and statutory obligaright to access passed the order on tions under the Direchygienic public October 16 while tive Principles of toilets includes hearing a 2023 public State Policy in the Right to Life interest litigation Constitution, saying (PIL) filed by Jan that right to access HC Bench Seva Welfare Society clean and hygienic on the improvement, public toilets is a part maintenance and hygiene of of the broader Right to Life. public toilets. Clarifying that the court The court has asked the could not supervise the civic heads of the Delhi School of body’s day-to-day functioning, Social Work, Jamia Millia Is- the bench said that the prolamia College of Social Work posed inspections would creand Aditi Mahavidyalaya to ate a mechanism to check provide teams of male and fe- whether its responsibilities male students for the exercise. were being met. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi tary mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control,” he added. Jaiswal also said the two countries had agreed to discuss ways to improve their understanding of the LAC in appropriate areas to strengthen border management. The MEA’s remarks came after Kapur reportedly referred to a continuing face-off at multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh during an address to ITBP personnel at a felicitation ceremony in Alwar, Rajasthan, on Thursday . “In recent days, there was a situation in Arunachal Pradesh where there was a face-off at different locations, which is still continuing. There our Shaurya commando teams did really exceedingly well,” Kapur reportedly said, praising the performance of ITBP’s elite Shaurya platoon. EXPRESS READ Police nod to Diljit October 30 concert Diljit Dosanjh’s October 30 concert at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will go on as scheduled with Delhi Police on Friday reconsidering its earlier decision and giving its nod after a meeting with the organisers. P4 7 dead in cracker unit blast in Siwan At least seven people, including three members of a family, were killed in a blaze at firecracker factory in Bihar’s Siwan district on Friday evening. The Siwan SP, however, confirmed the death of five people. No privatisation of power sector: Saini The electricity employees of Haryana on Friday called off their three-day strike after CM Nayab Singh Saini assured them that private players would not be allowed to enter the power sector in the state. P4 PROTEST OVER SIR Protesters hold ‘People’s Parliament’, Keralam’s vigilance bureau review finds no lapses detained; Neha Bora’s plea rejected in ’07 suicide probe that gave Gyanesh a clean chit U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi HUNDREDS of protesters staged a ‘People’s Parliament’ on Ashoka Road on Friday after security forces blocked their march to the Election Commission of India (ECI) office, detaining several of them. The march began near Gole Dak Khana, with demonstrators waving national flags and raising slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In a related development, the Delhi High Court rejected a petition filed by AISA president Neha Bora challenging a police notice directing her to execute a personal bond of `10,000 and “maintain peace”. Bora was detained on October 16 while attending a gathering at Mandi House. Justice Subramonium Prasad, however, directed the concerned magistrate to fur- nish all relevant material to Bora and consider the scope of Section 135 of BNSS, particularly whether the bond could be demanded at the outset or only during the inquiry . During the day multiple lay, ers of barricades, manned by hundreds of personnel from the Delhi Police, CRPF and Rapid Action Force, blocked the route to the ECI office. Stopped at the barricades, protesters sat on the road and held their ‘People’s Parliament’. The road in front of the ECI office wore a deserted look, but the area across the barricades was packed with protesters, security personnel and journalists. Police repeatedly announced that Section 163 of the BNSS, prohibiting mass gatherings, was in force and urged protesters to leave. Security personnel then began pushing them back. Near Sacred Heart Cathedral, police started detaining protesters and putting them on buses, picking up those raising slogans, holding placards and giving media interviews. Several protesters resisted, accusing police of arbitrary action, while others continued shouting slogans through the buses’ netted windows. The police also argued with journalists. In one instance, security personnel tried to detain a child waving the national flag but let the kid go after protesters intervened. P3 Possible next steps S H A N A S @ T’puram IN possible relief to embattled Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Keralam’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has found no lapses in its 2007 preliminary inquiry against him following the suicide of a Malaysian engineer involved in a road-widening project in the state. Kumar was given a clean chit in the probe at the time. Sources said the preliminary inquiry against Kumar, then secretary of public works department, was found to be in line with rules and vigilance protocols. Earlier this month, the UDF government ordered a relook into the 2007 inquiry after a Congress leader filed a complaint alleging that past probes were compromised or stopped due to pressure. The move came amid protests de- The Keralam government might ask the Crime Branch to form a special team to probe all angles, other than graft, in Lee’s death. Sources said the move could bring to the fore the suicide note naming Gyanesh Kumar. After Lee’s death, the state police attempted to get its copy from Malaysia but was unable to do so manding the CEC’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Lee See Been, who served as chief project manager for PATI-BEL, an Indo-Malaysian consortium involved in a road project, ended his life in Kuala Lumpur in 2006 allegedly after his bid to get bills cleared was stonewalled by officials. Kumar’s name was mentioned in one of his suicide notes, which alleged that systemic corruption was plaguing the project’s implementation. In the wake of the government’s order, the VACB scrutinised the preliminary inquiry . Sources said the assessment did not reveal any lacunae and “it appears there is no scope for any further vigilance action”. They said the complainant did not produce any fresh evidence against Kumar to compel the agency to revisit its clean chit. The VACB found that two other preliminary inquiries were conducted against Kumar in this period, but neither could make out a case against him, sources said.