FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Wednesday, 14 January 2026 SPORTS WORLD NATION EAM outlines key priorities for India’s BRICS chairship China rejects India’s claim over Shaksgam Valley: New Delhi: China has rejected India’s claim over the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, saying Beijing is fully justified in undertaking infrastructure projects in the country’s territory. “The territory you mentioned belongs to China. It's fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said when asked about India’s claim over the valley and its objections to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Chinese spokesperson said: “China and Pakistan in the 1960s signed a boundary agreement and delimited the boundary between the two countries, which is the right of China and Pakistan as sovereign countries.” Contrived confusion over the Aravallis Page 7 Government reins in 10-minute delivery AAP MP Raghav Chadha interacts with protesting gig workers during a strike in New Delhi on 31 December 2025. FILE PHOTO STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 13 January C oming as a major relief to gig workers, the Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has persuaded major delivery aggregators to remove the mandatory 10-minute delivery deadline. A meeting was held with leading platforms including Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy among others to address concerns related to delivery timelines. As per reports, quick commerce firms, such as Blinkit and Zepto, have voluntarily decided to halt their 10-minute delivery claims after labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya raised the issue. Blinkit’s principal tagline has been revised from "10,000 plus products delivered in 10 minutes" to "30,000 plus products delivered at your doorstep." Kohli’s form keeps India on course ahead of Rajkot ODI PERSPECTIVE Page 9 Page 5 BRIEFLY Death toll from protests in Iran spikes to at least 2,000 The development comes after the delivery workers staged a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve 2025. They protested the physical strain, safety risks and income instability caused by aggressive delivery timelines, and said the race to meet 10-minute targets was pushing them to take risks on the road while also limiting their ability to earn fairly. Reacting on the protests, the Eternal Group CEO Deepinder Goyal had defended the delivery model, saying it does not encourage unsafe driving. He had said the delivery partners are not shown customer-facing delivery timers on their apps and are not under direct pressure to meet the 10-minute promise. Welcoming Mr Mandaviya’s move, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha called it a win for gig workers, saying "Satyamev Jayate. Together, we have won". Page 12 Pak sought ceasefire after ‘connecting the dots’: Army Chief PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 13 January Reminding Islamabad that “Operation Sindoor is still ongoing,” Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday warned that “any misadventure by the adversary will be dealt with effectively.” Addressing a Press conference ahead of the Army Day, General Dwivedi spoke extensively about Operation Sindoor, carried out against terrorists and terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Operation was launched in May 2025 by India to avenge the killings of 26 tourists in the Pahalgam terror attack. “Through 22 minutes of initiation on 7 May and an orchestration that lasted 88 hours up to 10 May, the operation reset strategic assumptions by striking deep, dismantling terror infrastructure, and puncturing the longstanding nuclear rhetoric,” he said. Talking about how Pakistan was forced to approach India for a ceasefire, Gen. Dwivedi said that it was after they were able to “connect some dots” in the course of the conflict. “On the morning of May 10, certain orders regarding what needed to be done if the fight escalated were issued to all three armed forces. The message of what would happen if the fighting continued was understood by whoever needed to understand it,” he said. “Pakistan had access to satellite imagery that showed the movement of Indian naval assets, strike corps and aircraft. When they connected the dots, they realised that it was the right time to stop the fight.” SC’s split verdict on Sec 17A PCA: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a split verdict on a plea by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation challenging the constitutional validity of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates prior sanction of the Central or the State government, to inquire or investigate allegations of wrongdoing by a public servant. While Justice B.V. Nagarathna held the provision to be arbitrary, Justice K.V. Viswanathan ruled that it is constitutionally valid, subject to the condition that instead of the Central or the State government, the prior sanction would depend on the recommendation of the Lokpal or Lokayukta. Page 5