MondAY Badminton World Championships returns to India after 17 years 17 The coveted annual event, which Hyderabad hosted previously in 2009, kicks off at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi... august, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in 5-time medallist Sindhu eyes record run facebook.com/TheMorningStandard After a timely boost in recent months, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will be in the spotlight as she aims to win a record sixth medal in the championship. She will face Sophia Noble of Ireland today X.com/TheMornStandard G a z a ta l k s Hamas, US teams in Cairo World No 1 test for debutant Ayush A Hamas delegation and, separately, US negotiator Jared Kushner reached Egypt for Gaza ceasefire-related talks with Egyptian officials A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 l PV Sindhu | Sayantan Ghosh PAGES 12 First-timer Ayush Shetty will take on World No 1 Shi Yu Qi of China on Day 1. Premier doubles combination Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also be hoping for a strong campaign | P11 B’desh ties PM Vande row: Shah seeks Cong apology visit to Hasina extradition ra j e s h a s nan i & R a j e s h k umar t h a k ur @ Jaipur/New Delhi e-Cabinet system in city soon, says govt Says Tarique Rahman’s proposed India visit only after ‘fugitives’ are handed over A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi J AYA N TH J A CO B @ New Delhi The Delhi government has decided to implement a modern e-Cabinet system in the national capital. CM Rekha Gupta held a detailed discussion with experts from the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in this regard. The meeting focused on a digital system that can make the entire process of Delhi government cabinet meetings paperless, secure, faster and more transparent. With the introduction of an e-Cabinet system, the entire process related to Cabinet meetings can be conducted digitally . This will speed up decisionmaking, strengthen the security of confidential documents and make coordination among departments more effective. CM Gupta said the effective use of technology in governance and administration is the need of the hour. The Delhi government aims to develop a system that simplifies government processes, enables faster decision-making and allows continuous monitoring of their implementation. Through the e-Cabinet system, all documents related to Cabinet meetings, including Cabinet notes, meeting agendas, annexures, Cabinet decisions and minutes, can be prepared, shared and made available to the officials concerned through a secure digital medium. This will almost eliminate dependence on paper and make the process more organised and effective. An important feature of the system is that each minister and officer can be given a different level of digital access based on responsibilities. Bangladesh has linked Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed India visit to the creation of a ”propitious environment” with Dhaka pressing New Delhi to expedite the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and “other fugitives.” Reiterating that Hasina’s virtual media interaction in New Delhi on August 5 had spoiled the atmosphere, Bangladesh foreign ministry spokesperson A K M Shahidul Karim said, “A propitious environment needs to be created” for Rahman’s visit to India. “We have requested the Indian authorities to expeditiously act on our request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals, and to hand over to Bangladesh the accused killers of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi in compliance with our bilateral extradition treaty. We are awaiting their response,” a statement from the Bangladesh foreign ministry said. Diplomatic sources had earlier said that Rahman’s proposed India visit could take place around August 20-25. Officials in the two countries have been discussing the dates, including a September window, but Dhaka’s latest remarks suggest the visit remains contingent on some issues that have strained bilateral ties. The development follows Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi’s one-to-one meeting with Rahman in Dhaka on August 10. Trivedi subsequently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 11. The issue of Hasina has emerged as a key point of contention in efforts to reset India-Bangladesh ties. Hasina was removed from power in August 2024 after a studentled uprising that grew into an anti-government movement. She fled to India following the fall of her government. Dhaka has also sought the handover of two men accused of killing political activist Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi. The two were arrested by the West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force from Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district in March. An appropriate environment needs to be created for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to India Shahidul Karim, spokesperson, B’desh foreign ministry Senior DMK leader defends Sonia THE Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified its attack on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Sunday after a video clip went viral showing Sonia Gandhi allegedly asking for the rendition of Vande Mataram to be stopped at the Congress central office during an Independence Day programme. The Congress party has denied the allegation after the issue snowballed into a major controversy . BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union ministers and other senior party leaders, stepped up their criticism of the Congress alleging that “opposition to patriotic symbols” had become part of the party’s politics. At a function in Rajasthan, Shah said. Senior DMK leader EVKS Elangovan on Sunday said that Sonia Gandhi was right in “objecting” to the rendition of the full song as her stand aligns with the Constituent Assembly’s resolution that only certain portions of the national song be sung at social gatherings Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan | PTI “The sin that Sonia Gandhi has committed by interrupting the singing of Vande Matram at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day, claiming it should be stopped midway will , never be forgiven.” He alle ged that due to Ashis Banerjee, ex-Bengal deputy speaker, found dead at TMC office Sub h en d u ma i t i @ Kolkata Row over press meet Bangladesh said the process surrounding Rahman’s proposed visit had been “vitiated” by Hasina’s press interaction in New Delhi. India has made it clear the press meet involving Hasina and Bangladeshi officials had nothing to do with Indian govt vote-bank and appeasement politics, the Congress party failed to accord due respect to the national song. “The Congress neglected Vande Mataram for decades,” he said. He demanded that the Congress party apologise within 24 hours FORMER West Bengal Assembly deputy speaker and TMC leader Ashis Banerjee alledgedly died by suicide at the TMC office near his residence in Birbhum’s Rampurhat on Sunday Police siad a purported sui. cide note was recovered from the premises. The death triggered a political blame game, with rival TMC factions and the BJP trading allegations over the circumstances surrounding his death. Banerjee, 74, represented Rampurhat for five consecutive terms and had served as a minister and deputy speaker.In June, he stepped down as TMC Birbhum district president while saying he would remain a member of the party He sub. sequently became associated with the rebel faction headed by Ritabrata Banerjee. His body was sent for postmortem, while investigators Mourners gather around a truck carrying the mortal remains on Sunday | PTI are examining the circumstances of his death and the authenticity and contents of the purported handwritten note. The one-page note is learnt to have said nobody was responsible for his death and expressed regret over his deci- sion to enter politics. It also claimed that he had never been involved in corruption or taken money in exchange for any work. “I was never involved in corruptions. It was a blunder to join politics... no one is responsible for my death,” the note stated. Banerjee in his note said he had often disag reed with “wrongdoings” within the party but had been unable to protest against them. It also repor tedly refer red to the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority, saying he had no role in tender decisions, plan approvals or no-objection certificates. “The harassment and mental pressure he faced, despite his long record of public service, should make all of us reflect on the human cost of relentless political hostility,” TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari assured an impartial probe. Delhi tribunal awards `3 cr to road accident victim U d ayan K i s h o re @ New Delhi A Delhi tribunal has held that violation of traffic law, like not wearing a helmet, cannot be termed ‘contributory negligence’ without evidence showing that the violation caused a road accident. Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) Presiding Officer Abhilash Malhotra made the observation while awarding over `2.92 crore compensation to a 32-year-old marketing executive, Nilmani Chauhan, who suffered 88% permanent disability because of a spinal cord injury he suffered in a road accident in 2020. The judge noted that Chauhan was grievously injured after a speeding car rammed into ‘Not a negligent act’ The non-wearing of a helmet was an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act, but it cannot be termed as a rash or negligent act which led to the accident, the tribunal said. his two-wheeler on December 30, 2020, leaving him unable to stand or walk for the rest of his life. The tribunal rejected the insurer’s argument that the victim was negligent because he was not wearing a helmet, saying it cannot be said to be grounds for contributory negligence. “Non-wearing of a helmet was an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act, but it cannot be termed as a rash or negligent act which led to the accident,” the tribunal said. While granting the award, the tribunal said that from the nature of the injuries it was clear that the injured will never be able to perform the job of marketing executive, which involves considerable movement, and the desk job will also be de- pendent upon the services of a full-time attendant. “It is already proved on record that the lower body of the injured has become dysfunctional. He is dependent upon an attendant for passing urine, as he cannot feel the same, and his employer stated that they are providing him salary on humanitarian grounds till the time this case is decided,” the judge said in an order passed on August 12. The tribunal held the car driver, Ramesh, responsible for “negligent driving” while directing the insurance company IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co Ltd to pay an amount of over `2.92 crore, for loss of future earnings, medical treatment, and attendant charges. Express read 2 hurt as gun goes off at Varanasi airport Two screening personnel were injured at the Varanasi airport on Sunday—one in the leg and the other one in the thumb—after a pistol brought by an Air India Express passenger with his luggage accidentally discharged during inspection checks. Both got immediate help | p8 Students warn of Soren’s house siege MCD worker stabbed to death The students protesting irregularities in JPSC and JSSC exams have warned that if their demands are not met, they will lay siege to the CM house in Ranchi | p8 A 27-year-old MCD sanitation worker was reportedly stabbed to death in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area on Sunday morning | p3 die-off Schools of dead fish were found along the Kosasthalaiyar river at Ennore in Chennai, on Sunday, with residents attributing the kill to industrial pollution | P Ravikumar for the alleged “insult” to the national song. The Congress clarified that Sonia was not stopping the national song but was instead discussing logistical arrangements and the need to fetch a chair for Mallikarjun Kharge. All verses of ‘Vande Mataram’ were sung with full respect, the party said. The Congress said Shah was trying to divert attention from real issues. 5.15 lakh affected by heavy floods in odisha Odisha government on Sunday sounded a high alert after the IMD forecast extremely heavy rainfall in at least seven districts. Over 5.15 lakh people have been affected in the latest round of floods in districts | p5 45L voters may be excluded from city rolls E x pre s s N e w s Serv i c e @ New Delhi A day before the house-to-house enumeration and digitisation exercise under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ends, data shows that only 67% of the forms have been digitised so far. It means that more than 45 lakh electors are likely to be excluded from the draft electoral roll. Electors identified as absent or shifted will have to file applications during the claims and objections period to have their names included in the final electoral roll, scheduled to be published on October 27. According to the latest status report issued by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, 97.2 lakh enumeration forms, or 67% of the 1.45 crore electors, have been digitised as of 8 pm on Sunday It indicates that around . 33% of voters could fall under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD) categories and consequently not figure in the draft electoral roll. The digitisation exercise, which began on June 30, is scheduled to end on Monday, August 17. The deadline for submitting SIR forms in the city has been extended twice. UGC-NET NTA errs again, over 1.5 lakh have to take retest for 3 papers S L al i t h a @ New Delhi Answer keys for 84 subjects released The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Sunday that a retest would be conducted for three of the 87 papers of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination — English, Sociology, and Commerce —in light of multiple errors, spelling mistakes, and repeated questions. Sources told this newspaper that 1,57,280 candidates will have to appear for the retest in the three papers. A total of 7.96 The National Testing Agency on Sunday released the provisional answer keys for 84 subjects of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination. In a post on X, the NTA said the challenge window is open and it will remain open from August 16 to 18 till 11.59 PM. Candidates will have to pay a processing fee of `200 per question challenged lakh students appeared for the UGC-NET examination for 87 subjects in June. The retest for English will be held on September 9 from 9 AM to 12 PM, for Commerce on September 9 from 3 PM to 6 PM, and for Sociology on September 10 from 9 AM to 12 PM. The announcement came after a committee set up by the NTA to examine complaints about errors in English, Sociology and Commerce question papers recommended a retest, said an official statement. “The committee found that the three papers had many factual, typographical and translation errors including misspelt names of prominent scholars, garbled book titles, errors in the wording of questions, grammatical errors, gender and number agreement errors, punctuation mistakes, and non-standard coined terms for established concepts,” the NTA said. There was repetition of a number of questions previously administered. This marks yet another major controversy for the NTA, which had to conduct a re-exam of the NEET-UG exam following question paper leaks.