BHUBANESWAR l thursday l september 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Germany ready to sign $8 billion submarine agreement with India The India-Germany deal to build six submarines under Project 75(I) has been finalised on the German side, its envoy to India Dr Jasper Wieck said Waiting for India’s green light: German envoy Review of tech transfer package pending “It has already been finalised and the German side has agreed to it. It is now up to the Indian side to complete and conclude its internal processes,” Wieck said. The proposed deal, estimated at roughly `90,000 crore, sees India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders partnering with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp to build six conventional submarines in India, with technology transfer ■ ■ A review of the proposed technology-transfer package remains among steps before the project can get final approval in India A key aspect of the proposed deal is the transfer of fuel-cell Air-Independent Propulsion technology, which allows conventional submarines to operate longer without the need to access surface air 2023 When Germany stepped in as foreign partner for project 75 (i) CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Constitution bench to hear case on axing CJI from ECI pick panel In split verdict, Justice Dipankar Datta raps ’23 law dropping CJI from selection committee SUCHITRA KALYA N M OHA N TY v Union of India case directed that appointments to the poll panel be made on the advice of T HE S u p r e m e C o u r t o n a committee comprising the Wednesday directed that a Prime Minister, Leader of Opbatch of petitions challenging position (LoP) in the Lok Sabthe 2023 law governing the ap- ha, and the Chief Justice of pointments to the Election India until Parliament enacted Commission be decided by a a law. Constitution bench after a diviWhile the law—the Chief sion bench delivered a split ver- Election Commissioner and dict on whether the matter other Election Commissioners should be referred to a larger (Appointment, Conditions of bench as sought by the Centre. Service and Term of Office) Justice Dipankar Datta re- Act, 2023—retained the format jected the Union’s plea for a ref- of the panel, it replaced CJI erence to a larger bench, while with a Union minister. Justice Satish ChanJustice Datta made dra Sharma saw the strong observations need for substantial about the composition interpretation of law. of the selection panel, Justice Sharma said saying it hands the exin his separate opinecutive a veto in apion that the arguments pointments. He said advanced on behalf of the Union minister, the Centre by the Atserving at the pleasure Justice Dipankar tor ney General R of the PM, cannot act Datta Venkataramani and as a neutral check in Solicitor General the selection panel. Tushar Mehta for re“Free and fair elecferring the issue to a tions depend on a truly larger bench are wellindependent ECI. It is founded. not enough for the ECI Despite the differto be independent; it ences in opinion, both must appear to be injudges directed that dependent,” he said, Justice Satish the papers be placed adding a “PM’s nomiChandra Sharma before the Chief Jusnee cannot be expected tice of India for setting to defy the PM.” up a Constitution Consequently, Jusbench of not less than five judg- tice Datta also said, the LoP bees, noting that sending the mat- comes a mere ornamental prester to a three-judge bench could ence, unable to further the only delay adjudication. purpose of his inclusion as an Both judges also recorded independent voice. concerns over the pendency of Justice Datta also criticised Constitution bench matters the selective manner in which and requested the Chief Jus- the Central government clears tice to explore the possibility of Supreme Court collegium proforming a permanent Constitu- posals at times. He added that tion bench. the judiciary often chooses not The 2023 law was enacted by to confront the executive on Parliament after the Supreme such matters to avoid head-on Court’s Constitution Bench conflicts and avert a possible judgment in Anoop Baranwal Constitutional crisis. @ New Delhi Oppn renews demand to scrap SIR, impeach CEC Gyanesh Kumar PARV E Z SULTA N & M u k e s h R a nj a n @ New Delhi Opposition parties on Wednesday lit into the Centre and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after a media report suggested that the two election commissioners—Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—objected to some orders pertaining to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the poll panel claimed all its decisions were unanimous. Citing the report, Opposition parties called for action against the CEC and demanded that SIR be scrapped. While the Congress renewed its demand for Kumar’s impeachment, the TMC, AAP, and Shiv Sena (UBT) called for his arrest. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said any wrongdoings committed by the poll body amounts to “treason” and should be treated as such. DMK president M K Stalin said CEC Kumar has no right to continue in office and must resign forthwith. He also demanded that the SIR exercise be halted and called for an impartial probe “into everything that transpired within the EC” and called for action against those responsible. Rejecting the claims made in the media report, the Election Commission said differing views are a normal part of deliberation in any institution and stated that all its orders “are an Gyanesh Kumar, outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full CEC Commission in the past one year”. According to the report, the two ECs’ objections were about the way the statutory voter registration Form 6 was amended, the handling of additions and deletions from voter lists, and centralised control over the electoral roll database. Speaking to this paper, former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat said the way changes to Form 6 were brought about was “absolutely wrong and illegal”. According to him, the reported objections raised by the two ECs were ‘a very serious issue’. He said: “The way Form 6 has been amended is wrong and illegal.” Rawat, who served as CEC from January to December 2018, said the law did not permit such changes without following the prescribed procedure. He referred to Supreme Court rulings which, he said, have held that changes to the statutory framework governing Form 6 require action by the government. “Such a situation has perhaps rarely emerged in the Election Commission. I have also been there, but I saw that decisions were P7 always taken unanimously Rawat said.  ,” express read Odisha govt clears `2.47 lakh crore projects Mirabai Chanu celebrates her silver medal on Wednesday | PTI Weight, wait off lifter Mirabai’s shoulders Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya F IRST, the news. Mirabai Chanu, 32, won her first Asian Games medal here on Wednesday: silver, India’s first in any weightlifting discipline at this level since Karnam Malleswari in 1998. It is like completing the Grand Slam for a tennis player or a treble with the World Cup for a footballer. But the story of her medal goes beyond the news. Mirabai’s lifting is no longer about barbells and weights. It has transcended that. Doctors, physios and nutritionists have become part of her life. Preparation no longer depends only on lifting weights and physical training. It goes beyond that. Every time she has been written off, she has found a way That is why this . medal would be rated among the biggest of her career. Not because it took her 12 years, but because of the timing — when the body is ageing, with aching bones and muscles because of multiple injuries and when the end is in sight. Just before the Paris Olympics, one of her coaches had narrated a poignant story Af. ter returning from the last Asiad, it seemed like the walls were closing. No one came to wish her. “When I lose, no one comes; it’s really sad,” the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist had said. She was hurt. Physical pain is part and parcel, but it was this disregard that had caused her more pain. On Wednesday she had some pro, found words to say “My life is . complete now.” And it’s easy to see why This was the only . thing missing from her CV. Now, she feels relieved. A burden has been lifted. Her support cast — head coach Vijay Sharma, physio Rohit Chhabria, nutritionist Tajinder Kaur, psychologist Mugde Bavare and doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala — has also played an integral part in her journey . South Odisha battered by deep depression, 2,000 evacuated Bhubaneswar: The High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Wednesday approved 27 major industrial projects, including data centres, artificial intelligence and labgrown diamond facilities, involving a cumulative investment of `2.47 lakh crore. All the projects, when grounded, could lead to the creation of 50,162 jobs in the state, the government said | P3 6.3% dip in domestic air traffic in August: DGCA New Delhi: There has been a dip in domestic flyers both on a monthly as well as annual basis, reveals the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The recurring problems faced by SpiceJet also come to the fore, with over 20% of its flights cancelled during August | P7 Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi taking stock of the preparedness at a meeting in Lok Seva Bhawan, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday | Express of Kotpad block, prompting @ Bhubaneswar the local administration to evacuate around 160 people. Chief Minister Mohan Cha- In Gajapati, around 1,300 peoran Majhi on Wednesday ple were shifted to temporary called for a ‘zero casualty’ ap- shelters as heavy rain continproach as the state govern- ued for more than 36 hours, ment stepped up rescue and triggering landslides, road relief measures and evacuat- blockades and damage to ed more than 2,000 people to kutcha houses. safety after heavy Boulders that rains triggered by a rolled onto a road deep depression batsnapped connectivitered souther n ty between BastriguOdisha. da gram panchayat Maintain the highest level of With the weather and R Udayagiri. preparedness system approaching Road communicaand take all the coast, normal life tion was also affected precautionary was disrupted in at in Pariveta, Bauda measures, even least 15 districts. and other areas due though there is no People from vulner- threat of a cyclone to landslides. In Ganjam, three able areas were shiftat present families had a nared to shelters in Koraput, Ganjam and Chief Minister Mohan row escape after their Charan Majhi houses were damGajapati as torrenaged by incessant tial rain triggered waterlogging, landslides, road rain at Mantapada village unblockades and damage to der Haridapadar panchayat in Aska block. A temporary houses. A major mishap was avert- bridge at Manikpur in Dharaed in Koraput town after a kote was reportedly washed huge tree fell on National away after the Nandini rivulet Highway-26, crushing a car overflowed. The Kalinga Ghat stretch of and briefly disrupting vehicular movement towards Visa- NH-157 between Ganjam and Kandhamal was closed by local khapatnam and Raipur. Stormwater entered low- authorities for two days owing lying villages in Gualigumu- to heavy rain and the risk of da and Chandili panchayats landslides.  Continued on P5 Sudarsan Maharana India raises concerns over Russia sanctions law with US J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised India’s “interests and concerns” over the United States’ new Russia sanctions legislation during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly . “Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA. Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. The talks between the two leaders came after US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law last Friday It gives the . US President the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar greets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the UN General Assembly | PTi countries, including India and China, that purchase Russian oil and gas. The legislation is widely seen as a rapid expansion of Washington’s sanctions framework targeting Russia. The White House said the law “authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.” Trump backs IMEEC corridor US President Donald Trump said he strongly supports India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, saying there is a need to shift energy infrastructure away from Iranian checkpoints amid multiple strikes on West Asian countries India continues to purchase Russian energy which has been , an important part of its strategy to secure affordable supplies amid disruptions. Jaishankar’s meeting with Rubio also covered the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine. Sources said Rubio is likely to visit India on October 19. And he may travel to Australia for the Q UA D fo re i g n m i n i s t e r s meeting. IIT Prof sent on leave over student death, panel formed S u d h i r s u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai IIT Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who is an accused in the alleged suicide death of a 20-year-old second-year B Tech student Sahil Wakode, has been sent on compulsory leave to enable an impartial probe, sources said on Wednesday . Earlier, he was removed as the dean of Administrative Affairs. It comes as IIT Bombay’s Board of Governance formed a 10-member highlevel panel to examine the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death on the campus. It will also look into the concerns raised by the student’s parents, including allegations of c a s t e based harassment at t h e institute. S Doolla The panel has a week to submit its findings. Prof Ramesh Venkateswaran, chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Palakkad, will head the panel, which has three students, members of the faculty an administra, tor, a former vigilance officer, and a psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Mumbai police crime branch revealed that after returning from the exam hall on September 18, Sahil went to his hostel room around 1.30 pm. He dialed a friend at 2.20 pm. In what was likely his last call, Sahil reportedly said, “I made a mistake. My earlier Thermodynamics paper did not go well either, and now this has happened.” Seafarer from India killed in ship attack off Oman An Indian seafarer was killed in an attack on a merchant vessel, MV Cape Dao, off the east coast of Oman while it was transiting towards India, the Indian Embassy in Oman said. The ship had 20 Indian seafarers Textbook errors: Panel finds review, oversight lapses; SCERT blamed E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The three-member high-level committee formed by the state government to probe the largescale errors in newly printed textbooks found an absence of review and oversight, which led to the mess. While holding the Directorate of Teacher Education and State Council of Educational Research and Training (TE and SCERT) primarily accountable, the panel also called for fixing administrative responsibility on the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) if it was found that a quality clearance certificate was not obtained and the textbooks were not audited before distribution. It also sought determination of supervisory responsibility at the department level in the School and Mass Education department if an unrealistic or excessively compressed time- line was prescribed for the preparation and printing of the new textbooks. After a staggering 1,678 factual and typographical errors were detected in the textbooks meant for students of Classes I to VIII for the 2026-27 academic session, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on June 17, ordered the formation of the committee and a high-level inquiry, besides directing stringent action against those responsible for the mistakes. Accordingly, the threemember committee headed by The committee is of the opinion that there was a lack of coordination between the director and assistant directors-cum-coordinators, resulting in a vitiated work atmosphere – report Development Commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh was formed. Odisha Language, Literature and Culture Secretary Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya and GA department officer Smita Pani were its members. As per the report, the preparation and distribution of new textbooks for Classes I and VIII, following the implementation of the National Curriculum Framework-2025, was done in a phased manner over a period Continued on P5 of 2007-12.