IISc Bengaluru, 5 IITs among Asia’s top 100 universities chennai l Wednesday l November 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 22 l late city EDITION India continued to remain Asia’s second most represented higher education system, with 325 ranked universities, as per QS rankings Here’s how indian institutes fared IIT Delhi bagged 66th spot this year, IISc B’luru, 79th, IIT Bombay 83rd, IIT Madras 85th, IIT Kharagpur 90th, and IIT Kanpur 97th as per report of the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings | P11 India leads in research output per faculty India leads Asia for universities excelling in research output per faculty, with 27 universities in the top 50 for papers per faculty and five in the top 10 Seventh Rank obtained by iit-b in employer reputation category 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 prof’s arrest CM’s personal intervention not a remedy: HC R S I V A K U M A R @ Chennai The Madras High Court severely criticised the state government over the illegal detention of noted economist and Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) associate professor A Kalaiyarasan by the police, saying an apology, however high its source, was not accountability and a reme, dy that depended on the CM’s personal intervention was no remedy at all. The illegal detention had sparked widespread outrage and condemnation from political parties, social organisations and eminent A Kalaiyarasan persons. Kalaiyarasan was detained recently under the pretext of an inquiry into an alleged derogatory comment against a woman MLA of the TVK, made from a social media account that displayed the economist’s picture. It was alleged that the police action was intended to intimidate him following his caustic comments against the TVK government over its failure to check the rising prices of essential commodities. A minister had expressed an apology while , CM C Joseph Vijay met Kalaiyarasan as tempers ran high.  P9 SC: No one can India raps Pakistan’s UN arms resolution occupy a protest site indefinitely j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi Says protests must be time-bound, directs traders to implead INDIA bloc in their plea gued that the Opposition parties’ protests against the Special Intensive Revision have led THE Supreme Court on Tues- to traffic diversions, police barday said everyone has the right ricading and restricted access to protest but no one can oc- to shops, causing huge financupy a site indefinitely as it cial losses to small shops and businesses. The plea will deny the right of sought directions to others to use it. shift the protest to an “You cannot occupy a alternative site or limit site for all times. The the duration of the designated sites must demonstration. be given for a designatS e n i o r a dvo c a t e ed period,” said a bench Mukul Rohatgi, appearof Chief Justice Surya ‘Implead Kant and justices Joy- organisers’ ing for Kirana Committee Delhi, said: “We malya Bagchi and V Mohana, emphasising SC directed the have lost thousands of that the right to protest traders’ body to crores. Nobody is able implead the to do business in Conmust be balanced organisers of naught Place. Thouagainst others’ rights. protests at sands of auxiliary The bench was hearRamlila workers connected to ing a litany of petitions Maidan, be it these businesses are including one filed by Kirana Committee Del- political parties without jobs as sales or social are down in the middle hi, which alleged that traders suffered huge organisations, of the festive season.” as parties to Rohatgi said busiloss of business due to the petition nesses have suffered the protests. losses running into Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for thousands of crores and sought the Centre and Delhi Police, a two-month restriction on prosaid the Cockroach Janta Par- tests, especially during the festy’s protest in July was allowed tive season. The court asked him to imfor a day but they remained in plead the organisers of the proJantar Mantar for 17 days. In their plea, the traders ar- tests as parties to the plea. S U CH I T R A K A LYA N M OH A NTY @ New Delhi INDIA and Israel were the only two countries to vote against a United Nations General Assembly First Committee resolution on conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels, with New Delhi arguing that security concerns cannot be confined by geographical boundaries. The draft resolution, moved by Pakistan and Belarus, was adopted with 180 votes in favour, two against and no ab- stentions in the 193-member world organisation. Explaining India’s vote, Anmol Sher Bedi, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said conventional arms control was a global issue and should not be addressed primarily through regional and subregional frameworks. “We read this request with a certain degree of curiosity,” Bedi said, questioning the need for further deliberations on a subject that had already been extensively discussed within the UN Disarmament Commission. The resolution argues that conventional arms control should primarily be pursued at regional and subregional levels, noting that most threats to peace and security in the post-Cold War era arise among countries within the same geographical regions. It also calls for agreements aimed at strengthening TN man killed as two choppers collide near Mt Everest base camp in Nepal G au t h am S e lvara j a n @ Chennai Two helicopters collided on Tuesday while trying to land just below Mount Everest’s base camp, killing Vasanth Kumar (47) of Chennai and injuring three others at Pheriche village, which is located at an altitude of 4,200 metres (13,780 feet), in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district. Vasanth’s fellow passenger Shailesh Krishna Patel from New Zealand and Nepalese pilots Rabindra Prajapati (Fishtail Air) and Prajwal KC (Air Dynasty), who were injured in the incident, were taken to Kathmandu for treatment. According to the Nepal police, Vasanth’s mortal remains were sent to Kathmandu for a postmortem. The two helicopters collided Rescue workers inspect the mangled wreckage of the helicopter at Pheriche in Nepal on Tuesday | pti around 8.11 am (local time). Vasanth’s chopper took off from Lukla Airport, the gateway to Mt Everest. The base camp trek lasts up to two weeks and goes from the only airstrip in the area at Lukla to base camp located at 5,300 metres (17,380 feet). Anxiety gripped Vasanth’s house on Peramballu Street in Old Washermenpet as shocking visuals of the chopper crash flashed across news channels. The family had been tense ever since they saw the news, as they knew Vasanth was in Nepal for a trek. A visit from revenue department officials confirmed what they had been dreading. The cries of Vasanth’s elderly father Balaramanadu (80), mother Parameshwari (74) and maternal grandparents from their first-floor house could be heard on the street as the family struggled to come to terms with the news of the death. Vasanth’s annual trip to India was just a month away  . P9 regional peace and security while maintaining armaments and military forces at the lowest possible levels. India also objected to the resolution’s emphasis on maintaining a balance in defence capabilities within specific regions, arguing that national security concerns often extend beyond geo g raphical boundaries. “This assumes security concerns of States politely stop at their regional borders. They do not,” Bedi said. express read Bombay HC raps BJP netas over Dia Mirza video Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday slammed BJP leaders for their remarks against actor Dia Mirza for her video calling for a pollution-free Diwali, which was in accordance with HC orders. Stating that India is a secular country, the HC said politicians should not give a religious colour to awareness campaigns. It told the BMC, which had taken down the video, to re-upload it | P12 5K-yr-old neolithic rock art found in K’kurichi Red-ochre rock paintings believed to be from the Neolithic period, and possibly depicting a prehistoric hunting scene, have been discovered at a hillock at Seedevi village in Kallakurichi district | P7