DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 India continues to engage US: Govt to House amid fears of reciprocal tariff TRAIN TRAPPED IN TUNNEL Baloch rebels hijack Pak train, say 30 killed, 100 are hostage Prasada: Focus to be on increasing market access, reducing tariff, non-tariff barriers NEW DELHI, MARCH 11 AMIDFEARSamongexportersof higher tariffs in the lucrative US market from April 2 when reciprocal tariffs are set to come into effect,theMinistryof Commerce and Industry told Lok Sabha Tuesday that the government is engaging with the US to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers and improve trade. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal concluded his US visit last Saturday and the Ministry plans consultations with exporters this week. Representativesfrom sectors including automobiles, leather, textiles,electronicsandpharmaceuticals, among others, are expectedtopresenttheirstanceon tariff concessionsthatmaybeoffered to the US during trade negotiations, The Indian Express has learnt. Concerns over concessions grew after US President Donald Trump said last Friday that India had agreed to cut tariffs after being “exposed” for being restric- E E X P L A I NE D RAVI DUTTA MISHRA Tough talks ● ahead OFFICIALS IN Delhi have indicated that the grounds are being prepared for negotiations on an early bilateral trade agreement with the US. While the hope is to finalise a pact by autumn this year, there will be no short-cuts at these talks, and each product, sector and concern will be weighed before a decision is taken. tivefromatradeperspectiveand making it difficult for American companies to do business in India.USSecretaryof Commerce Howard Lutnick also said that India’s agriculture sector “must CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Demand release of Baloch prisoners within 48 hrs, threaten to kill hostages Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritius counterpart Navin Ramgoolam arrive to lay a wreath and plant a tree at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden in Pamplemousses, Mauritius, on Tuesday. Reuters For us, Mauritius is family: Modi meets country’s new leaders to deepen ties Relatives of the train passengers collect information from a special counter at a railway station in Quetta, Tuesday. AP Chief guest at Mauritius national day today; maritime security, infra on table PRESS TRUST OF INDIA SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 11 IN PARLIAMENT PAGE 7 THE WORLD IN TALKS WITH U.S., UKRAINE AGREES TO CEASEFIRE WITH RUSSIA FOR 30 DAYS PAGE 12 IN A strategic outreach to the new leadership in Mauritius, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met newly-elected Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and President Dharam Gokhool Tuesday as he began a two-day visit to the island nation. The engagement with the new leadership is important in thecontextof theIndiangovernment’s involvement in develop- ing infrastructure in Mauritius under the governments led by Anerood and Pravind Jugnauth. Thedecisiontodevelopinfrastructure in Agalega islands was taken during the tenure of the Jugnauths. Delhi is now making an effort to reach out to the new regime led by Ramgoolam. Mauritius has been ruled by the Ramgoolams and the Jugnauths ever since the country became independent in 1968. Speaking at an event for the Indian diaspora in Port Louis, which was also attended by Ramgoolam, Modi underlined India’s role as a “trusted ally in combating illegal fishing, piracy, and maritime crimes”. “As a reliable friend, India works with Mauritius to protect its national interests and secure theIndianOceanregion,”hesaid. HesaidMauritiusisnotjusta partner country. “For us, Mauritius is family,” he said. “This bond is deep and strongly rooted in history, heritage and the human spirit.” And, he described Mauritius asavitalbridgeconnectingIndia to the Global South, a relationship reinforced by India’s SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) vision, first announced during his 2015 visit to the island nation. “A decade ago, I shared the SAGAR vision here. Today, Mauritius remains at its heart,” Modi said. Ramgoolam acknowledged the contributions of the Indian diaspora: “Your participation is vital for the economic growth of Mauritius.Whenyoucomehere, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi is world’s Day after BJP leader’s ‘death by injection’, most polluted capital, police say autopsy didn’t confirm poison Meghalaya’s Byrnihat Victim’s son names local SP leaders; police say treating it as ‘blind murder’ case tops the list of cities AMIT SHARMA MEERUT, MARCH 11 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MARCH 11 NEW DELHI continues to be the world’s most polluted capital while Meghalaya’s Byrnihat is the world’s most polluted metropolitan area, according to the 2024 World Air Quality Report released on Tuesday. With an average PM 2.5 concentration of 91.8 µg/m3, New Delhi remained the most polluted capital city followed by Chad’s N’Djamena (91.6) and Dhaka (78). In fact, between 2018 and 2024, New Delhi has topped the list — except in 2022 when N’Djamena edged past it. PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5, whichremainssuspendedinthe air,hassignificantadverseeffects on health, causing and worsening respiratory illnesses as well as leading to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. While the World Health Organization (WHO) annual guideline for PM 2.5 is 5 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3), India’s Central Pollution Control Board has set it at 40 µg/m3. Major sources of PM 2.5 include combustion engines, power generation, industrial ac- WORLD AIR QUALITY REPORT 2024 TOP POLLUTED CAPITALS New Delhi N’Djamena Dhaka Kinshasa Islamabad 91.8* 91.6 78 58.2 52.4 TOP POLLUTED COUNTRIES Chad 91.8 Bangladesh Pakistan 78 73.7 DR Congo India 58.2 50.6 *Annual average PM 2.5 concentration in µg/m3 tivities, crop burning and agriculturalpractices,andwoodand coal burning. Accordingtothelatestreport, prepared by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India, with Byrnihat toppingthechartwithanannual average PM 2.5 concentration of 128.2 µg/m3. The other cities are CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SAMBHAL POLICE on Tuesday said they are treating the death of a local BJP leader as a “blind murder” case as “there are no eyewitnesses”. Gulfam Singh Yadav, 66, died on Monday after his family claimed that three men came to meethimathisfarminDebthara Himachal village on Monday afternoon and injected “poison” with the help of a syringe. The funeral procession of Gulfam Singh Yadav at Debthara Himachal village in Sambhal district on Tuesday. PTI Switching bibs, Rly athlete ran marathon for doc’s wife, another SHYAMLAL YADAV & NIHAL KOSHIE NEW DELHI, MARCH 11 ACASEof impersonationvia“bib switch” has led to the banning of three runners who took part in theAthleticsFederationof Indiaapproved Apollo Tyres New Delhi Marathon held here last month. Theallegationof cheatinghas beenmadeagainstasportsquota railway employee who purportedly ran for the wife of a railway doctor and another participant. The organisers of the February 23 event, NEB Sports, in a communication accessed by TheIndianExpress,saidthat“running for someone else amounts to cheating” and the “race management team has taken strict action against them,” banning them for two years. It said that they would make this decision public by “posting on social media, to bring down such cases in the future”. When contacted, Nagaraj Adiga, CMD of NEB Sports and the race director, told The Indian Express,“There wereincidentsof cheating during the Apollo New DelhiMarathon(inthenon-elite categories). We have suspended the three athletes involved. We will be submitting our report to the Athletics Federation of India on Monday. The Federation can takefurtheractionastheywish.” Those in the know say that it was the break-up of the timing of the railway doctor’s wife, who participated in the full marathon, that gave a whiff of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Police, however, said the autopsy report did not confirm the presence of poison in Yadav’s body. “We are exploring all possible angles and treating it as a blind murder for now because there are no eyewitnesses in this case,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Sambhal)AnukritiSharmasaid, addingtherewasnoinjurymark on Yadav’s body except for the needle injected in his abdomen. The viscera have also been CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY FIROZABAD DALIT KILLINGS: 3 GUILTY AFTER 44 YRS PAGE 6 KARACHI, ISLAMABAD, MARCH 11 SUSPECTED BALOCH gunmen opened fire at a passenger train in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan onTuesday,injuringseveralpassengers, and claimed to have taken over 100 people hostage. Late at night, a government spokespersonsaid80passengers had been rescued but around 400othersremainedonthetrain. (A Reuters report quoted local police as saying that 35 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ATTACK ON JAFFAR EXPRESS Peshawar AFGHANISTAN PAKISTAN Quetta BetweenPehro Kunriand GadalarStation Lahore INDIA EXPLAINED PAGE 15 Airtel inks pact with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer Starlink internet services SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, MARCH 11 BHARTI AIRTEL has signed an agreement with billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite company SpaceX to bring Starlink’s satellite internet services to people in India. This is the first such agreement to be signed in India, although it is subject to SpaceXreceiving itsownauthorisations to sell Starlink in India. SpaceX has applied for security clearance with the Indian government, and it is understood that its application is undergoing review at the Ministry of Home Affairs. Industryexpertssaidthereason behind Airtel and SpaceX’s alliance is so that the former can offer consumer satellite services inthecountry,asitsownsatellite service, OneWeb, is focused more towards the business end. The development also heats upthefightbetweenRelianceJio and Musk’s SpaceX, who have previously disagreed over how spectrum for such services should be assigned — with Jio callingforanauction,butSpaceX insisting on the administrative route. The government has decided to go with administrative SpaceX CEO Elon Musk allocation. The partnership, Airtel said, enablesthecompanyto“explore how Starlink can complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market complements SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses”. As part of the agreement, Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers,opportunitiestoconnect communities, schools, and health centers, among many others, in some of the most rural parts of India. “Airtel and SpaceX will also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 When Dangal star Aamir met his wrestling heroes on home ground PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHIVANI NAIK MUMBAI, MARCH 11 A SURPRISE move caught wrestling coach Kripa Shankar Bishnoi off guard as soon as he entered the residence of his most famous pupil in suburban Mumbai on Monday afternoon. Aamir Khan, for whom Bishnoi had choreographed sequences in the runaway hit, Dangal, jokingly greeted him with a leg hold as soon as he stepped inside the star’s house. “Paer pe lapak gaye. Lekin maine khoobsurati se defend kiya (hehadmeinaleghold,butIdefended beautifully),” the wrestling coach, who was roped in to guide actors in wrestling techniquesforthe2016NiteshTiwari film, told The Indian Express. During 90 minutes of starry magic that followed, over cups of teaandsnacks,Aamir,Bishnoi, and a dozen wrestlers and coaches talked about wrestling, movies and how Dangal had helped bust their rowdy image, among other filmy stereotypes, besidesbringingwrestlersglobal respectability. A proud Bishnoi recollected how the actor told everyone about how he had helped him kick an old habit. “Aamir told everyone how I got him to quit smoking.Iusedtogetveryangry with him for smoking and told himthatIwouldnotcoachhimif hedidnotstopsmoking,”hesays. The wrestlers, who were in Mumbai for an Indian Railways preparatory camp, had come from all over India. While some were armed with rehearsed birthdaywishes,conveyedshyly in stuttered Urdu ahead of Aamir’s 60th birthday on March 14, the others recalled watching his first film Holi, on Dangal actor Aamir Khan with wrestling coach Kripa Shankar Bishnoi at his residence in Mumbai Monday. Express Doordarshan, commiserating with Aamir over the film never getting a theatrical release. Aamir, in turn, did his best to impress them by holding forth on why Indians did well in freestyle wrestling, but not in Greco-Roman, an upper bodyonly variation of the sport. The actor even gave a demonstrationof atakedownhe had mastered, seeking approval for the technique from the female wrestlers. “Aamir also had suggestions on how to improve our medal count (in GrecoRomanwrestling),”Bishnoisays. When the Railways training camp in Mumbai was an- nounced, ahead of the nationals, Bishnoi says he sent a text to the actor,thestarof multiplehits,including Andaz Apna Apna, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Awwal Number and Lagaan. “He replied within seconds,givingusatimeslotand saying, ‘turant aa jao (come quickly)’.However,wehadpractice in that time slot and he left for Panchgani. Though our timing didn’t match at first, we finally met on March 10,” Bishnoi says, adding that the group included Arjuna and Dronacharya award winners. Asthegroupgatheredaround the actor, after pleasantries had beenexchanged,Aamirsatcrossleggedonthefloor.CallingAamir a“zabardastinsaan(fantasticperson)” due to his simplicity, wrestler Rakesh Dubay from Mhow,Indore,recalled“fumbling alittle”whilewishingtheactorin Urdu. “Later, Aamir sir said I should have told him about a women’sinternational(wrestling event) we had in Indore. He said hewouldhavehappilyturnedup to watch it,” Dubay adds. The actor recollected how former world championship medallist Pooja Dhanda, while auditioning for the movie, had recommended Bishnoi’s name CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow