DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY RAJNATH, GABBARD HOLD TALKS TO DEEPEN TIES Designate Sikhs for Justice as terror organisation, Delhi tells Washington E SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 17 DIPLOMACY EUROPE AND THE NEW AMERICA PAGE 14 DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh has asked Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence in the US administration, to designate Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the pro-Khalistan separatist outfit, asa“terroristoutfit”,sourcestold The Indian Express Monday. Singh conveyed SFJ’s links with terrorist groups and Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI, during his meeting with Gabbard, sources said. Later, Gabbard met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Modi, in a post on X, said, “Glad to welcome @TulsiGabbard to India. Exchanged views on further advancingtheIndia-USComprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Bothcountries arecommittedto combating terrorism and enhancing maritime and cyber security cooperation.” The discussions assume significance since Gabbard also attended the conference of intelligence chiefs Sunday which was hosted by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Research & Analysis Wing chief Ravi Sinha CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED Islamic terror impacting India and Bangladesh: US intelligence chief EXPLAINED `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard in New Delhi on Monday. PTI Moving to ● counter US NATIONAL Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s visit to Delhi and her presence at a conference of global intelligence chiefs, weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump met at the White House, signals the willingness in the two Capitals to cooperate closely on matters related to security, especially in meeting terror threats. China rising in Indo-Pacific, India and New Zealand seal defence pact China on Modi: Appreciate his positive remarks on bilateral ties PMs welcome launch of FTA talks, discuss security cooperation Nagpur tense as protest against Aurangzeb’s tomb triggers violence; cops teargas mobs NEW DELHI, MARCH 17 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 17 Security personnel in Chitnis Park area of Nagpur on Monday. Dhananjay Khedkar EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, MARCH 17 VEHICLES WERE torched and police fired tear gas shells at mobsinNagpurMondayfollowing violence over rumours that a holy book had been desecrated during a demonstration in the citybyrightwingoutfits,includingBajrangDal, seekingremoval of the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Khuldabad. At least four policemen were injured in the clashes. Police officers said a group of protesters hadburntaneffigyof Aurangzeb but this led to rumours of a holy book being desecrated, and video clips began doing the rounds of social media. Nagpur Commissioner of Police Ravinder Singal, according to news agency PTI, said: “A photograph was set on fire, which instigated people. A case was registered regarding this, and an investigation is underway. Later, clashes broke out. Some police personnel have been injured, but no one sustained any serious injuries.” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Homeportfolio,said,“Iappealto people not to fall prey to rumours. Everybody should maintain peace. The administration is taking all necessary measures.” Union Minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari said, “Due to certain rumours, a situation of religious tension has arisen in Nagpur. The city’s history is known for maintaining peace in such matters. I urge all my CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PrimeMinisterNarendraModiwithNewZealandcounterpart ChristopherLuxoninNewDelhionMonday. Anil Sharma A DAY after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India and China are “working to restore conditions to how they were before 2020”, when their military standoff began along the border in eastern Ladakh, China said Mondaythatit“appreciated”the “positive” remarks on bilateral relations. “Acooperativepasdedeux(a dance of two people) of the dragon and the elephant is the only right choice for both sides,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing, referring to China and India. She said China “stands ready toworkwithIndiatoimplement the important common understandingsbetweenthetwoleaders, take the 75th anniversary of China-Indiadiplomaticrelations as an opportunity, promote exchange and cooperation in various fields and at all levels, and advanceChina-Indiarelationson the track of sound and stable development”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RAPID TEST KIT, HOWEVER, IS NOT AN ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE IN THE COURT: SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS Vadodara accident: Rapid test detects presence of drugs in accused’s blood, FSL to confirm what kind ADITIRAJA VADODARA,MARCH17 A woman was killed while at least seven others were injured in the case. Express RAKSHIT CHAURASIYA, the law student accused of killing a womanandinjuringsevenothers onMarch13,isalsobeinginvestigated for driving under intoxicationafterarapidtestkitconfirmed thepresenceofdrugsinhisblood following his detention after the accident. Senior police officers in the know of the investigation confirmedtoTheIndianExpressthata narcotics rapid test kit had con- firmed the presence of drugs in Chaurasiya’sbloodafterhisarrest. Therapidtestkit,whichhelps testthepresenceofdrugs,ishowever, not an admissible evidence inthecourt,andisonlyindicative of the presence of drugs, senior police officers said. TheVadodarapolicehavesaid Chaurasiyawasbehindthewheel of a speeding Volkswagen Virtus, and crashed into three twowheelers,killingHemaliPatel,and injuring several others, including twochildrenaged10and12,inthe Karelibaug area. The police said that three of the seven people in- juredarecritical,andthreeothers havesustainedminorinjuries.The police said they had sent blood samplesofChaurasiya,hisco-passenger Praanshu Chauhan, and a third friend, who was with them before the accident, to the ForensicScienceLaboratory(FSL). Rapid test vs FSL test A Gujarat FSL expert said although it is “as simple to prove CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORT PAGE 4 Commerce Secy: Goal to raise bilateral trade from $200 billion to $500 billion RAVI DUTTA MISHRA & AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, MARCH 17 COMMERCE SECRETARY Sunil Barthwal said Monday that the government is engaging with stakeholders to resolve challenges and identify opportunities arising from US tariffs which havesetoff aglobaltradewarinvolving major blocs such as the European Union and China. “Allthemeasuresrequiredto raise (India-US) trade from $200 billionto$500billionwillbediscussed bilaterally with the US. We are negotiating this bilateral tradeagreement,whichwehave said is multisectoral. It will address all the different issues between both countries. Everything important to both countries will be part of the negotiations,” Barthwal said. This is delinked from the issue of reciprocal tariffs, said an official speaking on condition of anonymity. The official added that the US investigation to determine the form and scope of reciprocal tariffs is still ongoing and multiple factors—including migration, trade deficits, and currency manipulation—could influencethedecision,makingit difficult to assess the impact on India. “They have an ‘America First’ policy—that is their outlook. After taking that outlook towards the world, what they decide against which country is their prerogative. From our perspective, we are proactively engaging with the US. So we are playing our role, and we are very happythatbothcountriesareactively engaged in these discussions, which is a very positive sign,” the official said. The Indian industry, particularlytheautomobileandagriculturesectors,continuestobeconcerned about US reciprocal tariffs, as India has the highest tariffs in these sectors. Sectors such as steel and aluminium are already feeling the impact of the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on these metals. The Indian Express reported Thursday that steel and aluminiumexportershadinformed the government that $5 billion worthof goodshadalreadybeen affected by Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on these metals, which took effect last week. Pankaj Chadha, Chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India, said that since the voyage time to the US is around 60 days, about $1 billion worth of shipments are currently on the high CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GUJARAT SC DISMISSES EXIAS SHARMA’S PLEA FOR DISCHARGE IN PMLA CASES PAGE 4 ‘DO YOU WANT TO STOP ILLEGAL MINING OR NOT?’: CHAVDA IN HOUSE P10 Cancer centres at district hospitals: 4-6 beds each, trained staff, chemotherapy ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, MARCH 17 CHEMOTHERAPY, COUNSELLING services and medicine; four to six beds each; every facility to have an oncologist or a trained medical officer, along with two nurses, a pharmacist, a counsellor and a multi-purpose worker. These are the key elements in the blueprint drawn up by the Union Health Ministry for the Government's ambitious initiative to establish cancer daycare centres in all district hospitals. These details were outlined in a Parliamentary Standing Committee report, tabled on March 12, pertaining to the demand for grants by the Ministry. According to the Health Ministry’s submission to the committee, cancer treatment will be made accessible closer to patients’ homes after an initial plan is finalised at tertiary care or state centres. Speaking to The Indian Express, experts described the initiative as “a very good way to ensure continuity”, especially withmanyof theatleast764districthospitalsacrossthecountry currently not equipped to offer cancer care. In her Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanhadannouncedthat these centres would be set up overthenextthreeyears,withat least 200 centres slated to come up during the current financial year. While the Government proposed that staff for these centres be drawn from the existing pool at district hospitals, the Parliamentary panel recommended“separate”recruitment. “The Committee also desires CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In coastal Karnataka, two port projects set off fears over fishing, livelihood PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA & KIRAN PARASHAR ANKOLA, HONNAVAR (KARNATAKA), MARCH 17 FOR THE past 17 years, Nilesh Harikantra (30), a fisherman in Keni-Bavikeri village in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, has had the same morning routine. At 4 am, he and his crew pushtheir20-footdoni—acolloquialtermforasmallboat—into theshallowwatersof Kenibeach and launch the fishing nets. Afterafewhours,theyreturn with the day’s catch — mostly sardines, mackerels and prawns — which is cured, dried and sold bywomeninthefamilyatthelocalmarket.Butwhenhereached the beach earlier this month, a posse of policemen who had been camping there threatened to seize his boat. It was in November 2023 that the commercial port company, JSW Infrastructure Ltd, won the bid to develop a port at Kenionapublic-privatepartnership basis. At the time, the company said in a statement that the proposed port is “envisaged as anall-weather,greenfield,multicargo, direct berthing, deep-watercommercialportforhandling all types of the cargoes on the west coast in North Karnataka region to serve the industries in the area covering Bellary, Hosapete, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and South Maharashtra”. “The proposed Keni port would have modern environment-friendlymechanisedfacilities for handling cape-size vessels,”itsaid.Theestimatedcostis Rs 4,119 crore, with an initial capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum. On the morning of February 24, hundreds of fishermen from the hamlet gathered at Keni beach, protesting against a geotechnical survey for the proposed port. Arabian Sea PAGE 1 ANCHOR SIGNALLING DEEPER strategic convergence in the face of an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific region, India and New Zealand signed a defence cooperation pact Monday and agreed to step up dialogue to enhance maritime safety. The agreementwas inked after Prime Minister Narendra ModimetPrimeMinisterof New Zealand Christopher Luxon who is in India on a five-day visit. The two leaders also discussed the issue of Khalistan separatist activities in New Zealand and India flagged its concern about “anti-India activities by some illegal elements”. After the bilateral talks, Modi said both sides decided to strengthen and institutionalise defence and security partnership and a roadmap will be prepared for cooperation in the de- fence industry sector. Modi said India and New Zealandsupportafree,openand secure Indo-Pacific. “We believe inthepolicyof development,not expansionism,” he said, in an oblique reference to China’s aggressive behaviour in the IndoPacific region. Luxon said Modi and he discussed a challenging strategic outlook in the Indo-Pacific. “I reiteratedourstrongcommitment to address shared concerns over our respective interests in contributing to a prosperous IndoPacific,” he said. According to the joint statement, the Prime Ministers “recognised that we face an increasinglyuncertainanddangerous world. They noted that, as maritimenations,IndiaandNew Zealand have a strong and common interest in an open, inclusive,stableandprosperousIndoPacific, where the rules-based international order is upheld”. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE US tariffs: Weighing challenge, potential as we work on trade deal, says Centre Keni (Ankola) KARNATAKA Tonka I Women were among the protesters at Keni beach, in Karnataka’s Ankola, earlier this month. Pavneet Singh Chadha Apprehending protests, the district administration had imposed prohibitory orders for 24 hours in the village. Some fishermen, and women, jumped into the sea and threatened to die by suicide if the port project was not scrapped. Two were hospitalised. Since then, more than 20 policemen have been stationed on the beach — sitting on plastic chairs, keeping a watch. Fishing in the village, which has a population of 2,882 fisherfolk, came to a halt for a few days after the protest. Though it has resumed near the shore, fishermen remain worried about their livelihood. According to the Marine FisheriesCensus2016,almostall the 725 families in Bavikeri are traditional fishermen, and 710 are below the poverty line. The firm did not respond to an email seeking comment. Girija Soma Harikantra (51) was among those who jumped into the sea at the protest and was hospitalised for two days. “There is no food on our plate without fishing. We don’t have any property but for the sea. We are scared the police will seize our boats,” she said. Keni remains their only fishing ground sincenearly 30 km of coastline in the region remains “off-limits” for traditional fishermen at neighbouring ports in Belekeri and Karwar, fishermen said. V N Nayak, a retired CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad