bengaluru l tuesday l december 30, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION IIP growth at 2-year high of 6.7% in Nov on robust manufacturing Factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew at 6.7% in November, driven by the manufacturing and mining sectors strong growth on back of GST cuts Metals, Pharma boost manufacturing The Goods and Services Tax rates were cut on a host of consumer items to boost demand and consumption. This led to a piling up of manufacturing orders to take advantage of the GST rate reduction. The data showed that the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 8%, up from 5.5% in the yearago month. Mining production rose by 5.4%, against 1.9% a year earlier |P13 ■ ■ ■ “The growth is led by manufacture of basic metals, fabricated metal products, pharma and vehicles,” the National Statistics Office said In manufacturing sector, 20 of 23 industry groups recorded growth The data also showed that power production contracted by 1.5% in November 2025 compared to 4.4% expansion in the year-ago period 11.9% The highest iip growth recorded in recent times. It came in nov 2023 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 SC stays its Nov 20 fiat on Aravallis, SC stays Delhi HC to set up high-powered committee order suspending 2017 unnao rape case Bench says its previous order invited applications and pleas questioning the 100-metre rule s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a nt y Interim win, say environmentalists @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday put its November 20 order that accepted an elevationlinked defintion of the Aravallis on hold after environmental groups raised serious concerns that the new definition could lead to unbridled mining in one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges. A vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih said the court’s November 20 order had “critical ambiguities” that needed to be cleared up. The bench proposed forming a panel of experts to study the issue more carefully . “We direct that recommendations of the committee and findings of the Supreme Court shall remain in abeyance till then. The case to be taken up on January 21, 2026,” said the three-judge bench. The court had on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned fresh mining leases. The SC Environmentalists objecting to the new definition of Aravallis welcomed the Supreme Court’s move on Monday. Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said, ”This judicial intervention was much needed... the committee which is going to be formed should have ecologists, environmentalists and not just bureaucrats.” Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of the People for Aravallis collective, termed the directive of Monday as an “interim win”. Security officials outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi Monday | Shekhar Yadav A committee of experts will be constituted to study environmental impact and assessment of the recommendations made by an earlier committee that comprised of bureaucrats — CJI-led SC bench had also accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Environment Ministry that had recommended that “Aravalli Hill” be defined as any landform with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an “Aravalli Range” as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. In its order on Monday, the Leadership dispute C.A.T. removes Brahmos Chief from post yam Nambi Naidu, alleging he was superseded during In a rare development, the the selection. Hyderabad-bench of the The tribunal, referring to Central Administrative Tri- the Standard Operating Probunal (CAT) on Monday cedure, said the Secretary, directed that the sitting Di- DDR&D and Chairman of rector General and Chief the DRDO can approve one Executive Officer (CEO) of the names in the panel of the Brahmos Aerospace submitted by the selection Jaiteerth R Joshi be committee for apremoved from the pointment to the popost. sition of director T h e C AT a l s o general. But, as per asked the defence CAT, they cannot igministry to reconnore the entire servsider the claim of ice record of the oththe senior-most scier scientists. entist, Sivasubrama- Jaiteerth R Joshi Jaiteerth R Joshi niam Nambi Naidu, took over the charge for the top post. This news- on December 2, 2024. Sourcpaper was the first to report es said Naidu, a ‘Distinon December 2, 2024 that the guished Scientist’, is seven appointment was challenged years senior to Joshi and in the Central Administra- has served as an ‘Outstandt iv e T r i b u n a l ( C AT ) , ing Scientist’ since 2017, a Hyderabad. position Joshi currently The crisis stemmed from holds. With only three years the appointment of Joshi as left in service, Naidu’s plea the CEO. The decision was is to consider his seniority contested by Sivasubraman- and experience. M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi court said, “It seems prima facie that both the committee’s report and the judgment of this court have omitted to expressly clarify certain critical issues.” The court said that the ministry’s definition might create a problem where protected areas become smaller while unprotected “non-Aravalli” areas become larger. The bench issued notice in the matter and requested the Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist the Court, including in the composition of the expert panel. The problem started because Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat each had their own definitions of what counts as Aravalli Hills and Ranges, leading to loopholes that allowed illegal mining. P9 B’deshis harassed, refused treatment E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Bhubaneswar TWO Bangladeshi nationals travelling to Bhubaneswar for medical treatment were subjected to police verification on arrival at the airport on Sunday night after the locals raised suspicion on their identity Furthermore, the hospital con. cerned also reportedly refused admission fearing trouble and both were forced to return to Mumbai from where they had flown in. According to police sources, the two brothers, aged 49 and 35, arrived from Mumbai after flying in from Dubai, where they were working. The elder sibling, who is suffering from a cardiac ailment, was scheduled to undergo treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. The hospital had arranged an ambulance to receive them. However, it failed to arrive and the two attempted to hire a taxi. When the cab driver learnt they were Bangladeshi citizens, he alerted others and police who verified travel documents and cleared them. However, police sources said the private hospital declined to admit the ailing man, citing concerns over possible backlash. extortion FIR against journo Accused attempted to extort Rs 5 lakh from three police inspectors by threatening with a fabricated news story linked to ‘the Maharashtra ANTF drug factory raid | P5 ‘Victims’ evicted from Kogilu to get houses: CM Strict drunk driving checks across city on New Year’s Eve E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru To tamp down the controversy surrounding the demolition of 167 illegally constructed ‘sheds’ at Kogilu in north Bengaluru, the Karnataka government on Monday decided to allocate alternative houses to genuine victims, who do not have either houses or residential sites. The Greater Bengaluru Authority will on Tuesday and Wednesday scrutinise genuine beneficiaries and accommodation will be provided to them on Thursday These houses will be . within 7 km from Kogilu. The sheds were demolished on December 20. Traffic changes have been made at important places in the city to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on New Year’s Eve. The Bengaluru Traffic Police have identified 166 points to conduct drink and drive special drives across the city, while 92 locations will be closely monitored to prevent wheeling, stunt riding and rash driving. In all, 50 flyovers will be closed from 11 pm on Wednesday till 6 am on Thursday Only four-wheelers are al. lowed on the International Airport Road flyover. Ten drones, 249 Cobra vehicles and 400 traffic wardens are being used to ensure a safe and orderly New Year celebration. The police will restrict the movement of traffic in the Central Business Dis- @ Bengaluru  CONTINUED ON: P2 trict (CBD) and banned parking of vehicles on MG Road, Brigade Road, Church Street, St Mark’s Road, Rest House Road and Residency Road on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday . Except the vehicles of the police and essential services on duty all other , vehicles will be denied entry on these roads from 8 pm on Wednesday till 2 am the next day Parking on these roads will . be banned from 4 pm on Wednesday till 3 am on Thursday . Only unidirectional movement will be allowed for the public visiting these roads. Meetings have been held with taxi aggregators to provide transport from places where there will be large gatherings. Any unreasonable surge in prices will also invite trouble for taxi aggregators. CURBS IN PLACE: P3 Sengar’s life term e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi STRESSING that even the “finest judges are prone to errors” and judicial scrutiny is part of the system, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a December 23 High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The top court said Sengar shall not be released from custody . A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, which was hearing the CBI’s plea challenging the high court order, said “substantial questions of law have arisen in the matter that require consideration”. The court issued notice to Sengar seeking his response in four weeks. The bench said it was conscious of the fact that ordinarily when a convict or an under, trial was released on bail after an order passed by a court, such order shall not be stayed by it without hearing that person. It noted that Sengar was also convicted and sentenced in a separate case and was still in custody in that matter. “In the peculiar circumstances of the case, we stay the operation of the impugned order dated December 23, 2025, passed by the high court,” it said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the CBI, urged the bench to stay the high court order, saying it was a “horrific rape” of a child. The Delhi HC had, in its December 23 order, held Sengar was convicted under Section 5 (C) (sexual assault by a public servant) of POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a “public servant” under the IPC. The bench observed it was worried that a constable or a ‘patwari’ will be a ‘public servant’ in such an offence but a MP or MLA may be exempted if this interpretation was construed to be correct. express read Gig workers’ stir on Dec 31 to hit deliveries Bengaluru: With app-based delivery gig workers planning a nationwide strike on December 31, e-commerce services, particularly “10-minute deliveries” and instant availability of essentials are likely to be hit in Karnataka on New Year’s Eve. Protesters termed the action a “digital protest” aimed at disrupting peak-hour deliveries | P2