KALABURAGI  SUNDAY  APRIL 19, 2026  `12.00  PAGES 28  CITY EDITION ‘90-PLUS PER CENT TRACKS IN INDIA SUBSTANDARD’: AFI SPOKESPERSON Athletics Federation of India spokesperson and World Athletics VP Adille Sumariwalla said running tracks in India are substandard. A look... REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE ‘WORLD ATHLETICS NOT HAPPY WITH QUALITY’ According to Sumariwalla, the AFI met World Athletics in Tokyo last year where World Athletics Championships took place. WA said that tracks in India did not meet set standards. “WA has called us and said ‘you need to get involved.’ They showed us some data, which was quite shocking,” Sumariwalla said in a press conference on Saturday | P15 ■ 8 ‘GENUINE VENDORS’ TO BE LISTED SOON ■ Former Indian sprinter claimed that at places, tire rubber is used instead of polyurethane and it is painted on top. He went on to add that they will get ‘destroyed’ thanks to wear and tear Vendors responsible for bringing material are ‘fly-by-night.’ AFI to prepare list of genuine names who can provide good material NUMBER OF ‘CLASS-1’ WORLD ATHLETICS - CERTIFIED TRACKS IN INDIA 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 PM seeks forgiveness from all women of the country as bill to expedite quota fell in LS PM: Oppn will pay for INDIA bloc for quick women’s bill ‘sin’ rollout of 2023 Act RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE IT’S RAINING IPOs PLUS 12 P AGES Govt’s grants for courts ‘peanuts’, says SC judge EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday berated the Congress-led Opposition for what he called was their ‘big sin’ of rejecting the Constitutional amendments to operationalise the 33% women’s quota in the Lok Sabha the previous day He said the women of the . country would not forget how the Congress and its allies like the DMK, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party opposed the legislation aimed at advancing women’s representation in legislative bodies. His address to the nation came ahead of assembly elections in two Oppositionheld states, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where the ruling TMC and DMK were among those that voted against the amendments. Launching a broadside against the Congress, Modi accused the party of being anti-women and opposed to reforms in the nation-building process. “The Congress inherited the British legacy of divide and rule and spread the canard To preserve the integrity of the judiciary, strict action should be taken against judicial officers who fall prey to greed and such individuals must be “weeded out of the system”, said SC judge, Justice B V Nagarathna. P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi A day after the historic defeat of amendments to the women’s quota bill in Parliament, the opposition INDIA bloc decided to push for the immediate rollout of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, within the existing framework of the 543-member Lok Sabha, while also seeking to counter the BJP’s narrative to portray the Opposition in a negative light. At a meeting chaired by the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Saturday top leaders of , the alliance agreed that each constituent party would independently push for the implementation of the Act, while also continuing to raise the issue in public to hold the BJP accountable. The meeting was also attended by CPP leader Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut, CPI(M)’s John Brittas, and CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar, among others. It was decided that parties in the INDIA bloc will hold press conferences across the country and stress that they support Desi maritime insurance pool to protect cargo amid conflict R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi THE government allocation for judicial infrastructure is “peanuts” compared to the revenue courts generate, said Supreme Court Judge, Justice Arvind Kumar, addressing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here on Saturday . He raised concerns over inadequate funding and delays in approvals for judicial infrastructure and staffing, while speaking at the 22nd biennial state-level conference of judicial officers with its theme “Reimagining the judiciary in the era of AI”, organised by the Karnataka State Judicial Officers’ Association. Justice Kumar acknowledged the state government’s support, but stressed that critical gaps persist in infrastructure creation, including court buildings and residential facilities for judges in districts. He pointed out that despite repeated proposals, approvals are often delayed or scaled down by officials. Weed out corrupt judges, says Justice Nagarathna of North-South divide. They opposed Article 370, triple talaq, PM Jan Dhan Yojna, Aadhaar, digital payments, GST, reservation for the economically weaker section in the general classes and many other efforts made in the larger interest of the nation,” he alleged. The PM also criticised the Congress’ stance on delimitation, alleging it was fuelling divisions. He said the government had consistently clarified that no state’s proportional representation in Parliament would be affected, yet the Opposition refused to relent. Describing the Congress, TMC, DMK and SP as dynastic parties, he alleged they resisted the bill out of fear of losing control within their organisations and preventing women outside their families from rising to leadership. “Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment was the need of hour and we made an honest effort to ensure balanced empowerment across the North, South, East and West. But the Congress, which is a parasite on regional parties, spiked them,” the PM charged. AS the war in West Asia disrupts oil and gas supply—partly due to reduced vessel movement linked to insurance constraints—the government has approved the creation of the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMI Pool) with a sovereign guarantee of `12,980 crore. The government said the objective of the insurance pool is to ensure uninterrupted and affordable marine insurance for India’s shipping sector, while also reducing dependence on foreign insurers, particularly the International Group of P&I Clubs, which dominate the maritime insurance market. The war has led to many shipowners halting operations. Some insurers have become unwilling to provide coverage due to heightened risks. According to the government, the BMI Pool will function as a collective of Indian insurance companies working together to provide marine insurance. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said public sector reinsurer General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) will act as the administrator of the pool. GIC Re will contribute `400 crore, while public sector general insurance companies will chip in `280 crore, with the rest coming from private insurers and oil marketing firms. “The BMI Pool will cut down the cost of insurance premium by at least 25% as of now,” Vaishnaw said. The pool will provide coverage for Indian-flagged vessels, Indian-controlled ships, as well as ships arriving in or departing from Indian ports. India raises concerns after ships attacked The government on Saturday called Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Fathali for a meeting with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to convey New Delhi’s “deep concerns” after two Indianflagged vessels were fired at in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz | P9 EXPRESS READ Cabinet nod to 2% DA hike for employees, pensioners HC withholds its order on FIR against Rahul New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday sanctioned a 2% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR), benefiting around 50.46 lakh central government employees and 68.27 lakh pensioners. The Union Cabinet Committee also approved approved two railway ministry projects with a combined cost of `24,815 crore | P9 Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Saturday withheld its order directing registration of an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the case of alleged dual citizenship. The court observed that an order on the petition of a BJP worker could not be passed unless the prospective accused was given an opportunity to be heard | P10 US sanction waiver on Russia oil till May 16 R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi WITH the war continuing in West Asia, the United States has extended its waiver on sanctions for countries importing Russian crude by a month until May 16. This is the second such relaxation since the escalation of the West Asia crisis, which has disrupted the global crude supply following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the US Department of the Treasury, Russian oil and petroleum products DAY 50 loaded onto tankers—including those under sanctions—on or before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (9:31 a.m. IST) on April 17 can be purchased and received by most countries until May 16. The previous waiver, issued in March, had expired on April 11. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier indicated that the waiver would not be extended. However, the ongoing conflict in West Asia —now lasting over a month — has significantly disrupted global crude and gas flows, prompting a reassessment. Russian crude is now expected to help offset supply shortages caused by reduced exports from Gulf producers. In addition, the US has also temporarily waived sanctions on Iranian crude imports for a month, with that exemption set to expire on April 19. As the world’s third-largest crude oil consumer, India relies on imports to meet over 88% of its demand. Russia has emerged as India’s top oil supplier since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Despite criticism from the West that purchasing discounted Russian crude effectively funds the war, New Delhi has continu e d t o p u rch a s e c r u d e f ro m Moscow. women’s reservation, adding Parliament had already passed the bill in 2023. By introducing three new bills, they said the gover nment was trying to change the political map of the country under its guise. At a press conference after the meeting, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi underlined that the Opposition was not against reservation for women and would support the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, if the government sought to implement it on the current strength of the Lok Sabha. Speaking to this paper, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to clarify when the government will implement the Act. “For the PM, it was a face-palm moment after he failed in pushing through a Constitutional amendment,” said Tagore. There were suggestions among the parties to hold a joint press conference of the INDIA bloc or write a joint letter to the PM demanding implementation of quota for women in the existing framework immediately . FIRST IN COUNTRY KARNATAKA TO TAX BEVERAGES BASED ON ALCOHOL LEVELS B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru THE government on Saturday issued a draft notification to amend more than sixdecade-long alcohol taxation policy to usher in ‘ lcohol-inA Beverage’ (AIB)-based excise duty structure. With amendment to the Karnataka Excise (Excise Duties and Fees) Rules, 1968, the state will become the first in India to introduce excise duty based on AIB. Though this rule is prevalent in the West and is seen as a golden standard, this is the first time an Indian state has moved towards changing the tax structure on alcohol, from volume based (per bulk litre) to AIB. The new tax regime which will come into play phase wise following the amendment will increase the MRP of alcohol sold in the first four excise slabs (the cheapest, with 42.8% alcohol v/v), while bringing down the cost of premium alcohol in the top slabs like Scotch (bottled in origin, with 40% v/v). Prices of mild beer (less than 5% v/v) may face lower taxes and become cheaper. According to sources, the AIB tax structure will “increase the MRP in the first four slabs up by a minimum 20%”. The first four slabs contribute around 80% towards the excise revenue. The brewers and distillers in Karnataka expressed their disappointment with the proposed amendment. “Alcohol sold in Karnataka in the first four slabs is affordable and considered common man’s alcohol. The MRP on these slabs will go up putting further pressure on common households, which are already burdened by inflation. The price increase in this segment will disrupt the market significantly affecting revenue mo, bilisation,” said Karnataka Brewers and Distillers Association president Arun Kumar Parasa. He added that the industry is hugely disappointed with the government move to bring in AIB.