BHUBANESWAR l tuesday l august 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Ayush causes big upset, defeats World no. 1 Shi Yu Qi in delhi India’s Ayush Shetty causes biggest upset at the Badminton World Championships on Monday. 2019 champion PV Sindhu too enters next round India’s Ayush Shetty takes a selfie with young fans after his win | Sayantan Ghosh three-game thriller in first round This is not the first time the 21-year-old has upset a top player. He has habit of taking down some of the big names in world badminton like Li Shi Feng, Jonatan Christie and Kunlavut Vitidsarn before winning the Asian Championships silver. Shuttler, who hails from Karnataka defeated Shi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, in a gripping first round men’s singles contest. ■ 1st An Se-young and others advance ■ S Korea’s An Se-young, World No 1 in women’s singles, too entered 2nd round with a straight-game win over Kaloyana Nalbantova Apart from Sindhu & Ayush, the doubles players — Hariharan Amsakarunan/MR Arjun, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand and Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi — also advanced | P11 The win was ayush’s first over Shi in four meetings 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 New team Some of the most notable changes in the organisational reshuffle of the BJP Smriti Irani Ram Madhav Deepak Mhaskey Blend of young and experienced leaders in new team; average age 50 Irani, Madhav back in core nat’l team in big BJP rejig RAJ E SH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi THE BJP on Monday revamped its core national team under party president Nitin Nabin, announcing appointments to key positions including national vice-presidents, national general secretaries, and national secretaries, apart from key posts in the media and social media departments and the party’s various Morchas. The reshuffle, which comes ahead of an expected Cabinet rejig, reflects a blend of both experienced and young faces, with the average age being 50. Among the 13 national vicepresidents, three—former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Baijayant Panda and Rekha Verma—have retained their positions while 10 have been elevated or inducted from other party responsibilities. Lal Singh Arya, for instance, has been promoted to national vice-president from his earlier position as national president of the BJP’s SC Morcha. Among the most notable changes is the return of former Union minister Smriti Irani, who had been kept out of party responsibilities for several years, to an important role as a national general secretary She . joins a group that includes prominent figures Satish Poonia, Harish Dwivedi, Sunil Bansal, Vinod Tawde, Biplab Kumar Deb, among others. The 16-member group of national secretaries includes four RSS men in top team With Ram Madhav’s return as national vice-president, four senior RSS-linked leaders are now part of the BJP’s central organisational structure. The others are B L Santhosh (national general secretaryorganisation), Shivprakash, and Saudan Singh (joint secretaries-organisation) The newly appointed team brings together organisational experience, energy and grassroots connect Prime Minister Narendra Modi women, including Irani. The others are Kavita Patidar, Phangnon Konyak, and Sangeeta Yadav. Tawde and Bansal have retained their organisational responsibilities as national general secretaries. Several established party faces, including Arun Singh, Dushyant Kumar Gautam, Tarun Chugh and Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, have been dropped from the national general secretary-level organisational structure. In the rejig, several prominent faces were let go. These Over 1 crore women to get Subhadra money on August 28: Dy CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida on Monday said the fifth instalment of `5,000 under the Subhadra Yojana will be disbursed to more than one crore women beneficiaries on August 28, the day of Rakhi Purnima. The funds will be disbursed at a state-level function in Nayagarh, the deputy chief minister told mediapersons after inaugurating a five-day training programme for the second batch of newly-appointed child welfare committee (CWC) members. Official sources said out of 1,15,75,633 applications, including 3,17,966 fresh applications submitted during the 2026-27 financial year, 1,02,04,396 women were initially identified as eligible. However, 5,277 names were removed from the list after field reviews and districtlevel updates. The total number of beneficiaries under the flagship scheme now stands at 1,01,99,119. The government has already transferred more than `20,648 crore directly into the bank accounts of over one crore women through the first four instalments, she said. The funds will be disbursed at a state-level function in Nayagarh on the occasion of Rakhi Purnima Pravati Parida, Dy CM Parida also said the state government was committed to esuring a safe, secure and enabling environment for every child. She stressed the need for coordinated and compassionate efforts by all stakeholders to safeguard the rights, dignity and well-being of children. The deputy chief minister urged the newly-appointed CWC members to discharge their responsibilities with sensitivity dedication and em, pathy She said the best inter. est of the child should remain at the centre of every decision and intervention. She also interacted with the newly-inducted CWC members and heard about their grassroots-level experiences, challenges and perspectives on issues concerning children. A total of 58 CWC members from 27 districts are undergoing training under the programme. include IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, BJP Yuva Morcha president and Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya, Dushyant Gautam, Sanjay Mayukh, Saroj Pandey, Laxmikant Vajpayee and Arun Singh. Among the unexpected appointments is that of academic Deepak Mhaskey as the head of the BJP’s social media department, replacing Malviya. Mhaskey will head the department as convenor, assisted by Priti Gandhi, Shivanand Dwivedi, Alok Bhatt and Arun Yadav. The organisational revamp marks the return of RSS ideologue Ram Madhav to the prominent position of national vice president. His induction is being seen as a move towards strengthening coordination between the RSS and the BJP . The revamp has also sought to ensure broad geographical representation. Among the national vice-presidents, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and West Bengal have received representation. The eight national general secretaries include leaders from Maharashtra, Delhi, Tripura, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. Union Minister Piyush Goyal has retained his position as national treasurer, while B L Santhosh continues as national general secretary (organisation), a key post in the party . express read 2 more AI pilots taken off duty after dope test New Delhi: Two more Air India pilots have been grounded after they tested positive in the initial dope test conducted by the airline for over 300 pilots since August 13. Results of the second confirmatory test is awaited. Air India and Air India Express are mandatorily testing its nearly 5,000-strong cockpit crew | P7 SC grants relief to Rahul in assets case New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed proceedings before the Allahabad High Court in a case concerning allegations of disproportionate assets against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and restrained the CBI and Enforcement Directorate from filing any report as directed by the High Court | P7 CM Majhi tours flood zones of Bhadrak, Jajpur dists; assures prompt assistance E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday visited flood-ravaged areas in the worst-hit Bhadrak and Jajpur districts to take stock of the situation on the ground. The situation continued to remain grim with the number of affected people crossing 7.85 lakh. Majhi went to Kasapa and Tarpada gram panchayats in Dasarathpur block of Jajpur district where he interacted with residents of Ramchandrapur, Balda and Dobhabil villages. He was informed that the Baitarani river continued to flow above the danger mark at Dasarathpur while water-level of Brahmani at Jenapur was below the danger level. The swelling rivers and their tributaries have inundated several low-lying areas, particularly in Bari, Jajpur and Dasarathpur blocks. More than 242 villages in eight blocks of the district remained surrounded by floodwaters, officials said. He then travelled by boat to the severely flooded Ishwar- Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Revenue minister Suresh Pujari surveying the flood situation from a boat in Dharmasala block of Jajpur district| Express The safety of people and prompt assistance by the government are being accorded the highest priority. Rescue and relief operations are continuing on a war-footing – Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister pur village under Shyamsundarpur panchayat of Tihidi block in Bhadrak district and reviewed the situation. He talked to the residents and checked the availability of government relief, dry food and drinking water. State BJP president Manmohan Samal, Revenue and Dis- aster Management minister Suresh Pujari and Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj accompanied the CM while he visited flood-affected areas of Bhadrak district. “The safety of people and prompt assistance by the government to the affected residents are being accorded the Soren blinks, cancels all dodgy state exams m u k e s h r a n j a n & p r ee t h a n a i r @ Ranchi/New Delhi Twenty-four days after student protests in Jharkhand against exam irregularities, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday blinked and agreed to their demand to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination and all exams conducted by a private agency , TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014. The decision came hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Soren urging him to “listen to the students”. The protesting students thanked the chief minister for the decision but said the protest will continue as their demand for a CBI inquiry is yet to be fulfilled. Soren said a decision has also been made to cancel all exams conducted by TDPL as also all results published by it. “Today we held a special Cabi, net meeting to bring this matter to a conclusion. We have decided to cancel all examinations conducted by TDPL, the results published by TDPL, and the selection or participation of any candidates through TDPL,” said Soren. The CM also said an exam reforms committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh highest priority Rescue and re. lief operations are continuing on a war-footing. Emphasis is being placed on delivering relief materials, food, drinking water and essential healthcare services to all affected areas,” Majhi said after his tour. Engineer-in-chief of Water Resources department Dilip Rout said the state was currently facing a medium flood. While the Brahmani and Baitarani continued to be in spate, there was no flood situation in Subarnarekha and Jalaka rivers, he said. With rainfall decreasing, water-level in the rivers are receding. However, waterlogging in parts of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts is likely to continue for another four to five days, he added. According to the latest status report issued by the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), more than 7.85 lakh people in six districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara have been affected by the latest spell of floods. More than 2.77 lakh people have been evacuated to safer Continued on P5 locations.  Pvt N-plants: SC seeks clarity on judicial power to set relief amount S u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi Student-protesters in a jubilant mood after the Jharkhand cabinet decided to cancel the Combined Graduate Level exam, in Ranchi on Monday; Chief Minister Hemant Soren (left) with cabinet ministers making the announcement | PTI Kaushal will be constituted soon. However, a new problem erupted as cancelling all exams would render around 2,000 aspirants who had cleared them without jobs. These students have begun a protest outside the state secretariat. In his pushback, minister Sudivya Kumar said candidates whose exams were cancelled by the government are free to take the legal recourse. As for student leader Devendra Mahto, who is on a hunger strike for 16 days, he said he will soon reach the protest site in Ranchi to break his fast. Rahul had urged Soren to personally meet the student representatives and take steps to resolve the issue at the earliest. “I am writing to suggest that you personally meet representatives of the students. This will help reinforce the government’s commitment to resolve their concerns,” Rahul said. “Please do your utmost to hear them out and take appropriate action towards the resolution of this issue,” he said. The Supreme Court on Monday sought clarification from the Centre on whether courts are precluded from awarding fair and just compensation under the SHANTI Act in the event of a nuclear accident. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing a petition filed by a group of retired civil servants and scientists, led by ex-bureaucrat E A S Sarma. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the batch of petitioners, argued that the Shanti Act exempts nuclear plant suppliers from liability and caps operator liability at a level grossly disproportionate to potential damage. “Irrespective of provisions of the Act, nothing shall preclude a constitutional court from determining the amount of fair and just compensation.... Central government owes certain liability under the Act,” the CJI said. The bench issued notices to the Centre and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board seeking response. The SHANTI Act permits private firms to set up civil nuclear plants but exempts them from liability beyond `3,000 crore. The Centre’s residual liability is capped at `4,500 cr. ISI-backed terror network busted, 200+ held in pre-I-Day swoop MUK E SH RA N JA N @ New Delhi SBN chief being probed for terror-related cases MORE than 200 operatives of the Pakistan-based and ISIbacked Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) were arrested in coordinated raids across 14 States ahead of Independence Day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday. These arrests were made following 80 FIRs registered across states. Shah said the operation had dismantled the terror network and foiled plans to carry out “subversive attacks” around August 15. According to a statement by the Union Ministry of SBN chief Shahzad Bhatti is being probed by NIA for several cases, including the March 2025 grenade attack in Jalandhar,the November 2025 explosion at Women Police Station in Sirsa and the January 2026 car-bomb blast at the Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala. Home Affairs (MHA), the multi-state operation was conducted on August 12 using a realtime intelligence-sharing mechanism involving central agencies and state police forces. “More than 200 arrests were made across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala,” it said. “Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest number of arrests at 62, followed by Haryana with 52, Delhi with 51 and Punjab with 44. Rajasthan recorded 15 ar rests, Maharash- tra eight and Uttarakhand five. Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar reported three arrests each, while Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala reported two each,” the MHA said. Fresh FIRs were also registered in Delhi and Karnataka. The MHA said the arrests were made under UAPA, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Arms Act, NDPS Act and Explosive Substances Act. “Security agencies recovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs), grenades bear- ing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols and live ammunition during the operation. CCTV cameras allegedly used for surveillance and espionage were also seized,” a senior MHA official said, adding that the recovery of ordnance bearing Pakistani markings pointed to the network’s cross-border links. The MHA described SBN as a Pakistan-based terror syndicate involved in grenade, IED and petrol-bomb attacks as well as targeted killings in India. Shah said the crackdown demonstrated a resolve to dismantle terror networks.