BHUBANESWAR l monday l december 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION virat marks another milestone with sensational ton in ranchi The No 3 batter made a statement, alongside Rohit Sharma who scored a fifty, with a remarkable hundred against South Africa... senior pros step up as india take 1-0 lead At 37, Kohli shows he is still top of world Opener Rohit Sharma hit a fifty before Virat Kohli went on to hit a 120ball 135 that took India to 349/8 with the help of late fireworks from Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. South Africa came close to chasing it but Kuldeep Yadav (4/68) and Harshit Rana (3/65) delivered as bowlers kept calm to secure India a 17-run win | P11 the 37-year-old was in his zone as he put behind the struggles of recent months to show why he is still the best in business ■ With 11 fours and 7 sixes, Kohli played one of the most sublime innings of his already storeyed ODI career ■ From straight drive to upper cuts to flicks to lofts down the ground, 52 It was Kohli’s 52nd ODI century 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 Poll panel extends SIR schedule by one week December 11 is the new deadline to submit forms; draft electoral rolls to be out on Dec 16; final list on Feb 14, 2026 SIR may heat up Winter Session starting today PR E E THA N AIR @ New Delhi PM Narendra Modi on the last day of the DGP/IGP conference in Raipur on different aspects of India’s security infrastructure | X tech-led police reforms key for viksit bharat: pm e j a z k a i s e r @ Raipur Dantewada, about 400 km south of Raipur. TwentyPRIME Minister Narendra seven among them carried a Modi on Sunday urged the cumulative bounty of `65 police forces to change the lakh, the Dantewada police way they work and are per- said. ceived by the public, stressDiscussions ranged wideing the need for greater pro- ly—from planning policing fessionalism, empathy, and reforms up to 2047 to tackquicker response time. ling terrorism, ensuring Speaking on the last day of women’s safety through the 60th All India Confer- tech, bringing back Indian ence of Director fugitives abroad, Generals and Inand improving fospector Generals of rensic investigaPolice in Raipur, tions. Modi also Modi pushed for in- There’s a need to spoke about raising novative policing public awareness make effective strategies backed use of databases about new criminal integrated under by technology . laws that have reT he three-day NATGRID, and link placed old colonialthese systems event at the Indian era rules and the through AI to Institute of Manimportance of mongenerate agement focused on itoring banned actionable ‘Viksit Bharat: Segroups while develintelligence curity Dimensions’ oping areas liberand brought togeth- Narendra Modi, PM ated from Left Wing er top police officExtremism. ers from across the country . On natural disasters, the Modi highlighted the bene- PM emphasised better disfits of linking data through aster preparedness and cothe National Intelligence ordination, especially with Grid with artificial intelli- cyclones and floods. He said gence to turn information quick planning and team efinto actionable intelligence fort are key to saving lives that can help fight crime and reducing damage. more effectively . Modi also awarded the The call from the PM to President’s Police Medals to radically transform police Intelligence Bureau officinfrastructure came on a ers. More than 700 officers day when 37 cadres of CPI joined the event virtually, (Maoist) relinquished their with senior government ideology and surrendered in officials. Smoke on ship berthed at Paradip port sparks fire scare, risk averted E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Paradip A major mishap was averted at Paradip port on Saturday night after smoke was detected on a vessel preparing to depart for Krishnapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh. The fire risk arose from coal loaded on the ship, which was subsequently shifted to another berth for safety. Cargo handling operations, which were disrupted resumed on Sunday . Sources said MV Eco Colonel Monrovia had berthed at the Iron Ore Berth (IOB) last Thursday to load nearly 30,000 metric tonnes of coal bound for Krishnapatnam port. After completing the Smoke emanating from the vessel in Paradip l o a d i n g , t h e vessel was ready to sail last night when dock workers noticed thick smoke emanating from stacker-1. Panic spread among workers and crew, prompting an immediate alert to the port control room. Port personnel observed dense smoke emerging from the vessel at the IOB and took swift action to prevent a potential fire. To ensure the safety of the vessel and crew, Paradip port authorities shifted the ship to the coal berth as the smoke intensified. Firefighting teams were deployed to urgently unload the affected coal. Once unloaded, the vessel was moved to another berth (CQ-2) for further inspection by firefighters and experts. Some machinery and the boom conveyor sustained damage due to ash accumulation, and stacker-1 was reportContinued on P5 edly burnt during the incident.  AMID complaints of inadequate time for voter-list verification, the Election Commission of India on Sunday extended the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by one week across nine states and three Union Territories. In an official statement, the ECI announced that the submission of enumeration forms, originally scheduled to conclude on December 4, will now continue until December 11. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 instead of December 9, and the final voters’ list on February 14, 2026, against the earlier deadline of February 7. The SIR is being rolled out in Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The Election Commission has come under scrutiny after reports of deaths and alleged suicides involving Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from multiple states, with Opposition parties linking the incidents to mounting work pressure during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. According to reports, several BLOs, tasked with door-to-door verification, form collection and polling-station rationalisation, were working long hours to meet tight deadlines. The families and colleagues have alleged that the stress and work- House and urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to allow a discusTHE stage is set for a stormy sion on the SIR exercise on start to Parliament’s Winter Monday, the first day of the Session on Monday, with the Winter Session of Parliament, Opposition demanding a full said a source. discussion on the Special Inten“Opposition parties conveyed sive Revision of electoral rolls, that they want Parliament to while the ruling party is push- run smoothly They also sought . ing for a discussion on 150 years a short discussion on the urof Vande Mataram. gent need for further electoral During the Business Adviso- reforms at 2 pm on Monday If . ry Committee (BAC) the discussion is not meeting of the Rajya held, the government Sabha on Sunday, the must be held responsigovernment declined ble for disrupting Parto clarify whether any liament, they said,” The opposition debate would take parties feel if no the source said. place on the broader discussion is held A senior opposition topic of electoral re- on SIR, this means leader said they also forms, despite repeatthe government suggested titles, indoes not want ed demands from the cluding “urgent need Parliament to Opposition. for further electoral function Earlier, at an all-parreforms” or “urgent ty meeting, the Oppo- Pramod Tiwari, deputy n e e d t o f u r t h e r sition parties put up a leader of Oppn in RS strengthen integrity united front demandand transparency of ing discussions on SIR, electoral process” for labour codes and national secu- the discussion. “However, the rity. Parliamentary Affairs Parliamentary minister said Minister Kiren Rijiju had stat- they will get back,” he added. ed that the decision on a discusWhile the government is sion on the SIR would be taken pushing for a discussion on at the BAC meeting. Vande Mataram, Opposition At the BAC meeting chaired said they would not cooperate by Vice President and Rajya unless there is a debate on SIR Sabha Chair man C P Rad- or electoral reforms. hakrishnan, opposition leaders The government has listed 13 agreed to cooperate to ensure legislative bills and one finansmooth functioning of the cial bill for passage. PR E E THA N AIR @ New Delhi Booth Level Officers assist a voter in filling out the enumeration form for the Special Intensive Revision, in Bikaner, Rajasthan | PTI load may have contributed to the deaths, prompting widespread outrage and demands for accountability . The sharpest attack came from the Trinamool Congress, which accused the Election Commission of having “blood on their hands,” arguing that the SIR timeline was “unrealistic” and had placed an unprec- 100% digitisation in Lakshadweep Lakshadweep and Goa completed distribution of enumeration forms. The former also registered 100% digitisation of forms. Form distribution status in Rajasthan, Bengal, MP, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar, and UP is over 99%, while it is over 98% in Kerala and TN, the EC said edented burden on field-level officials. A 10-member TMC delegation on Friday met with the EC and alleged that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, accusing the poll panel chief of having “blood on his hands”. However, the EC has dismissed the charges. Other Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party also questioned whether the EC had adequately assessed on-ground constraints before imposing the revised schedule. The Congress said the EC realised that the SIR cannot be completed in such a short time. Congress leader and party’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, told reporters that the EC and the Election Commission should shed ego and hold the exercise as per the schedule of 2003 when the last such exercise was held. Govt to bring bill to impose 70% cess on tobacco, related products D i pa k M o nd a l @ New Delhi The Central government is set to replace the Compensation Cess with a new levy of 70% or higher on tobacco and tobaccorelated products. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha on Monday to replace the existing GST Compensation Cess curre n t ly i m p o s e d o n t h e s e products. Under the new Bill, tobacco and related products will attract a 70% cess over and above 40% GST, while cigarettes will face a specific cess ranging from `2,700 to `11,000 per thousand sticks, depending on length. The move is aimed at safeguarding tax revenues once the Compensation Cess is phased out. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Compensation Cess on tobacco and related products will be discontinued after all interest pay- ments and loan liabilities under the cess account are fully settled. The amendment is intended to provide the government with fiscal space to increase the central excise duty on tobacco to “protect the tax incidence”. The proposed overhaul reflects the government’s intent to maintain the historically high tax burden on tobacco. Currently, tobacco, cigarettes and related items are taxed at 28% GST, plus a compensation cess of 5–290%. The FM will also introduce the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, which proposes a new cess on pan masala and possibly other products to be notified later.