BHUBANESWAR l Tuesday l November 10, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l JEYPORE EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Govt removes caps on OCS examination attempts E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e UCC should be pan-India, no reason to restrict its rollout: Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal says it has a constitutional basis; cites multiple observations of the Supreme Court on the matter @ Bhubaneswar In a major relief to Odisha Civil Services (OCS) aspirants, the state government on Monday decided to remove the restriction on the number of attempts allowed for candidates appeari n g i n t h e c o m p e t i t iv e examination. The state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi approved the proposal of the General Administration department to amend the Odisha Civil Services (Combined Competitive Recruitment Examination) Rules, 1991, paving the way for candidates to appear in the OCS examination any number of times, subject to fulfilment of the prescribed age and other eligibility criteria. The decision will benefit a large number of aspirants who have been unable to crack the exams despite multiple attempts. Chief secretary Anu Garg said the amendment is aimed at ensuring wider and fairer opportunities for candidates and strengthening the meritbased selection process. The existing rules governing recruitment through the OCS examination prescribed restrictions on the number of attempts to six with upper age relaxations for reserved categories (such as SC, ST, SEBC, women and PwD). Shah: NDA-ruled states to implement it by 2029 Rajesh Kumar Thakur @ New Delhi Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal has said the government is committed to implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the country and asserted that its “constitutional basis” makes it difficult to justify restricting the legislation to a few states. Asked whether the Uniform Civil Code would remain confined to BJP-ruled states or eventually be implemented across the country, Meghwal said: “The Uniform Civil Code was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, and the makers of the Constitution incorporated a provision for it under Article 44. The Supreme Court has also made observations on the subject on several occasions. It is encouraging that some states have come forward to implement the UCC. Goa has Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier described a common civil law for every citizen as a commitment of the BJP “since its inception”. He has also expressed confidence that the UCC would be implemented in all 21 BJP- and NDA-ruled states before 2029 had a common civil code for a long time, even when the BJP was not in power there,” he said in an exclusive interview with The New Indian Express. He added: “We believe that the UCC should be implemented across the country, and our government is committed to this objective. It has a constitutional basis, and there is no reason why its implementation should remain restricted to a few states. The issue is also increasingly finding a place in the election manifestos of political parties.” Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC law in February 2024 and remains the only state to have fully implemented the legislation. Gujarat subsequently passed it while Assam became the first northeastern state to pass such legislation in May 2026. Madhya Pradesh has also moved towards adopting the code, approving it unanimously at a special Cabinet meeting in Bhopal in August. The UCC remains one of the BJP’s longstanding ideological objectives, alongside the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, both of which have been achieved. Samajwadi Party surveys Gandhi family fiefdom Amid seat-sharing talks, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party has commissioned surveys in constitutiencies traditionally associated with the Nehru-Gandhi family | P5 IOA president PT Usha loses SOM elections In d r a nee l d a s @ Chennai Finally, amid allegations of interference and manipulation, the Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOMs) election was over with current Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha losing. The result would have been shocking but after the last date of withdrawals, there were enough hints that pointed at change. This means that she will no longer be the president, at least, as of now. On Saturday, as reported by this daily four male candidates , were elected unopposed – Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijender Singh along with former TT champion Kamlesh Mehta. However, in the female category, despite hectic parley, Usha finished fifth behind Saina Nehwal who polled 43 against Usha’s 40. Anju Bobby George managed to secure the highest number of 53 followed by Rani Rampal, Dola Banerjee and Nehwal. There were concerns about Saina and it is understood that a lot of negotiations were on to secure her victory . With this, the focus would be on Gagan, who shifted his base from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad recently Gagan is considered to . be a front-runner in the IOA election to be held on December 5. Usha is technically out but can be proposed by NSFs. Since she is not a member, it needs to be seen how. Dhaka junks request Hasina stirs the pot, seeks fresh B’desh passport J aya nt h j a c o b @ New Delhi In an apparent bid to corner the Bangladesh government amid its continued insistence on her extradition, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has sought a fresh passport and national identity card (NID) from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Hasina, 79, has been living in India since her government was ousted in a student-led uprising in August 2024. Her legal representatives at London-based Matrix Chambers have approached the Bangladeshi mission seeking fresh documents. “Our request is made on the basis of her Bangladeshi nationality in accordance with any obligations arising under the laws of Bangladesh as well as any applicable obligations arising under international human ‘Political stunt’ rights instruments,” her lawyers Sheikh Hasina’s wrote to Preeti Rahman, acting request for a passport High Commissioner at the Bangla- was a “political desh mission. posturing” and she has The request, confirmed by Hasi- no genuine intention of na’s Awami League party, was swift- returning to the ly rejected by Dhaka. Bangladesh country, Dhaka’s Chief Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Prosecutor Md Aminul Humayun Kobir said: “Bangladesh Islam said does not issue passports to terrorists. We have asked for them (terrorists) to be handed over,” Kobir told journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “She is a fugitive criminal. We have an active extradition treaty with India. We want her handed over,” he said. The Awami League said a fresh passport and national identity card are crucial towards fulfilling Hasina’s stated intention of returning to Bangladesh in December.