The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a HAPPY bengaluru l Friday l march 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 40 l late city EDITION Spadex Mission Achieves Maiden Undocking, next docking in april Indian Space Research Organisation recorded its first successful undocking as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission paves way for crucial future missions announcement After 3-Hour Assessment The two light weight satellites, SDX-01 (the chaser) and SDX-02 (target) successfully separated almost a month-and-a-half after it was scheduled to be achieved. With this success, ISRO is now bracing for its future missions — Chandrayaan-4, Bhartiya Antriksh Mission, manned space mission Gaganyaan, and Man on Moon mission ■ ■ Although the undocking happened around 9.20 am, ISRO announced on ‘X’ only at 12.21 pm, after assessing all parameters ISRO monitored operations from Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Mauritius. Satellites’ independent ops, sensors, and components are being analysed, said ISRO Chairman V Narayanan | P5 460 km above Earth, the two mini satellites were successfully separated 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 Stalin emerges as the anchor of Opposition unity Karnataka & Telangana govts, BRS, YSRCP, BJD to attend Chennai meet on delimitation P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Revanth to consult party brass Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said he would attend the Chennai meet after taking permission from the high command. A DMK delegation led by minister K N Nehru met him in Delhi on Thursday and extended an invitation Siddu to send DKS for event With several political parties extending support to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in its fight over the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, Chief Minister M K Stalin appears to be emerging as the voice that binds the non-BJP parties on the issue. Congress-ruled Telangana and Karnataka governments, opposition BRS in Telangana, former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, and former Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP are some of the parties that have confirmed their participation in a meeting convened by Stalin on March 22. Spearheaded by Stalin, the coming together of political parties is widely seen as a show of Opposition unity against ‘delimitation’. On Thursday Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said , he would attend the Chennai meeting after taking permission from the Congress high command. “I welcome M K Stalin’s stand. I have to get permission from the Congress high command to attend the meeting. In principle, I have agreed to attend,” Reddy told reporters. Earlier this month, Stalin had written to the chief ministers of seven states, including Reddy to , form a joint action committee against the delimitation exercise. The Chennai meeting is seen as a first step towards ‘unified action’ against any move by the Centre to implement delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies in a manner that will cut down the representation of states that have successfully implemented population control. Though the BRS in Telangana keeps a distance from both the Congress and the BJP, BRS leader K T Rama Rao on Thursday confirmed it will attend the meeting. A DMK delegation also extended an invitation to Andhra Pradesh’s ruling TDP and a key ally of the NDA government. According to sources, the party said that it will discuss the matter with CM Chandrababu Naidu and take a call. Delegations of DMK leaders met K’taka CM Siddaramaiah, former AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy and BJD’s Naveen Patnaik, who assured their support. Siddu deputed Deputy CM D K Shivakumar for the Chennai meeting | P5 Rupee symbol axed Intensifying the language showdown, the TN govt on Thursday replaced the Devanagari rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for Friday’s TN budget | P5 Koppal rape: Dip in foreigners’ arrival in Hampi for Holi K i r a n B a l a nn a n a v a r @ Hampi The recent rape of two women, including a foreign national, and murder of a tourist from Odisha in Koppal district seem to have cast a shadow on the Holi celebrations in Hampi this time.Unlike previous years, not many foreign tourists have arrived in Hampi to celebrate Holi on March 15. After the Koppal incident, many tourists, especially foreigners, have cancelled their bookings with lodges, homestays and other tourism agencies in Hampi. Virupakshi V Hampi, a tourist guide, said Hampi has many groups that organise special programmes on Holi. But they are not so enthusiastic now because of the decline in the flow of tourists. More than 2,000 foreign tourists used to visit Hampi to participate in Holi, which was popularised by the erstwhile rulers of Vijayanagara, he added. Police said all safety measures have been taken to prevent any untoward incidents in Hampi. Additional police personnel have been deployed at all tourist spots in Hampi and surrounding areas for Holi on March 15.  EDIT: P8 playing with Colour Children celebrate Holi, a day ahead of the festival, in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru on Thursday | PTI ED launches money laundering B’luru to host BJP natl probe, raids 8 places in B’luru executive council meet RA J E SH K U M AR THA K U R @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru gold smuggling case After the Directorate of Ranya’s Lavelle Road residence Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in the morning and seized some and Central Bureau of Investi- crucial documents. An Enforcegation (CBI), the Enforcement ment Case Information Report Directorate (ED) has (ECIR) under PMLA has launched an investigabeen registered in New tion into the high-proDelhi on charges of file Bengaluru gold money laundering. smuggling case. As investigations by Officers of ED raided CBI and DRI indicated a eight places in the city possible hawala scam, and other areas on the ED launched its inThursday as part of vestigation. It is also their money laundering looking into violations investigation. The ED Ranya Rao of Foreign Exchange launched its probe after Law by the accused. registering a case under the Pre- Through the hawala route, monvention of Money laundering ey was being sent to Dubai from A c t ( P M L A ) , t a k i n g where gold bars were sent to Incognisance of the CBI’s FIR dia. A team of CBI officers raidand DRI’s investigation after e d R a nya ’s re s i d e n c e o n the arrest of actor Ranya Rao Monday . and her close associate Tarun The ED officers also searched Konduru Raj. a place in Koramangala. HowA team of four officers raided ever, it is not clear if this place belongs to Ranya. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officers raided nine places, including Koramangala and Indiranagar, in the city . The CBI registered the FIR on March 7 based on a complaint by Dr Abhishek Chandra Gupta, Additional Director of DRI, Headquarters. In his complaint, Gupta stated that after the arrest of Ranya on March 3, two foreign nationals were arrested in Mumbai airport on March 6 for attempting to smuggle 21.28 kg of gold worth Rs 18.92 crore. These two cases pointed to a possible smuggling syndicate operating from Dubai. He also stated that this may have larger national and inter national ramifications. Due to the possibility of involvement of some government officials and others, Gupta requested the CBI to investigate the case.  P4, P9 Pricey Starlink to target niche customers in India RA K E SH K U M AR @ New Delhi ELON Musk-led Starlink may target niche customers in India due to its pricing, which is significantly higher than the services provided by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. According to a report by Bernstein, Starlink’s satellite technology offers advantages in remote areas but its high cost and potential speed variability make it less attractive to consumers in urban and semi-urban regions, where Airtel and Jio provide affordable and reliable broadband services. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have recently announced separate partnerships with Starlink to offer broadband services in India. Both companies have clarified that services will commence only after Starlink receives approval from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Industry insiders say the DoT is likely to grant a licence to the Musk-led company soon. In fact, Union minisElon Musk ter for Electronics & COSTLY AFFAIR Starlink Bharti Airtel Reliance Jio Speed (mbps) 50-200 100 200 100 200 Initial upfront 52,242 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 fees (J) Per month 10,469 799 999 699 999 fees (J) Tax and 30 18 18 18 18 levies (%) Total annual 2,15,600 12,314 15,146 10,898 15,146 price (J) Information Technology Ashwini , Vaishnaw, welcomed Starlink to India through a social media post on Wednesday night. However, the minister later deleted the post. Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is yet to release its recommendations on the pricing and other modalities for satellite broadband. Reports suggest that the telecom regulator plans to recommend satellite broadband spectrum be allotted for five years instead of 20 years to assess initial market adoption. Policy directive out to launch Nuclear Energy Mission RA J E SH K U M AR THA K U R @New Delhi THE Centre has issued a policy directive to launch the Nuclear Energy Mission (NEM) as part of the country’s energy transition efforts. The mission focuses on research and development of new reactor designs and technologies. To achieve this, the government will allow private investors and sectors to participate in largescale deployments of existing technologies. In response to a query in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra “The task force is examSingh, Minister of State ining aspects such as for Personnel, Public building, owning, and opGrievances, Pensions and erating nuclear power the PMO, said NEM necesplants by private sector; sitates capacity building, nuclear safety, security, and to facilitate active safeguards, fuel procurepartnerships with the priment/fabrication, waste Jitendra Singh vate sector, amendments management, and spent to the Atomic Energy Act fuel reprocessing,” the and the Civil Liability for Nuclear minister added. Damage Act are being pursued. The government also plans to Dr Singh said a task force has partner with the private sector to been set up to review these set up Bharat Small Reactors amendments. (BSR), with NPCIL floating a Re- quest-for-Proposal to private industries. These reactors will be commissioned and operated by NPCIL but set up with private capital. “With ... private investment, it is expected that the strategy for scaling up the nuclear sector will send a strong signal to participate and plan for capacity and infrastructure expansion for nuclearrelated projects...,” he said. The government is also working towards making Nuclear Power Projects (NPPs) eligible for climate finance, Dr Singh said. the BJP is likely to hold its National Executive Council meeting in Bengaluru between April 18 and 20, sources said. According to party insiders, the decision to hold the meeting in Bengaluru carries significant symbolism for the BJP’s Mission South project. “This could indicate the party’s shift in electoral strategy towards South India, with a focused effort on solidifying its base in states like Karnataka, where the Congress is in power now,” a senior BJP leader told this newspaper. Also on the agenda is announcing a new party president, sources said, adding that the new chief may be from South India, adding that female leaders may have an edge, in line with the party’s policy of promoting women’s participation in politics — from organisational roles to governance. BJP’s Andhra unit chief Daggubati Purandeswari is among the women leaders being considered. The other names doing the rounds include Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Bhupendra Yadav and Dharmendra Pradhan. Also in the race are Dr Sudha Yadav, Vinod Tawde, Tarun Chugh, and Arun Kumar. There is also speculation about Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju, along with Sanjay Joshi and Ram Madhav being considered for the top party post. WITH THIS ISSUE CITY’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 40 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID)