The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a HAPPY The offices and press of The New Indian Express will remain closed on Friday and Saturday on account of HOLI. Therefore, there will be no issues on Saturday and Sunday BHUBANESWAR  FRIDAY  MARCH 14, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  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 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 P R E E 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 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 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. Centre issues policy directive for Nuclear Energy Mission RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @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 large-scale deployments of existing technologies. In response to a query in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, P u b l i c Grievances, Pensions and the PMO, said Jitendra Singh NEM necessitates capacity building, and to facilitate active partnerships with the private sector, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act are being pursued. Dr Singh said a task force has been set up to review these amendments. “The task force is examining aspects such as building, owning, and operating nuclear power plants by private sector; nuclear safety, security safeguards, fuel procure, ment/fabrication, waste management, and spent fuel reprocessing,” the minister CONTINUED ON P5 added. 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 Pricey Starlink to target niche customers R A K E S H K U M A R @ 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 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 price (J) 2,15,600 12,314 15,146 10,898 15,146 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 Bengaluru to host BJP natl executive council meeting R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi 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 paper. Sources said, announcement of the new party president is also on the agenda. BJP’s Andhra unit chief Daggubati Purandeswari is among the women leaders being considered. The other names 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. DoT is likely to grant a licence to the Musk-led company soon. In fact, Union minister for Electronics & 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. EOW arrests BJD leader Raja Chakra over `150 crore ore loading agency scam E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar THE Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch on Thursday arrested BJD leader Soumya Sankar Chakra alias Raja over his alleged links with Gandhamardan Loading Agency and Transporting Cooperative Society Ltd, the firm reportedly involved in over `150 crore scam. The move comes a day after the Orissa High Court rejected the prearrest bail plea of the state vicepresident of Biju Yuva Janata Dal. EOW had registered a case in this regard on February 7 after receiving a complaint of large-scale irregularities and misappropriation of funds by the society which was set up for the welfare of the villagers affected by Gandhamardan mines in Keonjhar district. Shocking claims followed Chakra’s arrest after senior BJD leader and Ghasipura MLA Badrinarayan Patra alleged that a former district collector and SP had backed him when he was involved in various illegal activities. Investigation revealed, the loading agency had earned around `185 crore from 2017 to March, 2024. Probe suggested its former president Manas Ranjan Barik and secretary Utkal Das in connivance with some influential local persons swindled huge amount of money On Febru. ary 7, EOW had arrested both Barik CONTINUED ON P5 and Das.