NEW DELHI 15 JUNE 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in The Complex Caffeine Conundrum PLUS: 12 PAGES When Gourmet Meets Glamour MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES SHAKEN & STIRRED Pushpesh Pant Devdutt Pattanaik Ravi Shankar Anuja Chandramouli Making Waves, Hugging the Shore Love without Limits or Labels A Welllayered Indulgence Shiv M Sahai Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Pratik Kanjilal SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS The Patriot Be Sensitive to Life’s Possibilities DANGEROUS ESCALATION Iran threatens to hit US, UK bases in West Asia; Israel vows to destroy Tehran’s nuclear infra A G E N C I E S @ Jerusalem / Dubai Cranes clearing the debris of the crashed plane in Ahmedabad on Saturday | PTI Toll 270, probe panel formed D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad THE death toll in the Air India flight tragedy here went up to 270, even as a body was extracted from the tail of the crashed aircraft on Saturday The Lon. don-bound flight had rammed into the BJ Medical College hostel moments after takeoff on Thursday . As of now, DNA matches of 11 victims with their families have been established — three more than on Friday Since . many bodies were charred beyond recognition, authorities are depending almost entirely on DNA testing for accurate identification. “This isn’t something we can afford to rush. Every case must be verified with clinical precision,” said Dr Rajnish Patel, surgery professor at B J Medical College. Gujarat Revenue Secretary Alok Pandey said many of the victims hailed from 18 of the state’s 33 districts. He said 230 teams have been formed to coordinate with families of the victims. “A grief counsellor `25L INTERIM RELIEF Air India will make interim payment of `25 lakh to the families of the deceased and survivors of the plane crash — in addition to its `1 crore compensation has been assigned to every family to deal with mental trauma,” Pandey added. Gandhinagar Forensic Science Lab (FSL) Director H P Sanghvi said, “We’ve begun profile matching. Tests are ongoing in batches, each taking 36–48 hours. A team of 36 experts is working round-the-clock with the National Forensic Lab to expedite the process.” In a related development, the Centre constituted a multi-disciplinary panel headed by the Union home secretary to probe the cause of the air crash. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged the government to fix accountability “Let . the black box reveal the truth. The government must then fix accountability,” he said after visiting the crash site. P8 IRAN and Israel on Saturday carried out waves of deadly attacks at each other, ignoring pleas from various countries including India for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities. Israel’s attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear targets on Friday and Saturday killed 78 people, according to Iranian authorities. The Israeli military said its air strikes killed 20 Iranian army and Revolutionary Guard commanders. According to local media, Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the wee hours on Saturday killed three persons and injured 80 others in Israel. The development comes amid the ongoing talks between Iran and the US seeking to reach a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme. A sixth round of negotiations is scheduled in Oman on Sunday, but it’s not clear if the talks will take place. Iran on Saturday said it would be meaningless to hold talks while it is under attack. Israel said it has destroyed Destroyed residential buildings in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, hit by a missile fired from Iran on Saturday | AP/PTI INDIA DISTANCES ITSELF FROM SCO STATEMENT India on Saturday sought to distance itself from the statement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization criticising Israel’s strikes, saying the conflict can be sorted out only through dialogue and diplomacy | P7 Iran’s air defence systems claiming its jets flew for nearly two hours over Iranian airspace, hitting targets. “Tehran is no longer immune; the capital is exposed to strikes,” an IDF spokesperson said, adding that Israel plans to dismantle Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities. As for Iran, it threatened to attack the regional military PARADE 250TH B’DAY OF US ARMY The occassion coincides with President Donald Trump’s birthday | P9 3 Delhi students among top 10 NEET-UG rank-holders IFRAH MUFTI & S LALITHA @ New Delhi THREE students from Delhi figured among the top 10 rankers in the NEET UG 2025 medical entrance exam, the results of which were announced on Saturday by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Additionally, 17 students from the region are included in the top 100 rankers in the country . Mrinal Kishore Jha, who se- cured All India Rank Utkarsh Avadhiya (AIR) 4, is Delhi topper. clinched the first Apart from Mrinal, Aviand second spots, ka Aggarwal and Harsh Maharashtra’s Kedawat bagged AIR-5 K r a s h a n k Jo s h i and AIR-9, respectively . stood third. Out of The three secured the 22.76 lakh students 99.99 percentile and bewho appeared for long to the General catthe exam, 12.36 lakh Mrinal Kishore Jha egory Meanwhile, Avi. qualified for it. ka Aggarwal is among There are 1.08 lakh the top 20 female toppers. MBBS seats available in the While Rajasthan’s Mahesh country of which, 56,000 are in , Kumar and Madhya Pradesh’s government and 52,000 in pri- BRIEF RESPITE vate colleges. In Delhi, 1,092 medical seats are available in seven government colleges. According to PN Pandey Pro, fessor at Maulana Azad Medical College, those seeking admission to government medical colleges in the city need a NEET UG ranking of less than 600 to secure a seat. A total of 7.22 lakh women and 5.14 lakh men and six Transgenders figure among the successful candidates. Counselling for seat allocations to begin The Medical Counselling Committee will now begin the All India Quota counselling for NEET UG 2025. Candidates who have secured ranks under the 15% All India Quota will be eligible to participate in the centralised counselling process. MCC will release the counselling schedule, registration dates and detailed guidelines on its website. EXPRESS READ Thunderstorm, light rain likely in capital today 8 tourist destinations closed after Pahalgam attack to reopen In a boost for revival of tourism in the Valley, Lt-Guv Manoj Sinha has decided to reopen eight out of 48 tourist destinations closed in J&K after April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 25 tourists and a ponywala were killed. P8 E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi AFTER a prolonged spell of scorching temperatures, Delhiites may finally get a respite, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting thunderstorms and light rain starting Saturday and continuing till next week. The Safdarjung observatory recorded a maximum tempera, ture of 41.20C on Friday a dip of 2.70C from the previous day, but 1.30C above normal. The minimum temperature remained high at 310C, marking a departure of 30C from seasonal average. Humidity levels oscillated between 51% and 69%, making conditions hot and uncomfortable throughout the day . According to the IMD, the city is set to witness generally cloudy skies with very light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, dust storms, and lightning till June 19. Gusty winds are also expected. On Saturday and Sunday, maximum temperatures are expected to range between 380C and 410C with partly cloudy skies. Thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds are predicted during afternoon and evening hours. From June 16, a shift to generally cloudy skies and light to moderate rainfall is expected across Delhi-NCR. The premonsoon showers are likely to reduce daytime temperatures further, keeping them below 390C for most of next week. The IMD notes that the pre-monsoon developments are signs of the advancing monsoon, which is yet to cover Delhi. bases of Israel’s allies including the US, UK, and France if they helped Tel Aviv. The warning came after reports said US air defence systems shot down Iranian missiles. With both Israel and Iran hardening their positions, it could become a protracted, fullfledged war that could disrupt global economy by making the P9 Red Sea more unsafe. Special residential school for kids suffering from cancer in K’taka The Karnataka School Education and Literacy Department is all set to launch a special residential school for children suffering from cancer near the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru from July this year. | P4 TAKE YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARDS TRANSFORMATION GITAM ADMISSION TEST (GAT) Huge uproar after Lalu-Ambedkar photo goes viral on social media UNITED BY CRICKET South Africa captain Temba Bavuma with the World Test Championship mace after beating Australia in the final. This is SA’s first ICC trophy in 27 years | AP | P11 Former Bihar chief minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad was caught in the thick of controversy after a video, allegedly showing him having a portrait of B B Ambedkar placed at his feet, went viral on social media on Saturday. LAST DATE TO REGISTER 19 June th 2025 SUNDAY SPECIAL EXAM DATE 22 June nd A peek into where Gill’s journey began G O M E S H S @ Chennai CHAK Khere Wala in Punjab, close to the Pakistan border, is not even a speck on the map. It would have remained a nondescript village of India’s vast hinterland if not for one man — Shubman Gill. When the newlyanointed India captain walks in the India blazer to toss the coin against England in the first Test at Leeds on Friday (June 20), the village would enter into the folklore of Indian cricket. This is where Gill’s cricketing journey began as a threeyear-old with a wooden bat carved out of a tree trunk. Gill’s grandparents — Sardar Didar Singh Gill and Gurmail — still live in the house surrounded by acres of farm land. The small stretch of concrete built to make Gill bat and the kitchen walls still stand as a testimony to his early toil as a batter. Didar, who is nearing 90, showed the house where Gill’s mementos and plaques hold pride of place. Gill and his father may have shifted to Mohali when he was seven but the cricketer has not forgotten the village. A small distance away from the Gills’ is the Jaimal Wala Academy. Coach Gurpreet Singh says Gill’s father trains kids whenever he is in village. Gill donat- 2025 ed `3.5L, which was used to set up the nets and buy equipment. The construction got over on Friday The district authorities . are building a new stadium to honour him. “Since Shubman, a lot of academies have come up in the area,” says Surinder Chindi, Fazilka Cricket AssoP11 ciation Secretary . The patch of concrete where Shubman Gill used to practice as a child. The kitchen is on the right I GOMESH S Engineering Humanities Law Management Medicine Architecture Nursing Paramedical Pharmacy Physiotherapy Public Policy Sciences MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE UP TO 100% THAT ALSO COVER FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION BENGALURU | HYDERABAD | VISAKHAPATNAM 8884984000 www.gitam.edu Scan the code to schedule your test