Cause for concern as India gets D rating in global pension index The Mercer Global Pension Index 2025, built on adequacy (40%), sustainability (35%) and integrity (25%) — ranked India at 43.8 points. The global average score of the pension index was 64.5. This year’s top performers included the Netherlands (85.4), Iceland (84.0), Denmark (82.3), Singapore (80.8), and Israel (80.3) — all earning an ‘A’ grade for robust pension systems. India’s pension system continues to face structural gaps hubballi l friday l october 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city 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 ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI BIHAR drama MAD scramble for india bloc seat deal RA M A S HAN K AR @ Patna WITH just hours left for the nomination deadline for the first phase of Bihar elections, the INDIA bloc is yet to firm up the seat-sharing formula. In stark contrast, the NDA has already announced its candidates for all 243 seats. According to sources, the demand for higher seat allocation by influential regional parties, including Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), and the pushback by the others is the reason for INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing stalemate. While Sahani, an ex-minister, has demanded 24 seats, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is reportedly ready to give only 15 to VIP . Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including AICC in-charge of Bihar Krishna Allavaru, the party’s state unit chief Rajesh Kumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed met RJD chief Lalu Prasad to reach a consensus. Senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge also spoke to Lalu over phone. Sources said there is also dispute over the seat demand by the Congress and RJD. While the Congress leadership is firm on contesting 60 seats, the RJD is reportedly willing to give only 54 seats —14 less than it contested in 2020. Meanwhile, Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal took a dig at INDIA bloc’s stalemate. He also accused the RJD and Congress of “insulting” Sahni, who he claimed enjoyed respect when he was with the NDA. Poll body raps charges on SIR deletions in SC New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday strongly defended the Bihar poll roll revision, terming the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ‘accurate’, and told the Supreme Court that the petitioners—political parties, NGOs, individual persons, and others—were making “false allegations” to discredit the robust exercise. The ECI told a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi that not a single appeal has been filed by any voter against name deletion since the publication of the final roll. Taking strong exception to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)’s charge that there was a “disproportionate exclusion of Muslims”, it said the “communal approach” of the petitioner must be deprecated, adding that the electoral rolls database does not capture any information about electors’ religion. Appearing for the ADR, lawyer Prashant Bhushan argued that fresh deletions have happened in the draft rolls and the final roll has not been published. faith through flood Devotees wade through a flooded Subramanya Swami Temple in Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu. According to the IMD, the North-East monsoon arrived over Tamil Nadu on Thursday | Express Cabinet nod for B’luru Business Corridor E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru IN A significant move, the Cabinet on Thursday decided to go ahead with the 117-km Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC), the erstwhile Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), conceived in 2005. The Rs 27,000-crore project will be executed by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) with a loan from Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited. It will be a toll road and the government will give surety to the BDA. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar claimed the project which will ease 40 per cent traffic in Bengaluru will be completed in two years as HUDCO has already granted the loan. The estimated cost of the project is likely to be reduced by Rs 10,000 crore as more options will be given to land owners, including the offer of handing out either the developed or the commercial plots against the lands they spare for the project. The corridor road will circle the city connecting Tumakuru Road, Yelahanka, Whitefield, Electronics City , and Mysuru Road. As much as 73 km of this road will be in North Bengaluru and the rest in South Bengaluru, he told reporters. Govt denies Trump-Modi phone call on ending Russian oil procurement MEA says safeguarding the interests of consumers in a volatile energy scenario is priority J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India on Thursday clarified that no phone call took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday regarding the country’s oil imports from Russia and reiterated that its energy sourcing policy remains consistently focused on safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers, while responding to Trump’s claim that Modi had assured him of halting such purchases. “On the question of whether there was a conversation or a telephone call between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. T he clarification came after Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, claimed that Prime Minister Modi had assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil. “I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step,” Trump said. “Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” the US president said. “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” Jaiswal said in a statement earlier on Thursday. He also pointed out that India is also expanding its energy ex- port from the US. “Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” Jaiswal said. He further outlined India’s broader energy approach, noting that stable prices and secure supplies remain the twin goals of its policy This . includes diversifying sources of supply and adapting to changing market conditions. express read Stalker kills college student in B’luru Bengaluru: A 20-year-old student was found murdered with her throat slit near the railway tracks here on Thursday. Police suspect that the deceased, Yamini Priya, was the target of a stalker. All mins quit, Guj govt shake-up today Priyank urges CM to stop govt D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad In a dramatic political reset, all 16 ministers in the Gujarat cabinet submitted their resignations to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel ahead of a sweeping ministerial reshuffle and expansion on Friday. The oath-taking ceremony is scheduled for 11.30 am. All BJP MLAs and outgoing ministers have been directed to remain stationed in Gandhinagar. A BJP legislative party meeting was held at the CM’s residence on Thursday evening. While Union home minister Amit Shah arrived in Gandhinagar, party president J P Nadda is expected to fly in on Friday The . new team may have 27 ministers — the peak permitted strength since Gujarat has a 182-member assembly A deputy chief minis. ter could also be named. Earlier in the day, national (organisation) general secretary Sunil Bansal got into a huddle with key state leaders. The Swarnim Complex, which houses ministerial offices, has undergone a quiet overnight cleanup. Six to seven MLAs are likely to be elevated as parliamentary secretaries. Caste and regional equations are at the heart of the reshuffle. While both the CM and BJP state president Jagdish Panchal hail from Ahmedabad, the politically sensitive Saurashtra that is increasingly being influenced by AAP’s Gopal Italia, is expected to get a larger slice of power. Jayesh Radadiya and Jitu Vaghani are strong contenders for berths, with Vaghani tipped to be the new home minister. Patidar representation is likely to increase as well, while Thakor leaders from North Gujarat are expected to get prominent portfolios. South Gujarat, may see reduced weightage. staff taking part in RSS events E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru AFTER demanding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ban Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha [RSS] activities on government properties, RDPR and IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge has urged the CM to take strict action against government employees taking part in any event organised by RSS or any other organisations. In his letter to the CM, Kharge stated that as per the rule 5(1) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021, it prohibits government employees from associating with political parties or organisations engaged in political activities. They can neither give any donations nor any help to such organisations. “In spite of giving such instructions, we have noticed some of the government officials and staff are taking part in events of the RSS and other organisations,’’ he stated.  P4