BHUBANESWAR l wednesday l October 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late CITY EDITION severe cyclonic storm Montha makes Landfall off Andhra coast The landfall process, which began off the Kakinada coast around 7 pm on Tuesday, crossing with wind speed of 90-100 kmph and gusting up to 110 kmph Photo: Prasant Madugula Standing crops on 38,000 hectares hit in AP Life out of gear in 15 districts in oDISHA Under the influence of the severe cyclonic storm, Nellore district in Andhra recorded the highest amount of rainfall on Tuesday. Standing crops spread over 38,000 hectares and horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares were destroyed in the state, said a press release from the Andhra CM’s office. A woman died in Konaseema district after an uprooted tree fell on her | P7 ■ ■ The AP government has set up 488 control rooms at the mandal level. Nearly 76,000 people have been shifted to relief camps, and 219 medical camps have been set up at various locations Normal life was affected in 15 districts of neighbouring Odisha too with heavy rains causing landslides, damaging houses Montha Thailand gave the name, which means ‘fragrant flower’ in Thai language 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 8th Pay Commission announced Cabinet clears panel’s terms of reference; revised salaries, pensions likely wef Jan 1, 2026 MUK E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi In a big boost to around 48 lakh central government employees and 67 lakh pensioners, the Centre on Tuesday announced the long-awaited 8th Central Pay Commission and approved its terms of reference (ToR). Briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the panel, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, has been given 18 months to submit its report. The revised pay structure is expected to come into force on January 1, 2026. The commission will examine existing salary slabs, allowances, grade pay structures, pension formulae and other financial components that shape government compensation. The review is express read EC notice to PK over 2 voter cards in Bihar, WB Patna: The Election Commission of India (EC) has issued a notice to Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor for his enrolment as a voter both in Bihar and West Bengal, in violation of section 17 of the People’s Representation Act 1950. The notice assumes significance as his party is contesting the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar | P10 Maha ATS arrests Pune techie over Qaida links Mumbai: The Maharashtra AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a 33-year-old software engineer, identified as Zubair Hangargekar, from Pune’s Kondhwa area for his alleged links with Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda. Hangargekar had been under surveillance for nearly a month. A special UAPA court remanded him in police custody till November 4 | P10 expected to take into account macroeconomic realities, fiscal considerations and employment competitiveness. “The 8th Central Pay Commission will be a temporary body. The Commission will comprise one Chairperson; One Member (Part Time) and o n e M e m b e r- S e c r e t a r y, ” Vaishnaw said. IIM Bangalore Professor Pulak Ghosh has been named as the member of the panel and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Pankaj Jain as the member-secretary . The government had in principle decided to constitute the panel in January Commenting . on the delay in the rollout of the process, Vaishnaw said: “The Narendra Modi government has taken the decision in a record time, as it required wider consultations before finalising the ToR and the panel with a whole range of stakeholders, including large ministries like Defence, Home and Railways, as well as state governments and unions.” The pay commission recommendations are important as it will affect not just central government staff but also influence the compensation frameworks across state governments, public sector units, autonomous institutions and even private sector pay-benchmarking in some segments. The announcement comes ahead of the Bihar elections, to be held on November 6 and 11. Justice Ranjana Desai to head the commission E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e The panel’s chair, former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, is also the chairman of the Press Council of India. She has headed major panels, including Delimitation Commission for UT of J&K Landslides occurred in several places of Gajapati and Koraput districts disrupting road communication even as rain intensity increased in the state under the effect of cyclone Montha on Tuesday. There, however, have been no report of injuries or casualties in the land slips in the affected areas. Officials said Gajapati district was the worst affected as landslides occurred at four places in R Udaygiri, Kashingar, Gumma and Mohana blocks. Communication was disrupted on the Ramgiri-Badagaon road under Mohana block after a large boulder fell on it while Mahendragarh-Khamarsahi and Ramgiri-Dabarsingh roads were affected by landslides. Large boulders also blocked the road to Partada panchayat of Kashinagar block. In Koraput district, communication on the Naktipadar-Talagumani road was stalled by landslide. The Kandhamal district sealed the Kalinga ghat road as a precautionary measure as it is a landslide-prone area. The administration urged people ‘ToR cleared after consulting states’ Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the ToR of the panel was finalised after consultation with various ministries, state governments and staff side of joint consultative machinery CM decries young officers trading ideals for bribes, says no one will be spared E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Asserting his government’s commitment to a zero-tolerance policy to corruption, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday expressed deep anguish over involvement of young officials in corruption. Speaking at the state-level Vigilance Awareness Week programme at Lok Seva Bhawan here, the chief minister said it is a matter of great concern that young civil servants, who had proclaimed that it was their dream to serve the people by joining government services, are going to jail early in their career on charges of corruption. “They are selling their ideals for small monetary benefit,” he lamented. The CM’s remark came in the backdrop of arrest of 2021batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma while accepting a bribe of `10 lakh from a businessman at Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district, and 2019-batch OAS topper Aswini Kumar Panda for taking a bribe of `15,000 through his office driver for converting agricultural land to homestead land in a mu- tation case. Cautioning that none of the corrupt officials will be spared, Majhi said, “As part of the zerotolerance policy of the government, 30 government employees have been dismissed and pension of 68 retired employees has been stopped after being convicted in corruption cases. Our goal and objective is to achieve a clean and corruption-free administration.” The chief minister said prevention of corruption is a collective responsibility and emphasised the need to strengthen preventive vigilance measures in various departments to identify corruption-prone areas and individuals. This will help make the governance system more transparent and accountable.  Continued on P7 Tejashwi stamp on Opposition’s manifesto R a m a s h a n k a r a n d P r ee t h a N a i r @ Patna/ New Delhi The Opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday released its joint manifesto that had a large photograph of chief ministerial candidate and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on its cover, and spoke of his vows for total transformation, ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly election. It dwarfed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s thumbnail image on the top-left corner of cover page. The manifesto pledged to enact a law within 20 days of forming the new government to ensure one government job per family The process of job distri. bution would begin within 20 months of assuming power, it assured. It said Jeevika Didis would be granted permanent status as government employees with a monthly salary of `30,000; all contractual and outsourced workers would be made permanent; and the old pension scheme would be restored. The manifesto also pledged to resist any “unconstitutional law” imposed by the Centre and to protect the constitutional rights of all m i n o r i t y communities. The grand alliance promised that the Miffed Rahul skips event Though the Oppn tried to showcase unity during the manifesto’s release, the absence of Congress’ Rahul Gandhi told a different story. Rahul was miffed that RJD boss Lalu Yadav declined to meet Cong leaders K C Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot and Ajay Maken on Saturday to discuss joint campaign and other issues, said sources Waqf Amendment Act would be put on hold and the management of Waqf properties will be made more welfare-oriented and beneficial by making them transparent, Gajapati hit by landslides as heavy rains lash south Odisha while the management of Buddhist temples in Bodh Gaya will be handed over to the people of the Buddhist community . Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s no-show at the event became a talking point. He apparently was cross because RJD boss Lalu Yadav declined to meet a party delegation, saying it could be done only after the Chhath festival. Rahul was also upset about the allies are fighting against each other in at least 11 seats. These ‘friendly fights’ indicate the failure to arrive at a consensus despite several rounds of talks. Rahul will begin campaigning from Wednesday . @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi tracks the movement of cyclone Montha at the control room of special relief commissioner, in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday | Express 30 ODRAF, five NDRF and 123 fire services teams have been deployed in the districts for disaster rescue and mitigation operations. More teams are on the way Mohan Charan Majhi, CM not to travel on the ghat road till October 30 in view of unsafe conditions. A landslide had occurred at the Kalinga ghat during the rains last month. The road is yet to be repaired completely . Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the preparedness of the districts in Montha’s path to deal with any emergent situation. He said SJ-100 Deal with Russia to MAnufacture passenger jet MAYA N K SI N GH @ New Delhi In a first of its kind deal for India, Russia moved beyond joint defence manufacture to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on building a twin-engine narrow-body passenger aircraft for short-haul flights in the country. The deal comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s scheduled visit to India and US squeeze to end the Ukraine war. The MoU between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia’s Public Joint Stock Company-United Aircraft Cor poration (PJSCUAC) for production of civil commuter aircraft Superjet (SJ)-100 was signed in Moscow on Monday . The HAL called it the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Indian aviation industry as, “The manufacturing of the SJ-100 aircraft will also be the first instance wherein a complete passenger aircraft will be produced in India.” The last such project was HAL’s production of AVRO HS-748, which started in 1961 and ended in 1988. As on date, more than 200 SJ-100s are under operation by more than 16 commercial airline operators. The aircraft can be a game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN scheme in India. Under the agreement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture SJ-100s for domestic customers. As per HAL’s estimates, “over the next 10 years, the Indian aviation sector will require over 200 jets in this category for regional connectivity and an additional 350 aircraft for the Indian Ocean region to serve nearby international tourist destinations.” HAL saw it as a step towards fulfilling the dream of ‘ atmanirbhar Bharat’ in the A civil aviation sector. Manufacturing will also strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the aviation industry HAL’s . Prabhat Ranjan and PJSCUAC’s Ole g Bogomolov signed the MoU. SJ-100’s maiden flight was in 2008. India in cross-hairs Inside the Centre’s huddle on information warfare S u m i t K u m a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Behind closed doors at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan last week, some of the country’s top bureaucrats gathered for what insiders described as a “crucial and unusually candid” discussion. The task before them: to draw up a coordinated strategy against ‘misinformation’ — the new battlefield where foreign entities are said to be targeting India. The day-long meeting on October 25 brought together all Union government secretaries. It was chaired by the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretaries, P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, along with Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan and Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju. The objective, according to officials, was to ensure that every ministry speaks in one voice and that communication reflects what they called a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” approach. A messaging rethink Sources said the meeting was part of a wider effort to align the government’s communication with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Reform, Perfor m, Transfor m and Infor m.” Somanathan, they added, called this the “guiding principle” in the thrust towards a Viksit Bharat — a developed India. Beneath the polished phrasing, however, was a clear sense of concern. Officials acknowledged that ‘misinformation’ campaigns — especially those believed to be orchestrated by foreign actors — are becoming more sophisticated and targeted. One example was of Operation Sindoor, cited as an instance of coordinated information warfare aimed at undermining India’s image abroad. From coordination to credibility The first part of the meeting dealt with tightening coordination among ministries to ensure a swift and unified response to false or misleading there have been no reports of any serious damage except for minor incidents of landslide and uprooting of trees in Gajapati and some other districts. Emphasising the goal of zero casualty he directed officials to , ensure that not a single person was left in any vulnerable area and everyone shifted to cycloneflood shelters or other safe places. Majhi said, 17,817 people have been evacuated in eight districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur and 2,048 cyclone shelters have been made operational.  Continued on P7 narratives. The second explored new digital tools and emerging technologies that could help the government tell its story better — and more directly to citizens. Officials stressed the importance of simplicity and authenticity in communication. “Policies must be explained in the language people understand,” one participant said. “It’s not just about visibility anymore — it’s about trust.” Reducing the middlemen The meet also turned inward, ex- amining how the government itself handles outreach. Participants discussed cutting down on the use of private agencies for official publicity The Ministry of . Information and Broadcasting, they suggested, should take the lead in crafting and disseminating communication material across platforms. The underlying message, one senior official summed up, was that the age of one-way communication is over. “Public messaging has to be credible, consistent and connected,” he said. “That’s the only way to win the information war.” Mehli Mistry voted out of Tata Trusts B E N N KOCHUV E E DA N @ Mumbai IN a dramatic shake-up within Tata Trusts, Mehli Mistry— once known as Ratan Tata’s closest confidant—has been voted out of the board, marking an abrupt end to his rapid rise in the $180-billion Tata conglomerate’s power structure. A majority of trustees on Tuesday voted against Mistry’s reappointment, ending his first three-year term as trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Tog ether, these two cornerstone entities hold 5 2 % o f Tat a Sons, the holdMehli Mistry ing company of the Tata Group. Mistry handpicked by Ratan , Tata in October 2022, was a contender for a future seat on the Tata Sons board. His unceremonious exit signals a clear consolidation of control by Noel Tata, who now firmly asserts himself as the chairman of all Tata Trusts that owns 66.6% of Tata Sons. Sources said a bloc led by Noel, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, along with another unidentified trustee, voted against Mistry’s continuation. This follows the September 11 episode when trustees led by Mistry voted to oust Srinivasan and Singh from Tata Sons. For Noel, his authority over the dozen-odd Trusts is now undisputed, but he faces a likely legal challenge from Mistry .