NEW DELHI 15 FEBRUARY 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE The Climate Plot Darkens Devdutt Pattanaik Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shankkar Aiyar Neha Sinha Shampa Dhar-Kamath Santwana Bhattacharya Plating Maximum City EXCLUSIVE VOICES THE GREAT INDIAN MAFIA Every Breath You Take Four Nightingales, One Tune Now It’s Skirting the Issue ‘I want to Protect My Ability to take Risks’ AMMA SPEAKS Is the Youth Derailing from its Path? Govt OKs `10,000 cr to fuel next phase of startup growth EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi BNP head Tarique Rahman greets supporters after his party won the parliamentary election, in Dhaka on Saturday | PTI BANGLADESH SHE VOTE WAS JAMAAT’S NEMESIS W OMEN in Bangladesh follow a distinct colour code on national red-letter days. On Poila Baisakh, 15 April, the lal paar shada shari — white with a red border — is donned to usher in the Bengali New Year. On Bijoy Dibas, 16 December, marking the 1971 surrender of the Pakistan Army in Dhaka, the palette turns green. On 21 February, black is worn as homage to those killed in Dhaka in 1952 for seeking national language status for Bengali as well as Urdu. Today too, has its own special colour: bright , yellow in a range of hues. Across Bangladesh, women in sunshine sarees, flowers woven into their hair, are celebrating basanta utsav, the advent of spring. They are also celebrating the verdict in the just-concluded election. The fact that BNP has had a landslide with 212 seats and the Jamaat-e-Islami was held at 77 is, for many women, a big relief. “Though I am traditionally an Awami League voter, I voted BNP this time,” said a 42-year-old woman in DhaMONIDEEPA ka’s upmarket Banani who BANERJIE works in the social sector. Veteran journalist “Anything to kee p the Jamaat out. Because of them I had packed away my track suits and sleeveless blouses. Now I can use them again. This is not frivolous. The Jamaat had cast a long shadow on women.” Ordinary women who ventured out in trousers instead of traditional attire were heckled, even assaulted, for the way they dressed. Often, the hecklers were women supporters of Jamaat. Daily wage earners were equally alarmed when the Jamaat manifesto proposed women work five hours during maternity instead of eight. For women paid by the hour, fewer hours meant one thing: lower wages. In its manifesto, Jamaat promised to increase the representation of women in the cabinet if elected to power. But it did not field a single woman candidate, possibly CONTINUED ON P9 the only party to do so. BNP set to invite Modi for oath taking ceremony J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi THE Bangladesh Nationalist Party is set to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the swearing-in ceremony of Tarique Rahman, signalling a possible push to normalise ties following a bruising period in Dhaka–New Delhi relationship. Rahman, Bangladesh’s prime minister-in-waiting, is expected to take office in the coming days after the BNP secured a landslide By protecting the victory in the 13th national interests of parliamentary elections, Bangladesh and its handing him a commandpeople, we will ing mandate. decide our foreign Humayun Kabir, foreign policy policy adviser to Rahman Tarique Rahman said: “Region is important to us... There is a sense of priority in sending out invitations for the inauguration.” He framed the invitation to Modi as a goodwill gesture. Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi turned frosty following the ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina, whose government had maintained close ties with India. Rahman said his government’s foreign policy will be anchored firmly in national interest. “We have cleared ourselves regarding the foreign policy, which is the interest of Bangladesh, and the interest of Bangladeshi people comes first,” Rahman said when asked about mending ties with India. The careful phrasing suggests a balancing act ahead. Rahman dedicated the victory to citizens who “sacrificed for democracy “This victo.” ry belongs to democracy, to people.” Couple found dead in car on Valentine’s Day N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow A man chose the Valentine’s Day to allegedly shoot his girlfriend dead inside his car and then committed suicide by shooting himself in Noida. People gathered around the car when they heard the gunshots and informed the police. Sources said police broke open the window of the Tata Altroz and found two bodies lying motionless on front seats. Both had gunshot wounds in the head and the man had a pistol in one hand, while two empty cartridges lay beside him. Police identified the woman victim as 26-year-old Rekha, who lived in Salarpur in Noida, while the man has been identified as 32-year-old Sumit, a resident of Trilokpuri in Delhi. Investigation revealed that Sumit was a cricketer. Sources added that the cou- ple had been missing since Friday Preliminary investigation . has revealed that the two had been in a relationship for the last decade and a half and were planning to get married, but things soured as Sumit felt that Rekha was betraying him. Police claimed that following the quarrel, Sumit sent a message to Rekha on February 13, saying, “I am going to die. Rekha is responsible for this. She was with me for the last 15 years. She had promised to marry me, but now she is going to marry someone else.” Sources said he sent the message on Friday after which, left , home in his car. The girl also disappeared from her house, following which her family lodged a complaint at Sector 58 police station. On Saturday, at around 1.30 pm, the bodies of both were found in the Sector 39 police station area. THE Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (Startup India FoF 2.0) with a total corpus of `10,000 crore. The Startup India FoF 2.0 builds on nearly a decade of sustained efforts to make India one of the world’s leading startup nations. The scheme is designed to accelerate the next phase of India’s startup journey by mobilising long-ter m domestic capital, strengthening the venture capital ecosystem, and supporting innovation-led entrepreneurship across the country, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement. While the first phase built the ecosystem, Startup India FoF 2.0 will take Indian innovation to the next level, the government said. The fund will employ a targeted, segmented funding approach to support deep tech and tech-driven innovative manufacturing, empowering early-growth-stage founders and encouraging investment beyond major metros. It will prioritise breakthroughs in high-tech areas that 500 to 2,00,000: India’s startup boom Since the launch of Startup India in 2016, the number of government-recognised startups has risen from about 500 recognised units to over two lakh at present. More than 49,400 startups were recognised in 2025, the highest in a single year require long-term capital. The focus will also be on empowering early-growth stage founders to provide a safety net for new and innovative ideas, reducing early-stage failures caused by a lack of funding. The statement said it has been designed to address highrisk capital gaps and strengthen India’s domestic venture capital base, particularly smaller funds, to further boost the domestic investment landscape. “By supporting startups that build globally competitive technologies, products, and solutions, the Fund will contribute to strengthening India’s economic resilience, boosting manufacturing capabilities, generating highquality jobs, and positioning In- dia as a global innovation hub,” the government said in a note. The Startup India FoF 2.0 follows the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS 1.0), which was launched in 2016 to address funding gaps and catalyse the domestic venture capital market for startups. “The Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 follows the strong performance of the Fund of Funds for Startups, which was launched in 2016 to address funding gaps and catalyse the domestic venture capital market for startups,” the government said. Under the first FoF, the entire corpus of `10,000 crore has been committed to 145 Alternative Investment Funds, who have invested `25,500 crore in more than 1,370 startups across the country in sectors such as agriculture, AI, robotics, automotive, clean tech, consumer goods & services, e-commerce, education, fintech, food & beverages, healthcare, manufacturing, space tech, and biotechnology amongst others. This fund played a key role in nurturing first-time founders, crowding in private capital, and helping build a strong foundation for India’s venture capital ecosystem. P7 K’TAKA WANTS MEA TO HELP FIND MISSING YOUTH 22-year-old from Bengaluru went missing on February 10 in Berkeley in California | P4 Nod to `2.2K cr Aqua Line extension project PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi THE Union Cabinet announced a major extension to the Aqua Line of the Noida Metro on Saturday The proposed extension . will connect Sector 142 of Noida to the Botanical Garden Metro station and have a total length of 11.56 kilometres, with eight elevated stations. Its total project cost has been estimated as `2,254 crore. The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after the meeting that the project would significantly improve public transportation in Noida and provide direct connectivity with the existing high-demand corridors, including the interchange point on the blue and magenta lines of the Delhi Metro at Botanical Garden. Once the new line is operationlised, Noida and Greater Noida will have 61.62 kilometres of Metro rail network. This phase aims to seamlessly integrate key zones of Noida, including major commercial hubs, such as Advant 11.56 KMS 61.62 KMS Length of extension corridor 8 Elevated stations Total length of metro network in Noida and Greater Noida NOIDA SEC 142 TO BOTANICAL GARDEN Business Park, Skymark One Mall, Mall of Noida and areas where offices of major multinational companies are located in Sectors 145, 157, 126, 132, 135 and 127. “Noida is an important hub … The new project is one of the solutions to improve connectivity in the city. With this, connectivity to the Delhi Metro Rail corridors will also im- LINKED AREAS BUSINESS MNCs/IT EDUCATION/HEALTH Advant Business Park in Sector 142 Microsoft in Sector 145 Amity University in Sector 125 SKYMARK ONE MALL IN SECTOR 98 Infosys in Sector 132 Mall of Noida in Sector 93 TCS in Sector 157 Cognizant in Sector135 Adobe in Sector 132 Oracle in Sector 127 prove. This is also important for the middle class and young generation, which lay the foundation of the entire productivity growth,” said Vaishnaw. Officials say that by linking these vital areas to the metro network, the extension corridor will not only enhance connectivity, but also stimulate economic activity. Both residents and commuters using it for employment, business, education and general transit purposes will benefit, read a s t at e m e n t i s s u e d by t h e government. Officials added that with the extension, traffic congestion in the region is expected to alleviate significantly Reduction in . road traffic is likely to lead to Max Super Specialty Hospital in Sector 128 Mahamaya Balika Inter College in Sector 44 smoother movement of vehicles, reduction in travel time and increase in overall road safety It is also likely to signifi. cantly reduce carbon emissions, the officials added. “Reduced travel times and improved access to different parts of the city and transportation hubs, such as Delhi’s Airport, railway stations and various bus depots in Delhi can enhance productivity by allowing individuals to reach their workplaces and destinations more efficiently said officials. ,” They added that the enhanced connectivity can stimulate local businesses, especially in areas near new metro stations, which will be able to attract investment. T20 WORLD CUP India vs Pakistan: Cricket talk after off-field powerplay SWA R O O P SWA M I N AT H A N @ Colombo India head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav (R) | PTI WHEN Saturday dawned, a fair few couples headed to the picturesque Galle Face Beach in the heart of the city’s Central Business District to exchange their wedding vows. On Valentines Day proposals of love saw , the light of day as photographers lined the busy road to take photos of smiling couples clad in wedding attire. A few hours later, though, tension was rising inside the press conference room at the R Premadasa Stadium, six kms away from the beach. There were questions on politics, and diplomacy before some cricket finally broke through. It’s been that kind of a build-up to the latest installment of the one cricket match capable of triggering a financial meltdown if it didn’t take place. And, in the end, captains of the two cricket teams were made to answer questions meant for elected politicians. India captain Suryakumar Yadav said as much when he was speaking about the possibility of playing more matches against Pakistan. “It’s not in my hands,” he said. “When I’m in that position, I will let you know (smiles).” But the general mood around both camps 24 hours out from the encounter was calm. Yadav, Today’s Matches 11am: Nepal vs WI (Mumbai), 3pm: USA vs Namibia (Chennai), 7pm: India vs Pakistan (Colombo) in his fourth match as captain in this fixture, was particularly chirpy When told by a Pakistan . journalist that Agha would prefer to play the strongest Indian XI with respect to Abhishek Sharma, Yadav said: “Okay, then we will play Abhishek (smiles).” When another scribe asked him about shaking hands at the toss, he quipped: “Eat well, sleep well, wait for 24 hours (to find out).” By the time ground staff covered the entire ground — there were drops of rain when they began their training session at 6.00 pm — all tension had seemingly evaporated. But come 7.00 PM on Sunday, the marquee clash is bound to bring with it lots of tension. Over a billion people split by one of the most contentious borders in the world will again turn to 22 people on a cricket field to bring P11 them joy and light. $6 TO $11,907, ALL KINDS OF TICKETS ON SALE Even if officially, tickets have been sold out for the match, on a reselling website tickets are being sold from $6 to $11,907 (almost `11lakh). For people willing to part with that money, they will be entitled to ‘unlimited liquor’, according to the website apart from access to the VIP lounge and complimentary food. The game received over two lakh requests for a ticket. Stadium can hold 35K SURYA APES TARIQ DURING PRACTICE At India’s practice session on Saturday evening, India captain Suryakumar Yadav decided he would give his colleagues a firsthand — a second-hand look, really — at what it’s like facing muchtalked about bowler Usman Tariq’s unique deliveries