SAMBALPUR l friday l april 03, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Amid tighter visa norms, Indian student count in U.S. falls 6.2% Over 3.52 lakh Indians are studying in the US as of February 2026, down from 3.78 lakh last year, the government told Parliament on Thursday ai generated Indians impacted by trump’s visa policy: mos ‘Govt raising student concerns with U.S.’ The Trump administration expanded screening and vetting for all visa applicants on June 18, 2025. The Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this tougher filtering, including increased scrutiny and compliance requirements, had an impact on the number of US student visas issued to Indian nationals ■ ■ “The new US guidance mentions that every visa adjudication is a national security decision and calls on all applicants to credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought,” Singh said The government has been regularly raising all issues being confronted by Indian students with the US authorities, he said 8.92 lakh Asian students in the United States as of March 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 LPG scarcity Odisha govt sets 3-month target for PNG rollout in ULBs At UK-led talks, India SC stinker as for unimpeded transit mob gheraoes 60+ nations join Hormuz meet on safe passage options day Customs duty off 34 Food Supplies minister Krushna Chandra Patra and Urban minister KC Mahapatra chairing the meeting E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar In a bid to offset the aggravating impact of the West Asia conflict on cooking gas availability, the state government has set a three-month target to expand piped natural gas (PNG) connections across major cities and towns. The initiative of the state government in collaboration with leading oil and gas companies aims to address the challenges in LPG distribution, which have become acutely visible in present times and provide more viable alternatives with uninterrupted supply . The first phase of the rollout will focus on key cities including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Puri. Officials said the state capital alone has a target of providing PNG connections to 1.25 lakh households, with around 19,000 already covered. In Cuttack, nearly 9,000 households are currently receiving PNG supply . The Housing & Urban Development department has been directed to fast-track approvals for pipeline installation with new applications to be cleared within 24 hours, and permission fees waived to expedite the process. Work is being undertaken on a warfooting to meet the June 30 deadline. Briefing mediapersons after a high-level review meeting with officials of oil and gas companies, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra said that the transition to PNG is essential to reduce dependence on LPG in urban Continued on P5 areas.  Moonshot The NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft launches at the Kennedy Space Center in the wee hours of Thursday, in Cape Canaveral, Florida | AP | P9 J ayan t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India on Thursday called for immediate de-escalation in West Asia, warning of risks to global energy flows and maritime security, while highlighting that it is the only country to have lost mariners in recent attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf. Representing India at a highlevel virtual meeting convened by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the crisis could only be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. The meeting, attended by representatives from over 60 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Canada and the UAE, focused on the deteriorating security situation in key international waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz. In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary talked about “the importance of the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded transit through international waterways.” an official readout said. Misri stressed that “the way out of the crisis consisted of de-escalation and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue among all concerned parties,” signalling India’s preference for a political solution over military escalation. The meeting took place amid heightened tensions after US President Donald Trump suggested that ensuring the security of Hormuz should be the responsibility of nations that rely on it. The US did not participate in the meeting. The strait remains a critical artery for the global economy, Atpolice infra55% just spend drags in 2025-26 SUCHITR A K A LYA N MOH A N T Y @ New Delhi Full customs duty exemption granted on critical petrochemical products for three months till June 30. Will help industries like plastics, packaging, textiles, pharma, chemicals, automotive components etc. Revenue loss pegged at `1,800 crore Don gives no timeline US President Donald Trump claims Israel and US were close to completing their key objectives in the war against Iran, adding the conflict would soon be over, but doesn’t provide an exact timeline Iran’s pushback Iran threatened “crushing” attacks on the US and Israel, firing missiles at the Israeli and , after Trump vowed to bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages” judges in WB Videograb of a strike on an IRGC missile base in Iran’s Baharestan, Isfahan | X handling nearly 20% of the world’s oil and LNG shipments and its ongoing blockade sent oil prices soaring above $100 per barrel. Two Indian seafarers had lost their lives since the beginning of the war. Cooper accused Iran of disrupting global trade. “We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” she said, warning of ripple effects across energy fertiliser and fuel , supply chains worldwide. European countries, initially reluctant to commit naval forces, are now exploring a coordinated approach amid rising energy costs. Officials said the meeting marked the first step toward forming a coalition to restore safe passage. Initial plans include clearing mines from the waterway and ensuring protection for commercial vessels, with further consultations involving military planners expected in the coming weeks. Odisha Police reached a little over 55 per cent its programme expenditure target in the 2025-26 financial year, with major police reforms and infrastructure projects reporting critically low spending | P3 THE Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the West Bengal government for its inaction over the gherao of judicial officers in Malda district during the special intensive revision (SIR) drive, ordering an independent probe by the CBI or NIA. “We direct the ECI to entrust the enquiry /investigation to either the CBI or NIA. The compliance report shall be submitted to this court. The agency shall be obligated to submit a preliminary enquiry report directly to this court,” said a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant during an urgent hearing on Thursday morning. The court took suo motu cognisance after it received a letter from the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court detailing how the judicial officers, including three women, were held captive for nine hours without food or water by protesters who claimed their names were deleted from the voter list. The incident occurred during the SIR exercise in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district. The bench said the incident exposes the ‘complete failure of the state administration’. “We have never seen such a polarised state. Unfortunately in your state, each one of you speaks politi, cal language. That is the most unfortunate thing. We have never seen such a polarized state,” the CJI told West Bengal’s Advocate General. The bench also asked the election commission to deploy adequate central forces for the safety of judicial officers in the poll-bound state. Didi blames it on EC Mamata Banerjee distanced herself from the incident saying “EC failed to protect the judicial officers”. “My powers have been taken away; Bengal defamed,” she said This incident is a brazen attempt not only to browbeat judicial officers but challenge authority of this court Supreme Court EC hands over case to NIA; probe team to reach today Kolkata: Hours after the SC order, the Election Commission of India handed over the probe into the gherao of the seven judicial officers in West Bengal’s Malda district to the NIA. A top official of the poll body said the NIA team would reach West Bengal on Friday. The gherao happened when the officers were engaged in adjudicating cases of voters whose names had been marked “under adjudication” in the draft electoral rolls. The protesters initially sought a meeting but then resorted to a prolonged gherao