The New Indian Express wishes its readers a Holiday: Our offices will remain closed today. There will be no issue of the paper tomorrow. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l wednesday l april 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION U.K. University gets UGC nod to open global campus in Bengaluru Birkbeck, University of London on Tuesday received a Letter of Intent from UGC to establish its global campus in Bengaluru, according to officials Get u.k. degree at 60% lower cost flexible, research-led education model With the establishment of its Bengaluru campus, Birkbeck will offer Indian students access to globally recognised University of London degrees at 60 per cent lower cost, while maintaining the same academic standards. This initiative directly supports India’s goal of increasing its Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to 50 per cent by 2030, an official said ■ ■ Founded in 1823, Birkbeck, University of London is globally recognised for its flexible, career-focused, research-led education model “The handing over of the Letter of Intent marks a gateway to global learning for Indians. It reflects the confidence that international institutions have in India’s higher education,” said a top official 2030 is the target india has set to become a hub for global education 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 Don dials Modi. For 33% women’s quota, 307 LS Big deals soon, seats to be added, cap set at 850 indicates Gor Three bills to figure in special session of Parliament, Oppn meet today to chalk out strategy P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Jayan t h Ja c o b @ New Delhi EMPHASISING the strategic importance of energy security and global trade routes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held a phone conversation for 40 minutes on Tuesday focussing on the escalating situation in West Asia and the imperative of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure. The call came amid rising global concern over disruptions to maritime energy flows. This was the first call between the two leaders since the US-Iran ceasefire last week, and their third this year. “Received a call from my friend President Donald Trump. We reviewed... progress achieved in our bilateral cooperation in various sectors. We are committed to further strengthening our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership in all areas. We also discussed... West Asia and stressed the importance of keeping the Strait open and secure,” Modi said. The Strait remains a critical maritime chokepoint, carryday ing a significant share of global crude shipments. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor described the exchange as “a very positive and productive call”, signalling fresh momentum in bilateral ties. He also indicated that US sees India as a possible stakeholder in broader diplomatic efforts, adding “it is up to India to join the peace process.” The US “welcomes all parties”, he said. Gor also pointed to the possibility of upcoming announcements in economic and energy sectors, saying that “big-ticket deals” between India and the US could be finalised in the coming weeks. He said, “We do have some big-ticket items that will be announced over the next few days or the next few weeks…” According to him, energy cooperation is expected to be a major component of the emerging agreements. 46 Donald Trump US-iran talks soon US President Donald Trump says Iran talks could resume “over the next two days”, after the first round in Pakistan last weekend ended without a deal Crude slipped below $100 a barrel Israel briefed India on the West Asia situation in a phone call between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and S Jaishankar, EAM on Tuesday At least four Iran-linked ships — including two that visited Iranian ports — crossed the Strait Tuesday following the start of a US blockade Setting the ball rolling for the implementation of onethird reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, the Centre on Tuesday proposed a significant increase in the Lok Sabha seats from the existing 543 to 850, after a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. According to three draft pieces of legislation circulated among Members of Parliament, 815 of the proposed seats in the delimitation exercise will represent states, while 35 will be allocated to Union Territories. It was also proposed that the one-third quota for women should be implemented after a delimitation following the “latest published census”. Another key provision of the bill says that the seats reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies “shall be allotted by rotation” across constituencies. The three bills that will be taken up in the three-day sitting of Parliament on April 16 are the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amend- Delimitation as per latest census Govt to move delimitation bill 2026, to replace Delimitation Act, 2002 Representational photo Proposes a Delimitation Commission chaired by a current or ex-SC judge Existing allocation of seats is based on 1971 Census; present division of territorial constituencies done on 2001 Census data ment) Bill, 2026, the Delimitation Bill, 2026, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The draft bill seeks to amend Article 81, which governs the strength of the Lok Sabha. The proposed amendment says the Lok Sabha will have a maximum of 815 members to be chosen from the states. Also, not more than 35 members are to be chosen from the Union Territories in such manner as the Parliament may by law provide. The current strength of the Lok Sabha, 543, is based on the 1971 Census. After that, the delimitation exercise has not EXPRESS READ Boiler blast at power plant kills 10 Raipur: A massive explosion at the Vedanta Limited power plant killed at least 10 workers and left over 25 others injured at Singhitarai in Sakti district, about 180 km east of Raipur, in Chhattisgarh. The disaster occurred when a boiler at the power plant burst during peak operational hours. Of the injured, several are reported to be in critical condition, officials said. P8 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express IUML warns Cong over leaders’ CM post race K S S r e e j i t h @T’Puram Amid hectic manoeuvering by chief ministerial aspirants in the Congress with over two weeks remaining for the counting of votes, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has warned the Congress leadership of serious consequences if it fails to step in. “If reports of a dispute over the CM’s post are true, the League is deeply dissatisfied,” IUML state general secretary P M A Salam told TNIE. “We are concerned about these developments if they are indeed happening. The people have given a strong mandate for the UDF,” he said. The sharp response from IUML comes in the wake of a tussle between supporters of Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala on social media, projecting their respective leaders as the frontrunner for CM post. Both leaders have also intensified steps to garner support among prospective MLAs. The League leadership believes that such actions question the conscience of voters, and they expect intervention from the Congress high command. “If this continues, we w i l l ch a r t o u r ow n course,” an IUML leader said on condition of ano● More on P4 nymity  . Delimitation Commission will readjust Lok Sabha and assembly seats and redraw constituencies on the basis of the latest Census figures been done as the 42nd amendment to the Constitution mandated a freeze in delimitation for 25 years until 2001, which was extended by another 25 years till 2026. The draft bill also seeks to amend Article 82, removing the constitutional requirement that delimitation must follow the 2026 Census. While it was widely speculated that the government may propose a 50 per cent increase in seats for all states, the bills does not have a mention of such proportional distribution. “The Constitution Amendment Bill seeks to revise the constitutional framework relating to delimitation, allocation of seats and the meaning of “population”, by providing that readjustment of constituencies and allocation of seats shall be undertaken by the Delimitation Commission based on such census as Parliament may by law deter mine,” it said. Responding to the proposed bill, the Congress said that when the intent behind a bill is “mischievous” and its content “devious”, the extent of damage to parliamentary democracy is enormous. CPI(M) MP John Brittas said that when concerns were raised about the declining representation of the South, the PM and others claimed there would be a proportional increase in seats for all states equally “However, . the draft bills offer no such guarantee. If delimitation is carried out based on the 2011 Census instead of 1971, seats in the North will surge dramatically, while the representation of South will shrink or stagnate,” he said. The Opposition will hold a meeting on Wednesday to chalk out strategies ahead of the session. Samrat to take oath as BJP’s 1st CM in Bihar R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna BIHAR Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, 57, is set to take oath as chief minister on Wednesday, marking the end of the Nitish Kumar era and ushering in the first BJP chief minister in the state. Earlier in the day, Samrat was unanimously elected as the leader of BJP legislature party Union minister Shivraj . Singh Chouhan chaired the meeting. Later, Samrat was elected leader of the NDA legislature party Samrat Choudhary unopposed. Outgoing chief minister Nitish Kumar announced Samrat’s name as the leader. Nitish, who served as Bihar’s CM for over two decades, held his last state cabinet meeting in the morning before submitting his resignation letter to the governor. Nitish became a Rajya Sabha MP last week. After being elected the leader of the NDA legislative party, Samrat met Governor Syed Ata Hasnain, who invited him to form the P8 new government.