thrissur l saturday l july 18, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION india’s First Hydrogen-Powered Train flagged off in haryana Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated India’s first hydrogen-powered train from Jind railway station to Sonepat in Haryana PM Narendra Modi inspects the engine room of the train in Jind Friday | PTI zero emission, yet massive power success of make in india, says PM Modi The indigenously designed train features 10 coaches and a 3,200 hp propulsion system, making it one of the most powerful and largest hydrogen-powered trains in the world. Most hydrogen trains currently operate with only 2-4 coaches. The new train runs on hydrogen fuel cell tech, produces zero emission and can accommodate 2,600 passengers ■ ■ At the inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India has joined an elite group of nations — Germany, Japan, China, and the US — actively developing hydrogen-based rail transport The PM said the train is a shining example of ‘Make in India’, designed by Indian engineers and built solely by domestic companies 75 kmph maximum speed that the train can attain on jind-sonepat route 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 JPC seeks to temper higher education bill Consolation match Suggests key changes in draft, curbs on govt’s sweeping powers PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi With the Centre preparing to move the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 for passage in the monsoon session of Parliament, a Joint Parliamentary Committee has sought safeguards against excessive centralisation, recommended stronger consultation with states, and protection of institutional autonomy . According to the draft report circulated among members, the panel recommended changes to key clauses that drew sharp criticism from multiple quarters, including NDA allies, for granting the Centre sweeping powers to override policy disagreements, supersede regulatory bodies, and control funding. The Bill proposes an overhaul of the higher education sector by dissolving the University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teacher Education to create a single, unified regulatory commission. While Clause 47 allows the Centre to supersede the Commission or any Council with Presidential approval, the panel recommended that ‘supersession’ should be invoked only in extraordinary circumstances, for a limited duration and as a last resort. The NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh, several universities, opposition and other stakeholders have characterised the provision as “critical vulnerability” as it allows the E x p r e s s Re a d KSEB scrambling to meet power demand Kochi: With a weak monsoon sending both mercury and power consumption soaring, the KSEB is scrambling to meet a shortage of power during peak hours. Complaints have been pouring in at KSEB offices regarding outages during night hours and opposition parties have launched protests against power regulations. P4 Student dies as lorry ploughs into pedestrians Palakkad: A 19-year-old college student was killed and five others, including four students, were injured after a speeding lorry carrying hospital waste veered off the road and rammed pedestrians in Palakkad district on Friday. P4 Report on bill to sack PM, CMs put off The JPC examining the bill on removal of the prime minister and chief ministers detained on serious charges, on Friday decided to defer the adoption of a draft report when voting was underway on the panel’s recommendations. AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule had submitted their dissent notes but withdrew them after the panel decided to defer the adoption Centre to dissolve the regulator entirely without adequate safeguards. In its recommendation, the panel said, “Clause 47 be comprehensively reviewed and the expressions 290 “unable to discharge functions” and “persistently made default” shall be defined through objective, measurable, and verifiable criteria in the Act or the rules, to eliminate ambiguity, ensure transparency, and prevent arbitrary invocation of the pow- er of supersession.” It further said that the Clause 47(2)(a) shall be amended may be read as, “The Chairperson of the Commission, or the Presidents of the Councils and other members of the Commission or the Councils, as the case may be, shall, as from the date of ‘supersession’, cease to hold their respective office and desist from exercising all the powers, functions and duties under the provisions of this Act, and their office shall deemed to have been as vacated.” While Clause 45 empowers the Centre to issue binding directions on questions of policy, the panel called for objective thresholds, procedural safeguards and transparency requirements governing the Centre’s power. It proposed adding the words “for the purposes of this Act” to the provision allowing the government to assign additional functions, to restrict its scope. The JPC also recommended increasing the number of state government nominees on each of the three councils under the Commission to three. While Clause 49 gives the new legislation an overriding effect over other laws--raising concerns that the statutory autonomy of IITs, IIMs and other institutions of national importance might be curtailed— the panel recommended that such institutions should be consulted before rules affecting their autonomy are framed. Today’s match: 3rd place play-off: France vs England 2.30 AM* (*IST Sunday) The landslip at the under-construction Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi twin tunnel project site in Wayanad on July 7 was not an unforeseeable tragedy but one that had been repeatedly flagged in advance, according to a report submitted by the amicus curiae before the Kerala High Court. It also stated that the government and the public works department cannot shrug off the responsibility of ensuring compliance of environmental clearance conditions. “On a preliminary understanding, the Kalladi disaster of July 7 was not unforeseen; it was foreseen, in writing, five times over,” stated the report. E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram Soon after media reports quoted Tata Group officials explicitly denying Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s claim of a `10,000-crore investment for a shipbuilding unit in Kerala, the state government on Friday launched a damage-control exercise, clarifying that the figure referred to the total investment the state aims to attract, not a finalised commitment from a single company . The official note said the figure represented the total investment targeted over the coming years through multiple projects and investors under its newly launched ‘Mission Samudra’ initiative. However, the note said a joint venture involving a Tata Group subsidiary is already setting up a shipbuilding unit at Cochin Port. The project, facilitated by the state, is a joint venture be- Stating that the authorities disregarded the repeated statutory warning, the amicus curiae pointed out that the District Disaster Management Authority/ district administration, Wayanad, issued as many as five successive written communications to the Kerala PWD/ executing agency requiring steps to be taken to avert a disaster by removing the dumped soil. “These directions were not complied with. The DDMA had also directed the company to remove the soil, but it did not,” said the report filed in response to a case initiated suo motu for prevention of natural disaster in the wake of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides on July 30, 2024.  ● More on P4 For me, Bradman and Sobers are the same Legends always seem to live with you whether you play against them or not. I remember meeting Sir Garfield Sobers at Bishan (Singh Bedi) paaji’s home. He was in India and went to meet Bishan paaji. We were just listening to them. The two legends talking about the sport and for us it gave us a good insight into the game. That itself was an experience of a kind. I also met him and played a few benefit games with him when I was featuring in league cricket in England. He was one of the best human beings I have ever met. It would not be an exaggeration if I say that the word all-rounder was coined only after he graced the game. He redefined the art of batting, bowling and fielding. The way people still remember Don Bradman, for me So- Sir Garfield Sobers 28.7.1936—17.7.2026 bers is also the same. The world still remembers the duo whenever they talk about cricket. I had toured West Indies twice and met Sobers as well. He was always ready to help India players. In fact, he has special liking for us. Wearing those big smiles, he will be ever ready to give us tips. More than anything, just listening to his talks benefitted me a lot. He was altogether on a different level. It was West Indies cricketers, who made the game popular and Sobers was one of their rockstars. He was revered across the world. The game has lost one of its finest gems today . Madan Lal, former India all-rounder and 1983 World Cup winner reounts his encounters with the legend As told to Firoz Mirza sudhir surywanshi & Rajesh k u m a r t h a k u r @ Mumbai/New Delhi After Tata rebuttal, govt says `10k cr is cumulative maritime investment final goodbye to legend Madan Lal Mbappe, Kane, Jude and the golden boot This match has historically seen coaches play fringe players. This one could see the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham start because of what's at stake: the Golden Boot. Both Mbappe and Lionel Messi have the same goals but the latter is the leader on account of more assists. Trump to attend final US President Donald Trump will attend Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, the White House said, saving his first appearance at the tournament for its grand finale Wayanad tunnel site landslip was foreseeable tragedy: Amicus curiae E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi Big buzz on Pawar party joining NDA In the rebranded ‘Bronze match’ at the World Cup’s penultimate game, England face France. A look at the game.  93 Sobers played 93 Test between 1954 and 1974, scored 8,032 runs and claimed 235 wickets 365 the lefthanded batter scored 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958. It remained the record individual score in Tests till it was broken by Brian Lara (375) 1st the first to hit six sixes in an over while playing for Nottinghamshire in 1968 ‘Mission Samudra’ target According to the official note, the figure represented the total investment targeted over the coming years through multiple projects and investors under its newly launched ‘Mission Samudra’ initiative tween state-owned Malabar Cements Ltd and Artson Engineering Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Projects. It said all major clearances have been secured and the Cochin Port Authority has allotted the required land, enabling preliminary work to begin on what the government described as a key step towards building a modern shipbuilding ecosystem in Kerala. According to the official statement, Mission Samudra is a comprehensive maritime development plan, not a single shipbuilding project. It aims to leverage Kerala’s key coastal assets, including Vizhinjam International Seaport, Cochin Port and Cochin Shipyard, by integrating industries such as shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore fabrication, marine engineering, coastal manufacturing, lo gistics and allied maritime services. The government reiterated that talks are on with several leading domestic and international investors and expressed confidence that they would translate into major investments in the near future. It said details of each project would be announced transparently once they reach the final stage. Satheesan’s original remarks came in the wake of the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s proposed `13,000-crore investment, billed as the single largest foreign private investment in Indian port infrastructure. SPECULATION that Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) is set to join the BJP-led NDA and merge with the Ajit Pawar faction intensified after senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil held key meetings with BJP general secretary Vinod Tawade, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat claimed the picture would become clear within the next eight days. Highly placed sources said Sharad Pawar has personally entrusted Patil, his confidant, with negotiating the terms of NCP(SP)’s entry into the NDA and the merger of the two NCP factions. Sources said Patil and Jitendra Ahwad could be inducted as cabinet ministers in Maharashtra, while Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel could be inducted as cabinet ministers at the Centre. However, Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar and NCP national president, has opposed the move fearing it would end her family’s control over the party and jeopardise the political future of her sons, Parth and Jay . The BJP, however, is not inclined to accommodate NCP (SP) separately in the Maharashtra NDA government, a senior BJP source said. Instead, it is pushing for a merger of the two NCP factions, with the merged entity continuing as a key NDA ally, the senior BJP source said.