BHUBANESWAR l saturday l july 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE 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 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 ■ 75 kmph success of make in india, says PM Modi ■ 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 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 After overnight halt, Holy Trinity reaches Gundicha R a j k u m a r M o h a n t y @ Puri The pulling of the three chariots of the Holy Trinity, which had been halted on Thursday, resumed on Friday morning around 9.30 am. None of the three chariots had reached the Gundicha temple on Thursday due to delay in Pahandi ritual. While the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra had been stopped midway, Lord Jagannath had halted just a few metres from the temple. Lakhs of devotees remained in the town, keeping watch over the deities on their chariots, through the night. Favourable weather conditions through the day allowed Chariots of the Holy Trinity parked outside Sri Gundicha Temple after completing the journey on the second day of the annual Rath Yatra in Puri on Friday | Express the chariot-pulling to proceed without incident even as the stream of devotees continued to pour into the town. The day began with the cus- tomary rituals performed by servitors, including Mangal Arati, Mailum, Tadap Laagi, Abakasha and Surya Puja, followed by the offering of Gopal JPC seeks to temper higher education bill Bhog. The deities were then dressed in new attire. The Taladhwaja chariot bearing Lord Balabhadra reached the Gundicha temple at 12.30 pm, followed by the Darpadalan chariot of Devi Subhadra at 12.50 pm. Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosh chariot arrived at around 2.30 pm. The deities are scheduled to remain on their respective chariots overnight before being taken into the temple through Pahandi on Saturday afternoon. The district administration said updates on the rituals would be made available to devotees through digital screens installed across the CONTINUED ON P5 town. 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. NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh, 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 several universities, opposition and other stakeholders have characterised the provision as “critical vulnerability” as it allows the 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 dis- Today’s match: 3rd place play-off: France vs England 2.30 AM* (*IST Sunday) 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 him 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 sudhir surywanshi & Rajesh kumar thakur @ Mumbai/New Delhi Sharad Pawar charge 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 power 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. In the rebranded ‘Bronze match’ at the World Cup’s penultimate game, England face France. A look at the game.  Big buzz on Pawar party joining NDA Suggests key changes in draft, curbs on govt’s sweeping powers P R E E THA NAI R @ New Delhi Consolation match The BJP has given the green light (to the merger), but NCP national president Sunetra Pawar has raised the red flag, saying it will end their career Top BJP leader 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 pic- ture 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, E x p re s s Ne w s Ser v i c e @ Berhampur Hours after NEET-UG 2026 results were announced, a 20-year-old medical aspirant allegedly died by suicide at her residence in Haladiapadar on the outskirts of Berhampur on Thursday night. The deceased was identified as Sanchita Sahu. According to police, Sanchita was found hanging inside her room by family members on Friday morning. Family members said Sanchita had appeared for NEETUG for the second consecutive year after failing to secure a medical seat in her previous attempt. Determined to become a doctor, she had spent months preparing for the examination and was reportedly confident of scoring around 600 out of 720 marks. However, after the results were declared on Thursday, she appeared upset. Her parents said they were unaware of her exact score but suspected that disappointment over her performance may have led her to take the extreme step. According to the family San, chita went to her room in the night and locked the door from inside. When she did not respond the following morning, they broke open the door and found her hanging. They alerted Golanthara police who rushed to the spot and shifted her to MKCG Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared her dead. The body was sent for post-mortem examination and later handed over to the family. Police have registered a case and launched an investigation. CONTINUED ON P5 final goodbye to legend @ Baripada In a shocking incident, a 38-yearold man allegedly hacked his four-year-old son to death in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, claiming extreme poverty and inability to support his family drove him to commit the heinous crime. The accused, identified as Sohan Singh of Sarat police limits, was arrested on Friday and produced before the SDJM court in Udala which remanded him in judicial custody . Police said Sohan lives with his wife and their five children, two sons and three daughters. Later, a video emerged in which Sohan apparently told police that he killed his child as an offering to God. Police said the incident took place on Thursday when Sohan allegedly snatched his son, Dumbi Singh, from his wife’s arms and attacked the child with a chopper. The boy suffered grievous injuries. His mother and neighbours rushed the unconscious child to Sarat hospital before shifting him to the Udala sub-divisional hospital where doctors declared him dead. The hospital authorities informed the police after suspecting it to be a case of murder. Acting on the information, Udala police alerted Sarat police. A team led by Sarat IIC Ramakanta Patra reached the hospital, seized the child’s body and sent it for postmortem. Sohan was arrested from his house. Police registered a murder case based on a complaint lodged by one of the accused’s relatives. During preliminary interrogation, Sohan allegedly told police that financial hardship pushed him to commit the crime. “I could not provide for my wife and children. I have no regular job and rarely get wage work. I lost patience and took the drast i c s t e p, ” h e r e p o r t e d l y confessed. Later, he told investigators that he sacrificed his son as an offering to God. Madan Lal 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 Sobers is also the same. The world still remembers the duo Finance remains thorn A key factor delaying consensus within the NCP (Pawar) faction is its reported demand for the finance portfolio in the Maharashtra government, a department previously held by Ajit Pawar before it was taken over by Fadnavis following Pawar’s death Berhampur student ends India raps Japan leader’s life after NEET-UG failure charges on bullet train Father kills four-year-old son over ‘poverty’ in Mayurbhanj For me, Bradman & Sobers are the same E x p re s s Ne w s Ser v i c e 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. 93 365 Sobers played 93 Test between 1954 and 1974, scored 8,032 runs and claimed 235 wickets the left-handed batter scored 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958. It remained the record individual score in Tests till 36 years and was broken by Brian Lara when he scored 375 against England 1st he became the first player to hit six consecutive sixes in an over while playing a match for Nottinghamshire in 1968 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 Sir Garfield Sobers 28.7.1936—17.7.2026 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 encouters with the legend As told to Firoz Mirza They keep pushing their own self-interest to the end. I feel 100% that the reason this hasn’t moved forward is on the Indian side Hideki Makihara, former Japanese minister j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA on Friday squarely rejected claims by former Japanese minister Hideki Makihara that New Delhi was responsible for delays in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highspeed rail project, describing his remarks as a personal opinion that was “at considerable variance with facts” and asserting that the flagship IndiaJapan venture is progressing as planned. Makihara, a former Justice Minister and a member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, had alleged in a social media post that India’s handling of the Shinkansen project was marked by broken commitments and poor negotiations. “The Shinkansen project in India is something I was involved with myself, but what stood out in inter national meetings and negotiations was the sheer recklessness of the Indian side, repeated over and over. They just don’t keep promises,” he wrote. He went on to criticise the Indian leadership overseeing the project, saying, “They keep pushing their own self-interest right up to the very end. The minister in charge was especially awful—if the top guy’s like that, there’s no way to have any decent dealings.” Responding to the remarks, Exter nal Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed them as unrepresentative of the bilateral engagement. “It is an individual opinion and at considerable variance with facts,” he said. Japan, he added, will supply the next-generation E10 series Shinkansen trains in the early 2030s, as the rolling stock is still under development. “First section will be opened in 2027 itself. Both sides agreed to start the operations with Indian high speed train. The signalling equipment has been ordered accordingly No Japa... nese offer was received in this context. The project execution is in line with the common goal of starting the high speed train at the earliest,” Jaiswal said. SITsubmit interim report to the SC on Ram temple may The SIT probing the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple may submit an interim report to the SC on July 20 in compliance with its directions, sources said