KOCHI l saturday l july 25, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Anand first-ever indian to occupy fide top post FIVE-TIME WORLD CHAMP’S ELECTION STANCE The five-time world champion assumed the top post as per FIDE charter. During the recent Chennai Grand Masters event, Anand had said he won’t be contesting the September elections. As it stands, the 56-year-old from Chennai hasn’t announced his candidacy, but the last date for nominations is on July 26. He is expected to take a final call within that date Viswanathan Anand becomes interim president of world body after Russian Arkady Dvorkovich steps aside following European Union sanctions Focus on World Championship ■ There’s still no clarity on the host for the World Championship tie between D Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov. Anand won’t be the deciding authority but it will be interesting to see how things pan out ■ Chennai is yet to bid and there are murmurs that Bengaluru has shown interest but nothing has been confirmed yet | P11 July 26 LAsT DATE FOR filing NOMINATION papers FOR FIDE ELECTIONS 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 Kolkata Mumbai Pune chennai Ram arrest lapse Was there an intention to tarnish home dept, asks HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Student groups in different cities protesting in solidarity with the CJP’s agitation, despite inclement weather and caning in some places, on Friday | PTI/martin louis Cabinet OKs draft bill on harsher punishment in paper leak cases Proposes up to 10 years in jail, up from five; amendment bill may be tabled on Monday m uke s h r an j an @ New Delhi day’s THE Union Cabinet on Friday approved a draft bill prescribing harsher punishment for examination paper leaks, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in a midnight video message that the government would move to tighten the law. The bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and proposes a minimum jail term of five years for those involved in paper leaks, up from the current three years. In cases of organised paper leaks, the punishment could extend to 10 years in prison along with a fine of up to `10 crore, a sharp jump from the existing three to five years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of `1 crore. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister at the Parliament House complex, decided that the amended law would target organised gangs and institutions profiting from examination fraud, while shielding ordinary candidates from its harsher provisions. Officials said the government also intends to set up fast-track courts to ensure speedy trials of the offenders. The existing law already covers major recruitment and entrance examinations, including the UPSC, SSC, NEET, JEE and CUET. Announcing the move on Thursday night, Modi had said the Cabinet would take up a draft law providing for stricter punishment and quicker trials in paperleak cases. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Friday that the bill would be introduced “at the earliest,” adding that the prime minister had directed there be no delay in bringing legislation concerning students. “We are preparing to present the bill. After the Cabinet briefing, we will announce the timing... It would not be appropriate to obstruct such a measure,” Rijiju said, while accusing the Congress of trying to disrupt parliamentary proceedings. He warned that any attempt to stall debate on the bill would draw public anger. Sources indicated the bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Monday . The Cabinet’s decision comes against the backdrop of sustained protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and growing demands for stronger safeguards against paper leaks. It also follows talks between Union ministers and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has been leading the agitation. CJP leaders said the Centre had sought time until Saturday afternoon to respond to its demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while agreeing in principle to compensate families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide and to withdraw cases against protesting students. Late on Friday evening, PM Modi shared another video on Instagram thanking Gen Z for watching his earlier video and offering “insightul suggestions” to help the Centre tackle the paper leak issue. developments 1 Centre asks GitHub to remove Bitchat, which enables peer-to-peer communication over Bluetooth without mobile networks 2 SC said it will ensure end of ad-hocism in NEET and institutionalise the exam system, and sought govt’s response on online exam mode 3 SC to hear on Monday two pleas alleging police excesses on students during Sansad march on July 20 protesting the NEET paper leak 4 About 47 officials of the National Testing Agency have been sacked, with the Centre saying it will overhaul the testing body 5 Centre directs airlifting of 10 more CRPF companies from Chhattisgarh to be deployed in Delhi in view of the student protests 6 Delhi Police cancels all routine leaves of its personnel with immediate effect in view of the prevailing law and order situation Govt softens on two demands, may not yield on Pradhan Ra j e s h K u m a r T haku r and A nu p Ve r m a @ New Delhi At their second round of talks on Friday, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) told the government that its three demands — exit of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, `1 crore compensation for NEET-UG victims, and no legal action against protesters — were non-negotiable. Union ministers J P Nadda and Dr Jitendra Singh, the interlocutors who spoke to the CJP delegation at Vithalbhai Patel House, said they had heard the demands and will get back on Saturday “They had three . main demands and five reform suggestions for exams. We told them we will meet again tomorrow afternoon and share the government’s perspective,” Nadda said. The deliberations, described as cordial by the ministers, reportedly saw the government agree to two demands — adequate compensation for the families of those who allegedly died by suicide following the paper leak, and the withJ P Nadda after a meeting with a drawal of cases against CJP delegation, at Vithalbhai Patel the protesting youth. House in New Delhi on Friday | PTI However, indications are that the government will not ask Pradhan to quit. Instead, it intends to shift the focus towards sweeping reforms of the examination system through legislation and administrative measures. “The priority is to restore confidence of the students by introducing measures to prevent future exam paper leaks, strengthen safeguards within the exam process and ensure those responsible for the leaks are brought to justice,” several wellplaced sources said. The Centre has already taken a slew of steps, including a top bureaucratic reshuffle and sacked many NTA officials as part of a wider overhaul. It’s the NTA that runs national competitive exams like NEET. In the event of a Cabinet reshuffle, Pradhan’s portfolio could change, the sources said. But no such exercise appears to be on the horizon in the short run. Slamming the investigating officer for failing to communicate the grounds of arrest to Dr M Kodanda Ram, an accused in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj, as mandated by law, the Kerala High Court on Friday orally asked the police whether they had acted with the intention of tarnishing the image of the home department when it was earning public praise for initiatives such as Operation Toofan. Justice A Badharudeen asked the DySP who arrested Ram: “Do you have any personal grudge against the home department? Was this done with the intention of tarnishing its image at a time when the home department is carrying out good work, including Operation Toofan? Or was it done because some superior officer instructed you to do so? Courts and justice have not disappeared from here. If the police try to help accused persons escape through unlawful actions, there is a court here to protect the rights and interests of ordinary people.” The court made the remarks while hearing a petition filed by Nithin Raj’s parents, alleging lapses in the investigation against Ram, the former head of the department of Kannur Dental College, and seeking the production of records relating to his arrest and subsequent release. The court observed that reports submitted by special judge and the ADGP prima facie showed that the investigating officer had failed to furnish the accused with the mandatory written grounds of arrest, ● More on P4 leading to his release.  Shan A S @ T’Puram The state government will soon appoint a senior IAS or IPS officer to conduct a departmental inquiry into the allegations that former Law and Order ADGP M R Ajith Kumar pressured investigators to file a report favouring former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s security detail accused of assaulting Youth Congress workers in Alappuzha in December 2023. Ajith, the most senior ADGP , was suspended from service following a report by the special investigation team (SIT) U D AYA N K IS H OR E @ New Delhi Copyright laws vs technological innovation The HC observed that copyright law and technological innovation enjoy a dynamic relationship. When technologies evolve, they enable new forms of creative expression and disrupt settled copyright arrangements. “Some of these technologies are player pianos, radio broadcasting, cable TV, photocopying, digital downloading and streaming, and, more recently, AI,” it said al-augmented generation (RAG) technique did not amount to infringement under Section 51 of the Copyright Act, since the outputs generated were not substantially similar to ANI’s ‘original literary works’. “Further, ANI has failed to Hours after the 10% temporary tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 expired, the US on Thursday retained the tariffs on merchandise imports from India under Section 301, citing concerns over the country’s enforcement of restrictions on forced labour. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the new levy will kick in on Friday . Following the conclusion of its Section 301 investigation linked to forced labour, the US has imposed tariffs on imports from 60 economies that it said had failed to adequately prohibit or enThe fact that India force restrictions on goods produced us- has been placed in ing forced labour. 10% tariff category Of these, 17 countries—including Inwhile competing dia, Canada, the UK, Bangladesh, and nations face a Pakistan—will face a 10% tariff, while higher tariff, shows the remaining 43 economies will be sub- US’s recognition of ject to a higher levy of 12.5%. Goods India’s measures to loaded before July 24 and entering the check forced labour US by July 28 will be exempt under a S C Ralhan, transition provision. The earlier 10% FIEO president tariff under Section 122, announced on February 20 and implemented on February 24, remained in force for the maximum statutory period of 150 days before expiring on Thursday . While India has qualified for the lower tariff bracket, export bodies and industry experts cautioned against overlooking the broader implications of the US action. that confirmed charges of sabotaging the initial probe to protect the erring officers. The report contains incriminating statements by officers who investigated the case initially revealing , the extent of intervention by the ADGP’s office in the probe. As per rules, only an officer of the rank above ADGP can conduct inquiry in this case. Hence, either a DGP-ranked officer or an IAS officer of the rank of additional chief secretary or above will be appointed as the inquiry officer. If the government decides to go for an IPS officer, Yogesh Gupta or Manoj Abraham will be appointed as inquiry officer, with the name of the latter doing the rounds. Another officer, who can be of a rank equal or junior to Ajith, will be appointed as presenting officer. However, Ajith will have to take the help of a serving or retired officer, whom he trusts, to defend him during the proceedings. The SIT report, meanwhile, had strong statements against Ajith. According to the report, he strongly influenced the course of the probe and shaped it in a way that the case finally ended in a ‘refer report’, which in local parlance can be construed as a clean chit for the ● More on P4 accused cops.  EXPRESS READ OpenAI can use copyrighted content to train ChatGPT: HC 2024 against Open AI Inc and Open AI OpCo LLC, raising issues of infringement of its copyrighted material for LLM training by OpenAI. Justice Amit Bansal said that prima facie, the outputs generated by ChatGPT using retriev- P U S H PI TA D E Y @ New Delhi Ajith Kumar pressured officers to favour accused cops, says SIT report I n t er i m o rder THE Delhi High Court on Friday refused to restrain artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT from using published news material, saying it does not amount to copyright infringement. In an interim order, Justice A m i t B a n s a l r u l e d t h at OpenAI’s use of retrieved copyrighted works to train its large language models (LLMs) falls under “fair dealing” provision of the Copyright Act. The court was hearing a petition filed by news agency Asian News International (ANI) in 10% US tariff on India over ‘forced labour’ satisfy this court that any memorization and regurgitation of ANI’s original literary works has happened through the responses generated by ChatGPT,” the judge said, while refusing to restrain ChatGPT from using the content pub- lished by ANI. The bench said that irreparable injury would be caused not only to OpenAI but to public interest also if any interim injunction was granted in favour of ANI at this stage. According to ANI, merely because its news content is publicly available, OpenAI does not get a right to exploit it or create copies of it to store. On its part, OpenAI argued that there cannot be a monopoly on facts and that if any news platform does not want its website accessed by OpenAI, then it can get itself included in the blocklist. CPM dismisses reports of leadership change T’Puram: The CPM has ruled out reports of a possible leadership change ahead of its extended state committee meeting, which has been convened to chart organisational and ideological corrective measures. CPM state secretary M V Govindan dismissed speculation over a change in leadership, describing it as “a dream of the media”. P4 Outcry over govt’s Waqf stand grows Kozhikode: Adding to the misery of the UDF in general and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in particular, Muslim organisations are increasingly coming forward expressing deep concern over the ‘surprising and shocking’ stand of the state government on the issue of inducting non-Muslim members in the Kerala Waqf Board. P5 Taxi buried under landslide debris, 13 killed Chandigarh: Thirteen people, including a six-month-old infant, were killed on Friday after a taxi carrying them from Kullu to Pangi valley was buried under landslide debris in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. One injured person has been rescued. P8 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express