kochi l monday l august 31, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Over 2.63L appear for NEET-PG, re-test at two centres iN Jaipur NEET-PG 2026 was successfully conducted across the country on Sunday, but not at two centres in Jaipur due to an internal power failure action against technical partner biometric authentication at all centres The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has scheduled a re-examination for the affected candidates in Jaipur at 3 pm on September 5, while also calling an immediate meeting to decide the course of action against the technological partner and agency responsible for ensuring adequate infrastructure at the examination centres ■ ■ As part of the measures to further strengthen examination security and prevent impersonation, Aadhaar-based authentication of candidates was successfully undertaken at the examination centres The examination for admission to PG medical courses was conducted by NBEMS in computer-based mode in one shift from 9 am-12.30pm 2,445 candidates from jaipur will appear for re-test on sept 5 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 Indo-Uzbek uranium pact in works Bilateral ties elevated to strategic partnership; 11 agreements signed; $5-bn trade target set JAYA N TH JA C O B @ New Delhi Justice Bhuyan calls for hiring top jurists as SC judges s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi SUPREME Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday strongly favoured appointing distinguished jurists as judges of the top court, saying such a move would diversify the bench and enable reputed scholars to contribute to decision-making. Speaking at the 13th convocation of National Law University, Delhi, Justice Bhuyan said Article 124(3)(c) of the Constitution provides for this category. Yet, in more than 76 years, no one other than high court judges or practising lawyers have been elevated to the Supreme Court. “It is regrettable that this provision has remained one of our Constitution’s unused mandates,” he said. Either the Centre and Coll e g i u m b e l i eve I n d i a n academia lacks sufficient depth for serious consideration, or the provision has not been explored properly, he said. Justice Bhuyan dismissed the common argument that legal scholars lack practical experience as a “very shallow objection”. He said distinguished academics routinely serve as judges of constitutional courts in the US, Britain, Canada and Kenya. The purpose of the “distinguished jurist” clause, he said, was to bring in judges whose academic scholarship would free them from rigid technical constraints and equip them better to handle complex public law issues. He also said the right to question is central to democracy and that students cannot , be threatened when they express a different viewpoint. INDIA and Uzbekistan on Sunday agreed to establish a longterm arrangement for uranium supplies from Uzbekistan to India as part of their civil nuclear cooperation, while elevating bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The decision was taken during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, where the two sides also set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2030. The two sides also signed 11 agreements covering areas including trade, investment, infrastructure, critical minerals, mining, defence, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, IT, education and digital public infrastructure. Uranium emerged as a key new area of cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector. During delegation-level talks, Modi said the two countries would establish a long-term arrangement for uranium supplies from Uzbekistan. “We will also establish a longterm arrangement for the supply of uranium,” Modi said, adding that India and Uzbekistan should develop a roadmap to fully realise the potential of their partnership. Unni k ris h n a n S @T’Puram Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the delegation-level talks with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent | pti 1 2 In the joint statement, India and Uzbekistan “unequivocally condemned terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, in all forms and manifestations” and reiterated zero tolerance to terrorism. Both sides called for action against terror outfits and their financing networks Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Uzbekistan’s highest state honour. Modi described the recognition as a moment of “great pride” and dedicated it to the 140 crore Indians, saying it reflected the strength and depth of India-Uzbekistan relations Secretary (West) in the MEA Sibi George later said discussions on uranium supplies had been “positive” and that the two countries were close to signing an agreement shortly . He said the upgraded strategic partnership would include a foreign minister-level coordination group and elevate existing ‘joint commission mechanism’ from secretary-level to ministe- rial. The two sides called for concerted action against terrorist organisations and their financing networks, safe havens and infrastructure, while stressing that those responsible for terrorism, as well as their backers, facilitators and affiliates, must be brought to justice. Cooperation in intelligence-sharing, law enforcement, countering violent extremism, organised crime, il- licit drug trafficking and cyber threats will be strengthened. Defence cooperation is another area where the two countries intend to move beyond traditional exchanges. Modi said India and Uzbekistan would encourage their defence industries to establish direct linkages and pursue co-development and co-production of military equipment. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi 68.5 tonnes of Indian aid INDiA has stepped up its rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Nepal, deploying tunnel engineers, doctors, paramedics and forensic experts as rescuers race against time to reach people feared trapped in hydropower tunnels on the fifth day of the disaster. Nepal’s disaster authority said 781 people had died and 2,502 remained missing. Across the border in China’s Gyirong County authorities report, ed 16 deaths. Bodies have been recovered from eight affected districts as security forces and specialist teams continue clearing debris and searching inundated areas. As of 5:30 pm on Sunday, 149 Indian nationals had been rescued, an update from the government said. India has so far provided 68.5 tonnes of relief material and deployed specialised technical and forensic teams. A fourth Indian flight carrying 11 tonnes of assistance India has so far provided 68.5 tonnes of relief material and deployed technical and forensic teams. A fourth Indian flight carrying 11 tonnes of aid reached Nepal on Sunday. It includes a tunnel technical team and equipment for search and rescue RSS chief: No true Hindu rejects Muslims in India RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday called upon the Indian diaspora in the US and across the world to contribute to both their “janmabhoomi” and “karmabhoomi” with the loyalty and values India has given them. Addressing a packed gathering at New York’s Madison Square Garden during the Universal Oneness Celebration, Bhagwat said no nation is merely a piece of land. “All nations have a destiny to fulfil. This is the Bharat’s destiny. Let us awake, as Bharatiyas, to that destiny and fulfil our duties in our Karmabhoomi as well as our Janmabhoomi.” He told the diaspora that their primary duty is to their place of work. Serving the motherland is desirable but not obligatory. “Your Janmabhoomi expects you to live the values it has imparted on you.” Bhagwat underlined unity in di- 3 Uzbekistan will remove visa requirements for Indian citizens for stays of up to 30 days, which will encourage tourism, business travel and wider people-topeople contact. Indians travelling to Uzbekistan would be able to use UPI-enabled applications within a year Nepal flood toll nears 800, rescue efforts stepped up r a j es h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi `8,707-crore T’Puram airport expansion lands green clearance nod versity as India’s DNA. Defining dharma as the principle that unites, upholds and balances everything without causing rifts, he said diversity must be celebrated and respected even as the feeling of oneness is ke p t a l ive. Q u o t i n g S w a m i Vivekananda, he said Bharat’s mission is to realise and make the world realise this unity in diversity . In a strong message on inclusiveness, Bhagwat declared that anyone who calls himself a Hindu but believes there should be no Muslim in India cannot be considered a Hindu. “If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he is not a Hindu. If you want to call yourself Hindu, you must believe that all paths are leading to the same goal and that every human has dignity”. Earlier, speaking on ‘One World One Humanity’, Bhagwat said the RSS stands for global unity and the dignity of every human being. reached Nepal on Sunday The latest con. signment included a tunnel technical team and equipment for search-and-rescue operations, forensic equipment for DNA analysis and essential relief supplies. The supplies included blankets, sleeping bags, tarpaulin, plastic sheets and hygiene kits. An 11-member Indian technical team, comprising doctors, paramedics and tunnel engineers, in Kathmandu conducted reconnaissance of hydropower tunnels in the flood-hit Trishuli area of Nuwakot district. The team carried out an aerial survey of Chilime and Langtang before beginning work around P9 the tunnel sites.  MVD makes online services faceless to root out middlemen E xpress N ews S ervice @T’Puram In a major push to eliminate the persistent influence of unauthorised intermediaries, the motor vehicles department (MVD) will render all 60 of its online services faceless and Aadhaar OTP-authenticated, starting September 21. Transport Commissioner C Nagaraju announced that the measure aims to streamline public delivery under the Vahan and Sarathi portals while protecting applicants from exploitation. Of the 60 services, only 21 are delivered via faceless online systems. Lack of robust digital authentication in the rest has allowed unscrupulous commission agents to exploit applicants. Officials said intermediaries often upload incomplete documents to stall applications, and demand money under the pretext of expediting the process. The MVD has requested the National Informatics Centre and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to convert all remaining services into faceless, Aadhaarlinked systems, a project currently undergoing final software testing.  ● More on P4 Clearing a major hurdle, the proposed `8,707-crore expansion of Thiruvananthapuram airport has secured a suggestion for green clearance from the State Expert Appraisal Committee-1 (SEAC-1). The committee recommended integrated environmental clearance (EC) along with coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearance for the project for a period of 10 years. The decision taken at the 217th SEAC-1 meeting chaired by Anirud Kumar Dharni, chair man, SEAC-1 (South Zone) Kerala, paves the way for final EC order by State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), allowing the airport to move forward with massive infrastructure upgrades planned over the decades. Under the project by Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL), the airport will scale up its passenger handling capacity to 27 million passengers a year. Cargo capacity will jump to 4.2 lakh metric tonnes annually . The clearance comes at a An artist’s view of redeveloped T’Puram International Airport expansion time when the state government is focusing on seapor t and air por t led development. For travellers, the expansion brings redesigned terminals in two stories, modern digital systems for faster check-ins, upgraded aircraft parking areas (aprons), and smoother flight connecting paths (taxiways). A state-ofthe-art cargo complex is also planned. A hotel project coming up at the entrance will be integrated into the master plan. To meet safety standards set by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airport will need an additional 6.88 hectares of land alongside its current 248.29-hectare ● More on P4 campus.