belagavi l Wednesday l November 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION IISc Bengaluru, 5 IITs among Asia’s top 100 universities India continued to remain Asia’s second most represented higher education system, with 325 ranked universities, as per QS rankings All 6 institutes drop in y-o-y rankings According to the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), IIT Delhi was ranked 59th last year and slipped to 66th this year, followed by IISc Bengaluru, which was 64th last year and is 79th now. IIT Bombay fell from 71st to 83rd, IIT Madras fell from 70th to 85th, IIT Kharagpur fell from 77th to 90th, and IIT Kanpur fell from 77th to 97th ■ 7th India leads in research output per faculty ■ India leads Asia for universities excelling in research output per faculty, with 27 universities in the top 50 for papers per faculty and five in the top 10, more than any other higher education system India also increased its representation among the top 200, with 21, up from 20 last year and 17 in 2018 in the QS rankings | P9 Rank obtained by iit-b in employer reputation category 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 HC raps netas over Dia Mirza’s awareness video S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai The Bombay High Court on Tuesday slammed BJP leaders for their remarks against actor Dia Mirza and her video message for a peaceful and pollution-free Diwali posted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on the HC’s orders. Stating that India is a secular country the HC said politicians , should not give a religious colour to awareness campaigns. A Division Bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale, taking suo moto cognisance of the issue, said it was “disturbed by the stray comments made by some politicians” against Mirza, who had participated in the campaign in accordance with its directions. The court directed the BMC, which had taken down the video after the remarks by BJP leaders, to re-upload the video on its social media handles. The bench asked why the actor’s participation in an awareness campaign should become a matter of religious controversy and stressed that the campaign was intended to create awareness on the harmful effects of firecrackers and need to follow the restrictions imposed by the court. Referring to the Supreme Court’s observation that Diwali is celebrated by people irrespective of their caste or religion, the HC questioned the logic behind objecting to Mirza’s participation on religious grounds. The HC said Mirza delivered a “really good message” and warned leaders against spinning any other angle. Mirza made the video at the BMC’s request as part of its effort to spread awareness about HC’s directions prohibiting bursting of crackers on streets. The BMC had posted her video and videos by actor Madhuri Dixit and former cricketer Ajinkya Rahane on its social media handles. However, the BJP’s Mumbai unit chief Amit Satam and Mayor Ritu Tawde objected to Mirza’s participation, labelling her “anti-Hindu”. On Tuesday Satam claimed , he had not opposed Mirza on the basis of caste and religion, but he had the right to “speak against the people who speak against India”. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis distanced himself from the controversy, terming it a “small issue”. India, Israel vote against UNGA arms resolution J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA and Israel were the only two countries to vote against a United Nations General Assembly First Committee resolution on conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels, with New Delhi arguing that security concerns cannot be confined by geographical boundaries. The draft resolution, moved by Pakistan and Belarus, was adopted with 180 votes in favour, two against and no abstentions in the 193-member world organistation. Explaining India’s vote, Anmol Sher Bedi, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said conventional arms control was a global issue and should not be addressed primarily through regional and subregional frameworks. “We read this request with a certain degree of curiosity,” Bedi said, questioning the need for further deliberations on a subject that had already been extensively discussed within the UN Disarmament Commission. The resolution argues that Regional security India opposed a draft resolution paragraph on arms control in South Asia, which noted regional initiatives like consultation among Latin American nations, and its use for regional security Cold War era arise among countries within the same geographical regions. It also calls for agreements aimed at strengthening regional peace and security while maintaining armaments and military forces at the lowest possible levels. Bedi pointed out that the Commission had adopted three consensus outcomes on the subject: guidelines and recommendations on regional disarmament in 1993, guidelines on conventional arms control and disarmament in 1999, and rec- ommendations on practical confidence-building measures involving conventional weapons in 2017. “We fail to understand why a subject already deliberated at length needs another round of deliberation unless the aim is to keep the UN disarmament machinery busy Bedi said. ,” India also objected to the resolution’s emphasis on maintaining a balance in defence capabilities within specific regions, arguing national security concerns often extend beyond geographical limits. SC: No one can occupy a protest site indefinitely day but they remained in Jantar Mantar for 17 days. In their plea, the traders arTHE Supreme Court on Tues- gued that the Opposition parday said everyone has the right ties’ protests against the Speto protest but no individual or cial Intensive Revision have led organisation can occupy a pro- to traffic diversions, police bartest site indefinitely as it will ricading and restricted access deny the right of others to shops, causing huge to use the venue. financial losses to small “You cannot occupy a shops and businesses. site for all times. Where The plea sought direcwill farmers, journaltions to shift the protest ists, etc go? The desigto an alternative site or nated sites must be givlimit the duration of en for a designated the demonstration. Notice period,” said a bench S e n i o r a dvo c a t e to Rahul of Chief Justice Surya Mukul Rohtagi, appearThe SC asked Kant and justices Joying for Kirana Commitmalya Bagchi and V Congress leader tee Delhi, said: “We Rahul Gandhi Mohana, while emphahave lost thousands of sising that the right to to file his reply crores. Nobody is able protest must be bal- to a plea filed to do business in Conby a female anced against the rights naught Place. Thoujournalist of others, including sands of auxiliary traders and daily-wage alleging that he workers connected to had pushed her these businesses are workers. The bench was hear- during a protest without jobs as sales at the apex ing a litany of petitions are down in the middle including one filed by court premises of the festive season.” Kirana Committee DelRohtagi said busihi, which alleged that traders nesses have suffered losses runsuffered huge loss of business ning into thousands of crores due to the protests. and sought a two-month restricSolicitor General Tushar Me- tion on protests, especially durhta, appearing for the Centre ing the festive season. and Delhi Police, said the CockThe court asked him to imroach Janta Party’s protest in plead the organisers of the proJuly was permitted only for one tests as parties to the plea. Man holds knife to woman’s neck, caught by public @Bengaluru SUCHITRA KALYA N MOHA N TY @ New Delhi G a u t h a m Se lv a r a j a n @ Chennai A videograb of the accused, Prabhuraj (inset), holding a knife to the woman’s throat E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Says protests must be time-bound, directs traders to implead organisers in their plea TN man killed as two choppers collide near Mt Everest base camp in Nepal Two helicopters collided on Tuesday while trying to land just below Mount Everest’s base camp, killing Vasanth Kumar Balaramaramadu (47) of Chennai and injuring three others at Pheriche village, which is located at an altitude of 4,200 metres (13,780 feet) in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district. Vasanth’s fellow passenger Shailesh Krishna Patel from New Zealand and Nepalese pilots Rabindra Prajapati (Fishtail Air) and Prajwal KC (Dynasty Air), who were injured in the incident, were taken to Kathmandu for treatment. According to the Nepal police, Vasanth’s mortal remains were sent to Kathmandu for a postmortem. The two helicopters collided around 8.11 am (local time) while landing at Pheriche in Solukhumbu, according to Nepal police. Vasanth’s chopper took off from Lukla Airport, the gateway to Mt Everest. The base camp trek lasts up to two weeks and goes from the only conventional ar ms control should primarily be pursued at regional and subregional levels, noting that most threats to peace and security in the post- TRUMP’s midterm test Voters at a polling location during the US midterm elections in Edinburg, Ohio, on Tuesday. Americans voting in the midterm elections will decide who gets to control Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, along with dozens of governorships and thousands of state offices. The first results are expected from 6 pm EST (4:30 am IST Wednesday) | AFP | P12 A 40-year-old man, who allegedly snatched a woman’s gold chain and held her hostage at knifepoint while trying to flee, was caught by members of the public and handed over to the police. The incident took place in broad daylight on 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar on October 31. The accused, Prabhuraj, is a delivery executive and resident of Surya City. The victim, Jayashree S (23), works as a receptionist at a shoe and bag repair shop on 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar. The police said that around 11.45 am on October 31, Prabhuraj entered the shop wearing a helmet and gloves and jumped over the reception counter. Prabhuraj told Jayashree that someone was coming to kill him and warned her not to scream. When she attempted to call the shop owner, he forcibly made her sit down, took out a knife from his bag and threatened to kill her if she raised an alarm.  P7 ECI yet to give data, GBA polls may get delayed B o s k y K h a nn a @ Bengaluru Conducting civic body elections in Bengaluru continues to be a challenge for the State Election Commission of Karnataka (SEC-K), even though the Special Intensive Revision ( S I R ) e xe rc i s e h a s b e e n completed. A senior SEC official said, “The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to give us the data, which then needs to be bifurcated ward wise. The delay in procuring data will impact the lined-up events. The timely completion of the city corporation elections, as per Supreme Court orders, before Decemberend 2026 could then become difficult.” Other officials said they are preparing a detailed chronology of events that have happened and events scheduled for the coming days that will be submitted before the high court and Supreme Court, hearing cases related to cor poration elections. “We will place these facts before the courts, seeking more time if we don’t get data from ECI within a couple of days. After that conducting corporation elections would be a challenge,” the official added. In the final electoral roll, published on October 27 after the SIR exercise, names of 99,32,303 electors have been cleaned. Till June 16, the state had 5,54,32,314 electors, while the revised list now has 4,55,00,011 voters. In all, 44,80,212 names have been cleaned from the rolls. The data shows that Bengaluru has a population of 1,07,08,716, while 59,09,775 are voters. Bengaluru Urban district houses 24,01,939 electors, BBMP North -- 13,25,284, BBMP Central -- 10,67,374 and BBMP South -- 11,13,554. The SEC official explained, “The final rolls were made public, but we are yet to get complete information. We have written to ECI seeking it. Once we get it, depending on the type of data disseminated -- whether raw or assembly constituency wise -- it needs to be processed through our software for ward wise division. The existing Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will be roped in for the exercise. This will take at least 30 days and then another additional five days is needed for verification.” express read No law that hubby should maintain wife at all times: HC EC allays fears: Previously enrolled voters can submit Form 6 Rahul dares PM to an open debate on ‘anti-national’ charge Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court said the inability of the wife to maintain herself is a precondition to claim maintenance, and the law does not state that a married woman should be maintained by her husband under all circumstances | P6 New Delhi: The Election Commission on Tuesday said previously enrolled voters can submit Form 6 for inclusion as electors if their names are missing from draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) rolls, and this would now not render them liable for prosecution | P9 New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday dared PM Narendra Modi to an open debate on his charge that the “opposition is anti-national”. However, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju mocked Gandhi and said top-level debates are done between “mature people” | P9 Guinness record bid For 12 days straight, Konkani songs to be sung nonstop E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Mangaluru Rescue workers inspect the mangled wreckage of a helicopter after two choppers collided while attempting to land at Pheriche in Nepal on Tuesday | pti airstrip in the area at Lukla to base camp located at 5,300 metres (17,380 feet). Anxiety gripped Vasanth’s house on the Peramballu Street in Old Washermenpet as shocking visuals of the chopper crash flashed across news channels. The family had been tense ever since they saw the news, as they knew Vasanth was in Nepal for a trek. A visit from revenue department officials confirmed what they had been dreading. The cries of Vasanth’s elderly parents Balaramanadu (80), mother Parameshwari (74) and maternal grandparents from their first-floor house could be heard on the street as the family struggled to come to terms with the news of the death. An ambitious attempt to create a Guinness World Record by singing Konkani songs for 12 days nonstop was inaugurated by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as the First World Konkani Music Mega Convention commenced at the Town Hall in Mangaluru on Tuesday . The record attempt, ‘ Ko n ko ’ n n i N i ro ’ n t o ’ r i So’msar So’raso’ri’ (Eternal Konkani - Unto the World’s End), is the centrepiece of the 13-day international convention being organised by Mandd Sobhann to mark its Ruby Jubilee. The event, running from November 3 to 15, seeks to bring together Konkani-speaking communities from across the world, showcasing the language’s rich musical and cultural heritage. The attempt at record will feature a nonstop singing marathon by 300 performing teams in rotation over 12 days. More than 6,700 singers, including 53 teams from Goa, will perform over 4,500 Konkani songs representing different dialects, communities and musical traditions, with no repetition of singers or songs. The convention officially be- Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the inauguration of the event in Mangaluru on Tuesday | Express gan at 5 am and was inaugurated by Dr Sawant. It was blessed by Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangaluru. Declaring the world record attempt open, Dr Sawant said that though Konkani has several dialects, its speakers remain united by language and culture. While Konkani enjoys official language status and government support in Goa, the community in Mangaluru has kept the language vibrant through its dedication, he added. He said the Goa government recognises Konkani achievers from outside the state through its awards. He observed that Goa and coastal Karnataka share a common coastline, culture and way of life despite being se parated by state boundaries.