FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 BRIEFLY Jharkhand officials suspended after kids test HIV+: | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid stress on the strong and growing ties between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asserting that the “21st century is our century, the century of India and ASEAN.” Addressing the 22nd ASEAN-India Summit virtually, Mr Modi hailed the partnership as a defining force for regional stability and global progress. The Prime Minister highlighted the historic and cultural bonds binding India and ASEAN, stating: “India and ASEAN together represent almost a quarter of the world’s population. We do not just share geography; we are also connected by the thread of deep historical ties and shared values. We are fellow travellers of the Global South.” Despite global uncertainties, Mr Modi noted: “ The India–ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has witnessed sustained progress, emerging as a robust foundation for global stability and development.” He praised ASEAN as a cornerstone of India’s Act East Policy and reaffirmed India’s full support for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Mr Modi underscored India’s commitment in key areas of cooperation, saying: “We have stood firmly with our ASEAN friends in every disaster. Our collaboration in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), maritime security, and the blue economy is growing rapidly. In view of this, we are declaring 2026 as the ‘ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation.” Highlighting broader collaborative fronts, PM Modi spoke of strengthening ties Piyush Goyal headed to Brussels as FTA talks enter crucial phase Narlikar honoured with Ratna Puraskar STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUSKAN BHATIA Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, will visit Brussels, Belgium on 27–28 October to hold high-level discussions with Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President and European Commissioner for Trade of the European Union, a statement from Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday. Discussions are expected to cover key areas of the proposed FTA, including market access, non-tariff measures, and regulatory cooperation. The visit will also serve to review progress achieved so far and to identify areas requiring further convergence. During his visit, Mr Goyal will also hold a bilateral meeting with Commissioner Šefčovič followed by a working dinner, where both leaders are expected to reaffirm the shared ambition to strengthen the India–EU Jayant Narlikar, India’s renowned astrophysicist, science communicator, and Padma Vibhushan awardee, has been selected posthumously for the Vigyan Ratna Puraskar ~ the country’s highest scientific honour. Narlikar, who passed away on 20 May this year at the age of 86, was celebrated for his bold and unconventional ideas in cosmology. He challenged the Big Bang theory ~ which posits that the universe originated from a single massive explosion ~ and, along with British astronomer Fred Hoyle, proposed the steady state theory, suggesting that the universe has always existed, with new matter continuously created over time. New Delhi, 26 October New Delhi, 26 October trade and economic partnership. The development comes amid the India–EU partnership gaining renewed strategic depth following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this year. The ongoing India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations is at a crucial stage as both sides intensify efforts to conclude a comprehensive, balanced, and mutually beneficial trade agreement at the earliest. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has also held talks with European Commission (EC) Director General for Trade (DG-Trade) Sabine Weyand in Brussels. In June 2022, India and the EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of over eight years. It was stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up markets. Suspects arrested in Louvre crown jewels theft AGENCIES Paris, 26 October Suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, a week after the heist at the world’s most visited museum that stunned the word. The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Roissy Airport. French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether jewels had been recovered. Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Monday, 27 October 2025 21st century the century of ECI expected to announce India and ASEAN: PM Modi launch of pan-India SIR New Delhi, 26 October Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday ordered the suspension of West Singhbhum Civil Surgeon and other officials after five children suffering from thalassemia tested HIV-positive following blood transfusions at Chaibasa Sadar Hospital. The action came a day after a seven-year-old thalassemia patient’s family alleged that the local blood bank had transfused HIV-infected blood. | at 88 million euros ($102 million) last Sunday morning. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s façade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure.” Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. She rued in her statement the premature leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of over 100 investigators “mobilised to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.” Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects’ custody period ends. French Interior minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.” The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale. The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of France’s Crown Jewels ~ a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019. The thieves made away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch ~ an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship ~ were also part of the loot. in education, tourism, science and technology, health, green energy, and cybersecurity. “We will continue to preserve our shared cultural heritage and deepen people-to-people connections,” he added. PM Modi expressed confidence that “India’s developed vision for 2047 and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 will create a bright future for humanity. The 21st century is our century, the century of India and ASEAN.” During his address, the PM also paid tribute to the late Queen Mother of Thailand, Sirikit, who passed away recently, expressing his “deep condolences to the royal family and people of Thailand on behalf of all Indians.” The summit, hosted by Malaysia under the leadership of Prime Minister Dato Seri’ Anwar Ibrahim, and held concurrently with the 47th ASEAN summit, involved a comprehensive review of India-ASEAN relations. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 26 October The Election Commission of India is widely expected to announce the launch of a nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls on Monday, following a crucial two - day conference that finalised preparations for the exercise. The anticipation stems from a Press Conference the poll panel has scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on Monday, with sources in the ECI indicating that the briefing would be about the SIR schedule. While complete details are still awaited, the sources indicated the exercise could begin on 1 November and is likely to initially cover some 10 to 15 states, including the five states where Assembly elections are due in 2026 ~Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal ~ along with a few others. The ECI will not hold the electoral roll cleanup exercise in states where local body elections are taking place or are due, as the grassroots poll machinery is busy with it and may not be able to focus on SIR, the sources said. The SIR in such states will be held in later phases. Unlike the annual or pre-election Special Summary Revision (SSR), which only adds or deletes names, the SIR is a comprehensive exercise where electoral rolls are prepared afresh, requiring all registered voters to submit new enumeration forms. The expected announcement follows the conclusion of a pivotal two-day Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) last Thursday at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management in New Delhi. The conference, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (photo), along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, was intended to firm up the SIR rollout roadmap. The SIR is a comprehensive exercise where electoral rolls are prepared afresh, requiring all registered voters to submit new enumeration forms. This differs from the annual or pre-election Special Summary Revision (SSR), which only adds or deletes names. “This conference is not a routine check but a reaffirmation of our commitment to strengthen the foundation of our democracy through precise electoral roll management,” said CEC Kumar. He stressed that the “accuracy and inclusiveness of voter lists are non-negotiable,” and sought full preparedness from all states and Union territories.