FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Monday, 16 March 2026 SPORTS PERSPECTIVE EDITORIAL Tariff Leverage Page 6 Salt March and the birth of mass disobedience WORLD Sinners, One Battle... face-off looms at the Oscars Page 7 Page 9 West Bengal to vote on 23, 29 Apr; single phase polls for 4 states/UT VIBHA SHARMA New Delhi, 15 March C hief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday announced the schedule for Assembly elections in four states ~ West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala ~ and the Union Territory of Puducherry, assuring “inducement-free and violence-free” polls while stressing the importance of “pure electoral rolls”. West Bengal will go to the polls in two phases, on 23 and 29 April. The other states and the Union Territory will have single-phase elections. Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will vote on 9 April, and Tamil Nadu on 23 April. Mr Kumar said the counting of votes for all 824 seats across the four states and one Union Territory will be conducted on 4 May. As many as 17.4 crore voters are eligible to participate to elect 824 MLAs at 2.19 lakh polling stations in these four states and one UT. Mr Kumar said clear directions had been issued to enforcement agencies to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner. District collectors and superintendents of police have been instructed to act with complete impartiality and strictly enforce the rule of law. Election observers will visit the poll-bound states, and their details will be made public. Jaishankar to visit Brussels to discuss next steps in implementation of India-EU FTA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 15 March External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar is on an official visit to Brussels on 15-16 March at the invitation of European Union (EU) High Representative and Vice President Ms Kaja Kallas to interact with Foreign Ministers of the 27 EU member states at the Foreign Affairs Council Meeting. During the visit, Mr Jaishankar will also hold meetings with the leadership of the European Union, and his counterparts from Belgium and other EU member states. Coming as it does soon after the 16th India-EU Summit, the minister’s visit is expected to further deepen India’s Strategic Partnership with the European Union, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The visit will provide an opportunity to Mr Jaishankar to discuss with EU member nations the next steps in the CBSE cancels Class XII exams in West Asia amid wae UNITED NEWS OF INDIA New Delhi, 15 March DURING THE VISIT, MR JAISHANKAR WILL ALSO HOLD MEETINGS WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, AND HIS COUNTERPARTS FROM BELGIUM AND OTHER EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES. implementation of India-EU Free Trade Agreement on which the two sides have concluded negotiations. The agreement will now undergo legal scrubbing, translation into 24blanguages, and ratification by the EU Council, the European Parliament, and India. It is expected to come into force in January 2027. Mr Jaishankar is also expected to discuss with EU officials the situation arising from the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine. Mr Jaishankar earlier on Sunday held a telephonic conversation with the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, where they discussed the evolving situation in West Asia. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta: My goal is to make daily life easier for people SIDDHARTHA RAI New Delhi, 15 March Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said her government is pushing aggressively for electric mobility and expanding the electric bus fleet as part of the measures to deal with air pollution and appealed to the people to participate in the overall development of the national capital by following traffic rules, supporting environmental initiatives, conserving water and electricity and keeping neighbourhoods clean. In a wide-ranging interview with The Statesman, Ms Gupta also came down heavily on her predecessor and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal, calling him a master of marketing. Authorities have also been directed to monitor social media closely to curb the spread of fake news and take necessary action where required. Regarding the decision to conduct the Bengal election in just two phases ~ down from eight phases in 2021 ~ Mr Kumar said the Commission held detailed deliberations before finalising the schedule. “In our considered opinion, it was necessary to reduce the number of phases to a level that is administratively feasible and convenient for voters and officials,” he said. Regarding the fate of voters placed in the adjudication She was alluding to the “public spectacle” Mr Kejriwal created after a Delhi court gave him relief in the liquor policy scam. “Kejriwal is an expert of marketing who knows how to mislead the people. If you were not corrupt, why would you scrap the liquor policy after uproar? Why did you not stand by it and defend it? Our law is not blind to facts. He was granted relief and then another court stayed that,” the CM said. Commenting on the Uttam Nagar Holi murder case, Ms Gupta said her government would continue its zero-tolerance policy against heinous crimes. “We believe in empowering our officials to take appropriate action, though within the bounds and ambit of law. When crimes shock the conscience of the society, the administrative machinery must roll out and discharge its lawful duty”. Asked to identify one policy success that she wants the people to judge her tenure by, Ms Gupta said, ‘’If five years from now Delhi becomes visibly cleaner, better connected and more efficiently governed, I would consider that a success.’’ The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday cancelled the Class 12 board examinations for students in several West Asian countries. In an official order dated 15 March, the board said: “All examinations of Class XII scheduled from 16 March to 10 April 2026 stand cancelled in case of students from Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.” The board added that examinations which had earlier been postponed would also stand cancelled. The CBSE said the modality for declaration of the Class XII results for the affected students in these countries would be announced in due course. category in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal, Mr Kumar said that, in accordance with Supreme Court directions, judicial officers working under the supervision of the Calcutta High Court would prepare a supplementary list. Names included in the supplementary list would be added to the existing electoral rolls as and when they are finalised. While for the BJP, the contests are an opportunity to consolidate power in Assam and expand further beyond the Hindi heartland, for Opposition parties, these elections are a do-or-die. For the INDIA bloc, the stakes are the highest given that two key players ~ the TMC and the DMK ~ are in power in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively. The states have sent a significant number of MPs to the Lok Sabha and the results can influence the future trajectory of the Opposition alliance. ‘If Sanju gets going, he can win you the game in the first 6 overs’ Page 12 CM announces payment of DA arrears ahead of poll schedule announcement STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 15 March Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that the West Bengal government will begin paying long-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to state government employees, pensioners, teachers and other staff from this monrh, just minutes before the announcement of the schedule for elections to the state Legislative Assembly. The announcement came shortly before the Election Commission of India was scheduled to declare the election dates for West Bengal and four other states. The poll panel was to address a press conference from Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan at 4 p.m. on Sunday. At around 3.05 p.m, Miss Banerjee posted on social media confirming that the state government would start disbursing the DA arrears from March 2026 in accordance with the provisions of the ROPA (Revision of Pay and Allowance)-2009 pay structure. “Our Maa-Mati-Manush government has kept its promise to all its employees, pensioners, lakhs of teachers, non-teaching staff, and employees and pensioners of panchayats and municipalities. They will begin receiving the pending DA under ROPA-2009 from March 2026,” the Chief Minister wrote. Miss Banerjee also said that the state Finance Department has already issued a notification detailing the process and schedule for disbursing the arrears. The Dearness Allowance issue has been a long-standing source of dispute between the West Bengal government and its employees. Various state government employee organisations have been demanding that the state pay DA at par with the rates provided to central government employees. The demand has triggered several protests and demonstrations over the past few years. The matter also reached the courts. The Supreme Court of India had earlier directed the state government to clear 25 per cent of the DA arrears immediately. The apex court had also constituted a committee comprising former judges to work out a mechanism for clearing the remaining dues. However, the state government subsequently approached the court seeking additional time until December to settle the arrears. The matter is yet to come up for a fresh hearing before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, leaders of the Co-ordination Committee, a Left-backed organisation of government employees, claimed that the government’s announcement came under pressure from their recent agitation. • Related reports: Page 3 LPG panic booking may be easing: Govt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Another Indian ship heads for home New Delhi, 15 March The government said on Sunday that it has taken several steps to ensure stable availability of petroleum products and LPG across the country in the wake of the West Asia crisis, while noting that panic booking of LPG cylinders seems to be easing. The government said LPG bookings have dropped to about 77 lakh from 88.8 lakh earlier, suggesting the rush for cylinders may be slowing. Online bookings have also risen to around 87 per cent. Domestic refineries are operating at high capacity and maintaining adequate crude oil inventories, the government said in an official Press statement released on behalf of the inter-ministerial committee dealing with the situation arising from the conflict in West Asia. Oil marketing companies have reported no dry-outs at fuel outlets or LP G distributorships, it added. The government encouraged consumers to avoid panic bookings, use digital booking platforms, and avoid unnecessary visits to LPG distributors. “The government remains committed to maintaining adequate LPG availability for households and essential sectors,’’ the statement said. Priority sectors continue to receive protected gas supplies, including 100 per cent supply to PNG and CNG, while supplies to industrial and commercial consumers are being regulated at about 80 New Delhi: Indian-flag vessel Jag Laadki, carrying about 80,800 metric tonnes of Murban crude oil, sailed safely from the UAE’s Fujairah port on Sunday for India after an attack on the Fujairah Oil Terminal while it was loading crude. The vessel and all Indian seafarers onboard are safe, , the Ministry of Shipping and Ports in a statement. Two Indian-flag LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 MT of LPG, which had crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, are currently on the way to India and are scheduled to reach Mundra Port on Monday and Kandla Port on Tuesday, respectively. At present, 22 Indian-flagged vessels with 611 seafarers remain west of the Persian Gulf region, according to the ministry. per cent, it added. Officials said domestic LPG production from refineries has been maximised while alternate fuels such as kerosene and coal are being activated for sectors like hospitality and restaurants to reduce pressure on LPG supplies. Enforcement agencies in several states including Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have launched raids to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG cylinders, while officials of public sector oil marketing companies are conducting surprise inspections at distributorships. So far, 22 States and Union Territories have set up control rooms to monitor fuel supply and distribution, with others in the process of doing so, and states such as Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar have issued orders for allocation of non-domestic LPG in line with government guidelines. The Iran-US war: What it could cost India JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY New Delhi, 15 March What will be the real cost of the Iran-US conflict on the Indian economy? The war in one of India’s key export regions which accounts for a sixth of its exports and about USD 50 billion in remittances has already started creating black holes in Indian balance sheets. “Gas-burning factories across Gujarat, Maharashtra and several other states have fallen idle. The entire secondary steel sector has been hit,” said Pankaj Chadha, chairman of EEPC India. “First, there is not enough gas available to smelt iron into steel. Second, the scrap that we used to import for melting down is no longer arriving. Then the export orders are in jeopardy. Containers are lying empty all over the place.” The shipping squeeze, where sending containers through the Straits of Hormuz has become impossible, not to speak of the crude and gas shortage and its inflationary impact is liable to hit the Indian economy for billions of dollars in just the week gone by. “It’s all up in the air, we really do not know how much it will cost us, a mere bystander in the war,” said Prof Biswajit Dhar, former WTO Chair at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). Industry experts believe the ongoing conflict in the Gulf region could cost India between USD 2-3 billion in electronics exports alone. Up to USD 4 billion in monthly shipments are at risk due to rising freight costs and logistics delays. “The conflict threatens $50 billion in remittances, creates potential for skyrocketing oil prices, and disrupts key trade routes, putting Indian electronics, garments, and agricultural exports like rice and tea are at severe risk,” said Dhar. India receives USD138 billion in annual remittances, with roughly 38 per cent (about USD 50 billion) coming from Gulf nations, which is now threatened. India’s basket of crude for the month of March now costs USD 101.25 a barrel. While Brent crude prices have shot up in the spot market to USD 103.86, the month’s highest. “The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime corridor connecting the Gulf to our energy markets, has today effectively become a geopolitical fault line,” said Commodore Ranjit Rai, former Director of Naval Intelligence and a security analyst. Shipping disruptions are adding further strain. Insurance costs for tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz have climbed sharply as insurers factor in heightened war risk. At the same time, shipping delays are increasing the cost of • Turn to Page 10