3 Things

First, The Indian Express Diplomatic Affairs Editor, Shubhajit Roy, shares his observations from the 2024 SCO summit, which marked the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nine years.
Next, The Indian Express’ Amitabh Sinha discusses the importance of common resources and the challenges in preserving and maintaining them (13:58).

Finally, we provide a quick update on Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was appointed on Friday as the poll campaign in-charge for the Jalna Assembly seat under Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena (26:20)

Hosted by Ichha Sharma
Written and produced by Niharika Nanda and Ichha Sharma
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The headlines of the day from The Indian Express.

On the 12th of October, Baba Siddique, a prominent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and a member of the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra, was shot dead in Bandra. While the exact motive behind the killing remains unclear, the Mumbai police suspect that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved. The incident has cast a spotlight on the city's law and order situation, reminding people of the notorious gang-related crimes Mumbai witnessed in the 1990s.

In this episode, The Indian Express' Mohamed Thaver and Shubhangi Khapre discuss what we know about the killing so far, the concerns it raises, and its implications for the ruling alliance so close to the upcoming elections.

Hosted, written, and produced by Shashank Bhargava
Audio clips sources by Ichha Sharma
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

As part of our ongoing collaboration with Central Square Foundation - we bring to you the fourth part of this series of conversations where we will speak to experts in the field of EdTech and AI to learn how the fast evolving world of Artificial Intelligence has a critical role to play in shaping the evolving space of EdTech and how school children will learn in the future.

Manifestations of generative AI in Ed-tech and education are manifold. From providing immediate feedback to teachers, to helping students grasp concepts more seamlessly. This kind of technology can also help EdTech providers process large volumes of material efficiently to generate lesson plans, quizzes and more for meeting learning objectives of the students.

In this episode, Niharika Nanda will be in conversation with Gouri Gupta, Project Director for EdTech, CSF and Swati Vasudevan, Managing Director for Khan Academy in India.

Hosted and produced by Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Previous episodes in association with CSF:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Ichha Sharma.
Today is the 18th of October and here are this week’s headlines.

India strongly refuted Canada's claims on Tuesday regarding evidence of Indian involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Government sources indicated that no specifics had been provided and criticized Canada for shifting the burden of proof onto India. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the importance of their upcoming national security advisor meeting, but no progress was reported. Indian officials dismissed Canadian assertions as vague accusations, asserting that they are unfounded and misleading.

The Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday that the Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on 20th of November, while Jharkhand will vote in two phases on 13th and 20th November. Results for both elections will be revealed on 23rd of November. The BJP aims to regain power in Maharashtra, where it partners with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and seeks to gain ground in Jharkhand.

The Indian Express learnt that days after receiving multiple bomb threats against flights on social media, Indian intelligence agencies traced the originating IP addresses to London and Germany. The agencies requested X to provide the IP addresses linked to the posts and to deactivate the associated accounts. Initial reports indicate that three accounts were involved, with two IPs traced to London and Germany. Users appeared to have utilized a VPN to conceal their identities, while details of the third account are still pending.

OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in as Chief Minister of Haryana for a second term in Panchkula on Thursday, following the BJP's historic success in the recent Assembly elections. Saini staked his claim to form the government, hours after being unanimously elected as the BJP's state legislature party leader, The swearing-in ceremony attended by Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah among other prominent leaders coincided with Valmiki Jayanti, and 14 cabinet ministers, including Saini, took their oaths.

In a landmark decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which grants citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam before January 1, 1966. The court called for stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration and judicial oversight of citizenship legislation. While Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and three justices supported the ruling, Justice J.B. Pardiwala dissented. The bench clarified that immigrants entering Assam after 25th of March, 1971, are deemed illegal.


Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar — a mastermind of the 7th f October, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war — was killed on thursday in an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. The death of Sinwar represents a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent leaders of its enemies in recent months. Sinwar became the leader of Hamas following the assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in August. He had not been seen in public since the Hamas attacks, and was believed to be hiding in the extensive network of tunnels beneath Gaza.

This was the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express.
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CSF Episode links:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

First, The Indian Express' Divya A explains what led to the expulsion of Canadian and Indian diplomats by both the countries, the updates that have surfaced in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case and how all this has impacted the relationship between India and Canada.

Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Anonna Dutt who shares details of the 50 medicines that have found to be not up to desired standards. She shares the categories of medicines identified, what steps are taken to solve the problem and whether or not it is a matter of concern for the regular public. (12:56)

Finally, we talk about the bomb threats that Indian flights have been receiving in past one week, the investigation that has happened and what has been found out. (23:02)

Written, produced and hosted by Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

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CSF Episode links:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
Today is the 17th of October and here are the headlines.


Days after receiving multiple bomb threats against flights on social media, Indian intelligence agencies have traced the originating IP addresses to London and Germany, according to The Indian Express. The agencies requested X to provide the IP addresses linked to the posts and to deactivate the associated accounts. Preliminary reports indicate that three accounts were involved, with two IPs traced to London and Germany. Users appeared to have utilized a VPN to conceal their identities, while details of the third account are still pending.

In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which grants citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam before January 1, 1966. The court called for stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration and judicial oversight of citizenship legislation. While Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and three justices supported the ruling, Justice J.B. Pardiwala dissented. The bench clarified that immigrants entering Assam after March 25, 1971, are deemed illegal.

The United States confirmed that ‘CC1,’ a former RAW officer implicated in the failed plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is no longer an employee of the Indian government. During a press briefing, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced a productive meeting between a high-level Indian inquiry committee and U.S. officials, where both parties shared updates on their investigations. This visit comes amid diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa over alleged Indian involvement in the Nijjar assassination case.

OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in as Chief Minister of Haryana for a second term in Panchkula today, following the BJP's historic success in the recent Assembly elections. Hours after being unanimously elected as the BJP's state legislature party leader, Saini staked his claim to form the government. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office. The swearing-in ceremony coincided with Valmiki Jayanti, and 14 cabinet ministers, including Saini, took their oaths on the same day.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal issued an arrest warrant today for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August following a large student-led protest. The tribunal also issued warrants for 45 others, including Hasina’s close aides and top Awami League leaders, over alleged crimes against humanity. The orders were passed by Chairman Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar after the prosecution filed two petitions for the warrants, according to Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam, as reported by the Daily Star.

This was the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express.

CSF Episodes:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

Last week, 57-year-old former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba passed away in a Hyderabad hospital following post-operative complications after undergoing surgery for gallbladder stones. Saibaba, who had 90% disabled due to a polio infection he contracted during his childhood, spent nearly a decade in jail for alleged Maoist links before being acquitted by the Bombay High Court seven months ago. 

During his incarceration, his family and lawyers repeatedly raised concerns about his deteriorating health. Those close to him now describe his death as an institutional murder. In this episode, we take a deeper look at his case to understand the failings of the State and judiciary.

Hosted, written and produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
Today is the 16th of October and here are the headlines.

In a thinly veiled reference to China and Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that that “if trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address.” Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation heads of government meeting in Islamabad, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar listed out the key challenges that SCO was committed to combatting: terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

Bomb threats to flights of Indian airlines continued on Wednesday with at least six flights — three of IndiGo, two of SpiceJet and one of Akasa Air — being the latest additions to the growing list. With these six flights, the number of confirmed instances of bomb threats to Indian carrier’s flights over the past three days has risen to 18. Three international flights – one of Air India and two of IndiGo – had received bomb threats on Monday, while another nine flights spanning across all major carriers had received threats on Tuesday. All the threats on Monday and Tuesday came via social media platforms, and eventually turned out to be fake.

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah took oath as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmirtoda. He has sought to balance political representation for both provinces of the UT with his five Cabinet picks. In his first comments after taking oath, the Chief Minister said, “We will not let Jammu feel that they do not have a voice or representation in the current government. We have brought in a Deputy CM to ensure this and this will be our endeavour going forth as well.” Nowshera MLA Surinder Choudhary took oath as Deputy CM.

In the wake of an ongoing investigation against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over alleged irregularities in the grant of land, Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman K Marigowda resigned today. In his resignation letter to the Urban Development Department, Marigowda said that it was his personal decision to resign and cited health reasons. Later while speaking to reporters, Marigowda said he was asked by Siddaramaiah to resign from the post.

A devastating accident involving a fuel tanker occurred late Tuesday night in Majia, a town located in the Taura local government area of Jigawa State, resulting in at least 94 fatalities and injuring 50 others. The police confirmed the incident today, highlighting the tragic circumstances that unfolded when the driver lost control of the vehicle.

This was the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, The Indian Express' Anjali Marar talks to us about the National Supercomputing Mission and India's Supercomputers. She shares the details of the mission, when it was started, how many Supercomputers have been developed in India, what they do and more.

Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Anonna Dutt who shares details of the Shukrayaan-1 mission - India's mission to Venus. Anonna explains how India plans on studying the Venus by implementing its second interplanetary mission, what all it aims to find out and how ISRO is working to reach the Venus' orbit. (9:26)

Finally, we talk about the incessant rains in Chennai that have caused the havoc in the city and its neighbouring areas. (20:34)

Written and produced by Niharika Nanda and Ichha Sharma
Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar