3 Things

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
Today is the 28th of August and here are the headlines.

In her first reaction to the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata, President Droupadi Murmu today said that she was “dismayed and horrified” over the incident and asked the country to wake up to the “perversion” of crimes against women. The President told news agency PTI, “Those who share such views then go further and see the female as an object… We owe it to our daughters to remove the hurdles from their path of winning the freedom from fear." The President added that no civilised society can allow daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities. “The nation is bound to be outraged, and so am I,” she wrote.

From the Army leading rescue operations in Vadodara, nine more people dying, taking the toll in rain-related incidents to 16 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialling CM Bhupendra Patel to assure all help— heavy rains have wreaked havoc in Gujarat. Over 8,500 people have been relocated and rescued from flood-affected areas as rain continued to lash some parts of the state for the fourth consecutive day today. The IMD has issued a ‘red alert’ for several districts, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next five days. 

The Enforcement Directorate today said a penalty of Rs 908 crore has been slapped in a case related to the violation of foreign exchange rules against DMK MP S Jagathratchakan and his family members. The federal agency issued a statement which said that properties worth Rs 89.19 crore, seized in September 2020, have been confiscated following an adjudication order issued on August 26 under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Jagathratchakan, 76, represents the Arakkonam Lok Sabha seat. The agency said a FEMA probe was initiated against the MP, a businessman from Tamil Nadu, his family members and related Indian entity.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved setting up of 12 industrial smart cities under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) with an estimated investment of Rs. 28,602 crore. The project spans across 10 states and is strategically planned along six major corridors. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project will create an investment potential of about Rs 1.52 lakh crore.

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that India's position on a peaceful resolution for the Ukraine conflict aligns with Russia’s worldview. According to a Reuters report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that while Russia supports India's advocacy for a peaceful settlement, it is "more than obvious" that there is no basis for negotiations at the moment. Peskov also dismissed Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s proposed plan to end the conflict, asserting that Russia would continue its "special military operation" in Ukraine. 

This was the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express' Diplomatic Affairs Editor, Shubhajit Roy, discusses the significance of PM Modi's visit to Ukraine and what it signals to India's Western allies and Russia.

Next, Indian Express' Anonna Dutt talks about the case of a two-year-old child from Meghalaya testing positive for vaccine-derived polio and the concerns it raises (13:08).

Finally, Indian Express' Amitabh Sinha explains how the IMD is set to receive a major upgrade, with the government planning to allocate thousands of crores to its budget (21:05).

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 27th of August and here are the headlines.

Students of the Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj are marching towards the state secretariat “Nabanna” from Kolkata’s College Square this afternoon. The Kolkata police which called the march “illegal” are using water cannons and tear gas shells on the protesters who are resorting to breaking barricades and throwing stones at the policemen deployed along the route. The BJP which is said to be backing the student body has claimed that police lathi charge has led to several protesters being injured. The ‘March to Nabanna’ seeks the resignation of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in light of the alleged rape and murder of the trainee doctor at R G Kar Hospital.

The findings of the Justice Hema Committee and the numerous sexual misconduct allegations that emerged against several male insiders since the panel report’s release recently have finally led to the collapse of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) as its office bearers submitted mass resignation today. While Malayalam superstar Mohanlal stepped down as president of the association, Manorama Online reported, all members of the executive committee have also submitted their joint resignations. Meanwhile, A day after police booked veteran filmmaker Ranjith on charges of sexual misconduct, two more women professionals today moved similar complaints against multiple actors, including CPI(M) MLA Mukesh.

In a relief for BRS leader K Kavitha, the Supreme Court today granted her bail in the money laundering and corruption cases linked to alleged Delhi excise policy scam.A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan noted that Kavitha has been in custody for around five months and the probe against her by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was complete in these cases, news agency PTI reported. While the CBI is investigating the corruption charges, the ED is probing into the money laundering case. Kavitha was arrested by the ED from her residence in Hyderabad on March 15. The CBI arrested her on April 11 while she was incarcerated in the Tihar Jail.

Four deaths have been reported today due to relentless rains, as heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours has severely disrupted life Gujarat. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) advised residents to avoid areas prone to waterlogging and exercise extreme caution while traveling. In Vadodara, meanwhile, electricity has been turned off in some areas owing to waterlogging. As a precaution, district administrations have announced the closure of schools and colleges in the affected areas on Tuesday. 56 trains were cancelled due to significant waterlogging.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin today, almost a week after his visit to Ukraine. During the conversation, Modi reiterated “India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict”.Taking to social media platform X, Modi said the two leaders also discussed measures to further strengthen Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

This was the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express

First, Indian Express' Harikishan Sharma talks to us about the newly introduced Unified Pension Scheme. He also shares the expenditure done by the government on pensions and the difference between the UPS, the NPS and the OPS.

Next, Indian Express’ Sohini Ghosh speaks to us about the findings of the Chandrayaan-3. She shares the hypothesis that is believed around the world with regards to the moon's formation and whether or not Chandrayaan-3's findings validate that. (14:14)\

And in the end, we talk about a claim of sexual misconduct by a Malayalam actress post the Hema Committee Report. (25:15)

Hosted, written and produced by Niharika Nanda
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 26th of August and here are the headlines.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced today that the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to create five new districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh. These districts include Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang. According to the official website of the Ladakh administration, two districts made up the Union Territory — Leh and Kargil. Where Leh had six sub-divisions, Kargil had four.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party released its first list of 15 candidates for the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls today. Earlier in the day, the BJP had released a list of 82 candidates, which reportedly mentioned those contesting in the second and third phases as well, which they took down shortly after its release. The elections to the 90-member J&K Assembly will be held across three phases on the 18th of September, the 25th of September, and the 1st of October. Results will be announced on the 4th of October.

According to records accessed under the Right To Information Act, The Indian Express learnt official scrutiny that lasted nine years till 2019 tracked 1,084 complaints of Government jobs being acquired on fake caste certificates. The RTI records were made available for 59 of the 93 ministries and departments under the Government. From these cases, 92 personnel were dismissed from service, records from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) show. These numbers assume significance given the Puja Khedkar case who is in the dock for allegedly presenting dodgy caste and disability certificates to secure a seat in the civil services.

The second #MeToo movement that has hit the Malayalam film industry continued to bring more actors under the shadow of alleged sexual misconduct as actor Minu Muneer alleged today that she faced physical and verbal assault from various actors, including a two-time CPI(M) legislator in Kerala Assembly. She has also accused a prominent actor of having tried to assault her at a hotel during the shooting of ‘Calender’ and ‘Nadakame Ulakam’. The actors who have been named have yet to publicly respond to these specific allegations.

At least 31 people have been killed in two separate attacks by gunmen in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province. While twenty-three people were killed in Pakistan’s Balochistan, gunmen killed at least nine people, including four police officers and five passersby, in the Qalat district. According to Assistant Commissioner Musakhail Najeeb Kakar, the assailants blocked the inter-provincial highway in Musakhel’s Rarasham district, offloading passengers from several buses. He added that while three of those killed were from Balochistan, the rest were from the Punjab province. Dawn newspaper reported that the gunmen further set up 10 vehicles on fire.

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

The Justice Hema Committee report, which had been with the Kerala state government for the last four-and-a-half years, was released last week after several rounds of legal battles in court. The report highlights the challenges faced by women in the film industry, including sexual harassment, inadequate facilities such as women’s toilets, gender bias and discrimination, pay disparity, and the absence of a legally established authority to address these issues.

In this episode, we speak to Indian Express’ Pooja Pillai and Shubhra Gupta about the significance of the report, its biggest highlights, and the broader implications for the Malayalam film industry.

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 Ichha Sharma.
Today is the 23rd of August and here are this week’s headlines.

The apex court heard matters related to the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The Supreme Court has intervened, ordering the West Bengal government not to penalise those peacefully demanding justice for the junior doctor. SC also urged striking doctors to return to work, assuring them of protection from reprisals. 

On Wednesday afternoon, during the lunch break at pharmaceutical company Escientia in Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone a reactor exploded on the second floor killing 17 people. Chief Minister  Chandrababu Naidu met the families and declared the state government would take care of the families of the deceased, and has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore for each. The seriously injured will be given Rs 50 lakh, and those with minor injuries will be given Rs 25 lakh. 

In Bihar, amid a nationwide strike called by Dalit and Adivasi groups against the Supreme Court’s decision to permit the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, police lathi-charged protesters in Patna on Wednesday. As many as twenty-one organisations called for Bharat Bandh against the SC order. Left parties, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Bahujan Samajwadi Party have extended support to the nationwide bandh.  

At least 10 people were killed and one was missing in landslides and flood-related incidents in Tripura since Sunday. An official statement said that at least 32,750 people have taken shelter in 330 relief camps due to heavy rainfall. Following a request from Chief Minister Manik Saha to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, four additional NDRF teams arrived in the state to assist in the rescue operations. The northeastern state witnessed as many as 1,900 landslides causing disruption in road connectivity.

Meanwhile, expressing shock over the Badlapur school sexual abuse case involving two four-year-old girls, the Bombay High Court on Thursday slammed the local police for dereliction of duty. It also questioned the school authorities for not reporting the incident on time, and asked what is the use of speaking about the right of education when schools are not safe. Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi have called for a “Maharashtra bandh” on Saturday to protest against the alleged sexual assault.

In a statement issued during his two-day visit to Poland and Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced “deep concern” over the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. This is the first visit to Poland by an Indian Prime Minister after 45 years, and the first to Ukraine since it gained independence in 1991. He added that no conflict can be resolved on the battlefield, while also assuring all possible cooperation from India for restoration of peace and stability, as the Russia-Ukraine war crosses the 900-day mark.

 This was the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express

First, Indian Express’ Vijay Kumar Yadav tells us about the Badlapur school case, where a janitor allegedly sexually abused two four-year-old girls.

Next, Indian Express’ Asad Rehman explains why the recruitment of approximately 69,000 assistant teachers in UP is now under scrutiny (10:26).

Finally, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath discusses the Supreme Court's criticism of the West Bengal state government and its appeal to striking doctors to return to work (18:55).

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 22nd of August and here are the headlines.

The Supreme Court today resumed hearing matters related to the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The Court after examining a report filed by Kolkata police, questioned the timing, sequence of registration of unnatural death cases, and postmortem. It has urged doctors, who are on strike, to return to work and assured them that no adverse action will be taken against them. Meanwhile, the CBI has been interrogating two key individuals — Sanjay Roy, the civic volunteer, who is the main accused, and Ghosh.

Moving on to Maharashtra, rxpressing shock over the Badlapur school sexual abuse case involving two four-year-old girls, the Bombay High Court today slammed the local police for dereliction of duty. It also questioned the school authorities for not reporting the incident on time, and asked what is the use of speaking about the right of education when schools are not safe. The court slammed the police machinery for not working “unless there is a public outburst”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said no conflict can be resolved on the battlefield, while also assuring all possible cooperation from India for restoration of peace and stability, as the Russia-Ukraine war crosses the 900-day mark. During a statement issued during his visit to Poland and a day ahead of his visit to Ukraine, the Prime Minister voiced “deep concern” over the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. “The conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are matters of deep concern for all of us. It is India’s firm belief that a solution to any problem cannot be found on the battlefield,” Modi said after talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

At least 10 people were killed and one was missing in landslides and flood-related incidents in Tripura since Sunday. An official statement said that at least 32,750 people have taken shelter in 330 relief camps due to heavy rainfall. Following a request from Chief Minister Manik Saha to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, four additional NDRF teams arrived in the state to assist in the rescue operations. The northeastern state witnessed as many as 1,900 landslides causing disruption in road connectivity.

On the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Hindu priest Rakesh Bhatt from the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Maryland opened the proceedings with a Vedic prayer. As chants of “Om Shanti Shanti” filled the hall, Bhatt sought blessings for a united nation. Bhatt urged Americans to elect a leader who embodies the Vedic concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ or “the whole world is one family.” Meanwhile, US President Kamala Harris is expected to formally accept nomination for her presidential candidature for the Democrats on the final day of the convention.


This was the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Expres

First, Indian Express' Vikas Pathak talks to us about the Lateral Entry appointments. He shares what these recruitments are, how are they different from the usual UPSC recruitments, why the opposition has criticized this policy and what made the government withdraw the UPSC's advertisement. 

Next, Indian Express’ Sujit Bisoyi speaks to us about a major state disaster that Odisha faces - lightning strikes. He shares why Odisha is highly prone to lightning strikes, what kind of fatalities are caused by it and what the state government is doing to improve the situation. (14:59)

And in the end, we talk about Champai Soren and his political plans. With the Jharkhand assembly elections around the corner, Champai Soren has expressed his interest in joining a new party. (23:26)

Hosted, written and produced by Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
--------------------------------------

India is the country with the largest population worldwide. And with that, a strong mentality is required to stand out from the crowd and turn dreams into reality. A mindset that separates the cream from the crop in society. There are a few among us who have that all important Megacity Mindset. Check out DW's inspiring docu-series "Megacity Mindset," streaming on JioCinema. It features five remarkable celebrities across India's vibrant cities. In Chennai, Tamil rapper Arivu breaks boundaries with his powerful music. In Delhi, pilot and UN Women ambassador Zoya Agarwal inspires by shattering stereotypes. Click on the link and watch now and see what sets these innovative personalities apart. Success begins in the mind.

https://www.jiocinema.com/tv-shows/megacity-mindset-life-among-millions/3970099