3 Things

Indian Express' Udit Misra joins us to discuss everything you need to know about the Interim Budget 2024.

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This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 1st of February and here are the headlines.

Presenting the interim Union Budget in Parliament this morning, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that there would be no change in tax rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import duties. Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit for 2024-25 is estimated at 5.1 per cent of GDP against 5.8 per cent in the current financial year. With the Lok Sabha polls right around the corner, Sitharaman kicked off her Budget speech by highlighting the economic triumphs of the Modi government over the last decade.

The political reactions to the Budget were largely along expected lines. Political leaders from the ruling NDA alliance have welcomed it, while some Opposition leaders very quickly wrote it off as “disappointing”. While, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the Budget “encouraging”, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, quote, "It was one of the shortest speeches on record in the Budget. Not very much came out of it,” Unquote.

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Jharkhand following the Hemant Soren’s resignation and subsequent arrest last night, Governor CP Radhakrishnan has agreed to to meet the coalition legislators today. Late night, Champai Soren, the state’s Transport Minister and a loyalist of the CM, had staked claim to form the government, but the Governor had sought time saying he will revert on their proposal after considering the legalities.

The Supreme Court today asked the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, which had approached it against the Varanasi district court’s order allowing Hindus to perform prayers in the Gyanvapi mosque’s southern cellar, to move the Allahabad High Court. The mosque committee, as a result, moved the Allahabad High Court. The Advocate on Record for the mosque committee, this morning, had moved an urgent application before the Supreme Court seeking its intervention.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has acquitted a 40-year-old man, who spent nearly 12 years in jail, after finding that his daughter’s rape allegation against him was made after her father had objected to her being in a relationship. The court also found that she had previously admitted that her father did not have sexual relations with her. The HC noted that it was “clear like noon day that her statement by no stretch of imagination can be said to be of sterling quality”.

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

First, we talk about the Mayor elections in Chandigarh and how they transpired and to give us details, we have Indian Express' Hina Rohatki joining us.

Second, we talk about the Maratha reservation issue and the new draft notification that has come out with regards to it. To give us a better understanding we have Indian Express' Alok Deshpande joining us. (10:55)

Lastly, we talk about the Varanasi District Court allowing prayers to take place in the Gyanvapi mosque complex. (19:47)

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Episode Notes:ASI Report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvCSAL0Ojg

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 31st of January and here are the headlines.

While addressing the Parliament Budget Session today, President Droupadi Murmu said that the “dignity of every citizen is paramount” and the government is emphasising on “human-centric development.” She added that the government is working on a “big vision — it has a roadmap for the next 25 years”. In an address before the commencement of the Budget Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Opposition MPs that it was an “opportunity to repent and leave behind positive footprints”.

In Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, with the civic elections on hold for two years now, the quality of infrastructure in the neighbourhood could very well depend on which party the MLA is from. An investigation by The Indian Express has revealed that under a February 2023 policy that allows MLAs to seek funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for civic works, each of the 21 ruling alliance MLAs sought, and got, funds till December 2023. In stark contrast, not one of the 15 Opposition MLAs (of the Uddhav Bal Thackeray Shiv Sena and Congress) got any money even though as many as 11 of them had asked for funds. The Indian Express spoke to each of the 15 Opposition MLAs to independently verify if they applied for funds, and if the Guardian Ministers approved it. Despite repeated attempts, BMC Commissioner IS Chahal was not available for comment.

The back window of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s car broke today as thousands of people thronged Labha Bridge in West Bengal’s Malda to watch the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra enter the state from Bihar. While Rahul was on a bus when the incident took place, Congress leaders cried foul, calling it a security lapse. A senior Congress leader said, quote, “All policemen are busy with Mamata Banerjee’s rally scheduled in Malda today. Very few police officials have been deputed for this ceremony,” Unquote.

As many as 134 roads, including four national highways, were closed in Himachal Pradesh and normal life was disrupted as tribal areas and other high reaches received the first major snowfall of the year today. The local MeT department has issued an orange warning of heavy snow and rains at isolated places for today and tomorrow.

Soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army recently stopped shepherds in Ladakh from grazing their cattle near the Line of Actual Control. The incident – which took place in Nyoma in eastern Ladakh, came to light after a purported video emerged on social media. Chushul councillor confirmed to The Indian Express that the incident took place on 2nd of January 2 and the “issue has been resolved since”.


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

First, we are joined by Indian Express' Santosh Singh and Vikas Pathak who break down Nitish Kumar's return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

Second, we talk about a 27-year-old model named Divya Pahuja, who was shot dead at a hotel in Gurugram. Indian Express' Aiswarya Raj joins us to share the details of the case.

Lastly, we talk about how the suspension of 11 Rajya Sabha MPs was revoked in light of the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.

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This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 30th of January and here are the headlines.

Floor leaders of various parties attended an all-party meeting today convened by the government ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. The suspension of 11 Rajya Sabha MPs, who were suspended during the Winter Session of Parliament was revoked. During the meet, the Centre assured the leaders of various political parties that they were ready to discuss every issue.

The BJP’s Manoj Sonkar was declared the Mayor of Chandigarh today after he won the mayoral polls. He won with 16 votes against the 12 votes bagged by the Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Tita. Eight votes were declared invalid, which led Opposition leaders to raise allegations of rigging. The polls are considered significant as it is the maiden electoral test of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance against the BJP and also saw the first alliance between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress.

In a rare verdict, an additional district sessions court in Kerala’s Alappuzha district awarded the death sentence today to 15 people linked to the PFI-SDPI in the murder of BJP leader Ranjith Sreenivasan in 2021. The BJP OBC Morcha state secretary Ranjith, was hacked to death in front of his wife, mother and minor daughter in Alappuzha town on 19th of December 2021. The murder happened hours after SDPI state secretary K S Shan was killed in Alappuzha by a gang allegedly belonging to RSS-BJP on the night of 18th of December.

With opposition BJP claiming Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was “missing”, the latter was seen at his residence, where MLAs of the ruling coalition gathered for a meeting. Soren wrote an email to the ED today, agreeing to record his statement before the agency tomorrow at 1 pm at his residence. He termed the agency’s insistence on recording a statement on or before 31st of January as “politically motivated”.

The Navy today said that it has rescued a crew of 19 Pakistani nationals from 11 Somali pirates in a successful operation on the hijacked fishing vessel Al Naeemi. The Navy’s INS Sumitra carried out the anti-piracy operation – the second in the last 36 hours – off the east coast of Somalia. On 29th of January, the same warship had thwarted a piracy attempt on the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel FV Iman, ensuring the safe release of the 17 crew members.

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

First, India is planning to enter the competition to host the 2036 Olympics. This is why India has proposed a 6000 crore rupees master plan to construct Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Ahmedabad.To understand how India plans to take it forward, Indian Express' Ritu Sharma joins us in this segment.

Second, Indian Express' Amitabh Sinha joins us to talk about Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana announced by PM Modi. (8:13)

Last, Indian Express’ Hina Rohatki joins us to talk about a new policy that aims to improve physical fitness within the Indian Army. (17:02)

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Written and Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 29th of January and here are the headlines.

The Election Commission today announced that elections for 56 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states will be held on 27th of February 27. The terms of the 56 MPs in question are set to end on 2nd and 3rd of April. The elections will cover seats in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Rajasthan. Among the MPs whose terms are ending are Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, BJP president JP Nadda, and Samajwadi Party MP, actor Jaya Bachchan.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today said that a draft for a Uniform Civil Code prespred by an expert committee would submit it on 2nd of February. He added that the government would thereafter introduce a Bill in the Assembly to implement the UCC. The report is learnt to have emphasised gender equality and equal rights for daughters in ancestral properties. It does not, however, suggest raising the marriageable age of women to 21 years.

As per a Finance Ministry report, the Indian economy is likely to grow at over 7 per cent in the coming years. The report titled ‘The Indian economy — A review’ said India is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world in the next three years, with a GDP of $5 trillion. This would be driven by domestic demand along with supply-side measures such as investment in infrastructure and measures to boost manufacturing.

An 18-year-old girl died by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota early today, leaving behind a note saying that she is taking this extreme step as a last resort. As per reports, the teenager was preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination. The police said she was tense about the exam and hence took this step. This is the second death by suicide in Kota this year. Last year, about 30 students died by suicide in the city.

A 25-year-old Indian student who recently earned an MBA degree in the US was hammered to death by a homeless drug addict whom he had been helping for the past couple of days in Georgia. The incident was caught on camera when assailant Julian Faulkner mercilessly struck Vivek Saini nearly 50 times on the head with a hammer. Saini, a part-time clerk at a store that sheltered Faulkner, had shown kindness to the accused for almost two days and provided him with chips, a coke, water, and even a jacket for warmth.

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

Last week, the report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), tasked with conducting a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, was made public.The report concluded that "there existed a Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure" at the site.In this episode, Indian Express’ Asad Rehman and Apurva Vishwanath join us to discuss the revelations of the report and the extent to which it will impact the Gyanvapi Mosque case, along with the disputes that have persisted for decades.

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Written and Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain, extending warm wishes to our listeners on the occasion of India's 75th Republic Day today.
It’s the 26th of January and and here are the top stories of this week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at the Ayodhya Ram Temple on Monday. The sculpted Ram Lalla idol, crafted by Arun Yogiraj, was unveiled during the ceremony. Over 8,000 invitees attended the event, including prominent celebrities such as actors, sportspersons, industrialists, etc. Ayodhya witnessed a massive influx of devotees, that resulted in a stampede-like situation, a day after the consecration of the temple.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh’s car was allegedly attacked and media persons accompanying the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra “manhandled” by miscreants in Assam’s Sonitpur on Sunday. Meanwhile the Assam Police registered an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders on Tuesday after a scuffle broke out between people taking part in the Yatra and the local cops when the yatra tried to enter Guwahati city that day. This week, the yatra reached West Bengal.

In a jolt to the INDIA bloc ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced that the Aam Aadmi Party will not stitch up an alliance with Congress in the state. Mann’s declaration came as Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said the TMC is not in any discussion with the Congress, and that her party would contest by itself in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state.

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously to two-time Bihar chief minister and socialist icon Karpoori Thakur on Tuesday. Often remembered as the “voice of the oppressed and the downtrodden”, Thakur served as the chief minister of Bihar from December 1970 to June 1971 and from December 1977 to April 1979. Also called ‘jannayak’, he is widely considered as the pioneer of OBC and EBC reservations in the country.

As President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of the 75th Republic Day on Thursday, she said this year of the Republic is “truly a historic milestone in the journey of the nation in many ways”. Calling the time India is seeing currently as one of an "epochal transformation" with the golden opportunity to soar to new heights, President Droupadi Murmu said the nation is in the early years of Amrit Kaal. Speaking of Republic Day, French President Emmaunel Macron is the chief guest for this year's Republic Day event. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday for dinner at Jaipur’s Taj Rambagh Palace where they held discussions on bilateral and global issues of concern and interest.

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