Tag: india headlines

Express Investigation

One of them is in the strategic border state of Arunachal, the proposed largest hydel plant in India; the other is on the state’s border with Assam, currently the largest hydel project under construction. Then there’s the proposed new international airport in Goa; a mine in Odisha run by the world’s largest coal producer; the country’s first private mega thermal plant in Chhattisgarh — and, finally, the flagship river-linking project in Madhya Pradesh. These are six mega projects where stringent conditions to compensate for the project’s high environmental impact have been sidestepped, an investigation by The Indian Express has revealed. 

Only in the Express

The Centre will come out with an expression of interest for the sale of IDBI Bank by the end of March but may not offload its entire stake in the bank in one go, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. The government will also file the Draft Red Herring Prospectus, or the primary prospectus, of Life Insurance Corporation with the market regulator next week, and expects to list it on stock exchanges by the end of the financial year. 

From the Front Page

Calling Beijing’s move to pick a Chinese soldier involved in the Galwan incident as an Olympic torchbearer “regrettable”, India said that its envoy will not attend the opening or closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics beginning Friday in Beijing. This, in effect, means that New Delhi will boycott the Olympics at the diplomatic level although it will send an athlete for the event.

With a week left for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh, the first cracks appeared in the Opposition front with one of the partners of the Samajwadi Party-led alliance “returning” the seats that were part of its share. The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) was to contest 18 seats as part of its alliance with the SP. But trouble began when the SP announced its leader Amarnath Maurya as the candidate from Allahabad West, one of the seats on the Apna Dal (K)’s list and the latter decided to “return” the seats offered to it.

The government has written to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to disallow an MP’s provisionally accepted question in the Upper House on the ‘Position of India in Democracy Index’, seeking the reason why India slid to the 53rd position in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, The Indian Express has learnt. The question, scheduled for a response on February 10, had been asked by TMC MP Shanta Chhetri. 

Must Read 

He is among the last of Chambal’s dreaded dacoits, facing over a hundred cases including murder. Now, Jagan Gurjar is the target of a police manhunt across three states after he openly issued threats on video to Girraj Singh Malinga, Congress MLA in Rajasthan’s Dholpur district, daring the legislator to face him without his security. Malinga hit back, telling Gurjar to specify a time and turn up at his home if he is a “mard ka bacchha”.

Does the Punjab Congress finally have a CM face? Well, all indications point towards Charanjit Singh Channi. An internal survey conducted by the party found that he was most popular among the aspirants for the top post. Congress sources said over 50 lakh people were contacted and asked about their preference between three choices: Channi, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, or not to name anyone. Rahul Gandhi is set to make an official announcement on February 6 at a virtual rally. 

This year’s Budget indicates that growth will have to be public sector driven, according to Jehangir Aziz, Chief Emerging Markets Economist at J P Morgan. He writes: “The budget has complicated macroeconomic management and the continued emphasis on public-sector driven growth raises concerns about the sustainability of such a strategy with debt already at such a high level.”

Rahul Gandhi’s fiery speech in Parliament, where he accused the Modi government of “weakening” the country and bringing Pakistan and China together, sparked a war of words between the Congress leader and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who tweeted that “some history lessons are in order”. Pakistan and Chinese leaders describe their ties using metaphors such as “higher than the mountains” and “deeper than the oceans”. So, what’s the history of the relationship? We explain. 

And Finally

Right before the U-19 World Cup, the Indian team’s coach received a distress call from Vice-Captain Shaik Rasheed — he broke down and told him he had tested positive for Covid-19. As luck would have it, he recovered right before the quarterfinals against Bangladesh. He was rusty in his 26-run knock, but it didn’t matter. He was back on the field. And when it mattered, in the semifinals against Australia, he showed why he is being rated so highly. Resilience is Rasheed’s middle name and a look at his journey to the U-19 team shows you why. 

Delhi Confidential: Nitin Gadkari appears to be keen on championing green initiatives. The Union minister, who has taken initiatives in production of bio-fuel and organic farming, makes it a point to show to visitors a room heater that runs on ethanol at his residence in the national capital.

Until tomorrow,

Rahel Philipose and Rounak Bagchi

Express Cartoon by E P Unny