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Friday, May 3, 2024
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Ground Reports

BJP spin is turning complex Delhi liquor scam into ‘drunk husbands beating wives’ issue

BJP is simplifying the alleged liquor policy scam of the Arvind Kejriwal government for Delhi voters without getting into the weeds about policy change, licenses, ED raids, and court proceedings.

Mohammedan football club is the toast of Bengal. How new owner, coach pulled it out of despair

For the 133-year-old football club from West Bengal, the I-League victory has come after a long wait of two decades. The resurrection of Mohammedan SC is the quintessential underdog story. It’s almost as if Ted Lasso had entered Kolkata.

Centres shut, funds misused, no placements — Skill India needs a refresher course

As the employment issue comes up in the ongoing Lok Sabha election campaign, India’s skills and apprenticeship programme is once again in focus.

Sahitya Akademi is promoting Ramayana, Modi policies. But also queer & Dalit writers now

A number of cultural institutions have come under the scanner for shrinking autonomy and fluid identities in Modi's India. For some writers, Sahitya Akademi is the last remaining frontier.

Red lipstick, macroni dinner, and the smell of aspiration in this OBC family in UP

A resident of village Maita in UP’s Unnao, Ramu was the first one among his family to get a free cylinder, PM Kisan support, an Ayushman card, as well as a toilet.

History, heritage, hustle—Bengali filmmaker Prataya Saha’s 5-min movies on big cities go global

Prataya Saha’s short films have become hot favourites at international festival circuits like the Oscars, BAFTA, and the New York Asian Film Festival.

Surinder Sonia made Chamkila famous but Imtiaz Ali’s film reduces her to a footnote

Amar Singh Chamkila glosses over the fact that Surinder Sonia was a powerful figure in Punjab’s pop culture milieu in the 1980s.

Portable MRI, water from air—Indian deep tech startups thriving with incubators, govt funding

Uravu Labs makes water from air, Saaf Biogas makes zero-emission gas & Voxelgrids has built the first made-in-India MRI. Innovation thrives in intersection of academia, entrepreneurship, and govt funding.

Muslims say law and order has improved in western UP. ‘But voting for BJP against our imaan’

Muslims under the Yogi Adityanath govt 'feel secure' when stepping out of the home at night, and acknowledge that incidents of snatching, looting, and molestation have reduced. But voting is a different issue.

Purvanchal’s migrant workers are desperate & poor. But they are determining India’s politics

Purvanchal's workers travel with hopes and hardships on ‘migrant trains’, leaving their families behind. Their labour fuels the economy and their vote shapes the political landscape.

On Camera

How govt brought Vodafone Idea back from the brink & earned a neat profit in the process

In 2021, the government allowed telcos to convert interest on deferred spectrum payments and AGR dues into equity. This made it the single largest stakeholder in Vodafone Idea.

China builds road through Shaksgam Valley, India registers protest

New Delhi has, in past, too, objected to Chinese construction activities in Shaksgam Valley. Work in this strategic region gathered pace after the 2017 Doklam stand-off.

Frontrunner is letting the challenger define this poll campaign. Modi still hasn’t found a big theme

A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.