Innholdsfortegnelse for 25 July 2022 i India Today

Bollywood has reigned over Indian cinema since moving pictures came to these parts. Popular film stars over the decades have become household names. Even till recently, its star-actors—the Khan triumvirate, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh et al—were the unquestioned moguls of Indian popular cinema. The rest were satraps with small regional kingdoms, happy in themselves, but nothing that could threaten the sultanate. But now Tollywood, Kollywood, Mollywood and all manner of san dal-scented woods are suddenly moving in on it. And leading the army are actors you had likely not heard of a few years ago if you are a Hindi film buff: Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Yash (not the Chopra), Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Vijay Deverakonda… These actors are now creating a buzz. Last year, a Telugu…

At its July 11 meet, the AIADMK general council (GC) reverted to the earlier hierarchy of an all-powerful general secretary (GS) at the helm rather than a system of dual leadership. In keeping with the Tamil penchant for honorifics, the party’s presidium chairman Tamil Magan Hussain proposed that the new interim GS be called ‘Ezhuchi Nayagan’. Others want to call him Puratchi Thalaimagan. Fresh elections to the post of GS will be held in four months. The GS will have a five-year tenure and will choose a deputy GS, also for a five-year term. The GC also amended party laws to allow only those who have 10 years’ standing in the AIADMK or have been office-bearers at the party HQ for five years to contest for the GS. Ten district…

Abildungsroman of sorts set in late 20th century India, this senior policeman’s memoir follows a colourful trajectory from provincial thanas to urban criminals to the opaque demeanours and misdemeanours of politicians in the heart of government. Kaushal has clearly had an interesting career and highlights range from casebook classics like cracking the ‘sensational abduction of an antique(s) dealer’ to negotiating with separatists of many stripes including the Hizbul Mujahideen, the NSCN(IM) and the GNLF. Kaushal’s restraint is always evident and was presumably an asset in these assignments. But the reader may wish for more of a tell-all. There is a particularly intriguing lacuna in his narrative of the 1970s which leaps from a posting as IGP of Goa, Daman and Diu in 1974 to the security details of PM Morarji…

Swinging stock market indices, earnings pressure, rising inflation, new investment opportunities, depreciating rupee and economic slowdowns are problems that most investments face routinely. Often, investors are not very sure of how to approach and address these problems to avoid panic decision-making with their investments. Investing is as much in the mind as it is in the financial analysis and, at the end of the day, most investors are looking for the best ways to ensure long-term wealth creation and returns on their investments that earn them a profit. So what is investing? If you ask around, the chances are you will get definitions that are right while not easy to comprehend. The most common description of investing would involve earning profit by deploying money. Profit could be by way of…

MYTH 1: SIP IS A MUTUAL FUND SIP is not a MF scheme. It is an investment concept and tool you can use to invest in mutual funds. The concept of monthly SIP, when adapted to bank savings, is akin to a recurring deposit. The same concept can be used to put money in a ULIP (unit-linked insurance plan) or the NPS (National Pension System). Even within mutual funds, all open-ended schemes including debt funds, prove to be investments through SIPs. MYTH 2: SIPS PROVIDE GUARAN-TEED GROWTH The SIP way to investing does not guarantee growth. After all, SIPs are mutual fund investments, with market-related risks. However, relative to lump-sum investing, investing through SIPs does lower the risk in the long term, especially over volatile market conditions. MYTH 3: SIP INVESTMENTS…

BEGINNER Q1. Mutual funds guarantee returns a) Yes b) No Q2. NAV in mutual funds is a) New Asset Value b) Net Average Value c) Net Asset Value Q3. An SIP is a mutual fund a) No b) Yes Q4. Which of these mutual funds are also tax savers? a) Debt fund b) ETF c) ELSS d) Balanced Fund Q5. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks a) No b) Yes Q6. What is AMC in mutual funds? a) Annual Maintenance Charge b) Asset Management Company c) Additional Money Charges INTERMEDIATE Q1. Mutual fund investment can only be through SIPs a) Yes b) No Q2. Mutual funds are regulated by? a) AMFI b) SEBI c) Ministry of Finance Q3. You can diversify with mutual funds a) Yes b) No…

SAEED JAFFREY (1929-2015) Born in Malerkotla, Punjab, Jaffrey acted in more than 180 films and TV shows. He played key parts in movies like My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and Gandhi (1982). SHASHI KAPOOR (1938-2017) The first mainstream Indian actor feted in Hollywood, Kapoor charmed global audiences with moving performances in many Merchant-Ivory productions. PERSIS KHAMBATTA (1948-1998) A former Miss India, Khambatta’s rise from model to movie star was swift. She is remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). GULSHAN GROVER (1955—) His Hollywood films were easy to miss—Beeper (2002), Blind Ambition (2008) and Prisoners of the Sun (2013)—but Grover did keep the Indian flag flying in LA by himself for a while. ANUPAM KHER (1955—) Unlike Amrish Puri who played iconic villain Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and…

In her introduction to Sudhir Patwardhan: Walking Through Soul City, the mammoth volume that follows an excellent retrospective at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai from November 2019 to February 2020, the curator Nancy Adajania writes, “I would advance the claim that, after M.F. Husain, it is Patwardhan who commands the widespread attention of Indian viewers across several generations.” It is an apt comparison, and not just for that one reason. Both these artists, born roughly three decades apart in the turbulent first half of the 20th century, have portrayed—and indeed embodied—the story of modern India in ambitious narrative paintings that only look more interesting with each passing year. This is especially true in the case of Patwardhan, whose masterworks from the early 1980s onwards possessed a veritably…

Q. Hockey, shooting, running, now cricket…is there any sport left that you still want to play on screen? I have been asked to play a swimmer, a cyclist, a shot putter, a footballer and a gymnast, too. I kept getting sport stories which were better than the previous film, so I kept doing them. But I am exhausted now. It’s time to pause. Q. Has your partner Mathias Boe [Olympic medallist in badminton doubles and coach] suggested you essay the role of a shuttler? I don’t think he wants me to at all because he’d just be scrutinising. I don’t want to be told what to do or what not to do all the time. Q. How much time did it take you to master Mithali Raj’s cover drive? I…

There was a time when ‘social juctice warrior’ was not a term of derision and Gita Ramaswamy’s affecting memoir will remind you of those days—if you’re old enough. Her complex if not entirely unfamiliar trajectory—from Tam-brahm civil servant’s daughter, to student naxal to‘disillusioned idealist’ and renewed commitments in politically engaged publishing and with a collective of agricultural labourers in Ibrahimpatnam—is recounted with sentiment but without sentimentality. The passage describing her sojourn as an ‘Underground’ member of the Andhra Pradesh Revolutionary Communist Party during the Emergency years is brief but remarkably clear-eyed. Yet this is not merely a political narrative but a story of the passions and compassions of a full and considered life.…

Naga Chaitanya LAAL SINGH CHADHA Aamir Singh will hope the presence of the Telugu actor will help his production make inroads into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Release: Aug 11 Vijay Deverakonda LIGER The Arjun Reddy actor promises “nation-wide madness [sic]” with this bilingual mixed martial arts action film by Puri Jagannadh Release: Aug 26 Vijay Sethupathi MERRY CHRISTMAS The acclaimed Tamil actor makes his Hindi-language debut directed by thriller specialist Sriram Raghavan. Katrina Kaif co-stars Release: December 2022 Nagarjuna Akkineni BRAHMASTRA The veteran Telugu star returns to Hindi cinema after nearly two decades as an artist with superpowers in this fantasy action series featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan Release: September 9 Prabhas ADIPURUSH, SALAAR & PROJECT K Mr Bahubali has three big pan-India films in the pipeline.…

The preamble of the Constitution declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic. One of the guiding principles of our democracy is the Fundamental Rights of citizens, including Freedom of Speech, that is enshrined in the Constitution. However, in recent years, this primary tenet of liberty and justice in our democratic structure has come under severe stress as India has been increasingly converting itself into a republic of fragile sentiments. And the excuse of hurt sentiments has been given an unchallenged legal sanction by a penal provision drafted by British colonial rulers—Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. The rampant use of this provision—often called the Indian version of blasphemy law—has made critics question the legitimacy of such a law in a liberal democracy. What…

Mohit Sharma, 23, was an athlete in school but his big dream was to join the Indian Army. Watching war movies or military films is still his favourite pastime. The son of a temporary clerk at Agra tehsil, his first cousin is currently serving in the army. But, now he is overage and can’t join the Agniveers. He blames the authorities for the mess. “I applied for the army when I was 21, cleared the physical and medical tests and was told that I would be soon called for a written test. But, the written test never happened and now I am out of the race,” he says. Mohit says many of his friends are in a similar situation. No one told them that their physical and medical tests…

CLASSIFICATION OF DRONES (by maximum all-up weight including payload) NANO 250 gms or less in weight MICRO 250 gms to 2 kg SMALL 2-25 kg MEDIUM 25-150 kg LARGE More than 150 kg DRONE TYPES AND USES FIXED WING Land survey and mapping SINGLE/MULTI ROTOR Surveillance, photography, inspection, crop spraying, survey and mapping HYBRID Combines long range and heavy payload capability for most drone applications FLIGHT PATTERNS Some drone use permissions given in the past one year Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation For surface topographical mapping of Navi Mumbai area Asteria Aerospace For survey, inspection and monitoring of Reliance pipelines Indian Council of Medical Research For vaccine delivery in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Manipur and Nagaland National Health Mission Delivery of healthcare essentials in Jawhar tribal areas, Maharashtra Karnataka govt Creating…

The Kannada writer Vivek Shanbhag’s new play Illiruvudu Summane was performed for the first time in Bengaluru on July 12. The name, which roughly translates to ‘We Are Here Like That Only’ or ‘We Are Here Incidentally’, forms one half of a couplet by Purandara Dasa, the 16th century philosopher-saint and a founding father of Carnatic music. The play was written three years ago, for an arts-and-theatre group called Lokacharita, led by director G. Channakeshava. Sadly, Channakeshava passed away last year and the project was halted—till last week, when director Umesh Salian helmed an all-new production. The narrative is centred on a wealthy NRI called Vikram, who returns to Bengaluru to visit his childhood home, only to find that the caretaker has duped him and converted it into a…

↘ His decision to enumerate castes in the state has the BJP scurrying behind Nitish, as the exercise is likely to stir the social pot and consolidate caste groups, which may overpower religious polarisation or hyper-nationalism in the election ↘ The emergence of Tejashwi Yadav, already a significant challenger in the 2020 assembly poll and getting stronger, makes it necessary for the BJP to be with a formidable ally like Nitish rather than go it alone ↘ The JD(U)-RJD collaboration on a caste census for Bihar has opened the possibility for an alternative alliance should the BJP step on his toes. Hence the saffron party’s wooing of Nitish ↘ Nitish’s denial of a Rajya Sabha nomination to R.C.P. Singh has put paid to any attempt to create a parallel power…

Indian economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and is expected to touch a 5 trillion-dollar mark by 2025 to become the third-largest economy in the world. India has a very young and aspiring population with rising average income and has shown an increase in its growth rates in every decade since independence. Developed countries like Japan or the USA, have an older population and most of the market is saturated and less scope for development. Here it becomes important to develop important things like corporate policies, FDI inflows, job creation, infrastructure, etc. The government is piloting the economy frontward by changing so many policies. Demonetization, IBC, and other clean-up reforms, other constructive reforms, tax cuts, privatization, were some of the important and strict measures, which could…

An IAS officer of the Punjab cadre who served as chief secretary of Punjab during very turbulent years, Tejendra Khanna retired as India’s commerce secretary in 1996 and served twice as Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor. By all accounts, his career was not just successful in terms of many personal achievements, it was free of controversy and marked by composure and grace. Khanna’s autobiographical account, An Intent To Serve: A Civil Servant Remembers, traces his growth from the time of his entry into the IAS in 1961 till he demitted office in 2013. It is in the nature of a self-portrait through many vignettes from different stages of his career. While we do get a fleeting glimpse into some of the major political events of his time, his focus is more on…

SECTION 295 When applied: If any person intentionally damages, destroys or defiles any religious object deemed to be sacred by followers of any religion in India, including objects other than idols and books Punishment: Jail up to two years or fine, or both SECTION 295A When applied: If a person maliciously by words spoken or written or signs or by visible representation insults or attempts to insult religious sentiments of any class of citizens of India Punishment: Jail for three years or fine, or both SECTION 296 When applied: If a person intentionally causes disturbance to any lawful religious assembly and ceremonies Punishment: Jail for one year or fine or both SECTION 297 When applied: If a person intentionally trespasses any burial place knowing that this act of his may…

Mahipal Singh, son of a head constable of Rajasthan Police, always wanted to be in the armed forces. So after he passed out of school, he attempted the National Defence Academy officers’ training school test four times but did not succeed as he was not good at maths. But he did not lose hope, finally applying for the airmen post in January 2020. He started focussing on his physical fitness, even joined a training academy in Jaipur, for which he spent close to Rs 2 lakh. After going through the entire selection process, which lasted over a year, his name finally appeared on the merit list in May 2021. But the third wave of Covid delayed the next stage. The IAF kept giving administrative reasons for withholding the final result…

1 REGULAR SIPS You invest a fixed sum over a fixed time-frame through a fixed frequency. For instance, you may invest Rs 5,000 a month for the next five years, making a total of 60 SIP instalments through a standing instruction. This is the most simple and hassle-free form of SIP. You could invest through daily, weekly, monthly or any other SIP frequency that is offered at the time of commencing the investment. 2 STEP-UP SIPS This form of SIP is also known as top-up SIP, which allows investors to increase their SIP contributions by a fixed sum. For instance, the Rs 5,000 monthly SIP could be topped-up each passing year by an additional Rs 1,000. Through this option, you can automate the increase in your SIP each passing year,…

“I love to explore unknown territories. In choosing roles, I look for connectivity and the scope to deliver as a performer”—DHANUSH Dhanush has won four National Awards—two as an actor and two as producer. After films in Tamil, Hindi and English, he will soon be seen making his Telugu debut. Before all that, however, on July 22 we will see the actor play a key role in The Gray Man, a Netflix-produced action spectacle by Hollywood’s leading directors, the Russo Brothers. It might perhaps not be a stretch to call the 38-year-old a bit of an overachiever. Dhanush, for his part, describes his two-decade long cinematic journey as “nothing short of a miracle”. He says, “Never thought I would come this far. There are only two things I seek—success and…

Q. How does it feel now that theatre is up and running after the long pandemic hiatus? It feels wonderful. It was like one was living a partial life with something vital missing. For me at least, something that completed my life was gone. I think the major challenge now is to get audiences back into the theatre. There is still a sense of wariness about the virus, about being in an enclosed space with a lot of people, and the uncomfortable aspect of wearing a mask. But we are going to test the waters very soon! Q. You have five plays showing at Prithvi this month. In some ways, they trace your trajectory—from Dance Like a Man, which has been running for more than 25 years, to the latest, Lockdown Liaisons.…