Innholdsfortegnelse for Monday, July 10, 2023 i India Today

The June 14 arrest of former Tamil Nadu electricity and prohibition and excise minister Senthil Balaji by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering and cash-for-jobs case poses fresh challenges to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who has volubly deplored Balaji’s arrest, terming it “vindictive politics” by the BJP-ruled Centre, withdrew the general consent for CBI probes in Tamil Nadu the same day. From now on, the central probe agency has to obtain permission from the state government before starting an investigation. Clearly, the DMK government is apprehensive of more raids and probes by central agencies. Other than the BJP-DMK tussle, the fallout from Balaji’s arrest can also be seen in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s hopes…

A direct benefit transfer (DBT) subsidy to buy a smartphone? With election to the Rajasthan assembly just months away, the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is trying to push through as many freebies as it can before the model code of conduct kicks in. The tender process to buy smartphones for the 13.5 million women who head their families in the state (at a reported cost of Rs 7,000 crore) has been delayed by supply issues: a scarcity of semiconductors has hit mobile production. Gehlot is therefore toying with the idea of making cash transfers so that the women can buy a smartphone of their choice. This comes alongside a decision to transfer Rs 370 each to PDS beneficiaries since some tenders to buy grains have not materialised. The state has…

Poised to join the YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh, former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu has had two meetings with YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the second week of June. Rayudu is ready to contest either for a Lok Sabha seat or an assembly one in the Guntur region considering both elections are due concurrently. With current Machilipatnam MP V. Balasoury eager to contest the assembly election, Jagan may find the former batsman better-suited for the Lok Sabha race from that constituency.…

JUNE 8, 2016. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to address the joint sitting of the US Congress, he was greeted with a standing ovation. In the chair were US Vice-President Joe Biden and the House Speaker Paul Ryan. At his eloquent best, Modi told Congress members that relations between the two countries had “overcome the hesitations of history” and concluded with a line from Walt Whitman’s ‘To Think of Time’: “The orchestra have sufficiently tuned their instruments—the baton has given the signal.” A new symphony, he added, is in play. Cut to June 22, 2023. The new symphony Modi talked of in 2016 was in full play. Nine years into his prime ministership, he looked far more assured as he addressed the US Congress a second time—an honour bestowed…

CHEETAH French-origin, single-engined light utility helicopter made by HAL, versions include Chetak and Cheetal ● Inducted in: 1972 ● Numbers in service: approx. 200 ● Crashes: 30 in past decade ALH DHRUV HAL-made, multi-role, twin-engine Advanced Light Helicopter, Weaponised version Rudra, naval version Maritime Role ● Inducted in: 2002 ● Numbers in service: 258 ● Crashes: 22 CHINOOK CH-47 American heavy-lift transport helicopter manufactured by Boeing, introduced in the 1960s ● Inducted in: March 2019 ● Numbers in service: 15 Crashes: Nil LCH PRACHAND Multi-role attack helicopter developed by HAL, projected as one of the best in its class, especially in high-altitude operations ● Inducted in: October 2022 ● Numbers in service: 15 Crashes: Nil MI-17V5 Russian-origin high-performance military transport helicopter first introduced in the USSR in the ’70s ●…

SEAT SHARE MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY LOK SABHA CONSTITUENCIES *Faction led by Shinde after split; **Include independents/smaller parties supporting Shinde/BJP; #After demise of BJP & Cong MPs ↘ BJP leaders claim most of Shinde’s 13 Lok Sabha MPs want to contest the 2024 polls on a BJP ticket ↘ The BJP may also stake a claim to some seats contested by the undivided Sena in 2019, as it feels Shinde does not have strong candidates on most of them ● Independent MLA Bacchu Kadu, who belongs to the Shinde camp, is engaged in a war of words with Fadnavis’s confidant Ravi Rana, also an independent MLA ● D. Mallikarjun Reddy, former BJP legislator from Ramtek, recently publicly lashed out at the incumbent, Shinde supporter Ashish Jaiswal, an independent who had defeated him…

No one was happier than Om Saini, the sarpanch of Sherpur village near the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, with the April 26 ruling of the Supreme Court of India. Just 10 months earlier, in June 2022, the apex court had imposed a blanket freeze on construction in Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZs), mandating that at least a one-kilometre stretch around the demarcated boundary of all protected areas be included in the relevant ESZ. In Sherpur, this meant its 8,000-odd residents could not even construct a toilet, let alone a house, without seeking permission from the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), who heads the state’s forest department. The Supreme Court has now relaxed its previous order. But what may have come as a relief to the villagers of Sherpur could…

The past eight months were a whirlwind for Aravind SA as he toured with his new standup special We Need to Talk, his third following Madrasi Da and I Was Not Ready Da, both on Amazon Prime Video. Covering India, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, several cities in the US and Canada followed by the Netherlands and Germany in May and another round in Malaysia and Singapore, it was a nonstop sold-out ride that’s not done yet. London calls in July, and September’s a second US leg. It must be physically and emotionally exhausting. “The first half of any tour is draining,” says Aravind, “because you are still working on the show, still judging and being self-critical along with the workload of performing. There is also the aspect of creation that happens…

Most connoisseurs would agree that a watch is more than just a time tracker, especially when it comes to haute horology. The new Victorinox Journey 1884 is a case in point. It is not just a watch, but the first leg of a new journey for Victorinox timepieces. Imagine the thrill of hiking through a spectacular ridge in the Swiss alps, lost in thought, enjoying the meditative calm, drinking in the scenic views and the fresh mountain air. Believe it or not, this is the inspiration behind the Victorinox Journey 1884. It is an off-the-cuff companion for hiking adventures and more. The watch pays tribute to its inspiration with a hand design replicating the Swiss hiking signs, a dial featuring the rough texture of a natural hiking path and a…

While it may not be RIP for ethnic just yet, it’s definitely curtains for its rip roaring days. Finally, rather than romanticising Indian craft as a static emblem of tradition, they are being adapted, rethought and remade for the modern home. It took architect Rooshad Shroff’s team 15,556 man-hours to create one of his first craft-inspired collections. Picture embroidery on wood with zardozi and French knots or intricately carved, hollowed out marble bulbs. Shroff is not alone. Jesmina Zeliang, founder of Heirloom Naga has reshaped the Naga textile industry. Take for instance, their bold geometric and lozenge shaped motif cushions, typical of the various Naga tribes, woven using the age-old loin loom technique that would be at home in Nagaland just as well as they would be in a loft…

Looking out at the lake, drinking good tea. That’s his only luxury. And what an enormous luxury that was.– Banana Yoshimoto The path to true luxury is a winding road through diverse landscapes of wealth. Somewhere along the journey, our enchantment with the visual, the quest for the elusive, transforms into a celebration of refinement, of discovery. This is where we begin to discern and savour good tea. Much more than a beverage or a habit, tea is now a part of our culture. Our inseparability from tea has over time led to its evolution and refinement into one of the world’s greatest crafted agricultural products. Grown in extremely picturesque plantations in temperate climatic zones where there is an ideal mix of sunlight and rainfall, the tea bushes are fastidious…

Founder & MD, Colorbar Cosmetics An enduring preoccupation with vanity has proven to be one of the strongest reasons behind the resilience of the beauty industry, despite the headwinds created by changing economic and political conditions. Undoubtedly, this industry has always been at the forefront of innovation and reinvention, and this year is no different with rapid digitisation and inspiring avant-garde experimentation leading the charge of their might. As beauty enthusiasts adapt to the changing environment, brands are fortifying their consumer-centric practices, embracing disruption to create new rules of engagement and building communities, allowing for playfulness, experimentation and DIY. Along with traditional segment categories, we have seen the emergence of new categories like bright colours for brown hair, gummies for hair and skin and all things beauty. Here’s what 2023…

Komal Sharma, an 11-year-old girl from Lucknow who lost her parents in the Covid pandemic, wants to become a computer studies teacher. To make her dream come true, the orphan needs the impossible to happen—someone to bear the expenses of a quality education, as well as her daily needs. But hope, in the form of a new chain of government schools, is on the way. On June 11, Komal, and many like her, wrote the entrance exam for a newly built Atal Residential School—the start of an education project close to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s heart. Named after former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the chain of schools will provide quality education from Classes 6 to 12 to children of construction workers, labourers and to those whose parents…

On June 16, a police team lay in wait at a tractor showroom in Bijapur town in South Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, declared to be Left Wing Extremism-affected. Soon, a man entered and told the salesperson that he wished to buy a tractor but that he would pay for it entirely in cash. The police nabbed the man, identified as Dinesh Taati, 23, a resident of Palnar village under the Gangalur police station, and recovered from him Rs 10 lakh, all in Rs 2,000 denomination. Taati claimed to be associated with an NGO and confessed to having received the money from Munna Hemla, head of the ‘Palnar janatana sarkar’ (parallel government), who in turn had got it from Gangalur area committee in-charge Dinesh Modiam and members Shanti Punem and Pandru Potam.…

DEFENCE JET ENGINE DEAL Agreement between GE Aerospace and HAL to make 99 F414 jet engines for light combat aircraft, Tejas Mk2, in India THE PROMISE ● Involves an unprecedented 80 per cent transfer of sophisticated technology ● An opportunity for India to master fighter jet engine technology PITFALLS ● US has not shared much of the critical knowhow that would subsequently enable HAL to build it indigenously ● In the past, production of Mig-21s and Sukhoi Su-30s led to limited gain of technological edge for HAL ● If the US ever embargoes tech transfer, the entire Tejas Mk2 fleet can be grounded SHIP REPAIRS A Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) between the US Navy with the L&T Shipyard in Chennai to service the US naval fleet in the Indian…

IT came after much cogitation, a lot of pre-nuptial bargaining and at least one false start. But the muhurat finally came on June 23, when all of 32 leaders from 15 parties—former and current chief ministers among them—converged on Patna. They had one common mission: dislodging the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre in the 2024 general election. Convened by Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, its stated objective was to “save Indian democracy” from Modi’s “fascist, autocratic regime”. West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee took the mic to issue a dire warning: “If the BJP wins the next [Lok Sabha] election, India may no longer exist in the future…there will be no more elections.” But this gathering—the first national alliance-building exercise against the…

On June 26, members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee—or SGPC, the elected apex body managing the religious affairs of Sikhs—assembled at its headquarters in the Teja Singh Samundri Hall at the iconic Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. It was a special general house session of the SGPC convened with a single-point agenda: to condemn the recent amendments in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, pushed by the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime in Punjab. Just a week earlier, the state assembly had cleared a bill to make it mandatory for the SGPC to broadcast Gurbani from the Golden Temple uninterrupted by advertisements and available to all media platforms across the world for free. Mann justified the move, claiming it would liberate the telecast of Gurbani from the undue…

In an age when trophy-hunting birders (serious hobbyists) outnumber birdwatchers (casual observers), Aasheesh Pittie’s The Living Air is a timely nudge to find joy in watching birds without prejudice. Growing up as a birdwatcher (not yet a birder) in 1990s’ Bangalore, I was acquainted with Pittie’s name. It appeared on the imprint line of Newsletter for Birdwatchers, the brainchild of Zafar Futehally, nephew of celebrated ‘birdman’ Dr Sálim Ali and no less of an illustrious icon. Pittie took on the mantle from Futehally. They co-founded Indian Birds, which has since grown into a journal of popular ornithology. And Pittie, based in Hyderabad, has earned repute as a scholarly bibliographer of ornithological epistemology. For readers acquainted with Pittie’s writing outside of bibliography, this compilation is long overdue. With four sections —…

Stop press! Global hospitality history is being rewritten. It is reverse colonialism…the most delicious kind too. It’s the first time that any historic heritage restaurant site located in the heart of a country’s capital has been taken over by a foreign cuisine restaurant. I refer to the Criterion (1873) in London where Masala Zone Piccadilly Circus has just opened, sending seismic shock waves through London’s restaurant-scape, especially among established British restaurateurs who would’ve yearned to take it over. It’s original gold mosaic ceiling and inlay of semi precious stones were the wealth and pride of the British Raj. Ironic serendipity that today, spicy and vibrant fragrances of Indian masalas infuse the same Grand brasserie. The British historic Criterion restaurant site has reincarnated as Masala Zone. Its high-ceilinged interiors have been…

When your GPS fails to direct or divert, and you’re circling around in a seemingly interminable loop, it’s safe to assume that you are lost. Whether that is a literal or metaphorical inference depends on your station in life. But when you finally arrive at Naad, after negotiating your way through the almost identical village roads, you’ll know what I am talking about. Searching for a quiet corner to retreat is not just a tall ask but an impossible one given the hamster-wheel trap that is almost everyone’s everyday city routine. This is why Naad, enticingly close to Delhi, offers an oasis of calm to help harried city folk put themselves back together again. Hidden from view, and just as excruciating to locate on GPS, it is a hideaway in…

A return to roots is entirely natural for a provenance-focussed brand such as Breguet. Its incredible heritage puts things into context, especially when it comes to some of their more iconic collections. In the new Type XX, the marque has envisaged a vibe of the early 1950s, when Breguet met the specifications of the air force, which required a robust wrist chronograph offering certain distinctive characteristics. This collection has enjoyed an iconic status for nearly 70 years, especially with pilots who value the virtues of precision instruments and even amateur enthusiasts, who are fascinated by its legendary qualities. The year 2023 brings a novel Type XX that garners a fresh momentum, a new generation and of course, an all-new calibre. Four years of anticipation have been rewarded with the arrival…

On June 20, the day the Election Commission of India (ECI) published a draft proposal for the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter to express his “sadness” as Jalukbari—his constituency since 2001—had been redrawn with two core areas merged with other constituencies and new areas added elsewhere. Sarma believes 70 per cent of his voters will be new when the state goes to the polls in 2026 but still welcomed the draft as “it accurately reflects the sentiments of Assam”. His detractors have no sympathy for his “loss”. They claim the only purpose of the delimitation exercise is to help the ruling BJP win the polls by demarcating constituencies in such a way that the influence of Muslim voters shrinks…

Barely a month after its resounding victory in the Karnataka assembly election, the Congress has already hit a roadblock. Over the past fortnight, the Siddaramaiah government has found itself scrambling to meet its self-imposed deadline of July 1 to roll out Anna Bhagya, its flagship free foodgrains distribution scheme. To fulfil its poll promise of providing an additional 5 kg to people falling below the poverty line (BPL), it needs to tie up supplies of 228,000 tonnes of rice per month. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre has been playing hardball. Its sudden decision to stop selling rice and wheat to states from its pool and instead dispose of stock in the open market through e-auctions has thrown up a challenge. Having exhausted most avenues, the…

A fighter jet engine is a complex technology monster that is notoriously difficult to build. Commercial jet engines are already a sophisticated affair, but a fighter jet is called upon to do many things its civilian cousin is not: travel many times faster than the speed of sound, be up for rapid acceleration and deceleration, and all of that at the super-high temperatures and pressures that altitudes soaring above 50,000 feet can bring. Fighter jet engines, thus, need bionic levels of efficiency, power and reliability. It’s a combination India has so far not been able to put together by itself despite three decades of research and development. That’s why the MoU signed between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)—one of the major diplomatic takeaways from Prime Minister…

258 ALHS or Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) operated by the armed forces 22 CRASHES of ALHs in the past 20 years 297 LIVES lost in over 200 helicopter crashes in India in the past three decades Helicopters, especially of the utility variety, have been the lifeline of the Indian military. They are used in search and rescue operations and reconnaissance missions, and are indispensable for supplying essential provisions as well as arms and ammunition to India’s high-altitude border areas, including to the Siachen glacier, “the world’s highest battlefield”. Even though road connectivity to border areas in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim has improved, choppers play a significant role in last-mile reach along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Line of Control (LoC). However, a recent spate of crashes…

Strain is the default setting when it comes to the alliance of convenience that the ruling coalition in Maharashtra is. If Eknath Shinde is at pains to constantly demonstrate that he is more than a puppet chief minister, the BJP loses no opportunity to remind him that he owes his position to them. And so the moves and countermoves play in a loop, the former’s petulant streaks of autonomy being met by his one-time patron with plenty of, well, patronising. The latest tussle is taking place over the Kalyan constituency, which is represented in the Lok Sabha by Shinde’s 36-year-old son, Dr Shrikant Shinde. Trouble began after a police inspector close to the Shindes booked an aide of public works department (PWD) minister Ravindra Chavan in an alleged case of…

I started this book with a lot of excitement. Dog-rescue in times of Covid! Or at least that’s what the blurb led me to think. The main character, Mallika Rao, a.k.a. Momo, is trapped in a marriage of convenience. She’s pregnant and unwilling to tell her husband, the stereo-typical regular guy Mukund Chugh. Momo is also functionally jobless and obliged to do the lion’s share of the household chores. On the surface, she accepts this, but there is resentment seething below. Covid arrives to strain this fragile arrangement. Mukund is now home, or at least his body is: his mind is mostly on Zoom for work and pleasure. Mallika is left a spectator to the continuation of his life by virtual means. How is she to pass the time? Aunties…

There is the Range Rover and then there is the Range Rover SV. The ultra-luxe SUV offering from the house of Jaguar Land Rover takes the existing luxury of its flagship Range Rover and adds copious doses of opulence, resulting in the SV. Just to set a bit of context, the SV would easily set you back by `1 crore, over and above the price point of a standard Range Rover (with ex-showroom prices starting at `2.3 crore). But the SV is so much more than its hefty price tag or heightened sense of status. The catch lies in the fact that you cannot just walk into a dealership and purchase an SV ‘off-the-rack’. This is an entirely customised car—bespoke in the truest sense of the term—which you have to…

Walking into Bacchanalia in London’s Mayfair is like dying and going to Elton John heaven. Here, more is never enough. Statues of half-naked women and men and cantering horses fly offthe walls. The columns have flutes on their flutes. Almost every dish on the “Greco-Roman feasting” menu can come with extra caviar or truffle. “For those who long for escapism, sway this way,” the restaurant’s creator, Richard Caring, purrs. The former rag trader turned ringmaster for the world’s moneyed elite? he also owns Annabel’s, Scott’s and Harry’s Bar in Mayfair? has another trick up his Giorgio Armani-tailored sleeve. In one corner of the restaurant is a gold-studded door so thick it looks bombproof. It’s certainly strong enough to keep out “civilians”. Behind it lies Apollo’s Muse, the world’s most exclusive…

A sunset story set in any urban cityscape rarely writes itself as a romantic idyll. Especially if it’s in the heart of the lego-ed quarters of concrete and glass Gurgaon. Here is where both The Westin Gurgaon as well its recently opened rooftop lounge and bar stand out as worthy exceptions. Outdoor activity in Delhi-NCR is a risky proposition for most seasons in the year, but there is something so delightfully intimate and cosy about this rooftop venue that you will be compelled to take on the adverse weather. Of course, given the benevolence of the rain gods in recent months, the vibe could change at a moment’s notice. But on-not-so-lucky days, mist fans maintain ambient temperature at a balmy 22 degrees. Visually too, the design language of the place…

Let’s face it when it comes to tech, Steven Spielberg is Nostradamus. If you don’t believe us, take one look at Apple’s line up at WWDC 2023 and it will make you remember the scifi movie Ready Player One. From the headset to courting virtual reality, Spielberg was clearly ahead of his time. But more on that later. First, let’s deep dive into new devices that are coming to India from WWDC 2023. Get ready to change the way you view the world. Apple Vision Pro Apple made a ground-breaking announcement at WWDC 23, introducing its mixed reality headset called Vision Pro. This spatial computer seamlessly integrates digital content with the physical world. Vision Pro unlocks an infinite canvas for apps, expanding beyond what was previously imaginable. Its fully three-dimensional…