Innholdsfortegnelse for 14 July 2025 i India Today

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla may be the second Indian astronaut to go into space, 41 years after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s feat in 1984. But Shukla’s voyage on board the American spaceflight Axiom Mission 4 also marks a historic first step. He has become the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS) and experience firsthand its 28,000 kmph orbit around the Earth. But there’s more to it than just that. His ticket may have cost Rs 500 crore. Still, Shukla’s planned two-week ‘workation’ aboard the ISS will yield primary data of inestimable value, for he is among the four Indian astronauts picked for the Gaganyaan Mission, India’s ambitious human spaceflight programme. The experiential richness Shukla brings back from his hitchhike to the galaxy will go right into an…

Recognising that wildlife conservation cannot be restricted to ‘protected areas’ (PAs), the Centre has sanctioned a project to mitigate man-tiger conflict in 80 most-affected forest divisions across 10 states. Funded by the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (Rs 88 crore for 2025-27), the project will utilise technology to monitor tigers and their prey base, and also involve civil society to prevent mananimal conflict. The 2022 tiger census says that around a third of India’s 3,682 tigers live outside the PAs (national parks and sanctuaries). Some 400 people were killed by the big cats between 2020 and 2024. Conflict hotspots are mostly in UP, MP, Maharashtra, Kerala and Uttarakhand. A SPIDERY COMEBACK Indian arachnophiles have four reasons to celebrate. Four new spider species were recorded in the country in…

In 1976, the Swaran Singh Committee was appointed to recommend constitutional amendments. It submitted its report the same year itself, and the Preamble of the Constitution was amended based on this report through the 42nd Amendment. The two words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were added in the Constitution and, instead of ‘sovereign democratic republic’, we became a ‘sovereign socialist secular democratic republic’. In an article published in the Illustrated Weekly of India (July 4, 1976), eminent jurist N.A. Palkhivala argued that the Preamble was a part of the Constitution statute, not of the Constitution. Article 368 deals only with an amendment of the Constitution, but not of the Constitution statute. The Preamble cannot be amended under Article 368. It refers to the most momentous event in India’s history and sets out,…

IN the complex world of Indian politics, where decisions are often made behind closed doors, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju is on a sensitive mission. He is working to gather support from leaders across party lines for what could be a landmark moment in India’s judicial history—the first impeachment of a high court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma. The story that began with a fire in the judge’s outhouse now transcends a simple corruption scandal. It lays bare the fault lines between India’s judiciary and executive, exposing tensions that have simmered since the nation’s founding. Dark clouds are gathering over the capital in more ways than one, and as the monsoon session of Parliament approaches, the case raises profound questions about evidence, process and power. Who watches the watchers when the watchers…

1 INITIATION: A motion for impeachment can be initiated in either the Lok Sabha (at least 100 members must sign) or the Rajya Sabha (at least 50 members must sign). In case of Justice Varma, the motion has already been admitted in Parliament 2 INVESTIGATION: The presiding officer (speaker of the Lok Sabha or chairman of Rajya Sabha) can refer the motion to a three-member committee for investigation. This committee typically includes the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist. In case of Justice Varma, the Supreme Court’s three-member inquiry committee has already recommended his impeachment. There is no clarity if Parliament will go by this recommendation or form a committee of its own to probe the allegations against Justice…

SUGAR-FREE SWEETS CAME AS A GODSEND FOR SHANTA BOSE, a 51-year-old homemaker in Gurugram, who was diagnosed as diabetic when she was 47. “Everywhere I went, there were desserts I could not eat,” says Bose. Then, she discovered the sugar-free shelf in her local department store, laden with cookies, cakes, candy, soft drinks and ice cream. She also read up on the low glycaemic index (GI)—a scale that ranks foods based on how quickly they raise blood sugar (glucose) levels post ingestion and where foods like fruits, millets, leafy vegetables and beans, which are digested slowly and therefore cause glucose levels to rise gradually, are considered good for diabetics. This prompted Bose to buy brown rice, millets, whole wheat and natural sweeteners like syrups from agave, tapioca, dates, yacon, coconut…

LESSONS IN ANTIQUITY Make Bodh Gaya your base and explore places such as Nalanda and Jehanabad nearby Stay at: Hyatt Place Bodh Gaya, The Imperial, or HouseTale – A Traveller’s Home Bihar has long been known as the focal point for all things Buddhism. For pilgrims and history buffs, there are many wonderful sites to explore in the state. Here is our pick of the most fascinating ones that avid travellers must add to their Bihar itinerary… Jehanabad: The incredibly well-preserved Barabar hill caves here are said to be India’s oldest surviving rock-cut caves. Dating back to the third century BC to the times of Emperor Ashoka, they are carved from granite, and the interiors are a great example of ‘Mauryan polish’, said to have been the influence of Alexander…

On the last weekend of June, a Punjabi horror-comedy film featuring a cross-border cast quietly shattered box-office records abroad. Sardaar Ji 3, starring Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Bajwa and Pakistani actress Hania Aamir, grossed over $1.1 million (Rs 9.43 crore) in North America during its opening weekend. In the UK, it became the highest-grossing Punjabi film of the year, turning in £450,000 (Rs 5.29 crore) in just five days. It also saw sold-out shows in Pakistani cities like Lahore and Karachi, earning an estimated $500,000 (Rs 4.28 crore) on the first day itself. In doing so, the film beat Salman Khanstarrer Sultan to register the highest opening for an Indian film in Pakistan. In India, though, Sardaar Ji 3 was nowhere to be seen. Its producers had pulled the domestic release,…

FEWER CHILDREN MAY HELP DEFUSE A POPULATION EXPLOSION, but that should be based on a couple’s free and voluntary choice, not something thrust on them. This is the message coming from the latest United Nations Population Fund’s 2025 State of World Population report, ‘The Real Fertility Crisis’. It states that although India will remain the world’s most populous country, its total fertility rate has fallen below the replacement level. It’s not advocating panic—rather, calling attention to unmet reproductive needs, the report notes that millions are unable to achieve their desired fertility goals. The solution, it adds, lies in greater reproductive agency—the ability of individuals to make free, informed choices about sex, contraception and starting a family. 1.46 bn India’s population, making it the most populous country in the world 1.7…

ANOTHER VIOLENT MALE predator, another victim. A symbolic pairing, but also a very real one, it restores to Kolkata the dark shadows cast over it by the chilling rape-cummurder at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital last August. On June 25, the South Calcutta Law College at Kasba saw a near-replay. Talk is again about the links of the accused to power. Outraged Kolkatans are again protesting. The state assembly election is a year closer, so the air is again thick with politics. The lucky piece of divergence: the victim lives to tell the tale. It had unfolded like any other term-day for the 24-year-old—deceptively ordinary. She reached campus past noon, filled up her first-sem exam forms, went to the common room for a spot of rest. That’s when Monojit…

PRADA. KOLHAPURI. NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MATCH? Well, the Italian brand has a knack for turning ‘inverse snobbery’ into high fashion, but it went an extra dusty mile this time. Late June, Kolhapuri-styled sandals catwalked at the Milan Fashion Week. But Prada, er, forgot to tag its humble, Third World provenance. And priced them at Rs 1.2 lakh—in India, you can score a decent pair for one-hundredth of that. A global backlash about ‘cultural appropriation’ forced Prada on the back foot. Its belated chagrin also put the spotlight back where it belongs: on the Maharashtrian craftsmen who braid centuries of design heritage into each piece they make. Hand-crafted from leather, vegetable-dyed, ubiquitous but unique, these artefacts come from the hammers and awls of artisans in Karvir, Shirol, Kagal and Hatkanangale…

GAGANYAAN AIM: Launch a crew of three Indian astronauts into space and bring them back safely TARGET: 2027 PRECURSORS ✦ Three uncrewed missions, beginning by the end of 2025 ✦ The first will have Vyommitra, a female humanoid robot, on board BHARATIYA ANTARIKSH STATION AIM: Establish India’s space station for microgravity research TARGET: 2035 PRECURSORS ✦ Sending five modules by as many launchers; first in orbit by 2028 ✦ Docking of the modules to build the space station CREWED LUNAR MISSION AIM: Land first Indian astronaut on the moon TARGET: 2040 PRECURSORS ✦ Chandrayaan-4, with expected launch in 2027-28, to bring back lunar samples ✦ Chandrayaan-5, a joint mission with Japan, to study the moon’s potential to host humans…

↘ Panel took stock of 55 witness testimonies, forensic examination of videos / photos, as well as triangulation of electronic and call records to come to its findings ↘ Multiple visuals of charred currency retrieved. In one video, a fire officer is heard saying, “Mahatma Gandhi mein aag lag rahi hai bhai,” referring to the image on the Rs 500 notes ↘ Varma’s private secretary Rajinder Karki led clean-up after the blaze, raising concerns about deliberate tampering. Karki talked to Justice Varma at 1:23 am on March 15, the window when evidence may have been removed ↘ Varma’s daughter Diya initially admitted knowing about the burnt cash on March 15, later attempted to retract statement ↘ Hard disk of CCTV camera monitoring storeroom is missing. Panel concluded that if footage supported his…

Your work takes you places. Which is one Q. destination that you’ve given your heart to? Queenstown in New Zealand is hands down the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. It feels like someone set it up for a movie. Every frame is cinematic, with the mountains, the lake and the stillness. There’s a calm there, a quiet energy that stays with you long after you’ve left. Q. What’s your take on travelling in the monsoon? Monsoon travel has a special charm. I would love to head to Coorg or experience the drive to Glenorchy in New Zealand in light rain. That route is already stunning and I can only imagine how magical it must look with the clouds rolling in. It’s the kind of weather that makes you want…

IT’S THE TIME TO PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE, at least this one time. As assembly election nears, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has set off a volley of welfare steps, each tailored to a distinct vote bloc. The big one came on June 24, as his cabinet nearly trebled monthly social security pensions: from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100. Ordinarily a stickler for protocol, Nitish didn’t wait this time. On June 21, he announced the enhanced pension would start getting credited to over 10.9 million beneficiary accounts by July. Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav was quick to decry the idea as a poor copy, pointing out that he had promised a pension hike to Rs 1,500 in December. But that’s not likely to stop the salvos from Nitish. Patna is awash…

Rajasthan agriculture minister Kirodi Lal Meena is on a mission. Since the unearthing of a massive adulteration scam at a fertiliser factory in Ajmer in May (a week after it was given a clean chit by officials), the minister has been personally leading surprise inspections at factories and retail outlets across the state. What he has found stunned even seasoned bureaucrats and agriculture experts: of the 57 samples tested in his presence, 56 failed. The department has now sent 4,772 fertiliser, 4,301 seed, and 283 pesticide samples for testing. The crackdown has led to 28 FIRs and the sealing of 36 locations. “Some of our officials were failing in their duties,” Meena told india today. “Fourteen officials have been suspended so far.” The scale of the scandal is causing much…

“The first thought was the feeling of oneness of the Earth—there were no boundary lines or borders of countries. The second was when I saw India for the first time. It looked very big and grand, not like the 2-D paper maps of it”—SHUBHANSHU SHUKLA Indian astronaut When Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla floated into the International Space Station (ISS) from the Crew Dragon capsule that had docked with it on June 26, he wasn’t feeling too good. Despite being a test pilot in the Indian Air Force, like most astronauts on their maiden flight into orbit, Shukla admitted that his head felt heavy and he was slightly disoriented. That’s because he was still adjusting to the near-zero gravity conditions he endured during the 28-hour space flight that brought him and…

↘ Denied keeping cash in the storeroom, stated that it was freely accessible via a rear gate ↘ Argued that CCTV footage could have exonerated him, but the footage mysteriously disappeared ↘ Cited his unblemished judicial career, argued that he had no motive/history for wrongdoing ↘ Claimed his daughter and staff inspected the storeroom after the fire, found no trace of currency ↘ Stressed that neither the fire brigade nor police documented or seized any cash from the site ↘ Claimed he was being targeted, pointing to a coordinated social media smear campaign against him since Dec. ’24…

Picture a cottage in the hills, with wooden beams, an ivy-clad verandah, an old fire-place and warm lamps glowing against the mountain mist. You can find all this and more at these heritage stays across the Himalayan foothills. Once family homes or summer retreats, they have been thoughtfully restored without losing their original charm. From the forests of Binsar to the tea estates of Darjeeling, these are not just hotels but old homes with a new life—and a story to tell BLUE BOOK AT GETHIA, NAINITAL An 18-km (about 45 mins) winding uphill drive from Nainital brings you to Blue Book by Gethia, a quaint 1890s bungalow with eight rooms all done up in Victorian style with floral upholstery. Four additional Mediterranean-style rooms are in the new wing, a late…