3 Things

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 20th of March and here are today's headlines.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns, and is charting a roadmap for becoming a developed nation with right decisions taken at the right time. Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh event, Modi said India’s startup ecosystem is not limited to metro cities, it has now become a social culture. The PM vowed that he will make India the world’s third largest economy in his third term, and asserted that startups will play a big role in India’s progress.Days after the Election Commission of India directed the transfer of the home secretaries in six states, including Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand Congress has requested that Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar also be removed from his post, saying that his “closeness to the ruling party is well known”. In a letter to the ECI, the Uttarakhand Congress president Karan Mahara said that the “loyalty of the present DGP of the state to the ruling party” raises questions on the fairness of the elections.From claiming that he has received an “overwhelmingly positive” response to Zomato’s plans of launching a separate delivery fleet for vegetarian food, the company’s co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has changed track in less than 11 hours. The food delivery service provider has now decided against the segregation of the fleet on the ground basis of people’s dietary choices. Concerns that the segregation of workers into green and red clothes could result in potential harassment on the ground, has now resulted in Zomato rolling back the green uniforms.The World Happiness Report for 2024 was released earlier this week, noting that while the top 10 countries in the list have remained the same since before the Covid-19 pandemic.  Finland topped the list for the seventh year in a row, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. India ranked 126th in the list. The report observed that in India, older age is associated with higher life satisfaction. However, older Indian women reported lower life satisfaction than older men.New Zealand said on Wednesday it will ban disposable e-cigarettes, or vapes, and raise financial penalties for those who sell such products to minors. The move comes less than a month after the government repealed a unique law enacted by the previous left-leaning government to phase out tobacco smoking by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

Topics discussed include revelations on electoral bond contributions from corporations, Kolkata building collapse and rescue operations, and China's repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh. The podcast explores transparency issues in political party funding, tragic incidents in Kolkata, and geopolitical tensions between China and India.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 19th of March and here are today's headlines.Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras resigned today, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing “injustice”. He made this allegation against the Saffron party as his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party was not included in the seat-sharing deal with allies for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. His announcement came at a press conference a day after the BJP-led NDA announced its seat-sharing pact and gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas). He did not elaborate his future plans. Speaking in a public rally in Tamil Nadu’s Salem, PM Modi today said that the public support BJP is getting in Tamil Nadu is being watched and discussed all over India. He further criticised the DMK & Congress and said that they are two sides of the same coin. He said, quote" DMK & Congress means- Big corruption & one family rule. When the country got rid of Congress, the country reached 5G technology. But in Tamil Nadu DMK is running its own 5G- one family's fifth generation to have control over Tamil Nadu.” Unquote.According to a report released by Swiss air quality monitoring body, IQAir, India was declared as the third-most polluted country in 2023, after Bangladesh and Pakistan. Moreover, in the report’s list of the top 50 most polluted cities in the world, 42 cities were in India. Begusarai was the most polluted metropolitan area of 2023, followed by Guwahati and then Delhi.Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s MLA Sita Soren, the daughter-in-law of party president Shibu Soren, resigned from the party today. She said that her family has been the victim of “continuous neglect” and that she has been “isolated by the party and family members”. Hours after, Sita joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit the Middle East this week, aiming to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and secure the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. During a visit to the Philippines, Blinken said his trip to meet senior leaders in Saudi Arabia and Egypt would aim to “discuss the right architecture for lasting regional peace”.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

Topics include Lok Sabha polls extending to June due to delays, Karnataka's ban on food coloring, and controversy over Rahul Gandhi's 'shakti' remarks.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 18th of March and here are today's headlines.The Supreme Court’s Constitution bench hearing the electoral bonds matter today asked the State Bank of India to also disclose the unique alphanumeric code on the bonds to the Election Commission of India. The bench also asked the Chairman and Managing Director of SBI to file an affidavit on or before 5 pm on 21st of March stating that the bank has disclosed all details of the bonds to the ECI.The Election Commission of India today transferred the Home Secretaries of six states — Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to ensure level-playing field for the upcoming elections to the Lok Sabha. The poll regulating body also removed West Bengal Director General of Police, Rajeev Kumar.The poll panel under CEC Rajiv Kumar also removed secretary of the general administrative departments of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh and ordered removal of Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, additional commissioners and deputy commissioners.Tamilisai Soundararajan today resigned as the Governor of Telangana and the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. While the sudden decision has come as a surprise, Soundararajan, is expected to return to electoral politics and contest Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Tamil Nadu. A press release from the Telangana Raj Bhavan stated that the resignation has been submitted to the Hon’ble President of India. In September 2019, Soundararajan, the then-state president of the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP for five years, took to the office of Telangana Governor and later took additional charge as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in February 2021.Alleging that the INDIA bloc’s manifesto talks about finishing ‘Shakti’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the fight is between those who want to destroy ‘Shakti’ and those who worship them. Addressing a rally in Telangana's Jagtial, Modi said, for him, every mother and every daughter is a form of ‘Shakti’ and that he worships them. He said the nation dedicated ‘Chandrayaan’s’ success to ‘Shiv Shakti’ and the opposition parties are talking of destroying ‘Shakti’.President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia’s election on Sunday, cementing his grip on power though thousands of opponents staged a noon protest at polling stations. He will easily secure a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years. However, the results have been met with criticism from Western countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among others, who accused Putin of winning through an unfair electoral process held amidst the imprisonment of opposition leaders.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

Exploring electoral bonds data, major donors revealed, Agni-5 missile's significance with MIRV technology, and Kejriwal's controversy with Enforcement Directorate summons.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Niharika NandaIt’s the 15th of March and here are the top stories of the week.On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the rules for the implementation of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and a day later the Centre announced a new portal for people who want to apply for citizenship through the act. According to its rules, a Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who entered India before December 31, 2014, can now seek Indian citizenship without producing a valid passport from these countries or a valid visa from India.After PM Modi praised Manohar Lal Khattar at the inauguration of the prestigious Dwarka Expressway project on Tuesday, he was removed as the Chief Minister of Haryana by the BJP and replaced by the party’s Kurukshetra MP and its state unit chief, Nayab Singh Saini. Following this development, Manohar Lal Khattar resigned from the Karnal assembly seat in the House on Wednesday, vacating it for the new CM Nayab Saini.President Droupadi Murmu approved Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code Bill, as announced by the government in the Himalayan state on Wednesday. The Bill, which seeks to govern and regulate the laws related to marriage and divorce, successions, live-in relationships, was passed by the Assembly in February following a two-day discussion. The state government has formed a Rules Making and Implementation Committee headed by retired IAS officer and UCC draft committee member Shatrughan Singh, which will define in detail how the sections will be implemented.On Thursday, the panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections recommended that the government implement a "one-time transitory measure." This measure would require the Union government to identify an "appointed date" immediately after a Lok Sabha election. Subsequently, all state assemblies that go to poll after this date would have their terms expire with Parliament. Among the 47 political parties that expressed their opinions on simultaneous elections, 32 supported the idea, while 15 opposed it. The high-level committee led by PM Modi on Thursday selected retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the new Election Commissioners. However, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Opposition member in the panel, registered dissent, questioning the process. He stated that the shortlisted officer names were not provided to him in advance, despite his request for a short list containing details of all candidates under consideration.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express

In 2018, India launched its flagship health insurance scheme – the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. This scheme, which offers up to Rs 5 lakh annually per family for hospitalizations, aims to achieve universal health coverage and substantially decrease out-of-pocket healthcare expenses among the poor.However, after 6 years, to what extent has it been able to achieve that goal? An analysis of data and documents obtained by The Indian Express through the Right to Information (RTI) Act attempts to uncover just that.In this episode, The Indian Express’ National Health Editor, Kaunain Sheriff, joins us to discuss the major highlights from the Ayushman Bharat data and what it reveals about the state of healthcare in India.Hosted, produced and written by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Niharika NandaIt’s the 14th of March and here are the top stories of the day.The panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections has recommended that the government implement a "one-time transitory measure." This measure would require the Union government to identify an "appointed date" immediately after a Lok Sabha election. Subsequently, all state assemblies that go to poll after this date would have their terms expire with Parliament. Among the 47 political parties that expressed their opinions on simultaneous elections, 32 supported the idea, while 15 opposed it. The high-level committee led by PM Modi today selected retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the new Election Commissioners. However, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Opposition member in the panel, registered dissent, questioning the process. He stated that the shortlisted officer names were not provided to him in advance, despite his request for a short list containing details of all candidates under consideration.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act rules, which were notified earlier this week, will take away jobs and resources from the poor citizens of India. Urging Home Minister Amit Shah to pay heed to his objections, Kejriwal said that the law was dangerous for the country’s security. He also added that the country should bring back those 11 lakh industrialists and businessmen who left India because of BJP’s adverse policies, enabling them to generate employment opportunities for Indian youth.The Supreme Court today sought an undertaking from the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP, saying that it will not use pictures of Sharad Pawar in its posters, and asked it to explore the option of selecting its own symbol. Justice Surya Kant said to the Ajit Pawar faction, quote “You are a different political party now so why to use his picture etc. Go with your own identity now… you have chosen not to be with him,” Unquote.The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has expressed confidence that the water crisis in Bengaluru may not pose an immediate threat to hosting the Indian Premier League matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. KSCA CEO Shubendu Ghosh told the media, quote “We are not having any crisis at the moment. We are following state government guidelines on water usage. We will hold meetings with the stakeholders to plan how to proceed,” he said. Unquote.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, we talk to Indian Express' Vikas Pathak about the Citizenship Amendment Act, what it means for the BJP and how concerned it is about a potential backlash, so close to the Lok Sabha polls.Second, Indian Express’ Varinder Bhatia joins us to talk about the recent political developments in Haryana, the reasons behind it and its possible consequences with the Haryana assembly elections scheduled later this year. (13:59) Lastly, we talk about the Election Commission's plan to reveal the details of the electoral bonds redeemed by all political parties. (28:05)Hosted by Niharika NandaWritten and Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika NandaEdited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar