3 Things

First, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath joins us to talk about Fali Sam Nariman, one of the most eminent jurists of the country who passed away in his sleep on 21st February.Second, we talk to Indian Express' Deeptiman Tiwary about CM Kejriwal refusing the summons by the Enforcement Directorate. (17:29)Lastly, we talk about the four astronauts who have been chosen for the Gaganyaan mission. (28:07)Hosted by Niharika NandaWritten and Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika NandaEdited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 27th of February and here are the headlines.Across 15 states, 56 Rajya Sabha seats are up for grabs today. Heading into polling day, the ruling NDA had 109 MPs in the Upper House, 10 members short of the halfway mark in the 238 member Rajya Sabha. The Opposition INDIA bloc had 89 MPs. The stage is set for a high-octane RS election battle in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh today. Last week, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda, new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced the names of the four astronauts that will fly to low-Earth orbit as part of the ISRO’s Gaganyaan. Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan and Shubanshu Shukla have been selected to be the astronauts on India’s first crewed mission to space. They are all officers in the Indian Air Force and have extensive experience working as test pilots.The Enforcement Directorate today issued summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the eighth time in Delhi excise policy case. The ED has asked him to appear before it for questioning on the 4th of March. Kejriwal has not appeared for questioning for the last seven times but has responded to each summons in written. The Aam Aadmi Party said that “instead of sending summons daily, the ED should wait for the court’s decision.” The matter is up for hearing in court on the 16th of March.External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India had to suspend the issuance of visas in Canada because Indian diplomats were “not safe going to work”. He further stated that that New Delhi expects action against the culprits involved in last year’s attacks on its diplomatic premises in London, San Francisco and Ottawa, among other cities.As per local reports, a Pakistani court today indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra on charges that they allegedly received land as a bribe during his premiership. Khan is in jail since August in connection with other cases, and has previously denied the allegation.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

The podcast discusses Indian household consumption trends, AAP-Congress alliance challenges, and a heartwarming story of a girl abandoned at a railway station who aspires to play hockey in Spain.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 26th of February and here are the headlines.The Allahabad High Court today dismissed an appeal filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging the Varanasi district court’s order to allow prayers in the Gyanvapi mosque. On 31st of January, the district court allowed prayers in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The district court order was challenged by the mosque committee in the Supreme Court which asked the committee to approach the Allahabad High Court.The Calcutta High Court on Monday clarified that there is no stay on the arrest of absconding Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shajahan, who has been accused of sexual harassment and landgrab in Sandeshkhali. The court directed that Shajahan, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, the state home secretary be impleaded as parties in the suo motu matter initiated on the allegations of sexual atrocities and land grab reported from the area in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district.The Assam assembly witnessed stormy scenes today, with the Speaker rejecting the Opposition’s bid to discuss the Cabinet’s decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act 1935. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had asserted that the decision had been taken to curb child marriage, stating that the Act has a provision that enables the marriage of brides and grooms below the ages of 18 and 21, respectively. The decision had been announced while the current Assembly session was ongoing and the Cabinet approved the ‘Assam Repealing Ordinance 2024’ for the repeal of the Act.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today told the Supreme Court that he “made a mistake by retweeting” an allegedly defamatory video posted by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018. Kejriwal had approached the court challenging a Delhi High Court order upholding the summons issued to him in the criminal defamation case. On 5th of February, the High Court had said, quote, “When a public figure tweets a defamatory post, the ramifications extend far beyond a mere whisper in someone’s ears.” Unquote.The Haryana Police booked 12 people, including former Bahadurgarh BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik, in connection with the murder of Indian National Lok Dal state president and former MLA Nafe Singh Rathee on Sunday. They have been booked under murder and conspiracy charges. Nafe Singh’s family members and supporters have announced they will not cremate the bodies of the INLD leader and his security team member Jai Kishan, who was also killed in the attack, until the accused are arrested.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

Assam Cabinet repealing state's Muslim Marriage law for a Uniform Civil Code, government's efforts to eliminate Kala Azar disease, and SP-Congress seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh discussed in the podcast.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 23rd of February and here are the top stories of the week.The farmers’ protest that resumed on Wednesday, was suspended for two days after a protester, 21-years-old Subhkaran Singh of Bathinda district, died due to a head injury. In the view of this, farmer leaders demanded registration of a murder case against those responsible for the death. Several farmers were also injured as the Haryana Police dropped tear gas shells at the Shambhu and Khanauri border. The leaders will review the situation and announce the next course of agitation this evening.Sandeshkhali has been at the centre of a political firestorm ever since protests broke out in the area earlier this month. On Monday, a journalist was arrested for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman and trespassing into the complainant’s house and was later granted bail by the Calcutta High Court. The police also booked a talk show host of a Bengali news channel for promoting enmity and "conducting public mischief". Moreover, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and Brinda Karat of the CPI(M) were stopped by the police from visiting Sandeshkhali on Tuesday. West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar visited the violence-hit area for the first time on Thursday and said the police will listen to the complaints of every individual and strict action will be taken against those found guilty.The Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a Bill granting 10 per cent reservation in education and jobs to the Maratha community. The principle of creamy layer will be applicable and reservation under this Act will be available only to those in the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes who are not in the creamy layer category. CM Eknath Shinde described the Bill as historic and bold and said it would survive the test of law.The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed and set aside the result of mayoral polls for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The court perused the ballot papers and said that the eight ballots on which the presiding officer had made a marking, and were later counted as invalid, were duly cast in favour of Kuldeep Kumar. A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud thus ruled in favour of the AAP-Congress coalition candidate.Controversy erupted on Wednesday over Congress workers allegedly roughing up a broadcast journalist at Raebareli on Tuesday and the manner in which Rahul Gandhi quizzed him. The TV channel released a video where Rahul is seen asking the TV journalist, his name, and also that of the owner of the channel. The Editors Guild of India on Thursday voiced concern over this and urged all political parties and leaders to exercise caution, particularly during election season when tempers can run high, and ensure that no individual is put in harm’s way.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

This podcast explores the legendary career of Ameen Sayani, the iconic voice of India, and his revolutionary impact on radio broadcasting. Guests share fond memories of the radio legend, highlighting his influence in bridging cultural divides through music and his enduring legacy in the industry.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 22nd of February and here are the headlines.The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have finalised their seat-sharing alliance for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi after several rounds of deliberations this week. Sources from both parties confirmed that they had settled for a four-three seat-sharing formula, with AAP contesting four constituencies and Congress on three. The agreement was finalised after the AAP agreed to the Congress’ proposal to contest from one Lok Sabha seat of its choice and another suggested by the latter.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underlined his government’s commitment to fulfilling its pledge for the welfare of farmers, asserting that a "historic" hike in sugarcane’s price is part of such efforts. In a series of posts on X, he sad this will benefit crores of sugarcane farmers. The Cabinet meeting headed by Modi hiked the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane growers by Rs 25, raising it to Rs 340 per quintal for the 2024-25 season starting October.Social media company X (formerly Twitter) has said that it has received orders from the Indian government to block certain accounts and links, failing which the platform and its employees could face potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment. In an early morning post today, X’s government affairs handle said that while it was complying with New Delhi’s blocking orders, it "disagrees" with its actions. The Indian Express has learnt that a majority of these accounts were tweeting in support of the ongoing farmers’ protests.As per a preliminary probe by New Delhi’s cybersecurity agency, The Indian Express has learnt that a data breach impacted the systems of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation in 2018. This exposure of the personal data of millions of Indians was found to have been "repackaged" by a Chinese cyber agency. According to information that has been uploaded to Github, the leaked database claims to have information from across Indian institutions – both government and private. However, in 2018, when reports about the alleged breach had first surfaced, the EPFO had denied that its systems were compromised.The Enforcement Directorate has asked the Bureau of Immigration to issue a look-out-circular against Byju Raveendran, the CEO of Byju’s to ensure that he does not leave the country without intimating the investigation officer. In November last year, the agency had issued show cause notices to Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent company of Byju’s, and Raveendran on the basis of a complaint filed against alleged contraventions of Foreign Exchange Management Act to the tune of Rs 9,362.35 crore.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express's Amitabh Sinha informs us about the findings of a new study that reveals a previously unknown factor that might be affecting India's air pollution.Next, Indian Express's Apurva Vishwanath discusses the controversial money bill route that helped the passage of legislations related to the electoral bonds scheme, Aadhaar, and the PMLA (11:34).And finally, Indian Express's Kanchan Vasudev reports on the 22-year-old farmer who died after being hit by a rubber bullet while protesting at the Delhi-Haryana border (21:42).Hosted by Shashank BhargavaProduced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika NandaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 21st of February and here are the headlines.As the Dilli Chalo protest resumed today, several farmers were injured as the Haryana Police dropped tear gas shells at the Shambhu and Khanauri border. Meanwhile, the telephonic talks between the farmer leaders and Union government officials concluded and leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarvan Singh Pandher are insisting on a statement on MSP law by the Prime Minister or the Home Minister.Indian Space Research Organisation today said that it completed the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine that will power the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle to be used in crewed Gaganyaan missions. The seventh and final round of ground qualification tests were completed earlier this month. The ambitious Gaganyaan mission will demonstrate ISRO’s human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of one or more members to an orbit of 400 kilometres in space on a three-day mission.India and China held the 21st round military talks earlier this week, emphasising that a complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh is the essential basis for restoring normalcy along the borders. In a statement released today, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the two sides shared their perspectives on disengaging from the remaining friction points along the LAC.Actor-politician Kamal Haasan today said discussions were on for his party, Makkal Needhi Maiam's political alliance and stressed it would support any bloc that would “selflessly” think about the nation and desist from being part of “feudal politics.” His remark came in the backdrop of speculations that Haasan’s party was involved in alliance talks with Chief Minister M K Stalin-led DMK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.Ameen Sayani, the iconic radio presenter of the popular show ''Binaca Geet Mala”, died on Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 91. As a voiceover artist, he holds a record for hosting and compering over 54,000 radio programs. Sayani also holds a record in the Limca Book of Records for his contributions to approximately 19,000 jingles as a voiceover artist. His show, Binaca Geetmala, which began as a 30-minute programme on Radio Ceylon turned into a rage and was aired from 1952 to 1994.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.