Afternoon briefing: Cong reacts to PM Modi’s jibe; Panel seeks suggestions on NTA reforms from students, parents, more
Opposition MPs on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of imposing an “undeclared Emergency” in the country by allegedly suppressing the voice of dissent and freedom of speech. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that PM Modi has been digging into the past to hide his shortcomings. “The country is looking towards the future, while you keep digging into the past to hide your shortcomings,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Breaking parties, toppling elected governments through backdoor methods, misusing agencies like ED, CBI, and IT against 95% of opposition leaders, imprisoning chief ministers, and using power before elections to disturb the level playing field – isn’t this an Undeclared Emergency?” questioned Kharge. Dig deeper
The seven-member panel formed by the government to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) will first reach out to students and parents to know their concerns and take suggestions on how to create a robust and tamper-proof system for entrance examinations in the country, the panel’s chairperson K Radhakrishnan has said. The panel headed by Radhakrishnan, who has served as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, will give its recommendations to the education ministry within the next 2 months on the reform in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols, and structure and functioning of the NTA. Dig deeper
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Trending
“If I had 5 hula hoops on me, I’d be a twirling Olympic logo, I know!” was what Indian flow artist Eshna Kutty wrote while sharing a video on Instagram. The video shows Kutty juggling the hoop as she dances to an Indian song in Paris. What’s more, she is doing that in a saree with the iconic Eiffel Tower as the backdrop. Yes, you read that right! The video, which is in collaboration with Olympic Khel – the official Indian account for the Olympic Games by the IOC, shows Kutty dancing to Mukkala Mukkabla in Paris as she juggles the hula hoop. Kutty was dressed in a red saree and blue blouse. She completed her look with yellow sports shoes and hair tied in a bun. Dig deeper
Business News
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty hit their new all-time high levels on Tuesday tracking firm trends in Asian markets and buying in blue-chip bank stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 541.25 points to hit a fresh lifetime peak of 77,882.33 during the afternoon trade. The Nifty went up by 130.8 points to hit a new record high of 23,668.65. Dig deeper
Global Matters
California hiker, Lucas McClish, went missing on June 11 when he went out for a three-hour hike in his hometown, Boulder Creek. His family filed a missing report on June 16, when he did not show up for Father’s Day family dinner. He had been missing for nearly 10 days when he was found by the rescue team in the mountains. The Santa Cruz County’s Office announced the success of finding McClish in a Facebook post on Friday. The missing report filed by the hiker’s family geared up the County officials to find McClish. The official found him in the next four days of sending out search parties in various potential regions. Locals played a major role in aiding the County officials in their search when they reported that they heard someone screaming for help in the area of Foreman Creek off of Big Basin Highway around 3 p.m. on June 20. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Vashu Bhagnani is responding to the rumours surrounding his production banner Pooja Entertainment, which he runs with son Jackky Bhagnani. The rumours include non-payment of dues and selling off office building after the box office failure of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Speaking to The Times of India, Vashu denied the reports and said that the building is being redeveloped, and that they are working with the same team for many years, and there have been no official complaints. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
The 2024 T20 World Cup continues to throw surprises. Australia, the 2021 champions have been knocked out, following Afghanistan’s historic win against Bangladesh in the final Super Eight fixture in Kingstown on Tuesday. After finishing their innings on 115/5, not many gave Afghanistan a chance, but thanks to some spirited bowling, Afghanistan did the unthinkable, pulling off a narrow eight-run DLS win and, in the process, sending Australia back home. Dig deeper
