Daily briefing: New criminal laws kick in today, Chirag Paswan at Idea Exchange, and more

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) – passed in Parliament last December – bring a host of changes to India’s dated criminal justice framework. But a few critics have raised concerns regarding some of the new introductions. We explain.

As the deadline for implementing the new laws approached, Bhopal’s oldest police station in Kotwali stayed up late in a race against time. Armed with only a day’s training, police officers and the junior staff are now tasked with navigating the complexities of these sweeping legal reforms.

⚡Only in Express

In the latest edition of Idea Exchange, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan opened up about his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said: “Many would taunt me saying, ‘ye Hanuman bana phir raha hai’. But then that is the kind of devotion that I have for my PM. And that…will continue forever.” The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief also spoke about his alliance with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and how he sees a more active role in state politics.

📰 From the Front Page

The NCERT report cards of students of classes 9 to 12 could be vastly different soon, reflecting a lot more than just marks scored in school-level and Board examinations. Designed to focus on the “learner as researcher”, the new ‘Holistic Progress Card (HPC)’ will also include elements on acquiring life skills such as time management and understanding the value of money.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal came under attack from the Opposition on Sunday after a video clip captured its functionary whipping and assaulting a woman and a man publicly over an alleged extramarital affair at a salishi sabha (kangaroo court). The state’s BJP unit targetted CM Mamata Banerjee claiming the scene “is like Taliban rule in Bengal”.

Indians are spending about 3.5 times more on foreign travel than they did 5 years ago. Did you know? A total of $17 billion (Rs 1,41,800 crore) has been taken out by Indians in 2023-24 for overseas travel under the Reserve Bank of India’s liberalised remittances scheme (LRS). This number is up by 24.4 per cent from the previous year. Here’s what’s behind the increase.

👉 Must Read

A day after the arrest of the principal and vice-principal of a Jharkhand school in connection with an alleged paper leak of this year’s National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), the CBI has arrested a Hazaribagh-based journalist for allegedly helping the two accused. Earlier, the CBI had arrested five people based in Bihar. We report on what is known about all the accused so far.

In her latest column, Neerja Chowdhury looks at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on Congress over the Emergency issue and a “realisation within the BJP that it needs to seize the Constitution narrative from the Congress and Opposition MPs.” Don’t miss it!

In our Opinion section today, National Sports Editor Sandeep Dwivedi writes about India’s T20 World Cup win and why he thinks Hardik Pandya turned out to be India’s real Houdini that night: “Lesser bowlers in such situations are prone to mind freezes, they forget their game plans, disregard learnings they gathered at nets and allow the adrenaline to dictate their actions.”

⌛And Finally…

“He is not just the greatest bowler born in the country, but also potentially the greatest cricketer it has ever produced.”

Those who have watched Jasprit Bumrah in the last month wouldn’t need photographic reminders of how the fast bowler shaped the destiny and destination of the T20 World Cup trophy – take him away from the tournament, the fate changes and the narrative falls apart.

Delhi Confidential: On the birthday of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav that falls on July 1, the party will start a week-long plantation drive titled “PDA ped” (PDA tree). The ‘PDA’ acronym coined by Akhilesh stands for a rainbow coalition of “Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak” (OBCs, Dalits and minorities).

In the latest episode of our ‘3 Things‘ podcast, we speak to Indian Express’ Anonna Dutt to discuss the A to Z of getting health insurance. Tune in!

Until next time,

Vibha B Madhava and Ayesha Jain

Business As Usual by E P Unny (July 1)