Daily Briefing: Probe finds major overlap between NEET Chemistry question paper and ‘guess sheet’

With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:

• Chemistry question paper in NEET leak
• Bihar’s powerplay in IPL
• Cow markets in Bengal emptied out

🚨 Big Story

An overall match of Chemistry questions in the ‘guess paper’ with the actual NEET paper led the National Testing Agency (NTA) to look within and zero in on the source pool of the leak. Based on its internal probe, the NTA has referred the names of all Chemistry paper setters and translators to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further examination. Even the Biology paper questions were partially leaked. For the examination on June 21, the NTA has changed all question setters and translators for all subjects – Chemistry, Biology, and Physics papers.

⚡ Only in Express

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sakib Hussain, Anukul Roy, Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Kishan: These are the five players from Bihar who have made it to the Indian Premier League this season. It’s a big number for a state cricket association that was nonexistent during India’s IPL revolution last decade. All the players have inspired a new generation of cricketers back home in Bihar. “Tajpur and Gopalganj. Two dissimilar and disconnected places with varied sensibilities and dialects, the distance exaggerated by a tedious transport network, are metaphors of Bihar cricket’s resurgence from its troubled past,” Sandip G shares the state’s untapped cricketing potential.

📰 From the Front Page

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to attend the New Delhi summit of BRICS leaders on September 12 and 13, according to sources. Xi’s participation in the BRICS Summit is the most anticipated visit – his first to India since October 2019 before the border standoff began in April-May 2020. Meanwhile, Putin’s presence at the summit was confirmed by Russian officials, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Emptied out: The impact of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s strict imposition of West Bengal’s Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950 has meant trouble for cattle owners. On any given day, nearly 2,000 cows would be bought and sold at the Polerhat cow market, especially ahead of Bakr-i-Eid. However, these days, the ground barely holds two dozen cows, tied to poles or cycle vans, with their owners and a handful of buyers standing around listlessly in the summer heat. Kolkata is feeling the pinch too, with beef prices shooting up from Rs 280 to Rs 600 per kg.

The death of former actor Twisha Sharma has sent shockwaves across India, particularly after serious allegations arose against her husband, advocate Samarth Singh, and mother-in-law Giribala Singh, including, dowry death and dowry harassment. Her life was stitched together from modelling assignments, corporate presentations and the optimism of a recent marriage. Friends remember her as “intensely social and ambitious.” Denying the charges, Singh claimed Twisha was seeking psychiatric treatment and suffering from drug abuse. which led to a collapse in her mental health days before her alleged suicide.

📌 Must Read

In her weekly column, Neerja Chowdhury turns our attention to the state of the Opposition INDIA alliance. Its key regional constituents, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the DMK, took a severe beating in the recently-concluded Assembly polls, even as the BJP held a winning spree. Since these outfits grew by making inroads into the Congress belts, all they feared was that giving primacy to the grand old party could help it revive at their expense. Chowdhury writes, “Forget 2029 for the moment. The INDIA bloc has nothing to lose by naming a convener, having a secretariat, and holding meetings regularly. Despite having weakened, it can still make a difference by fashioning a new narrative.”

In our Opinion section today, C Raja Mohan highlights Delhi’s concerns associated with the meeting between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Beijing this week. He writes: “Over the last decade, several voices in Delhi warned that the Quad would “entrap” India in a military alliance against China and insisted on slow-walking it. Many of the same voices now say the US is about to “abandon” India. The government has taken a more measured view and has actively sustained several rounds of official consultations with Quad partners.”

Musk vs Altman: A United States jury has ruled against billionaire Elon Musk in his lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit mission and prioritising commercial interests. The move has handed over a major legal victory to the Sam Altman-led artificial intelligence (AI) company, bringing a key chapter in one of Silicon Valley’s bitterest rivalries to a close. The verdict is a crucial win at a time when OpenAI is laying the groundwork for what could become one of the largest technology IPOs in history – close to $1 trillion. We explain.

⏳ And Finally…

Cannes time: Mungiu, who won the Palme d’Or in 2007 for harrowing abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, is back in contention this year at Cannes, with Fjord. A tense human drama, Fjord revolves around the story of the Gheorghiu family, with a Romanian father and Norwegian mother, and their five children — two teenagers, two younger ones, and the fifth, a babe in arms, who have relocated from Romania and come to live in Norway. Shubhra Gupta, in her review, writes: “The film may be new, but the battle — cultural, societal, political, religious ramifications — is as old as the hills. What is considered acceptable, even necessary, in some cultures (including Indian), is deemed inhuman.”

🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the challenges to the Great Nicobar mega-project; nationwide strike by chemists and druggists on inadequate regulation of e-pharmacies; as well as the criminal probe into the death of former actor Twisha Sharma.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!

Until next time,
Ariba

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