Daily Briefing: Delhi poll verdict today; Yoga’s big flex; Mrs movie review; and more

🚨Big Story

On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut interest rates by 25 basis points, taking the benchmark repo rate to 6.25 per cent. The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)—first time under the new RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra—was unanimous, marking the first repo rate cut in nearly five years. 

Why did the RBI cut the repo rate? The main reason behind the cut is to stimulate economic growth by making borrowing cheaper for individuals and businesses, which will lead to increased spending and investment.

What does it imply? This policy shift reflects the central bank’s response to evolving economic conditions and its commitment to fostering growth while managing inflation. The policy panel has estimated the GDP growth at 6.7 per cent and projected retail inflation at 4.2 per cent for the fiscal year 2025-26.

⚡Only in Express

Big Picture: Yogasana has a big flex. Earlier, it was confined to homes, parks, and communities, but now, the government recognises it as a competitive sport. As yoga transforms into a medal sport in time for India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics, Nihal Koshie travels to the National Games at Almora, where young athletes pull off the most impossible postures.

Non-identical ‘spin’ twins Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel possess cricket skills that are labelled similarly. But that’s like confusing tomato sauce for ketchup. They have the same font, but Jadeja is italicised, writes Sandeep Dwivedi. “It needs an expert eye and nose for nuance to appreciate the difference between the all-format multi-skilled Indian cricketers” – a case in point is the ongoing England series.

📰 Express Explained

‘Dunki’ from India to US: After over 100 undocumented Indian immigrants were deported from the United States on Thursday, the illegal “dunki” routes are back in the spotlight. You must have last heard about it when Shah Rukh Khan’s 2023 comedy-drama by the same name made quite a buzz. Now, the last stretch of the perilous route is the 3,140-km border separating the US and Mexico, which has fencing that the migrants jump across.

The first step from India is to reach a Latin American country. Most agents then take their clients to Colombia. From here, there are multiple routes to Mexico: one through the dangerous Darién Gap forest, another through San Andres, and the relatively easier one through Europe. Any of them can avoid the forest but not the risks at every turn.

✍️ Express Opinion

India and the AI race: India has 4,20,000 AI professionals, a force larger than many nations’ tech sectors. Now, Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, believes that with the building blocks of a new tech superpower, the country’s “story is one of a billion-plus people fundamentally reimagining its digital architecture in less than a decade.” But a foundational pillar, in his view, that demands urgent attention is hardware—the backbone that ensures the systems deliver unmatched efficiency, reliability, and scalability.

🍿Movie Review

Mrs Shubhra Gupta writes it is a near-faithful remake of Jeo Baby’s terrific ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’. For those who haven’t watched the Malayalam original, this Sanya Malhotra-starrer has enough merit, even if it seems more of a sanitised mess in parts. It uses the societally acceptable honorific for the perfect wife, who will not insist on a Ms, even as she struggles with keeping her dreams alive. “This is just the kind of film which should be made mandatory viewing for couples,” Gupta writes.

Until next time

Vibha B Madhava