Daily Briefing: India calls out Canada; ED searches on Amazon, Flipkart; and more

With that, let’s move on to today’s edition:

• ED searches on Amazon, Flipkart
• Express Adda with Jyotiraditya Scindia
• Why Indian shuttlers need to work harder

🚨Big Story

New low: Hours after The Australia Today aired a joint press conference by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, several users in Canada complained of the news outlet being blocked. Turns out that Ottawa blocked the news outlet after Jaishankar’s strong remarks, voicing concern over the political space being granted to Khalistan extremists in Canada.

While this comes amid the ongoing India-Canada standoff, Canada is also part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance with Australia, along with the US, UK and New Zealand.

A pattern: Stating it was “surprised” over the “strange” Canadian move, New Delhi said it “yet again highlights the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech”. 

🎧 There’s more… Canada has introduced changes to its tourist visa policy, scaling back its once-standard practice of issuing 10-year multiple-entry visas. This means regular visitors to Canada could face increased costs and logistical challenges as they may need to apply for visas more frequently. Tune into our 3 Things podcast for a deep dive.

⚡Only in Express

‘We followed the world in 4G, we marched with it in 5G, but we will lead it in 6G’

At a recent Express Adda, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, spoke on how India is setting the trend in technology, the ‘Scindia gene’, and transitioning from the Congress to the BJP and what sets both parties apart.

📰 From the Front Page

In a second militant attack in the Jammu province within nine days, two village defence guards (VDGs) were killed on Thursday in Kishtwar’s Chatroo area. While the area has witnessed militant movement for the past several months,  the Kashmir Tigers militant outfit has claimed responsibility for these killings, senior officials confirmed.

Under the scanner: On Thursday, multiple teams of the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at 19 locations of vendors selling their products on Amazon and Flipkart. An official said the searches were carried out under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), based on complaints that the e-commerce platforms were violating India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules.

📌 Must Read

Playing the cards right: India is in the running to host the 2036 Olympic Games and seems like its pitch is in it to win it. From religious diversity to sending a message of peace to the world, India’s “strategic position along the ancient silk, spice routes” to its “continued rise on the global stage” — all these form part of the Indian Olympic Association’s letter of intent, The Indian Express has learnt. While there is no mention of a host city yet, Ahmedabad is considered to be the frontrunner.

Writing on the wall: Five years ago, after mounting losses for over a year and crumbling under heavy debt burden, Jet Airways ceased its operations. Now, the Supreme Court has officially put to rest the airline, and along with it any residual hope of its revival. The apex court ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways, marking an end to the saga of the rise and fall of what used to be India’s largest air carrier.

Paragliding Paradise: Over the past three decades, a remote village in Himachal Pradesh has made a name for itself as a “paraglider paradise” due to its strong, stable air currents. So much so that it’s currently hosting the second-edition of the Paragliding World Cup Association Asian Tour-2024. Nearly 16 km downhill from Billing — which just has four-five shops, no houses and at least five take-off points  — lies Bir village, which is home to a vast plain ground, reserved as the lone landing site.

⏳ And Finally…

“Indian players have to work on that 10% and push themselves.”

Badminton coach Agus Dwi Santoso, who guided top names in India like PV Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth, reckons Indian coaching for beginners is all-over-the-place.For Indians, he points to easily satiated ambition as one of the roadblocks in the journey to greatness. “You need a mentor who tells you one World Championship title is OK, but not world class. Indians think one title is enough… Way of thinking here must change,” he says.

That’s all for today.

Ayesha Jain and Vibha B Madhava

Business As Usual by E P Unny – November 8