Daily Briefing: Parliament’s Monsoon Session begins today; fuel shortages in Sri Lanka hit the rich and poor

In today’s edition: Monsoon Session begins today, aviation upturn sees new trends, and the fuel shortages in Sri Lanka hit the elite as well as common people

The Big Story 

Setting the stage for a stormy Monsoon Session that is set to begin today, the government accused the Opposition of trying to ““belittle the image” of Parliament by insisting that “non-issues” such as the updated list of unparliamentary words be taken up for discussion. 

At an all party-meeting ahead of the session, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend, Opposition leaders demanded that the alleged misuse of investigation agencies, the Agnipath scheme, price rise, alleged attacks on the federal structure and the “Chinese incursion”, also be taken up for discussion. The session, which will end on August 12, will also see voting for the President and Vice-President posts. 

Only in The Express

In this edition of the Idea Exchange, Oncologist Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee spoke about the crisis in the health economic system in India, attempting to cure blood cancer through sophisticated cell therapy, deploying strategies to prolong remissions and keeping costs down.

Express in Sri Lanka: The fuel shortage in Sri Lanka has hit the elite as well as common people. On the streets of Colombo, fewer private cars are plying, serpentine queues outside petrol stations are a common sight and most residents have been walking long distances, keeping the little fuel they have for an “emergency”. Facing the brunt of this shortage are the capital’s hospitals. The crisis has hit schools, too, closed for the last few months. 

International passenger traffic for Indian airlines has surpassed pre-Covid levels with airlines that were dependent on China and the far-east now looking at other geographies, including India. And on the domestic front, the numbers show a push for tourism routes as destinations such as Srinagar and Goa have seen significant capacity addition by airlines. But the relatively slower rebound in business travel means trunk routes remain subdued.

From the front page

A special court in Chhattisgarh has acquitted all 121 tribals languishing in jails after being arrested by the state police in connection with the 2017 Burkapal Maoist ambush in Sukma in which 25 CRPF men lost their life. In what was the biggest ambush on the CRPF since 2010, 150 CPI(Maoist) cadres surrounded and attacked a group of security personnel. 

Must Read

A letter to the PM expressing angst over a move to bring in a law on religious conversions and participation in protests against The Karnataka Protection of Right of Freedom of Religion Bill in the latter half of 2021 saw veteran Congress politician Margaret Alva, once a political force to be reckoned with in Karnataka, returning to the political stage in the state after a long hiatus. Now the Opposition’s ‘consensus’ candidate for the vice-president’s post, Alva finds herself in the spotlight once again.

The southwest monsoon’s revival this month has resulted in the total area sown under kharif crops not only recovering, but even surpassing last year’s coverage for the same period from June to mid-July. However, paddy (rice) acreage, at 128.50 lakh hectares (lh) as of July 15, was 17.4% down from last year’s 155.53 lh. In today’s explained, we talk about:

• Why has acreage fallen?

• How serious is the situation?

• So, is there a crisis ahead in rice?

Among the lattes, flat whites and espressos on its menu, Tata Starbucks will now feature South Indian filter coffee – one of the “regional favourites” that the chain is introducing, along with masala chai and small bites, as it seeks to expand its reach in India. Its inclusion on the menu of a brand with a pan-India presence might herald a mainstream status that has long eluded filter coffee. But what, exactly, is filter coffee?

And Finally

The great irony about the Commonwealth Games is that Britain nearly didn’t participate in the first-ever edition, called the British Empire Games, in 1930. Now, its existence itself is an irony in the post-colonial world of 2022, with a stale stench of a relic about it. But the story of its origin is a fascinating tale of perceived American arrogance; one man’s, a Canadian’s, hurt that transformed it into a grand vision; persistence during the Great Depression; jugaad; grace; and pride.

Delhi confidential: Despite the expected victory of its candidate Droupadi Murmu in Monday’s presidential election, the ruling BJP had directed all its MPs to be present in the national capital on Saturday itself. Party leaders said they did not want to take a chance as there could be some unexpected hurdles at the last minute. However, in the opposition Congress camp, the MPs did not get any instruction or direction from the party leadership on the presidential election. 

In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we talk about BJP accusing Sonia Gandhi of conspiracy against the Gujarat government after 2002 riots, how India fared in the Global Gender Gap Index, and the 15th presidential elections.

Until next time,

Leela Prasad and Srishti Kapoor