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Journalism of Courage
Good morning,
And the winner is… The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 goes to three scientists who showed that it was possible even for large systems, made up of billions of these small particles, to exhibit quantum behaviour under carefully controlled conditions. John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit”. Their work, done in the mid-1980s, set the stage for the development of quantum computers, which is one of the most active areas of scientific research right now.
With that, let’s move on to the today’s edition:
🚨 Big Story
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in India for a two-day bilateral visit and is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Fintech, trade and defence are expected to dominate the agenda between the two leaders.
This is a reciprocal visit by the British PM, after Modi travelled to the UK in July this year and both leaders entered into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The FTA has the stamp of a bipartisan consensus in the UK — telling the story of India-UK ties broadly. A Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Vision 2035 document, as well as a new Defence Industrial Roadmap were also signed then. Here’s a look at the different facets of this relationship and the vision for the future.
Follow our live updates on the UK PM’s visit to India here.
⚡ Only in Express
“There’s a clear supply-demand mismatch in India, and I think that’s something everyone recognises. That’s also where the opportunity lies. It’s why we’re seeing the rise of so many impressive private universities, and why international institutions view India as a compelling market.”
Amid evolving India–US relations, and growing concerns among students reconsidering plans for higher education in the US, Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the USC Marshall School of Business and Jared Grusd, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the institute told The Indian Express that despite the uncertainties, USC has seen a record number of Indian students enrolling across various programmes. Here are the edited excerpts.
Kristy Hsu, Director of Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, in an interview with The Indian Express, said that India should be pragmatic in its approach to manufacturing semiconductor chips domestically. Hsu also discussed Taiwan’s role in the semiconductor supply chain, its links to India and its engineering talent, the US’ tariff war, and the need to make supply chains resilient. Key excerpts here.
📰 From the Front Page
Just days before the scheduled visit of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, India on Tuesday joined the Taliban, Pakistan, China and Russia to oppose US President Donald Trump’s bid to take over the Bagram air base in Afghanistan. In a sharply worded joint statement, participants of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan said: “They (the participants) called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighboring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability.”
‘Unapologetic’: A day after a lawyer threw a shoe at Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, claiming the CJI’s remarks had insulted “sanatan dharma”, the Noida Police briefly detained YouTuber Ajeet Bharti over his alleged remarks on social media. Bharti’s detention comes even as the 71-year-old lawyer Rakesh Kishore who targeted the CJI inside the Supreme Court said he was “instructed by divine powers to act”.
‘Confusion’: The Supreme Court Tuesday said there is “confusion” whether the new names added to the final voters list for Bihar following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise are fresh ones or those re-included from the 65 lakh voters who were deleted in the draft roll, asking the Election Commission of India (ECI) to clarify this. The bench was hearing the pleas of NGO Association for Democratic Rights (ADR) and others stating that the 3.66 lakh voters who were deleted in the final list – in addition to the 65 lakh removed in the draft list – had not been given individual orders informing them of the same.
📌 Must Read
‘Pushback’: After Raghvendra Bhatnagar, the president of the Rashtriya Hindu Shakti Sangathan, hectored Muskan and other girls participating in the Miss Rishikesh pageant about wearing “clothes that are against the sanskriti (culture) of Uttarakhand,” it’s the pushback from girls that’s now winning hearts. Muskan, crowned as Miss Rishikesh next day, said: “Let us do what we want to do… You are no one to tell us this. Who are you?”
Express Impact: Senior Advocate Rekha Palli, appointed Amicus Curiae by the Supreme Court to look into the case of officer cadets discharged from top military institutions due to disabilities suffered during training, has made some key suggestions. These include: coverage under Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) for all “invalidated” past and future officer cadets and eligible dependents; implementation of previous recommendations for disability pension; one-time compensation for immediate relief; among others. The action was taken after the apex court took suo motu cognizance of a series of investigative reports in The Indian Express.
In our Opinion section today, C Raja Mohan delves into the steady rise of Europe in India’s diplomacy, and the emergence of a “multipolar West” as a crucial strand in India’s external strategy. He writes: “From the Indian perspective, a multipolar West brings both potential relief and considerable risk. A loosely knit West allows greater room for manoeuvre and cross-cutting coalitions. India can now explore multiple points of collaboration within the West. But the fragmentation of the West could weaken collective international responses to authoritarian assertiveness and generate instability.”
⏳ And Finally…
A tournament for the rich?: As the world’s biggest sporting event returns to North America after more than thirty years, the early sale price of tickets show a FIFA that will push for maximum revenues from an American World Cup. The 2026 World Cup final tickets at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, are costing an estimated $6730 – and $25,000 on the resale market. While the cheapest group stage ticket at the World Cup is touted at $60, as was seen in Qatar, an extremely low number of those tickets are released, and most are in poor viewing positions at the stadium.
🎧 Tune in to our latest episode of our 3 Things podcast, we discuss the concerns raised by the death of 14 children in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara after consuming ‘toxic’ cough syrup; the significance of Sir Creek; as well as the Sabarimala temple controversy.
That’s all for today.
Until next time,
Ariba
