Daily Briefing: Modi-Putin deepen ties; 162 days after pushback, Sunali Khatun returns to India

With that, let’s move on to the top 5 stories from today’s edition:

🚨 Big Story

Deepening ties: Wrapping up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to India since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, Delhi and Moscow on Friday inked 16 pacts, ranging from health to maritime cooperation, fertilizer to customs, academic to media collaboration. Deepening their ties, the two sides signed a labour mobility pact, agreed on a programme for developing strategic areas of economic cooperation until 2030, announced a 30-day free tourist visa for Russian nationals and pledged to work towards early conclusion of a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.

As Putin’s two-day visit to India comes to an end, our columnist Shyam Saran sheds light on what the meeting means for India, Russia, and the rest of the world. Explaining the impact of the partnership on China’s interests, Saran writes: “But it may also welcome a closer India-Russia relationship at a time when Indo-US ties are under strain, because it would have to worry less about American containment if India distances itself from the US. But Delhi should be clear that there are limits to the India-Russia partnership, which cannot compare to the declared “no-limits partnership” between Russia and China.”

⚡Only in Express

Bhajan sessions, UPI and banking transactions, and video calls with grandchildren — older adults, long assumed to be on the margins of digital life, are becoming some of its most active participants. With many elders now living alone as younger relatives move to cities for work, the smartphone has arrived as a companion, entertainer and conduit for connection for them. My colleagues Aishwarya Khosla and Rinku Ghosh delve into a demographic that’s increasingly wired into the digital space. Here’s the big picture.

💡Express Explained

The Delhi High Court has allowed Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) to continue manufacturing and exporting its version of the Ozempic drug containing semaglutide active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), as it refused to grant an interim injunction sought by Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk. API is the chemical in a medicine that produces the intended therapeutic effect. Semaglutide is the API for a new class of revolutionary drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity; it is marketed by Novo Nordisk as Ozempic for diabetes, and as Wegovy for weight loss. We explain the case here.

✍️ Express Opinion

‘An important break from the past’: Our columnist Shamika Ravi highlights the manifold ways in which the new Labour Codes reform India’s labour landscape and unlock its potential. Ravi writes: “India’s labour market has long been shaped by protective laws that turned into a stranglehold, pulling back its economic potential. The new labour codes represent a comprehensive attempt to correct that historical imbalance. By simplifying regulation, expanding protections, embracing new forms of work, and giving firms the flexibility to grow, these reforms create the conditions for a more dynamic labour market.”

🎬 Movie Review

Wondering what to watch this weekend? Well, we’ve got you covered! Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar has hit your nearby screens, bringing you a spy thriller which is more of an “amalgamation of all the “wrongs” done by Pakistan on India, from the Kandahar hijacking to the Parliament attack to the 26/11 Mumbai attack,” Shalini Langer writes in her review. “Dhurandhar I is all about which of the three current and ageing hunks – Ranveer Singh as Hamza, Rampal as the ISI’s Major Iqbal, and Sanjay Dutt as Karachi police encounter specialist Choudhary Aslam – can land and stand how much blood and gore.”

That’s all for today. Have a lovely weekend!

Until next time,
Ariba

Business As Usual by E P Unny