Daily Briefing: Express Investigation into Centre’s deep-tech fund; BJP, RSS read Gen Z mood

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

• Findings of CBI probe into NEET paper leak
• India’s deep-tech ambitions
• BJP’s Gen Z outreach

🚨 Big Story

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe into the NEET-UG paper leak found that three subject experts took exam questions out of the National Testing Agency (NTA) office in Delhi using different methods. One of them scrawled questions on paper chits before hiding them, and the remaining two memorised the questions, returned to their hotel rooms to either write them down or mark the relevant paragraphs in NCERT textbooks. According to the CBI, it was possible for them to do this because they were not frisked while exiting the “confidential section” – a wing situated on the first floor of the NTA office, which also lacked a dedicated CCTV live feed monitoring control room.

⚡ Only in Express

In an attempt to boost India’s deep-tech ambitions in the private sector, a new public fund has approved Rs 2,192 crore in its first round of soft loans to 22 private companies working in the fields of space science, energy tech and pharma, among others. These companies were chosen from 124 applicants by a 12-member panel, including 11 established names in private equity and technology, and a non-voting government representative. However, there’s a loophole. An investigation by The Indian Express found that 15 out of 22 companies have investment ties to seven members of the selection panel, raising questions of conflict of interest and propriety. These companies together got over Rs 1,377 crore. Nine of these firms are linked to the chairman of the selection panel.

The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore, was created by the Indian government in 2025 to provide collateral-free, low-cost, long-term loans to private sector companies. These companies are mainly engaged in advanced research and innovation in priority deep-tech sectors like artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space science, defence, robotics, clean energy, semiconductors, and digital healthcare. Take a look at how this fund works.

📰 From the Front Page

Outreach: In a major outreach to Gen Z in the wake of the Jantar Mantar protest, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said that the agitation was a legitimate form of dialogue in a democracy and that concerns raised over India’s education system were genuine. Over an interaction held at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, Bhagwat described today’s youth as “more honest” than previous generations, while dismissing attempts to brand them as anti-national. He also underlined that reforms in education must come through dialogue. Around 2,000 “Gen Z and Gen Alpha” members attended the event.

Convicted: The Bombay High Court in Goa overturned the trial court ruling that had acquitted journalist and Tehelka’s former editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal on Thursday and sentenced him to ten years in jail. The bench convicted Tejpal on charges of aggravated rape, sexual harassment and use of criminal force against a woman. His conviction falls under two specific categories under the rape offence: first, for being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman; and second, for being in a position of control or dominance over a woman. The court also underlined that notions of a perfect victim are a myth and neither the Court nor the Respondent can decide how she should react or process her trauma.

Nudge: Amid the Opposition’s protest demanding the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha, Chairman and Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan told the Centre on Thursday to “consider the request”. Addressing Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Rajya Sabha Chairman said, “I request you to consider the request for the Home Minister to come to the House; as Parliamentary Affairs Minister, you can echo the sentiments of the Opposition to the Home Minister.” The Opposition MPs demanded answers to questions on alleged excesses by security forces during the crackdown on youngsters marching to Parliament on July 20 to protest paper leaks. They also raised slogans of “Amit Shah jawaab do, Sadan mein aao (Amit Shah must answer, come to the House).”

📌 Must Read

PK factor: The victory of Jan Suraaj Party’s (JSP) Prashant Kishor in Bankipur bypolls is a personal setback for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Nabin as well as Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Bankipur may indicate a churn beyond Bihar, reflecting a changing mood in some other parts of India too, our weekly columnist Neerja Chowdhury suggests. The electoral outcome also points out that the BJP’s core support base – the upper castes – may be getting disenchanted with it. Chowdhury writes: “Bankipur marks the end of the Nitish era in Bihar. Would Kishor have emerged as Nitish’s successor had the two not fallen out? The JD(U) chief might have initially seen him in that light. Today, with Nitish having shifted to the Rajya Sabha amid health issues, the JD(U) seems to be in disarray.”

Barriers: At a time when India and the United States are working to finalise their trade deal, the Finance Ministry has introduced a Bill in the Parliament to allow banks and payment system providers to charge fees for UPI and RuPay debit card payments. This comes as the Trump administration consistently pushes most of its trade partners to create a level playing field in their respective digital transaction ecosystems. The United States Trade Representative (USTR), in March this year, had classified India’s digital payment policies “favouring” domestic players as a foreign trade barrier. These barriers in various sectors are prominent demands under the proposed US-India trade deal. We explain.

In our Opinion section today, Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma delve into the sudden shift in focus of Indian politics from the Opposition’s weaknesses to the BJP’s vulnerabilities within a span of a few weeks. They write: “The events of the last two weeks may not be enough to predict what will happen in 2029. But they are important enough to raise a question the BJP cannot ignore. The generation that brought Narendra Modi to power in 2014 is not the same as the one joining the electorate now. The BJP’s real challenge is not just to win over young Indians, but to show them it can offer the most believable promises for a better future.”

⏳ And Finally…

Appeal: Still hurting from the Jantar Mantar protests that forced the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP government is bouncing back the way it knows best. Young BJP MPs have resorted to embrace the words, popular among the Gen Zs – MIA, Delulu, FOMO – in the ongoing Parliament Session. They have also been caught doing fist-bumps where earlier handshakes would suffice. “And they are doing this with the knowledge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is watching closely, having himself taken to Instagram – the medium of choice of Gen Z and the Jantar Mantar protests – and instructed his ministers to shine there,” Jatin Anand and Shubhangi Khapre describe.

🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the function of NOTTO’s new real-time portal for organ transplants; Prashant Kishor’s victory in Bankipur bypolls; as well as the expansion of India’s rape law that led to the conviction of former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!

Until next time,
Ariba

Business As Usual by E P Unny