Daily Briefing: Latest on Delhi’s air pollution; Ethics panel report recommends Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from LS; and more

🚨 Big Story

As Delhi grapples with air pollution, the Delhi government said it would stop the entry of app-based taxis registered in other states and asked schools to advance their winter vacations to November 9-18.

As the air quality in the national capital continues to be poor for most of the year, and severe for several weeks, Associate Professor of Urban Studies at the Dr B R Ambedkar University Delhi Rohit Negi writes while emergency measures to curb pollution are important, action must be perennial just like the problem.

The Supreme Court’s observation on phasing out paddy from Punjab may be easier said than done as the state contributes a large chunk to the central pool and earns a significant amount of revenue from the crop every year, according to a noted economist and a top state government source.

In its order directing the Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan governments to ensure that the burning of crop stubble be “stopped forthwith”, the Supreme Court mentioned a “particular kind of paddy… grown mostly in Punjab”. The reference was likely to Pusa-44 – a variety that the Punjab CM had said would be “banned” from next year.

But Indian Agricultural Research Institute has now bred what it claims to be an improved version of Pusa-44 that yields just as much – and matures in only 120-125 days. Know more about the variety which could be a possible answer to farm fires.

⚡ Only in Express

Nearly four years after reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) was introduced, almost all faculty positions for associate professors and professors in Central universities under this quota remain vacant due to a contradiction between two eligibility criteria set by the Union government, according to data accessed under the RTI Act by The Indian Express.

📰 From the Front Page

The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, which inquired into the cash-for-query allegations levelled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, is learnt to have recommended her expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha in its draft report. The panel will meet today to adopt the report. It will then be sent to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Wednesday said it has committed $553 million (around Rs 4,600 crore) to support the development of the Adani Group’s deepwater shipping container terminal in the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

👩‍💻 Must read

A year after it was launched, Project Cheetah, India’s attempt to introduce African cats in the wild in the country, has claimed to have achieved short-term success on four counts: “50% survival of introduced cheetahs, establishment of home ranges, birth of cubs in Kuno”, and revenue generation for local communities. We explain the hits, the misses and the paradigm shift since the introduction of the ambitious project.

Rajasthan has seen the incumbent government being voted out after every five years for nearly three decades. As BJP aims to oust the Congress from power in the border state in the November 25 Assembly elections, we take a look at how the saffron party is trying to get its “social engineering” arithmetic right in the state known for caste-driven politics.

In her latest column, Shubhra Gupta writes about the ‘mindful curation’ at 2023 edition of the Mumbai film festival, in which the personal and the political are intertwined: “For this generation, used to learning via “WhatsApp University”, a phrase used in the film knowingly, well-researched, sharply-voiced documentaries like Indi(r)a’s Emergency are a vital, timely reminder that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.”

⌛ And finally…

Glenn Maxwell couldn’t move his feet. Such was the pain that he couldn’t put weight on his front foot. The back leg was also fragile. Every time there was an instinctive pressure on the legs, cramps would rush in. And yet, despite all these handicaps, Australia’s hobbling hero scored an unbeaten 201 while chasing Afghanistan’s 292 to pull off the greatest heist by a batsman on a cricket field. How?

Even as the Supreme Court and government spar over the delay in appointment of judges, the latter is learnt to have fast-tracked the latest recommendations by the Collegium. On November 6, the Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud recommended three HC Chief Justices for appointment as SC judges. Don’t miss today’s Delhi Confidential for more!

In the latest edition of our 3 Things podcast, we discuss BJP’s shifting position on a nationwide caste census, a social harmony project by the RSS, and Bihar cabinet’s decision to increase the quota for the backward classes.

Until tomorrow,
Anamni Gupta and Ayesha Jain