Daily Briefing: Armed forces chiefs to brief PM Modi on Agnipath today; ‘main shooter’ held in Moosewala case

🔴 Meanwhile, sources have said that the chiefs of the three services are to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday on the Agnipath scheme.

🔴 Expert speaks: Arun Prakash writes in an Opinion column, “… a scheme on the lines of Agnipath, appropriately constituted, and focused on enhancing “combat effectiveness” rather than “effecting savings” or “generating employment,” could have triggered a reformative process. But a number of caveats need to be borne in mind in this context.”

Only in the Express

From a national co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch to the chief of Vidya Bharati, 24 members with RSS links, some of them serving functionaries, figure in at least 17 of 25 national focus groups working on changes in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for schools, an investigation by The Indian Express has found. The revised NCF will be the foundation for new NCERT textbooks.

From the Front Page

A Joint Drug Controller of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and the Director of a Delhi-based private company were detained by the CBI for allegedly exchanging bribe money of Rs 4 lakh. The agency claimed that the bribe money was being paid to get regulatory clearance for an insulin injection manufactured by Biocon Biologics Ltd, a company founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Among the three men arrested from Gujarat’s Kutch, the Delhi Police identified one Priyavrat alias Fauzi as the alleged main shooter in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala. Sources told The Indian Express that after the incident, Priyavrat sent a message to Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar saying “work is done”. Initial probe by the police revealed that Priyavarat received a consignment of weapons sent from Pakistan via drone. The weapons, which included a grenade launcher, were a contingency plan in case they failed to shoot Moosewala.

To free its forest department from devoting too much time, resources, and efforts in fighting illegal mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary, the Madhya Pradesh government has proposed to open 292 hectares for mining in five stretches on Chambal and its tributary Parvati rivers. In a proposal submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the state said opening up the five stretches would minimise the conflict with illegal miners, gain local support, and fetch revenue from royalty.

Must Read

The engines of a SpiceJet plane flying Patna-Delhi and an IndiGo aircraft flying Guwahati-Delhi were damaged following bird strikes. What is a bird strike, how is it caused and can it compromise air safety? We explain.

First, it was Farooq Abdullah. Next Sharad Pawar. And now former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. All three names were floated as the Opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential polls but they have opted out of the race. While TMC sources are now pitching the name of former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha (84), who joined the party in March last year, as an alternative, the possibility of any unanimity on the former BJP leader’s name appears thin.

And Finally…

Swimming’s international governing body FINA barred participation of transgenders in the women’s category in a controversial ruling on Monday, with Athletics and Football set to follow. We delve into the complex issue of how FINA are thinking of introducing an ‘Open’ category to include trans-women.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we discuss the historical background of the Rohingya crisis, Bangladesh’s response and their discontentment with failed repatriation talks.

Until tomorrow,
Leela Prasad and Sonal Gupta 

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