Daily Briefing: Moderating economic expectations; IAEA chief on the Ukraine war and nuclear power; and more

With the global economy looking more uncertain amid war, expectations have turned modest in New Delhi. “The magical number is 6.5 per cent,” a source in the government told The Indian Express. 

🔴 Ending the financial year 2022-23 with the economy growing at 6.5 per cent, retail inflation at 6.5 per cent, repo rate at 6.5 per cent, and a fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP at 6.5 per cent will be a reasonable expectation, said sources.

🔴 With the political establishment, however, rooting for a 7 per cent plus growth rate, top officials are wary of moderating expectations right now. Here’s what The Indian Express learnt.

Only in the Express

“Reservation is only a tool for representation. If we find a better tool, we’ll throw reservation into the Arabian Sea,” said Prof G Mohan Gopal. In the latest edition of the Idea Exchange, the Constitutional law expert and scholar spoke about the Supreme Court verdict upholding 10 percent reservation for the economically weaker sections, and the need for a more diverse Bench. 

In an interview with The Indian Express at the COP27 climate change meet in Sharm el-Sheik head of International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi noted that the war is acting as a “catalyst” for deployment of nuclear power in many countries, especially those in eastern Europe.

🔴 He also spoke about the Brahmos missile misfire, India’s bright future in nuclear energy and more.

Front the Front Page

PM Narendra Modi will be heading to Bali for the G-20 summit, where India will be handed the group’s presidency for the year ahead. The “ongoing conflict” in Ukraine and “its knock-on effect, such as food security challenges, energy crisis and inflation”, are some of the key challenges that confront world leaders.

Amid sharp Opposition criticism over an allegedly deteriorating law and order situation, the Punjab government has ordered a complete ban on public display of weapons and songs glorifying violence. It has ordered a review of all firearm licences issued in the state so far within three months. 

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The 2022 Assembly election campaign in Gujarat is turning out to be about two absences – that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and that of a narrative. This time, even the BJP’s gambit, like the others, is getting the caste arithmetic right, with Hindutva a distant second, and with Modi providing that little extra. The only talking point then is the AAP, how much it will get, from whom, what will it mean for Gujarat’s two-party politics, and whether its “10 guarantees” will work.

Nalini Sriharan, one among the six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case released on Saturday evening from Tamil Nadu prison, said her first priority is to meet her daughter, who lives in the UK. When asked about the chances of meeting the Gandhi family and other victim families of the 1991 blast, she said she has no words. Nalini also said one of the most turbulent days she encountered in the three decades of incarceration was the visit of Priyanka Gandhi at the Vellore prison.

With the guard band between the 5G telecom and broadcast services narrowing sharply, broadcasters are citing multiple incidents of “disruptions” amid concerns over possible interference and potential outages once full-scale 5G services are launched across the country. The broadcasting industry has sent in representations to the government in this regard, citing earlier reports of service disruptions by operators in places such as Tamil Nadu and parts of West Bengal. 

And Finally…

In July 2013, Ben Stokes sidled into the seats in the stands at Lord’s, and sat next to the psychologist Mark Bawden. Stokes had struggled through the season and was feeling down with his performance. He realised he had to open up to someone, and decided Bawden was the go-to man. Bawden, who has worked with a few English teams, heard him out before giving his verdict that Stokes was suffering from ‘Bottle Bottle Bang’ syndrome’. Let’s see how the psychologist’s advice made Ben Stokes England’s World Cup champion.

Delhi Confidential: Indian social media platform Koo, which had shot to prominence last year after several government functionaries and ministries threw their weight behind it, has a prominent new patron – the Trinamool Congress. Last week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opened an account in Koo, which issued a statement on the development.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, we talk about how CUET affected the Delhi University admissions this year, the new guidelines that the Union Cabinet has issued the television channels in India, and why a BJP candidate in Gujarat is under the spotlight right now.

Until tomorrow,

Sonal Gupta and Anandu Suresh