Good morning, Big Story In the run-up to Budget 2024-25, the Department of Expenditure sought details of consultants hired by government departments for allocation of funds. The data obtained by The Indian Express through RTI showed that as many as 44 departments in the Government have 1,499 consultants from external agencies. Together, these departments incur an annual expenditure of Rs 302 crore on these consultants. Read Shyamlal Yadav’s report on ‘Consultant Raj’. Only in Express The lack of heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir isn't just a problem for the tourism industry. As snow makes movement difficult, usually infiltration from across the LoC is reduced. But not this winter. "In 10 days, we will be back in power," says Sanjay Singh, who leads the suspended Wrestling Federation of India and is viewed as a front for Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment by leading female wrestlers. Defying the Sports Ministry’s orders, Sanjay conducted a Senior Nationals at Pune by gathering lesser-known wrestlers. Read his interview. From the Front Page The Indian economy is likely to grow at over 7 per cent in the coming years and is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world in the next three years, the Ministry of Finance said in a review report. Eyeing Congress’s revival ahead of Lok Sabha polls, party president Mallikarjun Kharge Monday appealed to voters to "save democracy”. “Like Putin's election in Russia, the same thing will happen in India. There will be no election (after the coming one, if the BJP is voted to power),” he said. Rajasthan Cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena has said he will speak to the Chief Minister about enforcing a ban on hijab in all schools in the state. His remarks were prompted by MLA Balmukund Acharya's visit to a government school, where he raised objections to girls wearing a hijab. His remarks led to protests and separate complaints to the police from Muslim and Hindu students. Must Read Road to 2024 | While the BJP is confident that the nation’s mood is in its favour, its top leaders clearly remember the lessons from the party’s defeat in 2004 — to not take the overall atmosphere for granted as the basis for its poll calculations. While the political developments in Patna last week hinted at the BJP’s approach to key states, party leaders said politics in other swing states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka could witness “stunning instances''. In our opinion section today, Girish Kuber writes on the demand for OBC reservation for the Maratha community in Maharashtra: “Shinde's promise to give Marathas a share of the OBC reservation pie has angered the latter and the BJP leadership. It is certainly easier to make such a commitment than to implement it.” The Union government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) were on Sunday seen issuing clarifications that faculty positions in universities reserved for SC, ST, OBC, and EWS candidates will not be opened to the general category. What are the UGC’s new draft guidelines on implementation of reservation, and what prompted the higher education regulator to issue a statement that practically negates a whole chapter of the guidelines? We explain. And Finally… ‘To Kill a Tiger’ | Seven years ago, his daughter was gangraped at a relative’s wedding. Over seven days that followed, the father said, the accused and some villagers tried every trick in the book to make the case go away. But even though the three main accused were eventually convicted to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment, the family’s trials took longer. Delhi Confidential: At the foundation stone laying ceremony of a cancer hospital in Gujarat last week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said while it was the government’s job to make new hospitals, he hoped that no one needed them. In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, we talk about India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics, Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana, and a new policy that aims to improve physical fitness within the Indian Army. Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta and Rahel Philipose
