Daily Briefing: Ram Mandir Trust meeting today, Agnipath retention push in focus, and more

On that note, let’s get to the rest of today’s edition. 👇

🚨 Big Story

With the first batch of Agniveers nearing the end of their four-year tenure, the armed forces are pushing for a significant increase in the retention quota under the Agnipath scheme. While the current policy allows only 25 per cent of Agniveers to be absorbed into regular service, the Navy is reportedly seeking to retain up to 75 per cent, with the Army and Air Force proposing a 50 per cent retention rate to meet operational needs. The services argue that keeping more trained personnel would preserve valuable experience, strengthen operational readiness and reduce the loss of skilled recruits familiar with modern military technologies. No final decision has yet been announced by the Ministry of Defence.

The armed forces’ push to retain more Agniveers is rooted in changing operational realities and lessons from recent military engagements. Officials believe that four years is often insufficient for soldiers to acquire the experience needed to operate increasingly sophisticated weapon systems and platforms, particularly in technical roles. Insights from Operation Sindoor have also reinforced the value of seasoned personnel in combat, with experienced troops better equipped to respond under pressure. 

⚡ Only in Express

The opinion piece argues that India’s policy of diverting surplus Food Corporation of India rice for ethanol production risks undermining food security while intensifying environmental and economic pressures. It contends that public grain stocks should be reserved for welfare schemes, buffer reserves and emergencies, not fuel. The author warns that expanding rice-based ethanol could encourage continued cultivation of the water-intensive crop, worsening groundwater depletion and emissions while slowing efforts to diversify agriculture. The article also points to a policy contradiction in promoting rice for ethanol despite sustainability concerns around other food-based biofuels. 

📰 From the Front Page

Learning politics: A ground report from Delhi’s Jantar Mantar captures how the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest has evolved into what many volunteers describe as a “political classroom”. The agitation, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged NEET paper leak, has attracted people from diverse backgrounds, including students, workers and artists. Volunteers say the movement has become a platform for political learning, civic engagement and debate, with nightly discussions drawing support from activists and public figures.

Saving water: An expected El Niño-induced weak monsoon is driving more farmers to adopt direct-seeded rice (DSR), a cultivation method that uses 30-35 per cent less water than conventional puddled transplanting. By eliminating nursery preparation, puddling and manual transplanting, DSR reduces irrigation needs, labour requirements and cultivation costs. The shift has boosted demand for herbicide-tolerant paddy varieties, including Pusa Basmati-1985 and Pusa Basmati-1979, which can withstand herbicides used to control weeds, a key challenge in DSR cultivation. Farmers using the technique report lower water consumption, simpler field preparation and improved efficiency with technologies such as laser land levelling and DSR planters.

📌 Must Read

Maternal deaths: An eight-member Rajasthan government panel has ruled out a single common cause behind the maternal deaths in Kota, finding that the women died from different medical conditions and that the suspected ineffective oxytocin injections could not be directly linked to the fatalities. However, the probe uncovered serious lapses in patient care, including poor monitoring of high-risk pregnancies, inadequate treatment records, weak post-operative care, infection control failures and deficiencies in drug management. Incorporating findings from an AIIMS committee, the report has called for sweeping reforms in emergency obstetric care, operation theatre sterilisation, pharmacovigilance, documentation and hospital monitoring to prevent similar tragedies.

Ethanol debate: As India pushes to transform its mobility sector, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country Head and EVP Vikram Gulati has urged policymakers to back all cleaner technologies rather than favour a single solution. Arguing that the country’s priorities are to cut fossil fuel use, lower carbon emissions, reduce pollution and dependence on imported energy, he said the debate should be “EVs and hybrids”, not “EVs versus hybrids”, with flex-fuels, CNG, compressed biogas and hydrogen also playing key roles. On ethanol-blended petrol, Gulati said studies show the shift from E10 to E20 reduces fuel efficiency by only around 3-5 per cent, but cautioned that a move to E25 should be preceded by thorough evaluation of both new and existing vehicles. He added that stronger policy support for hybrids could accelerate the replacement of petrol and diesel cars.

⏳ And Finally…

In an Idea Exchange session, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reflected on the state’s journey from insurgency to peace and development, while weighing in on polarisation, citizenship, and the changing political landscape in Manipur and Bangladesh. Calling peace and stability the NDA government’s biggest achievement in Assam, he said the state’s focus must now shift to meeting the aspirations of a new generation. Sarma also defended his political style, arguing that identity politics had been necessary at one stage, and took aim at the Congress, claiming its Leftward shift may strengthen its ideology but weaken its electoral appeal.

🎧Before you go, tune in to today’s 3 Things podcast. With inflation being a persistent concern for people, The Indian Express’ Udit Misra answers three questions: Do the prices of things always have to go up? Would we be better off if, instead of prices going up, they actually went down? And what can the government actually do to make things more affordable?

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, 

Anupama