A 24×7 blur of headlines, breaking news and shouting matches, notifications and pop-ups — news, views and opinion have become an overwhelming flood that follows us all the time.
Plugged-In from ThePrint is a new feature that sifts through the mountain of content and explains the big headlines and commentary from across media — briefly, intelligently. A one-stop quick-read put together by the best minds in the business for the news junkie on the go. With links to the key pieces in case you want to read more.
So get Plugged-In every morning, Monday to Friday, for your daily capsule of the news and views that matter.
Front Page
The blackbucks finally got their revenge on Salman Khan: The Bollywood star was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday by a Jodphur trial court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The court, however, “acquitted four other actors — Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre — and a local travel agent, Dushyant Singh, who were co-accused, for want of sufficient evidence”, The Hindu reports. This isn’t the only time the Bollywood megastar has found himself on the wrong side of the law, but hopefully it’ll be the last.
A moment of silence for privacy: It took just 335 Indian Facebook users downloading the quiz app ‘thisisyourdigitallife’ for the creators to scrape the data of 5,62,120 others as well. This data was ultimately sold to Cambridge Analytica. “Facebook India Thursday informed the government of this breach in its response to a notice issued by the ministry of electronics and information technology,” reported Shivam Vij, breaking the news on ThePrint. To know the story of the shady psychologist behind this breach, Dr Aleksandr Kogan, do read the article.
There’s big money in cricket…broadcasting: “Star India bagged the global television and digital rights for all cricket tournaments organised by the BCCI in India for the next five years on Thursday with a Rs 6,138 crore bid,” Hindustan Times reports.
Arun Jaitley needs a kidney transplant: The finance minister “is likely to undergo a kidney transplant at AIIMS and is currently working from home in a ‘controlled environment’ to avoid infections”, The Times of India reported on Jaitley’s tweet announcing the same Thursday. According to the report, Jaitley, who is diabetic and had undergone weight-loss surgery to manage the condition three years ago, is currently on dialysis.
Demonetisation may be old news, but its aftermath still haunts consumers. The consumer confidence index had seen a steep fall post demonetisation and is yet to return to pre-November-2016 levels. “The current situation index (CSI), which is compiled on the basis of net responses on the economic situation, income, spending, employment and the price level for the current period, fell from 96.9 in December 2017 to 95.1 in March 2018,” Nikhil Rampal reported for ThePrint Thursday.
Meanwhile, at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, weightlifters Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and P. Gururaja bagged gold and silver medals, respectively, bringing India “to fourth in the medals tally behind England, Australia and Canada”, The Indian Express reports. Indian shuttlers also had a good first day, as Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal won their matches. Catch the live coverage to keep track.
More rules for the media, maybe: Just when you thought the government might be done trying to control the fourth estate, a leaked circular from 4 April, signed by Amit Katoch, director, broadcasting, information & broadcasting ministry, shows that “the I&B ministry has decided to constitute a 10-member committee to frame rules to regulate news portals and media websites, The Times of India reports. However, an order to this effect has not been released officially.
Business Class
Air India may have just lost a buyer: IndiGo isn’t interested in purchasing Air India anymore, given that the government’s deal isn’t exactly lucrative. “From day one, IndiGo has expressed its interest primarily in the acquisition of Air India’s international operations and Air India Express. However, that option is not available under the government’s current divestiture plans for Air India,” The Times of India quoted their statement as saying.
Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law questioned: Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar has been brought in for questioning by the CBI. “Kochhar, along with his brother Deepak, are being probed by the central agency for the Rs 3,250 crore bank loan granted by ICICI to Videocon Group in 2012,” The Indian Express reports on its front page. Money allegedly changed hands many times in this “quid-pro-quo” deal. To really understand it, check out the Indian Express coverage.
There is a huge untapped market for top tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Facebook and YouTube in smaller Indian cities. Business Standard reports how these companies are trying to tap the market by diversifying their language outreach.
News it’s just kinda cool to know
Somebody in Tumkur, Karnataka has amazing aim, because they managed to throw a perfect ring toss with a garland. The target? Rahul Gandhi. “As Rahul Gandhi waved at a crowd from his open-top SUV at Tumkur in Karnataka, a garland came flying towards him and landed neatly around his neck, startling him. The video has gone viral on social media,” NDTV reports.
Period pains? There’s an app for that! Business Standard reports, “A smartphone app can help women effectively reduce and cope with menstrual pain and cramps using self-acupressure, a study has found.” Before you get too excited, the app essentially tells you how to massage yourself.
Amit Shah calls Rahul Gandhi a liar: BJP president Amit Shah Thursday accused the Congress president of “inciting hatred” in society with his “lie” that the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act had been revoked. Shah tweeted a short video of Rahul’s address in Odisha where he makes the claim.
Lies and only Lies!
See how @RahulGandhi fictitiously revokes the SC/ST Act to incite hatred in society. pic.twitter.com/4vcnM0zltM
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 5, 2018
Point of View
In this financial year’s first monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank of India has kept key rates unchanged. The Indian Express, in its editorial, has termed it “well in line with market expectations”. The Economic Times, however, asks in its editorial, “The question that would naturally arise is, why, then, hold the rates now, instead of slashing them to give added momentum to a burgeoning pick-up in investment?”
Salman Khan was sentenced to jail for five years in the blackbuck poaching case. The Times Of India, in its editorial, writes, “The… case is a case of justice delayed but not denied.” But the editorial also reminds readers of what happened in “the 1998 chinkara poaching case and the 2002 hit-and-run incident” where he was acquitted by the high courts.
Although the fake news notification stands withdrawn, it has caused enough damage to the government’s image, especially I&B minister Smriti Irani’s. Journalist Karan Thapar, in his column in The Hindu, says, “Smriti Irani’s cure is worse than the disease”. He also recounts other instances when she has caused embarrassment to the government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party celebrates 6 April as its foundation day. In his column in The Indian Express, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav writes, “Leader, cadre and parivar are the secret of its (party’s) growth and success. It was the Vajpayee-Advani duo in the past and Modi-Shah in the present who provided able leadership to the party.” He further adds, “The departure of Gandhi had left the Congress in the hands of leaders like Nehru, who had no national moorings.”
Never before has the cow occupied so much space in our debates as it does today. Harish Damodaran, in his column in The Indian Express, writes “When it comes to cattle, the dominant beliefs of current religious and political leaders are totally at variance with the realities of farming.” Criticising the current self-appointed guardians of cows, he writes, “The difference between those reformers and today’s self-appointed guardians of Hinduism is that the former were truly connected to the soil.”
You won’t need to make an extra effort to see how our public facilities are crumbling. PR personality Rishi Seth, in his column in The Times Of India, writes, “There are many reasons for the Indian state’s inability and gross incompetence to provide public goods, but the principal among them is that this failure leads to zero political consequences.”