| Good morning, Two perennial underdogs. One long-overdue trophy. Who will scratch the 18-year itch? On one side, stands draped in jersey No. 18, Virat Kohli, the gladiator who has carried the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on his shoulders through triumph and tears. RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, in a deja vu moment, invoked Kohli’s name yesterday much like Kohli had once done for Sachin Tendulkar ahead of the 2011 World Cup. “We will try and win this for him,” he said. Across the pitch will be the Punjab Kings (PBKS), led by Shreyas Iyer, last season’s title-winning captain with Kolkata Knight Riders. Whether Iyer gets second-time lucky or not, this tournament could open the door for the national T20 team for him. Whichever way the final tilts, one team will end decades of frustration. On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.
🚨 Big Story India may be rolling out the red carpet for electric vehicle makers, but Tesla doesn’t seem ready to take the wheel. Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy said this week that Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant is only looking to open two showrooms in India and was not interested in setting up manufacturing operations, which may deal a blow to India’s ambitions to become a global EV manufacturing hub. Trump factor: Musk's hesitancy may have a Trump-sized shadow all over it. In February, US President Donald Trump criticised Tesla's plan to expand in India, calling it "unfair" to the US. Musk, who has enjoyed close relations with the President so far, may not want to upset that balance. Trump has made similar objections to Apple's expansion plans in India. Missed date: Musk was due to visit India in March last year. The visit never materialised but shortly before his expected arrival, New Delhi had tried to sweeten the deal. It notified an electric passenger cars manufacturing scheme, which would require EV makers to invest a minimum of Rs 4,150 crore to produce EVs domestically. In turn, they could import a maximum of 8,000 built car units per year at a subsidised customs duty. The final guidelines for this scheme were released on Monday, with online applications set to open soon. Kumaraswamy confirmed that several major global players — Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen-Škoda, Hyundai, and Kia — have expressed interest.
⚡ Only in Express The Nalanda University emerged under a special Act of Parliament in 2014. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated its new campus in Bihar's Rajgir town. This state-of-the-art 455-acre campus stands in the foothills of the imposing Vaibhar Giri hill, considered the seat of both Buddhism and Jainism. Barely 12 km from the new campus lie the ruins of the ancient Nalanda University, perhaps the world’s first Ivy League university. Today, the university has over 1,200 students. My colleague Santosh Singh brings you the inside view from his recent reconnaissance of Nalanda.
📰 From the Front Page In a fix: The Adani Group has come under the lens once again. US prosecutors are investigating whether the firm imported Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) into India through the Adani Group’s Mundra port, despite US sanctions on Iran. The Adani Group has denied the charges. Wanted: The Delhi Police are on a lookout for a foreign citizen, who works with the Embassy of a Western European country, for allegedly putting up posters carrying a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside the word “Wanted” in the national capital’s Chanakyapuri area. Tribute: The Gujarat government is working on a memorial dedicated to Operation Sindoor and the defence forces. The memorial, which will be called Sindoor Van (forest), is set to come up in the Kutch district on the India-Pakistan border.
📌 Must Read Shukla in space: Four decades after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel to space, Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-year-old Indian Air Force officer, stands at the precipice to make similar history. He will become the first Indian to step on the International Space Station (ISS), about 400 km from Earth. On June 8, he will pilot a Dragon spacecraft to take him and three others to the ISS. Read why a seat for Shukla, who was originally trained for our own human spaceflight mission, on Axiom-4 is a big moment for India's space programme. The audacious aerial attack: Ukraine's June 1 large-scale drone strikes on Russian air bases are one of a kind. In a Trojan horse-like attack, specialised drones were smuggled into Russia inside mobile wooden cabins. The attack, which was 18 months in the making, has forever changed the contours of modern warfare. Read Anil Sasi's explainer on Operation Spider Web. For more on Ukraine’s drone warfare, tune in to today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast.
⏳ And Finally... One week ago, chess maestro Magnus Carlsen forced the youngest world champion in chess history, Gukesh Dommaraju, to resign in the opening round of Norway Chess. He then posted a tweet using a reference from the HBO show The Wire: “You come at the king, you best not miss.” The second time the duo met, Gukesh did just that. The drama that followed has been viewed millions of times in a now-viral video. This may, however, be Carlsen's last tryst with classical chess. That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta |
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