| 
Good evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently on a five-nation tour, landed at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport on Wednesday. Modi’s visit to Ghana is notable as it marks the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited the country in three decades. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama welcomed Modi at the airport and presented him with a guard of honour. Modi’s two-day visit is significant as India seeks to strengthen its bilateral relations with the West African nation, particularly in areas such as investment, energy, health, security capacity building, and development partnerships. Modi is expected to address the parliaments of all the countries he visits, beginning with Ghana. On Wednesday, Modi was honoured with Ghana’s national award, ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana,’ in recognition of his “distinguished statesmanship and influential global leadership.” The Prime Minister will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago, followed by Argentina, attend the BRICS Summit in Brazil, and visit Namibia on his return. On that note, let’s dive in 👇🏽
📝 The Debrief
Breaking down US President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ and its legislative troubles
As I write this, the US House of Representatives is busy slugging it out to meet US President Donald Trump’s July 4th deadline for his so-called ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’. Their first arduous task? Bring the bill to the floor. The massive tax cut and spending bill is at the heart of Trump’s 2025 legislative agenda and has, thus far, ruffled several feathers within his circles, including a stunning fallout with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who bankrolled Trump’s 2024 White House run with nearly $300 million. Now, as expected, it is running into choppy waters within the Republican Party that Trump leads. Key highlights: - The bill aims to make permanent the tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term, which were scheduled to expire in 2025.
- Increase funding for border security and immigration, a key part of Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ programme, while raising resources to boost deportation capacity.
- It will also increase defence expenditure by approximately $150 billion.
- To balance the books, it will reduce funding for agencies such as the Department of Education, HUD, and the EPA.
- Slash two key federal safety-net programs, including Medicaid and food stamps.
- Phase out Biden-era tax incentives for clean energy, including electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies.
The reactions: The Bill was initially passed in the House in May with a mostly party-line vote, showing some minor divisions within the Republican caucus. Two fiscally conservative Republicans—Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson—joined Democrats in voting against the measure, while three other Republicans either abstained or voted present. Massie, a Congressman from Kentucky, has been a vocal critic of the Bill, now further supported by Musk. In the Senate, the Bill narrowly passed with a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, after three Republican Senators—Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, and Rand Paul—opposed it. An amended version of the bill will now return to the House for re-passage. The holdouts: Broadly speaking, the reception to the bill has been critical, both with public opinion not in favour (49% against, 29% for) and concerns over the bill possibly adding between $3 and $5 trillion (depending on whom you believe) to the national debt over a decade and cut health insurance coverage for nearly 11 million Americans. Musk has led the charge from the outside, stating that the bill undermined his work at DOGE, while also threatening to launch an America Party and potentially backing primary challenges to those who voted in favour of the bill. The bill, supported mainly by MAGA-aligned Republicans, is seeing significant holdouts from the fiscal conservative wing of the Republican Party and its Freedom Caucus. Must win: For Trump’s broader agenda in his second term, this bill is seen as a bellwether. Besides, he also needs to demonstrate a significant domestic victory, especially given the erratic rollout (and subsequent pause) of his Liberation Day tariffs and the erosion of public opinion against his immigration agenda.
✍️ From our newsroom
Mizoram’s literacy journey: In a remote hilltop village in Mizoram, five middle-aged learners perched on tiny benches meant for children are now part of India’s latest literacy milestone. Tinghmun’s Laltinkimi, 54, spent months juggling farm work and classes before finally writing her name on a blackboard. She is one of 425 new adult learners who passed Mizoram’s foundational literacy test under the Centre’s ULLAS programme, helping the state clock a 98.2% literacy rate. That figure makes it India’s “first fully literate state” by the Centre’s updated benchmark of 95%, though Kerala disputes the claim. The final leg of Mizoram’s literacy push, as my colleague Sukriti Baruah writes in this richly-reported long story, relied heavily on grassroots volunteerism, community mobilisation via the Young Mizo Association, and teacher-led outreach in remote corners. Still, challenges remain. Language barriers persist in minority regions, and educators warn that high literacy rates do not always translate to improved learning outcomes. Mizoram ranks among the lowest in national assessments.
🔎 Need to know
Exit stage: Manolo Marquez is no longer the Indian men’s football team’s coach, after parting ways with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) less than a year into the job. Marquez’s tenure saw India win just one of their eight internationals. He also managed the Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa during this period.
Pink slips: Microsoft has slashed 9,000 jobs, or roughly 4% of its workforce, as it further pivots toward spending on AI. The layoffs cover most of its divisions across geographies and include employees at all levels. Horror: An unidentified man posing as a delivery executive allegedly raped a 22-year-old Pune woman after forcibly entering her apartment. The police have registeed a case under sections 64 (Rape), 77 (voyeurism), and 351-2 (Criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
🎙️Expresso Playlist! In today’s Playlist, here’s a great episode from NPR’s Planet Money exploring President Trump’s volte-face on crypto, and how he went all-in on embracing something he wasn’t a fan of six years ago.
✋🏽 One last thing
Kyoto is one of my favourite destinations in the whole big world. But today, as Reeves Wiedeman writes in New York Magazine, the city has become a tourist trap lately. Blame ChatGPT-ed tour itineraries for it, among other things. Read on!
That’s all from me today. Thank you so much for reading this edition. If you enjoy the Evening Expresso, tell your friends to subscribe to the newsletter. You can do so by signing up for the Morning Expresso. Additionally, you can reach me via email for tips, feedback, or simply to say hello! 😀 Until tomorrow, Venkat Ananth |
No comments:
Post a Comment