| Good morning! India live to fight another day against England, after a glorious draw at Manchester. It is rare to see Ravindra Jadeja, often overlooked despite his stats, and Washington Sundar, always placed among the lower-order, return as heroes. That was until last night. Jadeja and Washington were at 89 and 80, respectively, when English skipper Ben Stokes offered to end and draw the match. Rules allow both captains to suspend play if there is no prospect of either side achieving a victory. They only had the last hour of play left on Day 5 of the fourth Test. But India refused. The all-rounder duo had Test tons in sight. The players eventually shook hands after Washington got his maiden Test century. The series stands at 2-1, with England leading. With one match left at The Oval, India have a golden opportunity to level the series 2-2 — an encouraging prospect for the young squad. On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.
🚨Big Story The Supreme Court will likely take up the clutch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls today. Opposition parties and civil society groups have raised concerns over the potential disenfranchisement of existing electors. The first phase of the SIR ended on July 26, where 7.23 crore of the 7.89 crore electors submitted enumeration forms, within the deadline (July 25). The draft roll will be published on August 1, and in the subsequent month, electors will be required to submit documents to establish their eligibility. After the documents are verified, the final electoral roll will be published on September 30. As many as 65 lakh names of those who have passed away, migrated permanently, registered more than once, or are untraceable, will be removed from the existing rolls, the Election Commission has said. In the second phase, the EC said volunteers will be deployed to help electors obtain the documents to meet the September 1 submission deadline. However, this is no easy task. My colleague Santosh Singh, who spoke to a dozen Block Level Officers (BLOs) across the state, reports that many can still not file one of the 11 documents needed. The Opposition parties, meanwhile, have hit out at the SIR as a 'citizenship verification' drive -- an exercise that remains outside the purview of the election watchdog. In other news from the poll-bound Bihar, LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan's fresh salvos at the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government for the "deteriorating law and order" in the state have left the alliance in an uncomfortable position. The Opposition has latched onto the opportunity to portray that an NDA constituent's criticism shows Kumar was "not in control" of the state administration.
⚡Only in Express The Hunt - The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, the latest Hindi crime thriller on OTTs, has earned widespread appreciation for its deft handling of the politically sensitive events that shook the nation. How does one go about making such a series without hurting any sentiments? The show's maker and renowned filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor says it's all about reducing the scope of "misrepresentation". Is it more challenging to produce such shows or movies now compared to 15 years ago? Kukunoor contends the world is "hypersensitive" and unlike years ago, when the "gatekeepers were defined", now "people can come at you from any angle". Read all that he had to say at the latest Idea Exchange.
📰 From the Front Page Under lens: The Indian Express has found that several law officers appointed by the Haryana government earlier this month are relatives of VIPs, including politicians and bureaucrats. Just days ago, the appointment of Vikas Barala, son of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala and an accused in a sexual harassment case, as Assistant Advocate General had come under scrutiny. On the line: A Supreme Court-appointed panel has proposed creating "power corridors" for overhead transmission lines in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The move, which will revise the boundaries of conservation zones, offers relief to renewable energy companies from blanket restrictions on power lines in habitats of the Great Indian Bustard. Axed: Tech giants worldwide have been laying off staff with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and newer technologies. India’s largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is set to execute the first major layoff in the Indian IT sector. The company will slash around 12,200 jobs or 2% of its workforce as part of the cost-cutting exercise.
📌Must Read Damn! Last week, China formally began constructing a massive dam on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra River in Tibet), close to the border with Arunachal Pradesh. Once completed, the $167.8 billion hydropower project is billed to become the world's largest. However, there are fears in India of a potential "water bomb" in the Siang region or of China's use of the dam as a weapon (it could cut off water flow). Divya A explains in detail. Tariffs and deals: The United States and the European Union have reached a basic framework for a new trade deal, which would fetch 15% tariffs on EU exports to the US, half of the earlier duties proposed by President Donald Trump. The August 1 deadline to carve out a deal to escape Trump's sweeping tariffs is just around the corner, and India has yet to finalise its deal with the US. Among the several hiccups, the latest concern is a US provision, seeking legal commitment from the Indian side to refrain from applying 'digital taxes' on services offered by American firms. Amid this global upheaval over US tariffs, Jahangir Aziz, Chief Emerging Markets Economist at J P Morgan, opines that the uncertainty is unlikely to abate even after August 1 and signed trade deals. A pending US court ruling on the President's powers to impose such tariffs may make these trade deals moot.
⏳And Finally… The Indian government launched the ambitious Project Cheetah in September 2022 to reintroduce the wild cat species in the country. As many as 20 cheetahs were brought to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, translocated from Namibia and South Africa. After several deaths and births, Kuno's cheetah population now stands at 26. Efforts are underway to bring home the next batch of cheetahs to replenish the population. However, political changes in South Africa have complicated the plans, while discussions remain underway with Botswana and Kenya. 🎧 Before you go, do tune in to the latest '3 Things' podcast episode, where we discuss the growing screen addiction among children and changing trends in India's car market. That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta | 
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