Daily Briefing: Modi 3.0 turns 1

Indian Express

a day ago

At five hours and 29 minutes, yesterday's French Open final was the longest ever played. And those who were up watching it last night would have witnessed, as the clock struck half past midnight, Carlos Alcaraz smashing a forehand winner past Jannick Sinner, before collapsing on the ground. He had done it! He had successfully defended the title against the world No. 1. This was the first time the French Open was decided on a tiebreaker. It was as much Sinner's game as Alcaraz's. The Italian kept the pressure on the Spaniard, raising the bar at every serve. The quality tennis and intense drama had spectators on the edge of their seats. The match will go down in history as perhaps one of the most memorable ones. This is proof that Alacaraz and Sinner, who have together won the last five major tournaments, have taken over the reins from the Big Three — Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic — to usher in the next era of men's tennis.
On that note, let's get to today's edition.
It's been a year since the Narendra Modi 3.0 government has been in power after the subdued victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This was the first time since 2014 that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party had to rely on coalition partners to form the government. How has the past year been for the NDA? Let's take a look.
My colleague Vikas Pathak writes that Modi's juggernaut continues unabated. Since the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has asserted its dominance, winning three state elections: Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi. It has managed to control the political narrative on key issues, including the 'One Nation, One Poll', the Waqf Act, and, most recently, Operation Sindoor. The Opposition has struggled to counter the government effectively.
On the diplomatic front, Modi 3.0 faces a Trump-sized challenge. US President Donald Trump came into the White House earlier this year with all guns blazing, announcing sweeping reciprocal tariffs on long-standing trade partners, sending back planeloads of Indians, who illegally immigrated to the US, and cracking down on international students in American universities. Meanwhile, crises are brewing in India's neighbourhood as well. The Sheikh Hasina government fell next door, putting an interim government in power, which has been cosying up to China. Beijing, meanwhile, has remained an all-weather friend to Pakistan, despite India's fight against terror emanating from its neighbour.
India's long-term growth story is believed to be intact. However, the 6%-plus growth is nowhere near the strides countries like China, Japan, and South Korea took during their rapid growth phases. Jobs, a slow consumption recovery and subdued private capital expenditure remain persistent problems amid global uncertainties.
As the world's biggest economies, the US and China, duel it out, where does it leave India? Should New Delhi concede protectionism? How should it trade with China? We discuss all this and more in the latest Idea Exchange session. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who played a pivotal role in the 1991 economic reforms, unpacks the new phase of global geopolitics and trade tensions.
Roadmap: India could see the earliest simultaneous elections in 2034, according to P P Chaudhary, BJP MP and chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament on Bills relating to 'One Nation, One Election'. The panel is deliberating on including a provision for a constructive vote of no-confidence.
Cold turkey? The government has received several representations to ban imports from Turkey amid backlash over the latter's support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. However, given India's trade surplus worth billions with Turkey, officials say a trade ban could be counterproductive.
Lift off: Indian Air Force Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is all set to become the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984. Shukla will take off on June 10 as part of Axiom Mission-4 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US. The Indian Express visited his home in Lucknow's Triveni Nagar to catch up with Shukla's parents. Read all about it.
Businessdidi: In 2018, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched the Didi Ki Rasoi initiative to turn homemakers into entrepreneurs. As of today, more than 4,000 women, referred to as 'Didis', are employed in kitchens across the state, leveraging their cooking skills to earn a steady income. Himanshu Harsh takes stock of the initiative and how it has helped these women.
Six months ago, a Kashmir Merino took birth inside a laboratory at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST). However, this was no ordinary sheep. It was India's first gene-edited sheep, which would have 30 per cent more muscle mass than an average sheep. Gene-editing of livestock has taken off in India, with applications targeted at increasing yield, disease resistance and climate change resilience.
🎧 Don't forget to tune in to the latest '3 Things' podcast episode. Today's lineup: New regulations in Ladakh, a health crisis among children, and India gets a G7 invite.
That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take.
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