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In today’s edition: Express Investigation reveals anomalies in Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin scheme in Bengal; Adani Group tells Himachal to help with truck unions; and more

Big Story

A three-floor pucca house equipped with a CCTV camera in front, a courtyard and a garage on the ground floor; a two-floor pucca house with an air-conditioner; another four-room pucca house with a cowshed in the front yard — The list goes on and on, of houses like these, each a far cry from the eligibility criteria for the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G). Yet, as an investigation by The Indian Express shows, these house owners, many of them linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, figure on official lists as potential beneficiaries of PMAY-G.

Only in the Express

In the latest edition of The Idea Exchange, Madhav Chavan, the co-founder of Pratham Education Foundation speaks on the surprises that ASER 2022 threw up, the future of hybrid models of education and his assessment of the National Education Policy.

With the Union Budget coming up, Ashok Gulati writes: “With inflation relatively under control, the finance minister’s next biggest job is to have a Budget that can ensure sufficiently high growth during 2023-24. If she can curate a Budget that manages to clock a growth rate of anywhere between 6.5 to 7 per cent, that would be a great success, setting the best example for G20 countries when India is leading the pack.”

From the Front Page

Escalating the debate over appointment of judges to higher judiciary, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju shared an interview clip of a retired Delhi High Court judge who said that the Supreme Court had “hijacked” the Constitution by deciding to appoint its own judges. “Actually majority of the people have similar sane views,” Rijiju said in a tweet, a day after sharing the video clip of the interview.

Having closed its two cement plants in Himachal on December 15 — three days after Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Congress took charge as the Chief Minister — due to differences with truckers, the Adani Group has said the unions must agree to run 50,000 km a year, reduce deployment of vehicles to 550 (a sixth of the current 3,311), and leave all operational decisions to the company, for it to restart production. This is the first big test for CM Sukhu in the state with more than 20,000 families impacted due to the closure of the two cement plants.

Must Read

The Indian Railways has successfully concluded the massive trial of an Artificial Intelligence program it built to fix a perennial, exasperating pain point — waiting lists. Beginning a new era of how the Railways apportions its gigantic inventory of berths, the AI-driven module, ‘Ideal Train Profile’, was able to shrink the size of the waiting list by “five to six per cent”. The AI module has been developed by the Railways’ in-house software arm, CRIS.

The Supreme Court recently held that chargesheets are not ‘public documents’ and enabling their free public access violates the provisions of the CrPC as it compromises the rights of the accused, victim, and the investigation agencies. So, what is a chargesheet? How is a chargesheet different from an FIR? And why is a chargesheet not a ‘public document’? We explain

A man, who was arrested for allegedly posing as an employee of the royal family of Abu Dhabi and cheating the Leela Palace Hotel of lakhs, worked with a sheikh in Dubai and was dazzled by his luxurious lifestyle, said police. When he came back to his home in Karnataka, he felt out of place and decided to stay at a five-star hotel to “feel better”. He stayed at the hotel for over three months and left without paying the bill. As per officers, he can’t sleep if he is not in a hotel.  

 And Finally...

Hosts India crashed out of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup after losing 4-5 via penalty shootout to lower-ranked New Zealand following a 3-3 stalemate after the regulation time in a crossover match Sunday. Indian hockey’s history is littered with severe heartaches, each one more painful than the other. This one will linger for a while, though. For it brings a team that was flying above the clouds after winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics crashing down to earth. 

Delhi Confidential: Days after pictures of some Bihar BJP leaders visiting him fuelled speculation of his exit from the JD(U), former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha said many more leaders from his party are in touch with the BJP. Kushwaha is reportedly disgruntled with CM Nitish Kumar for ruling out another deputy CM besides Tejashwi Yadav. He, however, sought to downplay the significance of BJP leaders paying him a visit.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we discuss the SC Collegium's recent move to go public on the government’s objections to its nominees for the position of HC judges. The Indian Express' Apurva Vishwanath elaborates on what it reveals about the state of judicial appointments.

Until tomorrow,

Rounak Bagchi and Anandu Suresh