Good morning!

In today’s edition: India’s U-19 World Cup win; Odisha minister dies after being shot at; Adani Group’s response to Hindenburg’s accusations; a new Menu for Parliament; and more

Big Story

"This is a moment we’ve waited for very long," said coach Nooshin Al Khadeer as India clinched the first-ever U-19 women's cricket World Cup.

The victory for these talented young women was more than beating the opponents on the pitch. Over the years, off the field, they had to fight multi-layered battles. They had faced rejections, discrimination, financial hardships and gender stereotyping.

Archana’s mother was blamed for sending her daughter on ‘galat rasta (wrong path) in her hometown Unnao, while Vice-captain Saumya Tiwari was initially rejected by coach Suresh Chainani as he did not give training to girls at his academy in Bhopal.

Only in the Express

Warmer December and whimsical rain patterns – In the latest edition of Idea Exchange, IMD’s Mrutyunjay Mohapatra speaks about extreme weather conditions, rising temperatures and climate change.

In our newest Opinion column, The Sidebar, Counsel J Sai Deepak discusses law, constitution, culture and everything in between. Today, he writes on intellectual property rights and enforcing the Patent Bargain.

From the Front Page

Odisha Minister Naba Kisore Das died in hospital on Sunday evening, hours after he was shot at from point-blank range by a police officer at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda district. According to sources, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gopal Das opened fire at Naba Das in the presence of police personnel.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi unfurled the national flag at Lal Chowk, in the heart of Srinagar, saying the “promise made to India” had been fulfilled. But, notwithstanding the symbolic unfurling of the Tricolour and an iteration of his family’s links with Kashmir, Rahul was noncommittal on restoration of Article 370.

Trial courts awarded 165 death sentences in 2022, the highest in over two decades, according to the Annual Death Penalty Report, 2022. This comes even as the Supreme Court has called for reforming death penalty sentencing.

A glimpse of the Beating the Retreat ceremony under heavy rainfall at Delhi's Vijay Chowk on Sunday. (📸 Praveen Khanna)

Engineering is the only undergraduate programme in the country that has registered a decline in student enrollment over the last five years even as overall admission numbers have increased at the Bachelor’s level. Here's what the latest report of the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) shows.

Responding to allegations against its companies by the New York-based Hindenburg Research in a report last week, the Adani Group said that it was a “calculated attack on India”, its institutions and the country’s “growth story”. The Hindenburg Research report had accused it of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud”.

Must Read

From jowar vegetable upma to bajra khichdi, ragi ladoo to bajre ka choorma — these will soon find a place on the menu of Parliament House canteens, alongside traditional favourites biryani and cutlets. As the government promotes the production and consumption of millets, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has sought a special millet menu for Members of Parliament, who will now get to choose from the new menu, besides the old one.

Busy collecting fees at a parking lot near the district collectorate complex in Balangir, Premananda Sahu, a transgender person, can’t be happier that she now has “a life of dignity”. Sahu is among 300 transgenders persons who have been engaged by the distinct administration under project Sweekruti (acceptance). For Balangir District Collector Chanchal Rana, who is a winner of The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards, Sweekruti is a means to fix a bigger, problematic perception.

In separate orders, the Delhi and Bombay High Courts have allowed exemptions beyond what is laid down in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. Following these, an almost 8-month pregnant unmarried college student has now approached the Supreme Court seeking termination of her 29-week-old pregnancy. We take a look at how the safe abortion debate continues to play out in courts. 

Thousands of other workers in the tech sector — that had boomed during the pandemic — have been laid off in 2023. From workers at behemoths like Google or Amazon, to those at startups like Swiggy and Ola, the recent wave of layoffs in the tech sector has barely spared a company. What has changed and what does it mean for India's tech workers? We explain.

And Finally...

Delhi Confidential: Although speculation of a possible Cabinet reshuffle surrounded Sunday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus at the meeting was on completion of mega projects ahead of the G20 summit and ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections, sources said. The Prime Minister did not mince words in insisting that all these projects should meet the deadline and that the government should have a bright report card before the elections.

🎧 In the latest episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we talk about the crash of two air force jets, a high-level meet of police officers, flagging concerns over growing radicalisation in the country, and a massive rally in Mumbai against love jihad.

Until tomorrow,

Rounak Bagchi and Sonal Gupta