Your Daily Wrap: India’s GDP grows 13.5% in June quarter; suspended BJP leader held for ‘abusing’ house help; and more
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the April-June quarter of 2022-23 rose 13.5 per cent, as per provisional estimates released by National Statistical Office (NSO). The GDP had expanded by 20.1 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2021-22. Economists had estimated India’s economy to grow in double digits in Q1 of FY23, with real GDP growth rates seen in the range of 13-16.2 per cent.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, met his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar in Patna today. At a joint press conference, the two took a swipe at the BJP. While KCR accused the BJP of making “false promises”, Nitish, in an oblique reference to the saffron party, said: “Pata nahin kuchh log jo sirf prachar mein lage rahte hain, kyon aapki shikayat karte hain (I do not know why some people who are only interested in propaganda, criticise you).”
Spelling fresh trouble for the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi, Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena has decided to pursue legal action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders — Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi, Durgesh Pathak and Jasmine Shah, among others — for making “defamatory” and false allegations against him in relation to a “scam” in 2016 when he was Chairperson of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). AAP leaders had alleged Saxena’s involvement in the scam, where two cashiers had allegedly exchanged old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes at Khadi Bhawan sites.
Meanwhile, spokespersons of the AAP and BJP got into an argument outside a Delhi school in Chirag Enclave over the condition of government schools in the city. AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj had invited BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia to visit schools in the city after the latter made allegations that claims of AAP improving schools and opening new ones were false.
In Jharkhand, suspended BJP leader Seema Patra was arrested today for physically torturing her domestic help. Earlier, an FIR was registered against Patra under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and various sections of the IPC at Argora police station after a video of the domestic help, Sunita, narrating her ordeal, went viral on social media.
While Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has sent most of the ruling alliance MLAs to Congress-governed Chhattisgarh to deter a suspected ‘poaching’ attempt by BJP and topple his government, the saffron party is not without its share of hurdles in its purported ‘Mission Jharkhand’ as the Governor waits on the poll panel’s reported recommendation to debar Soren as an MLA. According to sources, Governor Ramesh Bais is still in the process of consulting legal experts on how to go about the Election Commission of India’s reported recommendation against Soren. Liz Mathew reports.
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Political Pulse
The two factions of the Shiv Sena, one headed by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and another led by current CM Eknath Shinde, seem to be heading for a major showdown over the party’s Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, which has been an annual Sena tradition since the party was founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966. While both factions claim to be the “original Sena”, the Uddhav-led Sena has made a head start by submitting a formal application to the BMC on August 22 to seek permission for holding the party’s rally on Dussehra on October 5. The BMC has not taken a decision on the Uddhav Sena’s application so far, even as there are reports that the Shinde Sena is also looking to hold its own Dusssehra rally at Shivaji Park.
Express Explained
The US Army has grounded its fleet of CH-47 Chinook helicopters after finding the helicopter to be at risk of engine fires. The Indian Air Force (IAF) also operates a fleet of Chinook Helicopters. What are the problems with the helicopter and what are the implications of this development for the IAF? Read here.
On August 30, Gautam Adani became the third richest person in the world with a net worth of $137.4 billion, behind only Tesla’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Gautam Adani’s flagship Adani Enterprises, which started with the commodity trading business in 1988, is today one of the largest conglomerates in India with a significant presence in ports, airports, roads, power, renewable energy, transmission, gas distribution, real estate, FMCG and financial services among other businesses. Recently, the group also entered the media business. A look at the growth of Adani’s business empire.
