This Week in Explainers: Are you allowed to burst firecrackers this Diwali?

It’s time for celebrations and cheer. Diwali is here and in the run-up to to festival, there has been a lot of noise on the Supreme Court’s “ban” on firecrackers – a much-needed reminder that the festivities are about diyas and not dhamakas. Seriously, do we need any more bad air days? Delhi, Mumbai, and several other Indian cities are gasping for breath and desperately trying to bring down the pollution levels. There is talk of artificial rain and whatnot. We delved into this subject throughout the week. Like pollution, what’s consistently grabbed headlines for the past few days is the Mahua Moitra case. Trouble continues to brew for the firebrand MP. Women in politics have it tough and so do those in entertainment. Earlier in the week, a doctored clip of actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral. This was followed by a fake picture of Katrina Kaif. Both of them were deepfakes, AI-generated content, and they are a growing menace.

Thank you for spreading the message 🙏 https://t.co/JbnDwz7ZfL

— Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) November 6, 2023

In politics, Nitish Kumar was the newsmaker of the week. (Not for the right reasons.) His comments on population control garnered a lot of attention and hate. The Bihar chief minister has since apologised. Even as the storm over the comments raged on, the Bihar government passed a bill to increase caste-based quota from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, taking the total reservation to 75 per cent. All this and more in our weekly round-up of the big stories from India. 1. As you gear up for the Diwali festivities, remember what the Supreme Court has said about firecrackers. Yes, there are restrictions but not a complete ban. In our most-read story of the week, we explained which firecrackers are banned in the country and which are not. The top court has allowed the use of green crackers. What are these and are they really “green”? Read up, as more pollution is not what we need.

2. If India’s big cities are your home, you are already battling filthy air. Delhi is experiencing the worst of it with the AQI in Anand Vihar touching 999 (again)! That’s the maximum; monitoring stations cannot report beyond this limit. Yes, it is hazardous and here’s what it can do to your body. But it’s not the Capital alone. Mumbai is also going the Delhi way, waking up to smog-filled mornings for the past few weeks. The air quality is so bad that it is sending people to a respiratory ICU. [caption id=“attachment_13375372” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The capital city of Delhi is enveloped in smog. Air pollution level is Delhi-NCR has started rising owing much to stubble (parali) burning in adjoining states among other reasons. PTI[/caption] 3. The world (even the virtual one) is scary. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play some dirty tricks. Earlier this week, deepfakes created a lot of buzz after a clip featuring actor Rashmika Mandanna and a picture of her counterpart Katrina Kaif surfaced. What are these AI-created images and videos? And what threat do they pose? We take a deep dive into deepfakes and their dangers. [caption id=“attachment_13375452” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Rashmika Mandanna deepfake controversy put the spotlight on the dangers of AI. Image courtesy: @iamRashmika/X[/caption] 4. In the big (bad) world of politics, Mahua Moitra’s troubles are only compounding. The Trinamool leader faces expulsion in the cash-for-query case. That’s what the Lok Sabha Ethics panel has recommended. What happens next? Could this be the end of her stint as an MP? We take a look. 5. This week’s dose of bizarre news comes from Noida and it involves famous YouTuber Elvish Yadav. The 26-year-old Big Boss OTT winner (he was a wild card entrant) has hit headlines for a wild reason (literally). He is under the police scanner for organising rave parties, where endangered snakes and snake venom were supplied. Snake venom, it turns out, is a popular recreational drug, often used as a substitute for opioids. Curious to know more. We tell you all about it in our explainer. Happy reading and Happy Diwali! PS: Here’s a little Diwali trivia as you light up your homes with diyas and tealights. Did you know that tealights were originally used to keep tea warm in Japan? [caption id=“attachment_13375472” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A boy lights an oil lamp at the Banganga pond on Diwali in Mumbai. File photo/AP[/caption] Watch this space for more if you like the way we throw light on the news.