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It’s been a hectic week for India. After the Lok Sabha election results, which were closer than anticipated, focus moved to government formation and portfolio allocation. And after hours and hours of deliberations among the leaders of the winning National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Modi 3.0 sarkar was sworn in at a grand event at Rashtrapati Bhavan and were then handed over their portfolios.
Besides government formation, the Kashmir terror attacks caught the attention of the country, with many questioning if they could disrupt the normalcy in the region.
The other big story of the week was the swearing-in of actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan as Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister. The 55-year-old Jana Sena Party leader emerged as a big winner in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections and has been the talk of the town since then.
The arrest of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and others in the murder of 33-year-old Renuka Swamy has also been a big headline of the week.
As we wrap up the week, our round-up of the big stories from India will help you feel connected and in the know of things.
1) Following the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results on 4 June, the BJP and its allies, went into a huddle to discuss government formation. After hectic parleys and negotiations, a Modi 3.0 sarkar was formed on 9 June wherein Modi and 72 leaders were sworn in as the Union Council of Ministers in a resplendent event at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In order to accommodate his allies, PM Narendra Modi, had to make some big changes in his administration; one of them being dropping ministers .
2) On the topic of government formation, a day after the swearing-in ceremony, the Modi government made the announcement of portfolios to his ministers. He kept continuity as the big theme of his Cabinet, by retaining Amit Shah as home minister, S Jaishankar as external affairs minister, Nirmala Sitharaman as finance minister and Rajnath Singh as defence minister. But why is it that the BJP chose to retain these ministries, known as the Cabinet Committee on Security? Read our explainer to understand better.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts3) And more on the ‘Big 4’ ministries. Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajnath Singh have major challenges ahead of them. While Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh will have to ensure the security of our country — internally and externally, Nirmala Sitharaman will have her work cut out with drafting the budget and ensuring the country’s economic well-being. Moreover, in a time of war — the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas battle — Jaishankar will have plenty of challenges his way. We explain more in our essay .
4) On the same day that Modi and his ministers were being sworn-in, far away in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, a bus plunged into a gorge, killing nine people. Tragedy struck when the bus came under attack from terrorists. In the coming days, the region has been seen an escalation of violence — three attacks in three days , raising questions about the law and order situation. What’s going on in J&K?
5) Now, Andhra Pradesh has a new government. On Wednesday (12 June), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as chief minister of the state. Along with him, the Jana Sena Party president Konidela Pawan Kalyan took oath as the deputy chief minister. This is a long journey for the actor-turned-politician. But who is he? Here’s his complete story .
6) Away from politics, the big headline of the week was the horrific murder in Bengaluru, involving an actor, his ‘girlfriend’, and an ardent fan. Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, also known as the “Challenging Star,” along with 11 other people, including his rumoured partner Pavithra Gowda, have been arrested in the murder of Renukaswamy, who used to work at the Apollo Pharmacy in Chitradurga, which is more than 200 kilometres away from the capital of Karnataka. Want to know more about this headline-grabbing case? Read here .
7) The country this week also students protesting. Why? They were protesting the several irregularities with the results of the NEET-UG exam , and alleging that there had been a paper leak. Following the massive uproar, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates would be cancelled and students would be permitted to take a re-examination on 23 June. Want to know more about this row and the grace marks awarded? We have you covered.
And that’s it from us this week. If you liked our recommendations, click here for more.
PS: Here’s a health story that might be of interest to you. Studies have shown that Viagra could improve brain functions. Here’s how .
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