179 Dead in Himachal Monsoon Disaster, Exposing Governance Failures
NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora

179 Dead in Himachal Monsoon Disaster, Exposing Governance Failures

Severe monsoon rains in Himachal Pradesh have killed nearly 179 people, disrupted hundreds of roads, power transformers and water schemes, and caused huge infrastructural and agricultural losses. This scale of destruction is not solely natural, it reveals governance failures in land use planning, environmental regulation, infrastructure design, early warning and relief systems.

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PM Modi Urges ‘Buy Local’ After US Tariffs, but the Economics Don’t Add Up
NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora

PM Modi Urges ‘Buy Local’ After US Tariffs, but the Economics Don’t Add Up

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to buy locally made goods in an apparent response to the United States imposing a 25 percent tariff on several Indian exports. While the appeal may sound patriotic and self-reliant, it does not align with the economic realities of the moment, especially during a period of global uncertainty.

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Rethink Careers, Suggests New Microsoft Report on AI and Jobs
NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora

Rethink Careers, Suggests New Microsoft Report on AI and Jobs

A new Microsoft Research study has identified 40 occupations where AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can already perform many core tasks, including writing, some aspects of journalism, customer support and data analysis. This makes it essential for students and professionals at all levels to prepare for a future where such roles, especially in office-based sectors, may be restructured, reduced or phased out as automation becomes more deeply embedded in workplace systems.

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What Trump Means by Calling India a ‘Dead Economy’
NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, August 2025 Vishal Arora

What Trump Means by Calling India a ‘Dead Economy’

Donald Trump’s comment referring to India’s economy as “dead” is not an economic assessment in the conventional sense but a political signal wrapped in hyperbole. Still, it reflects certain long-standing Western grievances about India’s economic posture, especially in trade and strategic alignment. His use of “dead” seems to be shorthand for what he views as a stagnant or closed economy that, in his mind, has failed to match up to its global potential or openness.

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The Problem with Economic Yardsticks Governments Flaunt
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

The Problem with Economic Yardsticks Governments Flaunt

Every now and then, a government announces that the country’s economy is doing well. You’ll hear that GDP has gone up. Or that the per capita income has improved. Or that some index shows we’re climbing the global rankings. It sounds impressive. It’s meant to. But what do these numbers really tell us about how people are living?

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Vigilante Policing: War Veteran’s Family Harassed Over Citizenship in Pune
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Vigilante Policing: War Veteran’s Family Harassed Over Citizenship in Pune

The family of a Kargil war veteran in Pune has alleged that around 80 members of a Hindu nationalist group stormed their house at midnight and demanded proof of their citizenship, accusing them of being illegal immigrants. Allowing such groups to operate in this manner risks normalising harassment and extra-legal intimidation, which undermines the security and dignity of all citizens, not just those being targeted at the moment.

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More Indians Choosing Non-AC Travel, Raising Doubts About Real Economic Growth
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

More Indians Choosing Non-AC Travel, Raising Doubts About Real Economic Growth

The government points to macroeconomic indicators, such as rising GDP, higher tax collections and increased infrastructure investment, as signs that the Indian economy is growing. But growth at the national level does not always translate into better living standards for most citizens. A recent report on Indian Railways provides a useful lens to examine whether this growth is widely shared.

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Haryana Law Officer Appointments Reveal Pattern of Political Nepotism
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Haryana Law Officer Appointments Reveal Pattern of Political Nepotism

An investigation by The Indian Express has revealed that many of those appointed as law officers by the Haryana government are relatives of politicians and bureaucrats, including Vikas Barala, son of a senior political leader and an accused in a sexual harassment case. This points to a pattern of political patronage and nepotism in appointments to public legal offices, despite judicial warnings against such practices and the need for merit-based selection.

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2006 Mumbai Blast Acquittals Expose Political Abuse of Law Across Governments
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

2006 Mumbai Blast Acquittals Expose Political Abuse of Law Across Governments

Twelve men have been acquitted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case after spending nearly 19 years in prison, based on testimony later exposed as fabricated by a repeat witness used in multiple terror cases. From the perspective of citizens, two successive state governments and four political parties appear complicit in the betrayal of justice — first the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for enacting a draconian law, and then the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for using that law to frame Muslim men.

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Another Crime Against Woman, Missing from India’s ‘Development’ Story
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Another Crime Against Woman, Missing from India’s ‘Development’ Story

Two brothers in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district raped a 15-year-old girl, and when she became pregnant, they tried to bury her alive – the latest of several cases of crimes against girls and women that have come to light in recent months from this state. It appears that, as in other parts of the country, these are men’s reactions to girls asserting control over their own bodies, revealing that India’s claimed growth story must include a different dimension of development.

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‘Manipur Tapes’: Supreme Court Likely to Review Fresh Forensic Report on July 28
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

‘Manipur Tapes’: Supreme Court Likely to Review Fresh Forensic Report on July 28

The Supreme Court is likely to review a new forensic report on audio recordings known as the “Manipur Tapes,” which are alleged to reveal former Chief Minister Biren Singh’s role in the ethnic violence that began in May 2023. The Court ordered a fresh analysis earlier this year and has tentatively listed the matter for July 28, after previously setting a deadline for the week commencing July 21.

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Assam Evictions Demand Relief, Not Interstate Surveillance of the Displaced
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Assam Evictions Demand Relief, Not Interstate Surveillance of the Displaced

The Assam government has launched extensive eviction drives across Dhubri and Goalpara districts, targeting those it labels as “encroachers” and “illegal migrants,” prompting alerts from neighbouring states concerned about possible cross-border movement. The development is being portrayed by the state as a routine law and order measure, but it raises serious questions about whether the evictions are legally justified, whether due process has been followed and whether the government is fulfilling its duty to prevent avoidable harm to people.

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By Sticking to Legalities, Election Commission Risks Voter Exclusion in Bihar
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

By Sticking to Legalities, Election Commission Risks Voter Exclusion in Bihar

The Election Commission of India (ECI), in its affidavit to the Supreme Court, has adopted a legally defensible posture in excluding Aadhaar and ration cards from the list of documents used to determine voter eligibility during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. While the legal scaffolding may hold, the process reflects a troubling departure from ethical electoral practice, especially from the perspective of ordinary citizens trying to assert their right to vote.

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Teen Burnt in Odisha, Protest Follows But Offers No Plan for Women’s Safety
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Teen Burnt in Odisha, Protest Follows But Offers No Plan for Women’s Safety

On July 19, opposition parties staged protests outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar after a 16-year-old girl, critically injured in a targeted attack in Puri, was admitted for treatment—barely a week after another girl set herself on fire in Bhubaneswar alleging police inaction in a sexual harassment case. While the issue of girls’ and women’s safety in Odisha is urgent and may warrant public protest, these demonstrations offered no proposals or solutions, exposing a political culture where outrage is used to attack the government rather than confront the crisis at hand.

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Mass Burials, Rape, Paedophilia at Karnataka’s Dharmasthala Temple: Whistle-Blower
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Mass Burials, Rape, Paedophilia at Karnataka’s Dharmasthala Temple: Whistle-Blower

A former sanitation worker has testified in court that for nearly two decades he was forced by men linked to the Dharmasthala temple administration to bury the bodies of women and girls killed after being sexually assaulted within the temple premises in Karnataka. His claims, allegedly backed by skeletal remains and burial site details, point to a long period of institutional silence and inaction on disappearances reported in the region over the last thirty years.

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Does Nitish’s Free Power Promise Before Polls Amount to Voter Coercion?
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Does Nitish’s Free Power Promise Before Polls Amount to Voter Coercion?

The promise made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to provide free electricity up to 125 units per month ahead of the Assembly elections invites serious scrutiny under both constitutional law and the principles of fair electoral practice. It raises the question of where to draw the line between legitimate welfare policy and unlawful inducement or voter coercion.

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Uttarakhand Targets ‘Fake Sadhus,’ Risking State Overreach into Religious Identity
NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, July 2025 Vishal Arora

Uttarakhand Targets ‘Fake Sadhus,’ Risking State Overreach into Religious Identity

The Uttarakhand government has launched Operation Kalanemi, a state-wide police campaign to identify individuals posing as saints and Kanwariyas. The stated aim is to preserve the religious and cultural sanctity of the state. This raises a serious constitutional concern, because it suggests the government is stepping into the role of deciding who counts as a legitimate religious figure, a function it has no authority to perform in a secular democracy.

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