A new Bill that’s set to grant India’s national song, Vande Mataram, the same statutory protection as the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, is up for debate in the Rajya Sabha. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, will amend the existing Act of 1971 under which “intentionally preventing the singing of the national anthem” or “causing a disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing” is regarded as a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine. This comes months after debates on singing and playing Vande Mataram as the national song of India reached the Supreme Court. The court had then pointed out that the government’s directive to play and sing it was advisory in nature and there were no penal consequences for those who chose not to sing the song. If the Bill is passed now, however, it would introduce the very penal consequences the court noted were absent at that time.
With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:
- PM Modi breaks silence on CJP protest
- Protests over Ken-Betwa river linking project
- Rodri: The World Cup winner Messi avoided
🚨 Big Story
Opposition parties rallied behind the protesters on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks, by visiting the protest site, meeting the injured, echoing their demands and staging a sit-in outside the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi. The political move comes a day after police used tear gas and lathis to stop thousands of young protesters from marching towards Parliament. The Opposition leaders slammed the police, and targeted the government by calling it “insensitive” and “authoritarian”. The Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav were also detained and later released.
Senior government functionaries, in conversation with The Indian Express, shared that the Centre had no intention of yielding to demands for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, arguing that it has neither denied the lapses nor attempted to evade responsibility. They said that the lapses behind the NEET paper leak had been fixed; admissions under the three largest entrance examinations, NEET retest, CUET and JEE Main, were largely on track; and that the Government is open to a debate on the issue in Parliament. “There was a problem. We have said this on record and have taken responsibility on record. The government is not running away from it,” a senior government functionary said.
Modi speaks: In his first remarks after police cracked down on Cockroach Janata Party-led protesters on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the steps taken by his government in the wake of the NEET-UG question paper leak, as he called for a “foolproof system” to prevent any future occurrence of an exam paper leak. Modi suggested that MPs take the lead in reaching out to students across India on the issue, underlining that the future of the youth was top priority and all parties should treat it as a national issue rather than an opportunity for partisan politics.
⚡ Only in Express
Story continues below this ad
The Ken-Betwa river linking project, India’s first inter-basin river transfer that aims to irrigate the parched Bundelkhand region, is now racing to meet new deadlines. However, the project has triggered a race to evacuate nearly 2,000 families across 10 villages, fuelling protests across the submergence zone as residents challenge compensation surveys, eligibility lists and the terms on which they are being asked to leave. For the families still living in the shadow of the Daudhan dam — one of the main architectural features under the project — it’s a struggle of a different kind. They are now required to prove, through Aadhaar cards, school certificates, revenue records and decades-old family registers, that they belong to the places they are being asked to abandon. On July 19, police detained their leader, social activist Amit Bhatnagar and several other demonstrators from the site, effectively ending the protest for now.
📰 From the Front Page
Census: With the population enumeration phase of the nationwide Census just six months away, the Registrar General of India (RGI) is now grappling with the methodology for caste enumeration. According to sources, two broad options are under consideration: allowing respondents to state their caste in an open-ended format, or restricting entries to a drop-down menu of recognised castes. While the first option risks a repeat of the 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) experience, when over 46 lakh distinct caste names were listed by respondents, the second would have run into resistance from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Read the full story.
Summons: India on Tuesday summoned the Russian Charge d’Affaires (CDA), Vladimir Ladanov, and conveyed “unequivocal condemnation” and “grave concern” over the deaths of four Indian seafarers in a Russian missile strike on the merchant vessel, Golden Leo, off the coast of Ukraine on July 19. The statement asserted that the “targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable and must be avoided.” This assumes significance as Delhi is perceived to be closer to Moscow and has done the diplomatic tightrope walk over the last four years of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Blast: A blast suspected to have been caused by a methane gas leak inside the 7-km under-construction tunnel of the Teesta Stage-VI Hydroelectric Project near Samardung in Sikkim’s Namchi district on Monday led to the death of at least 20 people and left five others trapped. Those present at the site at the time of the incident included high-level personnel from the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and project developer Patel Engineering, who were on a routine inspection. The ongoing rescue operation involves the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Fire and Emergency Services, and other agencies.
📌 Must Read
Story continues below this ad
In our Opinion columns today, Yogendra Yadav shares a personal account of the ‘Sansad Chalo March’ led by the Cockroach Janata Party on July 20. He delves into the need for the Opposition to shift from electoral politics to a politics of resistance, as witnessed at Jantar Mantar. Yadav writes: “Finally, in a way almost unnoticed, the movement could mark a new phase in the politics of social justice. The youth of India have come together in a movement led by a Dalit, Abhijeet Dipke, and inspired by an Adivasi, Sonam Wangchuk, one not limited to the stereotypical “SC/ST issues”. Instead of demanding its share in the nation, bahujan politics can now define what the nation is.”
Our weekly columnist, Udit Misra delves into data demonstrating the Indian government’s focus on the education sector, as discussions spill over to the criticisms of the broader system. Examining Budget allocations to the relevant departments, Misra shares how the funding in the sector has changed over the years. According to the analysis, the data show that the Education Ministry’s share in the Union Budget fell from 4.6% in 2013-14 (the last year that the Congress-led government was in power) to 2.5% in 2025-26. Moreover, the Department of School Education’s share is less than half of what it was 12 years ago, while the Department of Higher Education’s share is just around 60% of what it used to be.
⏳ And Finally…
Paradox: Spain’s captain Rodri quietly orchestrated the nation’s FIFA World Cup victory from midfield. This World Cup, he was ranked 97th in the list of offenders. That’s the paradox of Rodri: he won the golden ball without a single goal or assist, without topping any of the defensive or attacking metrics. In pass completion rate, he sits 44th on the table. So what made him the tournament’s most valuable player? In the final, he tied up Lionel Messi in knots, so much so that he began avoiding him like a thief would a policeman. Rodri made him play increasingly with the right foot, lethal but not as much as his left peg. My colleague Sandip G takes you on Rodri’s journey from Connecticut to the title-winning arena, which took years in the making.
🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the protest led by the CJP that has now escalated into a wider political battle; the World AI conference held in Shanghai; as well as Santhal filmmaker Ravi Raj Murmu’s historic National Award win for Angen.
That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!
Until next time,
Ariba
Story continues below this ad
