India Today - August 01, 2022

INDO-US: CIRCLING THE WAGONS

US Secretary of defense Lloyd James Austin landed in New Delhi barely two weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official visit to Washington from June 21. According to a US department of defense statement, Austin is in India \"to reinforce major defence partnership and advance cooperation in critical domains\" between the strategic partners. During his meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh, a road map for defence industrial cooperation with the goal of fast-tracking technology transfer and co-production was agreed upon.

UTTAR PRADESH: CORRIDOR FOR THE FAITHFUL

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is betting big on religious tourism to give a facelift to his state, Uttar Pradesh. The success of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor, where tourists and pilgrims are descending in hordes, has prompted plans for three new corridors—the Vindhyavasini in Mirzapur, Mathura-Vrindavan and the Nath circuit in Bareilly.

GOA - THE FIRST GOANS ASK A QUESTION

Tribal communities in Goa are becoming increasingly vocal about their political and social rights. Over the past few months, they have upped the ante on one of their long-pending demands-10 per cent political reservation for scheduled tribes (STs) in the Goa legislative assembly and have threatened to boycott the 2024 Lok Sabha polls if this was not met. In 2003, the Gauda, Velip and Kunbi communities were added to the ST category.

CHEETAHS IN KUNO - A SPOTTY TRAJECTORY

For a plan that took five decades from conception to fruition, the expectations surrounding Project Cheetah—dubbed as the first intercontinental translocation of a large wild carnivore—are bound to be high. But after a promising start, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh last September, the fanfare has given way to an appreciation of starker realities. Mortality among the spotted felines has led to a reevaluation of the whole project.

Return of a CRIME THRILLER

Will Gaurav Shukla's Asur 2, sequel to the hit web series from 2020, live up to its 'India's Biggest Crime Thriller' tag?

DIRECTOR IN DEMAND

HANSAL MEHTA'S PENCHANT FOR LONG-FORM STORYTELLING AND GETTING UNDER THE SKIN OF AN ISSUE COME TOGETHER IN HIS LATEST OTT SERIES, SCOOP

Found in Translation

There has been a slew of translations of Tamil books recently, opening them up to a wider audience

LESSONS FROM THE COROMANDEL CRASH

THE INSIDE STORY OF HOW THE DISASTER HAPPENED, WHO IS TO BLAME AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO IMPROVE RAILSAFETY

WALKING THROUGH FIRE

Selected for the 2023 International Booker Prize longlist, Perumal Murugan's novel Pyre confronts many burning issues

SOUTHERN STRENGTHS

PROMINENT VOICES FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS GATHERED AT THE INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE SOUTH 2023 TO DISCUSS EVERYTHING-FROM STATE FINANCES, FEDERALISM AND POLITICS TO TOURISM, INDIA'S SPACE GOALS, WILDLIFE AND CULTURE