The Catch Up: 8 August

3 Things

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
Today is the 8th of August and here are the headlines.
The government introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha today amid opposition from several INDIA bloc MPs, who labelled the Bill ‘divisive’,‘anti-Muslim’, and ‘unconstitutional’. The Bill proposes significant changes to the 1995 law, such as the inclusion of Muslim women on Waqf boards and ensuring verification of land before a board announces it as a Waqf property.While the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had termed the move as ‘unacceptable’, INDIA parties had said it will oppose any changes to the Waqf Act.
Following the heartbreaking disqualification ahead of the Paris Olympics wrestling final, Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling today.The 29-year-old failed to make weight, missing the cut by 100 grams during the weigh-in on Wednesday morning, leading to her disqualification from the 50kg categoryevent. Vinesh took to X and said. quote, “Mother, wrestling beat me, I lost. Your dream and my courage are all broken. I don’t have any more strength now.Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be in your debt,” unquote.
The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee has kept the Repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent for the ninth time in a row as sticky food inflation continuesto remain a threat to retail inflation. The rate-setting panel also left the monetary policy stance unchanged at ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ in the meeting today.As a consequence of the MPC’s decision, banks are expected to keep interest rates unchanged. The RBI also kept the gross domestic product growth projectionfor the financial year 2025 unchanged at 7.2 per cent and the retail inflation forecast at 4.5 per cent despite the sticky food inflation.
Speaking with The Indian Express, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Rashmi Ranjan Swain, in regard to the efforts to neutralise the “terror ecosystem,”said, quote, “There are 3.6 lakh regular employees and about 1.25 lakh semi-regular employees. Just over 70 people have been removed from service underthe national security clause. That’s 0.014%. And who are the people being removed? Sons of (United Jihad Council chief) Syed Salahuddin. The total numberof people behind bars in various anti-terror laws is around 1600-1700.”
While Bangladesh is set to get a new, interim government today, headed by Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus. President Mohammed Shahabuddinwill administer the oath of office to the new government. The oath-taking ceremony will be held at 8 pm today, Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zamansaid during a press conference. Meanwhile, the Indian visa application center announced that its offices in the country will remain closed till further notice.
This was the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express.