The editorial Page: gen Z’s parents have to answer for their politics which created this crisis 8 ThURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2026 JournalisM of Courage mumbaI, laTe cITy, 20 PaGeS ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com da I ly f r o m : a h m e da b a d , c h a n d I Ga r h , d e l h I , j a I P u r , ko l k aTa , l u c k n o w , m u m b a I , n aG P u r , PaT n a , P u n e , va d o da r a REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 aS oF NoW, No PRoPoSaL To EXTEND moNSooN SESSIoN: PaRLIamENTaRy aFFaIRS mINISTER 96 124 153 76 lBomBay HCwill pronounce its verdict on Goa government’s plea challenging Tarun Tejpal’s acquittal in a sexual assault case. Business as usual By EP UNNY Govt reaches out to Opp, ready to soften FCRA Bill, allay concerns ‘can’t leave without justice’: jharkhand protest brings job Money Bill route pending aspirants together Rijiju meets Rahul to break deadlock; Opp seeks Shah statement on police action on protesters before SC, Govt chooses it to raise strength of judges apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, August 5 Deeptiman Tiwary, Liz mathew & manoj C G New Delhi, August 5 oN THe day it reached out to theoppositioninanattemptto break the deadlock in Parliament where proceedings remain disrupted, the governmentWednesdaysignalledthat the Foreign contribution (Regulation) amendment Bill, eXPress special Opposition MPs protest outside Parliament, Wednesday. PTI 2026wouldnothaveanypenalising retrospective provision. civil society and religious groupshaveexpressedconcern that asset-vesting rules in the »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 THe RaJYa Sabha Wednesday passed the Supreme court (Number of Judges) amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to increase the sanctioned strength ofSupremecourtjudges from 34 to 38 including the chief Justice of india. The Bill, which cleared lok Sabha monday, was passed as a money Bill, a route it had also taken in 2019 when the Supremecourtstrengthwasraisedto 34. in 2018, a key dissenting opinioninaSupremecourtruling had described this route as a “fraud on the constitution.” The Statement of objects and Reasons of the Bill cites the expenditureinvolvedincreatingfour additional posts of judges, Protest swells into a wider movement for reforms in recruitment, education E. »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Babulal Marandi at the protest site in Ranchi, Wednesday. PTI Shubham Tigga RBI keeps interest rates unchanged, opts for caution amid uncertain global outlook Monetary Policy Committee raises growth outlook, cuts inflation forecast marginally akash mandal & George mathew Mumbai, August 5 THe ReSeRVe Bank of india’s monetary Policy committee (mPc) Wednesday kept its key policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25percent,optingforcaution as volatile crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in West asia andanuncertainglobaloutlook Pmvideoremoval: metaapologises, Housecommittee wantstohearit fromZuckerberg Soumyarendra Barik & Jatin anand New Delhi, August 5 Social media giant meta’s global affairs head Joel Kaplan Wednesdayreiteratedthecompany’s apology over the brief takedown of a video posted by PrimeministerNarendramodi. He conveyed this during a meeting chaired by iT minister ashwini Vaishnaw. meta is learnt to have said that the video’s removal was an inadvertent error, and it was strengthening its internal checks and balances. in a statement, Kaplan said, “iapologisedtotheministeron behalf of meta for the error restricting Pm modi’s post.” a contingent of meta’s policy and regulatory officials, including Kaplan and Neil Potts, vice president of public policy at the company, had two separate meetings with government officials on Wednesday — a meeting with senior bureaucrats from the iT ministry, »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 cloud the inflation trajectory. While the central bank maintained the neutral policy stanceandmarginallyraisedits growth forecast for FY27 to 6.7 per cent from 6.6 per cent, it lowered its inflation projection to 5 per cent from 5.1 per cent, signallingconfidencethatprice pressures will moderate over the course of the year despite near-term risks. Mumbai, August 5 PaTieNTS WaiTed for hours in overcrowded oPds, several elective surgeries were postponed and teaching came to a standstill in government and civic-run medical colleges and hospitals across maharashtra on Wednesday as resident doctors launched an indefinite strike against the maharashtra RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra (third from left) and Deputy Governors Shirish Chandra Murmu, Swaminathan Janakiraman, Poonam Gupta and Rohit Jain in Mumbai, Wednesday. PTI The decision, taken unanimously by the six-member mPc chaired by RBi Governor Sanjay malhotra, means borrowing and deposit rates are »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 the city The laTe-nighT call ThaT woke sTaTe’s firsT ccMP docTor P 4 medical council’s (mmc) decision to grant conditional registration to BHmS graduates who have completed the cer- tificate course in modern Pharmacology (ccmP). The agitation is set to intensify on Thursday, with doctors threatening to suspend even emergency services if the impasse continues, even as medical education minister Hasan mushrif said the government hadhaltedtheregistrationprocess after granting only one conditional registration on »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos is guest at Express Adda today Express News Service New Delhi, August 5 THe WaY we watch stories has changed dramatically over the past decade. Streaming has transformed not only how entertainmentreachesaudiences, but also how films and series arecreated,discoveredandcelebrated across the world. as storytelling continues to evolve, so do the questions: What does the future of enter- Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos tainment look like? How will changing audience habits and »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 l NEW 5-STOREy BuILDING NEAR AzAD MAIDAN TO hOuSE 330 CORPORATORS, BLuEPRINT LIkELy ThIS MONTh Parliament-style chamber, digital voting, public gallery in BMC’s new civic house Pratip acharya press has learnt. The proposed five-storey building,cominguponthesiteof THe BRiHaNmumBai mu- thedefunctcivicGymkhanaadnicipalcorporation(Bmc)’spro- joining azad maidan opposite posed new civic the Bmc headhouse will feature a quarters, will house Page 1 Parliament-inspired 330 corporators and semi-circular replace the corporchamber, biometric ation'shistoriccouncil voting consoles at every desk chamber, where general body and dedicated public galleries, meetings have been held for according to the final floor morethan130years. whose blueprint is expected to on Tuesday, BJP leader and receiveadministrativeapproval leader of the House Ganesh laterthismonth,Theindianex»CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2 ProPosed deal will give iran conTrol over shiPs enTering horMuz Page 16 inside Resident doctors’ strike cripples OPDs, surgeries in Maharashtra Purnima Sah the world Mumbai, August 5 anchor The historic council chamber inside the BMC building has housed every general body meeting since 1893. fIle air india Picks ex-grouP chief of eThioPian airlines as iTs ceo & Md Page 13 gold rings, coins & laPToPs: Big sPending in vijay’s deBuT BudgeT Page 14 Ranchi, August 5 BRaHmaNaNd KumaR mahatofromRamgarhliesonathin matbeneaththestatueofolympian,writerandpoliticianJaipal Singh munda at Ranchi’s iconic Jaipal Singh munda Stadium. His white shirt, unchanged for four days, is drenched in sweat and the pouring rain, the streaks of mud on it the only realindicationofthepassageof time. around the 30-year-old, fellow protesters sit gently pressing his arms and feet, while doctors hover nearby to monitor his health. “i had no idea how a hunger strike was observed. i’ve never done it before. i just came here, lay down and began my protest,” mahato says, his voice feeble. “i don’t know how long this will continue, but if this is what it takes to get justice, i’m prepared to stay here.” mahato is one of seven people who have been on a hunger strike for the last four days as part of a wider movement for sweeping reforms in Jharkhand’s recruitment and educationsystem,longrifewith allegations of irregularities. Thecontroversybegansoon after the Jharkhand Public Service commission (JPSc) »CoNTINUED oN PaGE 2