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Emmanuel Macron defeats Marine Le Pen for a second term as French President, PM Modi inaugurates projects worth Rs 20,000 crore in J&K, Centre’s wheat procurement falls to 15-year low: Here are the top stories from today’s edition: The Big Story
Amid the intensifying Centre-state tussle over economic issues, a move by the DMK government in Tamil Nadu to seek a revenue share from privatised airports and equity against land provided by the state for building new airports is finding resonance in other Opposition-ruled states. Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and the JMM-led government in Jharkhand have now come out in support of Tamil Nadu’s proposal. French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Sunday by a comfortable margin, securing a second term and heading off what would have been a political earthquake. Cheers of joy erupted as the results appeared on a giant screen at the Champ de Mars park at the foot of the Eiffel tower, where Macron supporters waved French and EU flags. Only in the Express In the latest edition of The Indian Express’ Idea Exchange, Prashant Jain, ED and CIO of HDFC AMC — the longest-serving fund manager in the country — speaks on the impact of global events on the Indian economy and markets, a surge in the number of new retail investors, new-age companies and the way ahead for investors. From the Front Page Inaugurating a string of projects in Jammu and Kashmir as part of a strong infrastructure push, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the youth of Kashmir Valley that they “will never face the kind of sufferings” their parents and grandparents faced in the past. The newly launched projects worth Rs 20,000 crore include the Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel that is expected to reduce travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by two hours and a 500 KV solar power plant at Palli. Government wheat procurement in Punjab is set to fall to a 15-year low, with private purchases likely to cross five lakh tonnes (lt) for the first time since 2007. This comes on the back of rising export and domestic market demand, fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine war, and lower crop yields due to the abnormal spike in temperatures from mid-March. The last time that procurement fell below 100 lt was back in 2007 and 2006 when these totaled 70.99 lt and 69.07 lt respectively. A day after Independent lawmaker couple Navneet and Ravi Rana were arrested in connection with the Hanuman Chalisa controversy, the Maharashtra government invoked the sedition law against them. The Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Mumbai also sent Navneet, who is an MP, and Ravi, an MLA, to judicial custody for 14 days. Must Read
At least eight leaders and ministers from Europe are scheduled to be in India over the next couple of days, including Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. While they are all coming for the Raisina Dialogue, the flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, set to take place on April 25-27, the war in Ukraine is likely to dominate their conversations with Indian interlocutors.
Priyakanta Laishram, a 24-year-old filmmaker, is all set to release Manipur’s first same-sex movie, “Oneness’’, later this year. Laishram, who himself came out as gay in 2019, says the movie is based on the alleged honour killing of a gay youth in Manipur in 2013. Having survived death threats from the community, Laishram, who also plays the lead role, based the film on a journal maintained by the victim, giving a detailed account of what he went through. The European Union has reached a political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark legislation to force big Internet companies to act against disinformation and illegal and harmful content, and to “provide better protection for Internet users and their fundamental rights”. What is the DSA and who does it apply to? Does it make social media platforms liable for unlawful content? We explain. And Finally...
Dinesh Karthik has forced Indian cricket to think about him yet again, with 210 runs at a strike rate of 210 in seven IPL 2022 innings, six of them unbeaten. He has excelled in the finisher’s role for RCB, but his poor record in big tournaments and vagaries of team combination stand in the way of Karthik’s return to the national side for T20 World Cup later this year. Delhi confidential: Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa has written to his successor, Basavraj Bommai, advising him not to name the airport at Shivamogga after him. It should be named after someone who has contributed to the betterment of the nation, he wrote. By doing so, Yediyurappa not only silenced critics and earned praises from the ordinary Kannadigas but the move is also expected to be appreciated by the BJP’s top leadership, said those close to him. Until tomorrow,
Rounak Bagchi and Sonal Gupta 
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