The controversial ‘One Big, Beautiful’ Bill, designed to slash taxes and federal spending while benefiting the top 1 per cent, has cleared the US House of Representatives, marking a major legislative win for the Trump administration. The Bill, which adds $3.3 trillion to the national debt and guts funding for food and health programmes aiding low-income Americans, passed after an all-night debate. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered the longest House floor speech in modern history, fiercely opposing the Bill. This followed a dramatic 51-50 Senate vote on Tuesday, with Vice President J D Vance breaking the tie. Though several Republicans had expressed concerns over the Bill, only two (and all Democrats) voted against it on Thursday night. The House passed the Bill 218-214, sending it to Trump’s desk for signing.
On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.
Big Story
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) may have thwarted India’s ambitious plans to host the 2036 Olympics. At a high-profile meeting in Lausanne on Tuesday, the IOC asked the Indian delegation to set its house in order before preparing the master plan. High-ranking Indian officials, including Gujarat Home and Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha, were present at the meeting.
Red flags: Sources told The Indian Express that the IOC flagged governance issues at IOA, doping concerns and India’s poor performance at the Olympics during the meeting. Crucially, the IOA has not been receiving IOC’s athlete welfare grants since October 2024. The international body has said it won’t release the funds till the administrative logjam, which has seen Usha at loggerheads with her Executive Council, ends. My colleague Mihir Vasavda goes into the details in his report.
However, India’s hopes are not completely dashed yet. India could host future Olympics, depending on how quickly it resolves the issues. Notably, the IOC last week decided to “pause” the selection process of future hosts, owing to transparency concerns flagged by the committee members. This could buy India time.
Only in Express
As the Election Commission embarks on the mammoth task of verifying the citizenship of 7.8 crore registered voters in Bihar, The Indian Express visited multiple districts to track the ground reality. While a declaration that an applicant is a citizen is required for all new registrations, this time, the EC is asking for citizenship proof for all new as well as existing voters. Electors must now submit one of 11 specific documents notified by the Commission. Common IDs like Aadhaar, ration cards, or voter cards no longer suffice. This has triggered a rush among voters to obtain residential or caste certificates before the deadline, with many also struggling to procure legacy documents such as those belonging to their parents. Read our report.
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From the Front Page
Hit the brakes: The Delhi government has asked the Centre’s Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to put the fuel ban for end-of-life vehicles on hold, just days after it came into effect. The reason? The Environment Minister cited a host of infrastructural issues and even “public discontent”.
Down the drain: Recently, concerns were raised over the inflated cost of work contracts under the Jal Jeevan Mission (rural water tap scheme) in some states. Water Minister C R Patil told The Indian Express that the Centre has stopped paying the tender premium (the difference in the government’s approved cost and the bidder’s quote) as money was being “unnecessarily wasted”.
Injustice: In 2003, Gujarati-American Sandeep ‘Sonny’ Bharadia was convicted of burglary and sexual assault in Georgia, US. The conviction was bizarre. On the ill-fated day, Bharadia was 400 km away from the crime site. Only his car, which he had earlier reported missing, was used by the actual perpetrator. Even DNA evidence implicated someone else in the crime. Yet, it took two decades for Bharadia to be exonerated of all charges. Read his story.
Must Read
Gill’s day: Shubhman Gill’s marathon double century at the second England vs India Test match is the talk of the town. And rightly so. The Indian skipper has overtaken Sachin Tendulkar’s highest individual score and even surpassed Virat Kohli’s highest score as captain. National sports editor Sandeep Dwivedi writes how Gill, earmarked to take India’s batting legacy forward, has earned his stripes.
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Also read: How Jadeja outlasted Kohli, Rohit, Ashwin to become the great Indian survivor
The ‘S’ word: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has called for the removal of the words “socialist” and “secular” from the Preamble to the Constitution. These words were added by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, stoking controversy. The RSS now wants to turn the clock back. But it isn’t so easy. Contributing editor Neerja Chowdhury writes why the RSS demands put the BJP in a tricky position.
Countering China: The Quad group of nations, comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US, has launched an initiative to secure supply chains of critical minerals. The move is aimed at countering China’s stranglehold over the resources vital to new technologies.
And Finally…
Under new Ministry of Transport and Highways guidelines, cab aggregators such as Uber, Ola and Rapido may now charge customers up to twice the base fare as the maximum fare. This will allow ride-hailing platforms more flexibility in dynamic pricing, which entails increasing prices during high demand and vice versa during low demand periods. What exactly is dynamic pricing? Is it the same as surge pricing? We explain.
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🎧 Before you go, tune in to today’s ‘3 things’ podcast episode, where we discuss: what led to the Rath Yatra stampede, why the Telengana chemical factory blast is a ‘rarest of rare’ case, and the government’s bid to fast-track decision-making.
That’s all for today, folks! Until next week,
Sonal Gupta
Business As Usual by EP Unny
