Daily Briefing: The Five Eyes powwow

On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.

Big Story

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to kick off the Raisina Dialogue, a conference on all things geopolitics, in Delhi today. The event comes close to another gathering of intelligence tsars hosted by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. These included intelligence chiefs from at least three of the Five Eyes: the US, the UK and New Zealand.

Quick context: The Five Eyes is a security alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, formed during World War II. The story goes that the Britishers and Americans signed an intelligence-sharing pact after UK scientist Alan Turing (you may remember him from the Benedict Cumberbatch starrer ‘The Imitation Game’) decoded German and Japanese communications. Other nations joined soon thereafter.

Why it matters: The Sunday meeting happens against global uncertainty, with US President Donald Trump pushing for a shaky peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Contributing editor C Raja Mohan delves into the Five Eyes’ storied past, highlighting how internal rifts are emerging as Trump’s foreign policy decisions deepen divisions between the US and Europe.

The takeaway: India’s role as host of this intelligence powwow since 2022 (right when the Russia-Ukraine war began) positions New Delhi as a key player in global intelligence-sharing conversations.

Only in Express

In retreat: The Bahujan movement sparked a new political consciousness in the 1970s, advocating for the rights of Dalits. The formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984, under Kanshi Ram, institutionalised this vision. Inheriting his legacy, Mayawati single-handedly propelled the movement to power. That was until 2012 when the BSP began to decline—its members and supporters. The Indian Express documents this downturn, speaking to bewildered voters and party workers who still hold onto hope.

From the Front Page

PLI 2.0: The government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which catalysed smartphone manufacturing in India, is approaching its conclusion. Despite its success, local electronics manufacturing has remained low in the country. However, the government intends to change that. Another incentive policy aimed at manufacturing electronic components is being developed.

The challengers: Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code was enacted last year and has faced significant criticism. Many argue that requiring the registration of live-in relationships, as mandated by the UCC, infringes on privacy rights and could expose vulnerable couples to undue scrutiny. One notable case involves an unmarried non-binary couple, the first of three, challenging the UCC in court. Read their story.

PM on podcast: Prime Minister Modi starred in the latest episode of the popular Lex Fridman podcast. It’s an over three-hour-long conversation. If you haven’t caught it yet, don’t worry; we’ve got you! From India’s ties with Pakistan and China to “misinformation” around the Gujarat riots, here are some key takeaways.

Must Read

Fugitives and havens: Indian economic offenders and fugitives have long found a haven in small countries through citizenship-by-investment schemes. Vanuatu, a tiny island nation in the South Pacific, stood out by rejecting former IPL chief Lalit Modi’s citizenship application. However, this was an exception. Long before him, everyone in the crosshairs of enforcement agencies, from diamantaire Mehul Choksi to Nitin Sandesara, escaped the law back home, settling in picturesque tax havens.

Farm fire: While China’s retaliatory tariffs against the US may not have been sweeping, they have targeted the area that hurts the most—the American farmers. In 2024, China imported a staggering $27.29 billion worth of agricultural products from the U.S. It has now imposed 10 to 15 per cent taxes on these American goods. Behind this move lies a broader goal of enhancing China’s food security and self-reliance.

Off the mat: Even the discipline-centric world of sports can get messy. About 770 sport-related lawsuits have been filed in courts over the last 10 years. These include disgruntled athletes and dissatisfied employees of sports bodies. However, what stands out is that most of these disputes are over governance body elections or team selection. Hope may lie in a draft legislation that could reduce the burden on courts.

And Finally…

India’s 2047 Viksit Bharat vision hinges upon the quality of scientific research today. Abhay Karandikar is leading this effort as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science & Technology. We caught up with Karandikar to talk about all things science, the R&D challenges, and India’s role in the global 6G race.

Speaking of India’s scientific endeavours, tune in to today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast to hear about an exciting new project by a non-profit seeking to build a Telugu Large Language Model (LLM).

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

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