1/5: The Palava flyover in Mumbai had to be shut for traffic barely seven days after its inauguration on 4 July. It had taken seven years to be ready. Bulldozers and JCBs are now back at work, tearing up this newly built road and relaying it with fresh asphalt. 2/5: It’s part of a long list of great Indian infrastructure debacles. Bridges are being built with sharp right-angle turns, many are falling, and highways are cutting through people’s balconies. India is having a civil engineering crisis, unable to keep up with its ambitions.

1/5: Satellite surveillance has emerged as a critical frontier in India’s growing space defence strategy. And India’s 200-odd space tech startups are leading the charge, infusing creativity with cutting-edge technologies. 2/5: From surveillance to reconnaissance to anti-satellite systems, the private sector is upping the ante as India plans to fast-track the launch of 52 dedicated satellites for the Armed Forces.

We are live with Off The Cuff. You can follow our live tweets for a sneak peek in to the conversation.  Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari (Retd), former IAF chief in conversation with @ShekharGupta & @sneheshphilip.
Partners -  @hdfcmf, @TheQuorumClub, Arthaus Collective & @BurgoyneIndia #ThePrintOTC “The evolution of air power has been rapid. Air force is very sensitive to technology so every generation sees a huge leap in the capability of air power. Coming in close contact with adversaries is a thing of the past now,” Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari (Retd) said at #ThePrintOTC

1/5: As Operation Sindoor unfolded, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair emerged as the Chief of Information War of the night, separating fact from fiction and calling out old footage being rehashed and repurposed. 2/5: His all-night heroic effort on the frontlines of the disinformation war launched by Pakistan is being showered with praise. It’s a turn of events for the journalist who is perennially in the Right-wing propaganda machine’s line of fire.

1/5: FIITJEE made its humble beginnings from Delhi’s Kalu Sarai and with an IITian’s brain to help students crack India’s most prestigious exam that would open the gates of the IITs. 2/5: Now, this empire with a turnover of Rs 2,000 cr is crumbling, with a spate of FIRs being filed against it across cities, & staff alleging non-payment of salaries. For students already under the pressure of Board exams, their centres shutting is nothing short of a nightmare.

The perception of China as an adversarial, hostile and arrogant country is largely stereotypical and not based on looking at China as another culture. Like India, China too is a civilisation: Shyam Saran in conversation with @ShekharGupta at #ThePrintOTC @ShekharGupta China has a 'visual' culture where the ideogram, image and word are important, but in India, the sound is important. Much of our history is oral, and this contrast determines the prism through which you are looking at the rest of the world: Shyam Saran at #ThePrintOTC

Putin’s accomplishment will have been to accelerate the decline of Russia in general terms and quite probably the end of his attempt to recreate a former imperial rule, says defence analyst François Heisbourg @FHeisbourg at #ThePrintOTC @FHeisbourg No Ukrainian government whether in place or in exile — should the Russians manage to overthrow it — are going to work with Russia. Ukraine is, in a way, the new Poland, says defence analyst François Heisbourg @FHeisbourg at #ThePrintOTC

We don't allow our kids to talk to a stranger from the balcony...but do you know who's talking to your child on the internet or on the phone?: author and columnist @chetan_bhagat tells @ShekharGupta at #ThePrintOTC @chetan_bhagat @ShekharGupta Every child has a device in their pocket which is a gateway to their mind. Anybody with mala fide intentions can reach them...I feel we are not discussing it enough, says author and columnist @chetan_bhagat at #ThePrintOTC

Mumbai handled the pandemic better than other cities, says Amitav Ghosh @GhoshAmitav to @ShekharGupta in #ThePrintOTC @GhoshAmitav @ShekharGupta Every government around the world learnt the language of greenwashing says, Amitav Ghosh @GhoshAmitav to @ShekharGupta in #ThePrintOTC

“Weaponisng of Punjab has happened in the past. But the quantum of weapons that is coming in now is certainly disturbing,” @capt_amarinder tells @ShekharGupta in #ThePrintOTC “When it comes to national security, when it comes to securing Punjab, we are beyond political parties. It is the question of giving security to our people. India comes first. Other things come later,” @capt_amarinder tells @ShekharGupta in #ThePrintOTC

@vikramsampath @ShekharGupta "Western historians tell us Aurangzeb was a peace loving individual & protected more temples than he destroyed. This leads to a backlash from people who don't know how to respond intellectually so their responses get violent," @vikramsampath to @ShekharGupta in #ThePrintOTC @vikramsampath @ShekharGupta “Savarkar has hardly been academically analysed or studied. I am amazed by the singular lack of academic interest in him among historians, his political opponents or proponents," says @vikramsampath, author of 'Savarkar: A Contested Legacy', at #ThePrintOTC

Mainstream media led by two small group of virologists dismissed lab leak as a conspiracy; they were caught up in ideological struggles. Trump’s intervention was extremely unhelpful in polarising the issue: Nicholas Wade, author and journalist, tells @ShekharGupta #ThePrintOTC There are 2 theories-that it came naturally from animals, that it leaked from a lab. Both are hypotheses, there is no conclusion for either. Existing evidence is explained better by lab leak. Lab leak does not mean biowarfare: Wade sums up his argument #ThePrintOTC

EC orders FIRs over celebratory congregations in anticipation of poll victories

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West Bengal: TMC leading in 207, BJP in 81
Tamil Nadu: DMK+ leading in 147, AIADMK+ in 86
Kerala: LDF leading in 94, UDF in 45

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Five reasons why Mamata Banerjee is set to sweep Bengal despite a BJP surge

Madhuparna Das @Madhuparna_N reports

#ThePrintWB

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Visuals from a counting centre in Kerala’s Kannur. Counting of postal ballots will begin at 8am:

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Picture credit: ANI

bit.ly/3e7alYm Visuals from a counting centre in Guwahati. Exit polls have predicted a second term for the BJP in Assam.

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On 8 May, I took charge at 7 pm and held meetings till midnight. That evening we coined the term ‘Chase the Virus,’ @mybmc Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal tells @ShekharGupta at #ThePrintOTC I am a national level marathon runner, a swimmer and yoga instructor. I don’t feel fatigue, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal says at #ThePrintOTC