Today's Big StoryCentre to form committee to look into 'One Nation, One Election' issue
PM Narendra Modi will be forming a panel to examine threadbare the issue of 'One Nation, One Election' following Wednesday's all-party meeting. Most parties that attended the meeting, barring the left parties, are said to have extended their support to the proposal of simultaneous polls.In attendance: Rajnath Singh confirmed that only 21 out of the 40 leaders invited had attended the meeting. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati, Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal and Telangana Rashtra Samithi's K Chandrashekar Rao were among the top leaders who stayed away from the meeting.Running into oppn: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi bats for the proposal it is facing stiff opposition against separate bypolls on two Rajya Sabha seats, previously held by Smriti Irani and Amit Shah, with the Gujarat Congress filing a Supreme Court petition against the EC's move.In Other NewsTariff wars continue: The United States has told India it is considering caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally widening the two countries' row over tariffs and trade. The move comes days ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to New Delhi and after India imposing higher tariffs on some US goods.Chennai’s water crisis: Hotels in Chennai are rationing water for guests amid searing heat while companies limit showers as the city of 4.6 million faces its worst shortage in years. All four reservoirs that supply Chennai have run dry this summer, largely because of poor monsoon rains last year.Lok Sabha speaker: Kota MP Om Birla was on Wednesday unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Opposition assuring him of their whole-hearted support in the smooth conduct of proceedings in the House.Cong-JD(S) woes: Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy has said he is “in pain" every day but has the responsibility of running the government smoothly. This is not the first time the chief minister has expressed his displeasure with the ruling dispensation.Dhawan bids adieu: An emotional Shikhar Dhawan said that the "show must go on" without him at the ongoing World Cup after the India opener was ruled out of the showpiece event due to a thumb fracture on Wednesday. Dhawan will be replaced by wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.On Our SpecialsGroundwater woes: India is in the grips of an unprecedented water crisis with a majority of its western areas reeling under drought-like conditions. Despite several political leaders, including Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Shekhawat, claiming that the scarcity is a media-created hype, taps are running dry in both rural and urban parts of the country including metro cities such as Chennai. Apart from the recent heatwave, depleting groundwater levels are among the reasons for the diminished supply in these areas. Read Angana Chakrabarti's report to find out more.Effective counter?: The fifth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog held in New Delhi on June 15 gave a new visible thrust on water. On one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed water only second to “the goal of making India a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2014", and on the other, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot placed the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP). Aditya Sharma looks at how the canal project is the test the Centre must pass to show its commitment towards the water crisis issue.Understanding Encephalitis: The death toll due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) has climbed to 140 in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. But while the mounting deaths have underscored the continued unpreparedness of the state health infrastructure to tackle AES, doctors admit that lack of knowledge and research into the disease continues to be the biggest stumbling block on the ground. Read Aniruddha Ghoshal’s explainer to find out more.On Reel
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