Jagdeep Dhankhar has left the building

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

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Jagdeep Dhankhar has left the building

The Vice President has spent most of his three-year tenure as Rajya Sabha Speaker driving the Opposition batty. Dhankhar wore his party loyalty on his sleeve—with zero pretence at neutrality. So it’s a bit ironic that his sacking has earned him so many fans among BJP rivals—all who want to know: Why did Dhankhar have to go?

The announcement: On Monday, Dhankhar issued an unexpected statement announcing his resignation, citing poor health. This was 11 days after declaring he would “retire at the right time in August 2027 (when his term ends), subject to divine intervention.”

The ugly exit: There will be no goodbye party. In fact, Dhankhar has been immediately banned from entering the Rajya Sabha—and will not be allowed a farewell speech. Our usually eloquent PM offered up this ice-cold tweet: “Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has got many opportunities to serve our country in various capacities, including as the Vice President of India. Wishing him good health.”

An unnamed BJP MP told The Telegraph, “What went so wrong suddenly is not clear, but the Prime Minister’s social media post indicates something very serious. It reeks of disgust and anger at Dhankhar.” Haw.

Cue the Oppo outrage: Dhankhar instead was flooded with statements of support from BJP rivals—eager to stir the pot and conspiracy theories.

Yeh kya hua? According to most reports, the immediate cause is a hissy fit over the impeachment of former Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma for corruption. Varma made headlines in March—when a fire at his New Delhi residence uncovered stacks of cash.

On Monday—the first day of the Monsoon session—Dhankhar accepted a notice submitted by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha seeking his impeachment. The government was furious because it had been busy collecting signatures for a similar notice in Lok Sabha—from all parties to make it look like a bipartisan move. How dare he scuttle his party’s plan:

So this move from Dhankhar, sources in the BJP said, was “unexpected, shocking and confusing”. A top source in the government said: “He did not even wait for our notice on the matter.”

Other reports say the government “was upset because it had taken a strong stand on corruption in the judiciary and Mr Dhankhar's move risked diluting its leadership on the issue.”

The fallout: According to The Hindu, “sources said the matter led to a heated exchange of words between officials in the Rajya Sabha Chairperson’s office and government functionaries.” Dhankhar posted his resignation letter that very night—Modi-ji acknowledged it the next day.

Wait, what? Really? Well, there’s been discussion of a deeper rift over Dhankhar’s excessive criticism of the judiciary. Specifically, his willingness to entertain an impeachment motion against another High Court judge—one more simpatico with the government’s politics:

While seeking to uphold the supremacy of Parliament and to draw a line of acceptable conduct for the judiciary, he entertained an Opposition move to impeach Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court who had made communally charged remarks in public. Mr. Dhankhar acknowledged receiving a motion signed by over 50 MPs for Justice Yadav’s removal and said he was verifying their signatures.

As for other theories: Some say it’s a move to elevate Bihar CM—and key ally—Nitish Kumar, ahead of the state election. But that seems like a stretch.

What’s next: While the Constitution mandates that the president’s gaddi should not remain vacant for more than six months—-there is no such rule for VPs. The Rajya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman will preside over the house for now. The VP is elected only by members of both Houses of Parliament—the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha—through a secret ballot and under the supervision of the Election Commission. The government is expected to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

Reading list: Indian Express and Times of India have a blow-by-blow account of the exit. The Hindu explains Article 67a invoked by Dhankhar to voluntarily give up his post. The Telegraph looks at the cold shoulder he received from the party—and why.

Will India become the AI back office to the world?

The red-hot wars between big tech companies to poach top talent in AI have had an unexpected benefit for India’s IT sector. The eye-watering salaries have forced many multinationals to turn to India instead—especially companies that are not in the tech industry.

Enter, Global Capability Centres: A GCC is basically a high-end back office that handles everything from IT and finance to advanced analytics and R&D. India already has around 3,000 GCCs—and they’re growing fast:

Several groups including McDonald’s and UK insurer Bupa have unveiled plans in recent months to establish so-called global capability centres, which can perform a wide range of big-data tasks such as remotely monitoring fridge temperatures and offering customers personalised recommendations. The centres represent a shift for India’s back offices from providing support services to performing core competitive functions that directly affect companies’ profitability.

In other words, these ain’t call centres! In fact, these GCCs are slated to be R&D hubs—where cutting edge tech is developed and channeled back to the rest of the world.

Data point to note: In 2010, India’s back-office biz employed 400,000 people and brought in $11.5 billion. By 2024, it had ballooned to 1.8 million employees and $65 billion in revenue. That number is expected to hit $100 billion by 2030.

The big hitch: For all the talk about India’s “availability of deep, scalable AI expertise”—our IT sector has been struggling to move up the value chain. Some problems are deep-rooted. For example, only 18% of Indian engineering grads are employable in the software sector and only 17% of IT workers have the skills needed for AI jobs:

[A] lack of digital and physical infrastructure outside India’s biggest cities remained a challenge, [a leading GCC expert] said, and “the more urgent concern” was investment in training and retaining workers. “Otherwise we risk losing ground to emerging global hubs like eastern Europe.”

The big picture: The GCCs offer India a very real, giant-sized opportunity to enter the AI game—which would be very difficult otherwise:

GCCs could be the answer to India’s AI conundrum. While the country boasts one of the world’s largest pools of technology workers, it has struggled to catch up to the US and China on innovation. The centres could give India a leg-up because they have access to resources from the global companies, such as large language models for training AI products, said Rohan Lobo, Deloitte’s south Asia lead for GCCs.

Financial Times (splainer gift link) has the latest reporting. Economic Times has more on a recent report on Indian GCCs. Our Big Story has more background into the state of India’s IT in the era of artificial intelligence.

RIP Ozzy Osbourne: ‘Iron Man’ of heavy metal

Ozzy Osbourne has passed away at the age of 76—just two weeks after performing at his farewell show with his band Black Sabbath in their hometown, Birmingham. Osbourne sold over 100 million albums across his 55-year career—as part of Sabbath and as a solo artist. He suffered several health problems, and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019. You can check out his last performance here—but we will always cherish Ozzy and Co. at their peak—performing ‘Paranoid’ at the 1970 Top of the Pops, which you can see below.

Also our favourite: Ozzy giving parental advice to his teenage daughter on gynaecologists. Yes, the Prince of Darkness was a brilliant reality star as well. See the vid below. The Guardian has the obituary.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Microsoft is fixing the bug in its SharePoint software which is being actively exploited by hackers for cyberattacks.
Tesla’s retro-futuristic diner officially opened on Monday in Hollywood. Musk has set his eyes on more locations for the restaurant and charging station.
The age of ChatGPT is upon us: Users around the world send more than 2.5 billion prompts a day to the chatbot.
Coca-Cola says it will roll out a new cane sugar version of Coke this fall—days after Trump called on the company to ditch high fructose corn syrup.
To fight dating app fatigue among Gen Z, some platforms are now offering in-person chats and double dates instead of endless swiping and texting.

sports & entertainment

The new song 'Powerhouse' from Rajinikanth’s upcoming film 'Coolie' has fans buzzing over its 'Breaking Bad' references—including lines like “Say My Name” and “You’re Goddamn Right.”

health & environment

A new study warns against the popular sweetener erythritol—which is found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks and has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. The new research says erythritol may damage cells in the brain.
Financial Times reports that Shell and other major energy firms have walked away from a global climate group after a draft plan asked them to stop developing new oil and gasfields—leading to the pause of a ‘net zero’ emissions standard.
Economic Times has a good read on how India is becoming both a significant market for novel anti-obesity drugs as well as the production hub for their affordable versions.
Speaking of, a new review of clinical trial data shows that people start regaining weight just eight weeks after stopping weight-loss drugs—with the gain continuing for months before levelling off around week 26.
A new study shows Google’s Android Earthquake Alerts system is now helping 2.5 billion people in 98 countries get warnings seconds before a quake hits—using just the sensors in their smartphones.
Tobacco companies and alcohol companies have shifted from traditional advertising to hawking their wares in the metaverse. As the real world bans smoking in public spaces, people are getting their vapes on in the virtual universe.

meanwhile, in the world

The Harvard Educational Review (HER) has abruptly cancelled the publication of a Palestine-focused journal—in the latest case of censorship of pro-Palestine voices on elite college campuses.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that Israel attacked its Gaza-based premises three times on Monday.
Israeli forces have also expanded their operations into Deir al-Balah—a city in central Gaza that had largely been spared until now.
Thousands took to the streets in Kyiv to protest President Zelensky’s efforts to weaken anti-corruption bodies—marking Ukraine’s first major anti-government rally since the war with Russia began.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has hinted that the August 12 deadline for a trade deal with China could be pushed.
Trump says the US has struck a trade deal with the Philippines—including a 19% tariff on imports from Manila—but, as with many of his announcements, the details are vague and the Philippines hasn’t confirmed it.
An Indian man working in Dublin has been beaten up in a racist attack by a gang of male teenagers—who falsely accused him of inappropriate behaviour with children.
The Washington Post has shaken up its “third newsroom” WP Ventures—putting it under business leadership and cutting it off from the main newsroom—as it scrambles to tackle falling revenues.
In other media news, NPR’s editor-in-chief Edith Chapin is stepping down—just days after Congress voted to pull federal funding from public media.
Nearly 3,000 employees—including its director—have left NASA amidst a 25% budget cut.

meanwhile, in India

The Election Commission says it has removed 52 lakh names from Bihar’s voter list—citing deaths, migration, or duplication—and told the Supreme Court it has the power to verify both voters’ identity and citizenship, amid growing concerns the ongoing special intensive revision process could disenfranchise people.
A government audit tabled in Parliament shows that over 90% of workers who died while cleaning sewers in 2022 and 2023 weren’t given basic safety gear—many had nothing more than a pair of gloves, if that.
The Supreme Court has refused to pause the QR code rule for eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route—ordering all hotels in UP and Uttarakhand to display their licences and registration papers.
Air India says it has finished safety checks on fuel switch locks in its Boeing 787 and 737 planes—after the DGCA ordered inspections following the AI171 crash last month—and found no problems.
The Hindu has a good read on the challenges faced by women pilgrims like Munni Devi and Kiran Devi during the male-dominated Kanwar Yatra—facing not just the physical demands, but also the lack of basic facilities like changing rooms and washrooms.

Three things to see

One: The British Navy’s F-35B aircraft—which made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14 due to a technical snag—is finally on its way back home—after completing repairs and safety checks. A reminder: The plane was the butt of many jokes and conspiracy theories—such as this Kerala tourism department promo captioned: “Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave.”

Curiouser still, the $110 million jet was being guarded around the clock by six officers from the Royal Air Force. You can read more about that in BBC News. See the takeoff below. (Deccan Herald)

Two: Venus Williams is back! The 45-year-old tennis legend has returned to competitive tennis after a gap of 16 months—playing doubles alongside Hailey Baptiste. The pair have reached the quarterfinals of the DC Open, after beating Clervie Ngounoue and the retiring Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-1. In celebration of the win, Venus even did her signature twirl—which you can see below. The legend followed that up with "becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis," by defeating 23-year-old Peyton Stearns. (CNN)

Three: Construction workers in Manipur have unearthed empty cases, water bottles, a grenade, shells, spades, and tin cans—from the Second World War. More specifically, officials think it belonged to the soldiers of the Allied forces—who fought in the historic Battle of Imphal in 1944—which stopped the Japanese advance into India. More than 54,000 Japanese troops and 12,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded. You can see the items below. (The Telegraph)