After brushing off the modicum challenge from United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the DP World Asia Cup 2025, the men in blue Twenty20 is girding up its loins to compete against Pakistan — always a marquee match that keeps the turnstiles busy. India is used to playing Pakistan at the Middle-East venue and the local fans — Indians and Pakistanis settled there for their bread and butter — have thronged the Dubai International Stadium to root for their team and rejoice or regret at the outcome. Dubai is assured of at least two high-octane matches between the Asian arch rivals — one in the group stage and one in the Super4 round robin — and the price of tickets for these matches are invariably on the steeper side, especially the high-end hospitality boxes. A few months ago, the fans supporting the men in blue had a gala time with Rohit Sharma’s team winning all matches, including against Pakistan, to win the ICC Champions Trophy. The privately-owned stadium has a capacity to hold around 35,000 spectators and squeeze in a couple of thousands more, and the tournament organisers would hope for a full house on Sunday (Sep 14) and create a high decibel sound befitting the occasion. The Twenty20 game would move with lighting speed and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav himself would go through the emotions of sporting the Captaincy cap for the first time against Pakistan whose captain is Salman Ali Agha. With stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan dropped for the tournament, Pakistan would look to be depleted, but as Agha said at the Captains’ presser, in Twenty20 anyone can win a game! But nerves can still play havoc on both teams.

To PM Narendra Modi’s clarion call, ‘Make in India’ may we add, Make for India. When the ideologically arid opposition protests lack of employment and opportunity, there are many products and services incubated by entrepreneurs who dream big and realise these dreams. Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe is one such successful dream that has fed thousands of hungry patrons growing by the day. Of course, one cannot easily forget the bomb blast there on March 1, 2024.  The café was founded by Raghavendra Rao and his wife Divya (a CA by profession) in 2021 as a quick service restaurant. The name ‘Rameshwaram’ was chosen by the founders to pay tribute to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam as it was his birthplace. Today it is Bengaluru’s landmark where the aroma of pure ghee roasted Dosas, cushion soft idlis, taste enhancer chutneys and filter coffee bring in droves from 6 am to 1 am and caters to people across all stratas. This veg south Indian fast food chain with a daily turnover of around Rs 5 crore reportedly commands a valuation of Rs 18,000 crore as its gross margin is 70%. More. It seems its hygiene and cleanliness also add to valuation. This fast chain is indeed giving tough competition to the likes of McDonalds, KFC, Burger King and many more. What is even more fascinating is the level of automation and the training of the chefs. The steaming boilers cook up to 500 mini idlis in one batch ..and the deftness of the chef who pours batter for 8 dosas at a time is a sight to watch .Rameshwaram Cafe is one of a kind …think global (in terms of automation tech, good quality, consistent service and fast delivery )and reach local. The Rao couple have built a shrewd food business with astuteness. It will not be surprising if they go for an IPO.

The shadow of Maratha agitation leader Manoj Jarange Patil continues to haunt and loom large over the Devendra Fadnavis government much after he wrapped up his fast in Mumbai and returned back home. Just when the Maharashtra government was breathing easy after having tackled Patil’s hunger strike, Patil is back with his threats after his bete noire Chhagan Bhujbal has demanded withdrawal or modification of the Government Resolution that had granted reservations for Marathas. While a natural backlash from the OBC community was expected as a natural reaction after yielding to the Maratha demand for reservation, the reaction is clearly overshadowing all other works that the state is doing. For Fadnavis, it has become a tightrope walk between pleasing the politically strong Marathas community or his own party’s support base of the OBC community. Soon after granting reservation to Marathas, a strong media blitzkrieg was launched in the state with front page advertisement campaigns splashed across mainline dailies emphasising Fadnavis as a personal brand addressing him as “Devabhau” or brother and showing him paying reverence to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Maratha idol. Funded by anonymous sources, this media campaign was viewed as an attempt by Fadnavis to cash in on the goodwill generated by the Maratha community. But the opposition from OBC community particularly from Bhujbal, belonging to NCP, has riled the Marathas, forcing them to launch a fresh salvo. Patil has now threatened that in case the government fails to implement the reservation by September 17, he would block supplies of essential commodities like dairy, vegetables to Mumbai and not let ministers walk free. Jarange too seems to have learnt his lessons from his 9th fast in Mumbai. He has figured out that the only way to get his issue sorted is by inconveniencing the high-profile residents of Mumbai.

In the run up to Tamil Nadu assembly elections early next year, Governor RN Ravi has announced to celebrate “Navratri Kolu” at the Raj Bhavan beginning from Sep 22-Oct 1. Kolu is a traditional way of celebrating Navratri in TN and across Tamil homes. It is interesting that Ravi, a Kerala cadre IPS officer who belongs to Bihar and has spent several years in the Intelligence Bureau before taking up gubernatorial assignments first in the North East (Nagaland) and now in TN, is popularising a Tamil tradition in the Raj Bhavan. He has thrown open doors of the Raj Bhavan to members of the public — inviting students, individuals and general public — to join the daily puja between 4-5 pm,and subsequently for an hour-long  cultural programme. Interested members have been asked to register with an X handle specially created for the specific purpose by the Raj Bhavan. With ruling DMK leaders like deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin openly issuing statements against sanatana dharma, it will be nice to see the kind of interest the invite generates among ordinary Chennai residents.

The ruling BJP-led NDA’s candidate CP Radhakrishnan’s (CPR) election win as the Vice-President of India with 452 votes did not come as a surprise. What did was the margin — 14 additional votes that went in his favour! There is much speculation from where the extra votes came in. It is believed that MPs from secular bloc — including those belonging to DMK — at least four of them had reportedly voted for him. CPR is known to have good ties with the DMK and had won Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat twice with DMK’s support. Besides the DMK, other parties’ MPs from the SP and AAP too voted for CPR. The NDA already had 427 votes. With the declared support of 11 YSRCP MPs, that number went up to 438. Besides these extra votes, there were 15 invalid votes — 10 from the NDA side and five from the Opposition. The Opposition candidate — B Surendra Reddy polled 300 votes, 15 short of the 315 votes polled in his favour. Meanwhile, the Congress officially mocked the BRS and BJD for boycotting the Veep election with a post on the X, “If you call them the B team of BJP, they take offense. What more proof is needed than this? What compulsion does BRS have that it won’t even vote for a Telugu candidate? And Naveen Babu, even after such a humiliating defeat, you haven’t stopped giving them support”. It is being said Telangana CM Revanth Reddy apparently played a role in ensuring that the BRS with four Rajya Sabha MPs boycott V-P poll. The BRS has been under pressure ever since the Revanth Reddy government ordered probe into irregularities in Kalleshwaram project, argued a state MP. However, privately Congress leaders will have to thank Revanth Reddy for keeping the BRS away from the NDA.  The Opposition candidate pick for V-P was Revanth Reddy’s choice.

If it’s September, action in the BCCI cannot be far away. Once in three years the 37 members of Cricket’s governing body elect a new set of office bearers and one from among themselves to the Apex Council for a term of three years.  Six years ago they elected former India captain Sourav Ganguly as President, and then in 2022, they chose the 1983 World Cup star Roger Binny. These were trailblazing moves, and with the BCCI AGM scheduled for September 28, rumours are rife about those calling the shots being inclined to favour a former cricketer for the top post. The name of Sachin Tendulkar has been going around for some time, but most of the BCCI members are clueless. Once the Committee of Administrators paved way for an elected body in 2019, the BCCI has been run by the Secretary’s office of which Jay Shah was at the helm; till late last year when he became the independent chair of the International Cricket Council. Until 2013 the BCCI was run by seasoned administrators like Jagmohan Dalmiya, Madhavrao Scindia, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, Inderjit Singh Bindra, Sharad Pawar, Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan. Where are such people, one may ask! Ganguly and Binny became the trend setters and there is every possibility of a cricketer — Tendulkar or anyone else — being anointed as the President. Ganguly represented the Cricket Association of Bengal and Binny, the Karnataka State Cricket Association at the BCCI AGM. A cricketer turned administrator Brijesh Patel missed the bus in 2019, with the BJP backing Ganguly to the hilt. The absence of a dynamic administrator may compel the BCCI to complete a hat-trick of famous cricketer-Presidents!

The task ahead for the state-owned aluminium behemoth, the National Aluminium Company (NALCO) is cut out, after it parted ways with Rio Tinto as it refused to share proprietary smelter technology. NALCO is now looking out for a new partner. Sources say finding a new partner will delay its 0.5 mtpa greenfield aluminium smelter plant by 6-8 months. The buzz is that at least two Chinese companies (GAMI and CHINALCO), a Russian major RUSAL and Dubai Aluminium Company are in the fray to bag the Rs 17,000 crore order to provide smelter technology. Interestingly, CHINALCO is also the single largest shareholder in Rio Tinto, a British-Australian MNC. All the four companies are keen to partner NALCO as it has chalked up ambitious expansion plans. Sources say, NALCO has plenty of options to pick up a global partner. For now, the speculation is NALCO aims to commission its aluminium smelter and captive power plant by 2030. The total cost of NALCO’s expansion plan is pegged at Rs 30,000 crore which includes new refineries, smelter, mine operations and captive power plants of 1080 MW. NALCO will use a mix of debt and internal accruals to fund the expansion besides, also exploring possibilities of roping in Coal India and NTPC for power plant projects.

A new formula for public agitations is likely to emerge following the conclusion of the Maratha reservation demand stir led by its proponent Manoj Jarange Patil in Mumbai. Thousands of his followers camped in the metropolis, paralysing south Mumbai activities. Tonnes of food and thousands of drinking water bottles started pouring into Mumbai to feed the protestors from all parts of Maharashtra. So much so that, after Jarange’s departure, it became a challenge for the civic authorities to dispose of the food stocks. Taking a cue, former MLA Bachchu Kadu has asked his followers to prepare for a similar agitation in the near future. Kadu has asked his followers in a Bhandara meeting that they should mobilise funding for arranging vehicles and carry five kilos of rice and wheat to prepare for staying over in Mumbai for a week or so. No timeline or even a specific plan has been announced by him though the possibility persists. Another major issue now is the Dharavi slum rehabilitation project, perhaps the largest such in the world. The Adani group is handling it. There are many complaints that the project affected people are not being given due justice. A Shiv Sena leader, Baburao Mane, has hinted of organising a mass protest on the lines of the Maratha agitation. He, too, is yet to outline a plan of action. However, it seems that a new formula for expressing opposition is emerging.

It seems Anil Agarwal-run Vedanta Group’s wait to mine nine million tonnes of bauxite annually to feed its Lanjigarh refinery in Odisha is now getting longer. That’s because the consent for giving the go ahead is in the hands of the local tribal community. This is evident because the Union Environment Ministry has postponed its decision on Vedanta’s proposal to divert over 700 hectares of Odisha forest for bauxite mining at Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. It may be mentioned that the Odisha High Court has made it clear that affected communities must be taken into confidence before giving clearance to Vedanta Group. Sources say, the key trigger for postponing decision making pertains to concerns raised by local tribes before the Odisha High Court. In fact, the Odisha High Court has flagged allegations of fraudulent Gram Sabha resolutions supporting Vedanta’s mining project. This is why the High Court is insisting on community consent before giving green signal.  Additionally, it also needs to settle issues concerning overlapping compensatory afforestation sites, submit detailed soil erosion control plans, address ecological concerns since the mining project falls under elephant’s habitat area which requires a secured pathway for elephant’s movements.

Inban Udhayanidhi is all of 20 years of age even as he moves in as CEO of Red Giant Movies, a production and distribution company, incubated and grown by his father Udhayanidhi Stalin, now deputy CM of Tamil Nadu. In just 17 years, Red Giant emerged as a near monopoly in terms of its scale and reach. Inba, as he is informally called by his closest friends, has the provenance of politics, power and privilege, a DNA soaked in cinematic and political wealth. WunderbarFilms and Don Pictures combined production, soon to be on screen, Idli Kadai directed and lead by Dhanush is the first film to be distributed under Inban Udhayanidhi’s watch. Don’t be irreverent to this banal title …Idli Kadai (idli shop). Dhanush is known to choose powerful themes and dramatic storytelling. Idli Kadai marketed and promoted by Red Giant is expected to strike that Midas touch too, with push and pull from this well-known political family. The news is that Inban is simultaneously being coached and trained in acting, another legacy from his father who could orchestrate his film and family status with agility. In a state where cinema and politics are de rigueur as environmental interests, Inba has his play station all mapped and pegged. Red Giant’s popularity hit a high in 2010 when all four of its distributed films… Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya, Madrasapattinam, Boss Engira Bhaskaran and Myna became popular hits. Since 2022, film promos could no longer use Udhayanidhi’s name as he was Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports. Inban Udhayanidhi inherited the reins. Ah, the inscrutable ways of destiny.