Why do two senior Congress leaders take opposite stands on the same issue? Does one do it to please Rahul Gandhi, or does the other want to show he thinks independently on the matter? A day after P Chidambaram questioned the tangible benefits India has gained from recent BRICS Summits, saying he had not seen any significant outcomes from the last two or three meetings, his party colleague and MP Shashi Tharoor said that the grouping shows India’s “diplomatic convening power”. Speaking ahead of the BRICS Summit in Delhi, Tharoor called the summit an important platform for the Global South. Tharoor highlighted the importance of the BRICS Summit and said the 11 BRICS countries represent a majority of the world’s population and 41% of global GDP. Saying it is no small matter, he said the rest of the world must take it very seriously. Earlier, Chidambaram talked about the BRICS Summit 2026 in Delhi and questioned what concrete benefits the country has received from it. He said he doesn’t know how many Presidents and how many Prime Ministers are coming, but he doesn’t think the last two or three BRICS Summits have delivered tangible benefits or results for India. However, the BJP lashed out at Chidambaram and called him part of the “naraaz phupha” lot (angry uncle as described by Modi) who can’t digest India’s growth and development. India assumed the BRICS chairmanship for the fourth time on January 1, with its 2026 presidency driven by the theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. Among the delegates are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and several other global leaders who have come to Delhi to attend the summit. It is being said the Congress is upset that Chinese President Xi is also attending BRICS summit. And the party felt left out of the loop.

Following bilateral talks at Bharat Mandapam, PM Modi and President Putin travelled together in an armoured Aurus Senat limousine to the INNOPROM industrial exhibition on September 11, marking their fourth shared ride within a year. Normally, talks between top leaders usually happen across negotiating tables. It was the same “Aurus Senat” car that made headlines after Modi rode in it with Putin during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China in September 2025. The two leaders have used cars for secret negotiations. Putin shares car rides — often dubbed “carplomacy”— to showcase their strong personal bond and hold private, uninterrupted discussions. Travelling together creates the world’s secure private room away from aides and officials, allowing the two leaders to speak candidly about major geopolitical updates or sensitive matters. It is uncommon for PM Modi to travel with a foreign dignitary in the same vehicle, but an exception was again made for Putin who visited India for the first time in four years. Back in September 2025, during the SCO Summit in Tianjin (China), the two were seen travelling together in Putin’s bulletproof car, drawing widespread global attention. Later, Putin said, “The car ride with Modi was my idea. It was a symbol of our friendship. We talked throughout the drive; there’s always something to discuss. We even sat inside the car for quite some time afterwards.” Modi has shared car rides with a few foreign leaders in the past, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe during a 2017 roadshow, and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a 2024 roadshow. Putin last visited India in December 2025 for the India-Russia summit, but it will be his first in-person participation at a BRICS Summit outside Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.

Pune, the seat of the vast Maratha empire, continues to hit headlines, mostly for wrong reasons. However, an observation by the Bombay High Court on Friday (Sept 11) has somehow restored Pune’s pride and pleased its tippler community immensely. The bench has castigated the Pune district administration for imposing an arbitrary liquor sales ban for the duration of the Ganesh festival. Already, the administration has banned the use of DJ sound systems and laser beams during the famous public celebration of the festival, ending September 26. That restriction has been welcomed all around. However, the liquor ban was immediately challenged by the wine shop owners while those enjoying a swig or two were waiting patiently for divine intervention. It has come from the HC, which said that the ban is an arbitrary decision. The bench has queried why only Pune has been singled out. It noted that Mumbai and other areas have no such restrictions. The court observed the ban unfairly portrays Pune residents as troublemakers after drinking. The judges remarked that stopping alcohol for 10 days could cause medical issues and flood hospitals with habitual drinkers. The Bench was headed by newly appointed Chief Justice M C Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna. The Petitioners are hotel and wine shop owner associations, who unitedly rose to challenge the Pune district collector’s order. The HC has asked the authorities to withdraw the ban or face direct judicial intervention.

Odisha has now broken into NITI Aayog’s top five most competitive investment destination today. It has scored 52.4 points lagging behind Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Goa. NITI Aayog is all in praise for Odisha because of its policy reforms, abundant natural resources in the mineral sector accounting for nearly 50% of India’s mineral production. Apart from this NITI Aayog has also praised Odisha’s prudent fiscal management measures, logistics infrastructure, low interest payment and incorporating strong fiscal management processes. It has praised Odisha’s prompt business registration processes, affordable industrial parks for startups and aggressively pursuing industrial expansion. The big news is NITI Aayog has now recommended Bhadrakh to set up the next international airport. Objective is to ease pressure on Bhubaneswar including improved road and rail connectivity, expanding port access to Dhamra and having single window system for it’s air and sea cargo. NITI Aayog is also pushing Odisha to rev up its inadequate inland warehousing capacity, container depot stations and improving overall transport connectivity in the state henceforth. It has advised the state government to incorporate single window system for its air and sea cargo and faster allocation of industrial land by IDCO. As per NITI Aayog, Odisha needs to simplify its rules and making administrative process faster welcoming new businesses. Odisha Industry Minister Sampad Charan Swain said “Odisha is no longer just a resource rich state – it’s now getting ready to the demands of modern industrial hub”.

The usual buzz around the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is noticeably absent. But the Supreme Court’s opinion on the National Sports Governance Act 2025 vis-à-vis the BCCI and its members should spark discussion at the AGM. Though not on the lengthy agenda, members will be anxious to know the BCCI’s view on the matter. Another interesting time awaits the BCCI and its members. So far, the ejection of the Baroda Cricket Association, and Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (the BCCI President Mithun Manhas was elected from this State) from the AGM, arising from objections raised by the respective associations’ members, has failed to stir the hornet’s nest, so to speak. The BCCI’s AGM will be held at the Cricket Centre in Mumbai on September 18, and the Election Officer has drawn a list of 29 eligible members to attend. Apart from Baroda and Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Meghalaya will be absent for other reasons. Seven years ago, the Supreme Court allowed the three government departments (Indian Railways, Services and All India Universities) to attend the AGM and vote. Still, none of the three has found a way to nominate a cricketer to attend the AGM. With the new governance structure coming into effect from 2019, when the BJP backed Sourav Ganguly, not Brijesh Patel, for the post of President, BCCI AGMs have been mundane affairs. It will be the same a few days from now. The BCCI has not given any hints of disturbing the men’s Senior selection committee; it probably wants the Committee to run until next year’s ICC men’s World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

PM Narendra Modi is not someone who will easily let his critics think he has lost his connection with the youth — because of the rise of a new brand of student leaders upset with the system. So, on September 5, Modi returned to Delhi’s 100-year-old Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), 13 years after his first high-profile address there as Gujarat CM. He used the occasion to deliver something more than a political speech. It was part economic defence, part political broadside, and part appeal to India’s teachers and young people to think beyond the classroom. The SRCC,   founded in 1926, was celebrating its centenary, bringing together generations of students, teachers and alumni. Modi used the occasion to draw a dramatic contrast between the India he encountered at the college in 2013 and the India that exists today. At the centre of his argument was the latest growth number: India’s economy expanded by 7.8% in the first quarter of 2026. Modi presented the figure as evidence of economic resilience at a particularly difficult moment, with war and instability in West Asia disrupting trade, energy markets and global confidence. Modi wanted the students to see the contrast for themselves. His message was essentially this: judge the transformation not merely by political rhetoric but by where the country was in 2013 and where it stands today. That comparison is central to Modi’s political narrative. His government, he argued, replaced what he called “policy paralysis” with “policy dynamism”. Whether Modi’s SRCC address will work depends heavily on which audience is evaluating it. As a core piece of political messaging, it aims to reinforce his economic track record and capture the imagination of Gen Z voters.  More importantly, the BJP cadres are upbeat that Modi has shown he is in full command.

India now has its second medical breakthrough everyone wished for (after Metformin). What if a drug waved a magic wand and transformed a person from fat and frumpy to slim and svelte, without the heartbreak of punishing diets and endless gym visits? When U.S.-based Novo Nordisk launched the wondrous Ozempic—a semaglutide used to treat Type 2 diabetes as well as reduce cardiovascular and kidney disease risks—the world sat up in excitement and anticipation. Is the Holy Grail for weight loss finally in our hands? A landmark white paper published by the Leonard D Schaefer Center for Health Policy & Economics at the University of Southern California highlights that highly effective obesity treatments are now available. Yet, in an ironic twist, the U.S.—which has a very high obesity rate—makes only 1% of its obese population eligible for treatment coverage. Research offers remarkable evidence that treating obesity directly yields immense trickle-down benefits, projecting an estimated $1 trillion in overall healthcare savings over the next 10 years, including $245 billion for the federal taxpayer during the first decade of coverage. In India, often dubbed the diabetes capital of the world, Eli Lilly launched its own weight-loss drug, Mounjaro, to compete alongside Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic. These drugs, originally intended to treat Type 2 diabetes, also suppress appetite by slowing gastric emptying. The rich, heavy fare of big Indian weddings can no longer tempt someone to overeat past the point of satiety. As social media catapults Ozempic to the top of weight-loss trends, Medicare and insurance providers must crunch the cost-benefit numbers to evaluate expanding coverage beyond just Type 2 diabetes.

Political analysts in Chennai were quite taken aback by the public reception to Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s speech in the state assembly on September 7 when he made a stinging attack on the DMK leadership. He had after all only pieced together old corruption stories and narrated them. So “why make a big deal?” was their dismissive reaction. We’ll tell you what’s new about it. Clearly, the younger generation was not clued into these old stories. The beauty of what Vijay did was to string all the old deeds of DMK crimes or pearls of action together and serve them with fire and brimstone to his audience.”Ennadhu, ivlo corrupta!” is the reaction he wanted from his virtual warriors and Gen Z supporters. The DMK thought the Sarkaria Commission story was long forgotten. The party had also assumed its MISA sacrifice during the Emergency would never be pooh-poohed. They never, in their wildest imagination, expected to be called out for taking commissions in the name of a “party fund”. For the first time Vijay dared to change rules of the game. Now that Thalapathy has given them the synopsis, the faithful will add their mirch-namak and make it spicier. The mythology of DMK corruption will reach every nook and corner. Honestly, the DMK doesn’t know how to react. The AIADMK, being a pangali or partner in crime, never gave them a hard time. TVK is a very different kettle of fish. They’re out to paint the DMK as “thooya sakthi” (evil force). How is the DMK going to come out of this phase? No one in the party knows.  

Succession planning has a nice ring to it and its importance is discussed ad nauseam by all the CEOs. But when it comes to practice many seem to shy away. In recent times we are getting the taste of it in private sector banks — HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Interestingly succession planning and governance issue was flagged by the then Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das way back in May 2023 where in a meeting with the boards of both state-run and private banks he talked about governance, ethics, the role of the boards and supervisory expectations. This is what makes Business Standard story titled “Bank boardrooms miss succession memo” written by Consulting Editor Raghu Mohan very interesting. He nails it when he says, “Mint Road’s direction in October 2023 that private banks must have at least two whole-time directors (WTD), including the MD and CEO, was to take care of succession. But the problem continues. This came to the fore with the sudden exits of Sumant Kathpalia at IndusInd Bank, and Srikrishnan Hara Hara Sarma at Karnataka Bank. Prior the circular, hiccups were caused when Shikha Sharma moved out at Axis Bank, Chanda Kochhar at ICICI Bank and Rana Kapoor at Yes Bank. Even in the case of both Aditya Puri at HDFC Bank and Ramesh Sobti at IndusInd Bank, finding their successors took time. While neither of them had formally sought an extension, back-channel talks with RBI were done. This was on whether the age limit for WTDs on private boards could be raised to 75 years from 70 to bring it in alignment with the Companies Act (2013).”

On September 5, former DMK minister R Gandhi while addressing a public meeting in Kanchipuram, the silk city, openly described the Tamil Nadu’s electorate as 1.79 crore “muttaalgal” (fools) in chaste Tamil. There was nothing soft or silky in his open condemnation of what he thought of those who had pole-vaulted TVK and Vijay to the top position. Is it a case of act in revengeful hate/haste, repent and rue in leisure? Has Gandhi overstepped the democratic right to express his frank opinion or is he culpable of insulting the state’s voters who did their rightful and free democratic duty? The jury is still out on this….in fact the jury is yet to be formed, as parties and polemics need strategy to get on and gain with alliances or lose out as critics. What led to Gandhi’s caustic comment? The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC had conducted lightning raids on former DMK Minister K N Nehru’s office and residence, a move quickly and predictably protested as witch-hunts by the new government to cut Nehru, a veteran of political manoeuvring and muscle flexing. Is Nehru taking on the TVK in the assembly? Gandhi as the spokesperson derides …“Is it a state legislative assembly ? 110 days and what has the reel government done? This party climbed into the top seat because 35 % foolish people who cannot discriminate between reel cinema and realpolitik voted for them to bring a change.”