1. TN Cinemas Shut Down
Moviegoers in Tamil Nadu aren’t happy. Over a thousand movie theatres in the state, including both multiplexes and single screens, have pulled down their shutters since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime came into force on 1 July.
But wait, are the cinema hall owners angry with the GST?
Not exactly.
Here’s what they are upset about. Taxes up to 58% on movie tickets, in a state where the current price cap for a ticket is Rs 120. Yep, you read that right.
Read the full story here.
2. Does the GST Helpline Work?
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Monday said that the GST rollout has been “hassle-free” and “smooth”. Since the week has started and the “biggest tax reform” in the country has finally become applicable, we had tonnes of questions about it. That’s why we decided to call up the GST help desk.
Read the full story here.
3. Modi is First Indian PM to Visit Israel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will create history by becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to ever visit the Jewish state of Israel when he touches down at Tel Aviv on 4 July.
Modi is on a three-day visit to commemorate 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He will hold talks on key areas of cooperation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu and Modi have already met twice on foreign soil on the sidelines of UN- related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone.
Read the full story here.
4. When Harry Met Sejal “Beech Beech Mein”
A new song from Jab Harry Met Sejal is here to make things more interesting for all Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma fans. Sung by Arijit Singh and released late on Monday night by Sony Music, the song has a catchy tune, abreast with the contemporary music circuit.
While producers called it a ‘party song’ ahead of the release, do you think this could be your next jam?
Read the full story here.
5. What is Nitish Kumar’s Political Strategy?
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U was the first among the opposition parties to lend support to the NDA's Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind, a former Bihar Governor. This came as a major blow to the Opposition.
Days after that, he purportedly said during a party meeting that the Congress alone was to be blamed for the current mess in the opposition ranks.
Downplaying his comments, Kumar on Monday said that he was not in the race to become the Prime Minister in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and that the state's ruling Grand Alliance was very much intact.
Read the full story here.
6. The Quint and BBC Hindi Fight Fake News
Unwittingly, we as readers, as social media sharers, as curious and concerned citizens, become tools in the dissemination process – through a trusted peer-to-peer system of share and retweet. We are all zipping around on the same digital highway, bombarded with content. It is no longer the conventional “one-to-many” communication model, but an explosion of content simultaneously, relentlessly generated across countless platforms.
This is war. It is now time to multiply our forces. Time for newsrooms to collaborate, not compete.
It is with this view that BBC Hindi and The Quint are together embarking on a mission we’re calling Swachh Digital India.
We’re setting out to find ways in we can educate newsrooms and readers to be alert to fake news. To find easy, accessible ways to seek out the facts and to reach out to readers, citizen journalists and tech gurus to be part of this fight.
Read the full story here.
Video Producer: Sonal Gupta
Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)