This Week in Explainers: Why India should celebrate the Gaganyaan test flight

Israel, Israel and Israel. We have completed two weeks of the deadly Israel-Hamas war – the toll has climbed to more than 4,000 people on both sides – and no one knows when it’s going to end. However, it’s not the only news that got us all worked up this week.

Away from the glare of the war, big and significant events took place in India that caught our attention. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conducted its first test flight for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission, there was also the same-sex marriage verdict delivered by the Supreme Court, which left many LGBTQ+ members and allies disappointed.

Drama also caught up with Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in the cash for query scandal after a business tycoon alleged in an affidavit that she had granted him access to her Parliamentary login and allowed him to ask questions in lieu of buying her expensive luxury items and arranging logistics for her travels.

As we sit back over the weekend, and try to unwind, here’s a deep dive into the political drama embroiling Mahua Moitra, the Indians involved in the Israel war and the same-sex marriage verdict that denies marriage equality in India.

1. ISRO has had many successes in the recent past; it successfully landed Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s South Pole, becoming only to do and the fourth to land on the lunar surface. On Saturday (21 October), they attained success after conducting a test with the aim of ultimately launch an Indian astronaut into space, through the Gaganyaan mission.

The Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) is to demonstrate the performance of the Crew Escape System of the Gaganyaan project. However, it was ‘put on hold’ five seconds from its scheduled launch owing to an ignition problem. But ISRO ‘identified and corrected’ the issue and had a successful take-off.

2. India isn’t just making strides in the space sector. We are on the fast track when it comes to rail travel too. On Friday (20 October), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail Transport System (RRTS). For those wondering what is the RRTS and how is it any different from the Metro or existing railway systems, we have you covered here.

With this new network, rail travel is expected to be faster – travel time between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot will be 12 minutes, which would usually take around 30-35 minutes by road.

3. However, there was some disappointment in the nation when the Supreme Court refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. Hearing a clutch of petitions, the five-judge Bench – comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, and SK Kaul – said it is beyond the court’s scope and should be decided by Parliament, but emphasised that queer relationships should not face discrimination by the state.

There was a silver lining in the judgment, though. The court in its verdict said that state governments could draft amendments to the Special Marriage Act to allow for unions between same-sex couples in the absence of a central law.

4. This week also saw TMC’s Mahua Moitra in the spotlight. A political storm has erupted after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused the TMC leader of “asking questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts” from a businessman. Moitra denied the allegations, terming them as “defamatory, false, baseless and not supported by even a shred of evidence”.

However, the scandal took a turn for the worst when Darshan Hiranandani, CEO of the real estate and infrastructure company Hiranandani Group, claimed in an affidavit that the firebrand MP had shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with him in order to allow him to ask questions in lieu of expensive gifts. He further alleged that she received support from others in this effort, including journalists, Opposition leaders and former Adani Group employees, who fed her unverified information. Read all about his explosive claims (here) and how the TMC MP responded.

5. The Israel-Hamas war took a turn for the worst in the week when a bomb exploded over a hospital in Gaza, killing over 500 people, though US intelligence pegs the toll at 100-300. As the situation deteriorates in Gaza, India has been keeping a close eye on war, repatriating over 1,000 citizens from Israel. But what about the Indians in Gaza? Our explainer tells us the worsening situation in the Strip and of the presence of Indians there.

6. Winter is here and that means one thing: deteriorating air pollution. While the northern part of the country is usually the victim of poor air quality, it was Mumbai, the financial capital, which suffered from bad air conditions. But why is Maximum City shrouded in smog? We give you the answers here.

If you like how we break down the big headlines and give you the inside track, here’s where you can read up on our other explainers.