Report Claims India Underestimated Pakistan's Missiles During Op Sindoor; No Objections Received To Bihar Draft Electoral List Yet; And More

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Report claims Indian Rafale Downed Due To Intelligence Failure On Pakistani Missile Range

A new report from a UK-based news platform suggests that the Indian Air Force (IAF) may have underestimated the range of Pakistan’s J-10C fighters armed with Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles during the aerial engagement on 7 May, the early hours of Operation Sindoor.

According to the report, officials from both India and Pakistan confirmed that the loss of the Rafale jet was not due to a technical flaw in the aircraft, but rather an “Indian intelligence failure concerning the range of the China-made PL-15 missile fired by the J-10 fighter.”

Indian pilots reportedly believed they were flying outside the engagement envelope of the Pakistani missiles, assessing the PL-15’s range to be around 150 kilometres — consistent with known figures for the missile’s export variant. However, that estimation appears to have been significantly off the mark.

“The faulty intelligence gave the Rafale pilots a false sense of confidence they were out of Pakistani firing distance," the report says.

“The PL-15 that hit the Rafale was fired from around 200 km (124.27 mi) away, according to Pakistani officials, and even farther according to Indian officials. That would make it among the longest-range air-to-air strikes recorded,” it adds.

Till the time of writing, there was no official response from the Indian government or the military to the said report. 

Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump once again claimed over the weekend of 2-3 August that it was he who 'ended the war' between India and Pakistan' and had in fact settled one war every month since coming to office.

Arun Jaitley's Son Demands Apology as He Rebutts Rahul Gandhi's Allegation Over Farm Laws

Following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that the late Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had threatened him over opposition to the farm laws, Jaitley’s son, Rohan Jaitley, issued a sharp rebuttal.

Speaking on 2 August, Rahul Gandhi claimed at Congress’s annual legal conclave: “I remember when I was fighting the farm laws, Arun Jaitley ji was sent to me to threaten me. He told me, ‘If you carry on opposing the government, fighting the farm laws, we will have to act against you.’ I … said, ‘I don’t think you know who you are talking to.’”

Rohan Jaitley responded swiftly, noting that his father died in 2019, while the farm laws were introduced in 2020: “Rahul Gandhi now claims my late father, Arun Jaitley, threatened him over the farm laws. Let me remind him, my father passed away in 2019. The farm laws were introduced in 2020.

“More importantly, it was not in my father's nature to threaten anyone over an opposing view. He was a staunch democrat and always believed in building consensus… I would appreciate Rahul Gandhi being mindful while speaking of those not with us.”

Rohan Jaitley also demanded a public apology from Gandhi and urged him to “let the departed rest in peace” .

Other developments

MPC Meet Begins Today, RBI Expected To Slash Repo Rates 

The meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be held from August 4-6. At the end of the meeting, according to a recent SBI report, the RBI is expected to slash repo rates by as much as 25 basis points. 

Naturally, such a magnitude of rate cut would boost credit growth. The SBI report says it could bring an 'early Diwali'. Notably, the festive season this year is also advanced by a few weeks with Diwali falling in mid-October itself. A rate cut in early August may just trickle down at the right time to boost consumer spending in September-October. 

Government Likely To Push Sports Bill In Parliament Today; No Signals On SIR Debate 

In the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament, the government is yet to respond positively to the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the SIR and is instead expected to push for the passage of a key Sports Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday (4 August 2025). 

The Lok Sabha has listed the National Sports Governance Bill for consideration and passage. This bill aims to bring greater transparency to the functioning of sports bodies. Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha has listed for Monday the passage of Home Minister Amit Shah’s proposal to extend President’s Rule in Manipur for six months starting from 13 August.

West Asia: Tensions On The Rise After Israel's Security Minister 'Prays' At Temple Mount

Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben‑Gvir, visited the Al‑Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem on August 3, 2025, reportedly praying at the site—an act widely seen as a breach of the long-standing ‘status quo’ agreement which prohibits Jewish prayer there. The compound, administered by a Jordanian custodial body, allows Jewish visitation but forbids worship. Ben‑Gvir’s actions triggered strong criticism from Palestinian leaders, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, who labelled the visit a provocative escalation given the tense backdrop of ongoing Israel–Gaza conflict.

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu however reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to maintaining the site's status quo and denied any policy changes.

From the states

Almost Two Days Later, No Party Has Raised Objections To The Draft SIR List For Bihar 

While the Congress and RJD are speaking against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, on the ground, either of them, or any other party, is yet to raise even a single objection to the draft voter list published by the Election Commission on 1 August. The Election Commission had provided for a period of one month to address any grievances before it begins the process to draw the final list from the draft list. 

In another development related to Bihar's SIR, the ECI issued a formal notice to Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the state, following his claim that his name was excluded from the draft voter list. Tejashwi had presented EPIC number RAB2916120 in a press briefing on August 2, which returned no record in an online search. However, the Election Commission clarified that his correct EPIC number is RAB0456228, under which his name appears at serial number 416 in the Digha assembly constituency’s draft roll. ECI sources have called RAB2916120 invalid and requested Tejashwi to produce the original card for that number for further scrutiny.

Converted STs To Be Kept Away From Reservation Benefits In Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh government is planning to bring a stringent law that prevents members of the Scheduled Tribe who changed their faith from availing reservation and related benefits. Already, members of the SC group who have converted are not eligible for reservation benefits in Chhattisgarh. According to Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao, the law will take special care to identify and filter out those converts who avail double benefits--those accruing to STs and those accruing to the Christian minority. 

Two Kerala Nuns Granted Conditional Bail in Chhattisgarh Forced‑Conversion Case

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, granted conditional bail on 2 August 2025 to two Catholic nuns from Kerala and their tribal aide. They had been arrested at Durg railway station on 25 July, accused of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.

Leaders from across Kerala's political spectrum, including the BJP, were present to receive the nuns upon their release.

Prajwal Revanna awarded life sentence in rape case

Former MP and suspended JD(S) leader, Prajwal Revanna was awarded a life sentence by a Special Court in Bengaluru in a rape case on 2 August. The court held Revanna guilty of raping a domestic help. The court also fined Revanna Rs 11.50 lakhs. The case against Revanna was registered weeks before the Lok Sabha election of 2024. The verdict has come 14 months later. Revanna is facing trial in four separate cases sexual harassment and rape. The verdicts in other three are awaited. 

Revanna is the grandson of former PM, H.D. Deve Gowda.

You’re all caught up—until next time.