The national capital of Delhi and its adjoining areas received heavy spells of showers on Wednesday morning, bringing a respite for the Delhiites from the humidity.

The high-level meeting saw participation from several prominent leaders, including the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress’ deputy leaders in both houses Pramod Tiwari and Gaurav Gogoi, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Banerjee, DMK’s TR Baalu, JMM’s Mahua Maji, AAP’s Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas. Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh were also present.
“The concept of a budget has already been destroyed by this year’s Union Budget. They have completely discriminated against most of the states. So, the general sentiment of the INDIA bloc meeting was we have to protest against this,” said Mr Venugopal claimed following the meeting. He later expressed on social media that the budget was “extremely discriminatory and dangerous,” going against the principles of federalism and fairness.
As part of their protest, Congress chief ministers will also boycott the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27. “This government’s attitude is completely antithetical to Constitutional principles. We will not participate in an event that is solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colors of this regime,” Mr Venugopal alleged.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2024-25, marking her seventh consecutive budget presentation, surpassing former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record. This budget is the first under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term in office. During her speech, Ms Sitharaman said that the country’s inflation remains stable and is moving towards 4 per cent, with core inflation at 3.1 per cent.
“The ‘#BudgetForViksitBharat’ ensures inclusive growth, benefiting every segment of society and paving the way for a developed India,” wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. 
Speaking exclusively with NDTV, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that “no one with a sane mind” will criticise the 2024 Union Budget. “I feel this Budget lays the strongest-ever foundation for ‘atmanirbhar’ Bharat because the Prime Minister has already given a clear-cut vision to make India a developed nation by 2047,” he said. 
Ms Sitharaman highlighted several key points in the budget, including rewards for key NDA allies, tax relief for new taxpayers, and a focus on job creation for youth. 
The budget introduced several changes to the tax regime, increasing the standard deduction in the new tax regime from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 and revising tax slabs to benefit a broader range of income groups. Salaried employees can now save up to Rs 17,500 in income tax under the new slabs.
Additionally, the budget included a major announcement for professionals entering the workforce. The government will provide one month’s salary as a Provident Fund contribution for first-time employees, benefiting an estimated 210 lakh youngsters. Additional measures include raising the exemption limit for capital gains on some financial assets to Rs 1.25 lakh per year and abolishing angel tax for all classes of investors.
The budget also earmarked significant projects for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, states whose political leaders recently aligned with the BJP to secure a parliamentary majority. For Bihar, the budget outlines the development of expressways and a power plant, while Andhra Pradesh will see infrastructure projects prioritised, including substantial financial support for capital development.

US President Joe Biden was seen in public for the first time since he dropped out of the Presidential race and tested positive for COVID-19. His absence sparked rumours on social media with several users claiming the 81-year-old leader’s health was deteriorating, even claiming he was in “hospice care” and was “unlikely to survive the night”.

“Where’s Joe” became a top trend on X globally after the US President was out of public eye for five days as he was isolating while recovering from COVID-19 at his Delaware home.

On Wednesday, the Democratic leader returned to the White House after his doctors said his symptoms of COVID-19 have been resolved and a rapid antigen test showed he was negative for COVID-19. “I am feeling well,” he said.

🚨 UPDATE: President Biden just boarded Air Force One and is on his way back to the White House. pic.twitter.com/k2wNDleGa3

— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) July 23, 2024

The US President boarded a plane to White House even as reporters shouted questions at him asking him how he felt, why he dropped out of the race and whether his deputy Vice President Kamala Harris could beat the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Biden did not respond to the questions and just gave a quick thumbs up. “It’s great to be back at the White House. This afternoon, I arrived back at the Oval Office and sat down with my national security team for my daily intelligence briefing. Serving as your Commander-in-Chief continues to be the greatest honor of my life,” he wrote on X.

While quarantining, the US President announced the sudden withdrawal from his re-election bid after months of staying defiant and insisting he would not drop out of the Presidential race, even as pressure mounted from his party to step aside.

Taking to social media, he announced that he would not be accepting the Democrat nomination and instead “focus all his energies on his duties as president for the remainder of his term”. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic candidate to take on rival Donald Trump in the elections later this year.

The leader also announced that he will be addressing the nation on Friday morning, probably to explain his decision to withdraw from the presidential race.

“Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” he said in a post on X.