This Week in Explainers: Why is Elon Musk jittery about India’s declining fertility?

India has achieved a major feat. The Zojila Tunnel, a 13-km passage being carved through the Himalayas to link Jammu and Kashmir with Ladakh, had a major breakthrough this week.

Trillionaire Elon Musk is worried about India’s declining fertility rates. India, the world’s most populous country, currently has a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.9 births per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1. But should this cause alarm?

Narendra Modi has become India’s longest-serving elected prime minister. He has even surpassed Jawaharlal Nehru after completing 4,399 consecutive days in office.

Here’s all this and much more in our weekly wrap of stories.

1. India marked a major breakthrough after a final 2.5 metres of rock inside the Zojila Tunnel was blasted away with 300 kg of explosives. The 13.15-kilometre-long tunnel will provide all-weather road connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh.

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At an altitude of 11,578 feet, the world’s longest single-tube bi-directional road tunnel is strategically significant. The Zojila Tunnel will transform connectivity for residents, tourists and security forces travelling between Kashmir and Ladakh, reportedly reducing travel time from around three and a half hours to just 20 minutes. Read our report here.

2. India’s declining fertility rate has got Elon Musk worried. “India’s birth rate has fallen below replacement,” he recently wrote on X. “Among those most educated, India’s birth rate fell below replacement many years ago.”

India's fall in fertility rate has been faster than expected. According to the Sample Registration System (SRS), urban fertility has reached well below replacement level at roughly 1.6 children per woman, while rural fertility stands around the 2.1 mark. As fewer babies are being born in India per woman, is it a cause for alarm? We explain.

3. Narendra Modi is now India’s longest-serving elected prime minister, completing 4,399 consecutive days in the office. With this, he has crossed the record set by Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first PM.

Under Modi, India’s growing importance has been recognised by foreign governments through laurels and awards conferred on the leader. During his 12 years of rule, many countries in South Asia and other advanced democracies have witnessed political upheavals, constitutional crises and leadership churns. However, as the crisis spread across parts of the world, India remained a stabilising force. Read our report.

4. It has been a year since the Air India crash changed hundreds of lives. On June 12, 2025, the Air India flight AI171 crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad for London, killing 260 people. The tragedy is one of the worst aviation disasters in India’s history.

Several questions remain even a year after the mishap. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is yet to release its final conclusions on the Air India plane crash. International aviation standards require accident investigators to publish a final report within a year of a crash whenever possible. But why is there a delay this time? We explain.

5. After MLAs, now Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs are also rebelling. The party has three factions now: one with the party founder and supremo Mamata Banerjee, the MLAs faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee and the MPs group headed by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.

The rebel MPs claim their faction has the support of 19-20 TMC lawmakers. One name being mentioned in the dissident group has come as a shock — Saayoni Ghosh, the vocal and fierce TMC MP who backed Mamata as the future PM. The rebel MPs now plan to stake a claim to the party symbol, asserting they are the ‘real’ TMC. Read here.

6. Nepal has banned the import of Indian mangoes. The Balen Shah government’s move came after border quarantine inspectors found excessive pesticides and a lack of quarantine facilities in the border areas.

The ban could drive up mango prices in the Himalayan kingdom as traders fear a shortage of the juicy fruit. Last month, Japan suspended the import of Indian mangoes after its inspection team found irregularities in production at India's facilities. While Nepal and Japan are not key buyers of the Indian mangoes, the ban is a setback for exporters. We explain.

7. Bihar’s coaching war has grabbed national limelight. The rivalry between “Khan sir” and Raushan Anand has reached court. While YouTuber Faisal Khan, popularly known as ‘Khan sir’, is facing the risk of arrest, Raushan Anand, director of Gyan Bindu Coaching Institute, has been arrested over the attack on Khan’s coaching institute, Khan Global Studies (KGS), in Patna.

The rift between the two educators is years-old. The latest escalation is linked to the results of the Bihar Police recruitment examination. From tearing posters to firing outside KGS, the enmity between the two coaching centres may have reached its peak. Read our report.

This is all we have for you this week. If you enjoy reading our analyses, you can bookmark this page.

PS. A young doctor’s “insensitive” joke about male cadavers at comedian Pranit More’s show has sparked outrage. The comic is already facing backlash over another audience member’s ‘Rs 370 biryani’ comments. You can read all about it here.