Welfare gets a bad name, but not all social sector spend is unproductive
Most Budget analyses these days assume that capital expenditure by the govt represents high-quality spending that is going to have a multiplier impact on the GDP, whereas revenue expenditure is...
View ArticleAssam’s pyramids: The Ahom dynasty’s unique burial mounds
Charaideo Moidams inscribed as Unesco world heritage site On July 26, the Charaideo Moidams, a unique 700-year-old burial mound system from Assam, was added to the Unesco world heritage list during the...
View ArticleWhy Muslims must grab this opportunity
Muslims of the world must take notice that September 5, 2025 will be the 1500th birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). While celebrations to mark the occasion have begun, this will also be...
View ArticleWorking together: Why India’s leaders need to cooperate
Imagine if your school had a big meeting to decide important things, but half the class leaders didn’t show up because they were upset with the principal. That’s kind of what happened recently in...
View ArticleVisa divas
How desis can get even with snooty consuls My friend tried hi-octane influence and has managed an interview for a western nation’s visa 75 days down the road. In Oct, that is. He is all...
View ArticleFlying safely: Why pilots need rest
Did you know that pilots get tired just like everyone else? A recent study in India found that many pilots are feeling very tired because of their work. This is important because pilots need to...
View ArticleBe Federeal
Niti meeting minus oppn CMs shows neither INDIA nor BJP has realised what voters told them during elections The “absence of fiscal federalism” – not enough funds to states – and the Centre’s...
View ArticleFlying dangerously
Message from survey on pilot fatigue. DGCA must implement its new norms, never mind airlines’ objections Results of a survey highlighting fatigue faced by pilots in India make for alarming reading....
View ArticleIs Jnan Marg one of the most challenging paths
By Kishore Asthana Jnan means knowledge. Jnan Yog, the path of knowledge, is one of the paths prescribed for attaining enlightenment. Of all the paths, Jnan Yog is considered the most challenging path....
View ArticleIndia’s fashion weak In Paris. And where was the Ikat?
That our Olympians wore embarrassingly unfashionable threads in the world’s couture capital speaks to a larger aesthetic malaise in public life Paris was blasé – it shrugged away a downpour to turn a...
View ArticleWe are losing count
Too much depends on Census to put it off any longer ● New towns aren’t identified ●Welfare scheme coverage is on estimates ● Delimitation is stalled Back when seat belts were mandatory in Delhi but...
View ArticleProf. Manav – Puppet or Poppet?
Prof. Shyam Manav, the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (All India Superstition Eradication Committee) recently made some glaring comments aimed at deputy chief minister...
View Article25 years after Kargil, need to relearn some lessons
Operation Vijay is referred to in different ways in military discourse — as a conflict, limited war, and Kargil war. If we strictly apply the ‘Correlates of War’ approach pioneered by Michigan...
View ArticleAcronym atrocities: DYUTH? IYD, PRO
No, there’s no typo in the second second part of the headline. It means: Do You Understand This Headline? If You Don’t, Please Read On. Annoying? You aren’t alone. I am averse to abbreviations,...
View ArticleIndia-Armenia relations celebrated at 46th session of Unesco WHC 2024
India is a civilizational state with marvellous monuments, narrating the glorious Indian saga across the length and breath of this phenomenally diverse country. It is a matter of great joy for Indians...
View ArticleEnsuring justice and fairness: Dynamics of public policy under Section 34 of...
Introduction Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, incorporates the public policy clause to ensure that arbitral awards conform to fundamental principles of justice, fairness, and...
View ArticleA global conference for abolition of quarantine
Quarantine was intended to have been abolished over 170 years ago. The first major government report on quarantine was produced by the British General Board of Health in 1849, led by Edwin Chadwick RA...
View ArticleOverhear everywhere
On the pros & cons of the craft of eavesdropping Not all tempting things in life are illegal or expensive. They are just out of earshot, say those for whom eavesdropping is second nature. One...
View ArticleNot the Last Supper
The Olympics just started in Paris with a big, fancy opening show. The person in charge of the show, Thomas Jolly, wanted to make it really exciting and different. And guess what? It made a...
View ArticleCities, our tragedies
Delhi’s student deaths are part of nationwide urban pattern of lives lost to municipal callousness The deaths of three UPSC aspirants in the flooded basement of their tuition centre in Delhi has...
View Article