India must watch its side of the ledgerwhile deepening defence ties with the U.S. The India-U.S. defence relationship has been given a significant boost with the three agreements signed on Thursday after the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue in Delhi: the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), “hotlines” between the Defence and …
Read More »Daily Archives: September 8, 2018
Post office solutions
The new India Post Payments Bank canhasten financial inclusion, but detailing is key Amidst some fanfare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a financial service provider that will operate under the country’s age-old postal department. The government-owned payments bank will be able to accept deposits …
Read More »A strange new world
American footballer Colin Kaepernick’s protests have underlined the power of sport and endorsement It is a strange world when a brash young man, a multinational corporation with a reputation for running sweatshops and a Twitter-happy American President combine to convince you that American football is more than a bunch of …
Read More »The sadness of silence
What has become of the Indian intellectual as storyteller? Is he only an annexe of the state or can he be critical? A few months ago, I was at a screening of a documentary on the Bengal Famine.Bengal Shadows , while well-intentioned, was more a pretext for the text that …
Read More »Punjab’s new addicts
The State’s drug crisis has acquired another dimension following a steady increase in the number of female addicts. Vikas Vasudeva reports on the toll substance abuse has taken on the lives and families of these women and the infrastructural support needed to help them Jasmeet works as a domestic help …
Read More »Burt Reynolds, Hollywood heart-throb of 1970s, is dead
He won acclaim for Deliverance and Boogie Nights Burt Reynolds, the moustachioed heart-throb of 1970s cinema who won acclaim in Deliverance and a host of awards later in his career for Boogie Nights , died on Thursday. The famously suave 82-year-old, a huge box office draw at his peak who …
Read More »Have you herd? Bighorn sheep pass on useful tips
Scientists who tracked collared animals found that social learning of migration routes was better down the generations Young watch the old The researchers didn’t study how the knowledge is passed along within the herds, but it’s probably from young animals watching their mothers or other herd members, said the study’s …
Read More »Academy shelves its plans for ‘popular’ Oscar category
Tightrope of fairness After the initial confusion, questions continued to arise that the Academy found hard to answer. Was it fair for ABC, the network that broadcasts the Oscars, to lobby hard for such an award when its parent company (Disney) makes the sort of blockbusters that would probably crowd …
Read More »Ministry moots greater autonomy for AI board
‘Plan part of restructuring effort’ The Ministry of Civil Aviation has proposed greater autonomy for Air India’s management, as part of its strategic turnaround plan for the cash-strapped national carrier, sources said. Cash infusion The plan is part of efforts to bring about organisational and financial restructuring at Air India …
Read More »Govt. shortlists 11 CPSEs for buyback
Coal India, NTPC, Nalco, NMDC in list The Finance Ministry has shortlisted about a dozen companies, including Coal India, NTPC, Nalco and NMDC, for a possible buyback of shares in the ongoing financial year. The other companies which are in the list include NLC, BHEL, NHPC, NBCC, SJVN, KIOCL and …
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