Monthly Archives: September 2018

At WHC, he warns against narrow interpretation of Hinduism

Swami Vivekananda’s ideas of universal tolerance, compassion, and concern for the poor are as relevant today as they were during his lifetime, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu told the World Hindu Congress (WHC), an international conference organised by affiliates of the RSS. The event coincides with the 125th anniversary of Vivekananda’s …

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Assam parties up in arms against NRC chief

He has suggested trimming the number of admissible documents as citizenship proof from 15 to 10 Suggestions to the Supreme Court by the officer heading the exercise to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to slash the list of “admissible documents” as citizenship proof from 15 to 10 has …

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IAF prepares to induct Rafale jets

Pilots being sent to France again for training; Rs. 400 crore sanctioned for readying bases Though the Rafale jet deal has been caught in a political firestorm, the Indian Air Force is quietly readying infrastructure for the new fleet and training its fighter pilots to fly the aircraft. Official sources …

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377 verdict has inbuilt firewall

SC thwarts any future attempts to bring back criminalisation of homosexuality Within the pages of the Supreme Court judgment decriminalising homosexuality contains a safeguard against any attempts by governments, present and future, to enact laws to make homosexuals criminals again. The five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of Dipak …

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A-G’s advice swung T.N. decision

A-G Vijay Narayan said Governor has ‘unfettered power’ under Article 161 The Tamil Nadu Cabinet’s decision to recommend the release of the seven life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was taken on the strength of Advocate General Vijay Narayan’s opinion that the Governor had “unfettered …

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Predatory bacteria may help combat antibiotic resistance

Predatory bacteria may fight antibiotic resistance In a bid to fight back against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers are now developing germ-eating microbes that will attack all sorts of nasties, including bacterial lung infections, plague and deadly germs that have developed resistance to antibiotics. They studied Bdellovibrio, which bores into bigger bacteria …

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Rajapaksa visit hints at thaw

With Delhi trip, former Sri Lankan President seems to be warming to India In an indication of warming of ties, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit New Delhi this week and hold important discussions. Mr. Rajapaksa, who is credited with ending the reign of the Liberation Tigers of …

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Cloudy forecast

Developed countries, especially the U.S.,need to commit funds to limit climate change The conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bangkok last week, that was to draft a rulebook for the Paris Agreement ahead of a crucial international conference in Poland in December, ran into predictable difficulties …

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Holding up the mirror

Alan Rusbridger’s new book captures the troubling reality in the media ecosystem today I am never tired of saying that the best journalism is akin to Umberto Eco’s idea of balancing humility and pride as a means for academic excellence. Academic humility, according to Eco, is the knowledge that anyone …

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A greater transformation

In reading down Section 377, the Supreme Court has showed the way to deepen democracy In its decision in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India last week, the Supreme Court has finally struck down the colonial-era law criminalising homosexuality and the lives of LGBTQ persons. In a 493-page verdict, …

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Why not Dalit?

The government advisory on the use of the word shows its intent to further marginalise the community In pre-Independence India and after 1947, during the several unyielding movements for justice for Dalits, multiple terms have been used to convey the idea of the caste system which B.R. Ambedkar described “as …

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Too close for comfort?

Dialogue with the U.S. should not define India’s strategic future or its other bilateral relationships The India-U.S. 2+2 meeting on September 6 between the Defence and Foreign Ministers of the two countries appeared to be a singularly one-sided affair. Washington was calling the shots, and New Delhi was trying to …

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Fuel from air and water

Why not convert CO2 into solid carbonate rocks? As we have kept on burning more and more of organic fuel, such as coal and crude oil, over the last century across the world, the amount of the oxidation product, carbon dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere has reached alarming levels, causing …

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Aptamer inhibits TB bacteria entry into cells

Despite being an attractive drug target, designing inhibitors against HupB protein has been largely unsuccessful till now By using a small single-stranded DNA molecule (DNA aptamer) that specifically binds to a single protein (HupB) present in TB bacteria, researchers have been able to achieve 40-55% reduction in the bacteria’s ability …

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Indonesia can best defend the rupiah by staying calm

Indonesia’s best defence of its currency may be a cool head. A dramatic sell-off in emerging markets has pushed the rupiah to its weakest level against the dollar since the 1998 Asian crisis. Policy-makers appear rattled, but measured approaches are available.Jakarta is better placed to defend the rupiah than it …

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