This year’s science Nobels compel us to relook at evolution, and also at gender parity The Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year is a tribute to the power of evolution. The laureates harnessed evolution and used it in the laboratory with amazing results. Frances H. Arnold, an American who was …

The RBI chooses to stick to its core mandate, ignoring other pressures such as on the rupee The Reserve Bank of India pulled a surprise on the markets on Friday by keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.5%. The decision to stand pat comes even as the central bank …

Internationalisation of the rupee will serve India well The Indian rupee was once a multilateral currency, its usage prevalent across the Indian Ocean in places as varied as Java, Borneo, Macau, Muscat, Basra and Zanzibar. The historic dhow trade ensured that the Gulf had a familiarity with the rupee for …

A trend of splintering of political and social alliances has picked up in Uttar Pradesh The State of Uttar Pradesh is fascinatingly diverse and a story in contrasts. It has a history of both intense political and religious contestation and of syncretic accomplishments. The State did not witness a social …

Last month in Rewari, a student on her way to class was abducted, drugged, and gang-raped by three young men. Ashok Kumar reports on how the growing crimes against women in Haryana are stifling their freedom and aspirations Rewari’s Civil Hospital is a drab, double-storey structure that caters to roughly …

Ukraine launched on Friday a park of photovoltaic panels at the former Chernobyl power plant as the country seeks to use solar power to give the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster a new lease on life. The $1.2-million, one-megawatt plant is located just a hundred metres from a …

NASA has announced the first crewed flight by a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) is expected to take place in June 2019. It will be the first manned U.S. launch to the orbiting research laboratory since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011, forcing U.S. astronauts …

Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday said the GDP growth is expected to be higher than the RBI’s projection of 7.4% for the current fiscal. “Government welcomes MPC statement and decision to keep the rates unchanged. Government’s assessment of inflation is in line with the MPC’s assessment. We …

‘Focus on equity for long-term funding’ The on-going crisis in IL&FS has made Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to consider tightening the norms of asset-liability management (ALM) of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The RBI observed that those entities were relying heavily on short-term funds for lending to long-term projects. “I …

As new data comes in, we would look into changing our policies, says RBI Governor It is important that the fiscal deficit target is maintained, says RBI Governor Urjit Patel, in an interaction with the media. Edited excerpts: Is there a risk to fiscal deficit in an election year as …

‘The agencies seem to have gone by names of IL&FS’ shareholders, overlooking the cash flow situation’ The role of credit rating agencies has come under the scanner in the wake of the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) imbroglio. IL&FS and its subsidiaries were rated AAA for their commercial …

Changes policy stance to ‘calibrated tightening’ to indicate that rates can only rise or stay stable hereon in this cycle Contrary to market expectation, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to hold the key policy rate at 6.5% in the fourth bimonthly policy …

Blackwater founder is pushing for privatisation of the U.S. war in Afghanistan A new crop of senior American officials in Afghanistan has raced to contain a dual crisis on the battlefield and in a potentially explosive election dispute. But it is a different U.S. figure — the mercenary executive Erik …

Analysts say China will be forced to dig in for a prolonged multi-front battle with the U.S. U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence’s accusations in a stinging speech on Thursday, warning of a tougher approach towards Beijing may have been familiar to China’s leaders. But until now such remarks were delivered in …

‘Separate ministry for Himalayan States’ A separate ministry should be created at the Centre to resolve the common issues of the Himalayan States as the problems of this region are different from those faced in the plains, Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat said on Friday.PTI Source :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/hp-governor-advocates-separate-ministry-for-himalayan-states/article25140172.ece

A conglomerate of major civil society and students’ organisations in Mizoram has said that the Bru families who declined the rehabilitation package within the deadline of September 30 should not be allowed to return from refugee camps in Tripura. Only 45 of the 5,407 Bru families comprising 32,867 individuals returned …

‘Report on likely implementation is false’ The Home Ministry said on Friday that no decision has been taken to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Tripura, after a similar exercise was carried out in Assam to identify illegal immigrants. In a statement, the Home Ministry said a delegation …

“Rape in war has been a crime for centuries. But it was a crime in the shadows. The two laureates have both shone a light on it,” Dan Smith, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told Reuters. Dr. Mukwege, a past winner of the United Nations Human …

GJM team claims Centre’s nod The Centre has agreed for a tripartite meeting to discuss various political issues concerning the Gurkhas, including the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland, Kalimpong legislator Sarita Rai said on Friday. The Home Ministry spokesperson did not comment. Large-scale violence was reported in Darjeeling …

Confirms Canine Distemper Virus killed Gir animals The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed that the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) was responsible for lion deaths in the Gir forest of Gujarat and recommended that the remaining lions be vaccinated to prevent further outbreaks. This goes against recommendations by …