A competent authority under the Preventive Detention Act is entitled to take action to prevent subversion of “public order,” but not in aid of maintenance of “law and order” under ordinary circumstances. Before a contravention of any law could be said to affect “public order,” it must affect the community …

What does the Supreme Court order say? On October 24, the Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of vehicles conforming to Bharat Stage (BS)-IV emission standards across the country, from April 1, 2020, citing “alarming and critical” pollution levels. With this decision, vehicle makers will only be able to …

The U.S. administration’s decision to grant India and seven other countries waivers on the sanctions it re-imposed on Iran provides some temporary relief to India. While the details of the waivers are yet to be released, the Trump administration has agreed to waive sanctions on the purchase of oil from …

The Democratic Party made a comeback in Tuesday’s midterm elections after spending two years in the political darkness, when it seized control of the House of Representatives. Yet, predictions of a “blue wave”, as a backlash to the racially charged, polarising campaign led by President Donald Trump, failed to materialise. …

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay has long been recognised in India as the person chiefly responsible, after Independence, for the revival of the country’s variegated crafts traditions and for drawing critical attention to ‘tribal art’. She is generally viewed as an authority on Indian handicrafts, but Chattopadhyay played no less a role in …

There are conceptual differences between the two countries on the Indo-Pacific The U.S. has sold nearly $15 billion worth of arms to India over the last 10 years. So the Donald Trump administration’s displeasure at India’s recent decision to buy the S-400 missile system from Russia puts a question mark …

With wild polio virus strains reduced by 99.9% since 1988, the world is inching towards eradicating polio. But unfortunately, more children today are affected by the live, weakened virus contained in the oral polio vaccine (OPV) that is meant to protect them. The weakened virus in the vaccine can circulate …

Liberals hoping that Rahul Gandhi’s Congress would rescue them from Hindutva may be in for a rude awakening The stage is all set for Assembly elections in five States — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana. Described as a ‘semi-final’ for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they offer a …

China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community’s orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country’s major ambitions beyond the earth. The 17-metre core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai. …

Whitewash, single-use, vegan, plogging among key words “Single-use” was named the Collins Dictionary word of the year on Wednesday, following a four-fold increase in its usage since 2013, in a reflection of increased concerns about sustainability. It edged out “MeToo” and “whitewash” to top the list of 10 new and …

Suggests eliminating or limiting fear and violence in a parent-child relationship Parents should not spank their children, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a strongly-worded policy statement. The group, which represents about 67,000 doctors, also recommended that paediatricians advise parents against the use of spanking and said to avoid …

A scientific paper led by two researchers at Harvard University made a splash this week by claiming that a cigar-shaped rock zooming through our solar system may have been sent by aliens. The researchers noted in a pre-print of the article that it was an “exotic scenario,” but that “Oumuamua …

Indian regulations on capital requirements, provisioning for sour assets and prompt corrective action (PCA) restricting regular activities by lenders are conservative and rule-based, SBI’s research wing said in a report. It did not call for any relook in the report which comes amid a heated debate between the government and …

Several Asian member countries of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have offered India a significant concession on the extent to which it needs to open up its markets, in a bid to encourage it to join the partnership quickly, according to a diplomat from Singapore. The RCEP is …

‘Board’s objective is to protect institution, not to serve others’ interests’ Amid mounting tension between the Reserve Bank and the Finance Ministry, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said the central bank was like a seat belt in a car, without which accidents could happen. Pitching for respect for the …