In long and verse sweetness has through the ages been equated with goodness but some hard-hearted research scientists have now found that one of the sweetest substances in existence, the cyclamate, spells danger for the consumer. Cyclamates are hydrocarbon compounds 30 times sweeter than sugar and since they are also …
Read More »Daily Archives: October 30, 2019
Deep traps
The onus on closure of abandoned wells should be on the local body, and not the owner As with several such incidents in the past, the intensive operation in Tamil Nadu to rescue a child who slipped into an abandoned borewell in Manapparai, Tiruchi district, ended in spectacular failure. Hopes …
Read More »Brotherhood unbound
Sena’s brinkmanship in talks with BJP is unlikely to fetch it dividends in Maharashtra The protracted bargaining for power sharing between two pre-poll allies, the BJP and the Shiv Sena, is holding up government formation in Maharashtra, despite their victory in the Assembly election. The irony is starker when compared …
Read More »India’s Afghanistan conundrum
The U.S.’s current policy in Afghanistan puts India in a tough spot and Pakistan in a good placeLess than two months after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly called off talks with the Taliban, Washington is laying the ground to resume them. That this is happening before Afghanistan has a new …
Read More »Science versus myths
Rajputs appear in history roughly 1,200 years ago in regions now known as Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, the Western Gangetic plains and Bundelkhand. For generations they have skilfully used bards, ballads and epic poetry to turn defeats at the northern frontiers of India into moral victories. Raputs lost to Ghazni about …
Read More »The new gold standard in development economics?
Development economics has changed a lot during the last two decades or so, mostly due to the extensive use of ‘randomised control trials’ (RCT). ‘Randomistas’ are proponents of RCTs to assess long-run economic productivity and living standards in poor countries. Three randomistas, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer, were …
Read More »Legal pluralism in personal law
In Jose Paulo Coutinho v. Maria Luiza Valentina Pereira (2019) , the Supreme Court has yet again revived the debate on a uniform civil code (UCC) and referred to Goa as “a shining example of an Indian State which has a uniform civil code applicable to all…”. There are rumours …
Read More »Piecing together the Maharashtra mandate
The Legislative Assembly elections in Maharashtra this year took place in the shadow of the Lok Sabha election held less than six months ago. The alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena swept the Lok Sabha election, with the Indian National Congress being practically decimated and …
Read More »U.K. to melt down commemorative Brexit coins amid repeated delays
The U.K.’s Royal Mint plans to melt down and recycle the commemorative coins minted to mark Brexit on October 31, after the U.K.’s exit from the European Union (EU) was delayed by three months until January 31, 2020. The concept of a new 50-pence coin, featuring the U.K.’s scheduled departure …
Read More »Indians are the least active, says analysis of fitness app data
India has emerged as the least active country among 18 countries including the U.S., the U.K., Japan and Singapore, according to a report by fitness solutions firm Fitbit. It said an Indian user walked an average of 6,533 steps daily. Indians were also the second-most sleep deprived after Japan, getting …
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