Background: The Reserve Bank of India this week launched the digital rupee on a pilot basis. The digital currency will be offered by a select group of public and private banks in a few major cities initially, which can be used for both person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions. What is the …

On November 21, China’s top development aid agency convened the first “China-Indian Ocean Region Forum” in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. The meet organised by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) is the latest Chinese initiative focusing on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), underlining Beijing’s growing strategic interests …

All-weather allies: For OPEC+, the big unknown in the oil equation is how heavily the sanctions will hit Russian supply. AP However, the organisation of 13 oil-producing countries says it is ready to ‘meet at any time and take immediate additional measures’ to address market developments. The next meeting of the body is …

With the country getting its highest-ever rank in the ICAO aviation safety rankings, Arun Kumar, chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on Sunday said the challenge is to further improve the air safety ecosystem. The comment also comes against the backdrop of the country’s aviation sector slowly coming …

Two weeks after a cyberattack crippled the servers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the system has not been completely restored as investigators anticipate more damage if it is linked to the Internet. The file extensions for all the physical servers of AIIMS running on the Linux …

In the early days of the pandemic, the Tablighi Jamaat, a little-known Islamic organisation, found itself in the middle of a controversy in India after many of its patrons who attended a religious congregation tested positive for COVID-19. Those who got infected were referred to by many as the ‘Nizamuddin …

Healthy soils are essential for our survival. They support healthy plant growth to enhance both our nutrition and water percolation to maintain groundwater levels. Soils help to regulate the planet’s climate by storing carbon and are the second largest carbon sink after the oceans. They help maintain a landscape that …

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar continues to raise a dust of unpredictability. The nerve-wracking dance of fancied teams be it in triumph or defeat and the soul-uplifting flight of the underdog have all shimmered under Qatari skies. Football remains the greatest sport and over a fortnight, the ballet between …

The Southern Regional Power Committee has told its constituents to prepare an action plan for ensuring adequate coal stock. Central and State power generating stations have been asked to ensure adequate coal availability for the upcoming summer in 2023, during which Tamil Nadu’s peak power demand is expected to be …

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) has, in a reply to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, informed that the representation of faculty members belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories is only 19, which is just above 3% compared to the strength of …