When the Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly, the founders left deliberate gaps in it to enable a future Parliament to modify and amend the Constitution that was in accordance with the aspirations and the will of the people. This ostensibly gave birth to a Constitution with glaring misses. …

Of the 39 areas declared by UNESCO in 2012 as being critical for biodiversity in the Western Ghats, 10 are in Karnataka. Before recognising areas as world heritage sites, UNESCO seeks the opinion of the inhabitants on the implication of the possible declaration on their lives and livelihoods. This author …

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi has chosen to remain silent on the fate of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill even four weeks after the Ordinance on the same subject lapsed. There are several pieces of legislation awaiting the Governor’s clearance, but the …

The number of polluted stretches in India’s rivers has fallen from 351 in 2018 to 311 in 2022, though the number of most polluted stretches is practically unchanged, according to a report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in November but made public this week. The CPCB network monitors …

Millions of people hunkered down against a deep freeze Sunday morning to ride out the frigid storm that has killed at least 24 people across the U.S. and is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents inside houses with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to several …

Since the initial outbreak in 2019 in Wuhan, China, the world has seen multiple repeated waves of COVID-19 infections over the past few years, largely driven by the emerging variants of concern (VOCs) of the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2. However, until recently, China remained successful in containing the spread of the …

Some Internet-based firms have been tricking users into agreeing to certain conditions or clicking a few links. The unsuspecting users would not have accepted to such terms or clicked urls (uniform resource locator), but for the deceptive tactics deployed by tech firms. Such acceptances and clicks are flooding inboxes of …

Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple projects of various Central Ministries/Departments and States and Union Territories (UTs). The status of some of the key initiatives undertaken under the programme across the country, including in Rajasthan, are at Annex-I. The Government had launched the India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) andthe …

The Union Ministry of Health has issued a communique to States to resume genome sequencing of new cases of COVID-19, in view of the sudden spurt of cases in some parts of the world. In a letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said sequencing of positive case samples will allow …

At this time last December, India’s economy was on the cusp of a fledgling recovery from COVID-19, though the Omicron variant posed fresh speed bumps for the rebound. With oil prices escalating, commodity prices volatile and shipping disruptions hitting supply chains, the U.S. had recorded a 40-year high inflation rate …

A small randomised, control trial with intermittent calorie-restricted diet carried out in people with type-2 diabetes was able to achieve remission in nearly 50% of the participants in the intervention group at the end of three months of follow-up after the trial. The trial lasted for three months. Even at …

Scientists working on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have successfully trialled a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae they say could eventually help rewild reefs threatened by climate change. Scientists are scrambling to protect coral reefs as rising ocean temperatures destabilise delicate ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered …

A unique 225-km yatra taken out through remote villages and hamlets in western Rajasthan, which culminated at the Jaisalmer district headquarters earlier this week, has put forth the demand of protection of orans or sacred groves, which face the threat of destruction with their land being allotted for renewable energy infrastructure and …

Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (MANAS), a toll-free 24/7 number (14416) that was launched on October 10 on World Mental Health Day by the Union government, has received over 20,000 calls to date, reported the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB). While stress, sleep disorders and …

Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of Centrally Protected Monuments that have been encroached upon, closely followed by Tamil Nadu. While 75 protected monument sites have been enroached upon in Uttar Pradesh, the corresponding number for Tamil Nadu is 74, Minister for Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy told the …

Assessing the Mission Mode (MM) projects of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged time and cost overrun in completion of projects, irregular closure of projects declaring them successful despite non-achievement of one or more key objectives and parameters, and taking up …

With unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones emerging as a powerful tool in the agricultural sector, a progressive farmer in Kerala’s Wayanad has trained himself in the technology for use in his plantation as well as to train officials of various government agencies. P. Chandrasekharan, an engineer turned farmer at …

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a pension revision for retirees from the armed forces and their families under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, which has been delayed since July 2019. Arrears will be paid from July 01, 2019, to June 30, 2022, which is approximately ₹23,638 crore …

India ranks poorly on multiple health financing indicators. Its public health expenditure as a percentage of its GDP (1.28%) and share of general government expenditure dedicated to health (4.8%) remain akin to the poorest countries. Per capita health spending growth has not kept pace with rising incomes. Private spending still …

The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to provide free foodgrains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year. The beneficiary families which used to pay ₹1 for coarse cereals, ₹2 for wheat and ₹3 for rice per kilogram will now get 35 …