The practice of civil society organisations using representative visuals for fundraising activities concerning development issues such as malnutrition now faces new scrutiny, with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issuing a directive to non-governmental organisations (NGO) not to depict vulnerable children. A 2013 campaign by a U.K.-based …

The parliamentary panel on Social Justice and Empowerment has pulled up the Union government over the “very slow” process to categorise over 260 denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes under the SC/ST/OBC lists. Government officials have pointed out that this has delayed the approval of benefits under the SEED (Scheme for …

Early this month, the Indian Navy chief, Admiral Hari Kumar, at the annual press conference on the eve of Navy Day (December 4) had said that the Indian Navy had put on hold its plans to build a second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) that is larger than IAC-1 (INS Vikrant). Instead, …

When BilkisBano, sole survivor of a horrific gang-rape and mass murder in 2002, asked the Supreme Court of India to review its May 2022 judgment which directed the Government of Gujarat to consider the early release of one of those convicted of these monstrous crimes, it was an opportunity for …

The Union Cabinet’s decision to provide free grain to all beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year may help Tamil Nadu save ₹1,650 crore in food subsidy. This figure is premised on the Centre retaining the existing grain allotment (essentially, rice in the context of Tamil …

The bar-headed goose, considered one the world’s highest flying birds, recently visited the Muttukadu backwaters. Nearly seven bar-headed geese made a temporary halt at Muttukadu on December 15, said K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder, The Nature Trust. Bar-headed geese, native to Central Asia, are capable of flying through the passes of the …

The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) not only provides a crucial habitat for a variety of endangered species of birds and mammals, but is also home to 175 species of butterflies, a survey conducted for the first time in the area has revealed. According to C. Vidhya, Deputy Director of MTR …

A new method to confine and absorb infrared (IR) light with GaN nanostructures can help develop highly efficient infrared absorbers, emitters, and modulators that are useful in defense technologies, energy technologies, imaging, sensing, and so on. GaN, a widely used material for blue light emission, is one of the most advanced …

The Tamil Nadu government has come up with a greenhouse gas inventory compendium for Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli. The aim is to prepare a contextual and inclusive climate- resilient action plans for these cities. The manufacturing and construction sectors accounted for the highest quantum of greenhouse gas emissions in Coimbatore …

The Government has decided not to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, (PMGKY), a scheme that ran between April 2020 to December 2022 (except for a short period in between), and provided additional allocation of foodgrains, i.e., rice or wheat from the central pool at five kilograms a …