There is a growing tendency in India to aggrandise Muslim religious organisations for their tokenistic gestures. For instance, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) is thought to have embraced secular polity because it no longer considers it against Islam to participate in democratic elections, and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) is praised for …

A day before her appearance in front of the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha launched a six-hour hunger strike on March 10 seeking early passage of the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill. The protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi was inaugurated by …

The study is part of a long-term project called the ‘Consortium on Vulnerability to Externalising Disorders and Addictions’ (C-Veda). It aims to follow up those tested over decades, and evaluate the effect of biological and environmental risk on cognitive development. Brain development progresses from childhood to early adulthood with wide-ranging …

Tamil Nadu has pioneered an initiative across the State to reduce the mortality rate among people with tuberculosis. The initiative — TN-KET (Tamil Nadu Kasanoi Erappila Thittam, meaning TB death-free project) — which began in April 2022 in 2,500-odd public healthcare facilities that diagnosed TB in 30 districts, has already …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Saturday virtually inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline that will bring diesel from Assam’s Numaligarh refinery’s marketing depot in Siliguri to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh. Welcoming the initiative, Ms. Hasina thanked Mr. Modi and the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta …

In an effort to encourage investors to set up units to produce ethanol for blending with petrol, the State government on Saturday said investors could obtain almost all the requisite standard clearances within 30 days. The Tamil Nadu Ethanol Blending Policy (EBP) 2023, released on Saturday by the Industries Department, …

The influence of James Cameron, the Canadian-American filmmaker, whose cinema has frequently explored the mysteries of the deep ocean, looms large on scientists at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai. Ananda Ramadass asks this correspondent. The documentary charts Mr. Cameron’s solitary, 10,000-metre journey down the Marianna Trench …

During a visit to the U.K. last week, WhatsApp’s head Will Cathcart said that WhatsApp would not comply with the country’s proposed Online Safety Bill (OSB) which will in effect outlaw end-to-end (E2E) encryption. Mr. Cathcart said that it was the first time a “liberal democracy” was attempting to block …

Horseshoe crabs are disappearing off Odisha’s coast. Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or crustaceans, they are chelicerates, most closely related to arachnids such as spiders, ticks, and scorpions. Horseshoe crabs live primarily in and around shallow coastal waters on soft, sandy or muddy bottoms. They are generally found …

The issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies has been referred to the Law Commission for further examination. Currently, elections to the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha are held separately. Whenever the incumbent government’s five-year term ends or whenever it is dissolved due to various reasons. The idea of “One Nation, One …