Editorials

The urgency to address poor nutrition in India, especially among children, adolescent girls and women is compelling, and re-confirmed in virtually every survey — from NFHS-4 in 2015-16 (the latest available information), to the Global Nutrition Report 2016 and the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2017, which ranks India at 100 …

The last thing Varghese Thalikaparambil, 72, probably saw on that Thursday night of apocalyptic rain was water cascading into his house at Manikandanchal, on the banks of the Pooyamkutty river —a tributary of the mighty Periyar in Kuttampuzha panchayat along the eastern border of Kerala’s Ernakulam district. It was August …

A manifesto signed by 29 leading moderate leaders of Bengal, including Messrs. Surendranath Bannerjee, Prithwis Chandra Ray, Ananda Chandra Roy, Baikunthanath Sen, Ambica Charan Mozumdar, Sir Benode Mitter, Sir Nilratan Sircar and Mr. Provas Chandra Mitter, has just been published [in Calcutta] explaining at length the reason for the abstention …

Major E.H.S. James, Sessions Judge, Civil and Military Station, to-day [August 14, Bangalore] delivered judgment on the Marwari child murder case in which Naga, a Hindu milkman, and Yesoda Bai, an Eurasian woman, were charged, the former with alleged murder and robbery and the latter with alleged murder, abetment of …

What happened to the Turkish lira? The Turkish lira lost a fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar last week, hitting a new low on Monday before some recovery later in the week. The currency has lost over 40% of its value against the dollar this year. What caused …

Bollywood biopics are either adulatory or a whitewash, but there are some exceptions that give hope I saw Sanju on the day of its release and it left me cold. It reaffirmed my view that Bollywood rarely gets biopics right. Bollywood biopics are either adulatory or a complete whitewash because …

India’s stock markets are booming, with the BSE Sensex touching new highs. The regulation of securities markets has evolved over the last two and a half decades since the setting up of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, but it is still a work in progress. Front-running, insider trading, …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Independence Day that Ayushman Bharat, or the National Health Protection Mission, will be launched formally on September 25 sends out the signal that the government is finally recognising the linkages between health care and economic development. Political parties have not yet made the right …

In the monsoon session, Parliament passed certain amendments to laws on corruption, which could have a far-reaching effect. Among them, the focus here is on two aspects: one requiring prior approval for initiating investigation into allegations of corruption against public servants, and the other requiring prior sanction for prosecution of …

The decision of the Ministry of Health to restrict, from September 1, the manufacture of oxytocin only to the public sector unit, Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (KAPL), has sparked fears of shortages and a disruption of supplies of this drug. Oxytocin — which is considered to be a critical …

In the debate on reform in the Indian military, there is a need for clear policy-driven directives that meet India’s national security needs and challenges. A recent historical overview would indicate just how confused things are, which doesn’t augur well for a ‘leading power’. The initial flavour of the debate …

Around August 15 every year, Indians tend to get more correct and prickly. The 15th is a precious day for us. We demand a salute to our state and status as a great independent nation. Any critique is summarily dismissed, often at the cost to our own understanding of the …

There have been instances wherein individuals and companies have managed to avail tax benefits from the Income Tax Department on the money paid to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to settle matters under the consent mechanism. Entities have shown the settlement amount paid to SEBI as a …

Their Lordships [Sadasiva Aiyer and Napier, J.J., of the Madras High Court] disposed of a criminal revision case from North Arcot in which the question was whether negligence on the part of a driver of a Motor car could be inferred from the fact that the car ran over a …

Faced with the danger of large-scale Pakistani infiltration into Barmer and Jaisalmer, the Rajasthan Government has asked the Centre to annul forthwith the citizenship of some 18,000 persons who had crossed over to Pakistan during the September 1965 conflict between the two countries. Although these persons ran away to Pakistan …

On fake news and communalised debates in Karnataka Away from the rallies, politicking, coalition talk and door-to-door campaigns, election coverage usually involves attempting to find a logical voting pattern in an otherwise unpredictable electorate. The Karnataka Assembly elections provided an opportunity to tour many parts of the State and ask …

The weakening rupee is anopportunity to boost exports For the Indian rupee, already grappling with high crude oil prices and the growing heft of the U.S. dollar, the latest shock has come from a most unexpected quarter. The currency, which was valued at 63.84 to the dollar at the end …

The Taliban assault on the city could alterthe balance in Afghanistan’s civil war The massive Taliban assault on the strategically important Ghazni city in southeastern Afghanistan has exposed the vulnerabilities of Afghan troops once again. If the city falls, it could alter the balance in the stalemated war, rendering the …

The lack of research in evolutionary biology in India is a matter of concern The marginalisation of research and education in evolutionary biology in India has justifiably been a matter of concern for some time. Evolutionary biology is important in understanding multi-drug resistance in microbes, for instance. The Nipah virus …

India and Pakistan will both gain immensely by encouraging bilateral trade In his speech on July 26, after his electoral victory, Pakistan Prime Minister-elect and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan conveyed a sense of hope when he spoke of the need for harmonious relations with neighbouring countries, including India. …