Editorials

For quite a few years, many questions were asked about the relevance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, the war in Eastern Europe has upended these narratives and provided a renewed raison deter not just for strengthening the alliance but its expansion as well. The latest NATO summit …

An industry body for medical device manufacturers is opposing the Centre’s plan to bring the New Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2022 to Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session, and has written to Health Minister, expressing its dismay. The move to introduce and pass the legislation, which aims to …

The Indus Waters Treaty (1960), or IWT, that regulates the Indus water courses between the two riparian states of India and Pakistan, is cited by many as an example of cooperation between two unfriendly neighbours for many reasons. These include the IWT having survived several wars and phases of bitter …

Eye on Emirati flows There are both risks and benefits in the rupee-dirham settlement system The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the UAE agreed on July 15 to establish a framework for enabling the use of the two countries’ local currencies for cross-border transactions. The …

U.S., India working to make investment easier for energy transition, says Yellen The United States is working with India to develop ways to lower the cost of capital and increase private investment to fast- track India’s energy transition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday. After a bilateral meeting with …

A sudden spurt in duty-free imports of gold jewellery from Indonesia under the India-ASEAN free trade agreement was a key reason for the Indian government’s decision to ban shipments of certain gold jewellery products. The Centre suspects that gold is being re-routed into India from other countries without payment of any …

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday said a fresh affidavit submitted by the Union government saying Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing an “unprecedented era of peace, progress and prosperity” after its special status under Article 370 was abrogated on August 4, 2019, has “no bearing on the …

Little did we know that beyond the automated factory machines, self-driving cars, and robocops, Artificial Intelligence (AI) would one day crash into our lives, authoring poems, tipping us with pickup lines, and passing the toughest examinations. The recent rise of Large Language Models and Generative AI has sparked more interest …

A parliamentary committee, set up to examine the controversial proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, has endorsed the amendment Bill in its entirety. The report prepared by the 31-member joint committee on the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament during the …

The G-20 summit in India is one of the “most important” events for Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin could attend the summit, which would be the first time he would come face to face with Western leaders since the war in Ukraine began. In 2022, Mr. Putin skipped the G-20 summit …

Digital platforms and technology have enabled Indian artists and artisans to reach wider audiences.However, they face challenges that are related to economic sustainability, market access, the digital divide, crime in the art world and preservation. A collaborative model promoting cultural economy can help encourage India’s soft power by creating an …

The Tamil Nadu public health model is iconic. It has ensured equity in the delivery of health care, led to big improvements in maternal and infant mortality and universal immunisation coverage, and led to a low total fertility rate compared to the all-India average. In the public health sector, there …

A major announcement in Tamil Nadu’s budget for 2023-24 was that the schools run by different departments for so long to cater to specific needs will be merged with the School Education (SE) department. The announcement has evoked mixed reactions from civil society. What are these schools? While the government is …

A coordinated approach to regulating crypto assets, managing debt vulnerabilities and reorienting global financial institutions have been identified as critical focus areas of the Finance Track agenda for India’s G-20 Presidency, which will kick off with the first meeting of G-20 finance and central bank deputies in Bengaluru on Tuesday. …

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Employees’ Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014 of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organistion as “legal and valid” while reading down certain provisions. Most important, the court used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to allow eligible employees who had not opted for …

India will insist on “action” and a clear pathway that developed countries must follow to deliver long-promised finance to developing countries for adapting to climate change threats, ahead of the 27th edition of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Sharm-El-Shaikh, Egypt that begins on November 7. “This ought …

The original intent of the reservation policy in newly independent India was to level the playing field for the most marginalised sections, those stigmatised and discriminated against on account of their birth into specific caste and tribal groups. While these groups were also economically deprived, that was not the main …

Russia’s allegation that Ukraine was planning to launch a so-called dirty bomb shows how dramatically the Ukraine conflict has escalated. Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with many of his global counterparts, including Rajnath Singh, accusing Ukraine of potential “nuclear terrorism”. A dirty bomb is not a nuclear bomb …

Israel and Lebanon on Thursday separately signed a U.S.-brokered maritime border deal which paves the way for lucrative offshore gas extraction by the neighbours that remain technically at war. The agreement is set to go into effect after two exchanges of letters — one between Lebanon and the U.S., the …

The Kerala government has constituted a technical committee for preparing an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the downstream part of the Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district. Headed by the Chief Engineer (Inter-State Waters), Irrigation department, the six-member technical committee is expected to draft and submit the EAP within three months. …