Editorials

In India, investing in the laggard States will ensure their role as being the greatest contributors of the future Last month, the United Nations released the 26th revision of World Population Prospects and forecast that India will overtake China as the most populous country by 2027. The only surprise associated …

The Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, sprung a major surprise to-night [July 9] by sending a note to the Congress Working Committee – through a special messenger from Delhi – more or less associating herself with the Leftist demand for bank nationalisation. When the Working Committee was discussing the draft …

Markets react negatively to the Budget’s populism and inability to force reforms Many investors who were hoping for business-friendly reforms were not too impressed by the maiden Budget of the second Narendra Modi government. After a moderate negative reaction when the Budget was presented in Parliament on Friday, both the …

The budgetary measures can speed upIndia’s plans to switch to electric vehicles The Union Budget has announced a bold move to make a transition to electric vehicles, and offered a tax incentive for the early adopters. Its stated vision to leapfrog into an era of electric mobility and domestic vehicle …

Forest dwellers and farmers are the best hope to preserve biodiversity and ensure food security The Dongria Kondh tribe of Niyamgiri Hills are among the best conservationists in the world. Known for the spirited defence of their forested habitat against short-sighted industrialisation, they have through millennia evolved a lifestyle that …

Why a purportedly ‘limited’ attack by the U.S. is likely — and worrying Is Iran being set up for a ‘limited scale conflict’ just before the U.S. presidential election? This is a suspicion that might be far from the minds of North and West European leaders, hailing from countries that, …

Maratha reservation borders on class legislation rather than signifying reasonable classification Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), once considered to be just a party of upper caste Hindus, is beginning to expand its social base. And a party that has consistently criticised the Indian National Congress …

India needs to double yearly rate of fall in stunting cases to achieve its 2022 target A new report, ‘Food and Nutrition Security Analysis, India, 2019’, authored by the Government of India and the United Nations World Food Programme, paints a picture of hunger and malnutrition amongst children in large …

The initial pullout of 25,000 American troops from Viet Nam began to-day [July 8] with the departure of a battalion of 814 infantrymen. Garlanded with plastic flowers thrown round their necks by pretty Viet Namese girls, most of the young troops laughed and smiled as they boarded nine giant transport …

BJP must not stake claim to form a Ministryin Karnataka without an absolute majority The political crisis in Karnataka that has been brewing for months has boiled over, threatening the Congress-Janata Dal(S) coalition government. With 13 of its MLAs resigning from the Assembly in phases, and one independent withdrawing his …

Mr. Vaiko being found guilty of sedition strengthens the case to scrap Section 124A The conviction of prominent pro-LTTE politician Vaiko on the charge of sedition, based on a typically impassioned speech he had made in Chennai a decade ago, is a worrying development. Even though Section 124A, the IPC …

India and the U.S. should aim to progressively eliminate trade and investment barriers Trade turmoil has been putting at risk the U.S.’s strategic partnership with India. In the last two months, the U.S. has withdrawn from India preferential tariff benefits under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme, and India …

India needs to anticipate the promising impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area The 12th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) which concluded on July 8 at Niamey, the capital of the Niger Republic, saw 54 of 55 of its member states signing the African Continental Free Trade …

The U.S. is using the Ranbaxy experience to create a bogey Allegations of widespread fraud concerning generic drugs manufactured overseas, especially in India, were recently highlighted in the U.S. Much focus was on the contamination found in one drug made by Ranbaxy. I do not wish to support Ranbaxy’s deplorable …

Without it, we will continue to allow unhealthy scepticism about democracy to grow A persistent concern exists about democracy’s failure to fulfil our expectations. While our votes are forceful ‘paper stones’, effective in getting rid of governments we dislike, they are powerless to give us effective, efficient, good governments. Why …

The Maratha quota is a case in point of what a progressive Indian polity should not be doing The description “backward” to define communities is yet another colonial relic which we, as a collective, embrace with such enthusiasm, that we almost forget what it is supposed to mean. Nowhere is …

Without dropping anyone or inducting any new incumbent, the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi has made a major reshuffle of her 23-month-old Central Cabinet on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament. The Prime Minister has divested herself of the portfolio of External Affairs and has transferred the charge …

Failure to win ought to hurt less than outright loss, but try telling that to B.S. Yeddyurappa. Unable to reconcile himself to the failure to wrest Karnataka from the grip of the Congress in last year’s Assembly election, the BJP strongman is adopting desperate measures to get another shot at …

It is easy to see why the Saudi Crown Prince has chosen to include India in his Asia tour Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits India next week at a time when both countries are seeking to deepen bilateral cooperation. For MBS, as he is widely known, the visit …

Amid a grim economic crisis, the power struggle weakens Venezuela further What is happening in Venezuela? Venezuela has been going through a turmoil for the past couple of years amid an economic meltdown and growing Opposition protests. The crisis took a dangerous turn on January 23 when Juan Guaidó, president …