Editorials

World Bank data, in 2015, showed that nearly 65% of health-care expenditure in India is “Out of Pocket” (OoP). A report by the World Health Organisation has shown that around 3.2% of Indians would fall below the poverty line because of high OoP health expenditure. Thus, a national health insurance …

Mr. Modi has not yet appointed a Lokpal, and Ms. Raje recently extended the tenure of the Lokayukta to eight years from the earlier five, causing a severe dent to the integrity of the institution.If Mr. Modi tries to honestly find out about the actual scam in the Pradhan Mantri …

The INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear ballistic missile submarine that completed its sea patrol earlier this month, will contribute significantly to making India’s deterrence capability more robust. Submarine-based nuclear capability is the most survivable leg of a nuclear triad, and its benefit must be seen especially in the light of …

West German Economics Minister Karl Schiller said to-day [November 21, Bonn] that financial leaders of the 10 major non-Communist industrial countries were facing very difficult problems in their efforts to solve the current international monetary crisis. He told reporters after a three-hour session on the second day of the conference …

Can States bar the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from functioning in their territory? Yes. The CBI is a national agency with police powers. Its primary jurisdiction is confined to Delhi and Union Territories. As policing (detecting crime and maintaining law and order) is a State subject, the law allows …

The attack on a religious gathering in Kabul that killed 55 people, including several scholars and clerics, is another signal of Afghanistan’s descent into chaos. The clerics had gathered to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed when the suicide bomber blew himself up. The Taliban denied responsibility and blamed …

The conviction of two rioters for their role in the 1984 anti-Sikh violence in Delhi marks a rare success in the long struggle to bring the perpetrators to justice. Of particular significance is that this case, relating to a mob attack on shop-keepers in Mahipalpur, was resurrected after being closed …

The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is examining a public interest litigation (PIL) that could be critical for Indian democracy. The PIL, which seeks the strengthening of the Election Commission of India (ECI), includes a proposal to create an independent mechanism to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and …

It is either mischievous or ignorant to claim that ‘brahminical’ only refers to brahmins Imagine a celebrity Indian CEO going to the United States and having himself photographed with women of colour while holding a poster that said, “Smash racist patriarchy”. And then, imagine white Americans coming down on him …

Its openness to the board discussing all policy decisions may well be a paradigm shift The angel was in the detail of the terse press note that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued after the meeting of its board of directors on November 19. Every one of the four …

Last month, the Pakistan Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, citing lack of evidence. The verdict must rank as the boldest in the chequered history of Pakistan. The judges showed remarkable courage in going against the far-right ideology responsible for the extralegal lynching of an …

Bihar to be declared ODF before March 22: Sushil Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday said the entire Bihar should be declared Open Defecation Free before State’s foundation day on March 22 next year. The target has been set to declare the entire country ODF by October 2, …

“The Board also advised that the RBI should consider a scheme for restructuring of stressed standard assets of MSME borrowers with aggregate credit facilities of up to Rs. 250 million [Rs. 25 crore] , subject to such conditions as are necessary for ensuring financial stability,” the RBI said. On the …

An RTI applicant had sought details about deaths in all wards of Mumbai in 2016 The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Registrar General of India (RGI) to change its practices of data collection, especially with regard to births and deaths. Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad issued the directives to …

Con artists edit bank details, get customers to share PINs Scamsters seem to have stumbled upon a gold mine in the form of a loophole in the Google Maps interface. Taking advantage of the fact that on Google Maps, an establishment’s contact details can be edited by anyone, a group …

Money markets in London, Paris and Bonn remained closed to-day [November 20] in the wake of the financial turmoil which has rocked Western Europe during the past two weeks. The crisis was sparked off by fears of a devaluation of the French franc and a pricing upward of the value …

The Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute on what to expect from the Katowice Climate Change Conference and how to tackle pollution Ajay Mathur is the Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). He is also a member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority …

The U.S.-China discord at APEChighlights the dangers of their tariff war Breaking with more than a quarter-century of history, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organisation wrapped up its summit with no joint communiqué issued. Its leaders, principally led by the U.S. and China, clashed over the proposed wording of the …

The issue today is whether a dishonest system can be managed honestly Allegations of interference in major institutions have been the big news of late. The ongoing fracas in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has got out of hand, with the two top officials in the chain of command …

The Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute on what to expect from the Katowice Climate Change Conference and how to tackle pollution Ajay Mathur is the Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). He is also a member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority …