Editorials

Sharad Pawar may have said more than he meant when he defended PM Modi on Rafale If Maharashtra often appears to be on the cusp of a political realignment, it is in no small part due to the posturing and shadow boxing of the old warhorse, Sharad Pawar of the …

India’s drone use policy makes the possibility of a red tape-free flight very slim At Agroscope, the ‘Swiss centre of excellence for agricultural research’, in Nyon, Switzerland, agriculture scientists fly a drone to study nitrogen level in leaves, not for a farm as a whole, but for each individual plant. …

It has brought about behavioural change, empowered women and broken caste barriers, says the Secretary to the Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry In his office, Parameswaran Iyer keeps a countdown calendar to October 2, 2019, the deadline for all of India to become ‘open-defecation free’. On Tuesday, the countdown dipped …

As Ranjan Gogoi takes over as the new Chief Justice of India, it’s his own warning he must heed In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland , there is a segment called “The Mouse’s Tale”. It features a dialogue between a dog (called Fury) and a mouse. Fury is bored, and …

The rice market rose today [Rangoon, October 1] and Java shippers are paying Rs. 400 and over for rice to fulfil their engagements for which they have already got licenses. There is much discussion as to how the Government will obtain rice for Madras as the present price Rs. 372 …

At a meeting of the Senate held this evening [Bombay, September 30] the following was passed: The Syndicate is authorized to deal with the cases of students who have joined the Indian Defence Force if such students fail at any University examination except an examination for Honour’s or a Master’s …

Filling of reservoir near a fault can cause quakes Even very small reservoirs impounding water seasonally can cause deformation in the neighbouring region. Such deformation may add to the stress of a nearby fault, which if already critically stressed, can trigger an earthquake. Based on Global Positioning System and satellite …

North India faces a big test this winter on measures to reduce burning of crop residue The onset of the winter season has come to be associated with toxic atmospheric pollution in north India. This year will be a crucial test for a scheme piloted by the Union government to …

Bailing it out is one thing, but how didthe debt pile-up go unnoticed for so long? The Centre’s move to supersede the Board of Directors of the troubled Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has come not a day too soon. By explicitly stating its intent to “ensure that needed …

Yehuda Elkana’s reflections could find resonance in India’s troubling present One of my closest friends, the Israeli educationist and philosopher, Yehuda Elkana (in picture), passed away in September 2012, bringing to a close a peripatetic life lived on different continents. Had cancer not taken him away, Elkana would have continued …

With all women allowed into the temple, the infrastructure has to be carefully revamped The path-breaking verdict of the Supreme Court striking down the exclusion of women in the 10-50 age group from the Sabarimala temple in Kerala might have put to rest the long-raging question of gender discrimination. But …

The buying house transfers import risks to the manufacturer The Punjab National Bank (PNB) grabbed headlines with a Rs. 13,000-crore loss on account of its high-profile client, Nirav Modi. Subsequently, lacunae were identified in the procedures of its foreign exchange transactions. An examination of the modus operandi revealed the ease …

The crises in Indian democracy and in global politics send one immediately to consult Gandhi Truth, Satya, was the central axis of the Gandhian system of thought and practice. For Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, everything turned on Truth — satyagraha, swaraj, ahimsa, ashram, brahmacharya, yajna, charkha, khadi, and finally, moksha itself. …

To heed the conscience of the court, and hence the nation, we must honour dissenting judgments Over the past few days in the Supreme Court we have seen some remarkable dissents: Justices Indu Malhotra in Sabarimala , D.Y. Chandrachud in the Activists case and Aadhaar , S. Abdul Nazeer in …

Gandhiji’s statue is installed in a shrine in Mangaluru and puja is offered thrice daily What do the legendary Tulu Nadu folk heroes — Koti and Chennayya — have to do with Mahatma Gandhi? Little, one might say. But the tallest figure of the Indian freedom struggle has a special …

H.M. the King has been pleased to approve the appointment of Captain George Ambrose Lloyd, C.I.E., D.S.O., to be Governor of Bombay in succession to Baron Willingdon of Ratton G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., who will vacate the office in the autumn. The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of Baron …

On Wednesday evening [September 25] a meeting of the General Local Committee of the Indian Science Congress (which is to meet in Bombay from the 13th to the 18th January, 1919) was held in the lecture theatre of the Gerard Freeman-Thomas War Hospital [in Bombay]. Sir Dorabji J. Tata, Chairman …

A selection of his works, and translations Saadat Hasan Manto speaks for himself even today, more than 60 years after his death. The simplicity of his plots, the ordinariness of his characters, and the way he strips every sentence of ornament or artifice makes explanations of his stories redundant. It …

The RBI faces a tough call on setting policy rates given the inflation and liquidity concerns The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to meet for three days, October 3-5, to decide its policy stance. With the U.S. Federal Reserve now firmly set on its policy …

India won the Asia Cup as expected —but it was Afghanistan that won hearts The victory was no surprise but it took a nerve-racking final against Bangladesh in Dubai for Rohit Sharma’s men to win the Asia Cup and and fulfil their pre-tournament billing. Yet, as the final revealed in …