Is there an impending debt crisis?
By Amit Kapoor It has been a decade since the biggest financial crisis in living memory swept the globe. In the run-up to the crisis, the debt levels of the developed economies saw a rapid…
Commentary
Enjoying power – a lesson from a legendary Indian king’s throne
By Vikas Datta Rulers of men, be it in a system autocratic or democratic, soon begin to believe in their “divine right” of leadership and that they outstrip their predecessors — some of whom are…
What’s causing so many changes to India’s monsoons?
By Raghu Murtugudde For the third year in a row, the monsoon season has produced floods in the northwest and the northeast, while south India has suffered from a rainfall deficit. Rainfall extremes have increased…
Demonetisation may have hurt more than it helped
By Amulya Ganguli It will take time for the economists to figure out whether the fall in the growth rate to 5.7 per cent is the result of the disruption caused by demonetisation and the…
BRICS Summit against backdrop of plummeting Washington-Moscow ties
By Saeed Naqvi Two recent events will influence attitudes at the 9th BRICS summit at Xiamen, China, from September 3 to 5 — Doklam and Trump’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. Beijing and…
TN girl who fought against NEET commits suicide, leaders condemn state, Centre
Chennai, Sep 1 (IANS) With her dreams of becoming a doctor dashed owing to a low score in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), S. Anitha, who fought against the common entry test for medical colleges,…
Imaginary ailments make me ill
By Nury Vittachi I don’t always Google my cold symptoms but when I do I have the Black Death, pregnancy and a disease only horses get. This is not actually that surprising. I’ve had every…
Denouement at Doklam: India must take long-term measures
By Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd) Accustomed as we are to shrill hyperbole in India’s public discourse, the description of the tense Himalayan face-off as the “incident at Doklam” and its denouement as “expeditious disengagement of…
The irrationality of belief?
By Amit Kapoor Self-proclaimed godmen and a coterie of sycophants to back them and validate their claims have always been ubiquitous in India. This phenomenon is not problematic in itself until the sycophancy is followed…
Infosys saga indicative of industry-wide malaise
By Amit Kapoor Infosys is yet again in the news for all the wrong reasons. The poster child of the Indian IT industry just cannot seem to stabilise its ship even after a decade of…
BJP plays the caste card knowing it won’t get the Muslim vote
By Amulya Ganguli When the Supreme Court excluded the “creamy layer”, or the well-off sections, among the backward castes from the benefits of reservations in its 1991 judgement, it had taken a logical step to…
Afghan Quagmire: India must learn to play the big game
By Lt Gen K.G. Krishna (retd) The US President has spelt out the much-anticipated US Policy for Afghanistan and South Asia. Expectedly, there are enough divergent views expressed within the US and elsewhere. What does…
From ‘Mr Kisskissbangbang’ to kings and more: Sean Connery’s cinematic journey
By Vikas Datta He is perhaps the best symbol of cinema’s transformative power – a rugged-looking, working-class man who became the first to portray — and define — an urbane and debonair secret agent licensed…
Salim blames centre, Mamata and media for plight of Bengal flood victims
Kolkata, Aug 22 (IANS) Blaming the “irresponsive” and “irresponsible” central and West Bengal governments for the plight of the flood victims in northern Bengal, CPI-M politburo member Mohammed Salim on Tuesday alos criticised the media…
India’s social advancement dependent on rise in productivity
By Amit Kapoor The Indian rupee has been on a rising spree this year. Beginning from historical lows back in December-January, when the rupee had almost touched 69 to a dollar, it has risen to…
India needs to promote woman power for better shot at Olympic medals
By Siddhartha Upadhyay A few months ago, I was on a panel discussing how more women could be engaged in sports or how equal opportunities could be created for them in sports. Sitting on a…
Despite the rhetoric, the US can’t pull out of Paris pact before Nov 4, 2020
By Rajendra Shende The world today is “locked” in more ways than one. Brutal inequality, dreadful terrorism, unashamed threats on territorial claims and bullying on nuclear missile attacks have all locked our civilisation in a…
Desert warrior, ignored prophet: Lawrence of Arabia’s life, legend and legacy
By Vikas Datta How is history made? From the interplay of political, social and economic forces, decisions made elsewhere or the contested “Great Man” Theory — the influence of one key man at the right…
Need of the hour is to keep the core of Infosys intact
By Amit Kapoor Vishal Sikkas exit from Infosys seems to have been accentuated by the streak of comments made by co-founder N.R. Narayan Murthy. The comments bordered on complaints, raising issues of corporate governance and…
What does this story say about the 70th anniversary?
By Saeed Naqvi This is a true story. I am revisiting it with a purpose: So that it collides head on with the nation’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Absolute, undiluted joy on this occasion would require…