The problem of regulating live-in relationships

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announcing the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Dehradun. | Photo Credit: PTI Uttarakhand recently implemented a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), governing various aspects of civil life. One of the novel aspects of the UCC is that it mandates compulsory registration of opposite-sex live-in relationships, and criminalises … Read more

Utilising doctorate holders in plotting the growth of India

In today’s knowledge-driven economy, the synergy between academia, industry and government plays a critical role in shaping innovations, solving complex societal problems and fostering economic growth for a better world. Doctorate holders, who are the epitome of specialised knowledge and advanced research skills, can contribute significantly to all three sectors. However, despite their deep expertise, … Read more

A legal ‘remedy’ that perpetuates survivor trauma

‘Justice must not be diluted by societal norms or convenience’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Allahabad High Court, in Atul Gautam vs State of Uttar Pradesh (2025), recently granted bail to a man who has been accused of raping his inter-faith live-in partner on the ‘promise of marriage’. The bail was granted on the … Read more

A role for India in South-South climate cooperation

COP29, at Baku, Azerbaijan, aptly referred to as the ‘Climate Finance COP,’ has played a crucial role in operationalising core elements of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (PA). The adoption of Article 6 at Baku represents a renewed focus on the market mechanism which could help countries that are often constrained by limited resources … Read more

Self-inflicted injury: On Trump tariffs and the U.S. economy  

Economic estimates from United States President Donald Trump’s first term suggest that the sweeping tariffs his administration imposed on nearly $400 billion worth of goods hurt the American economy. They also resulted in a net loss in real (inflation-adjusted) Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a decline in annual household income, and job losses in the manufacturing … Read more

Letters to The Editor — February 12, 2025

Trump and the world Nations across the world appear to be transfixed by the idiosyncratic announcements flowing one after another from Trump 2.0. The 47th U.S. President’s imperialistic proposal to own the Gaza Strip and relocate its population to other countries deserves an instant and outright response from the Arab world and countries such as … Read more

Struggling with poor cyber security

Kaveri 2.0, a web portal that was launched in 2023 to streamline property registrations in Karnataka, came under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack carried out through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered bots recently. A denial-of-service (DoS) attack occurs when legitimate users are unable to access information systems, devices, or other network resources due to the … Read more

Addressing the growing threat of forest fires

As wildfires swept throughout Los Angeles last month, destroying homes and causing casualties and displacements, the urgency of addressing and preventing forest fires took centre stage once again. Unfortunately, forest fires become a point of conversation only when some major incident causes irrevocable damage and captures media and public attention. The fires are a stark … Read more