‘It is clear that the U.S. tariff initiative is only its opening gambit’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs has come as a shock, though it is not a surprise. The new tariffs consist of two parts: the existing commodity-wise import tariff and an additional reciprocal country-wise common tariff … Read more
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has given a reassuring signal that from June to September, India is likely to receive ‘above normal’ monsoon rainfall, or 5% more than the historical average of 87 cm. Were this to pan out as projected, it would be a second consecutive year of ‘above normal’ rains. Last year, India … Read more
I was in Delhi for a shoot. All-night shooting schedules left my days free. Delhi’s summer was scorching…the new State government… lawmakers from across the country congregating in the capital… Parliament on the boil due to the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, now an Act. I thought of Umar Khalid. It is going to be five years … Read more
The relationship between the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala and the Governor has been more or less a tranquil affair during the past decades with two rare exceptions. In the late 1980s, there was a face-off between the CPI(M) and the Governor during the two-year-long tenure of Ram Dulari Sinha, who was … Read more
The governance and regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have garnered significant global attention over the past year. While the discourse has recently shifted from a focus on social safety, inclusivity, and human rights towards prioritising innovation and economic prosperity, only a few countries or regions have so far introduced laws to regulate AI. These include … Read more
‘The criticism that the Court has exceeded in its jurisdiction is misconceived’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The recent judgment by the Supreme Court of India, in The State of Tamil Nadu vs Governor of Tamil Nadu, was a historic one. But it has also led to another development — the passing of laws without … Read more
Parties and alliances, and variegated caste and interest groups, are repositioning themselves to optimise their strengths in Bihar before the Assembly election which is due later this year. After the BJP’s victory in Haryana for a third time in a row and the NDA recouping its losses in the 2024 general election to return to … Read more
As ethnic leaders and stakeholders sat across negotiating tables in Delhi discussing a road map for peace in Manipur, I chose to travel in the opposite direction — into the heart of the troubled State. I needed to see for myself what the numbers, the reports, and the headlines could not convey. What I witnessed … Read more
History, textbook revisions As someone who wrote the Central Board of Secondary Education Class XII Board examinations, with history and political science as my subjects, the deletion of select topics and chapters by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in the guise of a “rationalisation of content in the textbooks” is appalling. Under … Read more
‘The government has defined hydrogen produced by electrolysers using electricity from solar and wind as green and has provided incentives’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The goal of achieving a net-zero economy can be realised only by massive electrification of end uses of energy. Besides their use in generating electricity, fossil fuels are used to … Read more