Strengthening the U.S.-India subsea cable agenda

‘Enhanced subsea cable collaboration will complement the broader U.S.-India trade deal’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Bilateral commercial engagement between India and the United States is accelerating across multiple fronts, not limited to an imminent trade agreement. The two administrations are working closely on strategic sectors, with a shared understanding of the need to diversify … Read more

political line newsletter speech I hate, but must defend

(This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.) Unless we defend the rights of both Vijay Shah and Ali Khan Mahmudabad to say whatever they want to, neither … Read more

Regulating India’s virtual digital assets revolution

‘Indians traded over ₹1.03 trillion worth of VDAs on non-compliant platforms’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images India continues to lead in grassroots crypto adoption, for the second consecutive year in the ‘Geography of Crypto’ report by Chainalysis (2024). A National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) report finds that Indian retail investors poured $6.6 … Read more

Whose mountain is it, anyway?

A view of Mt Kanchendzonga. | Photo Credit: PTI On May 18, five people from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) scaled Mt Khangchendzonga from the Nepal side, prompting expressions of concern and protest by civil society groups and Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang. Sikkim’s native population holds the mountain sacred … Read more

A sinking feeling for ‘Brand Bengaluru’

People attempt to push out a car from a waterlogged road after heavy rains, at Sai layout in Bengaluru, on May 19, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI For long-time residents of Bengaluru, it is beginning to feel like there is too much happening all at once. There are talks of extending Namma Metro to neighbouring … Read more

Letters to The Editor — June 2, 2025

CDS statement, fog clears The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan’s statement, that an unspecified number of India’s fighter jets were downed during the hostilities with Pakistan in May, is sure to give ammunition to the Opposition parties and their earlier claims (Page 1, June 1). The Government could have avoided this embarrassing … Read more

​Growing pains: Economic performance, Viksit Bharat

The data on India’s economic performance in 2024-25, released on Friday, have something for everybody. Those with an optimistic outlook can rejoice at the seemingly robust growth in the fourth quarter. Pessimists can despair over the four-year low annual growth figure. The realist’s assessment, however, is that there is cause for some restrained celebration, and … Read more

​Wrong call: On Assam and arming civilians

The decision by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government to issue arms licences to “eligible” indigenous communities in remote and vulnerable areas in the State is fraught with danger. The State government seems to suggest that indigenous communities living in the border areas abutting Bangladesh are vulnerable and that armed licences would be a deterrent … Read more

The university under attack, universities undermined

Universities are facing an unprecedented challenge. While in India the challenge has been growing over the last three decades, in the United States, it has erupted since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. The challenge has been growing elsewhere too as society’s expectations from universities are changing. The Trump administration is freezing $3.2 … Read more