India’s goods trade in February saw its steepest decline in nearly two years. Exports fell by 10.9% to $36.91 billion, while imports dropped 16.3% to $50.96 billion, resulting in the smallest trade deficit in over three years (42 months) at $14 billion. While a shrinking trade deficit driven by rising exports would have been a … Read more
‘The over-reliance on consultancies erodes the capacity of the state to innovate and manage its enterprises effectively’ | Photo Credit: THE HINDU/G.R.N. SOMASHEKARA In May 2024, a report that the American consultancy group, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), was to be involved in the revival strategy of state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and that BSNL … Read more
In the first acknowledged discussion on the Pannun episode and anti-India activities by pro-Khalistani groups in the U.S. since the Donald Trump administration took office, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh raised the issue in a meeting with U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. He urged the U.S. to designate Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), led by … Read more
The university is completely dependent on State funding and has missed the opportunity to generate resources through other means. Photo from the recent protest at the university | ANI photo On March 12, the Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar informed the Parliament that Jadavpur University is set to lose the status of Institute of … Read more
‘Evidence shows that health insurance is no elixir for developing countries’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images A little over six years ago, what has been proclaimed as the world’s largest health assurance scheme, namely, the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), was rolled out in the face of hitherto scarce evidence of … Read more
Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and K.V. Thomas, Special Representative of the Kerala government in Delhi, during a meeting at Kerala House, in New Delhi, on March 12, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI The recent breakfast meeting that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hosted for Union … Read more
Construction is the fastest-growing sector, contributing about 9% to the national GDP and projected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2025. Around 3 crore workers are estimated to be working in this sector in India by 2030. However, last month, Larsen and Toubro Chairman and Managing Director, N. Subrahmanyan, voiced growing concerns over labour shortages in … Read more
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Afghanistan’s acting ‘Foreign Minister’ Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai. | Photo Credit: ANI India continues to get closer to the Taliban, with reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will allow the regime in Afghanistan to appoint a new envoy for its embassy in New Delhi. This comes on the heels … Read more
With recent reports indicating a rise in the seasonal influenza cases in the Delhi-NCR area, it is once again time to issue a cautionary note and make a renewed effort to push adult vaccination in the country. The predominant strains involved this season are Influenza A and Influenza B, many treating physicians and pulmonologists have … Read more
The recent drama over the unceremonious repatriation of Indians who attempted illegally to enter the United States of America, and who ended up handcuffed and manacled in an American military aircraft that dumped them on the tarmac in Amritsar, raises a whole series of issues. Migration, after all, is not merely a policy issue. It … Read more