India’s Goods and Services Tax collection in April, since the indirect taxation framework was implemented in 2017, has consistently hit record highs. This April was no different — generally because of businesses tallying their books and completing their financial year-end tax commitments. The gross GST collected this time was about ₹2.37 lakh crore, marking an … Read more
In our pursuit of happiness, we often chase grand achievements — career success, financial security, or material comforts — allowing the outside world to define us. Remember, positions and acquisitions can give you a temporary dose of joy, but it’s only family and friends who will be there at a time of crisis. Unhappiness thrives … Read more
Cats have been domesticated in Central Europe for 10,000 years. | Photo Credit: Getty Images “Why do cats meow, yowl, and cry so much at night?” I asked our Bulgarian driver. “It’s love season,” he replied in broken English with a smile. “Don’t the owners mind?” I continued. “Not all cats are pets, sir. Many are … Read more
The train from Tirupati was running late. Visakhapatnam was close, yet not close enough. It stood still, caught in the silent grip of a stubborn signal. Outside, life carried on, indifferent to my restless heart. Vendors wove through the crowd, their voices rising in rhythmic calls. One, in particular, caught my attention. An old woman. … Read more
Replace plastic water bottles with water dispensers across all offices. | Photo Credit: Getty Images The e-commerce company delivered the item we had ordered in a large carton. There was another box inside and the item was wrapped in a plastic bag. Today, we can order anything from groceries and phones to clothes and shoes, … Read more
Relatives of the victim of a stampede in the New Delhi railway station mourn her death. | Photo Credit: PTI Two stampede incidents topped the headlines recently. Twenty train passengers were killed while trying to board a crowded train in New Delhi, a tragedy that came soon after the stampede at the Maha Kumbh in … Read more
‘India’s diplomats should be given the task of coming up with a new type of principles of global governance for a more equal world’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto India is at another inflexion point, reminiscent of Vasco De Gama sailing into Kozhikode in 1498 and of a complacent Zamorin lacking strategic intention. Instead of … Read more
Fourteen people, two of them children, were killed and 13 injured in a hotel fire in the Mechua market area of Burrabazar in central Kolkata on Tuesday. The fire engines had trouble accessing the congested area. It appears, yet again, that many of the victims were asphyxiated — smoke is as much a deadly killer … Read more
