Navigating silver years – The Hindu

Try to spend some time with Nature; even if you are in a concrete jungle, you can always gaze at the sky! | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Writers from time immemorial had been categorising old age under ‘second childhood’. What exactly leads to senior citizens getting tagged this way? Yes, our bodies have lost their … Read more

Microplastics menace – The Hindu

Microplastics were first reported in 2004, and the harmful effects on living organisms have echoed in conversations.  | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace of the U.S., once said, “There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere.” Large piles of plastic trash … Read more

A scroll for the times

Once upon a time, humans woke up, stretched, yawned, and greeted the sun. Now, they wake up, stretch, and immediately grab their phones to check WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (or X, if you want to sound fancy). The sun can wait, notifications can’t…. Social media has pulled off something remarkable — it has transformed ordinary … Read more

Political Line newsletter: Defining acts

(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.) There are parallels between a 13,000-word definition of showerhead in the U.S. and a recent Supreme Court (SC) judgement … Read more

Letters to The Editor — April 19, 2025

‘Judiciary and democracy’ The Vice-President of India’s strong lines against the Supreme Court of India are unwarranted as what the Court has done is strictly according to the provisions of the Constitution. The timelines actually apply to the chain after the Assembly has made its considered decision. V. Padmanabhan, Bengaluru The use of phrases such … Read more

​Self-inflicted wound: on higher education and Trump administration’s move

President Donald Trump’s threat to revoke the tax-exempt status of Harvard University as an educational institution will have far-reaching consequences not only for the wider student community but also for corporate America and the military-industrial complex. The administration also indicated that it would block the admission of foreign students, who make up nearly a third … Read more

Are Indian startups not scaling up on innovation?

Recently, while speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh in New Delhi, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that startups were not innovating enough and were limiting themselves to grocery delivery. Are Indian startups not scaling up on innovation? Thillai Rajan and P.K. Jayadevan discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Ashokamithran T. … Read more