Opinion

By B Yerram Raju In the context of the stress faced by the justice dispensing system for several reasons, chief of them being the huge pendency of cases, the Government of India thought it expedient to provide a new forum and procedure for resolving international and domestic commercial disputes quickly culminating in setting up of […]

By Ekta Kishore, Viswanath Pingali The recent Economic Survey suggests that more than 54.6% of our workforce depends on agriculture and allied industries as their source of livelihood, contributing a little over 17% to our country’s Gross Value Added. However, degrading soil quality, shifting weather patterns, low mechanisation rates, unavailability of manual labour, sub-optimal irrigation […]

By Nayakara Veeresha Nov 26, 2021, will remain as one of the milestones in the history of our nation. Reason: the government’s decision to repeal the farm laws that were enacted in 2020 and halted by the Supreme Court in January, 2021. The day is commemorated as Constitution Day or Samvidhaan Divas or National Law […]

By Robert Huish, Simon C Darnell In ordering a diplomatic boycott, but not an athletic boycott, of the Beijing Winter Olympics, US President Joe Biden effectively pulled his goalie from the net.China and the United States continue to face off over how “people and economies should be governed.” Following a virtual summit, Biden and China’s […]

By D Bala Venkatesh Varma Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, for the 21st Annual Summit in New Delhi on 6th December. Though by normal diplomatic standards this official visit was a short one — President Putin was in Delhi for less than four hours — its timing and […]

If we are serious about limiting global warming, we should only burn a small fraction of our known fossil fuel reserves

By Robert Thomson US President Joe Biden’s online ‘Summit for Democracy’ is being heralded by its organisers as the start of democratic renewal. Leaders from governments, civil society and business will discuss what can be done to strengthen democracy. The White House argues such action is urgently needed, as democracies around the world are under […]

By Louise Grogan The lack of food security in Afghanistan may soon become a threat to the stability of many other countries. Without a radical change of western policy towards the Taliban, millions of people will make their way to anywhere they can find food. The arrival of the poorest of the poor in neighbouring […]

By Renaud Foucart Facebook’s approach to users’ data has just been dealt a major blow from the European court of justice (ECJ). In an answer to a question from Germany’s highest court, the ECJ’s advocate general – whose opinion is not binding but is generally followed by the court – has made an essential clarification […]

Mounting tensions put the US in a difficult position but armed conflict between the two superpowers is unlikely

By Christoph Bluth According to media reports from Washington, the Biden administration wants to engage China in talks on arms control and non-proliferation. The US president, Joe Biden, and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping discussed the issue during their recent virtual summit. The issue has not previously been high on the agenda in talks between the […]

By Nayakara Veeresha The years 2020 and 2021 will remain as one of the most turbulent times in recent decades. Covid-19 has affected the lives of all sections of people. But children, ie, tomorrow’s citizens, will bear the brunt of Covid in the coming days. The relationship between the child and the parents has undergone […]

By Dr Oruganty Prasada Rao In the recently concluded climate change summit COP26, India and China called for phase-down instead of phase-out of coal in the final text of the conference declaration. The reasons for it are: Energy Resources: India is endowed with large reserves of coal, which can last for over 200 years at […]

By Seela Subba Rao Recently, former chairman of SBI, Rajnish Kumar, opined that in a country like India, allowing corporate houses to own banks is fraught with great risks. He advocated that the banks should be rightly owned and professionally managed. Similar views were echoed by former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan as well as former […]

By Vijay Kumar Did you ever ponder why there are so many data breaches these days? Did you also notice why such incidents are significantly more on cloud than otherwise? Did you wonder why despite best talents, intents and efforts, businesses get bulldozed besides being publicly embarrassed by a few unknown enemies? Ask any leader […]

By Dr Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao In the contemporary world, there is increased interest in having scientific, rigorous and accurate data for a good understanding of any social, economic or political phenomenon. More so, in applied social sciences, especially in policymaking, which eventually leads to an effective policy. Data has two sides according to the […]

Addressing climate change is about acknowledging interdependence and commonality and accepting responsibility

By B Yerram Raju Not a day passes without a report on cybercrime. A recent news item reported that Punjab National Bank has compromised customer data for over seven months. Every organisation using a digital platform asks for personal details like Aadhaar number (this number is auto connected to Permanent Account Number of Income Tax). […]

By Pramod K Nayar The much-criticised Nazis developed a test for ascertaining the degree of Aryanness or Jewishness. With the eugenics movement and its associate, Social Darwinism, as ideological foundations, this quantification of ancestry, belonging and kinship enabled the Nazis to target, deny and exterminate those whose blood was not pure enough. The concern with […]

By Dr K Srinivasa Rao Innovations in financial intermediation led by fintechs and virtual banks have changed the landscape of lending to retailers and small and medium entrepreneurs. Hyperactive digital lending by new-age tech entities has begun to pose a challenge to banks and regulators. Falling in line with the competitors, banks have also partially […]

By Mahitha Lingala Telangana has moved ahead a significant distance from growing at 2.7% in the undivided State to 13.3% in mere six years after bifurcation, a rate which is higher than the national average. Its Industrial Policy introduced in 2015 contributed immensely to this surge bringing in over Rs 1.4 lakh crore. IT exports […]

By Dr GB Reddy, T Vijay Kumar Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on November 19, 2021, that his government would repeal the three controversial farm laws. Though the PM maintained that the government failed to make farmers understand the benefits of the laws, one important factor could be the States’ dissent and opposition to such […]

Countries could do more to encourage trade in environmental goods to unlock the economies of scale

By Tony Walker American-Chinese summit diplomacy comes and goes, but there will not be a much more consequential meeting between two leaders than the latest of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s consultations. If a measure was needed of how transformational the relationship between the US and China has become, one only needs to go back […]