Opinion

India is not running out of rain; it is becoming increasingly vulnerable to running out of usable water. At first glance, the statement appears contradictory. Nearly 80% of the country's annual rainfall arrives during the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) between June and September. Yet every...

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak The digital revolution has not only created a post-truth society based on an industry of manipulation, misinformation and deepfakes but also fundamentally transformed the global scam industry, affecting people worldwide. Criminals are using digital platforms and technologies to defraud unsuspecting individuals....

By Sarada Prasanna Das Odisha today stands at an important moment in India’s energy transition. At a time when electricity politics across the country is increasingly centred around promises of free power and consumption subsidies, Odisha is attempting something different — supporting households to generate...

By Peter Singer The inaugural Enhanced Games, held in Las Vegas in May, allowed participating athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. The Games’ founder, Aron D'Souza, claimed before the start: “We're going to obliterate the world records ... it will be a watershed moment in the...

Angus Armstrong If it is true that art imitates life, works of imagination can reflect underlying truths about our own experience. The English artist David Hockney, who died last month, certainly understood that. In reflecting on his brilliant and endlessly joyful work, even the most...

Melvin Durai A dentist near my home has a large sign bearing his name and the words “Dental Implantologist.” Until I saw his sign, I had never heard of the word “implantologist,” but I had certainly heard of dental implants, because companies that send targeted...

Jagdish Rattanani The district police chief of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh has triggered widespread Dalit protests after he was recorded beating up an advocate in a police van and peaceful protesters who were demanding a thorough probe into the murder of a 20-year-old girl. The...

Sophie Sirtaine & Buhle Goslar   Over the past five decades, microfinance has grown into a $1.5 trillion global industry, reaching hundreds of millions of households that conventional banks have never served and likely never would. It has enabled unbanked people around the world to...

India’s ethanol push is no longer just about blending petrol. With proposals to extend its use to aviation, the debate has intensified over whether the country is rushing into a fuel whose costs may outweigh its benefits. Concerns range from damage to existing vehicles and...

The self-immolation of exiled Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on 2 July was not an expression of personal despair. It was a desperate attempt to jolt the world out of its growing indifference to one of the most...