Opinion

Nikunja Bihari Sahu The decision of the Union Cabinet to open up the country’s Space sector for private participation has come as a welcome response from many quarters including the highly respected ISRO. ISRO chairman K Sivan has said the step would not only result...

Shivaji Sarkar It is a global world. One button switches off, another opens. As India gets into a stand-off with China, there are other players who stand to gain. Russia is emerging as a supplier of critical arms and aircraft to many players, including India...

Hauke Engel and Mekala Krishnan COVID-19 has shown how a long-recognised but underappreciated global risk can suddenly materialise and wreak social and economic devastation in a matter of weeks. The implication is clear: While the world is focused on battling the pandemic, firms and governments...

Dhanada K Mishra In a very well known social science experiment, a sample of randomly selected people is asked whether they understand how a bicycle worked. As would be expected, an overwhelming majority would say they do! Yet on asking to draw a rough sketch...

Michael Kremer and Gilbert F. Houngbo The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping societies around the world, in part by accelerating the digital revolution that was already underway at the year’s beginning. Corporations have instituted mass teleworking. International gatherings now take place online, students learn remotely, and...

Bharat Jhunjhunwala The Western countries are haranguing China for espousing dictatorship rather than democracy. Might it be, though, that China’s path may be true and that of the West false? The espousal of democracy by the West appears to be predicated on exploitation of others....

Rajashree Mohapatra As an immediate measure to stem the spread of COVID-19, most educational institutions have been shut since the end of March. It is still difficult to predict when schools, colleges and universities will reopen. There are a few options other than to shift...

Major Priyadarshi Chowdhury China known historically as the middle kingdom is an ancient land like India. A cradle of civilization that gave the world the wisdom of Confucius and Lao Tzu, China historically was a peace-loving, inward-looking country ruled by dynasties with thriving trade relations...

Ashutosh Das Sharma He was a man in his forties. When he noticed that the ulcer in his mouth won’t heal, even after several weeks of existence, he knew it wasn’t ‘just another ulcer’. Visit to oncology clinics, numerous tests, biopsy, expensive scans, and equal...

T Jacob John and Jagdish Rattanani Compiling data and communicating it in a transparent manner to the public are an important part of the government’s response to a pandemic, apart from refining the tactics as the disease evolves and spreads. This however is an area...