Opinion

Santosh Kumar Mohapatra Odisha’s Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari is set to present his second state budget. It is a very difficult time for him to be helming the exercise, with the share of states from the divisible pool facing cuts. The Centre’s revenue, too, is...

Ganga Narayan Rath The Internet has become an inextricable part of life. The recent shutdown of the Internet in various parts of India has generated much debate. Most commentators have criticised the shutdown, pilloried the police and raised issues relating to its desirability and legality....

Bhagirathi Behera Mining is integral to social development. But the impact mining has on the environment needs to be mitigated. The majority of proposed mining projects involve the extraction of ore for metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum and platinum....

Piyush Ranjan Rout This year, the Summer Olympics returns to Asia. The host city, Tokyo in Japan, has involved its citizens to address climate change and sustainability in its infrastructure development for the global event. These innovations can also be adopted by other cities looking...

Rama Chandra Panda It is a fundamental right of every citizen to disagree with government policy. The parliament and legislatures are just trusts of collective wisdom of citizens; and if any law or policy creates fear or anger among citizens it should be explained. The...

Biranchi Narayan Nanda India’s second quarter (July–September) GDP figure for 2019-20 is the lowest among figures of the previous seven quarters. GDP growth in this quarter was 4.5 per cent, down from 5 per cent in the first quarter (April–June 19). Compared with the corresponding...

Santosh Kumar Mohapatra Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was again targeted and witnessed unprecedented violence recently. The Left-leaning JNU Students Union (JNUSU) and the Rightist Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) blamed each other for the violence unleashed at night January 5. Politicians across party lines, members...

Priya Ranjan Sahu A saying in Hindi goes: “Ulta chor kotwal ko dante” (the thief reprimands the police). But in the context of the attack on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the roles of the thief and the police seem to be reversed, with the...

Dhanada Kanta Mishra A foundation established by a former central minister from Odisha recently organised a seminar in Delhi to pay tribute to a freedom fighter from the state. The stated purpose of the event was to raise a voice for getting the freedom fighter...

SN Misra General Bipin Rawat has taken over as the first CDS of India. He will function as a Secretary in a newly created Department of Military Affairs within the Ministry of Defence. He will be the single point Military Advisor to the Raksha Mantri...