Opinion

Enric Sala The Seychelles, a string of 115 verdant, rocky islands in the Indian Ocean, recently announced – in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic – that it would protect 30% of its glittering turquoise waters from commercial use. Safeguarding some 410,000 square kilometers (158,000...

Bharat Jhunjhunwala India has three advantages compared to China. One, our population is younger. One-half of our population is below age 28 -- against the 38 for China. This means there is likely to be less infection of COVID-19 in India. Two, India is a...

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented one. The world hasn't experienced anything like this since the Spanish Flu of 1918. Originating in China -- in its wet markets or in a lab or elsewhere - it has swept through the world and caused havoc, death...

Charudutta Panigrahi I would like to draw a parallel between the ‘window of discourse’ and the ‘window of social work’ in India. The Overton window, which is the first name of windows of discourse, is the band of ideas around which acceptable public narratives and...

Prof. Yogesh Pratap Singh & Madhubrata Rayasingh Importance of the MSME sector to Indian economy can be gauged by the fact that this sector accounts for 30 per cent of the GDP, 45 per cent of the employment and almost 50 per cent of the...

Ashutosh Das Sharma As the nation is locked down, and the keys are handed over to Mother Nature -- only to be taken back when she clears the impending doom -- we must realise that the situation will only get difficult as days pass. Maybe...

Prof. MC Behera A few weeks ago, I wrote elsewhere that the practice of segregation (quarantine) and social distancing have their origin in tribal traditions. Even the concept of Janata Curfew has its origin in Jan (tribal) tradition. The present strategy of ‘self-sufficiency’ as declared by Prime...

Dr S Saraswathi The Union Home Ministry has made Aarogya Setu -- Bridge to Health -- a contact tracing app,   mandatory for all “returnees”; meaning migrant labourers and those coming from abroad. The move is intended to facilitate better contact surveillance in Covid-19 cases which...

Melvin Durai Almost everyone in the world has prayed at one time or another. Some pray daily, while others pray whenever they need divine intervention. If a lion is running toward them, they will scream, "Dear God, please save me." Meanwhile, the lion is praying...

Susan Athey, Kendall Hoyt and Michael Kremer As countries around the world ponder strategies for developing a COVID-19 vaccine, it should be clear that the fastest and most effective approach is to work together. More than any other single intervention, a widely distributed, effective vaccine...