The silent dollar coup

The world talks loudly about de-dollarisation. Quietly, ordinary people are adopting the dollar faster than ever, one stablecoin at a time. A content creator in the Philippines would receive a payment from Meta directly into her phone in USDC, a digital token designed to maintain a one-dollar value. A freelancer in Colombia will get paid…

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Holistic good health could be within reach

By Narayani Ganesh At one time, say even two decades ago, ailments among those living in India were predominantly brought on by infections. Today, however, that number has been overtaken by lifestyle diseases. According to a recent TOI report by Shiva Rajora, “Nearly half the population in India has reported cardiovascular and metabolic ailments such as hypertension,…

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The India-Japan maritime axis

While global attention remains fixed on the Strait of Hormuz, a quieter but strategically consequential development is unfolding in the Western Pacific. The United States, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, and several other partners recently conducted the large-scale Balikatan military exercise in the Philippines, while China launched counter-exercises on the Pacific side of the archipelago. These…

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Decoding Modi’s economy message

He’s basically preparing the country for tough decisions GOI has to take. Aside from fuel price hikes, there may be some mild curbs. But extravagant poll promises by all winning parties, including BJP, make economic management that much tougher Barely a day after PM was brimming with pride in Kolkata over the fact that BJP…

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Austerity plus

The Prime Minister’s request to people to use less fuel by taking public transport, and to avoid buying gold for a year, comes at an important time. The Hormuz Strait has been blocked for almost 75 days. Because of this, about 20% of the world’s fuel supply has been affected, and fuel prices around the…

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Who really needs schooling?

The education ministers of two Indian states recently said some surprising things. One minister from Uttar Pradesh wants to remove the nursery rhymes “Johny Johny” and “Rain, Rain, Go Away” from schools. He thinks “Johny Johny” teaches children to lie, and “Rain, Rain, Go Away” teaches selfishness. But this seems like a strange thing to…

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