Blogs

By Vijay Vancheswar In the movie Guide , based on a novel by RK Narayan, iconic actor Dev Anand portrays a tour guide named Raju, who is a happy-go-lucky person until he undergoes a transformative experience. He then says, “Na sukh hai, na dukh hai, na deen, na duniya, na insaan, na bhagvan…sirf main hoon,…

“Intelligence succeeds not when leaders are informed, but when societies understand.” President Droupadi Murmu’s address at the recent Intelligence Bureau’s Centenary Endowment Lecture was a strategic exhortation. By foregrounding people-centric national security, the address implicitly called for a shift from exclusive reliance on secret intelligence to the conscious development of public intelligence.This call reflects a…

Avijit Ghosh Avijit Ghosh is a associate editor with The Times of India. He is addicted to films, music, cricket and football—and not necessarily in that order. He is the author of Bandicoots in the Moonlight, Cinema Bhojpuri, 40 Retakes, and now, Up Campus, Down Campus, a novel set in 1980s JNU. He tweets from…

Only one trend really matters for food in 2026 – Rupee reached 90 to a Dollar in Dec and, while currently a bit below that peak, it’s unlikely to change much. While this should be good news for food exporters, tariff troubles and rising fuel costs will prevent this exchange-rate advantage from helping much. Homegrown:…

Cursing can make you feel more confident, less stressed. But be smart about when to use it  As family and friends crowd together in the festive season, high spirits tend to nudge gatherings towards high swearing. The adultest adults in the room then put the zip on it, particularly for the sake of the young…

You have nose for the festive season The neighbouring apartments needed an older man to play Santa Claus for the annual party and I was roped in for all the obvious reasons. Kamala reminded me of my lapsed gym membership – she never misses a chance to stress how my generous proportions get me certain…

If GOI’s deregulation push leads to genuine lightening of compliance load, economy will get a huge boost  A whisker separates India from Japan, and the 4th largest economy rank, as we head into 2026. But it’s fair to say India got here despite, not because of, its policies. Recall how, in 2004, enforcing a contract…

From cosmetic controls to individual and collective responsibility: Clean air by prevention at the source, enforcement, and public participation — not seasonal measures or pollute-and-clean gimmicks. Vehicles, industry, and construction dust are the main year-round pollution sources, yet responses remain short-term. Strong health evidence is often downplayed, exposing gaps in accountability and urgency. Beijing’s enforcement-led…

In early December 2025, IndiGo, the country’s largest domestic aviation carrier with more than 60% of the market, faced a crew-rostering and compliance shock. The immediate results were visible: flight cancellations multiplied across metros and smaller cities, delays spread through airport networks, and the DGCA was compelled to cut IndiGo’s winter programme to restore operational…

India saw three shocking killings in just one month. These were not accidents — they were acts of hate. This is worrying and dangerous, because it shows how treating some people as “outsiders” is slowly becoming normal. Should young people and workers be scared to travel or study in their own country? A 24-year-old MBA…