Blogs

Assam’s floods are often described as inevitable. From a civil engineer’s perspective, that is an incomplete diagnosis. Brahmaputra and its tributaries will overflow during extreme monsoon events, but flooding becomes a disaster when intense hydrological forces meet vulnerable settlements, ageing infra, inadequate drainage, and poorly planned development. This year’s floods have once again exposed this…

India sits on a conservatively estimated 35,000 tonnes of gold, valued at well over 115% of GDP. We are the only country in the world with this distinction, yet we behave like Kasturi Mrig – the musk deer that searches frantically for a scent that lies within itself. We chase external capital through FDI, FPI,…

Some of us will miss that piece of paper It was a small rectangle of paper, perhaps six inches by three. I gazed at it with reverence due to a priceless work of art.  It wasn’t a work of art, but for me it was priceless. It was the first cheque I’d ever received, for…

In retreat, Rhine and Danube are exposing Europe’s past. But also a future where the world’s parched Some crises are ‘best’ seen from space, others up close and personal. Europe’s drying rivers look scary both ways. Satellites show dramatically shrunk waterways, things feel extraordinary at individual eye level too. People are walking where they kayaked…

In retreat, Rhine and Danube are exposing Europe’s past. But also a future where the world’s parched Some problems are easier to understand when we see them from space, while others become clearer when we see them up close. Europe’s drying rivers are frightening from both views. Satellites show that many European rivers have become…

Sweet spotlight: Tukaram Mundhe has turned food safety into a public-health issue The most consequential public health figure in India this year is not a doctor, an epidemiologist, or a minister. He is a civil servant running a food and drug regulator. What Tukaram Mundhe has forced into national view is not a licensing failure…

New Page: The search committee should appoint the best professional available as Chandra’s successor to send the right signal to India Inc What happened in Bombay House last week is the poignant tale of two well-intentioned people, both acting in good faith, but finding themselves on opposite sides of a conflict. Their legitimate conceptions of…

  A new employment guarantee law, Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-GRAM G Act or simply GRAMGA), was notified on July 1, 2026. Its performance in its first month has made headlines —for the wrong reasons. In July 2026, GRAMGA employment was half the level of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment…

On an early morning school run, as my car skidded over potholes and puddles, I asked my daughter about a term I had seen online during the recent student protests. ‘What does ‘clock it’ mean?’ ‘Mom,’ she said, ‘It means noticing something.’ It was in the weary tone of someone explaining electricity to a Neanderthal….

As India celebrates its 80th Independence Day, the tricolour will once again fly proudly across the country. We will remember the sacrifices of those who fought colonial rule, celebrate our economic and technological achievements, and speak of India’s emergence as a global power. Yet an anniversary of such historic significance should also be a moment…