Blogs

Hello and welcome to TOI Bharat Abroad. Today’s edition is about the strange, stubborn and often spectacular journey of Indians abroad: from a Kanpur-born student denied a US visa three times to the Indian-origin CEO now steering a trillion-dollar American chip giant; from Washington’s latest attempt to make H-1B hiring more expensive; to a 14-year-old…

What happens when power is distributed or diluted in ways no one fully controls: The Congress party’s “CM‑in‑waiting” model has created a culture of endlessly jockeying for the kursi. In Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s Asim Munir risks an Icarus moment over the Abraham Accords. India’s richly valued stock market is becoming a victim of its own success….

Indian scientists are doing new research on an insect that is 320 million years old Indian entomologists, scientists who specialise in the study of insects, are opening new lines of research into the origins and behaviour patterns of the cockroach, of which there are 4,600 species, their habitats ranging from freezing cold to tropical climes….

Congress picked a new CM midstream to try and blunt Karnataka’s anti-incumbency instincts. But that won’t address deep regional inequalities. Plus, don’t bet on ex-CM being politically passive. In replacing Karnataka’s longest serving CM, Congress is seeking to counter a deeply entrenched trend in the state’s politics. Since 1980s, no governing party in Karnataka has…

By Jaya Row Whether you are an athlete, entrepreneur, musician, chef, or corporate leader, the urge to excel is universal. To improve performance, people usually acquire more knowledge, sharpen skills, or pursue advanced training. What if perfection lies not in the action but in something beyond the action? It is that elusive thing beyond notes…

The genie of AI-aided or even AI-authored books is out. A literature Nobel laureate uses AI for her ideas. Dire implications for original human creativity probably won’t reverse this trend. In 2016, a Japanese AI research team-created short novel, Konpyuta ga shosetsu wo kaku hi (The Day a Computer Writes a Novel), nearly won the…

Don’t squeeze too hard There’s an old saying that if you squeeze a lemon hard enough, you’ll get every drop of juice out. But there’s a limit. One lemon still can’t make lemonade for five people, even if an elephant steps on it. People forget this all the time. Countries, governments and courts often demand…

Golden rule for good deals, judgments and juice – don’t squeeze more than absolutely necessary Jane Austen didn’t say this, but it’s a truth universally acknowledged…that one lemon can’t make lemonade for five. No matter how hard you squeeze. Get an elephant to step on it, but it won’t. Yet, we forget the limits of…

CBSE’s mid-session shock to Class 9 students betrays a larger, inconsiderate disposition The CBSE circular landed mid-May. Saying that by July’s start, a three-language framework would be compulsory for Class 9 students. No reason provided, none at least that would explain the tearing hurry to affected students. They are mid-session. So indefensible is the timing…

Continuing………. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) Launched in August 2016, the scheme is currently being implemented in its second phase NAPS 2.0. The programme promotes apprenticeship training by providing partial stipend support to apprentices, thereby strengthening the apprenticeship ecosystem and offering advocacy support to stakeholders. Apprenticeship remains a key pillar for earning while you learn…