CATEGORIES

Betting On A Drone Boom

The government eases drone laws to allow the nascent industry to take flight. Can india’s drone sector now hit the rs 3 lakh crore mark by 2030?

India's Population Policy - Myths And Reality

While reforms are much needed to control population growth, the big questions are: do coercive birth control measures work? Is the growing number of muslims a threat to hindus? Is india losing its demographic dividend? Here is a reality check

RECHARGED AMBITION

THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE REVOLUTION IS CLOSER THAN EVER, WITH EVEN TOP OF THE LINE SUVs SWITCHING FROM FUEL-POWERED ENGINES. AMONG THEM IS THE AUDI E-TRON, WHICH ABHIK DAS TOOK FOR A SPIN

HOTSHEET PICK OF THE MONTH

Amp up your sartorial quotient with the magic of vintage.

Beauty and the Best

Balancing both nature and nurture is not only possible but the only smart choice

A BREAK WITH THE PAST

FIRST-TIME CHIEF MINISTER M.K. STALIN PROJECTS A REFRESHING FOCUS ON EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENT GOVERNANCE RATHER THAN POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY IN ADMINISTRATION

THE MODI MEMORABILIA

Vadnagar, the railway station where Narendra Modi sold tea as a child, gets an impressive facelift and broad-gauge connectivity. It’s as much about immortalising the PM’s past as it is about nurturing the town’s present

THE RIVER WATER WARS

On July 16, the bitter row between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over sharing Krishna waters—tapping it for irrigation and hydro power— entered a new phase with the Union government’s Jal Shakti ministry ordering that from mid-October the management and control of irrigation projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers will vest with the respective river management boards and not the states.

THE NEW CENTRE OF COOPERATION

The new cooperation ministry has raised alarm in states and invited restraining comments from the Supreme Court but a ‘national cooperative framework’ is not without merit

YEDI, STEADY, GONE?

A change at the top will have a cascading effect on the cabinet, dominated by MLAs who quit the Congress and JD(S) to help the BJP form a government

A DANGEROUS GAMBLE

PUNJAB CONGRESS

A BRUSH WITH TERROR

POLICE BELIEVE THE BLAST SUSPECTS MAY HAVE HAD THE SUPPORT OF TERROR MODULES IN DARBHANGA AND NEPAL

What The Modi Government Must Do To Win Hearts And Bridge The Trust Deficit?

As the centre restarts the stalled political process in j&k, it needs to win the hearts and trust of its people

The Valley Of Hope And Fear

Kashmir is not just a territory but also people with feelings, aspirations and concerns. To gauge the mood of the Valley, INDIA TODAY spoke to a wide cross-section of individuals. Here’s what they had to say

FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH

Wendy Doniger writes about horses and gods with an equal joy and affection

Taking Spirituality beyond Religion

A new book tells us how Kabir was both extraordinary and ordinary, devout and rational

ANIMAL SPIRITS

Kiran Karnik chooses his similes carefully. India’s image is that of a large, lumbering elephant, but it threatens to become a hippo, he says. Aggressive, bad-tempered and slow. Or could it become a gazelle by 2030, agile, peaceful and likable? He seeks answers through his analysis of nine areas shaping India: democracy and politics, security, health, education, economy, demography, society, jobs and livelihoods, and technology.

“What happens after delimitation, whether polls first or statehood, is a million-dollar question”

Situated atop a hill in Srinagar, the Raj Bhavan commands a spectacular view of the Dal Lake and the surrounding mountain ranges. But given the constant state of turbulence afflicting Jammu and Kashmir, its occupants rarely get time to soak in the view. Manoj Sinha is no exception. Appointed as Lieutenant Governor last August, the second after the reorganisation of J&K into a Union territory on August 5, 2019, Sinha has had his hands full from the get-go. The appointment of the 62-year-old veteran BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, who was a former Union minister of state for railways and telecommunication, was a signal that the Narendra Modi government was keen on restoring the political process that had been breached after the abrogation of Article 370. Since then, Sinha can take part of the credit for kickstarting the political dialogue when the prime minister invited Kashmiri leaders—many of whom had been detained and vilified by the ruling dispensation—for a heart-to-heart chat on June 24 and to involve them in what seems to be a long march towards restoration of statehood in J&K.Now comes the tough task of successfully conducting a delimitation exercise and then an assembly election. Meanwhile, J&K needs urgent development and employment for its restless youth. Despite the big promises of transforming the Union territory into an industrial hub, there is not much to show. In a detailed interview with Group Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa, Lieutenant Governor Sinha discusses the contentious issues and his commitments to bring rapid progress and peace to the Valley. Excerpts:

“We started from zero and are now determined to help women like us make an independent living”

Unlike many other girls her age, marriage isn’t top priority for Khairunnisa, 22, a resident of Hanjikhello Gangoo village in Pulwama.

“There is no better moment than now to build a Naya Kashmir”

Vijay Dhar is clear he doesn’t want to be the last Kashmiri Pandit in the Valley.

“We need handholding to resuscitate, not babus throwing the rulebook at us”

Tourism is the best baro­ meter of the situation in Kashmir: if it is troubled, the numbers plunge and if the Valley is at peace, they rise dramatically.

“Instead of guns, our voices speak for us. Music is our identity and nothing else”

The lyrics of an old Bollywood song that the two 22-year-olds, Shokeen Nabi from Budgam and Shah Zafar from Tang marg, sing in a hall in Baramulla are loaded with meaning not just for Kashmir but for all of India: Jo vaada kiya woh nibhana padega; roke zamaana chahe roke Khudaai (Keep your promises, whether the world or god comes in your way).

“Give J&K full statehood, not a Delhi-type compromise”

Amitabh Mattoo believes that Kashmir is at a critical crossroads again.

“I realised jihad is the wrong way to set right the issues Kashmir faces”

“OUR YOUTH HAVE REALISED THAT WHAT THEY WERE DOING IN TERMS OF MILITANCY WAS WRONG AND THAT IT WAS GETTING THEM NOWHERE”

THE LONG HAUL TO PEACE

The Valley has witnessed a definite ebb in terror and violence over the past few years but security forces are bracing for newer threats, evident from the use of drones by militants and the flow of narcotics from across the border

The Big IPO Rush

Indian companies are making a beeline for the stock market, to ride its inexplicable buoyancy even in the midst of a pandemic. This year’s pipeline of new issues, as cleared by Sebi, is already worth around Rs 34,000 crore

India's Medal Prospects At The Long-Awaited Tokyo Olympics

Delayed and nearly derailed by covid, the Tokyo games are finally on. A look at india’s preparations and medal prospects

TOO CLEVER BY HALF

From start-up culture to feminism, Tahmima Anam’s novel draws the right boxes. The only trouble is that it forgets to fill them in

MAY BE NOT

ANJALI JOSEPH’S NEW NOVEL WORKS BEST AS A LOVE STORY. IT IS UNDONE WHEN IT TRIES EXCEEDING THAT BRIEF

Decoding Modi's Mega Makeover

The cabinet overhaul was an exercise in rewarding performers and getting fresh talent to ensure delivery of promises. It was also about representation to electorally significant interest groups and building a next-gen leadership