- India was once a rising global power. But now is it back to being another flailing Third World economy with a per capita income that is half of its tiny southern neighbour, Sri Lanka, says Shekhar Gupta in the Print.
- The question isn’t whether public sector banks should be big or small. It is: do we need public sector banks, writes D Subbarao in the Indian Express.
- For Narendra Modi, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s achievements are of the same order as miracles worked by India’s mythical ancients, writes Mukul Kesavan in the Telegraph.
- On Kashmir, New Delhi’s actions have been welcomed domestically, but Narendra Modi’s government will have a hard time selling its message abroad, argues Sadanand Dhume in the Atlantic.
- Can there sometimes be a link between environmentalism and racism? Elizabeth Chatterjee explores the question in the London Review of Books blog.
- Two centuries before Einstein, Hume recognised that universal time, independent of an observer’s viewpoint, doesn’t exist, writes Matias Slavov in Aeon.
- In the New York Times magazine, Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti write about the secret history of the push to attack Iran amongst hawks in Israel and the United States.
- The political chaos in Britain is actually a sign that its unwritten constitution is working fine, argues Tom McTague in the Atlantic.
- Scientists use quantum mechanics all the time. But they still don’t understand it. Sean Carrol unwraps the conundrum in the New York Times.
- The warmer it gets, the more we use air conditioning. The more we use air conditioning, the warmer it gets. Is there any way out of this trap? Stephen Buranyi explores in the Guardian.
Reading
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1
India’s cyber-scam epidemic is part of a multibillion global industry. This series traces a full arc
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2
‘The Secret of the Shiledars’ review: An amateurish hunt for Shivaji’s hidden treasure
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3
February nonfiction: Six new books that take deep dives into Indian history
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4
Mumbai’s architecture is losing its poetry
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5
‘The Other Sister’: An unconventional, brave novel about the unbearable emptiness of virtual living
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6
Budget 2025 key takeaways: No income tax till Rs 12 lakh, healthcare for gig workers and more
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7
Rona Wilson interview: ‘My arrest was a warning to others who stand against the abuse of power’
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8
Urbanisation, sewage, microplastics: Why many Indian wetlands are under threat
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9
New short stories by Namita Gokhale: A vacation to the mountains reacquaints a woman with her life
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10
Sri Lanka: National People’s Power and the path back to democracy