- The pandemic has resolved many of Modi’s challenges –- protestors have dispersed, state governments are queuing up for support and all India’s economic problems can be laid at the door of Covid-19, writes TN Ninan in the Business Standard.
- If the government runs a huge deficit to tackle crisis and asks the Reserve Bank of India to monetise part of it, we must accept it, argues former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha in the Indian Express.
- The Modi government and the elite know nothing of the problems of the working poor, argues Prabhat Patnaik in the Telegraph.
- First thought up in China, now much of Europe and the Unites States is adopting social distaning to country Covid-19. But poor countries need to think twice about social distancing, write Ahmed Mobarik and Zachary Barnett-Howell in Foreign Policy.
- The normal economy is never coming back – even after the pandemic gets over, predicts Adam Tooze in Foreign Policy.
- The world after coronavirus: the future of neoliberalism. Adil Najam interviews Noam Chomsky.
- Theories of perception are heavily tilted to the visual: we have much to learn from our surprisingly acute sense of smell, writes Ann-Sophie Barwich in Aeon.
- In Literary Review Dominic Green reviews One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time, a study of cultural time, social space and the madness of fame around the British pop band.
- In Undark, John Charpentier explains the 19th-century roots of modern medical denialism.
- Marriage is practised in every society yet is in steep decline globally. Is this it for long-term intimate relationships, asks Manvir Singh in Aeon.
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
Rona Wilson interview: ‘My arrest was a warning to others who stand against the abuse of power’
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7
Budget 2025 key takeaways: No income tax till Rs 12 lakh, healthcare for gig workers and more
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8
New short stories by Namita Gokhale: A vacation to the mountains reacquaints a woman with her life
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9
Sri Lanka: National People’s Power and the path back to democracy
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10
The delicate wisdom and beauty of James Ivory’s films