News: Glasgow Climate Pact makes no explicit mention of the critical role of urban areas in finding solutions to the climate problem. Once again, the challenges of cities have taken a backseat in global negotiations on climate change. Why towns and cities will play a critical role in the fight against climate change? – More… Continue reading Why Cities Must Lead The Climate Battle

News: Hyderabad city police is deploying lakhs of cameras connected in a real-time network managed by Hyderabad’s Command and Control Centre and can be used for facial recognition technology. In Hyderabad, an Integrated Police Command Control Centre has been set up, with a cost of Rs 800 crore. The center will allow the police to… Continue reading Use of facial recognition technology by police is dangerous

News: The government has listed the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 for the upcoming winter session of Parliament, starting November 29. The bill is yet to be officially approved by the Cabinet. This is among the 26 pieces of legislation, including the repeal of three farm laws, listed for the session.… Continue reading New cryptocurrency bill seeks to ban private players

News: The Economist recently published a series of reports blaming countries like China and India for much of the carbon-emissions problem. Such international media focus on just Indian and Chinese carbon emissions is unfair and doesn’t help the larger cause of climate change. There is no denying that, in 2020, in absolute terms, China and… Continue reading Dear ‘The Economist’, climate change is a global predicament

News: The Char Dham road expansion project, to be executed by Min of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), was inaugurated in 2016. In 2018, it was challenged by an NGO for its potential impact on the Himalayan ecology. The Supreme Court (SC), in 2020, after consultation with the high-powered committee (HPC) and on the basis… Continue reading The road to a Himalayan blunder

News: India’s largest IPO (Paytm) made a disastrous stock market debut and ended its first trading day at a discount of 27% to the issue price. Questions are, hence, being raised on the valuation of the firm and the IPO. Paytm, along with an educational technology start-up, are being viewed as one of the ‘shining… Continue reading Over-valued unicorns in a distressed economy

News: India has decided to enter into trade agreements with key partners like the UK, UAE and Australia and announced an ambitious plan for an early harvest deal by March 2022. These trade agreements coincides with India coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic-related slowdown and wants to become “Atmanirbhar” and play “a bigger role in… Continue reading What India should strive for in trade deals