This CRPF officer wants personnel with medical conditions stripped of risk allowance
A top Central Reserve Police Force officer has launched a campaign to bar personnel who have medical conditions from being paid a special monthly allowance that is given to all forces deployed in conflict areas such as Jammu and Kashmir and Naxalism-hit regions, Sanya Dhingra reports.
Indian food fourth most popular in the world, a study of cuisine trade finds
Italian, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian cuisines are the four most popular cuisines in the world, according to a working paper by US economist Joel Waldfogel, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research journal in the US. Srijan Shukla looks at the most popular cuisines across the globe and how food translates into soft power for nation-states.
The economy is India’s most potent weapon, but it’s losing its power
When your economy is growing at 8 per cent or above, it is a case of what you might call saat khoon maaf (you can get away with seven murders). At 7 per cent, it becomes paanch (five) khoon maaf. But once your growth is 5 per cent, you are in a dodgy zone, writes Shekhar Gupta in this week’s National Interest.
HRD minister Pokhriyal has many PhDs, his office says & slams complaint against his degree
Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s office has said that an appeal terming his educational qualification fake was filed with “malafide intention”, and added there is no problem with his degrees, Kritika Sharma reports. This is not the first time the minister’s educational qualifications have come into question.
Discontent, dissent & defiance in Congress as Gandhi family begins to lose grip on party
The Nehru-Gandhi family seems to be losing its grip over the Congress, with party leaders increasingly defying its hitherto unquestioned writ, contradicting the party line on contentious issues and quitting at the very first opportunity, Deeksha Bhardwaj reports.
Why upper castes polish shoes or sweep roads when protesting quota for Dalits and OBCs
In trying to question the need for caste-based reservations for the marginalised communities, the upper caste youth end up acknowledging the existence of caste system in the 21st century by choosing these modes of protest tropes, Dilip Mandal writes.
Why Pakistan is changing its tune on Kashmir
In the ongoing clampdown on Kashmir, Pakistan now sees an opportunity for sweet revenge, Shivam Vij writes.