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Friday, December 12, 2025
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Around Town

Skyroot launched India’s first private rocket. They want to make it as easy as booking a taxi

French space firm, Prométhée Earth Intelligence, has already announced its interest in working with Skyroot for the Vikram project. Vikram-1 is scheduled to be launched this year.

‘I see Chanakya in Modi’. But Piyush Mishra’s new focus isn’t politics, it’s music

He is on tour with his ‘lyrics-oriented’ band. Its name, Ballimaaraan, was inspired by Mirza Ghalib’s house — an indication of his love for Delhi and theatre.

‘Worse than war veterans’—Emmy Award winner’s new book on horror of trafficking in India

Ruchira Gupta's The Selling of Innocents won the Emmy Award in 1996. Now, she teaches a course on combatting human trafficking at New York University,

Cricket nostalgia, political nods — Sehwag & Tharoor’s jokes liven up cricket book launch

Cricket administrator Amrit Mathur's book Pitchside is an inside account of the Indian team — from Sachin’s favourite seat to Tiger Pataudi’s dislike for public appearances.

India and Sri Lanka have a complicated relationship — trust is a difficult, two-way street

Last week, the Neighbourhood First series discussed ‘Sri Lanka after Rajapaksa: Recovery or Standstill’ at Delhi’s India International Centre.

Commandos, candour, criticism–what marked Hussain Zaidi’s ‘RAW Hitman’ book launch in Delhi

RAW Hitman, Hussain Zaidi’s latest work, came out of an interview with Lakshman Singh Bisht, who served as a security officer for Narendra Modi, LK Advani, and Rajnath Singh.

4000 bird watchers, 50000 checklists, 492 species – how IIT scientists gained from their data

Crowdsourced bird data is akin to jagged pieces of a puzzle that researchers use and put together to see how an ecosystem evolves.

Quad architect Shinzo Abe foresaw a world beyond alliances, says Jaishankar at book launch

The launch of 'Importance of Shinzo Abe' saw tributes from S Jaishankar, Sanjaya Baru and ambassadors Hitoshi Suzuki and Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa.

Eight step wells, 2 cities, 10 years—how collaboration revived crumbling Mughal ‘baolis’

Called ‘Restoring Stepwells, Reviving Life’, an IIC exhibition, which opened on 22 July and closes today, shows how eight step wells – two in Delhi, six in Hyderabad – were painstakingly resuscitated.

UP Dalits grew in confidence because of BSP. That’s why they are voting for BJP today

A Dalit vote for BJP is viewed as a step back from Ambedkarite goals. New book Maya Modi Azad: Dalit Politics in the Time of Hindutva explains BSP’s decline.

On Camera

IndiGo cancellations made TV news do the unexpected — question the Modi government

Republic TV was the harshest of them all: “The (civil aviation) minister has done a bad job,” said prime time anchor Arnab Goswami.

IndiGo’s profits dipped, most airlines sunk into losses last fiscal even as flier numbers soared

Despite growing passenger volume, 11 out of 14 carriers reported losses in 2023-24. IndiGo recorded profit of Rs 8,167 crore, which reduced to Rs 7.253 crore in 2024-25.

Dubai Tejas crash revives focus on advanced, fully automated safety systems

Dubai airshow crash & pilot death have rekindled concerns over pilot safety, and need for smarter automated systems that can step in when G-forces, temporary loss of consciousness hit the pilot.

Asim Munir & Pakistan’s Failed Marshal Doctrine

None of Pakistan’s PMs has lasted 5 years. That the current PM has given Asim Munir 5 years shows that of all military dictatorships history has seen, Pakistan’s is most creative.