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Wednesday, October 29, 2025
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The FinePrint

NDA vs JSP vs Mahagathbandhan—Bihar elections are a litmus test for old & new politics

The Mahagathbandhan is riding on Tejashwi’s momentum. The JSP, while fresh and focused, may not have the structure and wherewithal to compete on par with the alliances.

Patna University’s lottery appointment tries to fix nepotism. It isn’t just a Bihar problem

Some see the appointment of principals through a lottery as a progressive step that can shake up Bihar’s higher education that has remained in a state of comatose since the late 1980s.

Delhi’s Nehru Planetarium is floundering. No director since 2021

The allocation for outreach programmes by the planetarium saw a dip after 2022. From Rs 29-31 lakh, it went down to Rs 16 lakh in the year 2023-24, and then just Rs 11 lakh in 2024-25.

Does Kashmir’s history begin and end with Islam? First excavation to explore the unknown

The dig in Zehampora, Baramulla is being led by a small army of archaeologists from the Department of Central Asian Studies at Kashmir University — where archaeology was introduced as a formal discipline only in 2017.

Afghanistan is starving—and its farmers are fighting to save the poppy

The world has a shared interest in helping Afghan farmers move on from poppy. But time and again, it has abandoned them and the young Afghans killed by the poisonous harvest to their fate.

Pakistan cricket is in a ‘dark age’, ushered in by politics, corruption, terrorism & crumbling infra

New Delhi: Pakistan have a new head coach for their men’s Test team—the seventh such appointment in four years, and one that illustrates how...

Gurugram or Kudagram? Elites are furious over the garbage emergency

Viral X posts by a French expat and former Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor have set off fresh outrage over Gurugram’s festering waste crisis. It affects rich and poor alike—‘We are surrounded by filth.’

Bangalore Planetarium a lab of future scientists. Not just about dazzling visuals

The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium is making real change on the ground, enabling astronomy research. Its Research Education Advancement Programme has produced over 150 PhDs.

Why is South Asia strategic studies declining in US? All alignment, no depth

Dialogue between American India watchers and Indian strategic community is broken. It is marked by ‘hot takes’ rather than a sustained conversation that bridges understanding gaps.

Patna Planetarium is on top of its game today. An IAS officer sparked the transformation

The investment did not merely restore the structure. It redefined how Bihar perceives science and astronomy, says Project Director Dr. Anant Kumar, proudly emphasing the state is also the land of Aryabhatta.

On Camera

TTP is byproduct of Pakistan’s own policies. Attacking Afghanistan won’t solve crises at home

Pakistan aimed to convey a message to the West about its counterterrorism efforts and show China that it has control over the CPEC routes. However, both messages fell flat.

Mumbai’s been driving India’s data centre market, but water shortage, power demand pose risks

According to a report by Macquarie, India’s data centre market is estimated to double by 2027. India currently has 1.4 gigawatts of operational data centre capacity.

Navy Chief calls for collective solutions to maritime challenges in ‘complex & dynamic’ Indo-Pacific

At 11th edition of Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue in New Delhi, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said there are three major currents shaping this maritime 'dynaxity'.

Deepfake on duty: when I asked AI to read Op Sindoor citations

On 21 Oct, a buzz went up that the govt had released full list of gallantry award recipients along with Op Sindoor citations. I put an AI caddy on the job. It took me into a never-ending rabbit hole.