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Sunday, February 22, 2026
TopicAddiction

Topic: Addiction

India’s digital de-addiction centres getting busier. AI to aid early detection, ‘relapse always a risk’

As India’s digital footprint expands, more and more people are grappling with non-substance addictions like excessive internet use, gaming, smartphone and social media dependence.

Liquor shops around Dalit bastis are not a coincidence. It’s trauma seeking an outlet

Markets follow vulnerability and the state taxes the bottle, while condemning the drinker. 

New drug to treat cannabis addiction shows promising results, no withdrawal symptoms in trials

French biotech firm developed & tested drug which blocks human body’s cannabinoid receptor pathway that causes addiction, according to report in Nature Medicine journal.

Red-eyed, lost young men in Bihar’s Seemanchal show how Nitish Kumar’s alcohol ban backfired

In Bihar, the focus is still on curbing alcohol. But there’s a problem Nitish Kumar didn’t see coming – drug addicts, crime and a new ‘Generation Nowhere’.

#GenerationNowhere: India’s young are fighting an invisible epidemic, smartphone addiction

Young Indians are dropping out of college, their IIT aspirations turning to dust and many are now in de-addiction centres. Is smartphone dependency growing?

How often does Nandan Nilekani check his email? A new book tells you about addiction

In 'The Art of Bitfulness’ Nandan Nilekani and Tanuj Bhojwani explore new strategies to reclaim our time, privacy and attention from our many devices.

How much is too much? There are 6 ways to know if you are addicted to binge-watching

If you want to cut down on the number of episodes you watch in one sitting, my golden rule is to stop watching mid-way through an episode.

Karnataka’s online gaming ban won’t work. It shows poor grasp of tech

Heavy-handed technology regulation is a recipe for economic disaster and social rebellion. It reflects a lack of basic understanding of technology.

Carbs have people hooked like cocaine. And Indians are not slowing down

Research shows psychological rewards from sugar and sweets are comparable to that of cocaine, and can sometimes be more rewarding and attractive.

Xi Jinping’s CCP is daring to go where even Taliban wouldn’t — separate kids from smartphones

CCP has issued a decree allowing kids no more than 3 hours of online gaming per week. The time freed will be used to revise Xi Jinping Thought, now part of school curriculum.

On Camera

Youth Congress, your foolish protest helped the Modi govt climb out of the AI summit hole

In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

MoD, IAF agree on some exemptions to HAL for Tejas Mk1A, but no compromise on ‘must-have’ capabilities

IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.