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Opinion

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Learnings from the Ukraine battlefield for armed forces

Published on Mar 21, 2023 07:35 PM IST

There are six key takeaways for India from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Indian armed services, especially the Indian Army, has its task cut out.

The armed forces must invest in armour, missile and artillery capabilities and apply emerging technologies not as substitutes but as enablers of these firepower-intensive capabilities. (AP)

A strong partnership to lead the way on water security

Israel, a global leader in water management, is working closely with India. As Israel and India complete 30 years of full diplomatic relations, the two countries can jointly lead the way for sustainable development to establish state-of-the-art solutions for the entire world.

One of the main areas affected by the climate crisis is the global rainfall cycle, resulting in less rain, more droughts, and extreme rain events. (Mujeeb Faruqui/Hindustan Times)
Updated on Mar 21, 2023 08:07 PM IST
ByNaor Gilon

The Taste With Vir: The influence of world's cuisine on India, and vice versa

Indian food abroad is a complex business. We have more regional cuisines than the Italians or even the Chinese.

The Taste With Vir: The influence of world's cuisine on India, and vice versa(Unsplash)
Published on Mar 21, 2023 01:24 PM IST
By, Delhi

Invest in local-level climate mitigation and resilience building

Mitigation and resilience-building are not new concepts, but they are yet to be implemented on scale. We can now take them to scale through finance, technology, social organisation, and equitable participation

A large number of forest fires have been reported from different parts of the country. In Odisha, forest fires are reported from more than 140 places. Many fire incidents have occurred this year in Uttarakhand, the Northeast, and Karnataka. These incidents are in line with recent trends in forest fires, which have acquired a serious proportion in many districts of the country. (HT PHOTO)
Updated on Mar 20, 2023 09:30 PM IST
ByKrishna S Vatsa

Punjab cannot afford a return to the 1980s

It is clear that separatist elements and Pakistan are trying to rake up trouble in Punjab. But to battle the cocktail of problems the state is facing, the government and police need a long-term plan

Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh’s reputation has taken a big hit. The Sikh clergy have questioned his decision to take the Guru Granth Sahib to Ajnala police station and use it as a shield (ANI)
Updated on Mar 20, 2023 06:53 PM IST

ICC’s warrant against Putin for Ukraine war is a significant move

Only time will show how effective this move is, but for now, the people of Ukraine, who are the victims of Russia’s illegal war, have received an important boost

According to ICC, Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia (AP)
Updated on Mar 20, 2023 06:47 PM IST
ByPrabhash Ranjan and Aman Kumar

How MISHTI plans to conserve mangroves

MISHTI, launched by PM Modi, is a significant step in providing nature-based solutions for mitigating the effects of cyclones and storm surges and our fight against the climate crisis.

Globally, the rate of mangrove decline is approximately 1% per year; India has recorded a net increase of 946 sq km between 2017 and 2021 (ht photo)
Published on Mar 20, 2023 06:46 PM IST

India’s public exam system needs reform

Most Indian exams today focus on measuring routine cognitive skills which are responsible for the kind of questions prone to leaks and copying. Four steps can be taken to address this

Most Indian exams today focus on measuring routine cognitive skills which are responsible for the kind of questions prone to leaks and copying. Four steps can be taken to address this (HT PHOTO)
Updated on Mar 19, 2023 08:42 PM IST

Parliament could do with less animosity

When dealing with the BJP, the Congress must remain cool, restrained, cooperative, and strong. Rahul Gandhi would have to save himself from any unnecessary row. His followers have much higher expectations of him

Can’t our lawmakers swear to discuss every issue openly? (Hindustan Times)
Updated on Mar 19, 2023 08:44 PM IST

G20 must set up an international panel on technological change

The panel’s mandate will be to assess where we are and where we are headed in the future when it comes to “post-human technology”. Unlike IPCC, which deals with much longer time scales, IPTC will need to work much faster and nimbly. It seems to us that the G20 is the right-sized organisation for chartering such a panel and enabling its functioning.

The release of ChatGPT has brought many people face-to-face with dramatic developments in technology, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has been worrying experts for almost a decade (Shutterstock)
Published on Mar 19, 2023 08:18 PM IST
ByMartin Rees, Shivaji Sondhi and K VijayRaghavan

Just Like That | Notes on the love lore of Radha and Krishna

There is so much poetry on their desire, that one cannot possibly even get a sense of it all, but here are some illustrative examples, along with a sidebar on the launch of two new books.

The grandeur of Hinduism is that it harmonises the negation of desire with its simultaneous affirmation. (Shutterstock)
Published on Mar 18, 2023 08:13 PM IST

A liberal visa regime for Pakistani visitors to India

When a Pakistani with dual citizenship applies for an Indian visa, the application has to be on their Pakistani passport. Once submitted, the Indian embassy will forward it to Delhi. It can take months. Often, there is no response. Is this how we wish to treat people who once were fellow countrymen?

The treatment of the brilliant Australian batsman Usman Khawaja is an illustration of what I call nastiness. (AP)
Published on Mar 18, 2023 07:19 PM IST

A new deal to protect India’s gig workers?

Rajasthan announced that the state will enact a law for the protection of gig workers. Why is this necessary? Because, at present, gig work exists in a legal vacuum.

While gig work does not resemble the employment relationship of the factory owner and the worker, it exhibits all the hallmarks of institutionalised power differences and subordination that make labour laws important in the first place. (PTI)
Published on Mar 18, 2023 07:18 PM IST

Indian cricket needs to get its pitch right

The Border Gavaskar Trophy brought into sharp focus the debate about Indian pitches. But the argument here is not about turners, it’s one of extremes. Did India push things too far in their quest to gain an advantage and is it fair to do that?

Comparisons are always odious and each era has its own compulsions. But cricket at its best (and perhaps at its most ideal) should be a contest. (PTI)
Updated on Mar 18, 2023 07:40 PM IST

Ukraine war: Mitigating the heavy toll on women

According to Olena Kochemyrovska, a gender-based violence technical adviser with the UNFPA, women suffered severe psychological problems due to abuse and the absence of their husbands.

As of December 13, 2022, the office of the prosecutor general of Ukraine reported 154 documented incidents of sexual violence allegedly by perpetrators from the Russian armed forces. (Reuters)
Published on Mar 18, 2023 07:17 PM IST

Under India, G20 has a chance to reinvent itself

The G20’s success will lie in its ability to work with post-WWII structures. Yet, it must recognise popular sentiment around the world and evolve to reflect current realities

New values and ethics are needed today to make the global order more effective in delivering outcomes. India’s G20 presidency will see the widest possible engagement with nine countries as special invitees alongside several international and regional organisations (PTI)
Updated on Mar 17, 2023 07:41 PM IST
BySujan Chinoy i

Marriage equality: Be on the right side of history

There’s a unique opportunity for the five-judge bench that will start hearing arguments on same-sex marriage from April 18. What it will decide will send a signal to India and the world

What is the havoc that solicitor-general Tushar Mehta fears? If personal religious laws don’t recognise same-sex marriage, then there’s the secular Special Marriage Act of 1954 that allows interfaith couples to marry. A government that talks of a common civil code can easily extend this common law to sexual minorities. It’s hard to imagine that Armageddon will be unleashed by extending marriage rights. (HT PHOTO)
Updated on Mar 17, 2023 07:43 PM IST

Will Rahul’s remarks undo hard work of Bharat Jodo?

Had Rahul Gandhi chosen to say, for instance, “My views are on record on multiple platforms in India. …. I don’t wish to be drawn into that conversation here,” chances are the headlines would have been different

While there is no evident upside for Gandhi in talking about politics and the state of the nation abroad, there is a downside (Congress Twitter)
Updated on Mar 17, 2023 07:45 PM IST

First Principles | Why SVB is an American problem and needs to remain so

The four-decade-old Silicon Valley Bank imploding has two simple lessons: One, ignore social media and two, one's loss is another's gain. Here's why

SVB loaded up on long-term government bonds when interest rates were much lower at close to 2%. Since then, the interest rates have more than doubled to rein in inflation. (AP)
Updated on Mar 17, 2023 06:15 PM IST

Terms of Trade | Rahul Gandhi should return to a 1920 communist debate

As MN Roy sought support from the Communist International for revolution in India, Lenin shot him down. India’s Left-liberals are today seeking the support of Capitalist International. It won’t work

The dispute around Rahul Gandhi’s comments is only a manifestation of this strategy rather than the beginning of it.
Published on Mar 17, 2023 02:06 PM IST

Settling the debate on judicial overreach

The Supreme Court ruling on Election Commission of India goes against the principles of checks and balances and appropriates a role not seen within the realm of the judiciary in most other democracies. This needs to be reconsidered

While the legitimately strong role that our Constitution provides for the judiciary includes adjudicating on such important matters, it certainly never envisaged the scope for it to take an administrative role in constitutional appointments. (Shutterstock)
Updated on Mar 16, 2023 07:35 PM IST
ByBaijayant “Jay” Panda

Build a new global agency to push climate financing

As G20 president, New Delhi must consider laying the groundwork for an international institutional arrangement to help in climate financing and sustainability in developing countries.

India is an excellent example of the scale of climate financing required. Thanks to a massive governmental push in the last eight years, India’s solar and wind projects attracted $66 billion in investment. (Shutterstock)
Updated on Mar 16, 2023 07:30 PM IST
ByManjeev Puri

The glaring paradox of Xi Jinping as peace mediator

It is ironic that the same China embarking on ambitious behind-the-scenes diplomacy to douse flames in distant geopolitical flashpoints — Iran and Saudia Arabia — is unwilling to resolve its conflicts with its neighbours.

Xi believes in establishing a Sino-centric regional system where there will be order under Chinese tutelage rather than a community of equal sovereign States. (AFP file)
Published on Mar 16, 2023 07:24 PM IST

How to climate-proof the agriculture sector

An inter-ministerial and time-bound programme on de-risking agriculture is needed. It should look at seven aspects

The G20 leadership is an excellent platform for India to mobilise member- countries to address climate risk-management solutions (AP)
Updated on Mar 15, 2023 08:47 PM IST
ByPramod Aggarwal, Arun Joshi

Making development much more inclusive

The old growth versus equity, and development versus environment, approaches became less salient. Equity, access and democratic participation, diversity and pluralism are today seen as integral to development, with policy choices being predicated on sustainability and inclusivity.

The administrative and political will to optimise resource utilisation must clearly be galvanised. India’s enthusiastic support for women-led development at the G20 cannot lose sight of the two crucial axes of human security: Freedom from want and freedom from fear. (HT PHOTO)
Updated on Mar 15, 2023 08:56 PM IST

For India’s AI ambitions, the time to act is now

The good news is that India has much going for it: Engineering skills, a growing digital economy, and tailwinds from the US-China rivalry

A 2022 study by MacroPolo, a Chicago-based think-tank, finds that India is the third-largest source of AI talent. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Updated on Mar 15, 2023 09:04 PM IST

What Nepal president Poudel's visit to BP Koirala Museum says about his politics

Ram Chandra Poudel's visits to the Pashupatinath temple and the Sundarijal jail are deeply symbolic, as they highlight how the veteran leader views Nepal's politics

With Prachanda walking away from the CPN-UML to return to his pre-poll coalition with the NC, stability may be on the horizon in Nepal. For now. (Reuters)
Published on Mar 15, 2023 04:20 PM IST

Every state needs an urban anchor

Every state needs a body like the National Institute of Urban Affairs to offer demand-driven technical skill improvement and participatory sectoral evaluations to forge a shared vision

It was only in 1993 that the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution came into force, aiming to bring about a fundamental shift in urban governance (Shutterstock)
Updated on Mar 14, 2023 09:11 PM IST
ByHitesh Vaidya

The US must fix its immigration system

Streamlining the process for Indian talent will enable the US to increase its domestic capacity and effectively counter China through a stronger US-India relationship

The US relies on skilled immigrants to maintain a competitive advantage (Shutterstock)
Updated on Mar 14, 2023 08:05 PM IST
ByManjari Chatterjee Miller

At G20, India will put spotlight on culture

To engage with the priorities of India’s CWG in depth and more meaningfully, the ministry of culture has developed a robust year-long programme of cultural projects, such as exhibitions, immersive experiences, art residencies, seminars and publications.

The CWG will evolve through four meetings in four historic cities and steer the G20 discourse on four priority areas. (Hindustan Times)
Updated on Mar 14, 2023 07:09 PM IST
ByGovind Mohan and Lily Pandeya
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