A Landmark Pledge That Reframed a Policy Debate Michael and Susan Dell—among the wealthiest figures in U.S. tech and long-standing champions of children’s welfare—shocked the philanthropic world with a $6.25 billion commitment to bolster “Trump Accounts,” the child-asset program created under President Donald Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act. What began as a policy tool designed…
From Help to Humiliation: How the Aid Backfired What was meant to showcase solidarity after Cyclone Ditwah battered Sri Lanka instead spiralled into a diplomatic fiasco. Images released by the Pakistani High Commission depicting cartons of food and medicines — marked with an “October 2024” expiry — triggered a wave of public outrage when they surfaced…
A Sudden Breakdown, Long Queues and Delays Everywhere Flight schedules across major Indian airports were thrown into disarray on Tuesday evening after a nationwide check-in system failure hit multiple airlines simultaneously. Passengers in Delhi, Mumbai and several metros encountered static queues, halted counters and hours-long delays as airline staff lost access to real-time booking and departure…
A Record Low That Signals Rising Risk The rupee’s fall to an all-time low of 90.13 per US dollar marks more than a routine currency adjustment—it reflects a convergence of trade uncertainty, tariff pressure and weakening capital flows. What began as a slow drift through 2025 has turned into a sharper, India-specific slide, underscoring how…
A Timely Move Before a High-Profile Visit Russia’s formal clearance of the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) agreement with India—finalised just ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi—cements a logistics framework that significantly upgrades bilateral military cooperation. The timing is deliberate: it signals that despite Western sanctions and political pressure, Moscow and…
Delhi Turns into a Fortress New Delhi has been transformed into a high-security fortress as India readies to host Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 4–5 for the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit—his first visit since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The capital is under an unprecedented multi-layer security grid, reflecting both the geopolitical sensitivity of the visit…
SIR: From Technical Exercise to Political Flashpoint The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, underway across nine states and three Union Territories, has become more than a routine administrative process. Originally intended to remove duplicates, correct constituency allocations, and register new voters, SIR has come under scrutiny due to reports of multiple booth-level officer (BLO)…
Amar Subramanya’s appointment as Apple’s vice president of AI marks a critical juncture for the company’s AI ambitions. Educated in Bengaluru with a bachelor’s degree from Bangalore University, Subramanya brings over 25 years of experience in large-scale machine learning systems. Known as a “builder-leader,” he has a track record of translating cutting-edge AI research into products that…
DA-Basic Pay Merger Confusion Amid growing speculation around the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC), uncertainty has persisted over whether the government would merge dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay. In a Lok Sabha reply, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that no such merger is under consideration. He emphasized that DA and Dearness Relief…
Sanchar Saathi, the government’s cyber-safety app originally designed to help citizens track, block and disable stolen phones, is now positioned to become part of every new smartphone sold in India. What began as a seemingly innocuous anti-fraud utility has rapidly escalated into a fierce policy dispute—touching on privacy, state power, and the limits of regulatory authority…
