Negotiating federalism in higher education

Although education remains constitutionally within the Concurrent List, the prevailing governance dynamic increasingly favours the Union

Major lacunae in reporting industrial accidents

The death toll from the explosion at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL-VSP) on June 8, rose to nine on Wednesday. Following the incident, a familiar chain of bureaucratic responses has been triggered such as ex-gratia for the bereaved families and the constitution of an expert committee for a high-level probe. These were the same measures ta-ken after the last major accident at the plant in 2014, and indeed after most workplace accidents across the country. But India appears to be lagging agging in in strengthening stren institutional mechanisms needed to pre-vent such accidents.

The reality behind falling net FDI

India's net foreign direct investment (FDI) has declined drastically in recent years. Critics see the weak net flows as a sign of weakness, while the Chief Economic Adviser points to the large inflows and rising manufacturing FDI as evidence of strength. He links weak net flows to profit repatriation and outward investment by Indian companies.

Panel recommends targeted splitting of seats for next delimitation exercise

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has recommend-ed multi-factor criteria for a "targeted" splitting of seats during India's next delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. The recommendations have been made in a new working paper that goes beyond population distribution and maintains the current proportion of Lok Sabha seats for all large States.

Bristol, York, and UNSW get nod for campuses in India

The Education Ministry issued three Letters of Approval (LoAs) to three Foreign Higher Education Institutions - University of Bristol, the University of York and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) on Tuesday. 

NDMA rolls out push for 'Resilient India 2047'

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has begun an effort to require Union Ministries to develop comprehensive disaster management plans and hazard-specific response frameworks as part of a broader push to build a "Resilient India 2047" aligned with the government's Viksit Bharat vision.

Indian reservoirs can host 102 GW floating solar capacity, shows report

India's reservoirs can host about 102 gigawatt (GW) of floating solar capacity, as per the first comprehensive national assessment of the technology's potential by the National Institute of Solar Energy, an autonomous institute of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The report titled "Solar PV Potential of India (Floating Solar)" frames panels on water as a way around one of the most intractable obstacles in the solar sector - land.

China warns EU on new sanctions over ongoing Ukraine war

China warned the Euro-pean Union on Wednesday against sanctioning its companies, after Brussels proposed a fresh wave of measures over Beijing's support for Russia in its war with Ukraine. The EU's latest round of sanctions since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine seek, among other aims, to complicate commercial activities by companies in third countries that allegedly support the Russian military. The 27-member bloc has previously implemented measures targeting Chinese firms for their alleged support for Russia's military industrial complex.

U.S. blocks China, Pak. bid to blacklist BLA, Majeed Brigade

The U.S. has blocked a joint bid by Pakistan and China at the UN Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade as a terrorist entity.

Islamabad and Beijing had in September last year submitted their joint bid to the Security Council to blacklist the BLA and the Majeed Brigade under the Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.