BRICS and the New Geography of Agri-Trade
Dr. M.L. Jat, Dr. Smita Sirohi India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026 comes at a moment when agricultural trade is being reshaped beyond tariffs and market access. Climate shocks, food-price volatility, fertiliser disruptions, sustainability standards, digital traceability requirements and the need to keep markets open during crises are now central to the trade agenda. Why agriculture […]
The Fibre Economy: India’s Next Big Global Opportunity
Giriraj Singh India’s relationship with fibre is civilisational, 5,000 years deep, woven into our villages, our traditions, and our collective identity. From the legendary muslins of Mohenjo-daro, celebrated as “woven air”, to the craftsmanship that travelled across continents, fibre has always been the lifeblood of our rural economy. Today, at the cusp of a global […]
Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir, The Subsidy Black Hole The staggering projected jump in India’s fertilizer subsidy bill to Rupees 3.4 lakh crore exposes egregious administrative short-sightedness. Relying on an unrealistic Budget estimate of rupees 1.7 lakh crore reveals the government’s failure to foresee obvious global supply vulnerabilities. While external geopolitical shocks are real the Centre’s structural lacunae […]
Tit for ‘TET’: TET and the Crisis of Accountability in Education
Javaid Jawad The recent landmark judgment of the Supreme Court, making it mandatory for teachers to qualify the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) or be deemed ineligible to teach, has sent shockwaves through educational circles in Jammu and Kashmir. Social media is flooded with concerns from teachers, while leaders of teachers’ associations are voicing their apprehensions […]
Nature is benevolent an sometimes dreadful
Sahil Manzoor Bhatti Clear, crystal-clear rivers are meant to be a source of water which needs to escape pollution and used for fun and frolic. One such activity that these water bodies are used for is recklessly swimming. Nature is benevolent, but at times it can also be very dreadful. It is heart breaking that […]
If AI is addictive, where does the responsibility lie?
Bernd Stahl When I talk to my son, an engineering student, and we have a question or disagreement, he immediately turns to ChatGPT as his primary source of information and confirmation. He is not alone in this. The use of generative AI tools has exploded across different demographic groups. For many people, these tools can […]
The insecure middle class
Dr. Priyanka Saurabh India is today one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. Its growing economic power, large youth population, digital revolution, and expanding consumer market are constantly being discussed on the global stage. At the heart of this development journey, if any socio-economic class plays the most important role, it is India’s middle class. […]
Implementation of 8th Pay Commission will mean upswing for the economy
Mohammad Hussain Khan The view that implementation of the 8th Pay Commission would be detrimental to the economy of Jammu & Kashmir presents only one side of the picture and fails to adequately recognize the positive economic and administrative consequences of a fair wage revision. Government employees are not merely recipients of salaries; they are […]
Life Is Not Just What Happens, but How Our Brain Frames It
Dr. Reyaz Ahmad Life appears to us as a smooth and continuous journey. We wake up, walk, speak, think, remember, react, and move through the world as if existence is flowing like a river. But a striking idea, presented in a Feynman-style science video, invites us to pause and think differently: what if life is […]
The Poet Who Turned Pain into Poetry
Wani Arfat The world of Urdu literature has been left in deep grief after the passing of the renowned poet Bashir Badr, a literary figure whose poetry transcended pages and became the voice of countless hearts across generations. He was not merely a poet who composed ghazals; he was an emotion in himself, a living […]