In Focus by The Hindu

There’s been a lot of action in the world of footwear fashion – especially legal action involving claims and counter-claims about cheap fakes of expensive originals, and also expensive rip-offs of cheaper originals. First it was the crocs, the uniquely shaped perforated sandals. The American company which makes them, Crocs Inc., is pursuing legal action against several Indian companies, including...

There’s been a lot of action in the world of footwear fashion – especially legal action involving claims and counter-claims about cheap fakes of expensive originals, and also expensive rip-offs of cheaper originals. First it was the crocs, the uniquely shaped perforated sandals. The American company which makes them, Crocs Inc., is pursuing legal action against several Indian companies, including...

As the U.S. wraps up its 90-day tariff pause, the pressure is on — but many of America’s key trading partners, including India, haven’t signed trade deals. President Donald Trump announced 'Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, but paused from April 9 to July 9 in a bid to sign deals with trading partners. The U.S. successfully signed pacts with Vietnam, China, and the U.K., but did not secure deals...

A bridge collapsed in Gujarat on July 9, killing at least thirteen people. The Gambhira Bridge, which connected the Anand and Vadodara districts, gave way, sending cars, bikes and auto rickshaws plunging into the Mahisagar River. Built over four decades ago, the bridge had shown signs of being worn out but was still heavily used. Its collapse is part of a troubling pattern of deadly bridge cave-in...

India’s ten central trade unions – barring the Sangh-affiliated Bharatiy Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) came together to call for a general strike in July 9. Workers from banking, insurance, postal, mining, construction, and transportation sectors have pledged their support to the strike and are expected to participate in big numbers.  According to the Union spokespersons, the strike is in protest against th...

From July 1st onwards, Delhi started enforcing a fuel ban on End-of-Life Vehicles or ELVs. In Delhi, this means diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years. This enforcement drive followed an order from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) stipulating no fuel for ELVs from July 1. But now, following a public outcry, the Delhi government has written to CA...

With the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled for the 21st of this month, road safety activists in the country have begun a push towards demanding more stringent legislation for automobiles, roads and highways, to ensure better safety for all road users. This is not a small concern – India has one of the highest road traffic accident rates in the world, its roads are some of the world’s most de...

The Election Commission of India is going to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Bihar is due to hold Assembly elections before November22, which is when the term of the current assembly ends. This revision exercise requires all voters who were enrolled after 2003, to provide proof of their and their parents’ citizenship, in order to get their names on the elect...

Wimbledon 2025 kicks off on June 30. Can Carlos Alcaraz make it three championship titles in a row? Or will Novak Djokovic manage to get his 25th Slam and equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles? Can world no. 1 Jannik Sinner stamp his authority on grass for the first time this year? How do the various contenders stack up in what seems to be a very open field in the women’s draw? Is...

When we think of climate and global warming, what comes to mind is carbon emissions, and how to decarbonise the economy. Lately, another front in the fight against climate change getting more and more attention: the battle against Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), also classified as non-carbon climate pollutants. These gases and chemicals — which include methane, black carbon, tropospheric o...

After 12 days of exchanging intense strikes and counter-strikes, Israel and Iran have reportedly agreed to a ceasefire. The ceasefire was first announced by President Donald Trump on social media. The war was initiated by Israel with the tacit approval of the US, to achieve certain objectives. Were those objectives achieved? What prompted them to initiate the ceasefire? Why did Iran agree to the c...

With the blistering temperatures that most of India is suffering under, it should come as no surprise that May 2025 was the second-warmest month of May since records began. But what is of greater concern now, is how this heat is going to affect our future generations --  a new study has found that India recorded an average of six additional days of dangerously high temperatures for pregnant women...

According to the latest projections by the IMF, India is now the world’s fourth-largest economy. Government officials, including the CEO of NITI Aayog B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, have expressed confidence that India could soon overtake Germany to claim the third spot. Adding to the optimism, the World Bank recently reported that extreme poverty in the country fell to 5.3% in 2022–2023. A recent report by...

On June 13, Israel launched an all-out war against Iran. It carried out what has been described as a ‘decapitation strike” – taking out much of the country’s military leadership, as well as top nuclear scientists. It also attacked the country’s nuclear facilities and air defences, and subsequently it’s economic infrastructure and oil installations as well. Iran responded with missile strikes of it...

India began its Crocodile Conservation programme in 1975, and this year marks 50 years of this initiative, one that has been more successful than most. India is home to three main kinds of crocodile species – the gharial, the salt water crocodile or salties, and the muggers. These species face increasing threats from habitat loss, poachers, pollution, riparian agriculture, artificial embankments,...

The Central government recently proposed starting an integrated course – MBBS and Ayurveda medicine, at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry. This proposed move has evoked a strong response from the Indian Medical Association who has said this unscientific mixing of various systems of medicine will benefit neither doctors, nor patients. Thi...

Article 143 of the Constitution allows the President to seek the Supreme Court’s opinion on matters of law. This provision has been invoked by President Droupadi Murmu to raise 14 questions on a recent Supreme Court judgement. It concerns a case filed by the Tamil Nadu government against its Governor, who had withheld assent to 10 bills indefinitely. The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Ta...

Yet again, we are talking about a virus we would much rather forget – Covid-19 is in the news with over 4,300 cases and over deaths as of June 4. New sub-variants, descendent from the Omicron lineage first reported at the end of 2021, are believed to be driving the spike in cases. So far however, a majority of the cases have been mild, with very few requiring hospitalisation, according to the gove...

At a time when Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging peace proposals, seemingly in a bid to start direct peace talks, Ukraine has carried out an unprecedented drone attack deep inside Russian territory. Ukrainian officials have claimed to have destroyed at least 40 Russian warplanes, including strategic bombers, and say they have imposed losses on Russia worth $7 billion dollars. This attack com...

India is a union of states — a structure enshrined in the Constitution that gives States a central role in legislating critical areas like health, agriculture, and public order. But how well are India’s State Assemblies functioning? A new report by PRS Legislative Research that examines how 31 State Assemblies performed in 2024 has found that States passed over 500 Bills, yet most Assemblies met f...

It’s been a month since Canada’s federal elections. Canadians have voted in a Liberal government, although a minority one, for the fourth straight time. They have reposed their faith in Mark Carney, a former central banker who had no prior political experience and hadn’t held political office until the start of this year. Everyone seems to agree that the Trump factor played a big role in the elect...

Manipur has been under President’s rule since February 13, 2025. But this week, a group of 10 MLAs met the Governor and informed him that they would like to form a “popular government” with the support of a total of 44 MLAs. The Manipur Assembly has a strength of 60. At the same time, the state is again in turmoil over an incident in Gwaltabi village where security forces allegedly asked for the s...

The Central Board of Secondary Education, or CBSE, recently mandated the establishment of sugar boards at all its schools. These boards will tell children how much sugar there is in common snacks that they eat versus what the recommended sugar intake is. The move also aims to make school canteens healthier so that the food children have access to on a daily basis is healthy and low in sugar. Why w...

Earlier this month, reports surfaced alleging that Indian authorities had transported dozens of Rohingya refugees to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and subsequently abandoned them in international waters, in an attempt to deport them to Myanmar. However, on May 16, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh declined to pass any interim order to halt the purported d...

The French Open, the only Grand Slam played on clay, kicks off this Sunday in Paris. This is a historic French Open also because it’s the first one to be held after the retirement of Rafael Nadal, the undisputed GOAT on Clay. On the men’s side, there is tremendous anticipation over the growing rivalry between world No 1 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Another exciting narrative revolves around N...