-The Statesman Assembly elections in the States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry to be held between 27 March and 29 April come at a time the prestigious US-based Freedom House report has lowered India’s rank from a “free” to a “partially free” country and Sweden’s V-Dem Institute which once described India as the world’s largest democracy as an “electoral autocracy.” The government can either...

-The Hindu ‘Issue is not of use of social media, it is of abuse and misuse of social media’. Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that climate activist Disha Ravi’s arrest was based on law and order and it is under judicial process. He added that the House should consider “should some people abuse social media internationally to defame India to promote secessionism.” Replying to a question...

-The Indian Express Digital empowerment is the key differentiator. Without that, our MSMEs will not be future ready. A significant major contributor to the India growth story is going to be manufacturing. Manufacturing by small units, cottage units and MSMEs, if effectively facilitated, will be the game changer to accelerate economic growth, employment, income levels and enhance supply chain efficiencies. For MSMEs to be sustainable and effective, the need of the hour...

-The Hindu In 2020, 84% of all monitored countries observed air quality improvements Delhi remained the most polluted capital city in the world but India, on the whole, had improved its average annual PM 2.5 (particulate matter) levels higher in 2020 than in 2019, according to a report from IQ Air, a Swiss air quality technology company, specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products. Delhi’s...

-The Hindu Glaring gaps in faculty reservations at central educational institutions More than half of the faculty positions reserved for OBCs in central institutions of higher education are vacant, while about 40% of those reserved for Scheduled Castes and Tribes also remain unfilled, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank told Lok Sabha on Monday in a written response to a question from three Congress MPs. The situation is particularly acute in the elite Indian...