June 25, 1975, is recorded as a turning point in the history of Indian democracy. On that day, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency in the country. The period, which lasted until March 21, 1977, saw severe restrictions on civil liberties, the imprisonment of opposition leaders and the imposition of government censorship on newspapers. Today, during Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister, a section of the opposition, journalists and civil rights advocates accuse the government of creating an ‘undeclared Emergency’. Comparing the two periods raises an important question: Are the circumstances really similar, or have the methods of putting pressure on political dissent changed?

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Imagine two lives separated by three generations. One belongs to a small-town schoolteacher in the 1970s. The other belongs to his grandson, an IT professional today. The difference is nothing short of a revolution.

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Green hydrogen is emerging as a pillar of India’s clean energy transition. It is produced by splitting water using renewable electricity. It can help reduce emissions in sectors such as fertiliser production, petroleum refining, iron and steel manufacturing, heavy-duty road transport and shipping.

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What happened to the two crore jobs a year? Are our rivers really cleaner? Are our cities smarter, or just better at putting up smart boards? Has corruption gone down, or have we simply learnt to live with it? And after twelve years, how much of the distance between promise and delivery has actually been covered? These are not academic questions. They are questions people ask over tea, at railway stations, in offices and inside their homes.

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India’s space journey began in 1963 with a sounding rocket launched from Thumba, Kerala. It now looks ahead to the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station. New technologies are driving this progress. They include reusable launch vehicles, electric, green and nuclear propulsion, and in-orbit servicing.

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The song ‘Naina Ye Barse...’, sung by Lata Mangeshkar for the 1985 film 'Mohabbat', captures a state of love in which the heart is immersed in longing for someone, while circumstances prevent two lovers from coming close to each other, no matter how much they wish to.

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Scientists have discovered that one of the brightest X-ray pulsars, Centaurus X-3, is gobbling up material through an accretion disk, which is rare for pulsars of its kind.

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“Ek kachori, doh samosas, in mardon ka kya bharosa? Ek cigarette, doh cup chaay, mard jaat haay haay!" What a revolution! Kachoris, samosas and cigarettes have become weapons of women’s liberation. Add a plate of biryani, and this revolution might qualify for a royal banquet!

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From the streets of Paris and Brussels to New Delhi, young people are running out of patience. What happens when a bigger segment of an entire generation loses faith in its leaders?

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Two contrasting images of India’s economy have emerged on the same day, forcing us to reflect on the deep divide between economic growth and inequality. The country’s largest-ever IPO, Jio Platforms, made its debut on the stock market, opening with a gain of around 21 per cent over its issue price and climbing to nearly 27 per cent by the end of the trading day, sparking enthusiasm among investors.

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