ENVIRONMENT
The 1.5-degree breach is a serious warning on the climate front
Halting or reversing the temperature rise through massive emission reduction appears to be a mirage that the global community is chasing with little success. Therefore, countries prone to extreme weather events need to take proactive action to adapt and minimise their impacts. This can be achieved through constant monitoring and evidence-based policy actions
BUSINESS
Union Budget 2024: Big ticket science needs big money
Most scientific research projects, be it human space flight or supercomputing mission, have a long gestation period and require sustained funding. Overall, the kitty for R&D has to go up to at least 1.5 percent of GDP with a clear roadmap
BUSINESS
Indian Space Station by 2035 – a wild gambit
US, China and Russia went through much longer gestation periods between their first manned flights and space station operationalisation. India is crunching those timelines and there’s no indication of budgets for the programme or how the forbidding costs of maintaining the station will be financed
TRENDS
MS Swaminathan: A life dedicated to science and society
MS Swaminathan’s contributions spanned many walks of life but India will remember him most for his pioneering role in the Green Revolution that changed agriculture as Indian farmers knew it and ushered in self-sufficiency in foodgrain production
INDIA
N Vittal: Bureaucrat who made the software horse fly
It is important to remember this rare bureaucrat who helped make India an IT superpower. He rid two GoI departments handling software exports and telecom of their socialist hangover in the early 1990s and created the conditions that eased Indian software exports and allowed private entry into telecom
BUSINESS
Indian Pharma Industry: Chasing a mirage called Good Manufacturing Practices
Pharma companies getting a 12-month window to implement WHO’s GMPs forgets that these norms have been mandatory since 2005. It isn’t an easy task for industry – 80% of pharma companies are MSMEs – to implement GMPs. But political will must trump over lobbies and prioritise the wellbeing of Indians and countries we export to
