Analysis

Published on Jan 30, 2023 11:28 AM IST

Hindenburg Research’s allegations of stock-price manipulation and accounting fraud were contained in a 106-page report, which has now been denounced by the conglomerate as “nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law.”

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.(HT_PRINT)

Bloomberg |

Is reversing reforms to grab power the way forward for India?

The move to shift from a defined benefit pension scheme or Old Pension System to defined contribution pension scheme or New Pension Scheme was in order to contain the rising and unsustainable pension bill with around 4 per cent of Union Budget already going towards pensionary benefits.

Reversing reforms by bringing back the old pension system (OPS) is the political lollipop that Congress has promised its voters in Himachal Pradesh. A file photo of Himachal Assembly building.

Updated on Nov 07, 2022 09:00 AM IST

ByShishir Gupta, New Delhi

The science behind the load, span and design of a safe bridge

Different kinds of bridges require different factors to be taken into consideration. HT explains:

Rescue personnel conduct search operations after a bridge across the river Machchhu collapsed at Morbi in Gujarat. (AFP)

Published on Nov 01, 2022 09:46 PM IST

ByKabir Firaque

We are still far from attaining Mahatma Gandhi's vision of ‘Swaraj'

Mahatma Gandhi’s moral weapon was the initiation of "Change of Heart”, a very effective and potent weapon that he had used efficaciously to achieve several successes.

Gandhi Jayanti 2022: This year marks Mahatma Gandhi’s 153rd birth anniversary.(Twitter/@VPSecretariat)

Published on Oct 01, 2022 07:33 PM IST

ByMilind Pandey

Temples of Modernity: Dream Big for ‘New India’

Pratik Mathur is an Indian Foreign Service officer, currently posted as Counsellor at Permanent Mission of India to UN in New York.

Harvard University, with a super spread campus with 15 colleges and departments spread across Boston, was a Biblical ‘city on the hill’ to itself.(Getty Images)

Published on Sep 06, 2022 10:48 AM IST

ByPratik Mathur

Choosing a climate action path wisely

For a climate-sensitive development plan, India must walk a line between the ‘development-first climate-later’ view and the ‘untrammelled opportunity’ view

India must strive to remake our economy to take advantage of an increas-ingly low-carbon focused global economy. And doing so could bring other development benefits, such as less congested cities and cleaner air (Amal KS/Hindustan Times)

Updated on Sep 04, 2022 09:12 PM IST

ByNavroz K Dubash

Hutong Cat I China could tighten abortion rights to tackle population crisis

The point is abortion is common in China and private clinics even launch campaigns to attract clients. That could change

Abortion has been legal in China since 1953 and widely available through the national health care system. (iStock Photo)

Updated on Aug 29, 2022 01:57 PM IST

BySutirtho Patranobis

Five years of GST regime: How have the states fared?

With GST completing five years last week and the RUP period over (at least in the current form), it is worthwhile to assess how the states fared during this transition period.

For states, the introduction of GST shifted the tax base from production to consumption. (PTI)

Published on Jul 05, 2022 12:44 PM IST

ByAsit Mohanty, Jugal Mohapatra

Premium Conversations | India's coal phase-down, with Pradip Swarnakar, JTRC

Swarnakar, who heads the Just Transition Research Centre, spoke to HT about how 15-20 million livelihoods are likely to be affected, what should drive India's coal phase-down, and how to protect workers during the energy transition.

Domestically, this resistance reflects in the fact that we don’t have any institutionalised policy framework driving the energy transition. (HT Photo)

Updated on Jun 06, 2022 08:13 PM IST

ByJayashree Nandi

The story of India’s shifting trading partners and patterns

Here are three charts that explain India's trading partners in the years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22:

In 2019-20 India US trade topped at $88.9 billion while China came number two at $81.9 billion. (Reuters)

Published on May 31, 2022 01:01 PM IST

ByRajeev Jayaswal

Numbers Matter | The growing booster challenge for India

Six weeks since the vaccine drive started, it is becoming apparent that the road ahead for booster coverage is going to be different in terms of pushing for coverage. Here's what we know:

For the first time since India’s inoculation drive started, the challenge ahead is not one of supply, but that of demand. (PTI)

Published on May 17, 2022 02:49 PM IST

Digital transformation of the social impact sector for a sustainable tomorrow

When done right, digital transformation can help social sector organisations drive down costs, higher efficiency, service deliver, increase transparency and accountability.

India’s mid-day meal programme is an excellent example of how industrial engineering and enterprise tech can work in tandem in the endeavour to not only eradicate malnutrition in children but also ensure their education.(Representational image.)

Published on May 16, 2022 05:04 PM IST

ByRamadass Selvaraj

4 cities power India's start-up rush, but emerging hubs may be key to the future

A record 44 start-ups turned into unicorns in India in 2021, when India overtook the United Kingdom as home to the third highest number of unicorns after the United States and China.

By January 14 of this year we had 83 unicorns. Now we have 100.(HT File Photo)

Published on May 07, 2022 01:49 PM IST

BySaloni Sachdeva

Numbers Matter | The expansion of India's booster programme

Despite the sheer size of the expansion plan, it does not appear to be an unsurmountable task for the government, especially going by past data. Let's see why.

Updated on Apr 13, 2022 03:38 PM IST

Explainer: Interpreting S Jaishankar’s speech and Indian position on Ukraine

In both what the foreign minister said, and what he did not say, lies the story of India’s strengths, constraints, calculations and aspirations and the larger strategy that is an outcome of these variables.

India’s foreign minister told Parliament on Wednesday that India’s position was guided by its national beliefs and values, national interests and national strategy. (ANI)

Published on Apr 07, 2022 12:07 PM IST

ByPrashant Jha

Punjab election: How candidates and parties used social media

In what was considered largely a digital affair due to restrictions on campaigning, candidates and parties took to Twitter and Facebook. Here is how they used these platforms to connect with voters:

As we begin to learn more about the use of social media by political parties and candidates, we cannot afford to rush to conclusions on how social media affects voters. (Mint)

Published on Mar 22, 2022 02:30 PM IST

ByNeelesh Agrawal, Shivam Gangwani

Numbers Matter | The figures behind the booster expansion debate

Protection against severe Covid starts fading fast after 4-6 months. This is why, the sooner the issue of wider booster coverage is dealt with (and boosters are made available), the better for India, and the world.

Published on Mar 22, 2022 01:17 PM IST

How sanctions on Russia will strain India’s defence

The sanctions could pose a unique set of challenges for the India-Russia defence relationship and put India’s military preparedness to the test

Russia, India’s top supplier of arms, accounted for 46% of the country’s imports during the last five years even though India made fewer purchases from that country over the last decade. (AFP)

Published on Mar 17, 2022 02:00 PM IST

ByRahul Singh

The poor record of assemblies in nominating and electing women

While women's representation across the five states has increased inchmeal — from an average of 4.6% in 2002 to 10% in 2022 — in real terms, the difference between the two is only 36 legislators.

All three women MLAs elected in 2022 are married to politicians. Delilah Michael Lobo is the wife of Michael Lobo (both in photo), former MLA from Calangute. (ANI)

Published on Mar 16, 2022 02:52 PM IST

ByGilles Verniers, Ishika Sharan, Maleeha Fatima

Numbers Matter | Why the current outbreak in Hong Kong is unlike any other

With the average daily deaths much higher than ever seen since the beginning of the pandemic, there are lessons for countries on their approach to fighting the virus

When seen against Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million, Tuesday’s statistics mean 30.4 deaths per million, while Monday’s 249 deaths come out to a whopping 33 deaths for every million residents. (Bloomberg)

Published on Mar 16, 2022 12:52 PM IST

Explainer: A history of police reforms in India

There have been hits and misses over the years — with a shortage crisis and a lackadaisical approach to implementing various recommendations on training and mindsets having plagued the force.

Apart from poor work-life balance, cops also have to work with limited resources at their disposal. (HT File Photo)

Published on Mar 15, 2022 09:01 PM IST

ByNeeraj Chauhan

What does the UP assembly verdict mean for Muslim political representation?

The polls saw a polarised verdict, with 83% of Muslim voters picking the SP. Here are the trends in party nomination and representation of Muslims to understand voter behaviour

Contrary to speculations, the AIMIM did not have much impact in purely electoral terms. (HT Photo)

Published on Mar 15, 2022 04:59 PM IST

ByGilles Verniers, SV Sai Vikas

A near-peer competitor: How US intelligence views China

A report prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, titled the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, was made public on March 8. HT's deep dive into the fine print of the report:

In the nuclear realm, the US has concluded that Beijing is set to continue the “largest ever nuclear force expansion and arsenal diversification in its history”. (REUTERS)

Published on Mar 15, 2022 01:57 PM IST

ByPrashant Jha

Is Punjab another Delhi now for the AAP and Congress

For the nationally enfeebled Congress, the loss of face in Punjab over Aam Aadmi Party huge win is way bigger and self-inflicted after the head-start it had with Charanjeet Singh Channi’s elevation as the state’s first Dalit chief minister.

Punjab election result: Aam Aadmi Party’s presumptive chief minister in Punjab Bhagwant Mann (REUTERS File Photo)

Updated on Mar 10, 2022 05:04 PM IST

By Vinod Sharma

This election season, India's dismal score on women's representation

While women have been at the core of parties' campaigns, every party — barring the Congress — has done little to actually include them. Here are four charts that explain this:

The Congress’ shock announcement at the beginning of the campaign clearly did not inspire other parties to make more space for women contestants. (Burhaan Kinu/HT)

Updated on Mar 09, 2022 04:28 PM IST

ByGilles Verniers

uttar pradesh assembly election

The micro narratives that shaped the poll agenda in Uttar Pradesh

UP election: There is a significant dip in religious polarisation in Purvanchal as we move from western Uttar Pradesh. And eastern UP doesn’t have either an urban agglomeration or agricultural surplus like the NCR in western UP to boost the region’s economy.

Updated on Mar 07, 2022 05:09 PM IST

ByBhanu Joshi, Ashish Ranjan and Neelanjan Sircar

Russian brinkmanship in Ukraine and echoes of the Cold War

As per US intelligence, February 16 was the date given by President Joe Biden for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A local resident reacts as a house is on fire after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals to leave the town of Irpin, while Russian troops advance toward the capital, 24km from Kyiv, Ukraine.(REUTERS)

Published on Mar 06, 2022 04:11 PM IST

ByPrerna Chahar

Numbers Matter | Two years, three waves, four lessons

Here we take a look at the lessons that two years of the pandemic have taught us, and how they may serve us in possible future waves.

But the second anniversary comes at one of the better times of the pandemic. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Published on Mar 03, 2022 02:46 PM IST

Is China the sole beneficiary of Sino-US economic ties?

Did the US make a strategic blunder by facilitating China’s economic rise? Part of the Indian strategic establishment seems to think so. But the reality is more complicated.

It is perfectly plausible that American capital which relocated to China did not lose its profits from selling to domestic consumers in the US economy. (AP File Photo)

Published on Mar 01, 2022 05:18 PM IST

ByRoshan Kishore

UNSC fiddles while Kyiv burns

The trappings of a sacrosanct ritual were all there. Before entering the Security Council chambers, European diplomats and the Ukrainian Representative stood with the Ukrainian flag in front of Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, a tapestry about the Spanish Civil War.

Russian missiles attack an apartment building in Ukraine.

Updated on Feb 26, 2022 06:35 PM IST

BySyed Akbaruddin