Cotton import duty cuts: The farms versus firms debate

The Indian government’s removal of the 11% import duty on cotton has drawn protests from farmer unions. The textile industry, however, has welcomed the move, as it faces the burden of punitive 50% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The textile sector, being one of the biggest employers, is witnessing retrenchment of women garment workers … Read more

Đăng Nhập 68 Game Bài: Khám Phá Thế Giới Giải Trí Đỉnh Cao

Trong thời đại công nghệ số hiện nay, việc tham gia vào các trò chơi trực tuyến đã trở thành một phần không thể thiếu trong cuộc sống giải trí của người dân. Một trong những nền tảng hấp dẫn nhất hiện nay chính là 68 game bài , nơi quy tụ nhiều trò chơi … Read more

How is India planning to protect its satellites in space?

Following a near miss in 2024 between an Indian satellite and a foreign spacecraft, New Delhi has begun planning “bodyguard satellites” to watch over its fleet, according to media reports — a decision that could be part of a wider strategy that includes new surveillance spacecraft, radars, telescopes, and technologies such as LiDAR. Satellites today … Read more

The week in top charts: Trump’s plans on H1B Visas, rainfall batters Himachal and Uttarakhand yet again, and more

(1) Trump signs proclamation imposing $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications The U.S., President Donald Trump on Friday (September 19, 2025) signed a proclamation that will raise the fee for H-1B visas to a staggering $100,000 annually, the latest in the administration’s efforts to crack down on immigration. However, after the initial unease among … Read more

The hard truth about out-of-pocket health expenditure

In India, direct out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) by households is the main source of financing for health care. In an OOPE-based system, when a family member falls ill, we either dip into our savings, sell assets, or borrow to meet health-care expenditures. If one is poor, the option is either to forgo care and die or … Read more

Astronomers have spotted the biggest bangs since the Big Bang

For all its apparent serenity, the universe is a very violent place teeming with cataclysmic events: from colliding galaxies and supernovae (the explosive deaths of massive stars), to immensely powerful geysers of X-rays and black holes that gobble up stars. In this deafening cosmic din, astronomers have always considered gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), produced during the … Read more

Is it feasible to blend isobutanol and diesel? | Explained

Imagge used for representation | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The story so far: On September 11, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) was exploring the possibility of blending isobutanol with diesel. Isobutanol is an alcoholic compound with inflammable properties and is used as a solvent in several industries, … Read more

Why is India on the U.S. blacklist on fentanyl? | Explained

The story so far: In the latest version of the Major’s List sent to the U.S. Congress, President Donald Trump listed 23 countries as being significant sources and/or sites of transit of illicit drugs — especially fentanyl — that he said threaten the U.S and its people. The list of countries includes India, Pakistan, China, … Read more

While good, ICMR impact scale may deter research in public interest

There is more to research impact than citations. | Photo Credit: Adam Bezer/Unsplash The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently proposed the Impact of Research and Innovation Scale (IRIS), a scale with which to measure the impactfulness of the effects of biomedical, public health, and allied research projects funded by the organisation. ICMR is … Read more

H-1B visa crisis: The $1,00,000 a year visa fee exceeds 60% of Indian workers’ annual salary in the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order on gold card visa in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 19, 2025. | Photo Credit: REUTERS U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation raising the H-1B visa fee to $100,000 per year. The fee, which currently ranges from … Read more

When you spill coffee, why does it leave circular stains?

The pattern arises from how the drop evaporates and how coffee particles move.  | Photo Credit: Glen Carrie/Unsplash A: If you spill a drop of coffee on a table, you often see a dark ring with a pale centre after it dries. This pattern arises from how the drop evaporates and how coffee particles move. … Read more

What is the best time to take examinations?

The student filling out answers to exam test answer sheet with a pencil. School and Education. Test score sheet with answers. 21EPBS_CUET_Page 2 | Photo Credit: Golden Sikorka A paper published on July 24, 2025, by Carmelo Vicario et al., titled ‘Timing Matters! Academic assessment changes throughout the day’ in the journal Frontiers in Psychology … Read more

Two from India win 2025 Ig Nobel prize for engineering design

From fingernail diaries to pizza-eating lizards, this year’s Ig Nobel Prizes once again celebrated research that makes people laugh before it makes them think. The 2025 ceremony, held virtually from Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, spotlighted oddball studies from around the world that nevertheless posed real scientific questions. Among this year’s laureates are Vikash Kumar and … Read more

Science Quiz: When sound gets on the move

Science Quiz: When sound gets on the move Visual: What’s the name for the part of the human ear visible outside the head? It’s called the pinna in non-human animals. START THE QUIZ 1 / 6 | What’s the name for the part of the human ear visible outside the head? It’s called the pinna … Read more

Bengaluru scientists develop affordable fruit fly trap; seek global patents

For years, farmers across India have struggled to protect mango, guava, sapota, and other citrus crops from the attack of fruit flies. Now, after three years of research and trials, scientists at the National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Bengaluru, (under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research) have developed a device – ‘Shatpada Fruit … Read more

Arjuna asteroid 2025 PN7 is earth’s latest quasi-satellite

Astronomers have announced that they have discovered a new neighbour in the earth’s skies: asteroid 2025 PN7, confirmed in September 2025 to be the planet’s latest quasi-satellite. (The prefix ‘quasi’ means almost.) First spotted on August 2 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii, 2025 PN7 is a member of the Arjuna asteroid class — … Read more

Is age catching up with India’s dams?

“At Independence, the new Government of India … made the building of big dams a central part of its strategy for transforming India, a commitment to which it adhered for decades,” historian Daniel Klingensmith wrote in his 2007 book ‘One Valley and a Thousand’. The Damodar Valley Corporation, the Bhakra Nangal, and the Hirakud in … Read more

Share of U-rated films highest in Malayalam, lowest in Bhojpuri: Data

Among Tamil and Malayalam films, the share of A-rated titles was under 7%. | Photo Credit: TH India’s censor boards certified nearly 18,000 films between 2017 and 2025, and the ratings reveal sharp contrasts across film industries. Among the major ones, Malayalam cinema emerged as the most “family-friendly” in this period, with the largest share … Read more

Crosstalk: waning immunity against Japanese encephalitis worsens dengue

Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever are an increasing threat to global health. Rapid urbanisation and climate change have created ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed — while expanding global travel has accelerated the spread of these infections to new regions and populations. A new study published last week has now added an unexpected twist … Read more

How the DeepSeek-R1 AI model was taught to teach itself to reason | Explained

The story so far: For many decades, one of the great challenges in artificial intelligence (AI) has been teaching machines to reason. Reasoning goes beyond memorising facts or completing sentences. It’s the ability to follow steps, reflect on mistakes, and adjust strategies until the right answer is found. Humans use reasoning for everything from solving … Read more

New study finds how calcium and pH regulate ovarian cancer spheroids

Image for representation purposes only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), in a collaborative study, have found that two simple environmental factors — calcium and pH — dictate whether the cancer spheroids hold together, fall apart, or even rebuild themselves from scratch. Floating cluster of cells When ovarian cancer … Read more

Amid rising obesity, children’s exposure to ultra-processed foods increases

A person buy groceries at a supermarket in Buenos Aires. | Photo Credit: JUAN MABROMATA A recent UNICEF report, ‘Feeding Profit: How Food Environments Are Failing Children’, estimates that one in five children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years are ‘living with overweight’. It highlights that children and adolescents are increasingly being exposed to … Read more

Science quiz: Tinkering with storms

Science quiz: Tinkering with storms Visual: Name this 1947 hurricane that became the subject of controversy after its sharp turn to the northeast, into Florida, was blamed on cloud-seeding. START THE QUIZ 1 / 6 | Name this 1947 hurricane that became the subject of controversy after its sharp turn to the northeast, into Florida, … Read more

Portable ion chromatograph brings real-world practice to classrooms

Ion chromatography, or the process of separating ions from a sample by passing it through a long column, is usually carried out in a laboratory using expensive, sophisticated equipment. Now, scientists at the University of Tasmania in Australia have devised a simpler way to perform the technique out in the field — one that could … Read more

Quest to crack blues mystery in Pollock painting reveals colour-tuning technique

While pigments interact with light and their surroundings to produce specific colours, the hex triplet #1099D6 (shown) approximates what manganese blue might have looked like. | Photo Credit: Google Jackson Pollock’s Number 1A, 1948 is one of the most famous examples of action painting, where paint is dripped, splashed, and layered onto a surface. While … Read more