Mepco bill

On September 22, India will simplify its GST rates into two main slabs, 5% and 18%, with a special 40% bracket for “sinful” and ultra-luxury goods. Many everyday foods get cheaper. For example, pizza bread will drop from 5% to zero and a long list of sugar-based products, including sugar-boiled confectionery, chocolates, jams, and fruit … Read more

Passwords are no longer enough to keep your accounts safe. If someone steals or guesses your password, they can log into your account without your knowledge. To reduce this risk, many services use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). It adds a second requirement when you log in, usually a code that changes every 30 seconds. One of … Read more

You were probably taught in high school that new neurons, or brain cells, are not born during adulthood. That it stops during your childhood. The actual picture has been more complicated: scientists have been debating among themselves for a long time as to when neurogenesis stops, although most of them believed it was possible in … Read more

(1) Goods and Services Tax rationalisation announced Union Finance Minister announced the rationalised GST slabs of 5% and 18% after the GST Council’s meeting on Wednesday last week (September 3, 2025). The rationalisation removed the 12% and 28% tax slabs, making several products cheaper. On the other hand, a 40% slab made some sin goods … Read more

A French doctor accused of intentionally poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, went on trial on September 8, saying before the hearing he was not responsible for the “distress” of his alleged victims and their families. Frederic Pechier, 53, worked as an anaesthetist at two clinics in the eastern city of … Read more

If you’re lost somewhere on the earth, you can use GPS or public landmarks to find your way back. Navigation in the vastness of space isn’t so easy, however — especially if you’re on a spacecraft racing billions of kilometres away from the earth. There is no GPS in space and where a landmark is … Read more

What makes lunar eclipses interesting and worth observing? “There’s the whole spectacle itself,” says Obuli Chandran, founder of Mango Education. “The moon that falls in the earth’s shadow acquires a blood red or copper red colour, which is quite a sight to watch, and the causes for the shift in colour have kept scientists guessing.”  … Read more

The paradox has become a useful tool across science to explain how merging two bad options can create a better result. | Photo Credit: Lance Grandahl/Unsplash A: Parrondo’s paradox is a strange idea from game theory (and before that from physics). It shows that when two losing strategies are alternated in a particular sequence, the … Read more

A man on his wheel chair , on his way to take part in a procession on the occasion of the International Day of Disabled Persons in Kolkata on December 3, 2004. | Photo Credit: PARTH SANYAL Less than 40% of India’s projected population of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) have been issued a Unique Disability … Read more