To switch or not to: The old IT regime vs the new

The Union Budget 2025 has once again brought the debate between the old and new tax regimes into focus. While the government continues to promote the new tax regime with simplified tax slabs and lower rates, the old tax regime remains attractive for many taxpayers due to extensive exemptions and deductions. With no changes made … Read more

Gender Agenda newsletter The strong, silent types

(This article is part of the Gender Agenda newsletter. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Sunday, subscribe here.) Welcome to The Hindu’s newsletter that puts gender front and centre. Here, we’ll reflect on the world, cleaning up our glasses smudged from cultural conditioning. Through words, visuals, and voices we will see clearly how gender … Read more

The panchayati raj movement is in distress

The special discussion in Parliament on the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution has long passed. While several salient aspects of the Constitution and policy directions adopted by previous governments were highlighted, one heard very little on a vital aspect of governance in India. The 73rd amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1992, is one … Read more

From The Hindu, February 17, 1975: PLO must accept Israel: Kissinger

Bonn, Feb. 16: The U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, and the West German Foreign Minister, Mr. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, stressed their identity of views on the situation in the Mediterranean, Cyprus, Israel and the conference on security and co-operation in Europe following their meeting to-day at Gymnich Castle near Bonn. Dr. Kissinger, who spoke … Read more

Interpreting the recent Bangladesh-Pakistan thaw

‘Recent bilateral engagement between the two sides demonstrates Dhaka’s intent to diversify its foreign policy trajectory in the subcontinent’ | Photo Credit: AFP The bitter legacy of the 1971 liberation war, where Bangladesh split from Pakistan, has long steered the nature of ties between Dhaka and Islamabad. However, recent bilateral engagement between the two sides … Read more

The silent crisis of rat-hole mining

Rat hole mining at the West Jaintia hills, Meghalaya. | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar On January 29, the Gauhati High Court took suo motu cognisance of the mining tragedy in Umrangso, Assam. The January 6 mine flooding in Umrangso, which trapped nine labourers and killed at least four, was yet another preventable tragedy in … Read more

A studied silence over vandalism

The statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar adjacent to Golden Temple after a vandalisation attempt by a man, in Amritsar, on January 27, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI On Republic Day, a man attempted to vandalise a life-sized statue of B.R. Ambedkar, adjacent to the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, Punjab. When images were circulated showing him … Read more