Handloom - weaving India's heritage into global growth

The making of a developed nation is not defined by technology alone. It is shaped by the ability to transform enduring strengths into engines of future growth. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2047, it is investing in frontier technologies, strengthening manufacturing and building globally competitive industries.

Yet, one of India's greatest strengths has been with India all along - its handloom tradition. On August 7, as India marks the 12th National Handloom Day, it is time to view handloom as a strategic sector for a world that values sustainability, authenticity and resilient supply chains.

Access paradox

Private medical education widens access, but affects affordability

The scope of medical education in India has expanded so rapidly that it raises important questions about access to it. The number of seats has nearly tripled in 12 years, thanks in part to the government's push to im-prove access to health care, entailing infrastruc-ture upgrades and simplified regulations. However, much of the growth has been happening in the private sector, in addition to new government colleges attached to district hospitals.

The Beijing model of innovation

• Beijing's Zhongguancun and other innovation clusters are using research universities, technology managers and incubators to help move scientific results from laboratories into the market.
• The city's push for Al and humanoid robots is being supported by industrial hubs, state-backed capital and policies aimed at building a full supply chain for mass production.

How will the Supreme Court order impact mining around Ramsar wetland sites?

The story so far:

The Supreme Court has clarified that its February 2024 direction, requiring prior approval before mining can take place within a 10-km radius of the Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve, would, for the sake of parity, apply to Twetland conservation reserves across the country. The clarification potentially extends a judicial safeguard that was earlier confined to the Asan Ramsar site in Uttarakhand to similarly notified wetland conservation reserves elsewhere.

FCRA Bill is 'religion-neutral, Shah assures Christian bodies

A mid concerns raised by Christian bodies over the Foreign Contribution (Regu-lation) Amendment Bill, 2026 (FCRA), Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday met two delegations, including one representing all Christian denominations and communities, and assured them that the proposed legislation "religion-neutral".

RS clears Appropriation Bill for expenditure of ₹54,067 crore

Amid protests and a wal-kout by Opposition mem-bers demanding the pre-sence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the House, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday considered and returned the Appropria-tion Bill, 2026 that allows the expenditure of around ₹54,067 crore incurred during the 2022-23 financial year.

Govt. opposes income-based creamy layer in SC/ST quotas

Opposing a batch of petitions in the Supreme Court seeking the exclusion of the "creamy layer" from the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs), on the lines of the system in place for the Oth-Backward Classes (OBC), the Union government has argued that judi-cial precedents had clarified that the "principles of creamy layer are not applicable to SCs and STs".

Govt. okays 23,371 cr. GOBARdhan scheme

The Union cabinet approved the National circular Bioenergy Scheme - GOBARdhan, provisioning ₹23,731-crore to catalyse the growth of compressed biogas (CBG).

The GOBARdhan (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) outlay, to be in place until FY2035-36 seeks to raise local com-pressed biogas production almost tenfold via assured offtake, administered pric-ing, capital subsidies, boosting pipeline infrastructure and easier access to finance, the Centre said.

'Oil cargoes from Russian Black Sea ports down two-thirds'

The Ukraine-Russia conflict has led to a 66% cut in India-bound oil cargoes from Russian Black Sea ports in the last two weeks, said Bimco, a leading shi-powners association. Though Russia's Baltic ports have the major share of India's crude imports

from Russia, Black Sea ports provide some 30% of Russian imports. In June, over 50% of India's crude imports came from Russia.

Taxation bill passed in the Lok Sabha

The Taxation and other Laws (Amendment) Bill, through which the government wants to promote domestic electronics ma-nufacturing, attract foreign funds and modify the zero-MDR framework on digital payments was passed by the Lok Sabha.

China-Japan row escalates after Tokyo terms Beijing 'greatest strategic challenge'

China has lodged a "serious diplomatic" protest with Japan over its latest defence white paper, which portrayed Beijing as Tokyo's "greatest strategic challenge" and made "brazen comments" on Taiwan, further escalating tensions between the two countries.

Growing your own food, time for leisure: what life is like in a blue zone

A blue zone, a concept introduced by journalist Dan Buettner, demographer Michel Poulain, and physician Gianni Pes, describes a region with high longevity: Ogimi, a village in Okinawa, Japan, is a lush landscape dotted with small farms where residents live with a strong sense of purpose