Technology Innovation: Sword or Plough looks at key moments in recent history, noting how key technological changes at pivotal moments had unimaginable consequences, both positive and negative. It makes for enjoyable and insightful reading.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station, has been awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award. The award recognizes his contributions to the Axiom-4 mission and India's advancements in human space exploration.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has registered a case against Congress MLA I C Balakrishnan over alleged corruption in appointments at a local cooperative bank in Sultan Bathery. The allegation involves accepting bribes for facilitating appointments at the bank.
In 2025, OTT series were entertaining enough, even though most were in the crime genre.
What is currently perceived as a massive, low-tech liability could become a high-value, export-oriented economic engine, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai retired, reflecting on his career, commitment to the Constitution, and social justice.
'These are the individuals who transform your life and perspective, teaching you to believe in yourself beyond any subject or skill.'
Let's work flat out and create a policy framework that fosters the growth of Indian non-family business VC and private equity firms. This will allow our Indian startups' dreams to flourish, explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returns to India after his mission to the International Space Station (ISS). He was welcomed by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and ISRO Chairman V Narayanan. Shukla is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and participate in National Space Day celebrations.
Shift from producing graduates proficient in analysis and strategy to producing graduates capable of initiating, executing, and scaling impactful actions in real-world environments, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
The MiG-21's sharp silhouette and supersonic roar will live on in the memories of those who flew it, those who maintained it, and those who watched it streak across the sky as a symbol of India's strength, asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
The Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer is the kind of incentive superhero origin story that can alter the way such films are made in Malayalam cinema, feels Arjun Menon.
The Human-rated LVM3 vehicle, the Crew Escape System and the Crew Module and Service Module are all in final stages of testing and integration.
Hridayapoorvam does not break any new ground or tell a story as old as time with any novelty but its sincerity keeps it alive, notes Arjun Menon.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL) on Tuesday said its ongoing restructuring aims to unlock the value of its omni-channel pharmacy and digital businesses, while enhancing shareholder returns. The newly-formed entity is expected to achieve a year-on-year growth rate of 22-23 per cent, driven by the e-pharmacy segment and other business verticals, with a revenue target of Rs 25,000 crore by the financial year 2027.
'At Keeladi, we have not come across any evidence for organised religion.'
'Archaeological sites like Keeladi, having remained buried for 2,500 years, have come out and speak now.'
Shah Rukh Khan won his first National Film Award for best actor for Jawan, sharing the honour with Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail. Rani Mukerji was named best actress for Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway. 12th Fail was adjudged best feature film.
If Rakesh Sharma represented the dreams of a nascent India looking outward, Shubhanshu Shukla embodies a confident India reaching for the controls.
From demonetisation to sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes to bulldozers, Justice Gavai has been part of several judgments.
'Could the impending new crisis, vibe coding, similarly create not a disaster like what befell Indian handlooms during the Industrial Revolution but another opportunity like what the Y2K crisis created?' asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Hari Balakrishnan, an Indian-origin MIT professor, has received the prestigious Marconi Prize for his fundamental discoveries in wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems.
Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, India's 52nd chief justice and its first Buddhist one, has played a key role in shaping the judicial landscape, penning about 300 verdicts, including landmark rulings on constitutional issues, liberty, and perhaps most important against the executive's 'bulldozer justice'.
Isn't there something significant in the UPI example for all of us to learn from and execute to enable world-scale success for our startups?, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
'It has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
Powered by the all-round brilliance of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews, Mumbai Indians head into the Women's Premier League final as favorites to claim their second title, while Delhi Capitals hope to break their title jinx in what promises to be a thrilling showdown in Mumbai on Saturday.
The tech community, which was getting ready to use the ChatGPT fever and raise unlimited capital for their businesses, is going to face tougher obstacles now, predicts Ajit Balakrishnan.
Mumbai Indians suffered a two-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in their opening match, which was marred by a few controversial run-out decisions.
UP Warriorz's 12 runs win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru knocked the defending champions out from the race to the play-offs on Saturday, confirming qualification for Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants in the process.
'We don't know which bus is coming next. I know for sure whatever bus comes next, it will miss that too.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
A committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met to select the next chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting as leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively. The post has been vacant since Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra completed his tenure on June 1. The committee, which selects the NHRC chief, is headed by the prime minister and includes the Lok Sabha Speaker, home minister, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, and deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Former chief justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday said media reports of him being considered for the National Human Rights Commission chairperson's post were 'untrue'.
India has its share of both large tech companies and large national laboratories, but why is it that these don't seem to be at the forefront of any innovation news headlines? asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Rediff.com, one of India's pioneering internet companies, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr Vishal Mehta as its new Chairman and Managing Director. This key leadership change follows Infibeam Avenues Ltd's acquisition of a majority stake in Rediff.com.
Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur were some of the big names retained by their respective franchises for the next edition of the Women's Premier League.
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