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Empty benches, missing signatures: New report exposes stark attendance gaps in Parliament

    A new study analyzing the attendance records of Members of Parliament during the Budget Session of 2026 has revealed significant disparities in the attendance patterns of MPs across both Houses of Parliament, highlighting that less than two-thirds of the members met a minimum attendance threshold of 75% of the sittings, raising crucial questions about legislative accountability and citizen representation.
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Public health experts question Govt of India move to relax pesticide testing

   A technical regulatory notice issued by India's Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB&RC) in April 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from public health advocates and farmers' organizations, who warn that proposed relaxations in pesticide residue testing could compromise food safety and public health. The notice invites comments on recommendations from the Scientific Panel on Pesticide Residue (SPPR) under FSSAI , proposing the adoption of a " Crop Grouping " framework for setting Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs)—the legal ceiling on pesticide residues permitted on food crops.
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New Book traces how the country squandered its demographic dividend

A new book by economists Santosh Mehrotra and Jajati Parida argues that India is squandering its demographic dividend even as the country's labour market slides deeper into crisis. In "India Out of Work: Rethinking India's Growth Story," released via Bloomsbury , the authors write that non-farm job creation has stalled at a time when it is most needed, and that the formal sector, which offers security and fair wages, remains stagnant. 
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When hiding a bribe promise in India became a US crime — and now isn't

One and a half years ago, I wrote a blog wondering whether merely hiding the promise of a bribe in India — not actually paying it — is a crime in the US. Citing a CNN report on the Adani case in the US, I quoted it to say that the US justice department had sought to indict Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and others for "promising" more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
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When this astrologer, who 'predicts' climate, was arrested for creating panic post-2001 Kutch quake

A recent piece of news , that Ambalal Patel , considered a prominent Gujarat-based astrologer, has decided to stop predicting daily weather based on his "calculations" of how he sees the stars behaving, took my memory back to 2001. It was January 26, and I was having my morning tea, hoping to enjoy a holiday.
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The unstudied crisis of Himalayan nallahs: Flooding under a scorching sun

  A new report by Parineeta Dandekar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has brought to light a recurring and largely unstudied crisis in the Indian Himalayas : the phenomenon of glacial streams, or nallahs , experiencing devastating flash floods not from rainfall, but under a blazing sun.
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Inequality itself isn't inherently harmful: Corporate insider opens up on CSR

In the latest episode of the Unmute podcast , corporate strategist and institution-builder Dr Sunil Parekh made a case for a renewed dialogue between industry, government and civil society, arguing that India urgently needs new institutional spaces where the three can jointly address the tensions thrown up by decades of market-led growth. 
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