The VB-GRAMG Bill, introduced in Parliament on December 16, undeniably expands the formal scope of rural employment. Section 5 enhances the statutory entitlement by guaranteeing “not less than one hundred and twenty-five days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work”, an increase…
Clean energy subsidies in India rose by 31 per cent year on year to nearly Rs 32,000 crore in the 2023-24 financial year, while fossil fuel subsidies fell by 12 per cent, narrowing the gap between the two to its lowest level in five years, according to a new report. However, government support for fossil…
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) community is grieving after the “shocking” shooting death of the director of its plasma science and fusion center, according to officials. Nuno FG Loureiro, 47, had been shot multiple times at his home in Brookline on Monday night when police said they received a call to investigate. Emergency responders…
The plane pushed through wall after wall of sleet on its descent into Manchester. I’d had a sinking feeling during the flight that only deepened as I shuffled through the terminal. I resented having to be back in the city where I had grown up, after living on the other side of the world for…
At dawn, long before Dar es Salaam’s bustling streets thicken with traffic and commerce, the scramble for water has already begun. At a borehole in Mabwe township, a low-income neighbourhood on the city’s outskirts, men and women gather quietly around a borehole. They arrive in flip-flops and bare feet, hauling yellow plastic containers that have…
A carnivorous pitcher plant has recently been found to use a chemical nerve agent to drug its prey and lead them to a deadly end, being consumed in digestive juices at the bottom of the pitcher traps. The pitcher plant Nepenthes khasiana oozes an enticing sweet nectar on the rim of its pitchers for visiting…
Imagine if a simple blood test could offer a glimpse into your future health. Not just whether you have heart disease or cancer today, but whether your overall risk of dying in the next five or ten years is higher or lower than expected. It is the kind of idea that has hovered on the…
Stephanie Fitzgerald, a chartered clinical psychologist, used to dread winter. Like many, she coped by keeping busy at work and hibernating at home, waiting for the cold, dark days to be over. But this approach wasn’t making her happy. So she sought out the science that would help her embrace the winter months, rather than…
For years, asteroids have presented a picture of being very remote, lifeless bodies that float in space silently by themselves. However, with recent research, there is hope that certain asteroids may hold tremendous value for the world of economics and science. It has recently been suggested that smaller, carbon-rich asteroids could provide water, organic materials,…
The European Commission has watered down its plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035. Current rules state that new vehicles sold from that date should be “zero emission”, but carmakers, particularly in Germany, have lobbied heavily for concessions. Under the European Commission’s new plan, 90% of new cars sold…