Lobbyists never give up: U.S. threatens H-1B cuts to deter India's data-localization rules. Companies such as Mastercard are upset with stringent new rules on data storage
Indain Heat Wave: The five warmest years in recorded history have been the last five, and 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001.“It has never been this hot ever.”. . . . India’s collapsing hill stations
Here's a book (2008) that gives the Sanskrit original and English and Hindi translations of Pingala's Chandah Sutra, where binary numbers are first described.
A landmark in the history of mathematics.
India must reclaim its lost digital space: Today the US is collecting data freely from all countries, except China. Soon as India and other countries develop similar tools, they may regulate data flows preferring local firms over the US firms. The US is putting in all its might to stop this from happening. The US strategy is to force countries to join WTO negotiations and agree to the free flow of data.
Metro Man Sreedharan writes:
“Sir, when the first section of the Delhi Metro was to be opened, I had
taken a firm and conscious decision that no one would be given any
travel concession on Delhi Metro. Even Prime Minister Vajpayee bought a
ticket for himself when he went to inaugurate the first section of the
Metro in 2002. Now, if ladies are to be given free travel concession in
Delhi Metro, it would set an alarming precedence for all other Metros in
the country.”.
Our costly obsession with cars:
Parking eats up an incredible amount of space and costs America’s
cities an extraordinary amount of money... Joni Mitchell famously sang:
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” It’s time we reclaim our
cities from car storage and use the space for what we need more of,
from housing and bike lanes to sidewalk cafes and parks.
Create cycling facilities, and you'll see the impact:
More bikes make cities safer for all. Cycling facilities benefited most
when they had physical barriers to divide bike lanes from cars, not
just stripes and road paint. Human powered transportation may be the
most sustainable form of transportation.
State-led Innovation: The world’s fastest supercomputer, Tianhe-2, and China’s self-developed spacecraft, Shenzhou, were among the fruits of the 863 programme, which was set up in 1988. In 2001, China identified electric vehicles as a major technology. Sixteen years later, Shenzhen company BYD has become the world’s biggest EV maker, and a crop of start-ups have joined the race. In 2017 alone, China’s central and local governments allocated $7.7B in subsidies to both carmakers and the consumers who bought their vehicles.
Beijing has decided that it wants China to be a high-tech superpower
that emphasizes hierarchy and discipline over the perceived chaos of
free markets and societies.
Genocide: Yazidi Children, Torn From Their Families By ISIS, Forget Their Identities
The return of technocracy:
S Jaishankar is regarded not only as a foreign policy maven, but also a
sharp strategic mind with a clear view of a complex world full of
divergent interests
Misinvoicing: India is estimated to have lost $13 billion potential tax revenue in 2016 due to trade misinvoicing.
Flying-V plane: The plane will use 20% less fuel than the Airbus A350-900 while carrying a similar number of passengers
Azim Premji: India’s second-richest man owns a second-hand car and a generous heart. The veteran businessman has reportedly donated two-thirds of his wealth—$21 billion—to charitable causes.
Microplastics: New research says humans are eating 'thousands' of plastic pieces each year. Microplastics - tiny plastic shards broken down from man-made products such as synthetic clothing, car tyres and contact lenses - are among the most ubiquitous materials on the planet
