WE are not talking here about Nikolai Tesla, the genius who invented the AC motor and whose design is the basis for almost all electric motors today, including electric vehicles (EVs). This article is about Tesla, the car company that has become synonymous with Elon Musk. Tesla's share price, which defied the laws of gravity for years, is now on a steep downward trajectory in the last three months, losing about half its market value over the last three months. Statista notes that it has lost the title of being the world's leader in producing EVs to BYD, the Chinese EV maker.

THE announcements of Musk's SpaceX-Starlink's tie-up with Jio Reliance (Jio is a trademark of Reliance Industries) and Bharti Airtel, the two dominant players, raise a number of questions. The two key questions are: i) Will it mean a greater monopolisation in telecom services? ii) Will satellite spectrum be given to Starlink without auction? It also raises questions about whether such satellite spectrum, a country's critical resource, should be given out for commercial operations in this way.Top 4 Telecom Companies Market Share

INDIA'S forest cover is on the decline. But government agencies consistently present data that support a false narrative of the country’s forests doing well with regard to both carbon sequestration and forest cover. Forest Survey of India (FSI) has the responsibility of publishing ‘India State of Forest Report (ISFR)’ every alternate year. The ISFR 2023 reported a 1,445 square kilometres (sq. kms) increase in total forest and tree cover compared to 2021, with 156 sq. kms attributed to natural forest cover and the remainder to tree cover outside forests.

THE finance minister's recent budget discussed a significant focus on nuclear energy, particularly the use of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and the need to amend India's nuclear liability law: The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010. Though this has been a demand of the US nuclear industry for a long time, it has been on the back burner as the US nuclear industry has iteself been in a crisis for quite some time. Westinghouse emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection only in 2018 and commissioned the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, US, in 2023.

INDIA is having an excellent first month of 2025 as regards space ventures, not only by the traditional state-sector but also by the nascent but growing private sector in space technology.NVS-02 NAVIC SATELLITEAs this piece goes to press, on January 29, 2025 ISRO successfully placed its NVS-02 satellite in geo-stationery transfer orbit (GTO) of around 36,500 km above Earth in its GSLV F15 mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, aboard its larger GSLV (geo-synchronous launch vehicle) rocket.