ONE of the biggest and most popular guarantees given by Modi a decade ago, during the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, was that if elected, his government would ensure two  crore jobs will be created every year. Large sections of people believed in this and helped in making him prime minister. But this has also been one of the biggest betrayals of Modi and his government.

GIVEN current artificial intelligence (AI) generative and transformative tools, the potential to design proteins in a quick and easy way has increased the possibility of using such synthetic proteins as bio weapons. Concerned about this scenario, a group of scientists initiated a campaign advocating for the responsible and ethical application of protein design.In October 2023, David Baker of the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, USA, organised an AI safety summit to assess the risks associated with the malicious utilisation of designer proteins.

IN a joint statement issued on April 1, four national women's organisations – All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), All India Coordination of POW PMS IJM – have strongly condemned the recent poll ad released by the BJP which is an insult to the women of this country as it portrays her from an extremely feudal, patriarchal perspective.

INDIA is one among her peers recording a very low tax-GDP ratio, and the effective tax rate for the corporates have been sometimes lower than the income tax rates applicable to middle class income slabs. This low tax regime is a key mandate of neoliberalism as it is committed to unshackle corporate capital from the marred regulations that are meant to mobilise resources for subsidising the poor. Hence tax should be kept low to ensure greatest freedom for capital!

THE election manifesto of the CPI(M) for the Lok Sabha elections has raised an important issue which has a vital bearing on India’s democracy and the fundamental rights of citizens. This concerns the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and how it operates under the jurisdiction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The manifesto states “Replace PMLA with suitable law to prevent misuse. The ED must be divested of its law-enforcement powers”.This is a timely and necessary prescription, if democracy and the rights of the opposition are to be protected.