Media India Group
India’s budget for mental health leaves a lot to be desired
February 9, 2021
The Union Budget 2021-22, announced on February 1, proposes a corpus of INR 712.69 billion for Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This also includes the budget for mental healthcare – a total of INR 5.97 billion. One would have expected that a good chunk of this would be fo...
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Govt jobs or protests? Nitish Kumar asks Bihar to choose
February 7, 2021
Within days of news that Uttarakhand Police were going to keep track of ‘anti-national’ social media posts while conducting police verification for passport applications, reports emerged from Bihar indicating that the state government had apparently decided to go even furth...
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Circadian rhythm and heliotropism
February 5, 2021
Have you heard of circadian rhythm and heliotropism? These phrases are the scientific terminologies to describe the behaviour of a sunflower in the fields. The sunflower turns to be always facing the Sun. Greta Thunberg, who turned 18 just about a month back on January 2021, real...
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Dignity is all we need: Domestic help in India
February 5, 2021
“I was asked not to use the washroom even though I cleaned it. They asked me to go to public toilets. I often used to use the washroom while nobody was watching me but one day I was caught and they fired me. Was I less human than them in any manner,” asks Anita, domestic [&he...
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Sense & sensibilities in Bollywood’s posters
February 4, 2021
Like the Indian cinema, its film posters have also gone through a radical transformation linked to new technology and the proliferation of visual culture in the 21st century. In India, like in most parts of the world, film posters have historically been integral to the distributi...
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Bastar: A tribal treasure trove
February 3, 2021
Often overlooked by travellers, Chhattisgarh’s Bastar is a myriad of wonders. A goldmine of fascinating tribal culture in India, it thrives on the cultural magnitudes, age-old traditions and rituals that are yet to be explored. Whether it is the exclusive handicrafts, wild rive...
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Miniature art: Inside the magnificent 3mm universe
February 1, 2021
For many, passing a thread through the eye of a needle would rank among one of the toughest things to do. It requires immense concentration and patience to find success. And, here is Ganesh Subramanian, a goldsmith and miniature artist, who has perfected the art of the small and ...
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Digital voter ID – a double edged sword
February 1, 2021
The Election Commission of India, on January 25, 2021, rolled out the electronic version of the voters’ photo identity card which can be stored on mobile phones and downloaded on personal computers.
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Leprosy & stigma: A tough battle to win in India
January 30, 2021
At the age of 10, Ashok was an ambitious, young boy in Munger, Bihar. He would run for a swim in the Ganges nearby with his friends during the lunch break at school, loved playing sports and was always curious about how electrical appliances or plumbing equipment functioned. One ...
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Weaving a regional heritage in Dakmanda
January 29, 2021
“The Dakmanda is my identity. It is comfortable and makes for excellent formal wear, especially for my ministerial meetings,” says Eva Marak, Assistant Director with the Border Area Development of Meghalaya. Marak is among several women of the Garo tribe of the north-eastern ...
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The peaceful protest that was…
January 28, 2021
Till eve of the Republic Day, everything seemed to be going as per plan and meticulous planning has been the one of the most outstanding qualities of the farmers’ protest at Delhi borders. After all, it has taken a whole lot of detailed planning to set up and run with clockwork...
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Films of tribal, by tribal & for all: Seral Murmu, filmmaker
January 28, 2021
Once a shepherd went to graze his cattle in the forest. The shepherd found that a Sal tree had fallen. He uprooted the tree and found some colourful stones beneath in the soil, which he carried back to his home. At night villagers heard the roar of a tiger. Worried, they wondered...
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