Category Archives: Analysis
The Zomato ad and India’s hustle since 1947
In contemporary India, corporate branding has often aligned itself with nationalist sentiment, adopting imagery such as the tricolour, Sanskrit slogans or references to ancient achievements to evoke cultural pride. Marketing narratives frequently frame consumption as a patriotic act, linking the … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Culture
Tagged consumerism, corporate branding, Independence Day, India After Gandhi, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ramachandra Guha, The Times of India, Winston Churchill, Zomato
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Trade rift today, cryogenic tech yesterday
US President Donald Trump recently imposed substantial tariffs on Indian goods, explicitly in response to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil during the ongoing Ukraine conflict. These penalties, reaching an unprecedented cumulative rate of 50% on targeted Indian exports, have … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged cryogenic engines, Donald Trump, intercontinental ballistic missiles, Missile Technology Control Regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia-Ukraine war, trade war, weapons of mass destruction
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Time for proof is now, Mr. Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi is free to voice himself but on the question of the Election Commission “stealing votes”, as he has been claiming to the press, he needs to offer the proof he claims he has right away. By repeatedly claiming … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds
Tagged Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar Assembly elections, Election Commission of India, electoral fraud, electronic voting machines, Maharashtra Assembly elections, Model Code of Conduct, political capture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, public trust, Rahul Gandhi, voter list inflation
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Frugality is a toxic chalice
From ‘Earth Imaging Satellite NISAR Exposes NASA’s Weaknesses, ISRO’s Strengths’, NDTV, July 26, 2025: At the end of the day, the US scientists have swallowed their pride and are sheepishly going to watch the launch of a satellite where they … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged frugality, Indian Space Research Organisation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launch insurance, NASA, NISAR, Space Applications Centre, synthetic aperture radar
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The hidden heatwave
A heatwave is like the COVID-19 virus. During the pandemic, the virus infected and killed many people. When vaccines became available, the mortality rate dropped even though the virus continued to spread. But vaccines weren’t the only way to keep … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged ambient temperature, COVID-19 pandemic, drinking water, heatwave, privatisation, public health, relative humidity, sugary beverages, Tamil Nadu, urinary tract infection, ventilation
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Enfeebling the Indian space programme
There’s no denying that there currently prevails a public culture in India that equates criticism, even well-reasoned, with pooh-poohing. It’s especially pronounced in certain geographies where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys majority support as well as vis-à-vis institutions that … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Axiom Space, Axiom-4, Bharatiya Janata Party, Board of Control for Cricket in India, Chandrayaan 2, Covaxin, Department of Space, Election Commission of India, Falcon 9, HUNOR, Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, NASA, political capture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, S Somanath, Shubhanshu Shukla, SpaceX, V Narayanan, VG Somani, Vikram lander
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Iran’s nuclear options
From ‘What is next for Iran’s nuclear programme?’, The Hindu, June 28, 2025: As things stand, Iran has amassed both the technical knowhow and the materials required to make a nuclear weapon. Second, the Israelis and the Americans have failed … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged centrifuges, Donald Trump, highly enriched uranium, Iran, Israel, Non-Proliferation Treaty, nuclear programme, nuclear weapons, Tehran, uranium feedstock, weapons-grade uranium
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Four years
Engineering as a methodology … contains a fundamentally materialist kernel, even if its present incarnation as a bourgeois science drives engineers to think and behave otherwise. — Nick Chavez, Engineers, Materialism, and the Communist Method After school, I studied mechanical … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Life notes, Scicomm, Science
Tagged Air India, Axiom Space, Axiom-4, bourgeois science, CP Snow, engineering, engineering education, flight crash, Indian Space Research Organisation, International Atomic Energy Agency, Israel-Iran conflict, materialism, MV Ramana, Nick Chavez, nuclear weapons, science journalism, SpaceX, temporary expertise, two cultures
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Sympathy for Rapido
From ‘Rapido draws flak for charging users extra for traffic delays, commuters term it ‘extortion’’, The Hindu, June 3, 2025: Ride-hailing platform Rapido is under fresh scrutiny from [Bengaluru] users for introducing a charge that penalises passengers if their ride … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged autorickshaws, Ola, price rationalisation, public transport, Rapido, traffic management, traffic tax, Uber
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On the BDS movements against Russia and Israel
Russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On March 8, a poll conducted by independent survey organisations in Russia among a randomly selected cohort of 1,640 people reported around 46% supported the war, 13% supported it … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Op-eds, Science
Tagged Alan Paton, Anna Netrebko, anti-war protest, authoritarianism, BDS Movement, Benjamin Netanyahu, civil society, David Shulman, Gaza, Gidi Weitz, Israel, Joe Slovo, Nadine Gordimer, palestine, public opinion, Radzyner School of Law, russia, Tel Aviv University, Vladimir Putin
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