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From Mumbai to the Marvel cineverse: The unusual journey of actor Harish Patel
How did he go from garment exports to Shyam Benegal films, Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre and now the MCU? Loads of luck, Patel says with a laugh. But it’s his talent that’s had filmmakers and viewers hooked for decades
Updated on May 17, 2021 03:52 PM IST
Take a tour of the House of No Bricks in Coimbatore
The luxury private home has been built entirely with panels of GFRG or glass fibre reinforced gypsum. The walls are thinner but offer better insulation. Summers are much more bearable, says the family that lives there.
Updated on May 14, 2021 10:29 PM IST
Deepa Nair
Pandemic has led to rise in poverty, inequality; don’t be complacent: JNU prof
Last year, in order to curb the spread of the pandemic, a 68-day long strict lockdown was imposed— this led to the most severe GDP contraction in post independence-India. This year, a large number of states have imposed mobility restrictions and economic activity has taken a hit
Updated on May 14, 2021 06:13 PM IST
For Assam’s new chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the top five challenges
Sarma assumes the responsibility at a crucial time, with the state witnessing the highest ever number of daily positive Covid19 cases and deaths due to the disease, with no immediate sign of the numbers decreasing
Updated on May 14, 2021 05:56 PM IST
From UP, a tale of the failure of the Indian state
Sending teachers to death on forced election duty, even as the second wave of the pandemic was engulfing the country, represents outright criminality
Updated on May 14, 2021 05:44 PM IST
In its hour of need, Quad members stand with India
As China gains ground in a global competition across the military, economic, diplomatic, and technological domains, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) made up of Australia, India, Japan, and the US is finally finding its footing
Updated on May 14, 2021 05:36 PM IST
Lisa Curtis
Amma and the women who enable women
A widowed, unlettered refugee from Bangladesh who remained unsure about her age, she had come to Delhi with two young sons, acquiring employment, a bank account and a property in what was then called the East Pakistan Displaced Persons Society, now Chittaranjan Park
Updated on May 14, 2021 05:18 PM IST
Oh Bhai! Where’s the Salman we knew, asks Anupama Chopra
This is a man whose stardom just doesn’t fade and whose fans remain as frenzied as ever. So why has he stopped trying?
Updated on May 14, 2021 10:26 PM IST
Food, faith and Jewish tradition: Esther David on her new book
See how local influences mingled with ancient beliefs have resulted in a morphed matzo bread and a feast of poha, among other treats, in Bene Appetit.
Updated on May 14, 2021 10:25 PM IST
Cherylann Mollan
As Covid second wave persists, MGNREGS comes to rural India’s rescue, yet again
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has witnessed the sharpest year-on-year increase in employment generation in its history in April 2021, govt data shows, in a sign that the second Covid wave has caused major reverse migration adding to rural economic distress
Updated on May 15, 2021 08:06 PM IST
Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Bengal’s villages hit harder by Covid-19 this time compared to cities
Birbhum reported an 11-fold increase in the daily count of Covid-19 cases compared to last year’s peak on Wednesday with 928 infections. On October 22, when West Bengal witnessed the peak of the first wave with 4,157 new cases, Nadia, another district in south Bengal, reported under 200 cases
Updated on May 14, 2021 04:09 PM IST
HT Correspondent | Edited by Sameer
How to vaccinate 10 million people a day
It is an ambitious, but not unachievable, goal which requires coordination and partnership at various levels. Operate on a war-footing
Updated on May 13, 2021 05:26 PM IST
Neeraj Aggarwal
Goa struggles due to missteps in Covid control
Goa’s health care infrastructure is struggling to cope as there is a shortage of doctors, nurses, and other health care staff. The supply of medical oxygen, a key intervention among Covid-19 patients many of whom suffer respiratory distress, has run low at the premier state-run GMCH for four straight nights
Updated on May 13, 2021 05:22 PM IST
Gerard de Souza
As states float global tenders, uncertainty persists over vaccine supplies
Conversations with officials across the states indicate that most states are not very confident of getting the vaccines from international players soon as only those manufacturers who have been approved by Drug Controller of India can supply vaccines
Updated on May 13, 2021 12:53 PM IST
In Bengal’s post-poll political violence, a battle of narratives
The BJP has alleged 17 of its workers have been killed in nine days in Bengal’s post-verdict political violence, the TMC has accused the BJP of spreading fake news on social media, while police investigation into some of the alleged murders pointed at either suicide or unnatural death
Updated on May 13, 2021 12:13 PM IST
How Guardiola tweaked champions City after starting blues
It was during another international break last November that Pep Guardiola began plotting a turnaround that fetched Manchester City a third Premier League trophy in four seasons
Updated on May 13, 2021 02:23 PM IST
Dhiman Sarkar, Kolkata
Ritu Phogat prepares for first fight of the year with an eye on world title
The youngest daughter of the Phogat household is now gearing up for her first fight of the year against United States’ Bi Nguyen on Saturday.
Updated on May 13, 2021 02:22 PM IST
Abhishek Paul, New Delhi
Enable the Covid-19 task force to take decisions
The 12-member task force, comprising domain experts, inspires confidence. However, its advisory nature will leave the decisions again in the hands of the central bureaucracy, which is in the eye of the storm. Citizens want a professional, unbiased body to take decisions for which NTF is suitable
Updated on May 12, 2021 05:24 PM IST
Yashovardhan Azad
Can India and the EU operationalise their natural partnership?
With the EU being India’s largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination, the economic logic of strong India-EU economic relations is self-evident. The two sides have also agreed to commence talks for a standalone investment protection pact and an accord on geographical indications
Updated on May 12, 2021 04:39 PM IST
Harsh V Pant
Scientifically Speaking | All that we know about the B.1.617 variant
Right now, there is reason to believe that B.1.617 is more infectious that the ancestral virus identified in Wuhan, and roughly similar to that of the B.1.1.7 variant. This assumption is based on the increase in cases, and the recent elevation of a particular type of this virus to a “variant of concern”
Updated on May 12, 2021 04:40 PM IST
Anirban Mahapatra
In the India-Pakistan detente, the role of UAE and Saudi Arabia
New Delhi has maintained a stony silence in the face of growing signs of mediation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia to nudge India and Pakistan towards putting their strained relations on an even keel
Updated on May 12, 2021 02:55 PM IST
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra anxious without meets ahead of Tokyo Olympics
Chopra has participated domestically—the Indian Grand Prix (IGP) and Federation Cup in March. He threw 88.07m in grand prix 3 in Patiala. It remains the world’s second best throw in the Covid-hit current season, behind Johannes Vetter’s 91.50m achieved in April.
Updated on May 13, 2021 02:22 PM IST
Avishek Roy
Young docs in Covid fight stay afloat in the deep end
Dr Noor Dhaliwal (23), who recently completed her MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College recently, is currently interning at the Lok Nayak Hospital -- the biggest Covid center of the Capital.
Updated on May 12, 2021 04:02 PM IST
India’s real foreign policy crisis is domestic
The deepening reputational damage is also depleting national resources needed for effective external relations, but the real issue here is a question for India’s polarised citizenry — will it buy into the siege mentality or will it reflect and ask tough questions of the executive
Updated on May 11, 2021 05:35 PM IST
Atul Mishra
In national politics, where does the BJP stand
Having lost the high stake battle to the TMC, the BJP will remain formidable — as a party which controls most of India’s Hindi speaking and northeastern states along with its traditional bastion of Gujarat and the politically turbulent southern state of Karnataka — but short of its goal
Updated on May 12, 2021 09:38 AM IST
Abhishek Jha
Q1 2021-22 headed towards an ominous convergence with Q1 2020-21
What will be the economic impact of the second wave? We are still in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021-22. A lot will depend on the time it takes for the second wave to peak and how fast India can vaccinate its population
Updated on May 11, 2021 04:15 PM IST
Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha
‘Vaccine is not 100% protective, but it’s highly effective’: Former CDC director
Tom Frieden, a former director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), runs Resolve to Save Lives, a global public health organisation. He talks about the second Covid wave in India
Updated on May 11, 2021 01:52 PM IST
Sunetra Choudhury
Covid-19: The five elements of the Mumbai model
Mumbai, with a higher population density, faced a shortage both of beds and oxygen as the second wave surged. However, the city, with a population of at least 12.3 million, was able to cope better than Delhi
Updated on May 11, 2021 01:05 PM IST
Jyoti Shelar
Climate crisis: Be the Indian elephant
Like the virus, the climate crisis doesn’t recognise borders, occurs in waves, and affects some more than others. Draw up a plan
Updated on May 10, 2021 06:47 PM IST
Arunabha Ghosh
A new chapter for the TRIPS waiver proposal
Last year, on October 2, India paired with South Africa and submitted to the WTO a proposal for a waiver so that, while responding to the pandemic, members do not have to implement, apply and enforce certain provisions of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement
Updated on May 10, 2021 06:32 PM IST
Syed Akbaruddin