The emergence of an Indian “double mutant” strain of the coronavirus may explain the country’s tragically soaring infection rates. Genomic testing and monitoring will be crucial in the weeks ahead.
Licensing agreements between pharmaceutical companies and the Medicines Patent Pool, in cooperation with the WHO, could accelerate access to doses for the poorest countries.
An infrastructure boom threatens endangered tigers across Asia. Scientists want to know more about how tigers behave near roads so they can design wildlife-friendly transportation networks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi prioritised vaccine exports over the domestic roll-out and encouraged large crowds at political rallies. Now, India is paying the consequences.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to show decisive leadership in not only controlling the surge of the virus, but also providing financial assistance to millions of urban poor.
Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage that started earlier this month in India, has survived wars and famine since its origin. But the biggest threat has been the spread of illness – back then as now.
A recent report has recommended ‘blind’ recruitment for India’s civil service to prevent caste discrimination. But this is unlikely to solve the problem of entrenched privilege.
After an Indian politician disparaged a woman for her lack of morals because she was wearing ripped jeans, an online protest erupted, reviving the original protest-culture of the ripped jean.
The group has been at pains to stress it is not fundamentally about countering the ‘Chinese threat’. But of course, that is primarily what it is about.
Most Indian farmers are women. But few own their land, and gender inequality limits their access to markets. These issues won’t be fixed by recent agricultural reforms; in fact, they may get worse.
Because of its extreme violence, the Hathras rape sent shock waves throughout India: it is a disturbing reminder of the normalization of rape culture there and should be seen as a call to action.