Interesting Times: End of All Nuclear Treaties between the US and Russia

WITH the end of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1991 and New START 2021), the last major nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia, all nuclear arms control treaties between the US and Russia have now ended.

The 2026-27 Budget on Energy, Defence and Biopharma

THE Budget presented by the Finance Minister has made a number of claims. But true to the Modi Government’s vision of the economy, it believes that once finances are made available, the Indian business community will do the rest. In other words, the animal spirits of capital are enough to propel our dream of a Viksit Bharat. The reality is very different.

New Rafale Deal: Almost Done, Some Questions

IT has been reported that the Defence Procurement Board headed by the Defence Secretary has approved the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) proposal to acquire 114 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault of France under the Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) tender. The deal now awaits clearance from the Defence Acquisition Council headed by the Defence Minister, and finally from the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister, which will finally bring the curtains down on one of the most long drawn out defence acquisitions India has been involved.

How Tehran Neutralised Starlink and Foiled Washington's Colour Revolution playbook

ON JANUARY 8, 2026, something unprecedented occurred in the annals of electronic warfare. Iran activated a multi-layered digital suppression campaign that, within hours, degraded Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service from functional connectivity to what engineers described as a "patchwork quilt" of intermittent access. According to Filter.Watch, an Iranian internet rights monitoring group, packet loss in Tehran surged from 30 per cent to over 80 per cent.

Imperial Decline and the Closing Window for War

ON January 7, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on social media that the Pentagon budget would rise to $1.5 trillion, a 50 per cent increase over current spending and the largest peacetime military buildup since World War II. The announcement came barely four days after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military raid on Caracas, killing over one hundred people, including thirty-two Cuban security officers.

Cancer Treatment: Advances, Inequities, and the Right to Health

RESEARCHERS from Zhejiang University and the First Hospital of China Medical University developed a potential new method for cancer immunotherapy. In these allergy-triggering mast cells, which are a type of immune response cell, researchers have engineered them to serve as targeted delivery vehicles for attacking tumors. IgE antibodies normally recognize allergy antigens.

Digital Personal Data Protection Rules: Strengthening Privacy or Enabling Surveillance

After a gap of 2½ years, we now have certain sections of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, backed by the Rules, ready for immediate implementation. While the state’s powers to surveil citizens come into effect immediately, the sections that protect citizens' privacy against big data companies and the state (or correct/delete incorrect data) have to wait another 18 months. Some data protection indeed!

Seedy Business: The Seeds Bill 2025

THE Government of India's Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare's aggressive attempt to reform a sector essential to India's food sovereignty is the Draft Seeds Bill 2025, made available on November 12 for public comment until December 11. The Godi Media has framed the draft bill as a necessary modernisation. The seed industry, represented by bodies like the Federation of Seed Industry of India, has lavished praise, calling it a timely step toward facilitating business and investment.

The SHANTI BILL and its Ashanti

THE Modi government's new Bill, the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025 (passed by Lok Sabha on December 17 and under discussion in Rajya Sabha), effectively gives a free pass to the suppliers of nuclear plant and equipment.

Sanchar Saathi: Cyber Security or Cyber Prison?

AFTER concerted pushback from users, privacy groups and mobile phone manufacturers, the Modi Government has withdrawn its directive to compulsorily install its "modified" Sanchar Saathi app on all mobile phones. The app, initially intended for tracking stolen or lost phones, would have turned the mobile phone into an instrument for tracking the user and monitoring who he or she was talking to, their emails, and whatever was stored on the mobile.

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