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The mishap at Karipur airport at Kozhikode, which saw an Air India Express aircraft, break up into two or more pieces, has been an accident waiting to happen. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had flagged the table top airport as highly dangerous, but political pressures and demand by local communities saw to it that the airport continued to operate as if nothing had happened.

Different sections of Indians hold sharply divided views about the developments of August 5, 2019, in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Were these, in fact, as many Indians believe, simply a consummation of a process initiated by the state’s accession to India upon Independence, which had left it with a special status? After all, Article 370 was titled “Temporary Provisions”. Or was it, as several other Indians including Kashmiris see it, a repudiation of a commitment guaranteed by the Constitution, the abrogation of which has betrayed even a semblance of the freedom that the state was promised?

The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP2020) has finally been approved by the cabinet. There are several recommendations in NEP 2020 which are worth welcoming. Most important of them is new institutional framework - the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) (para 18.2) with four verticals based on division of labour rather that based on field of study. National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) a single point regulator for higher education (para 18.3), National Accreditation Council (NAC) a meta accrediting body for accreditation of institutes (para 18.4), Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding and financing of higher education (para 18.5) and General Education Council (GEC), to frame learning outcomes for higher education programmes including vocational education (para 18.6). The GEC will identify specific skills for preparing well-rounded learners with 21st century skills.

New Delhi: India will host the ICC T20 World Cup next year as planned while the tournament slated to be held this year will be played in Australia in 2022.

New Delhi: Former hockey Captain Bharat Chetri is of the view that promising young players should be taught the right techniques of the sport at an early age, so that they can fully develop their talent.

Bengaluru: Akhil Rabindra, the only Asian in the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy, is all set to start his 2020 season August onwards with the French FFSA GT4 Championship.

New Delhi: Former National Team captain Bhaichung Bhutia has opined that young Indian players should make efforts to showcase their talent abroad by playing in foreign clubs."

In a document like the New Education Policy, one must distinguish platitudes from new provisions, including within the latter even the dropping of old platitudes. Thus phrases like “education is a public good”, “6 per cent of GDP should be earmarked for education” are just platitudes, unless some concrete suggestions are advanced to realise to them.

In laying the foundation for the Ram Temple in the Lord's birth-place, Ayodhya, on August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has brought the State and Religion together, making an historic break with Secularism, as it evolved under India's Constitution.

When Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the presidential election in Sri Lanka exactly a year ago, those watching Sri Lankan politics were sure that his Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) would win the parliamentary elections also in August 2020. They have been proved correct. The elections were held last Wednesday (August 5). The SLPP swept the polls winning 145 out of 225 seats. Getting the support of five more MPs does not pose any problem. Judging by Gotabaya’s declared intentions, Sri Lanka is in for an authoritarian rule in which the President will wield far more power than he does now. There is both jubilation and trepidation among the people, depending on their attitude to democracy and individual freedom.