NEW DELHI: At a time when climate change is increasingly reshaping public health risks across the globe, Indian media, including TOI, has quietly carved out a leadership role in linking the two, reports Jahnavi.A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health has found that Indian news outlets are emerging as global frontrunners in climate-health journalism, surpassing coverage trends in both the US and China. According to the research, Indian outlets – including TOI – recorded the highest proportion of substantive climate-health coverage at 46.4%, compared to 31.3% in the US and 17% in China.The study, titled ‘The evolution of news coverage about climate change as a health issue: a decadal analysis in China, India and the USA’, examined legacy media coverage across the three countries between 2012 and 2023. Researchers conducted a manual content analysis of articles from five mainstream newspapers and one news agency per country, sourced through archival databases. In India, TOI was among the five newspapers included in the sample.Climate-health journalism was defined as news content that substantively connects climate change to human health outcomes or health-related actions.The study noted that Indian media consistently performed better in covering issues that directly affect everyday life like heat, food security, air quality, and extreme weather.

NEW DELHI: AI could either amplify India’s demographic advantage or weaken it, depending on the choices made now, chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday, calling for coordinated national action. Speaking virtually at AI Impact Summit during a session on ‘Employability in the AI age’, Nageswaran said technological adoption must be deliberately aligned with mass employability rather than allowed to evolve on its own. “This will not happen by drift,” he said. “It will require political will, state capacity, and national commitment to aligning technological adoption with mass employability.” Framing AI as a pivotal moment in India’s growth journey, he argued that the outcome would be shaped by execution. “India can be the first large society where human abundance and machine intelligence reinforce, and not undermine, each other. The outcome will not be accidental,” he said. The path to co-creating prosperity with AI, he said, begins with strengthening foundational learning and imparting skills that enhance employability in a technology-driven economy.

Bhupen Borah (File photo)

GUWAHATI: Congress’s campaign committee chairperson in poll-bound Assam and ex-PCC president Bhupen Borah resigned Monday over being “ignored”, sending the party brass scurrying to persuade him to put his decision on hold amid signs of an implosion days ahead of national general secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi’s scheduled visit.CM Himanta Sarma added to Congress’s discomfiture by declaring BJP would keep its door open for Borah, whom he plans to meet Tuesday. They go back a long way, having spent years together in Congress.Rahul Gandhi joined in the firefighting, calling Borah to reconsider his decision. State Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi described Borah as “a pillar of strength and a true Congressman”, apologising for “any wrong that was done to him”.Congress sources said Borah sent his resignation letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, suggesting he was feeling sidelined despite being officially tasked with forging opposition alliances. Seat-sharing talks between Congress and its allies have been delayed.“My old colleagues are at my home. My central leadership reached out and gave me some advice. I sought time…Either today or tomorrow morning, I will meet Jitendra Singh (AICC’s Assam minder) and convey my final decision,” Borah told reporters after a three-hour meeting with a party delegation.Singh insisted Borah had already withdrawn his resignation, at which the latter clarified he needed to consult his family.“I never made public what I wrote in my letter. I have two brothers, a sister and other family members with whom I need to discuss,” he said, adding that his brothers’ businesses suffered due to his involvement in politics.Sarma suggested Borah would make the switch to BJP, spelling out how he stood to gain. “We will give him (Borah) a chance to win the state polls by offering him a safe seat from where it will be easier to win.” Borah, a two-time MLA from Bihpuria, led Assam Congress from 2021 to 2025 before being replaced by Gaurav.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore (File photo)

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai met Mallikarjun Kharge in Bengaluru on Monday and submitted a report on the alleged discord with DMK following remarks by MP B Manickam Tagore.Tagore has in recent days raised demands for power-sharing, including the Madurai North seat, and accused DMK netas of disrespecting Congress, saying the party had borne burden of DMK’s past mistakes – remarks that irked DMK leadership.“I submitted a report on the controversies over the alliance in the last three days. The party president will take the final call,” Selvaperunthagai said.TNCC sources said he urged action against Tagore, warning continued statements could strain the alliance. Before leaving for Bengaluru, Selvaperunthagai has cautioned party netas against speaking publicly on alliance matters, citing clear directions from AICC leadership and Rahul Gandhi.

A model of Shahpur Kandi dam (Image courtesy: PSPCL)

JAMMU: India is preparing to stop surplus water from the Ravi flowing into Pakistan once the Shahpur Kandi dam on Punjab-J&K border becomes operational, marking a long-awaited shift in use of eastern river waters of Indus basin.J&K minister Javed Ahmed Rana said Monday the dam is expected to be completed by March 31 and is a priority for drought-prone Kathua and Samba districts. Officials said the project will irrigate about 5,000 hectares in Punjab and more than 32,173 hectares across Kathua and Samba in J&K. Central assistance of Rs 485.38 crore was approved for the irrigation component.

Former irrigation minister Taj Mohideen said the dam falls outside Indus Waters Treaty because India has exclusive rights over the Ravi. Rana added that suspension of the treaty has accelerated power and dam projects in J&K.The 1960 treaty divides the Indus system’s waters, designating eastern rivers (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi) to India and western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan. India put the treaty in abeyance after the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, a sharp policy shift aimed at pressuring Pakistan over cross-border terrorism.The move halted data sharing and opened the door for greater use of western river waters.Part of the Ravi flows unused through Madhopur into Pakistan despite demand in Punjab and J&K, Rana said, stressing that the dam would curb such wastage. Projects like Shahpur Kandi are critical to reallocating flows towards domestic irrigation and away from downstream discharge.The project was first cleared in Nov 2001 but stalled for years amid interstate disputes. After a series of bilateral and central meetings, Punjab and J&K reached an agreement in Sept 2018. Union cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved implementation on Dec 6 that year.Bani MLA Dr Rameshwar Singh said residents had waited years for completion. “Once it is completed, the water will no longer flow into Pakistan but will instead be used to irrigate our own vast areas in Kathua,” he said.

The assault was captured on CCTV cameras (PTI)

NEW DELHI: Three inmates, including two Pakistani nationals, escaped from a juvenile home in Jammu and Kashmir’s RS Pura town on Monday after allegedly assaulting two police personnel on duty, officials said. The incident occurred around 5:15 pm at the juvenile facility in RS Pura. The injured policemen were taken to a hospital for treatment. Officials said the assault was captured on the facility’s CCTV cameras. According to police, the escapees have been identified as Karajeet Singh alias Gugga, a resident of Dablehar village in RS Pura, and Pakistani nationals Mohammad Suna-ullah and Ahsan Anwar. Police have taken cognisance of the incident and initiated an investigation. Special teams have been constituted and raids are being conducted at multiple locations to apprehend the absconding inmates, officials added.(With PTI inputs)

NEW DELHI: Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) city’s busiest rail hub witnessed a dangerous incident when a man, reportedly intoxicated, was found sleeping on a railway track, halting Harbour Line services and delaying thousands of daily commuters.The incident, captured in a video that is now circulating widely on social media, shows the man lying on the track as people scramble to stop an incoming train, screaming and waving hands.(TOI independently can’t vouch for the veracity of the video)The train stopped within time, preventing any untoward incident, but the act posed serious risks. Acts like these are strictly prohibited under law. The incident caused temporary service suspension, affecting commuters during peak hours, before operations resumed once the man was safely removed from the tracks.