How An Indian Wildlife Reserve Lost 20 Tigers In 3-Years?

When a report recently declared that there were no tigers left at the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, it sent alarm bells ringing. On May 18 and 19, officials from the reserve got together with representatives of the Wildlife Institute of India, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the West Bengal Forest Department to chart a plan to reintroduce the national animal there.

The reported count was particularly vexing because just three years earlier, the same reserve had announced the presence of 20 tigers. How did the tiger population of a reserve go down from 20 to none in under four years?

Spotlight: Why Indian Films Spend 'Millions' On 'Special Effects' Without Any Planned 'Business Sense'?

Despite their mega budgets of around $250 million (Rs1,600 crore), Hollywood’s special effects blockbusters—from Avatar to the Twilight and Harry Potter series—often make good business sense. They’re served up to a massive global English-speaking audience, and their first-rate visual effects keep moviegoers glued to their seats.

Now, an Indian film—perhaps the most expensive ever made in India—wants to take on Hollywood, but with a budget of only about Rs175 crore ($28 million). Directed by S. S. Rajamouli, Bahubali will release on July 10 in multiple languages, including Hindi (backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions), Telugu and Tamil.

Focus: India’s 'Startup Capital' Nightmares Monsoon Rains

Hundreds of entrepreneurs in Bengaluru are losing their sleep because—wait for it—the monsoons are coming. 

India’s startup capital, it appears, isn’t quite monsoon-proof. With underground fibre networks and overhead cables prone to damage, startups that cannot afford dedicated leased lines face constant disruption in their internet connectivity. That, at times, can hit their businesses hard.

“Every time it rains or a tree falls due to a storm, internet connectivity in my office goes for a toss,” Shankar Prasad, founder and chief executive officer of two-year-old healthy snack vending machine startup, Snaxsmart, told INNLIVE.

News In Pictures: The Dying Art Of 'Rural Pottery' In India

The Dying Art Of Rural Pottery In India
By Likha Veer - Executive Editor, INNLIVE

There was a time when thousands of people in the small city of Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, depended on the art of pottery making to make a living. Each generation would pass on the baton to the next one and life was good. Everything has changed now and the age-old craft in this city is in its death throes. 

Among 150 families, only five remain engaged in their traditional profession. They have no choice but to seek alternative work. Raw materials are expensive and most consumers now prefer durable goods made of steel and aluminum at cheaper rates.

Why To Lie About Degrees When Law Doesn't Ask For It?

The constitution permits any Indian citizen above 25 years of age to contest the Lok Sabha and 30 years to become eligible for Rajya Sabha, if he is not convicted of any offence and sentenced to an imprisonment for two years or more.

In other words, even if the member is illiterate and uses his thumb imprint to sign, he or she qualifies to become a parliamentarian.

If educational qualification is not a criterion to become a peoples' representative, why do parliamentarians lie about educational qualifications and produce fake degrees?

Nestle's Maggi Controversy In India: If MSG Is Unhealthy, Why Doesn't Everyone In China Have Headache?

It is clear now that the dispute between Nestlé and India’s food authority (the FSSAI) is rooted in a technicality. Both sides agree that levels of lead in a packet of Maggi noodles measured as a single unit fall within the permissible limit. 

The FSSAI case is that the “tastemaker” sachet, the seasoning added to the noodles, breaches the 2.5 parts per million ceiling when tested by itself. Nestlé argues that since the tastemaker is never consumed by itself, and the instructions on noodle packets make clear it is to be eaten in tandem with the noodles, the two should be taken as one product.

Why 'Chandrababu' Is 'Scared' On 'Cash-For-Vote' Scam?

Caught in the middle of the cash-for-votes scam, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He is likely to demand a probe into the alleged cash-for-vote scam.

As the wrangling between the Andhra and Telangana intensified, 50 FIRs were registered by Andhra Pradesh Police against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for alleged illegal tapping of phones of his Andhra counterpart.

KCR Versus Naidu: A 'Soured' Relationship Beyond Repair

The relationship between Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhara Rao popularly known as KCR and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Nara Chandrababu Naidu goes back to the late 1970s. The once close friends have turned bitter enemies in the late 1990s and early 2000s have crossed swords once again. 

While Naidu hails from the southernmost part of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, KCR hails from Medak in Telangana. Interestingly, both of them started their career in the youth Congress in the 1970s. Both fought on the Congress ticket against N T Ramarao's newly founded Telugu Desam Party or TDP in the historic 1983 Assembly elections, which made NTR the first non-Congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. KCR and Naidu lost that election to the TDP.