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Living Between the Yatras: Reflections from a Himalayan Pilgrimage Town

The Annual Arrival There is a particular way in which Uttarkashi changes when the pilgrimage season gathers momentum. One does not need a government notice or a calendar to know that the Char Dham Yatra is underway. One can simply walk along the Gangotri Highway. The road becomes visibly busier, with pilgrims travelling in buses and minibuses, tourist groups moving in vans and utility vehicles, families in their personal cars, and motorcyclists making their way towards the higher reaches. There are also adventure travellers, and, in smaller numbers, young couples looking for a Himalayan getaway. The town acquires a different rhythm.  Hotels along the main road become visibly busy. People can often be seen outside them, moving luggage, waiting for vehicles, gathering before departure, or returning from the day's journey. The same pattern extends beyond the town, with numerous hotels and lodging establishments along the highways becoming important stopping points for pilgrims and tou...
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From Data to Financial Intelligence: Reimagining Fintech’s Role in India’s Financial System

I. From Fintech to Financial Intelligence  1.1 Beyond the technology showcase The seventh Global Fintech Fest (GFF), held in Mumbai on 8-11 September 2026, brought together many of the technologies now shaping the future of finance: agentic artificial intelligence, tokenisation, digital currencies, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and increasingly sophisticated digital financial infrastructure. India’s own fintech journey, meanwhile, has already moved well beyond the original story of digital payments. UPI has demonstrated what can happen when technology, public infrastructure, private innovation, and mass adoption come together at scale. Yet the most interesting question emerging from this transformation may not be about any particular technology. It is about what fintech itself is becoming. The first great wave of fintech made financial transactions digital. The next wave made them faster, cheaper, more accessible, and increasingly frictionless. The enormous volume of digital tr...
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Multiply, Don't Substitute: From ISRO to a National Space Ecosystem

1. India's Space Question Has Changed India's space programme has entered an interesting institutional moment. In early September 2026, nine employee associations representing personnel across the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sought written clarity from its Chairman and the Department of Space over reports and public statements concerning the transfer of some manufacturing and operational functions to private companies and public-sector undertakings. Their concerns were not a rejection of private participation. They sought clarity over where the boundary would lie between expanding India's private space industry and withdrawing ISRO from capabilities that its employees regarded as core to the organisation's technical competence, institutional memory, and strategic role. The concerns emerged just as India was preparing for the ninth Bengaluru Space Expo, where the country's rapidly expanding private space ecosystem was on full display. ISRO responded on ...
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