In an experiment conducted among 2.5 million cellphone users in rural Bengal by a team of US-based researchers, that included Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, shows direct messaging by a respected public figure can persuade more people to report Covid-related health symptoms and
Around the world, millions of young people are kept out of work by a lack of skills. This is extremely predominant in India and also in Bengal where we find many graduates who do not have pertinent skills to join a particular job. But improvements
Misfortunes never come alone. When you are down on your luck or feel as if you just can’t catch a break, sometimes it’s difficult to pick up the pieces and get things moving again. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining, similarly,
Bengal is proud that Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has been invited to speak at the Oxford Union Debate next year. She will be the first Indian woman leader and administrative head to have received the invitation from one of the most
Horses on Sarat Bose Road! Thirteen-year-old Parikshit Doshi was surprised one day to see six horses rummaging through a dustbin below his house on Sarat Bose Road. The animals looked hungry, desperate and they had bleeding wounds all over their body. The boy immediately raised
If you are in Sundarbans, the destruction trail of Cyclone Amphan is still visible all around. A trip to Ground Zero throws up tales of good Samaritans who have joined hands with local NGOs to keep these people alive and pave their future employment or
He travels to the remote areas of South Bengal and leaves his home in Kolkata with around 15 of his assistants at 3am in the morning. Yes, around that time, most urbanites would be sleeping in the cosy corners of their homes. But Dr Ajoy
During the Lockdown, many have lost jobs or are sitting idle. The textile industry has been affected badly. Garment factories have closed shutters and skilled tailors who stitched trendy trousers, shirts, sherwanis which were supplied to branded companies, suddenly found themselves out of job. The
It is four hours’ journey on road from Kolkata. The village lies on the banks of the river. Cyclone Amphan has caused unprecedented damage to this village. All farmlands have been inundated by brine water, making it unfit for cultivation for the rest of this
Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and planet. Yet, due to globalization, they are increasingly under threat, or disappearing altogether. We are all familiar with Bangladesh’s Bhasha Andolan, where people laid their