Contemporary Issues Simplified

  The Cloud Is Not Weightless Artificial Intelligence is often imagined as a clean, invisible revolution. It lives in apps, search engines, chatbots, algorithms and cloud platforms. But behind this digital magic stands a very physical machine: data centres, servers, chips, cooling systems, transmission lines, water, land and electricity. AI may appear weightless on the screen, but it is deeply material behind the screen. This is why the debate around AI cannot remain limited to technology, innovation and productivity. It must also become an energy debate . The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres consumed around 415 TWh of electricity in 2024 , about 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption , and could rise to around 945 TWh by 2030 . AI is one of the major drivers of this growth. For India, this raises a serious question: Can the country build an AI-powered digital future without weakening its renewable energy transition? AI Exposes the Weakness...

For centuries, the lakes and wetlands of Jammu and Kashmir have defined the ecological identity, economy, and cultural soul of the Kashmir Valley. From the shimmering waters of Dal Lake to the vast floodplains of Wular Lake, these water bodies have sustained biodiversity, livelihoods, agriculture, tourism, and climate resilience for centuries. Yet today, this fragile ecosystem stands at the brink of collapse. Over the past several decades, Kashmir’s lakes and wetlands have experienced alarming shrinkage due to urban encroachment, pollution, siltation, climate change, and administrative neglect. According to a recent CAG audit, nearly half of the region’s lakes have already disappeared since 1967, while almost three-fourths have either shrunk or degraded. In a Himalayan ecosystem already vulnerable to climate change, the vanishing lakes of Kashmir represent one of India’s gravest yet under-discussed environmental emergencies.” This is not merely an environmental concern. The degrada...