Today's Edition

Mrityunjay Athreya, a Harvard-educated visionary, returned to India in 1967 to transform its management. He pioneered strategic thinking, emphasizing people, purpose, and values over fleeting fads, pre-dating global consulting firms. Athreya's contributions include restructuring Indian Airlines and laying the foundation for India's telecom revolution. His down-to-earth wisdom consistently proved more durable than fashionable management jargon. Now, at 85, he focuses on non-profit initiatives and integrating Indian philosophy into management. His enduring influence on India's societal and corporate landscape is undeniable.

Nana Patekar displayed remarkable versatility in Bollywood, excelling in both loud and subtle roles, bringing conviction to each. His early career showcased an actor with significant presence, from supporting parts in Gaman to revenge-seeker in Ankush. Patekar delivered memorable performances as the ruthless Anna Seth in Parinda and the straight-arrow army major in Prahaar, a film he also directed. Like Irrfan, his romantic potential remained untapped due to unconventional looks. A popular, grassroots-connected orator, he consistently advocated for the common man through his cinematic and theatrical work, refusing to align with political parties.

The WHO's new guidelines on childhood obesity are vital, stressing early, family-centered interventions. They prioritize healthier diets, physical activity, and behavioral support, not solely drugs or surgery. India, facing dual malnutrition and obesity, aligns with these recommendations, advocating concerted efforts from families, doctors, and schools. The WHO urges "systemic change" and "supportive environments," requiring regulation of unhealthy food advertising, improved access to nutritious options, and addressing maternal diets. The article strongly endorses these holistic policy-level interventions, including junk food regulation and women’s empowerment for better public health outcomes.

The GST Council's 57th meeting marks a significant change, fostering increased taxpayer trust and reduced revenue anxiety. This moves away from a complex, enforcement-heavy system. Reforms automate registrations, returns, and refunds, curbing human discretion and officer powers. The new approach prioritizes taxpayer compliance over a "guilty until proven innocent" stance. Key improvements include addressing input tax credits, removing officer arrest powers, and tightening inspection rules. Faceless assessments and annual rate reviews also enhance clarity. After a decade, GST is finally aligning with its initial vision, becoming more efficient and user-friendly.

Anne Carson, the 76-year-old Canadian poet and scholar, has won the Nobel Prize in Literature, a bookmaker’s favorite choice and the 19th woman laureate. The Swedish Academy lauded her "bold and inventive oeuvre" that uniquely blends classical tradition with contemporary literature, often dismantling genre boundaries. Carson's acclaimed works, including Autobiography of Red and The Beauty of the Husband, explore themes of love, desire, and antiquity through experimental forms. Her win celebrates literary experimentation, the limitless possibilities of human imagination, and complex human experience, particularly relevant in an age of AI and simplified narratives. The Academy chose a truly uncategorizable writer.

India's GST Council has introduced reforms aimed at easing compliance and processes, thereby unlocking working capital and boosting production. The changes promise easier registration, faster claim approvals, and address long-standing issues like refund delays, which tie up crucial funds. These procedural improvements align the value-addition tax with its core design, ensuring commerce is relieved of tax cascades and money retains its time value. Despite previous complexities, the reforms are lauded for benefiting businesses, particularly those with intricate supply chains. The overdue amendments are enthusiastically welcomed for their potential positive impact.

Anne Carson, 76, Canadian poet and classicist, wins Nobel Prize in Literature for her ability to fuse myth, memory, and language, creating profound new meanings. Her work, like "Autobiography of Red," blurs genre boundaries between poetry, essay, and fiction, constantly redefining literature's potential. Carson’s poetry, austere, funny, and elusive, liberates the form from conventional order, exploring themes of desire, loneliness, and loss with razor-sharp intelligence. Her classics journey began with Sappho, inspiring a body of work seeking new wisdom from ancient questions. The Swedish Academy found her in Iceland, a fitting "suspended moment of living hope."

The author argues privacy is vital for individual liberty, innovation, and economic diversity, despite its erosion by Big Tech and AI. It refutes the idea privacy only benefits wrongdoers, stressing its importance for market efficiency and progress. Questioning demands for corporate entities like Tata Sons to relinquish privacy, potentially harming missions, the article champions cash privacy for legitimate causes. Ultimately, it asserts that a thriving market economy and intellectual exchange depend on preserving both individual and corporate privacy.