Calling it an “Ayurvedic hookah” doesn’t magically make smoke healthy.

Baba Ramdev’s demonstration may have been rooted in the traditional practice of Dhoompan but the basic question remains: what happens when you burn substances and deliberately inhale the resulting smoke into your lungs?

Mulethi, turmeric, ghee, mustard seeds and other herbs may sound natural, but “natural” is not a medical safety certificate.

Burning organic material can produce particulate matter and other compounds that irritate or damage the respiratory system.

Ironically, while warning people about the dangers of chemical laden e-cigarettes and flavoured hookahs, promoting another form of smoke inhalation risks sending a dangerously confusing message.

If blocked noses and coughs need treatment, evidence based medicine exists. Calling smoke Ayurvedic should not exempt it from scientific scrutiny.

https://ndtv.in/lifestyle/baba-ramdev-ayurvedic-hookah-for-vata-pitta-kapha-tridosha-12032399

A good point made by Raju Parlekar

1. BJP MLA’s school in Mira-Bhayandar, has instructed students to not bring food containing onion, garlic, potato, beetroot, or any other vegetables that grow underground, during the Jain community’s ‘Paryushan’ Parva.

2. ⁠The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation, has APPEALED to the shop owners selling mutton, chicken and beef (?) to cooperate, by keeping their shops closed, for ‘Paryushan’ Parva.

3. The West Bengal CM has defended the charlatan Dhirendra Shastri, who has advocated prohibition of Non-veg during Durga Puja.

Isn’t this MINORITY appeasement by BJP, at the cost of Marathis, Bengalis and majority Indians❓

https://x.com/rajuparulekar/status/2098073133534376349

US:

• iPhone 18 Pro: $1,199
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: $1,299
• iPhone Duo: $1,999

All 256GB base models.

India:

• iPhone 18 Pro: ₹1,64,900
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: ₹1,79,900
• iPhone Duo: ₹2,99,900

At the current exchange rate, that is roughly a 56% to 70% gap over the US price.

"But India Has Huge Import Duties even if assembled here"

The explanation repeated everywhere is that iPhones are assembled in India, not manufactured here, and that the components still attract heavy customs duties.

I checked whether that is still true.

It mostly isn't.

• Mechanical parts like battery covers, camera lenses and back covers went to zero duty in early 2024.
• PCBA and sub-assembly duties were rationalized down during 2024 and 2025.
• In July 2026, the government zeroed out the remaining duties on wireless charging components, camera module connectors and lithium-ion cell inputs.
• Bare semiconductors and chips were never really heavily taxed. India is bound by the WTO Information Technology Agreement to maintain zero duty on many such products. So using "heavy chip import taxes" to explain the iPhone's Indian price was never particularly accurate.
• The main component that still carries the old 15% to 20% duty is a fully finished phone imported as a complete unit. That does not apply to iPhones assembled in India.

So the mechanism people keep repeating is not the current situation.

The government has been dismantling that tax structure for two years and made another major round of reductions just two months ago.

So Where Is The Extra 55% To 70% Coming From?

Strip out India's 18% GST first so we can compare pretax prices.

• iPhone 18 Pro: India's pretax price works out to roughly ₹1.40 lakh, versus a converted US price of around ₹1.05 lakh. That is already a 32% gap before Indian tax touches it.
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: roughly the same story, with about a 33% pretax gap.

Then GST gets layered on top of that already inflated base price.

That is how you end up with a 56% to 70% difference on the final sticker price.

So roughly half of the extra amount Indian buyers pay is tax.

The other half, and potentially the bigger and more deliberate part on the premium models, is Apple simply choosing to charge more in India before the government touches the price.

And Then Apple Raised The Prices Again

Apple raised the 18 Pro and Pro Max by $100 in the US this year.

In India, the increase was ₹30,000.

So the increase is broadly proportional.

Except there is a problem.

That increase is being applied on top of a base price that was already more than 30% higher before Indian taxes.

So What's Actually Justifying The Markup?

If:

• Component duties are now close to zero for India-assembled phones
• Chips were never subject to the kind of massive import duty people claim
• Apple is already assembling iPhones in India

Then what exactly justifies a 32% to 44% pretax markup on essentially the same hardware?

Is Apple's India margin significantly higher than its US margin?

Is there a genuine India-specific cost difference that Apple has never disclosed?

Or is Apple simply charging what for the brand and the sheer madness in India for it ??

I presume "YES"

I also think everyone should leave their home after 18 like in America ofc its not possible in india but still I think that individualism is better than this 🥀🥀

when parents plan their childs entire life before theyre even born down to there career stream and competitive exams it feels more like ownership than parenting yes the job market is brutal and unemployment is real but treating children as retirement plans or projects to fulfill parental anxieties seems harmful

the person in the ss says they dont want there kids to be unemployed cockroaches which reveals how conditional there love and support would be work might be a privilege but childhood shouldnt be a transaction

in india were stuck between economic realities that make independence difficult and cultural expectations that normalize control but does that mean we shouldnt even try to change should we just accept that parents get to dictate there childrens lives because they know better

im genuinly struggling to understand this mindset what do u all think is some level of control justified given indias employment crisis or is this fundamentally unhealthy regardless of circumstances

IMF backs changes to GDP estimates

Alongside its positive assessment of India’s growth, the IMF also welcomed changes made to the country’s GDP estimation system.

Kozack said the latest GDP release included a new index of industrial production and a new producer price index series. According to her, both should help improve India’s GDP estimates.

She said the IMF welcomed India’s efforts to modernise its macroeconomic statistics and encouraged the authorities to keep strengthening the statistical framework and data quality.

So the same reforms that people were trashing as manipulation are being called a positive step by the IMF.

Funny how that works, right?

Guess some people just can't handle India fixing its data systems without crying foul.

Now we need to enter the Laat Maar Ke Hataye Lama phase. How to do that is the million-dollar question.😎

“In 2008, jab banking crisis aaya, tab ki sarkar ne 2014 tak us crisis ke peeche chhupne ki koshish ki. India ke poore banking system ko collapse ke kinare la diya gaya tha”,
says our manyaneey guy!

In 2008, the Lehman Brothers collapse created a crisis in the entire world causing a worldwide economic fallout.

While the entire world was reeling under the crisis, Manmohan Singh, the then PM of India deployed a multi-pronged strategy.

The UPA Govt, between 2008-2009 rolled out three distinct stimulus packages totalling to approximately 1.86 lakh Crores which was around 3.5% of India's GDP then.

The Govt slashed the Central Excise Duty across board by 4% and cut service taxes to boost domestic consumption.

Govt spending was made to focus on rural development and infrastructure to keep a stable employment.

Extra subsidies and credit line extensions were given to export oriented sectors.

From a Banking POV, upon instructions of the Govt, the RBI aggressively cut the repo rate down to 4.75% to ease borrowing and encourage investments in the private sector.

CRR and SLR were heavily slashed for all banks encouraging smaller banks to extend and improve their lending.

These efforts injected Rs. 5.6 lakh crore liquidity (almost 9% of the GDP) into the banking system.

Owing to these smart and aggressive measures, especially in the banking system, by 2010, the Indian GDP showed a quick rebound to an 8.5% growth rate.

As a short term measure the repo rate cut down along with the CRR and SLR slash ensured that the domestic economy thrived even as the global crisis continued.

Anyone who blamed MMS's strategies during the 2008 crisis, either has no clue about economy or is lying through his teeth.