Priya Venkatraman is a Bengaluru-based health and society correspondent covering the Indian healthcare system, medical ethics, and the human dimensions of illness and care.
Recent work
Rahul Gandhi Calls PM, Amit Shah 'Deshdrohi', Demands CEC Resign
Rahul Gandhi on 24 September called Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar 'deshdrohis' and demanded Kumar's resignation. The attack followed an Indian Express report that two election commissioners formally objected at least 14 times to Special Intensive Revision decisions. The Election Commission defended its internal deliberation process, while BJP leaders rejected Gandhi's charge as an effort to delegitimise the 2024 mandate.
IIT Kharagpur Director Says Grades Don't Define Students After IIT Bombay Suicide
IIT Kharagpur's director has told students that exams and grades are not the measure of their worth after a second-year IIT Bombay student died by suicide. Sahil Wakode's death, hours after he was caught using ChatGPT during an exam, is the third at the institute in seven months. The episode puts the mental health of India's premier engineering aspirants back at the centre of higher education policy.
Gurugram Police Constitutes SIT to Probe Hit-And-Run That Injured Woman Biker
Gurugram Police have formed a Special Investigation Team to examine the hit-and-run that left a woman motorcyclist injured. The team is led by an officer from the Crime Against Women unit and includes personnel from Sector 56 and the Sohna crime unit. The accused is in custody and claims he did not strike the rider deliberately.
DUSU 2026 Candidate List: Three NSUI Rebels Leave ABVP in a Position of Strength
Delhi University released its final DUSU candidate list on September 11, with three NSUI rebels contesting the central panel alongside the official Congress-affiliated candidates. The split hands the ABVP, already the incumbent force in campus politics, a structural advantage as student elections double as a recruitment ground for national parties.
Delhi Police Advisory Readies Capital for Janmashtami Crowds
Delhi Police have issued a Janmashtami traffic advisory, warning of heavy pedestrian movement near temples from September 4 morning to September 5 early hours. The notice adds to a week already shaped by BRICS motorcade rehearsals across central Delhi.
Expiry-Date Tampering Hits Lay's, Maggi, Thums Up in Mumbai Racket
Maharashtra's food safety authorities have uncovered a multi-crore operation in Mumbai that reintroduced expired Lay's, Kurkure, Maggi, Thums Up and other packaged foods into the market. The seizure exposes gaps in reverse logistics, expired-stock disposal and the deterrent value of fixed fines under India's food safety regime.
FSSAI Proposes Red-Box Warnings for Fat, Sugar, Salt on Packaged Foods
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has proposed front-of-pack warning labels in red boxes for packaged foods high in fat, sugar and salt. The move follows Supreme Court pressure in a public interest case. It will reshape labelling for a large packaged food market and put consumer health ahead of voluntary industry formats.
Cyber Quest 2026: The Army's Talent Hunt That Could Reshape India's Defence
The Indian Army's Cyber Quest 2026, with applications open until August 20, is more than a hacking competition. It is a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between India's vast civilian IT talent pool and the Defence Cyber Agency's operational requirements. The initiative arrives at a moment when state-sponsored intrusions against Indian infrastructure have become routine, and when the country's cyber command structure remains under-resourced relative to its principal adversaries.
Iran's Factional Rupture Reaches the Chabahar Question
Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has reportedly issued a final ultimatum to President Pezeshkian while backing an IRGC commander, signalling a factional consolidation that could reshape Tehran's governance architecture. For India, which has built its Central Asia access strategy around the Chabahar port agreement, the shift is less a political crisis to watch from afar and more a structural variable to price into long-term planning. The question is whether New Delhi's state-to-state engagement framework is robust enough to outlast the personalities currently in conflict.
India Bridges the Vocational-Academic Divide With NIOS-ITI Equivalency
ITI trainees and pass-outs can now earn Class 10 and Class 12 academic equivalency through the National Institute of Open Schooling, closing a credentialing gap that has historically locked skilled workers out of higher education, government jobs, and overseas employment. The programme operationalises the National Education Policy 2020's mandate to dissolve the hierarchy between vocational and academic streams. For India's industrial ambitions and its labour export profile, the implications reach well beyond a paperwork change.
Bengaluru's Electoral Roll Crisis Exposes a Fault Line in Democratic Sovereignty
A Special Intensive Revision officer in Bengaluru was allegedly assaulted by a group of eight people after he refused to enrol suspected illegal migrants in the voters' list. BJP has demanded Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge's resignation over the incident, alleging attempts to suppress it. The episode reveals how sub-national political calculations can corrode the very institutional processes that protect India's electoral integrity.
India's Biology Olympiad Gold Reveals a Deeper Talent Paradox
India's team delivered an outstanding performance at the 37th International Biology Olympiad, drawing a formal congratulatory statement from Prime Minister Modi. The achievement illuminates the strength of India's pre-university science pipeline — and the structural gap between that pipeline and the country's relatively modest output in global life-sciences research. The real prize is not the medal but the career trajectory of the student who earns it.