Firstpost Editor's Picks: Risks of pakoda economics, Balakot strikes and defence acquisition, NTR movie review; today's must-read stories

Risks of pakoda economics: Modi govt buries its head in sand, but unemployment may decide Lok Sabha poll result It is no wonder that the Modi government has been doing everything possible — fudging, cover-up, window-dressing and what not — to come clean on the job front. We have had the curious case of two members of the well-respected National Statistics Commission  quitting in protest over the delay by the government in releasing a new set of job statistics in the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report, which showed unemployment hitting a 45-year high under the Modi government. NITI Aayog, which primarily does the PMO’s bidding, came out with the explanation that the report was not final as the data was still under process. Balakot strikes show importance of timely defence acquisition; IAF must make requirements clear to Centre With the Balakot attack, an important red line has been crossed, and the nature of future threats – and opportunities – is yet uncertain. Balakot was essentially an exercise in the use of coercive air power. The book on this one has not yet been written, and theory will have a hard time catching up with events on the ground. Pakistan is still digesting the effects of this signal by India that it is prepared to top the sub-conventional terrorism war with a very conventional weapon indeed. _Lakshmi's NTR_ review: RGV's political film fails to pack a punch despite its inherent drama In a strange way, RGV pushes you to sympathise with the fate of NT Rama Rao, Telugu cinema icon and former chief minister, and the choices he makes when he’s lonely. While the filmmaker succeeds in his attempt to portray what led to the political downfall of NTR, the film itself feels underwhelming at times because of how the scenes are staged, despite its premise and explosive drama. Tiger habitats in the Sunderbans are imperiled by climate change; govt intervention is urgently required Climate change alone will result in a reduction of 96.2 percent and 99.4 percent Bengal tiger habitats in the area in 2050 and 2070, respectively using IPCC’s RCP8.5 and RCP6.0 scenarios, the analysis revealed. In both the scenarios, the combination of climate change and sea level rise will lead to the total loss of Bengal tiger habitats in the area by 2070. Important factors linked to the distribution of the big cats in the Sundarbans are rainfall in the summer season, vegetation (mangrove species) and maximum temperature of the warmest month. How to read anthologies, and learn about the adult world through Guy de Maupassant’s short stories Two stories in particular stuck with me, creating associations that I couldn’t have articulated as an adolescent, but which I understand better now. The first, a reflection on how the human mind moves constantly between rationality and irrational dread, was Beside a Dead Man, in which two men are tasked with spending the night alongside the dead body of the philosopher Schopenhauer.