Possibly the best way to describe the ongoing craze for cryptocurrencies, bordering on lunacy, is to recall former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan’s immortal words, “irrational exuberance”, which he used to describe the senselessness on Wall Street at the height of the dotcom mania in the early 2000s when billions of dollars were sunk into the blackhole of eyeballs and valuation. It’s bewildering that cryptocurrencies, which are nothing more than sophisticated memes, would command market capitalisation of 1.7 trillion. Speculators are free to bet their money on anything, but when something like cryptocurrencies starts entering the mainstream of the global economy without any regulations, then the global monetary system is sitting on a ticking timebomb, which when it eventually explodes will leave a massive trail of destruction. As pointed out in our cover story by Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda, the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India need to find ways to regulate cryptocurrencies. Otherwise, the sovereignty of India’s monetary policy will be under challenge, very soon. Already, more than ₹7 lakh crore has been invested in cryptocurrencies. Since the origins of such digital currencies remain anonymous, it also poses a threat to national security. In this issue we also look at the pros and cons of increasing palm oil production in India. On one hand, it’s a highly profitable crop and can make the country self-reliant in edible oils; on the other, environmentalists are justified in their apprehensions that forest land might be diverted to plantations in the Northeast, where the climate is most conducive for growing oil palm. Staying with the Northeast, we turn the focus on the continued implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, especially in the light of the Oting incident on December 4 in which 15 innocent people were gunned down by the security forces in a case of “mistaken identity”. It would be prudent to call time on the draconian act, since it has long stopped serving any purpose. Independent India will turn 75 on August 15, 2022. During this period, the country has made remarkable progress in many areas. But in one critical aspect it continues to lag: gender equality, especially representation of women in public spaces. We looked at the numbers and the picture that emerged is highly unflattering. The failure to ensure adequate representation to women in public life goes against Goal 5 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, to which India is a signatory.   In similar vein, we must ensure the protection of rights of our indigenous peoples like the forest-dwelling Van Gujjars of Uttarakhand. For centuries, they have been friends of the forests, but modern laws have started treating them as enemies.