A latest report released by property consultant Cushman and Wakefield revealed five factors like power, infrastructure, funds, technology and social capital to be inculcated in the 100 smart cities initiatives. India is embracing this push for smart cities after the NDA government came to power last year. By most estimates the level of urbanisation will reach 50 percent in India by 2039. But ev
In his Madison Square Speech in September 2014, our prime minister had reminded the world about India’s advantage of demographic dividend. This has become an important data point to show the world that Indian population is not a problem now. World is of course looking towards us from the perspective of huge demand/investment potential but every other Indian statesman is still hyping on yo
Exactly a month ago as the rains thundered down and caught us unawares, a farmer quietly walked to the middle of his field and hung himself from a tree. Nobody knows Sandeep Shinde. But for a handful of reports, his suicide was no news. Few have heard that this farmer from Beed was running a debt of over a lakh rupees and clutching onto his jowar crop as the only seed of hope. It
Much debate as taken place on the way forward of ‘Net Neutrality’ in India following the issue of the consultation paper by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for inviting stakeholder feedback which comes to a close this week. The need of the hour is to address all stake-holder concerns. This discussion paper tries to deal with some of the key issues relevant for the w
After stalling and procrastinating for countless times in the last five years the Brihanmumbai municipal corporation (BMC) finally unveiled in February its development plan, or DP, that it confidently claimed will hold the financial capital in good stead at least till 2034. Following widespread criticism,
Network neutrality is all about keeping the internet free and open from the clutches of telecom operators/carriers. The government is expected to finalise a policy on net neutrality in a month’s time. When it actually does, it must keep in mind a few things to protect cons
When the Bamian Buddhas came crashing down like an avalanche, the first person I called was my maternal grandfather. On deputation to the Kabul press in the 1960s, he was lucky to have seen the imposing sixth century monolithic statues that stood guard on the edge of the Bamian valley. He often told us gripping stories of his time in Afghanistan and through his eyes we saw a once flourishing ci
It is one of the most unforgivable incidents, yet it is one in many. This week a child fell to her death in a sump at school because she had to go to fetch water. The government primary school that Susanna studied in is not in the rural interiors of India, but in a bustling, modern city – India`s IT capital Bengaluru. Yet it doesn`t even a have tap for children, let alone purified drinkin
The week ending March 5 acquired significance indicating the direction we, as a country, seem to be heading in. In the preceding five days, there was a ban a day in the country, including the one on beef in Maharashtra and on the screening of the BBC documentary, India’s Daughter. The documentary is detrimental to the nation’s reputation abroad – the nation was told by one of
In one of the biggest auctions of mobile spectrum the government has fetched a whopping sum of `94,000 crore at the end of the fifth day of the sale process, on March 9. Industry watchers say that if the robust bidding continues the government may touch the `1 lakh crore figure. This is certainly good news for the health of the exchequer. And the telecom industry can pat itself on the back for
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act as being unconstitutional and violative of Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(2) of the Constitution of India. The now defunct Section.66A of the IT Act, read as follows: “Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.66A. Any pers
In itself a piece of data is discrete and inert. So a number remains just that, an isolated strand. But string numbers together and it has enough potential to become intelligent, almost like the way potential energy turns into explosive kinetic energy. Inert data suddenly transforms into information the moment you give it a context. Give it a perspective and it becomes knowledge. There ar
Giving concrete shape to finance minister Arun Jaitley`s announcement of a bill to trace black money, the union cabinet has just approved a law to track unaccounted wealth by strengthening of the prosecution mechanism and enhancing exchange of information, also including in its ambit stringent provisions for prosecution of offences. The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imp
The Delhi Master Plan 2021 has now become meaningless. The spate of recent notifications changing regulations relating to setbacks, ground coverage, FAR, height controls, etc, have resulted in fragmented and unrelated development across the city. Most of these changes have been made to meet the steadily increasing pressure for more intensive development, without a holistic review of their urban
Arguably the most cosmopolitan state, Goa is in the midst of a row over the Gandhi Jayanti holiday. Chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar is crying foul after the Congress raked up his government’s gazette notification which does not include it among the holidays. There is also an allegation that Goa’s mainstay casino industry wanted October 2 to be taken off from the state’s holi
A German professor raises concern and the idea of statecraft and diplomacy gets a jolt. When Professor Annette Beck-Sickinger of Germany gave reasons for rejecting an Indian male student’s application for internship, it sent shock waves through the German diplomacy. Germany’s India ambassador Michael Steiner came out and condemned her action and the professor had to apologise.
Free speech has always been a subject of immense debate. Different legal regimes in different parts of the world have sought to regulate free speech on various grounds. In India, the constitution guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. However, this right under Article 19(1) of the constitution is not an absolute right. The state can impose various ‘reasonabl
The growth story of our country has remained a mixed baggage. There has been tremendous advancement in many sectors but there are also areas of huge concern. It was generally believed that liberalisation and globalisation would unshackle the economy and accelerate growth. As the national income would rise, all sections of society would get a share in the rising wealth, through a trickledown eff
It has now become the subject of a parliament debate. The home minister has even ensured a restraining order via the courts and it is clear India will not get to see the documentary on the atrocities against her daughters. Film-maker Leslee Udwin`s work India`s Daughter is to be aired across several nations on March 8, the International Women`s Day. Except in India. The governmen
It did not make much difference to aam aadmi but gave rise to huge sound bites. Rahul Gandhi is missing from budget session of parliament. During this time of hectic activity, the vice president of a major party decides to take a ‘reflective vacation’, to ‘reflect’ and ‘think’ about the party’s future. Everybody takes as v
