I have just joined in the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance, as joint secretary in charge of World Bank–IMF related work. I am in the seventh heaven of bureaucracy, so to speak. My batch got empanelled as joint secretary a few months back and most of my batch-mates would have gladly given their right hand to be in the place that I have managed to bag. In the IAS, there i
The planning commission has suggested the idea of allowing higher education institutions to run for-profit. In the final draft of 12th Five Year Plan, the commission has incorporated this suggestion despite strong opposition from the ministry of the HRD. The commission argues that the philanthropy-driven institutions do not have the resources to bridge the demand supply gap in higher ed
Incredible it may sound but National Knowledge Network (NKN) chairperson and advisor to the prime minister on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations (PIII) Sam Pitroda did hold a press conference on social networking site Twitter. In the name of `democratisation of information` (He "created a hash-tag #DoI" formally), Pitroda answered queries on the social networking site
When renowned Hindi writer Phanishwar Nath Renu wrote of Purnea in Bihar in the 1950s in ‘Maila Aanchal’, his protagonist, a doctor who chose to stay in the village observed from the closest quarters social backwardness, illiteracy, grief, ignorance, superstitions, social exploitation and struggle and diseases like malaria and black fever (both killed many in those times). T
It is quite ironical that 2012, the year which in many ways saw a revival of the non-proliferation norm on issues such as nuclear security with the Seoul Summit in March 2012, the use of sanctions and immense negotiations to curb any Iranian weapons program, has also become the year to witness a series of nuclear-capable missile tests by North Korea, India, Pakistan and Iran. With the exception
The supreme court may have upheld the 25 percent seat reservation for free schooling of economically weaker section (EWS) children in all schools (except minority-unaided ones) in the hearing of a review petition filed by private schools, but the schools seem to be still very far from the implementation of this provision of the right to education (RTE) Act. The RTE Act was aimed at ensu
A candidate of a student organization barely two months old, Students Federation of India-JNU (SFI-JNU), was elected to the post president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) on Friday. V. Lenin Kumar, the party’s candidate got 212 votes more than the nearest rival, All India Students Association’s (AISA) Om Prasad. SFI-JNU was formed in July after the Delhi ch
When union minister of state for women and child development Krishna Tirath said that the government was considering to bring a law under which a husband would have to legally pay a definite amount to his wife from his salary in recognition of her labour, most wives would have instantly felt empowered. What I often thought was conveyed by the minister and it is sure to empower women financially
Two days after banning gutkha and other smokeless tobacco products, the Delhi government on Wednesday ordered a blanket ban on use, storage, sale and manufacture of plastic bags in the city. Two major initiatives in a span of a couple of days should be good news for Delhiites. However, people are skeptical about the effective implementation of the twin orders. And, there is vali
We might be proud of our top higher educational institutions but when compared to their international counterparts these institutes do not stand anywhere. No university or institutes of excellence are among the best 200 in the world according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking 2012, the most reputed global rankings of institutes for higher education. This classification takes into account
In a bizarre incident, the might and will of the world’s largest democracy have been threatened by a few pencil sketches. The matter was brought to light recently by a Mumbai advocate who is coincidentally more active in the political corridors than he should be in courts. The lawyer accused the cartoonist in a petition to the court of mocking the constitution which, according to the law
Having seriously bungled the Indian growth story, spin doctors of the Congress have invented a new narrative of a shining rural economy to keep up their optimism. This new story of buoyancy in rural economy is culled out from the data given by the National Sample Survey which depicts infusion of loans in rural India. There is no doubt that the story has an element of truth in it. The ag
Window dressing at its most absurd. Almost brutal in its casualness. The brouhaha over the `projected` relaxation of visa rules between India and Pakistan is largely cringeworthy because it comes in the same breath as Hina Rabbani Khar’s advice to 1.2 billion Indians to get over 26/11 and move on and not stay emotional about it. Put that gratuitous and tactless remark alongside the
Your heart must bleed for bank robbers in the UK. Turns out these professionals in their high stress jobs earn far less per annum than your average wage-earner who attends office daily and whose biggest criminal act is stealing a paper clip or two from his work table. Honesty is not only the best moral policy, it is the best fiscal policy too. Worse follows for the ‘hold ’em
“The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.” This quote is attributed to an English writer of another century known widely for his satirical works, most importantly Van
Some politicians know the riots are the time to, well, make a killing. As politics of hate and violence has become an accepted form of politics, riots are the time to make a career. Maya Kodnani, a three-time MLA who has been sentenced to 28 years in jail, is certainly not the first politician who led murderous mobs, but she is among the few who have been convicted. During the 1980s, wh
There has been a total consensus among all the parties about reservation in promotion for SC and ST candidates in public services. Is that an answer to the problem of deep-seated prejudices and whether there are enough examples of outstanding officers not promoted on account of these prejudices are issues which are bothering policymakers? Evidence is striking that there is still a backlog of th
A few young ladies in Victorian England vouched for a chaperone with a spiteful tongue. The advantages, they argued, were many. While your foes never went without their well-deserved due; in case of doting friends, they could quickly and conveniently be disowned. A century and a quarter later, while chaperones have gone off the social fabric, lost in the folds of time; occasional doppelgangers
There are two ways of looking at the supreme court decision upholding the death penalty for Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab. Looking behind, we must be proud of our judiciary which gave a thoroughly fair trial to a man whose culpability was beyond doubt. Looking forward, it’s time to discuss what is coming up next: death penalty. First, the judiciary. When Kasab was captured &ndas
The housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry has prepared the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2011 which is likely to be taken up during the monsoon session of parliament. In real estate, most consumer problems relate to disputes pertaining to the buyer and the builder. The bill seems to recognise three key problems here: 1 Most disputes are the re
