KR Meera is a Malayali novelist. After working as a journalist for years, she embarked on writing fiction and published her first collection of short stories Ormayude Njarambu in 2002. She is the winner of Vayalar Rama Varma Award, the most prestigious literary award in Kerala, and also of Kerala Sahitya Akademi for her story, Ave Maria, in 2009. Since then she has publishe
You said that Bihar CM will be from extreme backward or backward caste. Are you scared of the grand alliance? Lalu Prasad is trying to divide the society on caste lines. It is our responsibilities to tell the truth. We sacrificed to prevent the state from bad governance but Lalu ji is now saying that every third person is homeless and 71 percent households hav
As a special secretary with the department of revenue, Rashmi Verma oversees developments related to goods and services tax (GST). In an interaction with Pratap Vikram Singh, she explains how GST and IT can create a system to curb tax evasion.
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan is confident that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win elections in Bihar. Speaking to Sweta Ranjan, Chirag said that he finds the Nitish-Lalu alliance a strange combo. He also believes that chief m
In 2013, when Governance Now caught up with Angus Deaton during one of his Delhi visits, he was asked if he regretted not winning the Nobel Prize in 2012, as he had been widely expected to. He said he was rather “relieved”. Today, he has finally secured the honour. Here we reproduce the interview:
Setting a new trend of the portrayal of a strong female protagonist in Hindi films, Vidya Balan has won various awards including one national award, five Filmfare, five Screen awards and the Padma Shri in 2014. Journeying from TV serial Hum Paanch to critically acclaimed films like Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Vidya has established herself as a leading actor of Bollywood. Bes
Salil Bhatt is an Indian classical musician born in a family that has a 500-year-old legacy in music. He represents the tenth generation of famous Bhatt lineage and is the son of renowned Mohan Veena player, Grammy awardee Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Like his father who created Mohan Veena, Salil has created the Satvik Veena for which received several accolades. He
A sizeable chunk of Syria’s population has left the country and nearly half of its territory under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL aka ISIS or IS) and other terrorist groups. How does Syria look at the crisis? This is the biggest catastrophe of 21st century for Syrian culture, in terms of human development and natural heritage.
Joachim Ruecker is the current president of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Appointed in January this year, he is the first German diplomat to hold the office. Ruecker has held various positions in the federal foreign office in Bonn and German diplomatic missions. He has been the special representative of the secretary general at the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kos
Since 2008 he has been instrumental in driving key Targus products and partnerships with major customers worldwide. Currently Mike Sexton leads the global product management and marketing and is primarily responsible for driving the company’s power products and managing B2B and OEM alliance. In an interview with Shubhendu Parth, he elaborates on how w
He has switched sides many a time. From being an ally of the BJP to an adversary in the past, today Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan is a minister in the BJP-led government at the centre. As his home state Bihar goes to the polls, the BJP sees in him a key ally who can change its fortunes. A veteran of many electoral battles, 69-year-old Paswan today swears
The Patel community’s agitation demanding OBC status has brought life to a standstill across Gujarat. To understand the genesis and implications of this agitation, Ashish Mehta talked to Achyut Yagnik, a leading expert on Gujarat society and honorary secretary of the Ahmedabad-based NGO ‘SETU: Centre for Social Knowledge and Action’. Excer
The present refugee crisis in Europe is the biggest since World War II. As the conflict in Syria digs deeper in its fifth year with no political solution on the horizon, desperate Syrians are undertaking perilous journeys across the Mediterranean sea to reach Greece and Turkey, through Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia and Serbia, crossing Hungary and then finally reaching EU&rsqu
Makarand Deshpande is a phenomenal actor who is also involved in writing, direction and production of plays and films in Hindi and Marathi. Known for his quirky and eccentric personality and roles to match, he gave impressive performances in Hindi films like Jungle, Sarfarosh, Swades, Makdee, and Darna Zaroori Hai. He also has 40 original plays to his credit and be
A veteran of Bihar politics and a central minister, Giriraj Singh, talks to Sweta Ranjan about the role and initiatives of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry. Excerpts from the interview: What is your ministry’s role in boosting the country’s economy? After agricul
Elhadj As Sy is the secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) since August 2014. IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, comprising 189 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, a secretariat in Geneva and five zone offices. A Senegalese national, Sy has more than 25 years of experie
With the NDA government’s focus on skill development, job creation and small-scale industry, union minister Kalraj Mishra has a tough task cut out for him. In an interview to Sweta Ranjan, he talks about the challenges and opportunities before his ministry. India is struggling to get rid of unemployment but creating jobs i
Saroja Vaidyanathan is a well-known Bharatanatyam danseuse, choreographer and author. She is the recipient of several awards including the Padma Shree in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2013. She was also awarded the Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman by the Delhi government apart from the Kalaimamani title and Sangeet Natak Akademi award. She was conferred the title of &lsquo
He acquired interest in analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies very early in his career while leading a team that was developing and implementing one of the first commercial AI systems for Digital Equipment Corporation (the company that was renamed as Compaq and later acquired by HP). In 2001 he set up iOmniscient, a video analytics company along with Ivy Li, as an offshoot
Vincent Cochetel is the director of the Bureau for Europe at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He joined UNHCR in 1986, initially working as a legal/protection officer in various duty stations, mainly in Eastern and Western Europe. He subsequently managed UNHCR field offices in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Cochetel pa
