Bimal Jalan, a former RBI governor, feels that PMJDY is a very “good idea” and with the intelligent use of technology it can be a useful instrument for financial inclusion. In a telephonic interview with Shishir Tripathi, Jalan says he does not see any “fault lines” that can challenge the implementation of Modi’s ambit
The assembly elections in Bihar are round the corner and parties are gearing up for action. After few hiccups, Sharad Yadav announced that RJD-JDU and Congress will fight the assembly elections in Bihar together. BJP is doing all kinds of calculations to make a statement in this poll. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a prominent face of BJP from Bihar and Union Minister for Skill Development
Ranjan Dhawan, executive director of Bank of Baroda, was entrusted with the additional charge of the managing director and CEO of the public sector banking giant on February 27. Before joining BoB as executive director in November 2012, he was the chief general manager of Punjab National Bank. With its vast network, BoB is a crucial player for financial inclusion.
SS Mundra took charge as the RBI deputy governor on July 31 last year. Previously, he was chairman and managing director of the second largest bank, Bank of Baroda, where he had started out in 1977 as a probationary officer. At the central bank, he looks after banking supervision, currency management, financial stability, rural credit and customer service. In an interview w
Urvashi Butalia is a publisher who along with Ritu Menon had co-founded Kali for Women, India’s first feminist publishing house in 1984. After the closure of Kali, she founded Zubaan as an imprint of Kali for Women, and continues to publish books on, for, by and about women in South Asia. She is a consultant for Oxfam India and has written prolifically on gen
If the prime minister’s vision comes true, by 2022 every family will have a pukka house with water and electricity connections. The Sardar Patel urban housing mission aims at making India slum-free in these seven years. Nandita Chatterjee, secretary, ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (MHUPA), talks to Puja Bhattacharjee about the chall
A Padma Bhushan recipient and prominent Gandhian of our times, Justice CS Dharmadhikari joined the Quit India moment when he was only 14. A career lawyer and judge, he retired as acting chief justice of Bombay high court in 1989 after delivering landmark judgments on women’s rights, children and prisoners. He has authored many books in Hindi, Marathi and English and a
The strikingly red CPM flag with the sickle and hammer pasted on the board behind Yechury is peeling off despite the adhesive-tape pasted around it, very symptomatic of the party’s situation in the country. As the new party chief, he faces an uphill task of galvanising the party and strengthening its capacity to influence Indian politics. In an interview with Shubhendhu Parth
Cuba-born Alfred de Zayas, an American lawyer, writer, activist, expert in human rights and international law, has been the UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, also known as Special Rapporteur, since 2012. He worked as a senior lawyer with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during 1981-2003. In an wi
Since its rollout in 2012, the passport seva project has made the process of issuing passports hassle-free and quick. In an interaction with Pratap Vikram Singh, Pardeshi talks about the challenges in streamlining the process and curbing the role of intermediaries. How satisfactory has been the work of passport seva kendras (PSKs) over the years?
It will be ideologically incongruent for the Narendra Modi government to celebrate May Day. Marx and Modi have nothing in common except that both profess to believe in ultimate triumph of labour – Shramev Jayate. But how? In a candid interview
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, for long one of the few Muslim leaders in the BJP, is minister of state for two crucial portfolios: minority affairs and parliamentary affairs. The first will be watched for the party’s own definition of secularism beyond appeasement, while the second will remain crucial till the government gets sufficient numbers in the Rajya Sabha. In an interview with S
Karthik Kumar is a noted theatre and Kollywood actor. He is also known as Evam Karthik for his theatre background. Karthik quit his job to start his own venture Evam Entertainment (with partner Sunil Vishnu) which is India’s only corporate that is into performing arts, arts management and education, and behavioural training. Among the exceptional plays of Evam is The 39 Steps, which h
The story of Prince Gopaldas Desai, an egalitarian ruler, is indeed extraordinary. You have noted in the preface that you had heard about him from your father in the 1950s. But what exactly was the trigger to write this biography at this juncture? After my father’s mention to me of Darbar Gopaldas in 1950 or so, I “ran into” Darbar Gopaldas in 1
As parliament resumed its budget session after a break, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, minister of state for parliamentary affairs speaks to Sweta Ranjan on the business and the challenges. Excerpts: What important legislations are lined up for remaining part of the budget session? One is the land bill and tho
Rajeev Chandrasekhar has an unusual CV for an MP: he worked in Intel and founded BPL Mobile, before joining politics – and has been twice elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka as an independent member supported by all parties. In an email interview with Shishir Tripathi, he comments on his PIL and free speech in the digital age.
Born in Sylhet, Bangladesh, Zia Haider Rahman moved to London as a baby soon after the 1971 Bangladesh war of liberation. In London, his father, a bus conductor and waiter, and mother, a seamstress, struggled to make ends meet during his growing-up years. He studied at Balliol College of Oxford University and pursued further studies in Germany and at Cambridge and Yale universities. He has
From the archives: Narayan Desai spoke to Ashish Mehta in November 2010, when he was in Delhi for the 88th Gandhi Katha. Excerpts from the interview: You started doing ‘Gandhi Katha’ in Gujarat in June 2004, two years after the communal violence in the state. What prompted you to take this innovative way of propagating Gandhi’s
Recipient of Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi award, novelist, poet and critic Bhalchandra Nemade has taught English, Marathi and comparative literature at various places, including the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Before retirement, he held Mumbai University’s Gurudeo Tagore chair for comparative literature studies. A proponent of ‘Deshivad’, Nemade
Krishan Pal, union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, represents Faridabad in the Lok Sabha. In an interview with Sweta Ranjan, he speaks about development plans for the bustling city that is part of the national capital region (NCR). Edited excerpts: Faridabad has a tremendous potential for development. As MP, what are your p
