What change you have seen in Kashmir during the last 14 years? The biggest change is that the Kashmiri people have realised that the gun is their enemy. It is clear now that they are not cut out for the gun culture and violence. The fact is that the Indian army and security forces have seized nearly 95,000 guns and ammunition from militant organisations. This is a huge q
What do you make of the huge voter turnout? People have voted in huge numbers for two reasons. One is the recent floods in Kashmir. Somewhere people have realised that they need a government and systems that work or else such mismanagement will continue to recur. The flood was a grave reminder to all of us that we need a government to run the daily affairs of
What does the huge voter turnout in the valley mean? People have voted on the issue of ‘sadak, pani and bijli’– development. However, this is not going to impact our movement [for azadi or independence]. I am confident that all those who have voted in the election are also for freedom. Hence, the voter turnout is insignificant for us. I always had
Sarbananda Sonowal, a young and firebrand leader, is BJP’s rising star in Assam. He is now in charge of a ministry that does not make many headlines but whose work would be uppermost on the minds of most Indians. Sonowal spoke with Sweta Ranjan about the government’s plans for sports. Edited excerpts: There is a need for more transpare-ncy in
Kumi Naidoo, in his late 40s, is the first African to head Greenpeace International, the pre-eminent global green group of our times that is increasingly hogging headlines in India too. During his New Delhi visit recently, he sat down with Shreerupa Mitra-Jha to discuss the perspectives behind those headlines. Excerpts from the interview: What is the India conne
From teaching chartered accountancy to running a textile weaving unit, real estate baron Niranjan Hiranandani has rich experience. He has been part of different state and national bodies for habitat and low-income housing for long, besides drafting Maharashtra’s slum rehabilitation policy. After their state-of-the-art mixed-user townships across 200 acres in Powai and Thane, the Hirananda
Conservation architect, author, consultant to international and national bodies on heritage preservation and winner of multiple awards, including the largest number of UNESCO Asia-Pacific awards for heritage conservation, Abha Narain Lambah wears many hats. Her vast repertoire spans preparing plans for restoration of ancient to medieval sites, regional and urban conservation plans, urban
Jual Oram, the union minister for tribal affairs, is a veteran Odisha politician who created history when he became the first tribal affairs minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He was a face-saver for the BJP in Odisha in the recent Lok Sabha elections, winning the lone seat in the state. Oram discusses the Naveen government and the Odisha BJP with Shreerupa Mitra-Jha
Amit Jain was just another young Indian, working in an IT firm in the millennium city – Gurgaon – who dreamt of a decent life and sought a house for himself. And that decision – to buy a house – turned his life upside down. In 2010, Jain, then in his late 30s, waged a battle against “corrupt developers” after his apartment was “wrongfully” cancell
Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) is a joint venture of the government of India and leading oil and natural gas industry players – GAIL (India) Limited, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Tasked with importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and setting up LNG terminals in the country, Petrone
The department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) recently released the draft policy on Internet of Things (IoT, interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded devices). To understand the technology better, Shubhendu Parth speaks to Dr Kevin Curran on how IoT can impact governance. Curran, who is known for his work on location positioning within indoor environments, pervasive
Some issues related to the pradhan mantri jan dhan yojana (PMJDY) have surfaced which even the RBI governor has flagged, like duplication of accounts. How do you plan to ensure effective implementation of the scheme and solving these problems? We are aware of it, but it might have happened because some people may have felt that by opening an account under PMJDY th
An electrical engineer from Delhi University, AK Purwaha, as chairman and managing director, has led Engineers India Ltd to new heights. One of south Asia’s leading design and engineering organisations, EIL has spread its wings further under him. From being an engineering solutions consultancy company focused on oil, gas, petrochemical and non-ferrous metallurgy industries, EIL has now di
Land is at the centre of the big debate in India, as more and more farming land is going to industry. But what if land is not necessary for farming? Though it sounds impossible, it has been done, and done successfully in places ranging from Dubai to Singapore. The man behind this technology, Dr Yuichi Mori, was originally doing his research in membrane technology used in healthcare, which he le
Muhammad Saleem Beg has served as director-general, tourism, in Jammu and Kashmir and also headed the state chapter of INTACH before being elevated to the statutory commission involved in protecting India’s rich cultural and archeological wealth. Hailing from Srinagar, Beg spoke to Governance Now about the recent Kashmir flood. Excerpts: How much of the flood in Kashmir wa
On September 18, Sam Kahamba Kutesa of Uganda took over as the president of the UN General Assembly for its 69th session. He was elected to the post in June. He proposed Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda as the theme for the session. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said the role of the 69th Assembly president will be “especially important during
As India readies to develop 100 smart cities, the national institute of urban affairs (NIUA) is bound to play a crucial role in the ambitious project. Established in 1976, it is a premier agency for research and training in urban governance. It enjoys the support of the ministry of urban development, states, urban and regional development authorities and other agencies. Its director Jagan Shah,
Shankar Aggarwal, a 1980 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, who recently took over as the urban development secretary, talks to Pratap Vikram Singh and Puja Bhattacharjee about the ministry’s vision, planning and challenges of setting up smart cities. How does the urban development ministry define a smart city? How will these cities be different from the existing cities?
Agriculture is a politically sensitive sector, and wheat, being a staple in many regions, is more so. India still does not have policies that would allow the country to use wheat efficiently. First, it does not have enough places to store it and, second, there is no guarantee that wheat production would be robust in the coming years due to its dependence on monsoon. This year, f
The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO), a public sector undertaking, is mandated with building affordable housing and promoting urban development. Of the 16.54 million houses sanctioned by HUDCO so far, over 95% have benefited the economically weaker section (EWS) and low income group (LIG). Speaking with Jasleen Kaur, HUDCO chairman and managing director Medithi Ravi Kan
