At Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, it is not just about corporate but also personal social responsibility, where employees are encouraged to contribute socially, says Pradeep Singhal, executive director of the company. In an interview with Jasleen Kaur, Singhal talks about the importance of bringing flexibility in the CSR rules to foster innovation. Edited ex
Besides being the country’s largest power generation company, the government-owned NTPC is also known for its contribution to the social sector. It has been conferred various awards for its CSR initiatives. In an email interview, NTPC chairman and managing director, Arup Roy Choudhury, talks about doing business by adding value to the community through CSR. He also says that an accountabi
A full-time philanthropist, Rohini Nilekani has over the last few years contributed to a wide range of sectors including education, environment and water. She sold a part of her stake in Infosys for `164 crore to fund individuals and institutions that work for similar causes. In a candid interview with Jasleen Kaur, Nilekani talks about her expectations from an
On using taxation to reduce income inequality There is immense unrealised potential for revenue collection in India. Raising tax rates as Piketty suggests, especially raising the top marginal tax rate (from the current 30% to, say, even 35%), is a measure I would support (more on that below). More importantly, the tax base in India continues to be very narrow. A
The fast changing nature of cyber crime is forcing the law enforcement agencies to make rapid adjustments to come to grips with the new menace. In an interaction with Ankita Lahiri, the super cop who has also served with the National Investigation Agency says that lack of forensic experts, tools and low level of awareness are just some of the issues that the department needs to
With UPA on backfoot, non-Congress secular parties will gain ground in the 2014 general elections, believes CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat. In an exclusive interview with Deepak Rastogi, he talks about the perils of caste-based politics, the absence of a Modi wave and how AAP will not be able to conjure magic outside Delhi. Edited excerpts: In the
Why is the DeitY planning to roll out the next phase of e-governance programme—eKranti or NeGP 2.0—when milestones related to national e-governance plan (NeGP) are yet to be met? NeGP 2.0 is essentially an attempt to take e-governance to the next level in the country. E-governance has already acquired a lot of traction. But at the same time we acknowledge th
You have had a long association with India and consider it your adopted home. In your latest book you have written about foreigners writing on India. How have you negotiated your location of being an outsider/insider? I take pleasure in being both an outsider and an insider. For most Indians, however long I stay in India, I will always be seen as a foreigner. And
From heading a bank to now being at the helm of affairs at IBA, what is the kind of transition you have had to make? The role of the chairman is that of ensuring the execution of the bank’s commitment. Now, as chief executive of the IBA, I need to ensure that the complete ecosystem is in place so that the banks can fulfil their commitments. [The ecosystem consists]
When Medha Patkar, founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and convener of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), decided to contest Lok Sabha elections as an Aam Admi Party candidate from Mumbai Northeast, the reactions were mixed. While many welcomed the move, others felt she should have stayed off the electoral course. The Magsaysay award-winning activist tells
There has been a perceptible turnaround in Africa’s politico-economic situation. The first decade of the new century witnessed some of the fastest growing economies in the world coming from sub-Saharan Africa. Do you believe that this is a sustainable and irreversible trend? If so, why? It is irreversible. That is something non-negotiable. Because the future genera
Ustad Mahmud Mirza is an unusual musician. A top-ranking sitar player who has impressed audiences in India and abroad with his chaste classicism, he is a widely read man who can raise the level of any conversation with his profound observations on literature, art, music, Indian and world politics, religion and philosophy. He was initiated into sitar playing at the early age of six by his matern
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena is a harried man these days. He is assigned the task of revitalsing his party which is not keen to revive and recover. On Friday he came out with a manifesto full of usual rhetoric and platitudes in a function held at the PCC headquarters. In a brief conversation, he, like a hardboiled politician that he is, displayed his never-say-die sp
Arun Singh, BJP’s in charge (prabhari) of Odisha, is an unassuming strategist. A professional chartered accountant from Delhi, Singh has seen and strategised the recent elections of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh from close quarters. In this election, he is assigned the task of revitalising the BJP campaign in a state which is virtually written off by the party. In a conversation, Singh
While bankers may flaunt their FI targets accomplished year after year, TT Ram Mohan, who teaches finance and accounting at IIM-Ahmedabad, admits that inclusion cannot be a one-off achievement. In an email interview with Governance Now, he speaks about the perils of setting unrealistic FI targets and how creating new institutions could mean additional trouble for the central ba
At a time when banks are struggling to get customers outside urban areas, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has successfully managed to deepen financial services in the rural and unbanked areas. For the last two years, IOB has been offering agriculture and entrepreneurial credit to the rural poor through a network of self-help groups and business correspondents. IOB, unlike other banks, has directly a
India is a poor country and will remain one for a long time, says Dr Nachiket Mor, a member of the RBI’s central board of directors and head of the committee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low income households (CCFS) which submitted its report in January this year. In a candid interview with Srishti Pandey, Mor argues why it is important for
Jarnail Singh, journalist-turned-politician, came to limelight when he hurled a shoe at the then home minister P Chidambaram, at a press conference in April 2009. Singh alleges that it was done to protest against Chidambaram’s remarks on the clean chit given to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case. Singh’s anger stormed the attention of na
In a candid conversation with Srishti Pandey at Bank of Baroda`s corporate centre in Mumbai, the bank`s CMD SS Mundra talks about the changing behaviour pattern of borrowers and lenders, his disagreement with some of the Mor panel recommendations and why NBFCs and MFIs should complement banks for achieving the FI goal. Excerpts: It has been almost eight years since financial inc
Drug controller general GN Singh answers questions in an email interview with Pankaj Kumar: Much is made about your statement that India’s pharmaceutical industry would be closed down if we apply US standards. Do quality standards vary from country to country? The quality of drugs manufactured in the country is regulated under the provisions of the Drugs an
