What’s the point of Rahul Gandhi? The Economist has said. Back home, expect censuring by livid partymen. Offence of late has been their best defence. Diggys with tireless garrulousness and Sibals with impish frowns will be unfailing. The PM has already made to the cover of many coveted foreign magazines. Rahul’s is maiden. The 42-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is
As the country`s growth rate dipped below six percent in the last two quarters, more and more Indians have lost faith in the economy. A new survey released by the American think tank Pew Research Centre shows that a majority of Indians see their economy in negative outlook. "Just 38 percent of Indians are satisfied with the way things are going in the country – a 13 percentage point
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
Star India CEO Uday Shankar is the only one who has straddled news and entertainment genres at the highest levels and hence uniquely positioned to fill in the gaps in our understanding. Sharp, incisive, intellectual, self-incriminating and brazenly bold, Uday gave us a deep dive into the difficult world of news media and what ails it. And why it will continue to ail. Here is the transcri
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
When William Blake penned his famous poem ‘Tyger’ and wondered ‘what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry’, little did he realise that in not too distant a future the mortal hand of humans would be enough not only to frame the fearful symmetry of the tiger but also to push it to the brink of extinction. Amidst the deepening gloom on all major frontiers o
Cynicism often creates blind spots which distort vision. Of late Indian political scenario seems to be hugely afflicted by this malady which is going undiagnosed. Heart-warming developments emerging from various parts of the country are being clouded by the dust of allegations of corruption and malfeasance of gargantuan proportions in governance. One such positive development comes from
“We are ready for any debate. We can give satisfactory answers to all issues being raised,” said the prime minister of eight years’ standing to the reporters after parliament was adjourned for the day without conducting any business on August 21, the first day of sitting after the damning CAG reports on coal, power and Delhi airport were tabled. The opposition had disrupted pr
The RBI has been the master of all weathers and seasons concerning India’s financial sector. It holds the pulse of the national economy with tempestuous effects. But even with all its prominence, the RBI has seldom crossed the contoured spirits which obfuscate the existing macroeconomic scenario. The scrimmages from its side are causing for the fixture of topsy-turvy status in the policy
Established in 2000, Handygo is a leading wireless solution provider of mobile entertainment, mobile governance and value added services (VAS). It offers services in rural education and healthcare. Its solutions are spread across platforms like IVR, SMS and WAP. Pravin Rajpal, CEO, Handygo Technologies Pvt Ltd, spoke to Samir Sachdeva about various initiatives of the company. Edited excerpts:
Imagine how a person feels who has lived and grown with a community for years, is all of a sudden made to feel like an alien. Today, thousands of people from northeast feel like a stranger in their own country. The dynamics of immigration from Bangladesh causing tensions in the northeast is being exploited by the powers that be in the rest of the country. The scars of emigration of a large numb
