The impact of global financial downturn is observed alike in developing and developed countries. But who is to be blamed for current economic problems? Nations around the world differ on this count. The US-based think tank Pew Research Center says in its latest survey that a staggering 92 percent of Indians blame their government for the financial mess. “Only 17 percent Indians found bank
Richard Matthew Stallman, often called the father of the free and open source movement, is the founder of the Free Software Foundation. He has launched the GNU project, aimed at creating a free Unix-like operating system. He is also the pioneer of the CopyLeft concept and is a social activist campaigning against software patents and copyrights. During his recent visit to India he spoke to Samir
On June 20 this year, four-year-old Mahi fell into a bore well in Koh village in Manesar near Gurgaon. It was her birthday. She made front-page news in all leading newspapers and ate into prime time TV. Reports stated that help arrived 90 minutes later. Too late, they said. By the time she was pulled out 80 hours later, she was dead. Everything in India is late, except the media, the ever-waiti
In Manipur the movement for the introduction of the inner line permit (ILP) system is gaining momentum. On 5 July, a public interest litigation (PIL) that had been pending in the Gauhati high court was withdrawn, the ILP Demand Committee formed in 2006 by Federation of Regional Indigenous Societies (FRIENDS) was superseded and a Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit (ILP) was formed. The Joint C
Four weeks ago, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, basking in the light of Gujarat’s progress, remarked that “casteist” politics had arrested Bihar’s development. Nitish Kumar’s riposte was swift and brutal. The Bihar chief minister asked Modi to mind his own business and not give gratuitous advice to others. That clash between two chief ministers, both
Facing financial downturn and dearth of development assistance by the donor agencies, the United Nations in its new report suggests an innovative idea to assist the poor countries in meeting their development goals by taxing billionaires across the world. “A billionaire’s tax, would consist of a small tax of, say, 1 percent on individual wealth holdings of $1 billion or more
The supreme court has pulled the plug on any direct or indirect practice of law by foreign law firms in India vide in an order dated 4th July 2012. The apex court has directed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shall not grant any permission to foreign law firms to open any liaison offices in India. The supreme court also clarified that the expression “to practise the profession
In the last few months, several economists and industrialists have raised question mark on the Indian economy as the growth slowed down in the last two quarters. Several analysts called it a policy paralysis at the centre but despite such negativity, India remains a major foreign direct investment (FDI) destination in the South Asia. In the year 2011, the country attracted $32 billion of F
Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar may be accused of many things, but pessimism is not one of them. He remains relentlessly upbeat in the face of a sputtering monsoon and a Sensex wobbling on the fears of a poor kharif harvest. Monsoon winds have a strong impact on the Sensex. A good forecast drives it up; a delayed monsoon makes it fall. The political Sensex also responds to a p
It is very encouraging to see an upsurge of interest among various classes of consumers about organically grown food products. However, lest this interest evaporates soon, it might be useful to understand little more deeply the way organic agriculture movement has emerged in different parts of the world and how we can strengthen it in our country. There are a large number of farmers in
On the world map, India is a growing economy but it is a global problem on open defecation map, said a new report released by the United Nations. It said that 626 million people still defecate in the open in India. In China, 14 million and 7 million people in Brazil resort to open defecation. Nearly 60 percent of those defecating in the open live in India, the report said. “This h
The unusual political heat that the presidential election has generated this time around has made the country skip its silly season, a popular media jargon for high summer months when trivia makes headlines for the lack of interesting stuff. At the same time, it also exposed the soft belly of Indian politics. The Congress holding its cards tightly to its chest kept many on tenterho
Satyanarayan (‘Sam’) Gangaram Pitroda wears many hats: he is currently advisor to the prime minister on public information infrastructure and innovations (PIII) and chairman of the national innovation council. He has served as chairman of the national knowledge commission. He is also the founder of C-SAM, Inc. Among other things, he is also chairman of the India smart grid task
When Josh F Keenan, District Judge of the District Court of United States of America pronounced his verdict on June 26, 2012 in the case of Janki Bai Sahu, et al Vs Union Carbide Corporation and Warren Anderson rubbed salt to the injury of the victims of industrial disaster in India’s Baghdad, it was not at all surprising. The judge in question revealed his cruelty and insensitivity for t
A group of stray dogs a few paces away from the Punjab assembly house in Chandigarh on June 28 barked occasionally and feebly, oblivious of the fact that the debate that raged inside the house concerned them. While these canines had known the contempt the passing Rottweilers and Dobermans in fancy cars had for them, they would never have imagined the masters of these pedigree dogs would bring t
It’s that time of the year again (actually, it is always that time of the year but we don’t notice it). The time to select books that you are actually going to read rather than the ones you think you ought to read. For many years now I have planned to read Anna Karenina. It’s in my ‘To be read soon’ (or alternatively, ‘one of these days...’) boo
A latest report on children`s online behaviour and experience reveals worrisome results for internet-using Indian kids. According to the global study conducted by the software giant Microsoft, more than half - around 53 percent - of children in India have been bullied online. "More than five in 10 children surveyed (8 to 17 years of age) in India say they have experienced wha
Nothing seems to go right with the Coal India Limited (CIL). In the first week of April, the government issued a ‘presidential directive’ to force it to supply 80 percent of the coal required by various power companies to improve power generation. But that didn’t work, simply because CIL has failed to produce enough coal, frequently falling short of the targets. Now, the gover
Tension hung heavy in the air on April 19, Thursday. Sharp at 8.07 am, as a giant ball of fire leapt out of an ignited Agni V ballistic missile which left in the next lightning moment the launch pad for its 5000-km long journey, everyone felt relieved at the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. But none as much as an unidentified open defecator in a nearby remote area of the Balasore district that
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined 11 cement companies to the tune of Rs 6,300 crore, that is, 50 percent of their net profits for 2009-10 and 2010-11, for violation of provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 which deals with anti-competitive agreements including cartels. These companies include ACC, Ambuja Cements, Ultratech Cements and JK Cements. The CCI pass
