Sleaze sells. Makers of reality shows such as Bigg Boss and Rakhi Ka Insaaf know this well. So do those who run the so-called news channels which keep decrying such shows only because that gives them an excuse to play the visuals from these shows, mount protracted discussions and draw viewers to their own channels. It is manifestly clear that nobody in the media has been interested in self-regu
As the controversy surrounding microfinance companies in India refuses to die down, a new report scalds the sector saying that it has drifted away from the focus of its work - social good. “The poor do not seem to figure highly in their scheme of things,” the report says. The report titled ‘Microfinance India: State of the Sector Report 2010’ also question
The man may still not be the foreign office’s answer to E Sreedharan. He certainly deserves the MVC for bravery. His mission is to do “strange” things like listening and engaging with people across the world. Strange because most rational diplomats would think Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are either for their kids or radioactive no-brainers for trouble. Some maintain dis
In its latest report, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) paints a bleak picture of global unemployement rceovery, calling it ‘volatile and uneven.’ The report says, “In 2010, the global economy seems to have entered into a new stage where divergence and volatility in number of labour markets have significantly increased and uncertainty over the stability of recovery r
On the face of it, the Manmohan Singh government seems to have acted against Ashok Chavan and Suresh Kalmadi for their alleged involvement in corrupt deals, by removing one from the chief ministership of Maharashtra and the other from party’s parliamentary party. Given the opposition party’s unrelenting campaign and the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (
As minister of state, Salman Khurshid holds independent charge of the ministries of corporate affairs and of minority affairs. Educated at the St. Stephen’s and Oxford, the 57-year-old advocate is a busy man as he has set out to overhaul the regulation framework for the corporate sector with the new Companies Bill. His views on corporate social responsibility have also le
At times a one-line candid remark exposes political hypocrisy more than several reams of written words. This happened when Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar gave a simple “piece of advice” to aspiring Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi to learn a lesson or two in governance by becoming a chief minister first before giving lectures about development in Bihar. That the message went home
Much as the rest of the world would have you believe about the little freedom and respect accorded to women in Islamic countries, India fares worse than both Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "81 percent women in Pakistan are treated with respect as compared to 79 percent in India. Even Bangladesh - with 86 percen
You get to know when the boss is displeased. Either you are summoned for an explanation or, if the boss is really angry, you are given the snub of snubs and left to live in constant fear of an execution without so much as a trial and an opportunity to mount your defence. Readers of mafia thrillers are familiar with this drill. So are inhabitants of the world’s largest democracy.
Is there any hope for people’s movements these days? Cynics surely would have an upper hand in a debate on this question. There are too many examples of failed protests. So here is a counter-example, from the land of the Mahatma – or of Modi, depending on how you look at it. Gujarat’s ruling BJP swept local-body elections last month, capturing all major municipali
The alacrity with which the CBI approached the supreme court after Amit Shah was granted bail is only illustrative of the supine nature of the country’s premier investigative agency. Shah, former home minister of Gujarat, was jailed for his involvement in the brutal killing of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi by the state police. The CBI has been probing Shah’s complicity in
Ahead of US president Barack Obama`s landmark India visit, an influential US think tank has asked him to endorse New Delhi`s quest for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. "The White House should endorse India`s quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council," said the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "This bold
If somebody were to tell you that the solution to the Kashmir imbroglio will have to be found outside the ambit of the constitution, you will dismiss the suggestion without so much as a second thought. If the same is said by somebody authorised by the central government, though, it is a matter of serious concern. The three-member team of interlocutors sent by the centre to the valley has r
While most foreign policy experts see a possible signing of the N-liability accord between India and the US as a turning point in the relationship between both nations, the Carnegie endowment for International Peace claims that not much may come off it - definitely not a Indo-US partnership. The report authored by Gerorge perkovich for the Washington-based foreign policy think ta
India has slipped to 87th spot in Transparency International`s latest ranking of nations based on the level of corruption, with the global watchdog asserting that perceptions about corruption in the country increased in the wake of the scam-tainted Commonwealth Games. Transparency International`s `Corruption Perception Index` report covering the public sector in 178 countries sho
As ideas go, anarchism is a worthy one. Though the name has a bit of negative connotation, all it says is that the state is a nasty construct that is bound to give rise to inequalities and exploitation of its citizens. Tolstoy, Gandhi and Chomsky are proto-anarchists in one sense or other. If Arundhati Roy imagines herself as an independent mobile republic outside the Indian state, there&r
Brij Mohan Bansal, chairman and director (planning & business development) of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, helms India’s largest commercial enterprise (turnover: about $57 billion for 2009-10). How does he manage a public sector unit that is also the only Indian firm to rank in the prestigious Fortune ‘Global 500’ list? What is his larger vision for this fi
Even though government budgets are rationing of public money for governance, Indians do not get to know much about the budgets that the government presents annual budget. Indian budget is still not fully open to public, says a survey conducted by the Centre for Budget and Government Accountability (CBGA) and Washington based International Budget Partnership (IBP).
Jean Dreze, development economist and a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) which finalized its recommendations on the proposed food security law, has aptly summed up the final outcome in his dissent note: “An opportunity has been missed to initiate a radical departure in this field. The NAC proposals are a great victory for the government – they allow it to appear to be d
Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, has claimed in a newspaper interview that he can win from anywhere if and when he chooses to contest an election. The businessman from Moradabad known for supplying the marital surname to Priyanka Gandhi did not rule out the prospect of joining politics at a later date but added that he would do so only when he felt he could mak
