Delhites, despite the pains and harassment the authorities have subjected them to in the name of CWG preparation, are backing the Games - or so a report says. “Delhiites seem to be now wishing to see a successful Commonwealth Games to restore the prestige of the nation,” says FICCI CWG survey. “74 percent people expect Delhi to be a better place t
As India tries to salvage the Commonwealth Games from stained walls and other infrastructure inadequacies, a report suggests the mess might just cost India 90 billion dollars. With just five days left for the Games, the world now questions India on megaproject management capability, says the study done by Delhi based think tank – Imagindia Institute which is studying the image and geopoli
India`s IT superpower image has received a hit as a report reveals that 84 percent of people in rural India are completely unaware of the existence of the internet. The study was conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and market research firm IMRB across villages in seven states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Prade
At a time when illegal mining and export of iron ore has become a political hot potato, union steel minister Virbhadra Singh has put his weight behind those favouring a ban on such exports. Singh also has a role to play in dealing with the vexed question of balancing the interests of the mining and steel industry with the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the communities th
The gallows in my garden, people say, Is new and neat and adequately tall; I tie the noose on in a knowing way As one that knots his necktie for a ball; But just as all the neighbours - on the wall - /Are drawing a long breath to shout “Hurray!” The
The shocking revelation of the prolonged sexual abuse of a 12 year old school-going girl (and her two younger brothers) by the driver of a private cab is just a pointer to a much larger and more serious problem, suggests a survey of the young girls. The survey found that and 69 percent of the girls surveyed felt cities offer an unsafe and insecure living environment and 74 percen
Don’t mess with us. Don’t dare call the mess at Commonwealth Games village mess. Don’t forget your diplomatic manners as guests even if we do not begin to understand ours as the host. Don’t forget we are among the largest markets in the world. India is repeatedly sending out such not-so-covert messages to the foreign contingents that have started arriving for the
India is the third most powerful nation in the world, an official US report says. India is placed after the US and China in the power list. The new report by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union`s Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) was released this week. The report titled ‘Global Governance 2025’ predicts India’s p
Two United Nations report on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have called for greater cooperation among the countries around to world to meet anti-poverty goals while a British think tank report talked about considerable progress made by India on meeting MDGs. Here are three reports. United Nations report The UN report talk
K N Govindacharya, a nearly-forgotten ideologue of Hindutva, can justifiably claim credit for having introduced some new words in the Indian political lexicon. He had used the expression “chehra (face), chaal (conduct) and chartitra (character)” to emphasise that the BJP was a status-quoist political party not interested in social transformation. Ironically, Prime Minister Manmohan
India’s budgetary allocations for achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is inadequate, says a new study. “In its last two budgets, the Union Government had taken an expansionary fiscal stance to deal with the challenges emerging from the global financial crisis during 2008-09 and 2009-10. However the 2010-11 Budget underscores its intent to revert to the path
India’s budgetary allocations for achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are inadequate, says a new study. “In its last two budgets, the union government had taken an expansionary fiscal stance to deal with the challenges emerging from the global financial crisis during 2008-09 and 2009-10. However the 2010-11 budget underscores its intent to revert to the pat
If infrastructure is the edifice on which India`s dream double-digit GDP growth rests, roads are its backbone. Surface transport and highways minister Kamal Nath is leading the mammoth exercise of strengthening that backbone with his own dream within a dream: to build 20 km of roads every day. In this exclusive interview with Sweta Ranjan, the no-nonsense minister takes on questions about his p
Whenever the CPI (Maoist) engages the paramilitary and police forces resulting in some killings the media, particularly the electronic media, goes gaga about it for two or three days. TV channels conduct high-pitched debates scorning Indian Maoists as terrorists to be bumped off using even the army and air force. But when the operating security forces kill adivasis and Maoists among them, the n
India`s tiger conservation policy, under Project Tiger, has been the most successful programme towards conservation of the big cat, according to a new study. “Beginning in the early 1970s, conservation initiatives helped establish a large number of tiger reserves, particularly in India, Nepal, and, to a lesser extent, in Thailand, Indonesia, and Russia,” the study sai
My wager: The unthinkable may happen. That too in Bihar. Without much noise, new chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi has armed himself with tools that give him a fighting chance against illicit polling expenses, arguably the core malaise afflicting our elections. It is common knowledge that the prescribed limit of Rs 10 lakh per assembly candidate is flouted openly.
The BJP’s state of affairs is akin to a rudderless ship drifting aimlessly in a turbulent sea. While party stalwart L K Advani advises caution on the prospective Ayodhya verdict by the Allahabad high court, a section of the BJP leaders backed by the RSS-VHP has been aggressively strident. Similarly, if a section of the moderate BJP leaders seems keen to keep the BJP-JD(U) a
R Bandyopadhyay, secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), is focused on bringing in contemporary management practices into Indian industry. The 1974 IAS officer of West Bengal cadre served as secretary of the department of public enterprises, where the number of navratna companies grew from 12 to 18 during his tenure. At MCA, ever since he took over last September, Bandyo
India`s economic growth may or may not be a white elephant but the slum population in the country is reaching a mammoth size. The slum population has risen by as much as around 23 percent since 2001, says a new study prepared by the government of India. The government committee headed by Dr Pranob Sen, principal adviser, Planning Commission found that there has been a gro
Indian Constitution is all-encompassing, it has provisions for all. In fact the Indian Constitution is said to be one of the most sought after, when it comes to enactments, provisions and mandates. India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1992; it is under this that the provisions for entitlement of child rights and their enactment started coming into pictu
