More people in India have access to a cell phone than to a toilet and improved sanitation, according to a United Nations University study. “366 million people (31 percent of the population) in India had access to improved sanitation in 2008 while 545 million people have working cell phones thanks to its booming emerging economy,” points out the study. “The numbe
Much has been made over the last few months regarding the passage and launch of the Right to Education Act and what it holds for the future of children’s education—access, quality, inclusion—in India. Although there are many critics and indifferent pundits—and the fact that the RTE may fall short of directly addressing working children and children living and worki
Even if you are just an occasional TV-watcher, you wouldn`t have missed the series of Surf Excel ads with the catchline: Agar daag se kuch achcha hota hai, toh daag achche hain (which roughly translates to "if you stain your clothes trying to help somebody, then you better stain your clothes"). If you have not seen it yet, click on the video above. Now, you mig
At a time when Indo-Pakistan relations are somewhat subdued, Pakistan`s former information and broadcasting minister Sherry Rehman feels that there is too much communication gap between the two neighbours and that does not bode well for good governance in South Asia. Talking exclusively to Governance Now, Rehman says positive investment investment is needed in this regard. She was in New De
In Mario Puzo`s ‘Godfather’, the Sicilian mafia thrives on the culture of Omerta, or the code of silence. The consequence of violating this code is invariably a swift and ruthless execution of the non-conformist. The Indian political class appears to have devised a new model of political Omerta, which not only ensures silence but also gives protection to rivals for a bargain.
I am so impressed with P Chidambaram. Not only has he trotted down to the site of the CRPF massacre but he even took the salute with his hand squashed across his forehead at the CRPF parade and stood near the bodies of the dead and cheered up the wounded and then showed the gravel in his gut by resigning because the buck stopped at his desk. The buck, he said, stops here. The buck, he roared, g
In the cacophony of the IPL saga, a more serious scam has just surfaced. More serious because it involves health and lives of more than 1.3 billion Indians. In terms of money it does not match up to the IPL rip off, but its effects, fallout and ramifications are much wider and more somber. The Medical Council of India (MCI) chief and two of his cohorts were arrested today by CBI on charges of c
Anil K. Gupta, professor at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is better known for his work on nurturing and promoting innovation at the grassroots level. He is executive vice-chairperson of National Innovation Foundation (NIF). He also heads the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI). It was at the historic Mughal Gard
Even as India makes significant progress in many areas, child marriages continue to be rampant in some states. At least 50 percent women in the country get married before attaining the age of 18 years, says a study done by the Population Council of India. Bihar figures worst in the report as 77 percent of the girls were married even before they were 15, it says. T
Maruti has rolled out its millionth vehicle manufactured within fiscal 2009-10. Any global car giant would love to hold a 50 percent share of the Indian passenger car market that Maruti does. There is a lesson here on how a company can prosper even if it has the president of India as a shareholder. In fact, Maruti is a template on just how our much maligned politicians and bureaucra
With the travel and tourism industry in India expected to grow at 8.2 percent between 2010 and 2019, it`s time the government paid attention to agri-tourism, says a report released by Assocham and Yes bank. “With India predominantly an agrarian society and rural India struggling to keep pace with the breakneck development, agri-based tourism is an opportunity that can facili
Indian economy is projected to grow at 8.8 percent, says the International Monetary Fund in its latest report. It further adds that the Indian growth story will be supported by resurgence in demand from the working class on the back of resilient business confidence that will result in more investments. The IMF also appreciated India’s efforts to tighten its monetary policy.
You have to give it to the Congress. This party knows how to turn personal vendetta into a pious national mission. Look at Mission Modi, for example. The whole party, many ministers and almost all the government`s scary alphabets -- IT, ED, DRI, IB, CLB, RAW -- are out to get him, and the way things are going, get him they will. I have no equity in IPL, neither do I know a
People of Beit Jala, a Palestinian village, have probably not read Arundhati Roy`s 32-pager call to arms. She, on her part, probably does not know what they are up to. The Beit Jala people, according to a BBC report, have been attempting a kind of satyagraha before armed Israeli soldiers. Organisers are training people
“The Union Government’s expenditure on adaptation to climate change shows a paltry increase from 1.7 percent of GDP in 2006-07 to 2.7 percent of GDP in 2009-10,” says a report prepared by the Centre for Budget and Government Accountability (CBGA) and Oxfam India. The study points out that the policy framework on adaptation put forth in the National Action Plan on Clima
This open-mouthed admiration for Lalit Modi as the whiz who made a business out of cricket is getting to me. Of course, the IPL (Indian Premier League) is a money spinner and is giving the EPLs of the world a run for their money. But when we credit Lalit Modi for this brilliant marriage of cricket, movie stars and the megabucks, we thrust greatness upon a man who is just a
On March 6, I made an e-mail request to Nandan Nilekani for an interview. Barely an hour later, came his reply suggesting that I should get in touch with his colleague Srikar and within no time the interview was scheduled for 11 am on April 8. On April 8, when we reached the office of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the heart of New Delhi, we did not have to
He was neither a legislator nor a leader in any sense of the term. In the police records, he was an out and out gangster leading a band of criminals and responsible for murders in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Yet Mukhtar Ansari used to live like a king in Ghazipur district jail in 1995. On a summer day, a team of reporters from Lucknow found Ansari literally cooling his heels in the jail as a large c
Among all insurgent groups in India, the Maoists are the worst violators of human rights, says a study. “The Maoists have been responsible for brutal killing of their hostages after abduction,” the report says. The report was released last Tuesday by the Asian Centre for Human Rights, a New Delhi based human rights watchdog. It adds that killing and extortion by the Maoists
This open-mouthed admiration for Lalit Modi as the whiz who made a business out of cricket is getting to me. Of course, the IPL (Indian Premier League) is a money spinner and is giving the EPLs of the world a run for their money. But when we credit Lalit Modi for this brilliant marriage of cricket, movie stars and the megabucks, we thrust greatness upon a man who is just a goo
