Driving at 110 kmph on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway is hardly the place to carp about the decisions of the almighty babus managing our national highways strategy. But apart from the smooth ride on some select highways, whim and nepotism is fast becoming the rule of the game. So much so that the babus seem callous about the obsession of their boss, minister of road transport and highways Ka
There are more poor in eight Indian states tahn there are in 26 African countries, according to a report brought out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford university. The study says that there are more poor people as per Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in eight Indian states - a total of around 421 million in the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mad
Not only is the Indian quality of life lamentable, we as a nation suffer from low end-of-life care also, says a new survey. It placed India at the bottom of the table of 40 nations surveyed. The report - “Quality of Death” index was prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Shamingly, India is placed below Uganda in the list of 40 countries. The report mentioned th
The newspapers, sometime back, carried the picture of a security personnel, lying on the ground and half a dozen young hooligans beating him with sticks, in Srinagar. Nobody was trying to stop such elements from thrashing the helpless policeman. I was reminded of my tenure as inspector general of police, in Srinagar, during the worst period of 1988, when the terrorists had kidnapped the
Indian metros - despite their sheen inside India - have not found a spot among the top 20 cities to live in globally. None of the Indian cities did well on any of the five key indicators considered in a study, whose eresluts are reflected in the rankings. The study took stock of five key livability indicators – good governance, urban infrastructure, environmental friendlin
Unspeakable - that`s how bad the state of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games is, as the Delhi chief minister has rightly realised. So, Sheila Dikshit has asked her ministers to keep their comments on the same to themselves if the media were to bait them for a byte, according to a Hindustan Times report. It is a very, very sensible move given that it offers us an escape from having to l
There is no escape from the reservation genie. The Supreme Court has, by allowing Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to continue with their 69 percent and 73 percent quotas, respectively, for another year, created an opportunity for other states to exceed the 50 percent ceiling that it had laid down earlier in the Indira Sawhney case in 1992. The apex court has now asked these two state governments to pr
Let me begin with a caveat. It is no one’s case that sporting events are unnecessary. But when a sporting event becomes a vehicle for misinformation and meeting questionable ends, one can’t help but sit up and take notice. We as part of our ongoing research and advocacy for the revival for the river Yamuna got unwittingly embroiled in challenging the wisdom of the powers th
If you want to know what the Indian government does not want you to know about Swiss banks` operations, let`s begin with some backgrounder. Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) is in a severe crisis over charges of financial frauds, being accessory to money laundering and huge losses in the US. Barack Obama has put pressure on Swiss banks, threatening sanctions on the entire Swiss economy aft
Trafficking in India is largely internal - an intra-national racket with rural areas serving as sources and cities serving as transit points and destinations. The United States has put India on Tier II watch list for the seventh consecutive year in its report saying that India has not done enough to prevent labour trafficking particularly bonded labour. India is one level better
Pawan Kumar Bansal, minister for water resources as well as for parliamentary affairs, is a seasoned parliamentarian. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha during 1984-90, he was elected to the Lok Sabha and now he is in his fourth term in the lower house. In an interview with Sweta Ranjan, he spoke candidly about issues relating to both the ministries he handles.
Bureaucrats have spent a large part of summer discussing who will be the next cabinet secretary. Putting an end to their collective misery, K M Chandrasekhar, the present incumbent, has secured another extension. This gives him a fourth year in saddle. I’m told it’s a record among 28 cab secs that we’ve had, equalled only by Y S Suthankar and B D Pande. Chandrasekhar’s d
It was the same story which is retold in Delhi every monsoon. Just a downpour and the city again came to a standstill. Traffic from the office hubs to residential colonies did not move for hours. Those who wanted to avoid getting stuck in their private vehicles opted for public transport, thus straining the already over-crowded metro trains and buses. Waterlogged roads with just 21.2mm
It is not at all common or usual for a minister to take a principled stand; or having taken it, to stick his or her neck out to defend that position. In that sense, environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh’s position on a few contentious issues is admirable. His refusal to bow to pressure from his cabinet colleagues in the aviation, power and surface transport ministr
Most Indian men are likely to think that their right to a job should supersede that of women during tough economic times. A study by the American think tank – Pew research Centre said that 84 percent of Indian males say that `men should receive preferential treatment when jobs are scarce.’ India is ranked ahead of countries like Pakistan (82 percent), Nigeria (77 percent), E
Sharad Pawar has never been particularly known for giving up anything, least of all power and portfolios. Yet, on Monday, a few days after taking over as the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC), he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to request the latter to “reduce the burden” of his ministerial work. “Burden”, did you say Mr Pawar? The responsi
Financial sector stalwart and HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh speaks on bureaucracy, judiciary, lobbying and other issues. Excerpts from an interview: What makes Deepak Parekh the man at whom the government look up to in the time of crisis? There are many points of views always and there are differences of opinion. Ultimately decisions have to be taken in life
India may be touted as one of the most-preferred medical tourism destinations in the world but a report highlighting its poor surgical facilities may take some of the shine off. A recent study shows that the surgical facilities in India and Pakistan are very poor, as two countries have just 1.3 OTs per 100,000 people. There is an acute absence of basic surgical equipments in the operat
Delhi is the amongst the worst cities in the world when it comes to traffic, says a IBM study - the ‘Commuter Pain Study’. The study says that bad traffic affects the productivity of nearly 40 percent of the city`s commuters adversely. The traffic congestion in cities across the world has increased in the last three years, the study noted. Beijing and Mexico
Money seems to have lost its shock value. Even in a country where 80% of the population lives on less than $2 or Rs 95 a day as per World Bank estimates. Else, why wouldn’t anybody be surprised over the Rs 9 lakh (some papers reported Rs 2 lakh) that the Nagaland home minister Imkong L Imchen was reportedly found carrying in a suitcase at Kathmandu airport? The media duly reported that th
