On May 4th, 2010, Andhra Pradesh government sanctioned Rs 6 lakh to the state information commission as membership fee for the latter to join National Federation of Information Commissions in India (NFICI). Registered as a society over a year ago and headquartered in Hyderabad, NFICI is an association of information commissions (not commissioners) which is meant to be “a permanent
The setting swiftly transports you to the screen classic Sholay. In this landscape dotted with evocative rocky outcrop, you can hear the hair-raising thud of heavy boots punctuated by razor-sharp dialogue, all played out on a stereophonic soundtrack within the recesses of your mind. You shudder at the prospect of a close encounter with a Gabbar Singh, with a Sambha somewhere up there and an arr
Ajay Mathur, the director general of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), has been taking a number of initiatives to fulfill the mandate of his organisation. The bureau now plans to set up funds to help companies to get energy efficiency measures financed. Innovation centres are also being set up by the bureau to further the development of energy efficient products suited to
Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) and the management led by Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental obviously do not enjoy a cordial relationship, as is borne out by the recent confrontations between the two sides. So one should expect salvos fired from both sides. But using students as a shield or a weapon in this battle is crossing the limits of propriety – analogous to a violat
Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast on Tuesday a handsome 8.2 per cent GDP growth for India, but cautioned that policy makers will have to do a tight balancing act to protect growth from rising prices. “India’s rebound from the global crisis is set to accelerate in 2010, with estimated growth of 8.2 per cent, although rising price pressures present a challenge to policy ma
On his website Suresh Kalmadi informs us modestly that “As President of the Indian Olympic Association, (he) got the country the first-ever gold medal in individual event (sic) at the Beijing Olympic (sic) 2008.” Perhaps it is the same modesty that prevents him from mentioning that he has also overseen the decline and fall of Indian hockey, made a mockery of the government&rsq
By continuing with his plan to amend the RTI Act, 2005, riding roughshod over public sentiment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not only seeking to emasculate India’s most pro-people legislation ever enacted, but is also shamelessly going back on his word. “Any amendments to the RTI Act would be considered only after completing consultation with all the stakeholders and wit
Scan the news channels or the newspapers for update on the current parliament session and you will come across these headlines screaming at you: “Lok Sabha adjourned over Mumbai railway strike”, “Parliament adjourns twice after uproar over 2G spectrum issue”, “Parliament adjourned over phone-tapping issue” and so on. The list is endless. The previ
In the coming 20 years, India needs to invest $2.2 trillion (Rs 97.35 lakh crore) on its cities to meet the urban infrastructure demands, the global consultancy firm McKinsey says in its latest report. The study further states that 40 percent of India’s population - an estimated 590 million population is likely to live in the cities by year 2030. In its report – Indi
The Indian economy is growing at eight-plus percent but all is not well for most people making up the economy. In this country, 1.83 million children die every year before reaching the age of five and close to 70,000 women lose their lives due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. These are the findings of the State of the World’s Mothers report prepared by the childrights organisatio
I have not been able to figure out why an artist’s personal choice, as a citizen or as an artist, should cause a deep political divide. If M F Husain decided to barter his nationality for whatever reasons – lofty existentialist or base commercial – it should have been ideally treated as his own business; especially when the artist himself, while taking the decision, did
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
