Bimal Jalan, a former RBI governor, feels that PMJDY is a very “good idea” and with the intelligent use of technology it can be a useful instrument for financial inclusion. In a telephonic interview with Shishir Tripathi, Jalan says he does not see any “fault lines” that can challenge the implementation of Modi’s ambit
The assembly elections in Bihar are round the corner and parties are gearing up for action. After few hiccups, Sharad Yadav announced that RJD-JDU and Congress will fight the assembly elections in Bihar together. BJP is doing all kinds of calculations to make a statement in this poll. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a prominent face of BJP from Bihar and Union Minister for Skill Development
Ranjan Dhawan, executive director of Bank of Baroda, was entrusted with the additional charge of the managing director and CEO of the public sector banking giant on February 27. Before joining BoB as executive director in November 2012, he was the chief general manager of Punjab National Bank. With its vast network, BoB is a crucial player for financial inclusion.
Do you want to be recognized by the world as a record-breaker? You can do it: take eight steps: 1. Choose a record. 2. Contact Guinness. 3. Follow the guidelines they send you. 4. Recruit an expert just in case you need adjudication. 5. Collect evidence. 6. Send it to Guinness. 7. Wait. 8. On getting a decision, celebrate – or commit suicide. I should clarify that the last three wor
Delhi saw a significant ozone build-up this summer, which is adding to the public health risk, claims an analysis by a Delhi based NGO, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The real time air quality data analysis by CSE shows that Delhi
SS Mundra took charge as the RBI deputy governor on July 31 last year. Previously, he was chairman and managing director of the second largest bank, Bank of Baroda, where he had started out in 1977 as a probationary officer. At the central bank, he looks after banking supervision, currency management, financial stability, rural credit and customer service. In an interview w
Much has been said about gold in the recent past - India’s almost unwavering demand for gold, the impact it has on our import bill, the impact it has on our current account deficit and why India needs a gold policy. Yet, no one can deny that India’s largest untapped potential is gold. The affinity to the yellow metal has not waned over generations. On the contrary, deep-rooted socio
Urvashi Butalia is a publisher who along with Ritu Menon had co-founded Kali for Women, India’s first feminist publishing house in 1984. After the closure of Kali, she founded Zubaan as an imprint of Kali for Women, and continues to publish books on, for, by and about women in South Asia. She is a consultant for Oxfam India and has written prolifically on gen
Since the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991 an issue has been prominently raised by the government that huge investment is needed to boost economic growth. It is assumed that once economic growth takes place, employment and income of workers in the country will correspondingly increase, thereby reducing present unemployment. However, there is a great impediment to investm
If the prime minister’s vision comes true, by 2022 every family will have a pukka house with water and electricity connections. The Sardar Patel urban housing mission aims at making India slum-free in these seven years. Nandita Chatterjee, secretary, ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (MHUPA), talks to Puja Bhattacharjee about the chall
A year ago, there were people even outside BJP who made it their own mission to see Narendra Modi as prime minister. Today, many of them are restless and impatient. And yet Modi remains popular; a survey in May found 74 percent of Indians backing him as PM. How do we make sense of this paradox? One factor that can explain the situation is that there is nobody around to challenge him and take hi
The approval by Sri Lanka’s parliament last month of the 19th constitutional amendment represents a historic landmark in that country’s governance. Its implications stretch well beyond Sri Lanka and deserve the attention of governance reformers in India and elsewhere. The amendment is part of a broad programme of reforms launched by president Maithrapala Sirisena, who was a surprise
A Padma Bhushan recipient and prominent Gandhian of our times, Justice CS Dharmadhikari joined the Quit India moment when he was only 14. A career lawyer and judge, he retired as acting chief justice of Bombay high court in 1989 after delivering landmark judgments on women’s rights, children and prisoners. He has authored many books in Hindi, Marathi and English and a
While the world becomes more connected through all kinds of communication modes, around 1.1 billion people across the globe still live without electricity, reveals a World Bank report. The report, ‘Progress Towards Sustainable Energy: Global Tracking Framework 2015’ reveals that around 2.9 billion people (which is more than the population of India and China combined)
Forming an opinion about someone comes easy. In fact, it’s second nature. Forming an opinion on their life or death doesn`t appear to be too difficult either. Even if we`ve never met them. On Monday morning as news came in from Mumbai`s King Edward Memorial hospital that Aruna Shanbaug was no more, India was caught up in the euthanasia debate, hastily opining on an issue ne
The strikingly red CPM flag with the sickle and hammer pasted on the board behind Yechury is peeling off despite the adhesive-tape pasted around it, very symptomatic of the party’s situation in the country. As the new party chief, he faces an uphill task of galvanising the party and strengthening its capacity to influence Indian politics. In an interview with Shubhendhu Parth
Cuba-born Alfred de Zayas, an American lawyer, writer, activist, expert in human rights and international law, has been the UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, also known as Special Rapporteur, since 2012. He worked as a senior lawyer with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during 1981-2003. In an wi
Since its rollout in 2012, the passport seva project has made the process of issuing passports hassle-free and quick. In an interaction with Pratap Vikram Singh, Pardeshi talks about the challenges in streamlining the process and curbing the role of intermediaries. How satisfactory has been the work of passport seva kendras (PSKs) over the years?
May Day is an occasion to take stock of the situation as far as workers are concerned. The day refers to the struggle in 1886 in Chicago, where the demand was of eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours of recreation. The essence of the whole demand was that there should be a limit to the exploitation of workers. Before mechanisation, it used to be a dawn-to-dusk affair for work
The RTI Act has caught the imagination of people and the way it has spread is appreciated and admired around the world. A great change has come in India in the last decade in the power equation between the sovereign citizens and those in power. This change is just beginning and if we can sustain and strengthen it, our defective elective democracy can metamorphose into a truly participatory demo
