Chaudhary Charan Singh is arguably one of the most enigmatic political personalities of independent India. His political life, effectively covering five decades (1937-87), borrows the best from the freedom struggle led by stalwarts of the Gandhi-Nehru era, even as it leaves a dubious legacy for his political successors. Truly, this former prime minister is an enigma that gets adequately unravel
The department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) recently released the draft policy on Internet of Things (IoT, interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded devices). To understand the technology better, Shubhendu Parth speaks to Dr Kevin Curran on how IoT can impact governance. Curran, who is known for his work on location positioning within indoor environments, pervasive
Some issues related to the pradhan mantri jan dhan yojana (PMJDY) have surfaced which even the RBI governor has flagged, like duplication of accounts. How do you plan to ensure effective implementation of the scheme and solving these problems? We are aware of it, but it might have happened because some people may have felt that by opening an account under PMJDY th
An electrical engineer from Delhi University, AK Purwaha, as chairman and managing director, has led Engineers India Ltd to new heights. One of south Asia’s leading design and engineering organisations, EIL has spread its wings further under him. From being an engineering solutions consultancy company focused on oil, gas, petrochemical and non-ferrous metallurgy industries, EIL has now di
The Narendra Modi juggernaut continues to move forward. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as a victor in the Maharashtra and Haryana vidhan sabha elections, the Modi phenomenon is pushing political opponents towards political irrelevance. Setback for coalition politics The results of the vidhan sabha elections indicate that the electorat
I have always doubted the genuineness of the ‘audience-poll’ lifeline that Amitabh Bachchan gives his ‘hot-seat’ participant at his popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). I question the authenticity of the practice when the participant decides his answer on the basis of what the majority of the audience present at the show chooses to be the right answer.
What’s so auspicious about October 17, 2014 that the Narendra Modi government decided to go to the supreme court and filed an application stating that names of people with black money in foreign bank accounts cannot be revealed due to restrictions under the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA)? It’s not as if the government, its ministers and mandarins, woke up yesterd
The monsoon clouds that had arrived earlier this year would soon be retreating, marking the end of yet another cycle of rain. Meanwhile, the cloud (computing) direction papers that the government of India had brought out earlier this year are awaiting an effective formation. Cloud computing seems to have moved quite a bit in terms of enterprise adoption ever since the government announce
Land is at the centre of the big debate in India, as more and more farming land is going to industry. But what if land is not necessary for farming? Though it sounds impossible, it has been done, and done successfully in places ranging from Dubai to Singapore. The man behind this technology, Dr Yuichi Mori, was originally doing his research in membrane technology used in healthcare, which he le
The Digital India agenda has created opportunities for many ministries and departments of the government to come together and develop integrated solutions. But many technology providers, and indeed even some policy planners, have begun to consider Digital India opportunity as synonymous to the development of smart cities and the “Internet of Everything”. In reality, t
Muhammad Saleem Beg has served as director-general, tourism, in Jammu and Kashmir and also headed the state chapter of INTACH before being elevated to the statutory commission involved in protecting India’s rich cultural and archeological wealth. Hailing from Srinagar, Beg spoke to Governance Now about the recent Kashmir flood. Excerpts: How much of the flood in Kashmir wa
Prime minister Narendra Modi may or may not have put the so-called gag order on his ministers from interacting with the media. While there is no confirmation on any such official gag order, reporters covering ministries, and even cabinet committee briefings, talk about such an order from the highest echelons. The idea, it appears, is to prevent the ministers from putting their fo
Demands have been raised for a judicial inquiry into the recent floods in Jammu and Kashmir. Two reasons are being given to argue that it was a manmade disaster – construction of a road-cum-dam that caused more than 20 percent blockade in the flow of the river and the delayed opening of the flood gates of the Dal. The question is whether these are primary or contributory causes of the dis
To my mind, more important than the Narendra Modi bandwagon’s huge US success, the Oscar for courage, conviction and commitment goes to a man called John Michael D’Cunha. He is a judge in the Bangalore special court looking into the disproportionate assets case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, and is the first judicial official in the history of our c
A few years back there were half a million websites in India. Only 20,000, however, were in Indian languages. Today there are over nine million websites, but the number of websites in local languages has lagged behind. Sending and receiving emails in multiple Indian languages was introduced many years back. Since then, however, except for a moderate growth in the use of local languages in socia
The unmitigated arrogance of the returning NRI. Instant coffee observations. Begins at the airport where the stampede out of the aircraft is viewed with globally travelled contempt. Then the slowness of the Immigration, way down from the impressive speed of the recent past. Empty seats beyond the counter, like pulled-out teeth, greet the Indian traveller. Narendra Modi’s ma
On September 18, Sam Kahamba Kutesa of Uganda took over as the president of the UN General Assembly for its 69th session. He was elected to the post in June. He proposed Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda as the theme for the session. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said the role of the 69th Assembly president will be “especially important during
BJP wipes out a huge BE (Brand Equity) gained (for itself) in a day - in just a day. Alas it deprives us all – all Indians – a very good chance of reaping the benefit from the noble thought of the Prime Minister – Shri Narendra Modi. That thought was indeed exemplary and highly actionable. For sure,
As India readies to develop 100 smart cities, the national institute of urban affairs (NIUA) is bound to play a crucial role in the ambitious project. Established in 1976, it is a premier agency for research and training in urban governance. It enjoys the support of the ministry of urban development, states, urban and regional development authorities and other agencies. Its director Jagan Shah,
They should take the Statue of Liberty and ship it to England. Not so much for taking in of the wretched and the poor but certainly for the less than huddled masses who are currently taking the whiplash of empire building to the cleaners under a system called the `welfare state.` Whenever I visit England I am amazed at the incredible tolerance with which the people accept the bla
