In a complex country like India, where imaginative leaders are needed to make the best of emergent realities, Manmohan Singh failed to provide that thrust. Prof Valerian Rodrigues, who teaches political science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, tells Trithesh Nandan that the prime minister made everything centralised, leaving enormous burden on the next prime minister. Edited
Can a chief minister go on strike? Can he drive up to the federal government in an official car and publicly protest? What is happening in Delhi? Is this what Kejriwal meant by ‘sweeping’ clean? Is the man really going on strike because the police did not frisk four Ugandan women on the high handed orders of his law minister Somnath Bharti. Frisk, frisk, cavity sea
Does Arvind Kejriwal require security, and if yes, under which category from X to Z? That could well be a debate on media – of the social, traditional and 9 o’clock talk TV variety. But it becomes a bit of a glitch when politicians (both from government and the opposition) start dancing to the tune, almost ready to tap min SMS answers to some online poll, and even courts and
Will history be kind to Manmohan Singh? Yes, believes Prof GK Chadha, former vice-chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and now president of South Asian University, who was one of the earliest students of Manmohan Singh. He spoke with Trithesh Nandan at length about the prime minister’s legacy. Edited excerpts from the interview: Do you thin
Dr Ajay Kumar is a 1985 batch Indian administrative service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Kumar was heading the IT department in Kerala as principal secretary before taking over as joint secretary of the department of electronics and information technology (DeitY). When he joined DeitY, the department didn’t have electronics division. He was instrumental in the
On July 21 last year, The Times of India wrote that entertainment channels can be fined up to Rs 30 lakh for violations of the programming code. "This move was formalised in a meeting of the IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) board held on July 19. Any channel found violating the advisories or guidelines or repeatedly flouting the programme code can be fined to the tune of Rs 30
The newly-elected government of Delhi claims it is not political. On numerous occasions, leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have denied having anything to do with rajneeti; they claim they are here to serve the people and janta ki sewa is what they are going to do come what may. Yesterday, even after contesting on a reserved seat, Rakhi Birla, a dalit MLA from the party,
Professor Rajat Moona is a graduate in electrical engineering from IIT Kanpur and holds a PhD degree in computer science and automation from IISc Bangalore. He is a teacher and a scientist with several patents and research papers to his credit. As the director general of the centre for development of advanced computing (C-DAC), he has been instrumental in finalising the specifications for Aakas
Most crimes are a function of the kind of people we have in our society. The occurrence of crime will not stop even if you have honest and efficient policemen in good numbers. While investigation of crime and bringing offenders to book is a function of the police department, its deterrent value to stop crimes is limited. To give an example, if Tarun Tejpal did something in the lift, what could
Till a few years ago, polio was not uncommon in India. But there has not been a single case of polio in the last three years, and India will be declared polio-free in March 2014. Rotary International, the service organisation working for humanitarian causes, has also contributed in large measure to this achievement. Gary Huang, the president-elect of Rotary International, was particularly impre
The other day, on Twitter, former chief of army staff VK Singh saluted our fallen soldiers in ‘Sudan’. Since I track the region, I questioned the general, requested him to respect the difference between two sovereign nations: ‘Sudan’, which he had absent-mindedly referred to, and ‘South Sudan’, where two Indian peacekeepers serving the UN Mission in South Sud
Women have always been sound financial managers and yet they own only 1 percent of the individual assets in the country. In an interview with Srishti Pandey, Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD of the newly opened Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the country’s first all-women public sector bank, talks about why it is important to bring out the money kept in the ‘masala dabbas’
Satyapal Singh wanted to become a scientist – he did his MPhil in chemistry – before he joined the IPS (Maharashtra cadre, 1980 batch). Singh’s first posting was assistant superintendent of police of Nasik. He then went on to become the superintendent of police of Buldhana. Prior to taking up the very critical assignment of heading the Mumbai police, he was Maharashtra
The state finance commissions (SFCs) have been considered important institutions in strengthening and financing local governing bodies (LGBs). Yet, even 20 years after the 73rd and 74th amendments to the constitution the SFCs are rudimentary bodies in many states, and some have not even formed them, a new release by New Delhi-based policy think-tank National Social Watch highlights.
Most employees at Noida Sector 16 A, a media hub in Noida and popularly called ‘Film City’, return to their homes in Delhi on cabs returning after ferrying IT sector employees to their offices situated in Noida. Most of these cabs charge Rs 15 to 20 per passenger to take them to places like Lajpat Nagar, South Extension, AIIMS. They are fairly regular, comfortable and of course fast
The writ petitions before the Delhi high court had challenged the validity of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the petitioner was an organization representing LGBT persons. It alleged harassment, distress and injury as a result of the penal provision. It invoked their fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. It was asserted that
In the capital, a higher voter turnout is the combined result of the two-year continuous mobilisation of people, first by Anna Hazare against corruption and then due to the ‘Nirbhaya’ tragedy. Then, there were protests by Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party’s strategy of door-to-door campaign and decentralised manifestos also contributed to the higher turnout.
In an exclusive interview with Trithesh Nandan,VS Sampath, chief election commissioner explains how the election commission (EC) has ensured that. He also assures us that the EC is not going to lose momentum, and plans are already afoot to ensure more voter participation in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Edited excerpts from the interview: Recent years have witnessed a heart-wa
Surat Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana is today known as the man who’s made the city a safe place to live. Earlier he was known in the bureaucratic circles as the man who supervised the investigations in the fodder scam cases as the SP CBI, and DIG of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The 1984 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Gujarat cadre became Surat’s t
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the last of the giants who led South Africa’s struggle against colonialism, is no more. “White supremacy implies black inferiority.” His words were truth to the powers and he devoted his life to opposing systems that protect and abet this superiority. It made him the most recognisable icon of struggle against oppression, injustice and discrimination
