This column was first published on August 29, 2012: after Raghuram Rajan was appointed the chief economic adviser. Now that he has been named the next RBI governor, there are two things in this piece worth a note: he did go with the pro bono advice of staying away from TV, and the penultimate paragraph did foresee the possiblity of him succeding D Subba Rao... For dummi
There have been a series of rulings by the supreme court in July to the chagrin of political leadership. While a determined attempt by the judiciary to cleanse politics has been welcomed by people, there are concerns as well. Like, the judgment can be used to foist false cases to disqualify strong electoral opponents. It also means doing another George Fernandes – he fought and won
Recently, when the film Ship of Theseus was running at full house in theatres, the philosophical root of the question behind its story somehow did not get discussed enough in society. Anand Gandhi has dared to raise some questions on fundamental issues about life, its transitivity, its mutation through organ transplants. It ponders on the location of identity in an organ transplant — does
I recently attended a meeting at Pune University for a research study on the issue of adolescent girl children of first generation learners and their access to higher education. The study was being conducted by the women`s studies centre there, the unique academic culture of which left me amazed. On meeting the adolescent girls who were a part of this study, I was confronted by a feeling that I
In an atmosphere where people generally view all government officers with suspicion, it is the activism of a bunch of elderly citizens that has led to the recent landmark ruling from the supreme court that effectively bars any convicted person from participating in polls or even continuing in office either as a legislator or parliamentarian. This organisation is Lok Prahari (www.lokprahar
Be it tactical, innovative or merely a quest at being modernistic, regardless of the underlying rationale, businesses and corporate empires among others, are making a beeline to set up a Social Media presence with a foretaste for the ensuing benefits. Not only is it considered “dapper” and “a la mode” to have a social presence but it is also a way of signaling to peers,
Everyone seems to have an opinion on life on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus after Wednesday’s incident in which a 22-year-old student was attacked by her male classmate, who claimed to be in love with her and who then killed himself. The incident is being seen as a symbol of failure of the intellectual Left environment and the liberal atmosphere of the campus. &ldqu
Within weeks of the Supreme Court’s attempt to keep criminals out of elections, a study has revealed that that those candidates who have had a criminal record are more likely to win the elections than candidates who have a clean record. The research, conducted by groups Association for Democratic Rights (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) was conducted on the basis of affidavi
Economists generally pack a punch with a tool of theory, backed by data and pie charts to defend themselves. But when they fight, the latest being the case of Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati, they seem to fight hard. No quarter given, and none asked for. Unlike, say, heavyweight boxers who trade punches from an arm’s length, heavyweight economists fight from a distance – th
After 10 years away, I returned to my beloved Mumbai in December 2005, shortly after the state government’s ban on dance bars came into effect. They were very much a talking point then, and continued to remain in public consciousness through their eight-year ban, recently lifted by the supreme court. It observed that the Maharashtra government’s decision violated bar dancers
The pre-monsoon shower pitter-pattered against the car window as I waited at the traffic signal, eager for the light to turn green and the bottleneck to ease up. I had called up Mahasweta Devi, the legendary activist, writer and Magsaysay award winner, the previous day and she had given a green signal for an interview. Like the traffic stuck in the rain at the time, most Indians shy awa
Governance has existed in various forms since the dawn of civilisation coercing mankind to develop and implement effective mechanisms for facilitating the needs of citizens, through efficient administrative policies and practices. Governance is central to economic growth and prosperity, and to this day, sovereign nations, big and small, strive to evolve efficient governance mechanisms.
Most of India’s rural population and much of its urban population live and work in the informal sector. As the government cannot provide quality healthcare free of charge across the informal sector, and is extremely challenged in basing subsidies on effective means-testing, most people in the informal sector pay for healthcare at the point of service. Many delay or avoid healthcare due to
In 2009, she raised more than the proverbial eyebrows when she threw a punch way above her weight, jumping from the pin-striped corporate boardroom she used to move around in to the heat and tumble of politics. She fielded herself against Milind Deora of the Congress and Mohan Rawale of the Shiv Sena, the field being the South Mumbai parliamentary constituency. The well-known David taking o
The harsh reality of what actually goes into the plates of lakhs of children across the country in the name of midday meals have come out with a full, ghastly force in Chapra, in Bihar’s Saran district. While the odd death or two almost regularly in faraway villages and towns hardly ever make it to the leading news packet, this incident, with the death toll now reaching 21, and many more
Anyway you look at it, that was not a smart remark, Mr Modi, and your comparison sucked. They say smart people say and do the stupidest things. I don’t know you and have always held that I’d like to actually find out what you stand for and why people who love you do so unconditionally and are ready to defend you despite anything to the contrary. But I have searched for quotes t
It is 7th July and that last hour of the day when a red sun quietly prepares to leave for home. It’s raining cats, dogs and squirrels. Friends Santa Singh and Banta Singh are in their inaugural edition Maruti 800, which in its forced afterlife has acquired the colour of rust and traded its ignition for a mind of its own. Nobody but it knows when to start and conk out. It is on today.
This is for the first time in the history of industrial economic development that green business (blue economy), which looks at both biological and non-biological feedback system to be sustainable (cradle-to-cradle approach compatible with industrial ecology framework), seems to be doing much better than linear, ‘take, make, faink (dispose)’ economy. Over the last five years, circul
With the entry of business groups and politcians with money, the education sector has become a core of profit maximisation in the recent years, a new report released by the Voluntary Action Network of India (VANI), an NGO says. The report, titled `Status of the Voluntary Sector in India`, notes that educational institutes, registered under the Societies Registration Act or Sectio
There are two events which have occupied the attention of the nation of late. In both cases, I felt we have not focused on the real issues. Something that I feel most concerned about in the coal block scam is that the concept of checks and balances is missing. Why do we have a series of people at all as the checks of the system? The assumption is that if someone makes a mistake somebody
