Shrugging off International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conservative growth forecast for the Indian economy at 5.7 percent for 2013, the UN has projected a more liberal growth projection for the country. In a report released on Thursday, it says the country will grow at 6.4 percent but also warns infrastructure deficits. “In India, economic activity slowed considerably in 2012. Bu
I recently met an old friend, and we got chatting about how he met the person he had married. “We met online,” he said. “Don’t tell me you met on Shaadi.com,” I exclaimed with my usual disdain of arranged marriages. “Actually, we did… I saw her profile, liked what she said about wanting an equal partner and being feminist, paid three and a half thousan
The decision of the Delhi university (DU) to make Hindi/MILs (modern Indian languages) a compulsory paper in the foundation course of the four-year BA programme starting with the academic year 2013-14 was strongly protested by the students from the northeast. Although the decision was applicable to all who wish to pursue education in DU, many from the northeast felt humiliated by it. Several no
There are four levels at which we can learn from the innovations whether in the formal or the informal sector: [a] artefactual, [b] analogic, [c] heuristic and [d] gestalt or configurational. [a] Artefactual: One learns from the material characteristics of the innovation, be it in terms of form, feature or function of a mechanical or an electronic technology. Or it cou
Something rather interesting occurred on Monday, April 15 — the new year as per Bengali calendar (though the only calendars I have ever seen printed in Bengali are those by sweet shops; the ones with glassy, touched-up illustrations of different gods and goddesses). In perhaps a first, Mamata Banerjee, the irrepressible chief minister of West Bengal, said something close to what sounds su
MV Tanksale, CMD, Central Bank of India, tells Governance Now that today the villagers feel that it is not their own need but the government’s need that they should be given Aadhaar numbers, bank accounts and direct transfers. But things are changing and good things have happened in financial inclusion in the last one year, since we met him for our first ‘Bank India Bank’ spec
Let’s Call Him Vasu: With the Maoists in Chhattisgarh By Shubhranshu Choudhary Penguin, Rs 350 Two disclaimers would be required to foreground a review of this racy read. First, absolute objectivity is a misnomer. Journalism, like any other cultural craft, is a form of fiction that merely hinges on facts. Stories are built block by b
Pushed on the back foot after “strong political reactions” from New Delhi, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh restored 24x7 power supply to Rae Bareli and Amethi, parliamentary constituencies of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, on Friday. With the onset of summer, Uttar Pradesh reels under a severe power crisis, with peak demand for elect
Last month, a Delhi court framed charges against Irom Sharmila Chanu, the ‘iron lady’ of Manipur, for allegedly attempting to commit suicide with her ‘fast unto death’ during a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in June 2006. It was all cut-and-dry, except that Chanu has been ‘fasting’ for nearly 12 years now, demanding revocation of the controversial Armed Forces Speci
How can you fight the growing climate change phenomenon, when the fuel subsidy is more than the grants on climate finance of various developed countries? A recent report says that over the years, developing countries including India got billions of dollars in climate finance but that is much less than fossil-fuel subsidies to consumers; thus negating climate compatible development. The
How long does it take for the government to make a stretch of road traffic-free? Decades, even longer, or maybe never? An entire generation of children coming to the Connaught Place has now grown into adults hearing of the inner circle being made free of traffic. And the talk is on among their children now. Lakhs of Delhi families who love to frequent their favourite evening hangout wou
During the Think India Dialogue organised by Network 18 on Monday, Narendra Modi made a revolutionary suggestion: bifurcate the functions of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) into two, with one dealing in diplomacy and the other in trade. In the 21st century global politics, economic diplomacy has a key role to play. Take for example Indo-China ties, in which economic issue
Union Bank of India believes that banks have to create the “need” for the rural poor to engage with banks. It is this belief that led to Ernakulam in Kerala—where UBI is the lead bank—to become the first “meanigful financial inclusion district” of the country, reveals D Sarkar, CMD. Edited excerpts of an email interview with Governance Now:
If I have to give you a medical advice with regard to your eyes, this is the one: Regularly visit an ophthalmologist who regularly visits a dentist. No, seriously. Vision-screening involves a procedure wherein the oculist has to peer into your eye in a position, which, outside of a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation situation, can be deemed a bit kinky. Basically when he is looking dee
“My comments on Saturday were not directed towards drought-affected people and I had no intentions to hurt anybody`s sentiments... I hope my comments will not affect drought relief measures which will continue vigorously... Also, it was never my intention to hurt anybody`s sentiments... It is true that I should have spoken responsibly. I apologise to all." That&
With the Supreme Court order to the union government to evict former Bihar governor and former chief of the national commission for scheduled castes, Buta Singh, from the Teen Murti Marg house he has been occupying illegally since 2010, the lid is off the muck of illegal occupation of Lutyens’ Delhi houses by has-beens. The SC came down heavily on the union government for cherry-pick
Indians have overwhelmingly voted against GM food in an online survey conducted by Greenpeace India. "Ninety seven percent of those who voted felt that GM crops was not the answer for food security," the green advocacy group said in a report it submitted to the agriculture ministry on Monday. Greenpeace India also blamed agriculture minister Sharad Pawar for hardse
On April 4, the supreme court sounded a red alert on the widespread misuse of red beacons by the VIPs. It came down heavily on traffic rule violation and directed the centre and state governments to introduce harsher punishment by introducing provisions for impounding vehicles and increasing the amount of fine to Rs 10,000. The bench also asked the governments to drastically restrict th
