It would be naive to reduce the Modi-Kerry meeting to a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) success/failure talk. The build-up to the meeting was as palpably significant in diplomatic posturing as the meeting itself. Beginning
Something unexpected, if not unprecedented, happened on July 19. Delhi lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung, in news of late more for animation over the suspended animation of the assembly, issued an order, asking agricultural produce market committee
Should I have a right over my own life? Not in a metaphorical or imagined sense. Not even in the modern and democratic nature of fundamental rights that several of us take for granted. Should I be able to decide when to end my life in a real and p
Do you want to know how all the statistics and figures you see tossed around by the government every other day are collated? Think of the people you see roaming around with huge sheafs of paper, ticking off responses as they move from home to home
The average expense of winning candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections was Rs 40.33 lakh, according to an analysis carried out by the National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Going through the
The ministry of urban development is drawing a policy paper on smart cities and may present it in one month`s time. The ministry also plans to set up a special purpose vehicle to oversee setting up of smart cities. According to Shankar Agg
The department of electronics and IT has moved a note on the next phase of national e-governance plan (NeGP) for inter-ministerial consultation. After incorporating the feed back, the department will send a note to the cabinet for its approval. Th
After whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was targeted by the Congress government of Haryana for cancelling a land deal between DLF and Sonia Gandhi`s son-in-law Robert Vadra, it is bureaucrat Pradip Kasni’s turn to be at the receivi
To start with, let us rephrase the statement made in the headline for the sake of clarity: what new is Natwar Singh, a former external affairs minister and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, saying in his much-touted “tell-all” auto
India and Uganda share very strong relations for the past two centuries and the Indian community has been a part of the African nation’s development story since the last part of the 18th century, Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa said at t
CHENNAI: Mumbai resident Hvovi Minocherchomji is a lucky young woman. On June 16, the 21-year-old’s mother, Amaity Aspy Minocherchomji, couldn’t stop thanking and blessing all the people who helped save her daughter’s life. She t
By the time this issue of Governance Now hits the news stands, I would have, let us hope, received a response to an RTI query I filed on July 3. What is this RTI query about? Readers may be aware that on June 23, several newspapers carried a PTI r
With the Rajya Sabha TV into its second rerun of the Samvidhan serial and the constitutional debates on affirmative action and Dr BR Ambedkar’s resolute stand playing out in our living rooms, it is good time to take a long, hard look at the
One of prime minister Narendra Modi’s first decisions, to set up a special investigating team (SIT) to probe the matter of black money stashed abroad, reopens some of the biggest questions for the Indian economy – and politics. It has
Online tendering in the army is set to open up its contracts to more companies and bring in much needed transparency. The Indian army’s annual purchases of essential items include wheat flour, medicines, lubricants and automobile spare parts
July 5 was the day of reckoning for the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI). Its director-general and mission director Vijay Madan was to make a presentation before Narendra Modi, as part of the ongoing series of briefings all departm
On July 23, Manu Joseph, author and senior journalist, published a signed article on Mr Mukesh Ambani, chairm
Captain Phillips, a recent Hollywood film about Somalian piracy, elicited enthusiastic response from Indian audiences. In the popular imagination of movie-goers across the world, films on piracy belong to the genre of action thriller carrying with
The general election results are a wake-up call for all regional parties. Though it may be too early to think about the decline of these parties, the poll results indicate the need for a strategic rethink. Their future growth and continued relevan
