The Razor’s Edge, a 1944 novel by Somerset Maugham, explores the dichotomy between materialism and spirituality. The title is derived from a line of Katha Upanishad: “The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise s
The recent conviction of former coal secretary Harish Chandra Gupta and other officers by a CBI court in a case relation to allocation of a coal block in West Bengal has raised many questions relating to governance. The case arose from a CBI inves
The Steel Frame of the government machinery was forged by the Iron Man. The phrase that has come to describe the Indian bureaucracy was coined by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, when he addressed the first batch of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) pr
Naseeruddin Shah is not just a Bollywood star; he is a rarity – a thinking actor. His dialogues delivered with impeccable diction drive home the point without any element of melodrama. IN the same measured voice, he is often known for speaki
The Indian Railways’ ambitious plan of providing free Wi-Fi services has started showing results, as 715 out of 5,734 proposed stations have got the facility as on December 14. Minister of railways Piyush Goyal has been laying emphas
Around 5,000 survivors of sexual violence along with their family members from across the country have embarked on a 10,000 kms Dignity March from Mumbai. The 65-day-long march will cover 200 districts across 24 states/union territories across the
Radha doesn’t know who her parents are. She has been homeless – and living on the streets of Delhi –ever since she remembers. But that hasn’t prevented her from becoming a leader, one who trains other homeless women and h
A few errant individuals pelted stones on one of the coaches of Train 18 prototype that was undergoing a trial run between Delhi-Agra section on Thursday. The prototype of Train 18 has created another record by clocking 181 kmph on the said route.
The Indian mining sector is in doldrums on account of several policies as well as administrative and legal issues. These include mining bans in various states through supreme court orders, a low level of exploration activity, increasing imports,
Sometimes it is challenging to be an average law-abiding citizen in India. The real pain lies especially in citizen-government interactions. From corruption to inefficiency, availing public services is not a cakewalk in the country.
In 1865 the thirteenth amendment to the US constitution abolished slavery and the buying and selling of humans, and soon the transatlantic slave trade declined. But a century and a half since, slavery persists across the globe in giant proportio
To describe the Chhattisgarh assembly election result as defeat for the BJP will be a euphemism. It is a total rout in every sense of the term. And if Raman Singh met this fate after three full terms on trot, we must have reasons to assume that hi
At the fifth World Internet Conference, held in November in China, the world was introduced to the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered news anchor. That’s not all. Self-driving cars, AI assisted robotic surgery and law firms using A
The much talked-about Train 18 of the Indian Railways, which recently breached 180 kmph speed limit in the trials, has 20 percent of its components being imported from foreign countries. Although the train is seen as the finest example o
Riding on the Digital India wave, the directorate general of shipping is contemplating to unveil a dedicated shipping portal to bring transparency, curb corruption by unscrupulous agents involved in maritime industry and speed up the process of
Ever wonder why your train gets delayed every time? Well, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found an answer. As per a CAG report only 101 out of 163 platforms of 15 major stations of the Indian Railways can accommodate trains with 24 o
To solve the problem of urban slums in the city of Mumbai, substantial amendments were made to the Development Control Regulations (DCRs) for Greater Mumbai, 1991. In 1997 a separate Annexure was notified under DCR 33 (10) to deal exclusively wi
“Sanitation is more important than Independence.” – Mahatma Gandhi In September 2017, a photo went viral in social media circles. It showed a boy weeping
There was time not very long ago when women knew they would have to bear it in silence. They would have to deal with casual misogyny, rampant sexism, slander and libel and aspersions cast on their character day in and day out. They would have to q
In the 1970s, Andhra Pradesh was one of the first states to be transformed by the Green Revolution. Today, another revolution is under way – a natural farming revolution. The full name
