I have just joined in the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance, as joint secretary in charge of World Bank–IMF related work. I am in the seventh heaven of bureaucracy, so to speak. My batch got empanelled as joint secretary a few months back and most of my batch-mates would have gladly given their right hand to be in the place that I have managed to bag. In the IAS, there i
The planning commission has suggested the idea of allowing higher education institutions to run for-profit. In the final draft of 12th Five Year Plan, the commission has incorporated this suggestion despite strong opposition from the ministry of the HRD. The commission argues that the philanthropy-driven institutions do not have the resources to bridge the demand supply gap in higher ed
Incredible it may sound but National Knowledge Network (NKN) chairperson and advisor to the prime minister on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations (PIII) Sam Pitroda did hold a press conference on social networking site Twitter. In the name of `democratisation of information` (He "created a hash-tag #DoI" formally), Pitroda answered queries on the social networking site
When renowned Hindi writer Phanishwar Nath Renu wrote of Purnea in Bihar in the 1950s in ‘Maila Aanchal’, his protagonist, a doctor who chose to stay in the village observed from the closest quarters social backwardness, illiteracy, grief, ignorance, superstitions, social exploitation and struggle and diseases like malaria and black fever (both killed many in those times). T
Google has refused to take down the controversial “Prophet” video (which has sparked extensive violence in the Middle East) from YouTube in the United States, but continues to block it in India. Do you see that as a positive sign? Recent developments have sensitised even the social media networks to the fact that there are issues which need to be addressed,
It is quite ironical that 2012, the year which in many ways saw a revival of the non-proliferation norm on issues such as nuclear security with the Seoul Summit in March 2012, the use of sanctions and immense negotiations to curb any Iranian weapons program, has also become the year to witness a series of nuclear-capable missile tests by North Korea, India, Pakistan and Iran. With the exception
The supreme court may have upheld the 25 percent seat reservation for free schooling of economically weaker section (EWS) children in all schools (except minority-unaided ones) in the hearing of a review petition filed by private schools, but the schools seem to be still very far from the implementation of this provision of the right to education (RTE) Act. The RTE Act was aimed at ensu
“Dear PM, the Special Cell is a group of licensed marauders,” Irshad Ali wrote to the prime minister when he was lodged in Tihar Jail. Ali’s emotional letter to the PM was a narrative of the harrowing experience he underwent at the hands of the special cell of Delhi police despite being an `informer` for it. He had been arrested in 2006, charged under the explosive substance A
India is home to as many as 7,730 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals whose combined wealth amounts to a whopping $925 billion, says a study. According to the world ultra wealth report 2012-13, by Wealth X, a global wealth intelligence and prospecting company, India has 7,730 UHNW individuals, of which 109 are billionaires. However, in the corresponding period last year ther
A candidate of a student organization barely two months old, Students Federation of India-JNU (SFI-JNU), was elected to the post president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) on Friday. V. Lenin Kumar, the party’s candidate got 212 votes more than the nearest rival, All India Students Association’s (AISA) Om Prasad. SFI-JNU was formed in July after the Delhi ch
When union minister of state for women and child development Krishna Tirath said that the government was considering to bring a law under which a husband would have to legally pay a definite amount to his wife from his salary in recognition of her labour, most wives would have instantly felt empowered. What I often thought was conveyed by the minister and it is sure to empower women financially
Two days after banning gutkha and other smokeless tobacco products, the Delhi government on Wednesday ordered a blanket ban on use, storage, sale and manufacture of plastic bags in the city. Two major initiatives in a span of a couple of days should be good news for Delhiites. However, people are skeptical about the effective implementation of the twin orders. And, there is vali
We might be proud of our top higher educational institutions but when compared to their international counterparts these institutes do not stand anywhere. No university or institutes of excellence are among the best 200 in the world according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking 2012, the most reputed global rankings of institutes for higher education. This classification takes into account
What’s the point of Rahul Gandhi? The Economist has said. Back home, expect censuring by livid partymen. Offence of late has been their best defence. Diggys with tireless garrulousness and Sibals with impish frowns will be unfailing. The PM has already made to the cover of many coveted foreign magazines. Rahul’s is maiden. The 42-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is
As the country`s growth rate dipped below six percent in the last two quarters, more and more Indians have lost faith in the economy. A new survey released by the American think tank Pew Research Centre shows that a majority of Indians see their economy in negative outlook. "Just 38 percent of Indians are satisfied with the way things are going in the country – a 13 percentage point
In a bizarre incident, the might and will of the world’s largest democracy have been threatened by a few pencil sketches. The matter was brought to light recently by a Mumbai advocate who is coincidentally more active in the political corridors than he should be in courts. The lawyer accused the cartoonist in a petition to the court of mocking the constitution which, according to the law
Having seriously bungled the Indian growth story, spin doctors of the Congress have invented a new narrative of a shining rural economy to keep up their optimism. This new story of buoyancy in rural economy is culled out from the data given by the National Sample Survey which depicts infusion of loans in rural India. There is no doubt that the story has an element of truth in it. The ag
Window dressing at its most absurd. Almost brutal in its casualness. The brouhaha over the `projected` relaxation of visa rules between India and Pakistan is largely cringeworthy because it comes in the same breath as Hina Rabbani Khar’s advice to 1.2 billion Indians to get over 26/11 and move on and not stay emotional about it. Put that gratuitous and tactless remark alongside the
Star India CEO Uday Shankar is the only one who has straddled news and entertainment genres at the highest levels and hence uniquely positioned to fill in the gaps in our understanding. Sharp, incisive, intellectual, self-incriminating and brazenly bold, Uday gave us a deep dive into the difficult world of news media and what ails it. And why it will continue to ail. Here is the transcri
