The alacrity with which the CBI approached the supreme court after Amit Shah was granted bail is only illustrative of the supine nature of the country’s premier investigative agency. Shah, former home minister of Gujarat, was jailed for his involvement in the brutal killing of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi by the state police. The CBI has been probing Shah’s complicity in
Ahead of US president Barack Obama`s landmark India visit, an influential US think tank has asked him to endorse New Delhi`s quest for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. "The White House should endorse India`s quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council," said the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "This bold
If somebody were to tell you that the solution to the Kashmir imbroglio will have to be found outside the ambit of the constitution, you will dismiss the suggestion without so much as a second thought. If the same is said by somebody authorised by the central government, though, it is a matter of serious concern. The three-member team of interlocutors sent by the centre to the valley has r
While most foreign policy experts see a possible signing of the N-liability accord between India and the US as a turning point in the relationship between both nations, the Carnegie endowment for International Peace claims that not much may come off it - definitely not a Indo-US partnership. The report authored by Gerorge perkovich for the Washington-based foreign policy think ta
India has slipped to 87th spot in Transparency International`s latest ranking of nations based on the level of corruption, with the global watchdog asserting that perceptions about corruption in the country increased in the wake of the scam-tainted Commonwealth Games. Transparency International`s `Corruption Perception Index` report covering the public sector in 178 countries sho
As ideas go, anarchism is a worthy one. Though the name has a bit of negative connotation, all it says is that the state is a nasty construct that is bound to give rise to inequalities and exploitation of its citizens. Tolstoy, Gandhi and Chomsky are proto-anarchists in one sense or other. If Arundhati Roy imagines herself as an independent mobile republic outside the Indian state, there&r
Brij Mohan Bansal, chairman and director (planning & business development) of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, helms India’s largest commercial enterprise (turnover: about $57 billion for 2009-10). How does he manage a public sector unit that is also the only Indian firm to rank in the prestigious Fortune ‘Global 500’ list? What is his larger vision for this fi
Even though government budgets are rationing of public money for governance, Indians do not get to know much about the budgets that the government presents annual budget. Indian budget is still not fully open to public, says a survey conducted by the Centre for Budget and Government Accountability (CBGA) and Washington based International Budget Partnership (IBP).
Jean Dreze, development economist and a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) which finalized its recommendations on the proposed food security law, has aptly summed up the final outcome in his dissent note: “An opportunity has been missed to initiate a radical departure in this field. The NAC proposals are a great victory for the government – they allow it to appear to be d
Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, has claimed in a newspaper interview that he can win from anywhere if and when he chooses to contest an election. The businessman from Moradabad known for supplying the marital surname to Priyanka Gandhi did not rule out the prospect of joining politics at a later date but added that he would do so only when he felt he could mak
The US will have massive opportunities to engage with India during the impending India visit of president Barack Obama, says a report by the Center for a New American Society (CNAS). The report, “Natural Allies: A blueprint for the future of U.S.-India relations,” notes that India and the US need to take a big step to take the relations forward. The report, h
Now that the proverbial dust has settled on the execution of the fault-ridden games, it is time for another execution – guillotine, if you please, that would finally settle the real scores. To that extent the declarations of intent by the Government of India are laudatory but, as always, discreetly deceptive. The clamour for a Comptroller Auditor General’s [CAG] enquiry into the gam
An acclaimed novel, taught at a university for several years, can be removed from the syllabus overnight because somebody’s son wants to make his political debut hitting the right note. The party in power, which claims to be somewhat more tolerant and inclusive than the opposition party of this father-son duo, rushes to justify this ban. Enthused by the camaraderie cutting across party li
Rather than hang about 27 years till the CWG 2010 Inquiry Committee presents its interim report on all the mudslinging that will start post the closing ceremony I thought, what the heck, let me make my own Commission and indict folks already. After deep thought and reflection these are my observations and recommendations. At the outset find the person who paid the drummers Rs 1,000
Sporting successes at CWG aside, the Commonwealth realm has not much to cheer India for. The country, according to a report, has the highest number of underweight children among all the Commonwealth nations. “India has both the highest number and the highest proportion of underweight children among the Commonwealth countries,” says a report by Save the Children, an NG
India slipped two spots on Global Hunger Index, 2010 compared to last year, according to the new report released by the International Food Policy research Institute (IFPRI) in New Delhi. “India has been ranked 67 in 2010 - in 2009 the country was ranked at 65,” says the IFPRI release. The government`s failure to get the latest child malnourishment figu
Raman Singh has an unenviable job as chief minister of Chhattisgarh, the state worst hit by Maoist violence – he is in fact in his second term. But the 57-year-old ayurvedic doctor has a clear diagnosis of the disease and treatment in mind. In an exclusive interview with Sweta Ranjan, he discussed his approach to find a permanent solution to the
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to disclose to the RTI applicant, V R Chandran, an estimate of black money deposited by Indians in Swiss banks. Also see: Swiss banks don`t want to hide, so we don`t wa
Asian countries, including India, are facing a worsening water crisis that threatens to curtail food production while taking an increasingly heavy toll on the region`s economies, the Asian Development Bank said in its latest report. Among the region’s largest countries, the ADB estimated `India would have a water deficit of 50 per cent by 2030 while China would have a short
In Bangalore’s Vidhana Soudha, history is repeating itself as farce. Even as governor HR Bhardwaj has set October 14 as the fresh deadline for the Yedyurappa government to prove its majority on the floor of the house, the course of events from here on seems quite predictable. Having lost the majority, the BJP will use every trick of the trade to avoid the floor test. The BJP h
