Mobility is a precursor to everything and accessibility is a major challenge for persons with disabilities (PwD). To build an inclusive environment, the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (DEPwD) under the ministry of social justice and empowerment has launched the Accessible India campaign. In conversation with Puja Bhattacharjee, DEPwD joint secretary Mukesh Ja
Sudhir Krishna is the chairman of the sectional committee appointed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on setting standards for smartcities. The committee is likely to submit its first draft by March. Krishna was previously secretary of the ministry of urban development (MoUD), the nodal ministry for smart cities mission. What are t
Climate change is a complex problem, which, although environmental in nature, has consequences for all spheres of existence on our planet. It either impacts on-- or is impacted by-- global issues, including poverty, economic development, population growth, sustainable development and resource management. It is not surprising, then, that solutions come from all disciplines and fields of research
National commission for scheduled castes chairman P L Punia is a dalit leader from the Congress. He represented Barabanki constituency in Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014 and is currently a Rajya Sabha member. An IAS officer, Punia was secretary of Mayawati when she was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. In an interview with Sweta Ranjan, he tells why reviewing reservation is
The IT taskforce, set up by the ministry of road transport and highways, has been on its toes over the last six months. While the 10-member committee crisscrossed the country, visiting major cities and ports, meeting experts and citizen groups, it launched a nationwide initiative, #ITForParivahan, for inviting suggestions from various stakeholders in transportation sector and public at large.&n
In order to ensure transparency and efficiency, the government has mandated the use of open source software (OSS) in all e-governance systems implemented by various government organisations. In an interaction, Amarjeet Manchanda tells Shubhendu Parth how Red Hat India is propogating the adoption of OSS among various government agencies to deliver citizen-centric services. E
Pratibha Ray is an eminent Odia writer and has penned several novels, short stories and travelogues. Born in a remote village of Odisha, Pratibha believes that life and love are synonymous. As a child, she was friends with children from marginalised communities. It was their pain and sufferings that prompted her to write. She has been actively involved in social reforms and has raised voice
After seemingly meandering off target for a while, the Modi government has in a bid to expedite investment in the Indian market, reverted to its development focussed agenda by facilitating simpler foreign direct investment norms for 15 major areas, including focal sectors such as defence, mining, civil aviation, broadcasting and agriculture. In a notification last week, the Centr
People of Bihar have sharp political acumen, and people of (the rest of) India can learn a thing or two from them, said Narendra Modi during one of his 31 rallies in the state. They have given their verdict now. Earlier this year, people of Delhi too had given their verdict, but they are apparently a special case even if the national capital is the very microcosm of India in most senses.
What has gone wrong with art in India? In India art was a way of life in the ancient times. After the colonial period India has gone through a lot of changes. We are disconnected from our culture, philosophy, heritage and ancestry. Are kids today aware of their family lineage? We do not have a sense of historicity. The process starts at the level of an individ
A constitution bench of the supreme court quashed the 99th constitution amendment and the law enacted to set up the national judicial appointments commission (NJAC) by a 4:1 majority on October 16. While the judgment protected the primacy of the judiciary in appointment of judges, an outburst by the lone dissenting judge discredited the 1993 collegium system, making it incumbent on
KR Meera is a Malayali novelist. After working as a journalist for years, she embarked on writing fiction and published her first collection of short stories Ormayude Njarambu in 2002. She is the winner of Vayalar Rama Varma Award, the most prestigious literary award in Kerala, and also of Kerala Sahitya Akademi for her story, Ave Maria, in 2009. Since then she has publishe
In India only 12.7% of land holdings are in the names of women, even as 77% women rely on agriculture as their primary source of income. With this concern, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) along with Working Group for Women and Land Ownership (WGWLO), a network of non-government and community based organizations (CBOs) are working together for increasing the women ownership over agri
Close to a century ago, Rabindranath Tagore returned the title of knighthood to protest against the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. He wrote to Lord Chelmsford, the viceroy of India: “The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part wish to stand, shorn of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen,
You said that Bihar CM will be from extreme backward or backward caste. Are you scared of the grand alliance? Lalu Prasad is trying to divide the society on caste lines. It is our responsibilities to tell the truth. We sacrificed to prevent the state from bad governance but Lalu ji is now saying that every third person is homeless and 71 percent households hav
As a special secretary with the department of revenue, Rashmi Verma oversees developments related to goods and services tax (GST). In an interaction with Pratap Vikram Singh, she explains how GST and IT can create a system to curb tax evasion.
There has been abundant criticism following the budgetary cuts imposed on social sector programmes in this year’s budget, with socialist evangelists terming them as an attack on the welfare state. Understandable, because we continue to measure our commitment to the welfare state in terms of budgetary allocations and expenditures, and not on proper utilisation and outcomes. To what extent
Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan is confident that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win elections in Bihar. Speaking to Sweta Ranjan, Chirag said that he finds the Nitish-Lalu alliance a strange combo. He also believes that chief m
In July 2013, the supreme court directed the election commission to frame guidelines on the contents of manifestos after noting that freebies announced by political parties shake “the root of free and fair elections”. Though guidelines have now been put in place, the state of affairs virtually remain the same with parties in fray continuing to promise freebies with scope for violati
In the second decade of 21st century, the world’s largest democracy which is also a secular country witnessed a case of lynching over rumours. A mob of locals beat 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq to death and severely injured his 22-year-old son upon hearing rumours that the family was eating beef. The killing of Akhlaq in Bisara village of Dadri, 45 km from Delhi, can be considered a turning
