Business Standard
If polls were held today, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will get a mere 136 Lok Sabha seats, according to a survey done by ABP News-Nielsen. The main opposition, National Democratic Alliance, is likely to get 206 seats, while others parties will get 167 seats. Neither the UPA nor the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA will get the magic number 272 in the general elections if they were to take place today. Read More››
Sunil Jain,
Financial Express
Just how stupid and economically illiterate Indians are, and how wise and benevolent the political class is can best be captured by a single figure, the number 66. A little over 66% of Indians, the latest Census tells us, have access to electricity; a little under 66% (63.2% actually) are able to find enough money to pay for a mobile phone each month—this figure is up from just 9.1% a decade ago; yet 66% of Indians remain so dirt poor, they need to be given 5 kg of wheat and rice... Read More››
C. Raja Mohan,
Indian Express
The Chinese premier Li Keqiang's visit to India this week is a good moment to inject much-needed realism into Delhi's China policy. Through the second term of the UPA government, Delhi has allowed ideological romanticism and political timidity to overwhelm common sense in dealing with China. Worse still is the relentless mystification of Chinese policies. Consider the recent psycho-babble in Delhi about the logic behind China's Depsang intrusion. Read More››
Neena Gopal,
Deccan Chronicle
In the sea of khadi-clad politicians at the Raj Bhavan’s glass house on Saturday, where a handful of the faithful had gathered to witness a Congress government take charge of Karnataka after a gap of nine long years, instead of the mad euphoria that marked the unexpectedly huge victory for the Congress party only days before, there was a palpable sense of unease, a sense of missed opportunities. You couldn’t put your finger on it. But there it was. Read More››
Katherine Eban,
Fortune CNN
On the morning of Aug. 18, 2004, Dinesh Thakur hurried to a hastily arranged meeting with his boss at the gleaming offices of Ranbaxy Laboratories in Gurgaon, India, 20 miles south of New Delhi. It was so early that he passed gardeners watering impeccable shrubs and cleaners still polishing the lobby's tile floors. As always, Thakur was punctual and organized. He had a round face and low-key demeanor, with deep-set eyes that gave him a doleful appearance. His boss, Dr. Rajinder Kumar, Ranbaxy's head of research and development... Read More››
Sandeep Bamzai,
India Today
Cricket's secret society known for its opacity has seen many trials and tribulations over the years. Loved and reviled equally by savants and cassandras, it has finally exploded in the BCCI's face. The existence of a private cosy club within the cricket establishment had to become a problem child. A problem child which paid in spades and became a cash register for the cricket board. Why was it a problem child from the very beginning? Simply because, a parallel power centre built on the edifice of private enterprise... Read More››
Seema Sirohi,
Times of India
The recent Chinese incursion into India, the long stand-off , the fear and fury surrounding the brazen episode and the eventual resolution once again raises an old question : What about Tibet? India's security is directly linked to Tibet, as Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of Tibet's government-in-exile , told a Washington audience last week and he is right. "When China says that Tibet is one of the core issues, all the more (reason ) that India should say, Tibet is a core issue... Read More››
There was for years an old "social contract" between politicians and business. This provided for complex rules and regulations that made it impossible to do business honestly in many fields. But it was possible to do business dishonestly, through pay-offs . Some called this "efficient corruption" : politicians took money and delivered clearances. However, the anti-corruption mood of the courts, and new fears of getting caught (like Pawan Bansal) have ended "efficient corruption" . Politicians may still take money but not deliver on clearances , what some call "inefficient corruption" that freezes investment and growth. The old social contract has broken down. Swaminathan SA Aiyar
Katju is an affront to Press Council norms; must go -What would you call it when the chairman of the media’s watchdog panel, the Press Council of India, brazenly violates the ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’ enunciated by the very same body? more ››
A crisis going waste -INDEPENDENT INDIA HAS found itself backed into serious crisis several times in the past (political, economic and national security crises)... more ››
Split with Nitish will only boost BJP in Bihar - K Balakrishnan, LensOnNews WITH THE BJP seemingly decided on projecting Narendra Modi as its PM candidate and its close ally Nitish Kumar of JD(U) equally firm in his opposition to the idea, a split in the NDA alliance looks inevitable; most observers think it’s not a question of if, but when.
BRTS: Lessons Delhi can learn from Ahmedabad's transport system Vishal Dutta,
Economic Times Both Delhi and Ahmedabad, which are separated by nearly 800 kilometres of road, boast a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). But the Ahmedabad BRTS reminds one of the Delhi Metro rather than its Delhi counterpart. Buses in the Gujarat city run (mostly) on time and use an automated passenger information system. Read Full Article››
Train through Pakistan Declan Walsh,
New York Times Resplendent in his gleaming white uniform and peaked cap, the stationmaster stood at the platform, waiting for a train that would never come. "Cutbacks," Nisar Ahmed Abro said with a resigned shrug. Ruk Station, in the centre of Pakistan, is a dollhouse-pretty building, ringed by palm trees and rice paddies. Once it stood at the junction of two great Pakistani rail lines: the Kandahar State Railway, which raced north through... Read Full Article››
90-yr-old’s 1 lakh books in Karnataka a global hit Riddhi Doshi,
Hindustan Times Atop an idyllic green hill overlooking Gokarna beach in Karnataka, a 90-year-old priest and former theatre costume designer carefully dusts the 30 bookcases and assorted boxes that house his collection of 1 lakh religious and secular texts. It’s a library that Ganapathy Vedeshwar has painstakingly built up over 74 years, from one small shelf to a 5,000-sq-ft building... Read Full Article››
Newspaper vendor from Bangalore walks into IIM-Calcutta Sruthy Susan Ullas,
Times of India As the alarm goes off at 4am, N Shiva Kumar is up on his feet, stacking his bicycle with newspapers. He has to deliver them before the sun appears on the horizon. A habit since Class 6, Shiva's life is set to change now. Come June 16, this newspaper-boy-turned-vendor will walk down the corridors of the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta as a PGP student. Read Full Article››
