A 1985 batch IAS officer, Kiran Soni Gupta is also an artist, writer and photographer. Selected by Harvard University for the prestigious Mason fellowship to study public policy, governance and public administration at the Kennedy School of Government, she was also awarded a scholarship for a masters in public policy at the Maxwell School Syracuse. Winner of many national a
His unassuming style and down-to-earth personality is the first thing that strikes when you meet him. His crusade against child labour and slavery started in the 1980s with Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement). Since then the messiah for children has liberated more than 84,000 children from the clutches of slavery and trafficking. Behind his modest demeanour lies a firm dete
A noted political theorist, Rajeev Bhargava is a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). Having taught political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of Delhi for over two decades, Bhargava has also been the director of CSDS during 2007-14. His works on secularism and identity politics have evoked praise and criticism alike. He has formulated the
The 32nd international conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, on the theme of ‘Power of Humanity’, was held in Geneva during December 8-10. The conference, held every four years, is a global forum that brings together states parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including the 189 National Red Cross and Red Cre
What is the significance of the Bihar verdict for your party? The Bihar election is a triumph of the Nitish government’s policies on all fronts – political, economic and good governance. For the country, this is a significant development, because it has halted the march of BJP as the most powerful national party. The Bihar election has changed an environment
Named one of the “125 Women of Impact’ by Newsweek/Daily Beast in 2013, Martha Adams is the chief creative officer of global Girl Rising Campaign. The organization has joined hands with prime minister Narendra Modi’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana. She is senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Marshall Brittingham
Kamal Kar has been a pioneer in propagating the Community-led Total Santiation (CLTS) approach to put an end to open defecation around the globe. In an interaction with Sreelatha Menon, Kar explains how it works and how it has managed to be successful. Excerpts: What exactly is CLTS? It means Community-Le
When the young doctor started his practice in Noida, all he had in the name of a setup was a wooden chair, costing `40, and a matching table. A friend noticed and gifted him a revolving chair – which served him for the next 12 years that saw his practice and popularity rise, as Noida metamorphosed from a quaint township to a booming city. “My father was a teacher in R
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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 2013, when Governance Now caught up with Angus Deaton during one of his Delhi visits, he was asked if he regretted not winning the Nobel Prize in 2012, as he had been widely expected to. He said he was rather “relieved”. Today, he has finally secured the honour. Here we reproduce the interview:
Setting a new trend of the portrayal of a strong female protagonist in Hindi films, Vidya Balan has won various awards including one national award, five Filmfare, five Screen awards and the Padma Shri in 2014. Journeying from TV serial Hum Paanch to critically acclaimed films like Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Vidya has established herself as a leading actor of Bollywood. Bes
