As part of the government, how do you look at demonetisation? It’s by far the bold… the boldest of all the steps, in line with several other steps the government has undertaken since 2014, to make the economy robust and transparent. The government has taken steps to set up SIT [to unearth black money], the passing of the Benami [Property] Act, asked
As the dust settles on the US presidential elections and analysts discuss Donald Trump’s victory threadbare, the larger question on what this upset victory portends for the US and for the world at large will continue to be a part of the intellectual discourse and common man’s discussions. For sure, the world we live in today is very different from what we had imagined. Eminent comme
Geeta Chandran is a well-known Bharatanatyam artist. She has founded the dance academy, Natya Vriksha, which has travelled across the globe for promotion of Bharatanatyam. She has contributed in Carnatic music, television, theatre, choreography and dance training. She has also presented many performances in India and abroad to raise funds for social causes. Chandran has received several prestig
“It’s a war; it’s a mahayajnya. You have to decide on whose side you are.” -- M Venkaiah Naidu, in parliament on November 17 In its well-intentioned but misconceived war on black money, the government has obviously bitten off more than it can chew. A wide spectrum of people and political leaders (includin
Will the release of GE mustard reduce oilseed imports? Saying that GE mustard will slash the oil import bill is just baloney. Farmers are not able to make money from the farm. You enable the farmer to make money from mustard or pulses or anything else, and you will have production. Look at the product honestly and evaluate it on the basis if this product is really goi
If the GE mustard hybrid was developed in 2002, why has the environment ministry not taken a decision on it yet? Nobody had the guts to release it, and till today, it’s the same story. The ideology behind not clearing it is so dumb that it is difficult to explain. This country is divided into two sides, the left and the right. They don’t agree on an
Coming from a family of farmers in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has made it big in the Hindi film industry. Beginning his career as a theatre actor, the National School of Drama alumnus struggled to break the stereotype of a conventional hero. After several less-noticed performances, Nawazuddin bagged the Jury Award at the 2012 national film awards. He has pl
The recent decision of the central government to ban NDTV India has raised concerns regarding the rights of free press in India. Mostly, people are using the ‘freedom of speech & expression’ interchangeably with the rights of a free press. But are both one and the same? The constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expr
Many women in Ballia, UP, say it is difficult for them to collect even a small amount for refilling gas. We frankly don’t have a clear answer to that. But it is firstly important for us to convince the women and other people and educate them about the benefits of LPG. Once they are convinced they will find a way to save money. There are people from these vill
Subedar Grewal’s decision to consume poison and kill himself over One Rank One Pension (OROP) has brought back into sharp focus an emotive issue that has seen veterans waging a battle over what they perceive as something that is unfair and unjust. The veterans are right. The government needs to pay serious attention to their demands and quickly remove the ano
The Tata-Mistry melee prompts a reassessment of the institution of independent directors and the role they play in ensuring effective corporate governance in India. Though independent directors are often expected to protect the interests of minority shareholders, their foremost duty is to act for the benefit of the company as a whole. The independent director
Rameshwar Oraon, a former Congress MP who went on to serve as minister of state for tribal affairs, is completing his second consecutive term as the head of the ST commission. In an interview with Archana Mishra days before his successor is expected to be named, Oraon explains what is wrong with the commission. What is the commission doing about the controversy r
Aditya Verma, secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) which is yet to be recognised by the BCCI, has been batting for a full membership for more than a decade. Since 2005, he has also been fighting for transparency and accountability in the working of the BCCI. It was on his petition that the supreme court directed N Srinivasan to step down as the BCCI chief. Another fallout of
A large majority of Indians report having voted in an election, either in the past year or in the more distant past. Far fewer Indians have engaged in other forms of political participation and only about one in ten have engaged in any of the online forms of political participation tested, said a Pew Research Center survey. Indian men are more likely than women to have attended a
Vyjayanthimala Bali was perhaps the first south Indian actor to become a national star. One of the prominent actors of the golden era of Bollywood, she ruled the film industry for almost two decades, the 1950s-60s. Besides acting, the 83-year-old is a renowned Bharatanatyam danseuse and choreographer. Vyjayanthimala took an active interest in politics and won Lok Sabha polls in 1984 on the
It all started when Balvinder Kumar, a senior civil servant, was suspended twice while serving in Uttar Pradesh almost a decade ago. In the midst of worrisome and sleepless nights, he decided to explore spiritual readings and practices like Transcendental Meditation. The deeper he went into studying philosophy, science and spirituality, his fascination about the mind and its thoughts
Since public memory is woefully short, it may not be common knowledge that general elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously initially – in 1951, 1957, 1962 and 1967. The cycle was broken by the disruption of some state assemblies in 1967, advancing of Lok Sabha elections to 1971 by PM Indira Gandhi and the dismissal of six state assemblies in 1978 by the J
The death of more than 200 tribal children in Palghar this year once again highlights the deep-rooted problem of malnutrition among children, especially the tribal ones. Most tribal children go to ashram schools – residential schools opened in tribal-dominated regions by the state and the ministry of tribal affairs, for providing education and free meals to kids. These schools are sup
In April, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan launched united payment interface (UPI), a payment technology product by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for all retail payment system in the country. UPI is a mobile interface that has a unique ‘push and pull’ feature for receiving and making payments using smartphones, thro
Excerpts from the deputy national security advisor’s speech at CyFy 2016: Digital Asia Scripting the New Governance Order conference organised by Observer Research Foundation on September 30. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are emerging as the engine of growth and prosperity in India. We have gained enormously from the cyber space. At the same tim
