‘March against corruption’ across several cities of the country last Sunday, which was spearheaded by RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and in which anti-corruption crusaders like Prashant Bhushan, JM Lyngdoh, JF Ribeiro and Medha Patkar, among others, participated, makes two broad points. One that corruption is no longer a non-issue and that people are angry enough to come out to the st
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the flagship project of the ministry of urban development, has completed five years. The project has facilitated modernisation of transport in 61 cities across the country. However, much more needs to be done to improve urban mobility. In an exclusive interview with Danish Raza, S K Lohia, officer on special dut
Ahmedabad`s Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is being widely hailed as a success story. And for perfectly compelling reasons. It is a case of a concept well executed, quite unlike its counterpart in Delhi. However, while Ahmedabad`s BRTS is routinely compared, and favourably so, with that in Delhi, there is another equally pertinent comparison that needs to be made if we want t
The United States reiterated earlier this week that India is a partner and not a target in curbing global proliferation. By removing several subsidiaries of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the department of commerce’s so-called “entities list” barring export of certain dual-use technologi
India, which has witnessed numerous terror attacks and still remains a potential target for such strikes, faces significant money laundering and terrorist financing risk, the IMF has warned. The International Monetary Fund in its report "India: Observance of Standards and Codes FATF Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism" howe
The recent proposal of the Maharashtra government to create Maharashtra information and technology services (MITS) has again highlighted the need of dedicated IT professionals as required for various arms of central and state governments. Last year, Haryana had similarly proposed a cadre for IT services. The idea of building human capacity for e-gover
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has predicted a bleak year for employment in 2011, the third consecutive one marred thus, despite a the global economic recovery. The ILO in a report says that the South Asia has the highest volume of vulnerable employment among all regions in the world, at 78.5 percent of total employment in 2009. India and China
The top bestseller in France for a while is not thriller, not a romance, not a new novel by a literary superstar. It’s a slim volume (32 pages), titled “Indignez-Vous!” (roughly translated as ‘Be Indignant!’ but also something like ‘Protest!’ or ‘Cry Out’) by Stéphane Hessel. The crux of his essay is that the French people have forgot
Along with the spread of awareness about the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the threat on those using the law to expose corruption has also increased. Every time an RTI applicant seeks information which has the potential to unearth the wrongdoings of influential people, he or she is at risk. In some cases, the threat remains limited to phone calls and in others, it cost th
Dust kicked up from pounding paws racing across the Indian grasslands, a flash of spots and the white of a tail as a large cat speeds past, the thrill of chasing leaping blackbuck across fields of gold; all images closely linked to Indian royal heritage. Coursing cheetahs are as much a part of the rich tapestry of Indian Mughal art and culture as their architecture, which
Booming economies apart, India and South Africa have rampant corruption in common. While, in India, the UPA coalition and stooges have a host of scams to their shame, the African National Congress (ANC) is being widely pilloried for being headed by Jacob Zuma, a man who should have been tried for 700-odd charges of alleged corruption. In 2009, Zuma got all of these charges dropped
The recent cabinet reshuffle at the Centre, much-hyped and long-awaited, can be characterized by twin traits of adhocism and eyewash. Corruption, bad governance and impending assembly elections in five states are said to be the key drivers behind the reshuffle. Although prime minister Manmohan Singh undertook as many as 37 changes in the portfolios of his ministers and inducted three ne
At a symposium on `Evidence to action for reducing maternal and newborn mortality` at AIIMS recently, former health secretary Sujatha Rao marked her attendance, perhaps her first after retirement. After attentively listening to all speakers, including some heads of department at AIIMS and other dignitaries, it was her turn to take the dais. The gyneco
Ahead of the cabinet reshuffle, the rural development minister CP Joshi erred in judgment and erred big time, thus clearing the path of his own exit from the coveted, flush-with-funds ministry. He should have known that he was not just ignoring the advice of the National Advisory Council (NAC) but that of the Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi.
India has the fifteenth-highest flow of slush funds among developing nations, according to a report released by a Washington DC think tank, Global Financial Integrity (GFI). Neighbouring China earns the ignominy of being ranked first. GFI, a research and advocacy organisation, pins India`s losses due to outflow of illicit liquidity at $104.1 billion during the period 2000-2008, a period when In
There has been a tremendous upsurge of social revulsion in the country about corruption. People wonder why the conscience of so-called leaders is not troubled by their betrayal of public trust. Corruption seems to be like a vaccine; once you learn to live with a small dose, a bigger dose becomes easier to live with. More and more people seem to have been immunised by this vaccine. How have cult
The defining characteristic of an authoritarian state is the unchecked power of the executive. Absence of opposition, rule of law, independent judiciary, freedom of press, civil liberties are all outcomes of unaccountable executive power, not the determinants. In India, checks to executive power are provided by partial separation of legislative power and an independent judiciary. However these
Lavasa corporation limited (LCL) cannot undertake any construction activity, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has said in a report submitted to the Bombay high court. In a 74-page report submitted on Monday, MoEF has said that the construction by LCL is ‘unauthorised, in violation of the three environmental impact assessment (EIA) notifications and is also environmentally da
