tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102292602012-02-20T16:59:25.418+05:30Idle thoughts as the wheels go round and round...pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.comBlogger8381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-54584614015484121412012-02-20T16:59:00.000+05:302012-02-20T16:59:16.292+05:30

What the Wall Street Journal Can’t See in India’s Forests And so, understand this before you colour victims as perpetrators, and perpetrators as the saviours of India’s forests: it is not indigenous communities that are razing India’s canopy to the ground. That is happening, instead, because the Indian government refuses to recognise/continues to violate customary rights and every progressive

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-52586269576420812582012-02-20T16:47:00.001+05:302012-02-20T16:47:53.778+05:30

5 Lessons From the Rise of the BRICs STATE CAPITALISM WORKS Only one of the four BRIC economies could be considered free: India. The other three are deeply capitalist, sure -- finding success on international markets has been a big part of their rise -- but their version of capitalism includes the strong guidance of the government. State capitalism means state-owned firms like the massive

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-17437317153393613292012-02-16T10:20:00.004+05:302012-02-16T10:20:45.734+05:30

It is less costly to build too.  It can make a tremendous difference.  Attitude, our biggest infrastructure hurdle. Stop the honking.  Please.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-6207716520022267292012-02-16T10:16:00.003+05:302012-02-16T10:16:57.384+05:30

 How do the US officials keep a straight face when they preach democracy? The Crackdown How the United States looked the other way while Bahrain crushed the Arab Spring’s most ill-fated uprising. ...  After massive protests shook the tiny Gulf state last February and March, Bahraini authorities swept in with the backing of foreign troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-66303993865067784522012-02-14T18:33:00.002+05:302012-02-14T18:33:38.883+05:30

A very interesting comparison of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu from the angle of taxation of alcohol: Liquor levies and their social uses.  And this table was a bit of a revelation as to how similar in size TN and Gujarat's economies are, which is not surprising since I don't really follow these things too carefully.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-85412204916027771032012-02-14T18:27:00.000+05:302012-02-14T18:27:13.145+05:30

Actually, the question asked is:   Why is the West silent about Algeria? Johan Galtung, Feb 13,2012, IPS: Since the military seized power, a quarter million people have been killed in Algeria. The killing of nonviolent demonstrators and civilian bystanders is escalating in Syria. Assad should resign immediately, a coalition government should be formed, and hundreds of mediators should hold

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-45604208443669561452012-02-10T22:38:00.000+05:302012-02-10T22:38:40.178+05:30

Health check for corporate hospitals Devastating fires are only one part of the management of private/corporate hospitals. Thanks to the self-promoting glitz and chutzpah surrounding them, they are, in fact, the blind spot of both the governments and the people, as regards accountability and transparency. Occasionally, someone somewhere who has been the victim of their blunders or exactions,

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-26486979502355518182012-02-10T12:13:00.000+05:302012-02-10T13:00:04.761+05:30

Kerala's traditional chips losing to other snacks Kerala's traditional snacks industry, dominated by banana and tapioca chips, is losing market share to the invasion by outside varieties, according to Mr Alex Thomas, Managing Director, Tierra Food India Pvt Ltd. Multinational as well as large Indian companies have lured customers to the potato chips and corn-based extruded snacks sold by

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-9270343518037919982012-02-10T12:05:00.000+05:302012-02-10T12:05:43.976+05:30

For he must surely know the procedure, owning one himself.  How cool is that - an aquifer all to oneself in the Himalayas, the water from which can be sold for the same price as diesel without all the hassle that the latter entails.  I believe diesel can be a bit more difficult to source and all, though I may be mistaken.   These big industrialists hold all the aces, don't they?   Hear it

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-45960445752876293022012-02-10T11:27:00.002+05:302012-02-10T11:27:58.906+05:30

Additional tax on diesel cars will further impede industry growth: M&M Terming the calls for imposing additional tax on diesel vehicles as “retrograde”, homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today said such a move will only further impede growth of the industry which has had a difficult year in 2011. Reacting to issues raised from various quarters over usage of subsidised diesel fuel for

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-28816403105271232342012-02-10T11:11:00.003+05:302012-02-10T11:11:46.523+05:30

Marginal increase in forest cover in State Bangalore, Feb 9, 2012, DHNS: The State’s forest cover has increased by only 3.72 lakh hectares between 1999 and 2009, though the State government planted 52 crore saplings covering 6.39 lakh hectares under the afforestation programme during the period. In a reply to BJP’s Manohar Maski and the Congress’ R V Venkatesh on the afforestation programme

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-52602880394059189622012-02-10T11:04:00.000+05:302012-02-10T11:07:22.189+05:30

BJP ‘saffronising’ textbooks Former chairman of the Backward Class Commission, Dr C S Dwarkanath, freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, and former MLA A K Subbaiah, addressing the media here on Thursday, said the State government was “indoctrinating young minds by “Hinduising” textbooks along the lines of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology. Citing examples as proof for their claim, they

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-63688347294205379302012-02-09T22:36:00.000+05:302012-02-09T22:36:02.521+05:30

Cleaning the fuel subsidy mess It is high time that people, who can afford to buy cars and two-wheelers, realise that fuel won't come in cheap. None of them complains when they have to pay for expensive airline or movie tickets. Is petrol such a measly commodity that it has to be sold cheap? There is just no alternative unless state governments decide to do away with sales tax on petrol,

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-80259832017677339662012-02-09T13:57:00.001+05:302012-02-09T13:57:47.022+05:30

For which nice turn of phrase, credit goes to the Deccan Herald editorial team: BJP’s porngate The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) liked to boast itself as a ‘party with a difference.’ The BJP, which was voted to power in Karnataka in 2008, is proving to be not only ‘different,’ but a party with many shady shades.  ... For all the high moral pitch the BJP and its fountainhead, the RSS adopt

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-67071592008497102842012-02-09T10:04:00.000+05:302012-02-09T21:46:07.698+05:30

I admit this comes as a shock: The number of those who approve of the drone strikes drops nearly 20 percent when respondents are told that the targets are American citizens. But that 65 percent is still a very big number, given that these policies really should be controversial. I used to think that the American government is the sole culprit in all the misdeeds done in America's name all

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-68077500660185439852012-02-09T09:53:00.001+05:302012-02-09T09:53:23.654+05:30

Dump the idea says Deccan Herald.   The idea of privatising water has been assiduously peddled by the World Bank, NGOs that receive funding to implement its agenda, business corporations, consultants and so on. Profits motivate their marketing of this idea but these proponents of privatisation have sought to sell their agenda on the principle of efficiency. They have held out privatisation of

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-32604998627389053492012-02-08T10:29:00.000+05:302012-02-08T10:29:44.170+05:30

Strange news of the day:  Devas Multimedia lobbying with the US lawmakers.   Devas hired US lobbyist to manage ISRO deal Devas Multimedia, whose satellite communications contract with the Indian government-owned Antrix was scrapped after a controversy, has been lobbying here to push forward its case before the US President and other lawmakers and has paid USD 140,000 so far for the same.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-59155352259615077042012-02-07T10:32:00.000+05:302012-02-07T10:32:32.000+05:30

No point in privatising if it doesn't help consumers  Nigeria is reportedly so impressed with India's - and more specifically, Delhi's - model of privatisation of power distribution that it wants to adopt the Delhi model while selling off its own state-owned power generation and distribution businesses.  ... One wonders whether the Nigerian authorities have had a chance to actually interact

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-3747221810977736772012-02-07T10:13:00.002+05:302012-02-07T10:13:54.000+05:30

Lop-sided growth If food, primary education and primary healthcare are the issues which go unanswered, what ‘growth’ are we talking about? For the past several years Indian economy has been growing at about 8.5 per cent. Even the current projected rate of growth for 2012, despite global recessionary trends, has been put at over 7 per cent. Businessmen and elite have flourished. More

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-53683636125327217342012-02-07T10:07:00.001+05:302012-02-07T10:07:53.082+05:30

From the too funny-to-be-true department, the how-the-might-have-fallen department, and the bathos department: India tells Britain: We don't want your aid India’s Finance Minister has said that his country “does not require” British aid, describing it as “peanuts”. Pranab Mukherjee and other Indian ministers tried to terminate Britain’s aid to their booming country last year - but relented

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-19283341893004970412012-02-06T22:54:00.001+05:302012-02-06T22:54:57.484+05:30

Dazzling images do not a shining nation make Each year, since then, India has had a major visual presence at Davos through cleverly pitched campaigns designed by highly creative advertising agencies. The India visible in the branding images primarily exists in the consciousness of the elite. It is a world of neat shopping malls, expensive branded products, happy, prosperous consumers,

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-59680456340405656202012-02-06T22:49:00.000+05:302012-02-06T22:51:15.158+05:30

Corporations Have No Use for Borders The decay of Canada illustrates two things. Corporate power is global, and resistance to it cannot be restricted by national boundaries. Corporations have no regard for nation-states. They assert their power to exploit the land and the people everywhere. They play worker off of worker and nation off of nation. They control the political elites in Ottawa as

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-54439310688050021822012-02-06T22:24:00.001+05:302012-02-06T22:29:05.003+05:30

The Myth of The New York Times, in Documentary Form They do not question the utopian faith in globalization. They support preemptive war, at least before it goes horribly wrong. And they accept unfettered capitalism, despite what it has done to the nation, as a kind of natural law. The reigning corporate ideology has infected the Times as it has most other liberal institutions. Because this

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-91865779105488991102012-02-06T22:21:00.000+05:302012-02-06T22:31:09.811+05:30

Playing ‘God' with spectrum The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in power then, never really thought it would lose the Parliamentary elections in 2004. But if it had had some inkling of the impending defeat and wanted another tilt at power, it couldn't have thought of a better ‘Trojan Horse' for the successor government to fiddle

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-78763193627962378562012-02-04T17:17:00.001+05:302012-02-04T17:17:59.700+05:30

The founder of Lok Satta party has a spectrum of solutions for corruption, all of which pertain to the corporate world.  Competitive bidding for national resources and the following three:  What other steps should we take to curb collusive corruption and to protect public revenues? Three specific steps are needed now. First, a law should be enacted by Parliament making all contracts involving

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-15921689821899231002012-02-04T17:11:00.001+05:302012-02-04T17:11:25.592+05:30

By far the most interesting take on the 2G decision by the Supreme Court comes from a pink paper: 2G Scam: Supreme Court’s cancellation of 122 licences is mostly unfortunate The Court posits auctions as the only acceptable method for fair and transparent allocation of national assets. Why ignore a draw of lots among financially and technically qualified aspirants? It equates national

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-74161864036181933142012-02-04T16:50:00.001+05:302012-02-04T16:50:50.611+05:30

Let water, not profits, flow As a finite, life-giving resource, access to water must remain a fundamental right. The state, as custodian under the public trust doctrine, should uphold the right of the citizen to clean, safe drinking water. It is such a strong, rights-based approach that should underpin official policy on water in India. Many areas in the country are water-stressed, and there

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-35526541647639734332012-02-01T10:52:00.001+05:302012-02-01T10:52:52.318+05:30

B S Raghavan addresses the 'weak PM' issue: Making a case study of PM's leadership style He has been called the weakest PM, the one who is presiding over the most corrupt government, the mouni baba and what have you. We even find that nowadays at the start of meetings and seminars all over India, the comperes have taken to asking the members of the audience to put their mobiles on the MMS

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-6872748644483139872012-02-01T09:55:00.003+05:302012-02-01T09:55:34.651+05:30

Coal India puts off price hike on key users' protest NEW DELHI, JAN 31:  Buckling under consumer pressure, Coal India Ltd has rolled back the price hike proposed under its new Gross Calorific Value-based pricing mechanism effective January 1. Coal India will delink the rates from international parity prices, said Mr N. C. Jha, Chairman. This would eventually reduce the prices for different

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-45142423172107542202012-01-31T10:10:00.000+05:302012-01-31T10:10:39.346+05:30

Handling the energy crisis However, in some other cases, moderating the extravagant lifestyles of the rich is essential, because certain activities consume much greater energy than others. A two-way flight from Delhi to Washington, once a year, consumes as much energy as 35 km of daily car driving round the year! And one 35-km journey by car consumes as much energy as running an LED

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-8841871453124404792012-01-30T12:52:00.001+05:302012-01-30T12:52:56.270+05:30

Nice to see that we've finally grown up.   India wants to keep getting oil from Iran: Pakistani daily India intends to keep importing oil from Iran and it appears that Indians, and even Chinese, will explore paying Tehran ''with gold, the Japanese yen or even in part with their own national currencies'', said a Pakistani daily. An editorial in the News International Monday said that the

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-16032248468731509932012-01-30T12:47:00.000+05:302012-01-30T12:55:30.215+05:30

Wildlife laws ignored for religious event at Bandipur Ex-CMs, ministers, legislators to take part in jatra at tiger reserve.    Lakhs of devotees are expected to throng the tiger reserve at the Bandipur National Park during the 108 shiv ling pratishtapana mahotsava and jathra on Monday at Mahadeshwara temple in Beladakuppe.  Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is scheduled to inaugurate

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-29104469801690005172012-01-27T09:49:00.000+05:302012-01-27T09:49:11.225+05:30

In U-turn, RIL wants say in gas pricing Less than three years after Reliance Industries Ltd. told the Supreme Court that the Krishna-Godavari basin gas is a “national resource” over which it had “no unfettered rights” in terms of price or quantity, and that it was “bound by the terms of the production sharing contract [PSC] and the policies and directions issued by the government from time to

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-76364638730376968932012-01-24T14:21:00.002+05:302012-01-24T22:20:23.377+05:30

Rights groups fronting for Maoists, says IB Indian intelligence agencies have suggested that the Union government take steps to limit activities of leading human rights organisations. In their advice to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the agencies have alleged that some rights organisations are “actively helping spread the Maoist ideology.” ...  The activities of rights groups raising

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-19222069210235541132012-01-23T12:09:00.000+05:302012-01-23T12:09:01.331+05:30

Money, power, and Congress: how lobbyists will determine the fate of SOPA I quickly learned that our elected officials are not demigods solely focused on the collective good — they’re just people. To inflate them into anything else trivializes their real accomplishments at best, and blinds us from the reality of Congress at worst. Lawmakers may have their own parochial interests or lofty

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-32842837811986286242012-01-21T23:12:00.000+05:302012-01-21T23:35:54.992+05:30

The Lokayukta deception In an extraordinary judgment that must count among the sharpest indictments ever handed out to any State government, the Gujarat High Court has upheld Governor Kamla Beniwal's appointment of Justice R.A. Mehta as the Lokayukta over objections by Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers. The single judge bench of Justice V.M. Sahai ruled that, although the Governor

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-2735535347498068192012-01-18T12:00:00.002+05:302012-01-18T20:54:23.428+05:30

http://www.craigslist.org/about/SOPA.  No fasting involved.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-22147931926239995672012-01-18T11:28:00.000+05:302012-01-18T11:28:48.853+05:30

After kow-towing to the US for the better part of UPA-I and II terms, we seem to have suddenly decided to go against its wishes.  India rejects US embargo, to import oil from Iran NEW DELHI: Even as China cuts down drastically its oil imports from Iran, which is soon likely to run into fresh sanctions from the US and the EU, India on Tuesday declared it will continue to import crude oil from

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-18578442103198645532012-01-18T10:26:00.000+05:302012-01-18T11:28:59.903+05:30

Needed: Governance revolution In short, the IAS, which today can in no way be compared with the elite ICS of the British period, will have to be reformed substantially from within and without, before it comes to be identified publicly as the main wrecker of the vision of a vibrant India. Italics mine.  So many wishes in that small sentence - policy-making by the elite, nostalgia for the

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-26139522157852495472012-01-17T09:34:00.000+05:302012-01-17T09:45:58.517+05:30

Why seek retail FDI for cold storage? The region is home to a third of Nigeria's population of over 150 million people. The people are mostly small farmers and cattle-rearers. The area suffers from poor roads and power shortage, making cold storage difficult (a description that applies to vast tracts of India). Consequently, farmers had to sell their produce at low prices, since they could not

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-38937730937806903602012-01-16T09:17:00.000+05:302012-01-16T09:44:57.131+05:30

No public, just hearings for mega projects They walked in a single file. Some were bare-chested, their shirts used to tie their hands behind their back; many nursing bruises from fibreglass batons wielded by policemen. All 36 men were picked up on January 7 and marched six km to a police station on the outskirts of the coal mining town of Korba in northern Chhattisgarh after a public hearing,

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-5930920381171047662012-01-16T09:05:00.001+05:302012-01-18T10:30:13.739+05:30

D Raja of the CPI analyses the workings of UPA-I and UPA-II ‘UPA’s fall will be due to its own contradictions’ “The biggest weakness of the present coalition, according to him, is the lack of a co-ordination committee and a Common Minimum Programme (CMP). Nobody knows how and why allies joined hands with Congress to form the government without either of these. UPA I had both. The Left

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-62315395570568273162012-01-14T20:57:00.001+05:302012-01-14T21:11:40.171+05:30

Trials and Errors: Why Science Is Failing Us Hume realized that, although people talk about causes as if they are real facts—tangible things that can be discovered—they’re actually not at all factual. Instead, Hume said, every cause is just a slippery story, a catchy conjecture, a “lively conception produced by habit.” When an apple falls from a tree, the cause is obvious: gravity. Hume’s

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-64509702190961324892012-01-13T23:13:00.000+05:302012-01-13T23:18:30.791+05:30

Over in the US, an utility in the private sector commits hanky-panky.  PG&E diverted safety money for profit, bonuses Pacific Gas and Electric Co. diverted more than $100 million in gas safety and operations money collected from customers over a 15-year period and spent it for other purposes, including profit for stockholders and bonuses for executives, according to a pair of state-ordered

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-47894541947376341902012-01-13T23:01:00.002+05:302012-01-13T23:18:12.563+05:30

NYT's Public Editor wants to know.  Arthur Brisbane and selective stenography The New York Times‘ Public Editor Arthur Brisbane unwittingly sparked an intense and likely enduring controversy yesterday when he pondered — as though it were some agonizing, complex dilemma — whether news reporters “should challenge ‘facts’ that are asserted by newsmakers they write about.” That’s basically the

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-80181110422109726832012-01-11T22:19:00.000+05:302012-01-11T22:19:22.561+05:30

Pretty damning coming from a banker.  Why no ‘CDR’ for farm loans? But as our public policy discourse and chat-shows are predominantly urban and corporate-oriented, these [farmer] suicides have neither shocked nor shamed the policy-making establishment. That includes even the banking sector. Anybody with anything to do with this sector ought to feel vicariously culpable in the withering away

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-65277843745533441252012-01-06T12:36:00.001+05:302012-01-06T13:11:32.384+05:30

I wrote about public sector banks shoveling money to the telecom operators in this post:  The 3G Scam?.  Now we read this:  Kingfisher Airlines is NPA for us, says SBI chief. New Delhi, Jan. 5:   The State Bank of India said Mr Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines has turned a non-performing asset (NPA). “Kingfisher is an NPA for us. They are in default,” Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, SBI

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-5989394885852926952012-01-05T13:08:00.000+05:302012-01-05T13:31:48.259+05:30

Takes a lot of money, obviously.  In fact, the guy who raises most, nearly always wins.  That, and other minor facets of American presidential elections in this piece Iowa: The Meaningless Sideshow Begins Those numbers tell us that both parties rely upon the same core of major donors among the top law firms, the Wall Street companies, and business leaders – basically, the 1%. Those

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-72363159907821905122012-01-05T09:59:00.002+05:302012-01-18T10:33:28.811+05:30

Pushing reforms is no easy task The Congress has always had a centralised view of India's federal structure. When Jawaharlal Nehru was elected to power in a largely illiterate country, he believed it was his duty to tap a more educated — read Western-educated — elite for policymaking. He then used his vast political capital to push these policies through Parliament. No other Congress Prime

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-22571336726989103582012-01-04T11:51:00.002+05:302012-01-04T11:51:35.289+05:30

Nothing like an idea firmly embedded in the powers-that-be's minds.  Cabinet nod to Metro Phase-2 likely today.  Nothing to beat spending someone else's money either.  Rs 27000 crores of it.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-70106658320732474582012-01-04T10:32:00.003+05:302012-02-04T16:56:29.966+05:30

Or its purity, where do we go? Environment Ministry pulled up for absence of water pollution policyThe Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pulled up the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for the absence of a “specific water pollution policy”. There was no inventory of water sources or identification of pollution levels, the absence of which hampers water pollution

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-35396986564347605072012-01-04T10:27:00.004+05:302012-01-04T10:27:59.148+05:30

Many people believe that the recently deceased FDI in multi-brand retail was taken purely to help India's farmers and consumers.  They should read this. India to take up visa rejections issue with US On its part, the US is expected to push for opening up of India's multi-brand retail trade to Foreign Direct Investment; raise its concern over certain proposals that could ‘curb' FDI in brown

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-12050014045459879042012-01-03T12:35:00.002+05:302012-01-03T12:35:36.251+05:30

From The Dismal Outlook for 2012: A Note on Race, Caste and Fiscal Prudence It is a core view that I have elaborated on in prior letters that democracies with universal suffrage have a long run tendency to spend their way into fiscal bankruptcy and degrade their currencies along the way. Investors have to recognize this phenomenon. The so called advanced West has reached that point of

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-43889547268742043352012-01-03T12:27:00.000+05:302012-01-03T12:27:33.236+05:30

Interesting discussion of privacy issues.  Are You Being Tracked? 8 Ways Your Privacy Is Being Eroded Online and Off, via TBP.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-5073070274561503442012-01-03T12:06:00.001+05:302012-01-03T12:06:36.703+05:30

Interesting insights into the role of APMC mandi system, which has been criticized for keeping the farmers from getting a fair price for their produce.  All in the name of the farmer: A closer analysis also brings out a fundamental difference between mandis and private procurement channels. For instance, since ITC necessarily operates its choupals according to the corporation's changing

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-37229768665393815552011-12-26T16:02:00.003+05:302011-12-26T17:24:31.664+05:30

I'm sure the politicians forced them to misprice because, as we all know, only the politicians are corrupt. $128 billion siphoned out of India in a decade  if an exporter understates the value of goods actually exported in relation to the imports recorded in the importing partner country and keeps the balance of funds abroad, that too is an illicit outflow. International trade data reveals

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-77189599840774292732011-12-26T15:37:00.000+05:302011-12-26T16:03:18.531+05:30

How FDI in retail will hurt farmers A prominent TV channel featured the story of a few farmers in Punjab highlighting how direct purchases of produce by a retailer had given them a higher yield. This is a type of faulty reasoning described in college textbooks as “the fallacy of composition”. The fallacy of composition arises when one infers that something is true of the whole from the fact

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-61081450024163268442011-12-25T09:28:00.000+05:302012-01-02T14:16:40.402+05:30

I asked Where Is The Nationwide Support for "Team Anna"? about 36 hours ago, noting that just 48413 people had registered for his Jail Bharo 'Andolan'.  Time to update that number.  It's a day later.  I expect the thing to have caught on like wild fire.  So let me check.  67070.   That many could be fit into Eden Gardens.  And which are the states/regions contributing mainly to that

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-66665929446016254452011-12-24T20:10:00.000+05:302011-12-24T20:20:11.036+05:30

TAXPAYERS PETITION FOR PRIVATISATION OF THATCHER’S FUNERAL WHICH investment bank will underwrite the ticket sales at Margaret Thatcher’s privatised funeral? The Capitalist only asks because, as of last night, more than 14,000 people had signed up to the e-petition posted by Scott Morgan declaring that the Iron Lady’s state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector. After all

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-3889600039756870032011-12-24T12:58:00.002+05:302011-12-24T12:59:52.665+05:30

Anna Hazare's managers have started a website for the Jail Bharo movement, Jail Bharo Andolan, where people who  are willing to fill the jails in his support can register their details.  If they want to register through SMS, the website has the number to which they can send the SMS. Time hanging a bit heavily on my hands, I ambled across to the website to see what it was about.  It's a

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-53087667513202102022011-12-23T22:53:00.001+05:302011-12-23T22:54:15.460+05:30

Court raps Team Anna, rejects plea over MMRDA ground: Earlier in the day, Team Anna came in for scathing criticism by the court for its proposed agitation against the Lokpal Bill with the bench saying it cannot allow “parallel canvassing” when Parliament is seized with debate on the legislation. “We can’t allow parallel canvassing when Parliament is seized with debate on the bill. You can

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-23176900636674297262011-12-23T10:17:00.000+05:302011-12-23T10:17:11.589+05:30

India is nowhere.  Top 10 Countries for Solar Energy Germany at #1 with 17 Gigawatts installed. Spain #2 with 3.7 gigawatts installed. France #3 with 1 gigawatts installed When will our day in the sun come?

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-62603270567538015952011-12-22T09:33:00.000+05:302011-12-22T12:15:33.760+05:30

US puts lid on flu experiments over terror fears Fear of misuse as a lethal bio-terrorism agent has prompted the US government to ask two of the world's leading scientific journals – “Science” and “Nature” – not to publish technical details on the creation of a deadly avian influenza strain which has the potential to transmit easily among human and cause millions of deaths. The National

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-39796610366156383122011-12-21T10:43:00.000+05:302011-12-21T11:11:00.613+05:30

For Sonam, Showing Middle Finger is No Big Deal. Yet she was classy enough not to do it in real life.  A repost from aeons ago:  The Class Dialectic: Class: Declasse:

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-47888116801149024622011-12-21T10:34:00.001+05:302011-12-21T10:35:05.574+05:30

A little bit of time travel to 2009/10 triggered by this article: Congress ups the ante on quotas.  Two reviews of the book "Blocked By Caste". The economics of caste inequity.  From the latter: Reactions to the caste question are fairly predictable in India. The average (upper caste) response is that the policy of reservations has gone on far too long and that discrimination is very much

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-85476269556826274352011-12-21T09:39:00.001+05:302011-12-21T09:39:11.416+05:30

Lamentable legacy But the Iraq [US] troops have left behind is far weaker, less secure, and infinitely far more unstable than when they invaded it. The war unleashed and empowered the forces of religious fundamentalism in Iraq. Washington is patting itself on its back for leaving behind a democratic Iraq. But whether Iraq today is any more democratic than under Saddam Hussein is questionable.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-71626964104716613542011-12-20T12:09:00.001+05:302011-12-20T12:09:18.558+05:30

Pension regulatory bill set to sail smoothly through LS The government is understood to have agreed to the BJP demand for inclusion of assured returns to retired employees in Pensions Bill. The Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Sinha, had recommended for an assured return option to new subscribers.  Pensioners are concerned over the fate of their hard-earned money as the new bill

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-22860732841626682832011-12-20T11:53:00.002+05:302011-12-20T11:53:28.091+05:30

Ah, The Invisible Hand is fleetingly seen before it vanishes into the deeps.   PMO declines to disclose former SEBI member’s letters New Delhi: The government has declined to disclose two letters written to prime minister Manmohan Singh by former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) member KM Abraham, who had alleged in another communication, interference by some corporates and

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-92065061362666678162011-12-20T11:46:00.000+05:302011-12-20T11:46:15.427+05:30

Is lower than in Pakistan , Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand.  ‘More poor people own mobile phones, but productive use still a far cry' According to a 2011 study, “Teleuse@BOP4” by LIRNEasia, an ICT policy and regulation think tank active in the Asia Pacific region, while there has been a marked rise in mobile phone use by BoP persons in rural and urban India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-16309377499458086942011-12-20T11:39:00.000+05:302011-12-20T12:21:37.318+05:30

Mukesh Ambani in talks to buy Network 18: WSJ MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, India's biggest conglomerate, is in talks to buy Network 18, the television and internet company, the Wall Street Journal said quoting people familiar with the situation.  Ambani, the paper said, has been in talks with Network 18 founder and controlling shareholder Raghav Bahl on the

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-73390977200010650902011-12-20T09:12:00.001+05:302011-12-20T09:12:26.663+05:30

Raj Thackeray delivers a shock to MES Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray gave a jolt to the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) members from Belgaum who called on him, by advising them that instead of agitating for a secession from Karnataka, they should lead a “respectful” life in Karnataka, adding “After all, I don’t see any problem with Belgaum being a part of Karnataka.” Talking

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-54402913013372024472011-12-19T11:38:00.000+05:302011-12-19T11:58:31.695+05:30

The cost varies from Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 3.5 lakh crore(Food Security Scheme to cost Rs 3.5 lakh cr) depending on the source.  And the latter figure counts the current food subsidy plus an increase of around Rs 25,000 crore on account of the Bill, though the cost should just count the latter.  And then it also counts approximately Rs 1 lakh crore for 'boosting farm production'. So, what is

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-5259946514962907612011-12-18T16:17:00.000+05:302011-12-18T16:17:52.902+05:30

Parking needs space research While on the one hand, the City needs a parking policy to decongest many important roads, the ruling BJP in the BBMP as well as in the State is not keen on implementing the policy for one strong reason. “Our policy is clear. We don’t want any parking fee. Parking in the City should be free of cost. We do not want to bring back a system we had fought against some

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-54170228198304215672011-12-18T16:08:00.002+05:302011-12-19T12:04:46.141+05:30

It is difficult not to wonder if this man is all there when he says things like this (link: Anna calls for another ‘jail bharo’ agitation): Giving a clean chit to Manmohan Singh for the logjam on the Lokpal Bill, he said the Prime Minister is good, but those holding his remote control are corrupt. “It appears, people are creating impediments in clearing the Lokpal Bill for the convenience of

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-83642296010156608162011-12-17T22:29:00.002+05:302011-12-17T22:29:59.210+05:30

Media Consolidation: The Illusion of Choice  6 media giants control 90% of what Americans read, watch, or listen to.   232 media executives control the information diet of 277 million Americans Free markets and competition work exceedingly well.  Really.  Why don't you believe me?

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-60703266806497093762011-12-17T22:08:00.000+05:302011-12-17T22:08:30.706+05:30

Yes, says Prakash Karat in this The Hindu report:  Government unwilling to abide by tenets of parliamentary democracy: Karat Referring to the Cabinet decision of allowing 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, Mr. Karat said Parliament got stalled on the issue as the government refused to accept the adjournment motion of the Opposition as it was not willing to face any

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-83903082628753929592011-12-17T22:00:00.003+05:302011-12-17T22:01:46.766+05:30

Is the first thing that comes to mind reading this in today's The Hindu: Are many of the current lot just ‘flat-track bullies'?  Several young Indian batsmen too have been found wanting outside the sub-continent. Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli have struggled against the bouncing ball. These batsmen have been found wanting in footwork and have consequently been opened up. The lack of solid

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-17662027004313952872011-12-16T21:01:00.003+05:302011-12-16T21:02:14.122+05:30

Aadhaar: time to disown the idea “…The Committee categorically convey their unacceptability of the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010…The Committee would, thus, urge the Government to reconsider and review the UID scheme.…” This was the conclusion of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF), which examined the Bill to convert the Unique Identification Authority of

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-2954856880161931612011-12-16T11:19:00.004+05:302011-12-16T11:19:59.464+05:30

Harrowing tales of children rescued from begging The stories of child beggars, who were rescued in the City on Thursday, are heartrending. Though in a few cases, the parents had pushed their children into begging, in a majority of cases, they had handed over their children to handlers, who in turn forced them into begging. In many cases, the mothers used to hand over their children to the

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-47692681563298709062011-12-16T10:59:00.002+05:302011-12-16T10:59:59.468+05:30

Double-digit food inflation: Current 38-month spell the longest in recorded history Since [the early 1970s and between late 1970s to early 1980s], high food inflation episodes were relatively short-lived, with the longest one lasting 27 months in the early 1990s. Even in the severe drought conditions of 1987, the double-digit food inflation episode lasted just 18 months. All of that pales in

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-87408816520768811702011-12-16T10:48:00.000+05:302011-12-16T10:48:41.636+05:30

Banks nervous about telecom exposure They need to be.  Their exposure is almost 1 lakh crore.  Half of that may be on account of loans to the winners of the 3G auction.  So one can argue that the auction only fetched half of what is claimed, at present.  And PSU banks - implicitly backed by the government - funded a large part of the 3G auction amount as the report points out.  SBI itself

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-8186269966241061552011-12-16T10:14:00.004+05:302011-12-16T10:14:39.040+05:30

 UK softening up its population for a possible war with Iran Many in the UK swore that it would never happen again. A hugely unpopular decision to go to war at the time, Tony Blair is still vilified to this day by large sections of the British public for his decision to support the Bush administration and illegally invade Iraq. Fast forward eight years, and the now British prime minister

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-87880787265161884182011-12-16T10:02:00.000+05:302011-12-16T10:02:00.576+05:30

A turning point There are signs of tribal support for the Maoists dwindling in Orissa. Tribal voters recently ignored a Maoist call for boycott of by-elections in the Umarkote constituency in Nowrangpur district and showed up in record numbers, with 75 per cent voters exercising their franchise.  The Maoist call for a bundh to protest the killing of Kishenji too was ignored by the state’s

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-9376585401733855672011-12-16T09:29:00.002+05:302011-12-16T10:21:05.603+05:30

Prem Shankar Jha crunches some figures for us: Smoke and Mirrors How many livelihoods are lost, will depend on the rate of growth of the economy and the speed of penetration by retailers. At the centre of the storm of protest that arose over the cabinet’s decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retailing, lay one question: will it cause a loss of employment, not to mention the investment made

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-76710575484772338152011-12-16T09:23:00.002+05:302011-12-16T09:30:05.108+05:30

Kudankulam clouds PM’s Moscow visit Russian envoy to India Alexander M Kadakin told a news conference here last week that Moscow would expect that the NPCIL and JSC Atomstroyexport to strike a  deal for the third and fourth reactors at Kudankulum under the same terms and conditions as the ones applicable to the first and second.  Moscow pointed it out to New Delhi that India had no legal

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-57324920416622822192011-12-16T09:17:00.001+05:302011-12-16T09:30:20.447+05:30

Govt won’t reveal black money a/c holders’ names Mukherjee said some countries may refrain from sharing further information if the names were made public as it would amount to violating the information sharing agreement with them. “We will dry up our source of information,” Mukherjee said, adding some of the account holders could even withdraw money if t he names were publicised. “I have

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-42007720301278468762011-12-15T09:07:00.000+05:302011-12-15T09:19:32.072+05:30

As Mr Anna Hazare tilts at windmills in the national capital, other movements happen in the hinterlands and meet the brute force of the state, to be heard but faintly by the hyperventilating TV heads and the national press. A letter from the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti dated yesterday: Dear Friends,  We are in terrible shock and disbelief having faced more than 500 armed goons

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-21752044894217509842011-12-14T15:23:00.005+05:302011-12-16T09:00:19.416+05:30

Interesting numbers from Manish Tiwari  in the LS debate on black money.  Only 3 crore Indians pay income tax.  He reasoned as follows:  65 crores are in agriculture and are exempted from paying IT.  Out of the 45 crore or so remaining, leave out around 10 crore people who may be pensioners and otherwise exempt.  Now that leaves 35 crore who should be paying it. But only 3 crore people do.  

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-23716294014747223392011-12-14T14:49:00.000+05:302011-12-14T15:13:07.513+05:30

Actually, no.  It asks for reforms. FICCI pushes for new reforms in Budget 2012-13 NEW DELHI, DEC 14:   In the backdrop of falling rupee and overall downward industry sentiment, FICCI pushed for initiation of new reforms to widen direct tax net and give one time amnesty scheme to Indians to bring back overseas money, among others. Now, that is some "reforms" package.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-87163220230517566002011-12-14T09:20:00.000+05:302011-12-14T09:20:10.190+05:30

Google’s 3 Top Executives Have 8 Private Jets.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-35975493677013939482011-12-13T13:09:00.001+05:302011-12-13T13:09:40.067+05:30

via churumuri, Harsh Mander's Unpalatable truths.   With states reluctant to run adult feeding programmes, this task is undertaken by religious charities. But few offer wholesome food or treat the poor with dignity. ...We found that only 4% of homeless persons depend completely on these charities for food. These are mainly destitute homeless persons, disabled and elderly men and women, and

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-1793144861261558882011-12-13T12:32:00.004+05:302011-12-13T13:11:43.643+05:30

Jeff Bezos Owns the Web in More Ways Than You Think.

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-26358677938781944432011-12-13T11:12:00.000+05:302011-12-13T13:13:32.152+05:30

The climate turned against India at Durban The Indian position ever since the COP in Bali, Indonesia (2007) when the Bali Action Plan was adopted, has been that it would abide by the Action Plan to follow “measurable, reportable and verifiable” measures to effect reductions in the emission intensity of its GDP growth but would not agree to being subjected to any legally binding instrument to

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-74338490594504694442011-12-13T10:58:00.002+05:302011-12-13T10:58:28.305+05:30

Beastly Affair: From a military point of view, three things become apparent other than that electronic warfare has arrived as the norm rather than exception. One, US has lost the monopoly of a military technology it developed at great cost.  Tehran proposes to do ‘reverse engineering’. But, will it do so all by itself or with friends from, say, Beijing or Moscow – or Pakistan? Two, Iran

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-27593868086142322222011-12-13T10:48:00.001+05:302011-12-13T10:48:53.893+05:30

Magic of Millets Till the late ‘80s, millets were a crucial part of agricultural produce in the Dharwad region before cash crops like maize, improved varieties of cotton and soya bean took over. Today, farmers and consumers of Dharwad district are rediscovering the importance of millets, writes Anitha Pailoor  Angadi says, “When we got a month’s income as a day’s wages, we forgot all about

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-52947919442988351672011-12-12T21:37:00.002+05:302011-12-13T10:40:24.791+05:30

Huge numbers of Iraqis still adrift within the country As many as 2 million Iraqis — about 6 percent of the country's estimated population of more than 31 million — are thought to have been forced from the cities and towns where they once lived and are housed in circumstances that feel temporary and makeshift. Tough luck. via eschaton. 

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-60788745547757938122011-12-12T12:29:00.001+05:302011-12-12T13:02:56.189+05:30

Sorry, it should have been 'biases' instead of 'baton'.  Learning by rote prevalent in top schools too: In a telling instance, 40-43 per cent of students in classes 4, 6 and 8 felt that education for a girl is not as important as her responsibility towards her family; and in another, nearly 60 per cent of students showed less acceptance towards immigrants from other States, as they felt that “

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-79056517348711779252011-12-10T16:26:00.001+05:302011-12-10T16:48:44.407+05:30

Says the FICCI Secretary-General, this sorry piece:  Beat back the retail Luddites.  He would, wouldn't he.  A mere 10 million owners of traditional and self-organised retail and wholesale trade have held the country of 1.2 billion people to ransom and thwarted progress.  No, it wasn't them.  Most political parties barring the Congress put up a front to get it suspended. It is yet another

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-37918939342436101402011-12-10T16:21:00.001+05:302011-12-10T16:26:03.333+05:30

Make in India The Indian market for telecom equipment – from switches, routers and base station systems to microwave radios, optical fibre links and mobile handsets – was estimated at Rs 54,675 crore in 2009-10. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reckons that just over 12 per cent of this demand was met through domestic value addition. The balance comprised imports, whether in final

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229260.post-29367057515888547042011-12-10T16:04:00.001+05:302011-12-12T21:28:10.721+05:30

India's billionaires talk of getting out  “I’m sick and tired of what’s happening here. I don’t want to live in this country anymore,” said one of India’s biggest barons.  My heart bleeds for these people, as every right-thinking Indian's would. Also, at the same link, this: Why put CEOs in jail: Rahul Bajaj.  Indeed, why?  It's not as if they are going to influence anyone.  Has anyone

pdkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126959990058430101noreply@blogger.com0