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Showing posts from March, 2016

As Modi reaches Washington, top US expert warns: Gujarat's nuclear power project is "financially unviable"

Modi reaches Washington for Nuclear Safety Summit on March 31 The US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has raised the alarm that with the type of technology to be used for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited’s (NPCIL’s) 6,000 MW N-power plant project in Gujarat’s Mithi Virdi region, its actual cost is likely to reach a whopping Rs 6.3 lakh crore to Rs 11.3 lakh crore, as against the official estimate of Rs 60,000 crore.

India's public sector banks with huge non-performing assets also saw high rejection of RTI pleas: Study

 An analysis of right to information (RTI) data in the Annual Report of the Central Information Commission (CIC) has found that the proportion of rejection of RTI applications was quite high in public sector banks that had reported large volumes of net non-performing assets (NPAs) in 2014-15.

Trump an American Modi? No way, say NRIs

A tweet the other day by a well-known America-based political scientist, Milan Vaishnav, amused me. Associated with the think-tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which has research centres in Beijing, Beirut, Brussels, Moscow, and Washington, he quantified what I had witnessed during my recent US visit: Though he has been called “American Modi” by many in India, Republican presidential aspirant Donald Trump isn’t quite liked by NRI Modi supporters. Impossible to dub him a “left liberal” by any stretch of imagination (he supports market reforms), Vaishnav’s tweet said, “Reminder: Upwards of 80% of Indian-Americans vote Democratic.” That was in response to a story in “The Hindu”, “Indian-Americans for Trump? Only a handful”. Though I haven’t ever met or interacted with Vaishnav except through Twitter, his commentaries have interested me. In one of the latest ones, published in “Foreign Affairs”, he says, “The challenge for Modi is to use his considerable political capital to...

US legislation wants Indian soldiers to fight "alongside" US forces, reducing "risk" of American citizens

A controversial legislation, introduced in the American House of Representatives, US-India Defense Technology and Partnership Act, claiming to underline "fundamental changes between today’s political environment", wants Indian soldiers to fight with other foreign soldiers "alongside US forces, thereby reducing the risk to American men and women."

Ahmedabad's tree cover down to 24% from 46% in two decades, likely to bottom 3% by 2030: Study

  A recent  study , sponsored by the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangaluru, has said that Ahmedabad's tree cover fell from 46% to 24% over the last 20 years, while the city's built-up area increased by 132%. It predicts, by 2030, the vegetation cover will go down to 3% of Ahmedabad's area.

Govt of India "refuses" to make public laws, regulations that protect RAW agents abroad, rejects RTI plea

The Government of India has rejected a right to information (RTI) plea seeking information about “laws, rules and regulations” that explain the nature and the extent of legal protection provided to officers and employees of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), who are engaged in overseas intelligence operations.

Child marriage more prevalent among Gujarat's rural rich compared to middle and poorer groups: UNICEF study

  A new United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study, which seeks to give policy directions to India on how to reduce child marriage, has said that in Gujarat's rural areas, the despicable practice is “strongly associated with caste membership”, and underlines, “Child marriage rates are highest among richer, high caste girls.” 

Uttar Pradesh Dalit boys feel more empowered than those from "model state" Gujarat, rest of India

Mayawati A recent interaction by Counterview with around 50 Dalit youths off Ahmedabad suggested that Dalits from Uttar Pradesh feel relatively more empowered to fight against untouchability and caste discrimination compared to other states. In fact, the interaction showed that blatant discrimination against the Dalits may have become a thing of the past in that state.

UN study: Households in "model" Gujarat less likely to prefer toilets than Bihar, Kerala, North-Eastern states

  In what could be a major shocker for India’s top policy makers, a United Nations sponsored new  study  on households’ preparedness to have toilets has found that households in Gujarat, a “model” state for others to follow, are more unlikely to have a preference for toilets than Bihar, Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttaranchal and majority of North-Eastern states.

Dalits: “Trained” to be empowered?

The other day, after several months’ gap, I visited Dalit Shakti Kendra, situated around 12 kms from the spot where the now-famous manufacturing plant of Tata Nano car is located. Situated away from Ahmedabad in a pollution free atmosphere, my purpose, unlike my earlier visits, which I had made to attend several rights’ groups events held there, was very specific. I had come to know that 50-odd boys had come from different parts of rural India, mostly Dalits, to be trained in some sort of technical skill; alongside, they were also being “trained” to be empowered in their struggle against discrimination. Belonging to poor families, these children seemed educated; majority of them had email id, which they immediately forwarded to me. They knew how to operate email on their smartphone. Naturally, they were more aware about the issues around them. I specifically avoided asking them about Rohith Vermula, the new Dalit “icon” who had committed suicide under pressure allegedly from powerful s...

Discrimination writ large on 50 Dalit youth to gathered learn empowerment skills

  Discrimination is writ large on their face, whether it was distribution of water, entry into the temple, getting haircut from the local barber, or constructing toilets. Around 50 of them had come all the way from different parts of India to be “empowered” at the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), a unique institute about 20 kilometres south of Ahmedabad, set up by Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan more than a decade ago.

Gujarat Dalits in Surendranagar district's rural areas deprived of Narmada water: Letter to chief minister

In a letter to Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel, a well-known Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust’s activist, Prakashbhai Jayantibhai Parmar, has given the instance of two villages of Surendranagar district to point towards how, despite availability of Narmada waters, the Dalits are being deprived of drinking water.

Modi's view that India was under slavery for 1,200 is "spurious": Top academic Meghnad Desai takes a U-turn

Meghnad Desai By Our Representative In a major U-turn, Meghnad Desai, emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics, has taken strong exception to the idea of Hindu nationalism, as pursued by the BJP and the Narendra Modi government, saying, it sharply differs from what the freedom fighter the party reveres the most – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar -- thought.

Demand for unionization: Tata Nano workers detained off Ahmedabad as they protest suspension of colleagues

Nearly 350 skilled workers of the Tata Nano factory, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought to Gujarat from West Bengal about eight years ago, were detained by the police at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) Gate No 2 in Sanand, a new industrial hub 12 km from Ahmedabad.

UN special rapporteur wants "urgent, comprehensive" steps to combat caste discrimination

In a development of major policy implication for India, United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, chose caste discrimination as the theme of her annual report to the UN Human Rights Council, which she presented at Geneva on March 15, 2016.

Modi's office witnesses 44% rise in RTI pleas, proportion of rejections go up by 22%

An analysis of the just-released Annual Report of the Central Information Commission (CIC), the Central right to information (RTI) watchdog, has revealed that the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed a whopping 44% increase in the number of RTI applications received in 2014-15 (12,674) as compared to 2013-14 (7,077).

Adanis' Australian coalmining project to "release" 121 million tonnes of greenhouse gases: Greenpleace

The project site Top international environmental NGO Greenpeace has raised the alarm that if India's powerful Adani Group is allowed to go ahead with its Carmichael coal-mining project worth $21.7 billion in Australia, on full production, a whopping 121 million tonnes of greenhouse gas would be released into the atmosphere each year.

Gujarat No 1 in economic freedom, but No 14 in transparency, No 12 in social protection: Study

A just-released study , “Public Affairs Index: Governance in the States of India”, has once again highlighted that a state which achieves good level of economic development by inviting industrial investment as compared to other states, such as Gujarat, does not automatically claim to have achieved better levels of social sector indices. The study has been carried out by Dr CK Mathew, Athreya Mukunthan and Vivek Divekar for the Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore, the study.

Striking Tata Nano workers detained in Ahmedabad, police refuse permission to protest at collector's office

Around 400 skilled workers of the prestigious Tata Nano industry, protesting for around three weeks for the formation of union and revocation of their 28 colleagues, were detained in Ahmedabad after they protested against the Gujarat government’s refusal to play the role of an impartial mediator. Along with them, around 12 union leaders were also detained. They were released later.

Sri Sri's World Cultural Festival may "adversely impact" Delhi's groundwater source, Yamuna floodplains

  While the World Cultural Festival organized by Art of Living (AoL) of well-known spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has ended on the banks of Yamuna, there is no end to the controversy surrounding the alleged ecological damage it may have caused to Delhi. Well-known environmentalist Ravi Agrawal has said, “There is a myopic understanding of nature and its destruction that is on display at World Cultural Festival.”

Facebook "filters" content critical of controversial Art of Living's World Cultural Festival off Jamuna in Delhi

  Facts of come to light suggesting that Facebook, world’s biggest social networking site, has sought to block or filter posts critical of well-known preacher and Hindu religious guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, involved in a major environmental controversy for holding World Cultural Festival on the banks of Yamuna in Delhi.

Muslims not recruited as Yoga teachers or trainers as a "matter of policy": Govt of India department

  The Union health and family welfare ministry's AYUSH department, whose job is to promote alternative medicines (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy), appears to believe that as a matter of “policy” it should not recruit Muslims as Yoga teachers or trainers.

Gujarat No 1 in Govt of India pushed report? Not in labour, infrastructure, economic conditions, governance

A report by a top Delhi-based think tank, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), prepared under the direct leadership of Amitabh Kant, ex-secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, has claimed that Gujarat ranks No 1 in the NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI), though there is a dig. N-SIPI has been divided into two separate indices. The first one includes five “pillars” based on which the index has been arrived it. These pillars are: labour, infrastructure, economic conditions, political stability and governance, and perceptions of a good business climate. It is called N-SIPI 21, as it includes a survey of 21 states out of 29.

Gujarat officialdom abuzz with a new fight, between "rugged" non-IAS babu and sophisticated IAS bureacurat

Atanu Chakraborty, IAS Senior babus in the nerve centre of Gujarat’s powerdom, Gandhinagar, are animatedly discussing a pitched battle being fought between a  rugged ex-non-IAS official of the state government, who had been close to a top Modi aide currently in the chief minister’s office (CMO), and one of the most sophisticated Gujarat cadre IAS bureaucrats, heading a well-known bluechip state public sector undertaking (PSU).

Mercury contamination: Rejoicing victory over Unilver, activists say Kodaikanal cleanup norm "3 times lower"

Anti-mercury contamination campaign by activists in Kodaikanal In a move that has cheered activists fighting against mercury contamination in the southern tip of India, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has been “forced” to agree to provide ex gratia payments to 591 former workers/association members and their families towards livelihood enhancement projects and skill enhancement programmes.

Retired IAS babus make beeline to head "toothless" anti-corruption watchdog Gujarat Vigilance Commission

Four retired bureaucrats of the Gujarat government – Haribhai Patel, HK Dash, Rajesh Kishore and SK Nanda – are said to have made the beeline to head a state organization which is long considered toothless, Gujarat Vigilance Commission (GVC). Patel retired from the IAS in 2014, Dash and Kishore in 2015, and Nanda more recently, in February 2016.

Right-wing scholars petition to protect Indian culture from top Columbia varsity Sanskritist

Sheldon Pollock (right) with Rohan Murty  A group of right-wing intellectual-supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are on a unique mission: They want to “protect” Indian culture from western “takeover” through a petition. And, how they want to go about doing it? By seeking the ouster top Sanskritist Sheldon Pollock as chief editor of the Murty Classical Library of India.