Why is Al Jazeera refusing to say who owns ORF, 'hired' for Govt of India's democracy ranking

I was a little amused on reading an Al Jazeera piece -- a scoop actually -- which says that ahead of elections the Modi government is all set to come up with its own democracy and freedom index vis-a-vis other countries. The story has been quotes by Hindustan Times, from where I first read about it.

It is doing so after several international think tanks ranked India poorly -- a ranking which has been nose diving ever since Modi took over the reign in May 2014. The think tank "hired" is Observer Research Foundation (ORF), which, says the report, has worked closely with External Affairs Ministry and Niti Aayog, among others.

While the Al Jazeera story made good reading, what it refuses to say is who owns ORF. I don't know why it omitted its name. I have known about ORF ever since RK Mishra, my former Patriot editor, who later became editor-in-chief of Business and Political Obsever (BPO), majorly owned by Reliance, was made ORF chairman after BPO collapsed. Reliance owns 65% of its stakes, and also receives funds from some Indian (including Government of India) and foreign funders.

I see nothing wrong in a top business house owning a think tank, as it would help create an aura of intellectualism around it, apart from making it look respectable. ORF's Gujarat chapter was once led, ironically, by a Leftist journalist who was special correspondent of Patriot, Dinkar Mehta, an unassuming person.

However, why refuse to mention Reliance and other owners is difficult to comprehend.

Comments

Policy Bazaar seems to think, not Right to Education but insurance ensures a kid's school admission

While frequent advertisements on TV are extremely jarring, I was a little amused while watching a Policy Bazaar-sponsored advertisement. The advisement by one of India's most well-known online insurance brokers sees a woman asking a kid entering the house why he hasn't been to school. The kid enters in with a bag full of vegetables in his hand which he presumably bought in the market at a time he should have been in the school.

Majority white collar workers fear job loss as AI grows at CAGR of 25-35% in India

An Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) study, "Labour-force Perception about AI: A Study on Indian White-collar Workers", has revealed that as many as 60% of white collar workers fear job loss as a result of artificial intelligence (IA) being introduced in Indian industry, while only 53% "hope" that new jobs will be created.

Has Gujarat missed the Artificial Intelligence bus like it missed the IT bus in 1990s?

Has Gujarat missed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) bus as it did the Information Technology (IT) bus in the 1990s despite claiming to be an industrial powerhouse sought to be promoted by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi? It would seem so if the latest study by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) "Labour-force Perception about AI: A Study on Indian White-collar Workers" is any indication.

Addressing caste discrimination in US higher education: Rutgers report sparks controversy

In a surprise move, an American university has published a "controversial" report titled "Caste-Based Discrimination in US Higher Education and at Rutgers". The report has sparked debate, as no sooner was it released than an Indian diaspora advocacy group, CasteFiles, filed a complaint against Rutgers University and Prof. Audrey Truschke, co-chair of the task force that prepared the report. The complaint, filed under Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleges violations of the right to education free from harassment and discrimination.

Modi govt distancing from Adanis? MoEFCC 'defers' 1500 MW project in Western Ghats

Is the Narendra Modi government, in its third but what would appear to be a weaker avatar, seeking to show that it would keep a distance, albeit temporarily, from its most favorite business house, the Adanis? It would seem so if the latest move of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) latest to "defer" the Adani Energy’s application for 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pump Storage Project is any indication. Quoting the September 27 MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) meeting, released on October 2, a senior scholar-activist of the top environmental advocacy group South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has reported that in a "respite" to forest dwelling communities, fragile biodiversity and community conservation areas, the EAC has "rejected" the Adani application for project. However, the window for continuing with the controversial project hasn't been entirely closed. To quote Parineeta Dandekar, the ...

NHRC failing to 'effectively address' human rights violations: NGO groups tell UN-linked body

In a joint submission to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions' (GANHRI's) Sub Committee on Accreditation (SCA), two civil society groups -- All India Network of NGOs and Individuals working with National and State Human Rights Institutions (AiNNI) and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) -- have said that the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC's) accreditation, deferred in 2016, 2023, and 2024, fails to find space on its website. In their submission to the top global body which coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the United Nations human rights system, AiNNI and ANNI said, the accreditation status of NHRC "has not been updated" since 2017, and as of September 21, 2024, the "website falsely states that the NHRC has retained its 'A' accreditation status from SCA for four consecutive five-year terms." They added, such omission diminishes "civil society's trust" in N...

ICT services exports: Despite India's 8% growth rate, China with 19% giving 'stiff competition'

A World Bank report, while praising India, a “middle-income” country driving the surge in internet users across the globe, states that if in 2018, only one in five Indians used the internet, by 2022 there was already “a staggering 170 percent growth in internet users”. But a deeper look in the report suggests two things: One, Indian IT business is facing stiff competition from China, and two, insofar as speed is internet speed is concerned, India has far to go.

Search This Blog