काउंटरव्यू

By Venkatesh Nayak* While replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on budgetary proposals for Jammu and Kashmir for the next financial year (2020-2021), the Hon’ble Finance Minister claimed, transparency had increased , corruption had ended and true democracy had been instituted there with the downgrading of the erstwhile State to a Union Territory last year. While the effect of J&K’s status-change on democracy and corruption is something which local people should be able to comment on, the claims of transparency can always be verified by anybody using The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). Here is as sampler. Transparency in apple procurement in J&K How many apples were bought from growers in Jammu and Kashmir under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) that the Central and State/UT level governments implemented through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) during the current season (2019-2020)? The figures these government

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Years ago, when I could not get a reservation to return to Delhi from Deoria, I boarded a bus for Lucknow at 4:30 in the evening, hoping that it would take me there late in the night and would then board another bus for Delhi. But the bus got stuck in the traffic jam of Gorakhpur and spent nearly five hours before moving to Lucknow. I have never been comfortable in travelling in buses when I am alone as there is little space for legs as well as for your luggage. But more than that, it is the health issues, particularly urinating or for any other emergency. When I was buying the ticket the conductor asked me to get the ticket for Kanpur where the bus was finally going. He said, I should get down there and that I would easily get a bus for Delhi from there. The bus reached Kanpur in the morning at about 6 am. I looked for other buses, but there was none. Everyone informed me that all the buses would go late in the evening as they took nearly 10 to 12 hours. I thou

By Moin Qazi* Mhaswad village is a mere blip on India’s vast geographic radar but it shines brightly on the country’s development landscape.The lodestar in this parched village is an intrepid and passionate woman with a unique brand of determination. A woman of strong convictions, 60- year old Chetna Gala Sinha believes that emancipation of women can be best done by providing them tools to run businesses of their own and advocacy skills to enable them influence policies that impact their societies. Her work has transformed the lives of nearly half a million impoverished and dispossessed women and she hopes to help 1 million women by 2024. Mhaswad village, which has been a crucible for the revolutionary social experiments of Sinha, nestles in Satara district, on the placid banks of Manganga River, some 300 km (200 miles) southeast of Mumbai. A highly discernible sign on the Indian development canvas is the emergence of bright brains from the best universities who are foregoing promisin

By Neeraj Nanda* Anand Kulkarni’s book ‘India and the Knowledge Economy – Performance, Perils, and Prospects’, Springer, was launched in Melbourne on 28 November 2019. The book asks fundamental questions about the extent to which India is participating in the global shift towards knowledge-based forms of competitiveness. It charts Indian performance and progress using a unique framework benchmarked against fourteen other countries. In the course of the analysis, critical areas for improvement are identified, and the book provides detailed and objective insights for policy-makers and researchers to facilitate change and institutional reform in India. My questions received candid replies from the author, who based in Melbourne. Anand explains the need for an enabling State-one which allows for the development of ideas and creativity to flourish and empowerment which represents the basic rights of individuals to participate in the knowledge economy. His views on creating employment, manag