Many people including members of Team Anna have expressed reservations about the way in which their campaign has been developing, and some have even resigned. This raises questions about the real aim of the leadership around Anna. Is it really what it is proclaimed to be? Is the aim to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed by parliament? Team Anna has repeatedly stated that they have just a one-point agenda: to get...
More »SEARCH RESULT
In Kudankulam, a protest fuelled by local fears, not foreign hand by T Ramakrishnan
Mock drill was trigger, official insensitivity drives resentment against the nuclear power project St. Lourdes Church at Idinthakarai, a fishing village located about 80 km south of the Tirunelveli town, is an important place of worship for the local people. Of late, the Church, which is over 100 years old, is in the news for a different reason: it serves as the focal point for the protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear...
More »Skepticism about HDRs by Bibek Debroy
This seems to be season for Human Development Reports (HDRs). UNDP's global HDR for 2011 has been published. In that, the headline grabbing number was that India is ranked 134th out of 186 countries. This ranking is based on HDI (human development index), a composite indicator with three sub-heads of health (life expectancy), education (literacy, gross enrollment ratio) and PPP per capita income. HDI ranges between 0 and 1 and...
More »Govt notices to 25 hospitals for not reserving beds for poor by Pritha Chatterjee
A review found less than 4 per cent beds were occupied by EWS patients at these hospitals; eight facilities rated ‘excellent’ A performance review of the city’s private hospitals has rated 25 facilities as ‘poor’ on compliance of the order for reserving 10 per cent of the total bed strength for patients from economically weaker sections (EWS). The Health department is now in the process of issuing notices to these hospitals. The...
More »Will a 20 penalty for delays chasten babus? by ND Shiva Kumar
While the Karnataka government's decision to penalize officers if they delay services is laudable, the penalty itself is too low to act as a deterrent. For instance, an officer in Punjab is fined Rs 500 per day, if he exceeds the stipulated time in delivering service to a citizen, but an officer in Karnataka will be fined a meagre Rs 20 per day. The penalty amount is given to the...
More »