-NDTV A letter written by BJP president Nitin Gadkari lobbying for contractors building a mega-dam project in Maharashtra has the Congress demanding his resignation, and the BJP on the defensive. Written on July 30 to Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Mr Gadkari asks for Rs. 400 crores to be released to the contractors hired for the Gosikhurd dam in Vidarbha. The main contractor is Ajay Sancheti, a BJP member of the...
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In Defence of Public Education-Manabi Majumdar and Kumar Rana
-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...
More »Flunking Atomic Audits-MV Ramana
-Economic and Political Weekly The recent Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and, more broadly, on nuclear safety regulation has highlighted many serious organisational and operational flaws. The report follows on a series of earlier CAG reports that documented cost and time overruns and poor performance at a number of nuclear facilities in the country. On the whole, the CAG reports offer a powerful indictment of...
More »Oil PSUs: Decoding the math of loss or under-recovery and what it means-Avinash Celestine
-The Economic Times How right was the government when it stated that the under-recoveries posed a threat to 'our national economy'? Or when the government says that it gave more to the sector in the form of subsidies than it earned as fuel taxes? The government would also like you to believe that the under-recoveries, dependent as they are on the price of crude in the international market, and the exchange...
More »India's 7,730 super rich collectively own $925 bn: report
-PTI However, in the corresponding period last year there were as many as 8,215 with a total wealth of $980 bn India is home to as many as 7,730 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals whose combined wealth amounts to a whopping $925 billion, says a study. According to the world ultra wealth report 2012-13, by Wealth X, a global wealth intelligence and prospecting company, India has 7,730 UHNW individuals, of which...
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