Made in USA
As a child in the late 60’s, some of my most precious possessions were “Made in USA” toys. As a family we were lucky and privileged to own many “Made in USA” artifacts and were proud of it. Adult...
View ArticleThe Unlearning Imperative
True learning as a process must include constant unlearning...I remember sitting perplexed in Class XI and XII as NS Ganesh, our Chemistry teacher, went about demolishing most of what we had learnt...
View ArticleWhy FDI in retail is good for India
Poor Manmohan Singh. Dammed if he does not, dammed if he does. A few weeks ago, several captains of Indian industry along with political opponents for chorus, slammed Manmohan Singh for complete...
View ArticleTraders protest FDI in retail - not entirely justified
The internet, tablets and book readers such as Kindle are driving newspapers and book publishers out of business. Gmail and other electronic mail are driving postal office workers out of their jobs....
View ArticleImpact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector - May 2008 study...
I have produced an extract of the study published by the ICRIER in May 2008. The study does not distinguish between foreign and domestic players and rightly so. Readers may draw their own conclusions...
View ArticleRemembering Dev Anand
It is easy to mimic those that set themselves apart. Perhaps few have been mimicked, caricatured and parodied as much as Dev Anand and that too over several generations. It is testimony to the...
View ArticleWhy the Lokpak Bill will not work
I would like to use a a scenario familiar in the Computer Software industry to explain why I think the Lokpal Bill is not the solution to the problem of corruption. A project was initiated with two...
View ArticleBasic FAQ on the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011
I had many unanswered questions on the Lokpal Bill. Basic questions, which many of you, like me, would have, but do not have the time to go through the details of the bill and find the answers. I have...
View ArticleIs there nothing that is good in the government drafted Lokpal Bill?
Contrary to popular views, there are certain aspects of the government Lokpal Bill which have merit.First of all there is the Lokpal Bill, for whatever it is worth.Elected representatives, persons...
View ArticleA Monster called Lokpal
The IndiaAgainstCorruption website (http://news.indiaagainstcorruption.org/), in an article comparing the handling of Class C government employees proposed by the Lokpal Bill v/s the Jan Lokpal Bill...
View ArticleA case for Emergence as the cause of the birth of the Universe
Glancing at the evening sky and watching a flock of birds return home has never failed to amaze me. Why? The seemingly coordinated movement of the flock is not controlled by any leader. Instead, it...
View ArticleThe Original Cowboys?
If there is a discussion on inventions and discoveries with Indians of my generation or earlier, chances are you will be met with a "But we Indians already knew about it" or "this is mentioned in our...
View ArticleAmerica: Iran is not the enemy, its the economy!
The fetish of certain hawkish elements in the American establishment for enemies - mostly imagined, sometimes real - remains undiminished. Their latest enemy #1 is ofcourse Iran. Reasons? First, Iran...
View ArticleBold ideas for a New India - #1
In year 2009-2010, Air India Ltd. spent a humungous 3,356 crores in salaries and crew allowances. It spent an additional 13,224 crores in operational costs and yet ended with a loss of 5,552 crores....
View ArticleLetter to Karan on Friendship Day
Dearest Karan,On this friendship day, I would like to share with you how my life was shaped by important lessons I learnt from my dearest friends.Kedar taught me to always stand by your friend - he...
View ArticleCoalGate: Beyond corruption
Nothing riles Indians as much as corruption. And if the scale of the corruption is to the tune of INR 1.86 lakh crores (or roughly 34 billion US dollars), then heads must roll. This is the amount that...
View ArticleWhy Time travel is not possible
I can best explain this through an every day example. Imagine you have an mp3 player with shuffle mode on. When you choose "Forward", you have no idea which song will play next. Likewise, if you were...
View ArticleNaMo - BJP's wrong choice...
Narendra Modi's urban popularity, to my mind, will not translate to a decisive pan India mandate. He is far too controversial and large sections of rural as well as East, South and pockets of North...
View ArticlePurpose of procreation
The purpose of procreation cannot be perpetuation, but evolution itself. What a colossus waste of cosmic energy, if the only reason we jump into bed is to create more of ourselves - sound downright...
View ArticleOrigin of Life on Earth – Part 1: Primordial soup or soups?
The origin of life is a fascinating tale of how chemistry turned into biology. To trace the beginnings, we have to figure out how raw material available on earth combined to form complex...
View ArticleA bit of India died this week...
A bit of India died this week...the week of 17th February, 2014.In one of the most shameful and abysmal acts i have witnessed in my lifetime, political parties, especially those in TN, went into...
View ArticleSacche din kab ayenge?
In our enthusiasm to mock Kejriwal and AAP, let us not forget, the biggest joke is on us, the citizens of India - the corrupt, the inept and the criminals, they all roam free and that is the biggest...
View ArticleThe Tripping Point hypothesis in epigenetics - the start of cancer?
Researchers have long known that cancer is caused by damage to some critical stretch of DNA. Exposure to radiation as well as cigarette smoking causes genetic damage and that's how they cause cancer....
View ArticleIndia, not Hindutvastan...
It is not about Rajdeep Sardesai. A journalist was heckled and beaten up because he asked "stupid", awkward questions and because he has a very different point of view. So do we start beating up each...
View ArticleTrump's approval rating will surge to 60% by the end of the year
Within his first year in office, Trump's approval rating will surge to 60% or higher - especially if he plays by the Narendra Modi playbook, and Monday was an indication that he will.Why?Because he is...
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