Time To Leverage Technology

Government needs to play an active role in encouraging educational institutions in adopting latest technology for teachings and delivering course content

Towards A Cashless Economy!

The recent demonetisation drive has brought focus on cashless economy.

High Time to Wage War Against Vector-borne Diseases

India must take a lead from its successful polio eradication program to eliminate the viral disease against all odds.

Is the dawn real?

The recent statements about improvement in bad loans’ situation in public sector banks need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Out of Billion Plus Population, How Many Play?

It requires a rare courage for an individual to change the lives of others, especially when the beneficiaries belong to the marginalized section of the society. Meet Siddhartha Upadhyay, the founder and Secretary General of STAIRS (Society for Transformation, Inclusion and Recognition through Sports) who for over a decade has been relentlessly helping young children and professional sports persons across urban and rural India to discover their untapped potential, enabling them to gain a foothold in the social mainstream and the confidence to compete and excel. The New Delhi-headquartered sports NGO recently bagged the coveted ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2016’ award from President Pranab Mukherjee in recognition of its contribution towards the ‘Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent’ in India. Acknowledging its efforts, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has included STAIRS in the steering committee for development of football in the country. Ramesh Kumar Raja had a conversation with Upadhyay about his journey to make it big in sports charity and the policies that guide sporting spirit in India.

Rate cut to lighten up realty?

With the repo rate being slashed by 25 basis points, it is sure to boost sentiments both among lenders and borrowers because this benefit if passed well to the buyers is sure to provide cushion to all.

The fire within - Sheela Kochouseph Chittilappilly

Walk into the plush offices of V-Star Creations Pvt Ltd, Kakkanad and you taste in an instant the elegance of creativity. The walls, the decor and the design of the office exude an aura of graceful inventiveness. You find the touch of a stylish creator in every nook and corner of the office.

Skill India - A National Priority

Today, the world and India need a skilled workforce. If we have to promote the development of our country then our mission has to be `skill development’ and `Skilled India’. Millions and millions of Indian youth should acquire the skills which could contribute towards making India a modern country. I also want to create a pool of young people who are able to create jobs and the ones who are not capable of creating jobs and do not have the opportunities, they must be in a position to face their counterparts in any corner of the world while keeping their heads high by virtue of their hard work and their dexterity of hands and win the hearts of people around the world through their skills. We want to go for the capacity building of such young people. My brothers and sisters, having taken a resolve to enhance the skill development at a highly rapid pace, I want to accomplish this.

Quality Is At The Heart

Having been the Founder Vice Chancellor of PDM University for last few months, he’s had time to find his feet, and now Prof. (Dr.) Bakhshi looks forward to making the most of the potential he sees in the University.

Indian Realty In Search Of Earthquake Warning System

For us all, real estate is a term synonymous with structures and buildings. These buildings can be broadly categorised into industrial, commercial and residential setups. Being a developing nation, we usually observe realty development in clusters; where industries, commercial and residential spaces, all get their separate land parcels for construction. As a result, a city is usually filled up with offices, shopping complexes and houses built on tall skyscrapers. In the meanwhile though, since industries and plant and machineries get land banks around the outskirts, these units end up surrounding a fully developed city, which in case of a natural calamity can multiply the damage.

LPG Shows The Way

Auto LPG, which is 50 per cent cheaper than petrol and cleaner fuel, can help tackle increasing air pollution in cities, says a study.

Not dropping guard

The last monetary policy review under Raghuram Rajan leaves rates unchanged as inflation risks remain elevated

Prohibition is not a solution

The chequered history of banning alcohol is enough to demonstrate that prohibition causes more harm than benefits in India and helps bootlegger, corrupt and criminals

We Establish CONCOR Ahead Of The Market

V. Kalyana Rama, the Chairman & Managing Director of Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) is not only instrumental in development of container depots in many important regions of CONCOR but also has been involved in all the developmental planning and operational activities of EXIM and Domestic cargo at many of its dry port terminals. A trained professional in Railways and multi modal transport logistics, he has wide experience in the field of Engineering, System design, Railways & multi modal logistics operations and Project planning and commissioning. In an exclusive conversation with Swati Sharma of Governance Today, Shri Kalyana Rama speaks up more…

Domestic Workers Skill Summit 2017

Utility Skill India.

Urban Planning With Human Touch

Today’s cities need to accommodate spiralling numbers of people, servicing their needs and stimulating trade and investment, creating jobs, all within the constraints imposed by mega challenges, such as infrastructure, climate change and more. Guwahati is not just Assam’s largest city; it is the gateway to Northeast India for providing the best connectivity to other states in the region and the world beyond. Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, mandated for the formulation and execution of schemes for the planned development of Guwahati Metropolitan area has become the front runners of fostering sustainable solutions in its efforts to become more livable and long-term beneficial to the inhabitants. How change is at the heart of Guwahati metropolitan life- Manjushree Reddy in conversation with Varnali Deka, CEO, GMDA …

Our Companies Are Very Interested in Sharing Their Knowhow and E-governance Solutions

A small country located in Baltics, with a population of just over 1.3 million, Estonia has been a major global case study on how to implement effective and efficient digital governance. Estonia was among the first countries globally to apply emergent information and communication technologies in governance and delivery of public goods. Today, there are hardly any services that are not fully available online in the country. Anand Mishra, Editor, and Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, spoke to Mr. Riho Kruuv, the Ambassador of Estonia to India, to find out more about the bilateral relations between the two countries and how they can cooperate on various matters. Mr. Kruuv is also the Ambassador Designate to Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Singapore. Prior to this assignment, Ambassador Kruuv held several high ranking positions in the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Security Policy and Arms Control Division, Political Department and as Chair of the Estonian Export Control Authority. Prior to that, he served as the Chargè d’ Affairs in the Embassy of Estonia in Canada and as 1st Secretary at the Estonian Embassy in the United States of America.

The Hidden Truth

We don’t speak about medical education and its role in nation-building.

E-way Delight for Realty

The high-speed Agra – Lucknow roadway opens a new avenue of growth for real estate sector, besides allowing the commuters to save a lot of time while travelling and helping in decongesting the traffic on the alternate route.

Two years of environmental governance

Although the Narendra Modi government has done well on pollution standards and monitoring, it needs to do much more on green clearances, forestry and its flagship schemes on sanitation, and the Ganga

Finnish Companies Have a Lot to Offer in Renewable Energy

The first impression of Finland in the minds of most Indians is of the country with best educational system in the world. While that is true, Finland is equally known globally for its expertise in clean tech, IT, start up environment and Northern Lights. Ms. Nina Vaskunlahti has recently been posted as Finland’s Ambassador to India. After graduating from the University of Turku in 1983 with a Masters Degree in Political Sciences, Ms. Vaskunlahti joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in 1984 and has held many important positions in various countries and in the European Union in Brussels. Prior to her posting in New Delhi, she served as Finnish Ambassador to Turkey for four years. In an interaction with Anand Mishra, Editor and Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, Ms. Vaskunlahti shares her opinions about how to strengthen the relations between Finland and India.

Not so clean (India)

The biggest challenge to Swachh Bharat Mission’s success is lack of data-led behavioural change.

The Gargantuan Garbage Mess

Jairam, and his wife routinely pick garbage from households from many housing societies in Sector 62 of Noida, billed as the most happening part of the satellite city of national capital, because of numerous educational institutions, thriving tech companies and more than three dozen housing societies. Its past noon, his cart full of garbage collected, he moves to a slightly isolated part of road a couple of hundred meters away from local shopping plaza, and empties his cart. Ask him if he realizes the implication of what he does, he nods in affirmation, knowing fully well that garbage littered just meters away from where people live, spews foul smell and breeds mosquitoes. But he says he just does not have any other place where he can throw garbage. The municipality has virtually non-existent system of waste collection and management, the result of which is that the largest vacant area of the sector, supposed to be developed as a park, has become the de facto garbage dump. There are half a dozen other spots where Jairam and his likes dump garbage.

All Lives Have Equal Value

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India focuses on key areas that will affect the future of India’s most vulnerable communities: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition; sanitation; agricultural development; and financial inclusion. Headed by Dr. Nachiket Mor in India, the foundation, in its decade long journey here, has been building momentum in developing scalable, measurable programmes across all priority areas. Dr. Nachiket, flitting between the financial and philanthropic worlds, has been closely associated with the core interest areas of the foundation, including healthcare alongside sanitation, agricultural development and financial services for the poor. In conversation with Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, Dr Nachiket Mor, India Country Office Director talks about the foundation’s values, services and plans in India...

More cities make the cut

The new induction in the list of Smart Cities will provide a boost to the realty sector.

Many Next-Gen Indian Americans Are Now Inspired to Do Public Service

Indians constitute one percent of American population, are the highest earning expat community in the country and most Indian Americans are in high end professions. Indiaspora, a non profit entity set up by M.R. Rangaswami, works to leverage this strength to further the interest and influence of Indian community in the US. Rangaswami, a software engineer by training, is an investor, entrepreneur, corporate eco-strategy expert, community builder and philanthropist. In 1997, he co-founded Sand Hill Group, one of the earliest Angel investment firms and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. He was also listed on the Forbes “Midas” list of investors. In 2012, Rangaswami founded Indiaspora to unite Indian Americans and to transform their success into meaningful impact in India and on the global stage. Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, spoke to Rangaswami, to find out more about what made him set up Indiaspora and the work that this entity is doing to fulfill its mission.

An Aspirational Destination For Skilling Domestic Workforce

WHEN DOMESTIC CARE WORK GOES ENTREPRENEURIAL… discusses Amod K Kanth, Chairman, Domestic Worker Sector Skill Council (DWSSC), Ministry of Skills & Entrepreneurship

Skills For Green Jobs

A green job is one that helps bring about and maintain a transition to environmentally sustainable forms of production and consumption. The green jobs help to protect ecosystems by reducing energy, materials, and water consumption through high efficiency strategies. Dr Praveen Saxena, the Chief Executive Officer of the Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGB), further presents a brief on skills needs for new occupations, new skills for greening existing occupations and retraining needs in sectors undergoing structural changes as a result of policy implementation, and introduction of greening technologies and practices.

One-Stop-Shop For Assessment Solutions

In the path of making social acceptance for job skills.

An Aspirational Destination For Skilling Domestic Workforce

WHEN DOMESTIC CARE WORK GOES ENTREPRENEURIAL… discusses Amod K Kanth, Chairman, Domestic Worker Sector Skill Council (DWSSC), Ministry of Skills & Entrepreneurship.