For oil and peace, India must stand up in the two Sudans

"South Sudan's oil shutdown dealt a major blow to the overseas oil ambitions of India's leading national oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL)"

Since South Sudan won its independence from Sudan last year, a dispute over oil is edging the former foes closer to reigniting one of Africa's longest and deadliest wars. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : For oil and peace, India must stand up in the two Sudans. OVL has invested over $2.5 billion, but South Sudan's shutdown of its oil production has dealt a major blow to the company's overseas oil ambitions. The crown jewel of OVL's international portfolio lies dormant, precariously straddled across an undemarcated border, as the two sides engage in political brinkmanship and the ugly face of war nears.

India was the first Asian country to open a consulate in South Sudan's capital Juba. Yet first-mover advantage is useless if India does not make an effort to exploit it. New Delhi has done little to protect its economic interests in Sudan and South Sudan, or foster peace between the two sides.

If India truly wants to make a unique mark, it must roll up its sleeves and lend a hand in ending Africa's longstanding conflicts.

The Railways need funds

"The Kakodkar high-level railway safety review committee, which submitted its recommendations to Railway Minister, may not have said anything new or different from the past but it has chosen to tell the Railways how to mobilise the funds for a long overdue, massive safety upgrade programme over the next five years, with an estimate for Rs.1 lakh crore."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The Railways need funds: After Nitish Kumar brought the Railways back from the brink, and Lalu Prasad took all the credit for prudent financial management, Mamata Banerjee had virtually brought the Indian Railways to a situation of a financial collapse.

It is time the Planning Commission and Finance Ministry took a serious look at the state of the Railways. For if India's biggest employer is unwilling to take even small steps towards better managing its finances, there is no sense in it having a separate annual budget.

Maximum city, minimum will

"Mumbai needs planning, organisation and governance, not dug up roads, overflowing garbage and chaos. The Sena must seek pride in the running of a streamlined city and not just in the beautiful swimming pools or parks that it has built.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Maximum city, minimum will: The task before the corporation is enormous but not impossible. As one of the richest corporations in India, it has the funds. What it has lacked, alas, is the will."

Still sprouting after 32,000 years

"Scientists have been able to grow ancient flowering plants from immature fruit tissues buried 38m under the North-eastern Siberian ice deposits about 32,000 years ago. The tissues were recovered from the burrow of a ground squirrel. The regenerated plants flowered and also produced seeds. These seeds were in turn able to grow into plants that were identical to the parent plants"

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Still sprouting after 32,000 years: Another significant finding is that tissues remained viable and seeds germinated despite accumulating total gamma ray radiation of 0.07 kGy during the long period of burial.

This natural cryopreservation of plant tissues over thousands of years demonstrates a role for permafrost as a depository for an ancient gene pool … a laboratory for the study of rates of microevolution.

Ecology Vs Development

There is an intense debate regarding the difficulties in maintenance of the ecological system along with development...

Yatin Pandya explains the bad attitude of developers towards ecology and how they are just playing to the gallery and not actually taking any steps towards ecological preservation...

Designed to Kill: Trees versus development

Italian sailors have wronged

Recently, Kochi fisherman were killed by Italian sailors thinking they were pirates.

Somu CS, Head Of Dept., School Of Law, Christ University explains why the sailors are punishable under Indian Jurisdiction according to International Law...

The Italians, according to him are in big trouble if Indians exercise their authority properly...

Kochi fisherman: Italy in troubled water

Why is UP so backward?

One of the states that is extremely backward in terms if modernization and immense growth potential is the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Is it just because of lack of good politics...

No, the factors run deeper believes Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr.

UP misses date with modernity due to backward elites

Airline's and Airport's ratings

Tony Tyler, chief of IATA (International Air Transport Association) had warned about the poor infrastructure of airlines and airports in India.

Francois Gautier, a frequent flier in India rates the best airlines and airports of this country, and of course, the worst too...

Tibet and China, rising tensions

Jayadeva Ranade, explains the various religious tensions between Tibet and China... He also explains the after-effects of self-immolation of 22 Tibetans in China...

China braces for heightened tension in restive Tibet

Undermining the EC is undermining democracy

Former AGI Soli Sorabjee takes a dig at the recent spat between EC and Congress ministers (Mr.Khursheed and Mr.Verma), who have taken EC for a ride by making and then regretting the statements violating model code of conduct.

http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/columnists/undermining-the-ec-is-undermining-democracy/364734.html

The Chief Election Commissioner is given the status of a Supreme Court judge regarding his tenure and conditions of service. The Model Code of Conduct for elections is not a useless advisory parchment. It has to be observed strictly in letter and spirit and its violation can be punished.

Did Bharata build Bharat varsha in vain?

India is a model to the world in the management of free and fair elections. But in terms of what comes out of this massive exercise, India is an argument against adult franchise. The author takes the example of candidates with criminal records contesting in UP elections, especially some in jails in various parts of the country.

http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/columnists/did-bharata-build-bharat-varsha-in-vain/364730.html

The other aspect of pain area the author touches upon is the D-word: Dynasty politics, exposing the Badal family overwhelming Punjab and the double standards Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray employs while claiming to be against it.

'Today, people have to continue learning throughout life'

Q&A


Howard Gardner created the theory of Multiple Intelligences, showing people have different ways of learning and expressing diverse information and therefore have many kinds of intelligence, not just one sort. Professor of cognitive psychology at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, Gardner's research impacted education deeply while influencing aspects of leadership, ethics and creativity: Visiting India, Gardner spoke with Tirna Ray about why people differ at certain skills, how teaching and learning must both change as commerce and industry evolve - and how flexible minds could have serious advantages now: 

Interview - Q&A

-The Times of India, February 20, 2012

The Land Of The Blind

Winners of the Manipur elections must remedy the lack of vision all parties have shown there

The Land Of The Blind

"No matter which coalition comes to power - probably with a wafer-thin majority - the state machinery can't afford to overlook the ethnic complexity in this strategic northeastern state"

-The Times of India, February 20, 2012

Arms and the mule

Whether man or beast, the army disciplines all

Arms and the mule

-The Times of India, February 20, 2012

Business Sense

Base corporate culture on merit, not clan

Business Sense

-The Times of India, February 20, 2012