Lack of oxygen in government hospitals, flooding, collapsing garbage dumps, derailed trains – these are a manifestation of decades of neglect, a quick-fix mind-set and no effort towards systemic governance reform. Without systemic governance reforms, New India will remain a mirage, says Dr Rajesh Tandon, Founder-President, PRIA   Over the past month, these are some […]

As India completes 70 years of independence from colonial rule on August 15, it is time to take stock of its governance related challenges ahead. As my generation of post independent India entered the professional world forty years ago, we had a sense of uncertain future ahead. Economic opportunities for young engineers and management professionals […]

Over the past several months, I travelled to Central and South America, visits which reminded me of the conquests that destroyed much of what was indigenous in these regions: Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean islands (now Bahamas) in 1492 under sponsorship of the Spanish king. Within the next 50 years, Spanish conquest […]

In Part 2 of the three-part series on democracy in Asia and scope for youth in sustaining it, Dhruba Basu discusses the history of South Korea’s democracy movement, based on the presentations by a former Korean Human Rights Ambassador at Large and the Professor of Peace Studies at SungKongHoe University at the Asia Youth Leadership […]

In the run-up to the ninth BRICS Summit (to be held in Xiamen city, China on 3-5 September 2017) and in continuation with the precedence set by the 2015 Russian Presidency in Ufa and 2016 Indian Presidency in New Delhi, the Chinese Presidency hosted the third Civil BRICS Forum in Fuzhou on 10-12 June, 2017. […]

In a three-part series based on his experiences and conversations at the Asian Youth Leadership Forum for Democracy, Dhruba Basu reflects on what it means to create and sustain #DemocracyInEverydayLife. About 60 youth, from 23 different Asian countries, mostly aged 20-30 years and involved in some combination of research, activism or mobilisation, descended in South […]

आदर्श आज बहुत खुश है क्योंकि उसे एक नया खेल मिला है, दो अलग- अलग रंग के डब्बे I आदर्श रंग पहचानता है इसलिए उसे पता है की एक का रंग नीला है और दूसरे का हरा I उसकी माँ ने उसे घर के कचरे को इन डब्बों में डालने के लिए कहा I माँ […]

Results of Swachh Survekshan – 2017 were announced on 4 May 2017. Many residents of Indore, Bhopal and Vishakhapatnam (ranked 1, 2 and 3 respectively) must be feeling joy and pride? In fact, these cities have improved their rankings (from 25, 21 and 5 respectively) from last year’s results. At the other end are Gonda, […]

Of late, there has been a widespread belief that digital technology has an answer for all our difficulties. This is more so among public agencies and officials when it comes to delivery of basic services and promoting good governance. Prime Minister Modi has championed ‘Digital India’ during the past two years, and there is now […]

To speak of ‘folk festivals’ nowadays is to conjure up images that would not be too different from those we associate with any other ‘festival’ – a high-profile venue, exotic and low-key artists (along with some headline-grabbers) from around the world, a meticulously curated experience and a hefty price tage to accompany it. In our […]