Editorial

EDITORIAL

The Unique Man It’s not easy to tag a billion people into a single database. But when the government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to go ahead with the Unique Identity card (UID Card) project in India in 2009, who would he turn to, to head this most ambitious project — the bigge...

Up-to-Date

BJP’S DALIT MASCOT OCCUPIES RAISINA HILL

“Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful and inspiring tenure.” ELECTED// India has a new President in Ram Nath Kovind who took over from Pranab Mukherjee as the 14th President of India on Tuesday, July 25. Kovind, who was...

Cover Story

THE ID MAN

A software mogul who was roped in by the government to count and tag every Indian for the world’s largest database. Nandan Nilekani proved that he was indeed unique and up to the task despite the humongous size of the project. A journey retold. It was the summer of 2009 when Nandan Nilekani lef...

Politics Final

IN THE HOLY LAND

Memories of a Journalist’s Visits to the Jewish State Israel has been in the news in the context of the Prime Minister’s visit and I may be forgiven for a touch of nostalgia. I was the first Indian journalist to visit Israel after an Australian fanatic had set fire to the pulpit of the Al Aqs...

International

RED STAR IN THE SKY

He has been accused of looking like a secondary school geography teacher. But inside and outside Parliament Corbyn puts a downbeat emphasis on policy, and rejects the Punch and Judy politics of Westminster. Lots of people are eating humble pie about Jeremy Corbyn. The bearded, quasi-Marxist depriv...

Platform

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND

The National Anthem in Parliament at midnight;One Nation one Tax..history being made.All of India abuzz people on edge because it boiled down to whether things would get cheaper or more expensive. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sales are on the rise, truck queues at state borders for octroi ha...

Business

Saas ko Patao

You want to buy original art or you need your house cleaned; someone to go through all your old mobiles and transfer all retrievable data to one location or better still keep your ma-inlaw happy (Saas ko Patao). Do not worry. There is online help for all your needs. Invest in original art from a ...

Health

CYCLING CITIES

Haven’t you ever wondered while stuck in hours of endless traffic how simple it would be if only you could use a bicycle? Not only is the humble bicycle pollutionfree but it also helps to keep you in good health and soaring spirit. There was a time when driving to the office in the morning one ...

Tech Talk

ENTER THE MATRIX

REALITY OF LIVING VIRTUAL The reality we take for granted is coming under increasing technological and theoretical threat. Human beings have long been fascinated by the idea that the world as it appears to us is not the ultimate reality. In recent years, however, such metaphysical speculations ha...

Lifestyle

THE SUMMER OF LOVE

Nostalgia runs high. Fifty years ago this month in 1967 a social experiment was taking shape that was to define a way of life that was counterculture, a rebellion against the Establishment, a time for sex, drugs and rock and roll. It was the unforgettable sixties and San Francisco’s HaightAshbur...

Travel

MYTHICAL LANDSCAPES, MAGICAL TALES

Northern Ireland is served by flights into Belfast International Airport, George Best Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport. Scheduled air services operate from nearly all major UK airports. There are many direct flights from major European cities. Major airlines operate scheduled service...

Reading Room

INDIA’S ORIGINAL SARI-CLAD BAHUBALI

Sagarika Ghose’s biography of Indira Gandhi — Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister — brings together all the events and stories from her life. A look at Indira Gandhi through the prism of this book. Insecure daughter, Betrayed wife, National heroine, tough dictator. She was many t...

Founders Day

DREAM BIG;WORK HARD

The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation July 10 is a milestone for the MBD family every year. On this day MBD group reaffirms its faith in the principles of Shri Ashok Kumar Malhotra, who taught us the value of good work and good deeds. This July 10 marked the Seve...