bengaluru

It's a whole different experience to watch India's most popular game at the stadium. The crowd, the buzz, watching players warm up, huge shouts as Tendulkar walks in, boos when there is a war of words between the teams, there are no Ad breaks here or replays - the atmosphere is enticing and you become a part of it. My friends and I entered the KSCA stadium, we passed the security check (five security guards and two metal detectors) and raced up the stairs to get a good view of the players(there are no seat numbers in our gate). It…

What is the authoritative answer on what documents are needed if your vehicle is stopped for checking? An RTI application was filed with Bangalore's police department to find this out. You might say why need RTI application for this. We all produce our driving licence and vehicle papers if a traffic constable stops us. Many of us 'negotiate' the fine amount and pay, or we show our papers and move on.But do we know if the constable is even asking for correct documents or, more importantly, if he is entitled to check the vehicles and collect a fine? More than…

"The problem", remarked a friend wistfully as we stood up amidst stifled murmurs and blasé one-liners, "is that they think we're really stupid and we think just the same about them." I looked at her and nodded as we began to repeat after the voice blaring from the speakers. After we were finished taking oath, she clarified concernedly, "neither is entirely true you know!" So college started a few weeks ago, and we third-years had been practicing cocky swaggers, meaning to intimidate the fresh troop of students that will enter college next week. The new entrants are, with fashionable indifference,…

Last week, IIM held a conference on the twin themes of Urban Government and Public Private Partnerships. A lot of different papers from around the world were submitted, and many speakers provided insights on how other countries are trying to innovate in these areas. I'll put up a link to the the presentations once they're all compiled, but in the meanwhile I want to draw attention to something that's been bothering me for a while.PPPs have typically been taken up to overcome shortages of capacities and funds in government. That is, we begin by saying that something good must be…