OPEDS

Besides health, the socio-economic distress caused by the pandemic is likely to leave a deep impact on the urban milieu. Urban agglomerations are often characterized as organic, dynamic life systems quite capable of being able to adapt, respond to opportunities and absorb adversity. Their vibrancy is argued to be inhibited and even distorted by state interventions. The disparities and inequalities that characterize several Indian cities might lead one to question these beliefs even during regular times. However, the pandemic has thrown up several new questions on the resilience of cities. Whether this be the exodus of migrant workers, loss of…

The COVID pandemic has exposed our hollow development strategies aimed at achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs), to which India is a signatory. This hasn’t just brought to the fore the need for revisiting our strategy to move forward for a better and equitable world harmonious with nature. At the same time, it has also thrown light on how the present processes will not help in achieving any landmark advancement in attaining close proximity to the sustainable development goals. Instead, what we are witnessing is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. To elucidate further, here are a few critical areas that require immediate intervention if we…

And so, here we are, in yet another lockdown. The results are encouraging. The chain of transmission seems to be weakening, at least in Chennai, where the numbers have fallen precipitously. That is by itself a reason for commending the initiative. But what after the lockdown is lifted and we all go back to our normal activities to the extent possible? What happens when markets, shopping malls, places of entertainment, gyms, hair and beauty saloons, public transport and offices open up again? After all, they cannot be kept closed forever, can they? What then if the COVID numbers rise again?…

Dead bodies floating in the Ganges and washing up ashore in neighbouring Bihar is just one in the long list of gory stories that we have been witnessing in recent weeks. Frantic calls for help from people struggling to find a hospital bed, oxygen, blood plasma, medicines and even places for cremation or burial, continue to flood social media platforms, even as the cost of saying the final goodbye becomes too steep for many. And while citizens have come together to create resource pools, sharing leads and contact numbers, cross-checking and circulating them, union health minister Harsh Vardhan claims there…

Business Standard newspaper conducts a B-school Summer Project Competition every year, sponsored by Crompton Greaves. B-schools from around the country are invited to send what they consider their ‘best summer internship project report’. As readers know, most two-year MBA programmes have a compulsory 6-8 week industry internship. This often carries a full credit or two, so students and faculty take it very seriously. Business Standard gets around 150 reports [one per school] from  B-schools spread all over India. These are reviewed by a knowledge partner and 15 of these are then selected and sent to a jury panel for review.…

The rapid spread of the COVID virus in India is worsening by the day. As is its management. Thousands are dying and lakhs are getting infected every day. Desperate cries for oxygen or a hospital bed from relatives and friends of COVID patients are flooding social media. Open the morning papers and what hits you are pictures of sick patients and their families gathering at the gates of hospitals. It has become a literal ‘life and death’ struggle. For even after death, bodies have to wait for space at cremation and burial grounds. This is definitely a war-like situation, where…

Little did Kirtee Bhai, who in a webinar had referred to ‘Delhi’ as a ‘way of governance model’ for cities, imagine that just a few months later Delhi would be would be transformed literally into a municipality. Kirtee Bhai, a member of the first urban commission constituted in 1986, was making a comparison between Delhi and Mumbai, terming the former with a legislature as a better model for city governance. A few weeks back, the central government passed an amendment in the Government of National Capital Delhi Act of 1991 (GNCTD), turning Delhi city-state into an adjunct of the central government…

It would be impossible to recount any occasion in human history when tens of millions of children were forced to stay indoors for over a year, deprived of meeting friends, playing outdoor games, attending classrooms, talking to teachers, and enjoying the fun that makes childhood so special! Human curiosity and creativity just cannot come to a sudden halt. Alternatives to confront the situation were explored. Teachers and students swiftly acquired the skills necessary to substitute — to the extent possible — the face-to-face teaching by online learning. As off-line was ruled out, online really reduced the tension and stress among…

The recent TN Assembly Elections saw the lowest voter turnout in the state in the past three elections. Chennai’s overall voter turnout stood at 59.06%, with only four constituencies registering turnout higher than 60%.What could explain the low turnout is that many eligible voters chose to sit it out on polling day and also that the inaccuracies in the voter rolls contributed to the issue. There have been instances of unexplained deletion of names of voters who found themselves unable to exercise their franchise in the assembly elections. Names of entire families who voted as recently as the Lok Sabha…

O Delhie Mahra Pahda ra dil Shimla, mahra desha ra dil, o delhie, mahre desha ra dil Shimla----A pahari dialect song sung across the Himachal, meaning: “hey Delhi, the heart of the mountains is Shimla, hey Delhi, our Nations heart is also Shimla”. The first reaction was one of joy and pride. For one who has lived there and served for five years as its deputy mayor, Shimla’s number one all-India ranking in the Ease of Living (EOL) index recently released by the union government in the less than one million population category, sounded stupendous. But it was not long…