Tag: Development

India-Singapore Relations: Time to move beyond Infrastructure and Finance?

November 23, 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Singapore on the 23rd November for a State Visit to Singapore in a longer follow up visit to earlier on this year when he visited the island city state to join other world leaders after the founding father of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew passed away. The general discourse around … More India-Singapore Relations: Time to move beyond Infrastructure and Finance?

Regionalism Reloaded : It is time to call it Federalism

November 30, 2013

I am back from a half month long work sojourn to Coastal Tamil Nadu from Chennai to Kanyakumari with stops at Kumbokonam, Rajapalayam and Madurai. I also had a pit stop at Thiruvananthapuram, which is being swamped by images of Dr Tharoor.  Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to have a regional party … More Regionalism Reloaded : It is time to call it Federalism

Politics in Urban India needs a reboot: an exegesis

September 25, 2013

India is rapidly urbanizing as cities expand into the hinterland and form urban mega clusters like the National Capital Region and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region among others. Even Kolkata has a ‘New Town’ and Rajarhat to contend.  Cities are economic engines of growth with densely packed spaces and brimming with activity.  By the year 2030, … More Politics in Urban India needs a reboot: an exegesis

It’s a ‘Dammed’ affair: Energy, Politics and Development in Uttaranchal

June 25, 2013

In the past couple of weeks we have seen man made environmental disasters in two contrasting ecosystems in the Himalayan north of India and in the Urban & Ecological Jungles of Southern Malaysia and Singapore. The Singapore Haze Story is a man made healthcare scare and has had severe economic implications for the City State … More It’s a ‘Dammed’ affair: Energy, Politics and Development in Uttaranchal

Is the Secularism Question, really secular?

April 24, 2013

In India the reality is that the discourse on secularism boils down to trivial politics. As per the 42nd amendment (in 1976) to the constitution the politically contentious term ‘secular’ was added to the preamble. So it seems that Secularism is a relatively recent addition to our dictionary of political discourse.  A ton of writings … More Is the Secularism Question, really secular?

Environmental Governance as inclusive Developmental Architecture: Time for action

March 22, 2013

There are a few issues with the public discourse on Environmental issues.  Environment matters are essentially political as they are backward integrated in to public values. Environmental issues are livelihood concerns for native communities off the economic grid. The retinue of ‘Quality of Life’ Indicators is contingent upon the environment. Free Market Capitalism and Environmentalism … More Environmental Governance as inclusive Developmental Architecture: Time for action

Is the Green Tape killing Development: a pragmatic environmentalist’s take?

February 27, 2013

I prefer to read the pink papers as I feel they address more relevant issues of the day rather than the usual general papers which are prone to cover more Bollywood and Cricket than actual news for the people.  But the pink papers are so driven by financial data that they sometimes forget that the … More Is the Green Tape killing Development: a pragmatic environmentalist’s take?

Its the Energy Paradigm Stupid: Equity and Development in Rural India

January 11, 2013

I read articles and research oriented works on Energy Governance in Grad School where i took courses on Environmental Policy. Prof. Benjamin Sovacool’s course at LKYSPP@NUS in Sustainability has had a profound impact in the manner i visualize energy poverty and its impact on human development landscape. That was the text book version of Professor … More Its the Energy Paradigm Stupid: Equity and Development in Rural India