Taking minorities on board
Innovations in empowerment of minorities have both political and governance gains
Bridging connectivity gaps for better health services
If you have no electricity, you can survive despite inconvenience; if you have no pucca house, you still survive on thatched shelters; if you have bad roads, you can still communicate on the patched roads. But if you don’t have sound health, you simply lose your life. That’s what happens in villages of India. The fundamentals of…
Osama Manzar | Taking minorities on board
Innovations in empowerment of minorities have both political and governance gains An inclusive democracy is one that not only claims to take minorities into political confidence and gains their trust, but is also perceived to innovate and implement plans that are realistic and sustainable. Action-oriented measures are important because when political rhetoric doesn’t lead to…
A digital inclusion vision for next government
The country’s digital landscape for its billion plus population is set to build upon existing strengths and learning over the past decade and more The period 2014-19 is set to witness a transition in political governance in India’s democratic landscape. A new transformation in wider governance areas and intervention, with new ideas, vision and milestones,…
New Year Ideas | Live and work in a village
How you can contribute to the spread of digital literacy in small-town and rural IndiaChoose your dates, come along with me and meet some of the most unassuming people. These people have overcome many difficulties to adopt digital tools, and access devices and Internet connectivity. Most of them have little education, they are “backward” and…
मार्गदर्शन के अभाव में उत्तर-पूर्वी राज्यों के युवाओं का पलायन
हमारे देश में कहीं एक और दूसरा देश बसता है, जिसमें चीनी संस्कृति की झलक, भारतीयता से लबरेज, बदला-बदला सा खानपान का अहसास कराता है। कुदरती खूबसूरती के बीच नदी में लिपटा दुनिया का सबसे लंबा द्वीप, पहाड़ियों पर सर्पीले रास्ते, दुनिया का सबसे नम स्थान, चाय के बाग इसमें और चार चांद लगा देते…
‘ई-हेरिटेज बतायेगा ऐतिहासिक धरोहरों का इतिहास’
पिछले हफ्ते मैंने अपने लेख में जिक्र किया था कि कैसे हमारे पुर्वजों की अनमोल विरासत बचाई जा सकती है।
Put panchayat accounts online
The e-Panchayat project, implemented with a tech solution from the National Informatics Centre, is a positive developmentIndia’s right to information is perhaps a hallmark law, considering the fact that in the 21st century information is the basis of equity, empowerment, rights and access. While the law has caught the imagination of the people, it is…
Political exigency and technology efficiency may not go together
Political exigencies to announce and roll out welfare schemes must match national urgency to address educational goalsI firmly believe that the digital age can change our country for the good, if digital tools are used with a citizen-centric strategy. Information poverty is the most sustained and perennial misery that a vast majority of the population…
The march of digital media
With the emergence and rapid following of social media representing citizens voices, it is no more that alternative media is following traditional mediaIn 2011, a few days after the fall of Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, a Jordanian newspaper published a joke doing the rounds in Egypt: “Why do the Tunisian youth demonstrate in…