All stories by Kanika Datta
How UK became Global Money Laundromat
Rediff.com12 Sep 2023A whirlwind trip of the dark underbelly of global finance, covering everything from tax law changes to aiding criminals to decamp with money from bank accounts.
Why No One Will Speak For The Wrestlers
Rediff.com15 Jun 2023All these male politicians are unlikely to risk their sinecures to speak up in support of a bunch of women wrestlers who have chosen to challenge a politician who appears to have the ruling regime in a stranglehold, points out Kanika Datta.
Job Quotas In Private Sector?
Rediff.com2 May 2023Rather than a blind reproduction of the government template, a more productive way of enforcing affirmative action in the private sector could be to emulate an American model, suggests Kanika Datta.
Why Women Deserve Period Leave
Rediff.com23 Mar 2023On the whole, the case for Period Leave is compelling. It may well bring more women into the workforce. But the concept will likely be hostage to the whims of enlightened companies, notes Kanika Datta.
Will L'affaire Adani Affect Modi's Image?
Rediff.com21 Feb 2023Gautam Adani's alleged proximity to Narendra Modi may dent the latter's self-styled image of incorruptibility, points out Kanika Datta.
Can P T Usha Fix The IOA?
Rediff.com28 Dec 2022Ms Usha may soon discover that winning four gold medals at the Asian Games and qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics is a walk in the park compared with the challenges of stabilising governance at the IOA, observes Kanika Datta.
Own Goal! Europe's Protests Over Qatar's Human Rights
Rediff.com26 Oct 2022The rumblings of discontent from Righteous Europe over Qatar's admittedly appalling human rights record can only be viewed as deeply disingenuous and phoney, argues Kanika Datta.
India Inc's missing whistle-blowers
Rediff.com21 Jul 2022The latest whistle-blower revelations of multiple shenanigans at global ride-hailing app Uber, coming thick and fast after serial exposes of various dodgy practices at Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google in the recent past raises uncomfortable questions about India Inc. If the FAANGs, Twitter and Uber can be guilty of multiple and diverse transgressions what's happening in Indian corporations? It can be nobody's case that India's largely family-owned and - managed private sector is a beacon of transparency or best corporate governance practices, bolstered as it is by an informal omerta among employees, managements and even boards.
Make English Compulsory, Mandarin Second Language
Rediff.com29 Apr 2022Anybody who's plugged in to the modern, globalised world will understand why, says Kanika Datta.
What Indian Music Should Airlines Play?
Rediff.com15 Jan 2022So should airlines play the keening, trance-like Siddi folk music from the Kutch peninsula? The Sufiana Kalam of Kashmir? Carnatic music? Rabindra Sangeet? Bihu melodies? Classical music from the Hindustani gharanas? Ghazals? Bhajans? Bollywood hits?... asks Kanika Datta.
Women In The Post-Pandemic Workplace
Rediff.com23 Dec 2021It was women who unambiguously bore the brunt of the lockdown joblessness, says Kanika Datta.
Is Gurugram going the Kolkata way?
Rediff.com21 Nov 2021Militant labour policies compounded a poor security environment for capital in West Bengal and encouraged the business community to relocate. constraining the private sector's right to hire freely could well be the coup de grace. As with Calcutta/Kolkata, it will probably take a decade for Gurgaon/Gurugram to feel the difference, says Kanika Datta.
Ministers Still CONTROL Business!
Rediff.com28 Aug 2021Indian businesses' weak ability to compete overseas says much about the infirmities imposed by the intensity of government dominance of economic policy and the nature of this dominance, observes Kanika Datta.
10 years later, Mamata discovers different Nandigram
Rediff.com2 May 2021She faced off against former disciple-turned-defector Suvendu Adhikari in a very different contest. It's not land acquisition, but an ego clash that has acquired, tragically, communal overtones, explains Kanika Datta.
Time to say cheers for the millennials
Rediff.com13 Jan 2021'With more and more young people relocating outside their home states for work, an all-India MLDA of 21 would be a good way to ensure that more Indians can go with the flow,' recommends Kanika Datta.
Modi's big opportunity in Bihar
Rediff.com21 Nov 2020Over the next five years, it will be Narendra not Nitish who will be under pressure to deliver vikas and atmanirbharta in Bihar, notes Kanika Datta.
Covid & festive politics
Rediff.com5 Nov 2020Shifting positions on religiosity and Covid may confuse the Hindutva citizenry, but you can rely on Bengal to turn a non-arguable issue into a raging controversy, notes Kanika Datta.
The Age of the Loh Purush
Rediff.com20 Oct 2020Overt displays of physical machismo is the stamp of the strongman and it's a symptom that manifests itself in direct proportion to their sense of insecurity, says Kanika Datta.
What WFH is doing to office 'time-pass'
Rediff.com24 Sep 2020The centrality of idle office chitchat has only recently come to be acknowledged by executives as they jettison their access cards and work from home in larger numbers, notes Kanika Datta.
Indian Matchmaking ignores reality of arranged marriage
Rediff.com3 Sep 2020Indian Matchmaking has clearly been produced to pander to Western audiences's awful fascination with the institution of arranged marriage, notes Kanika Datta.