author

Shobha Warrier

Shobha Warrier has been associated with Rediff from its inception and currently works as Senior Editorial Director. She is also the author of five books in English, Battlefield India: 25 years of Politricks and Economix, Dreamchasers: Entrepreneurs from the South of the Vindhyas, Dreamchaers: Women Entrepreneurs from the South of the Vindhyas, His Days with Bapu, and The Little Flower girl and Others- A diary of a journalist. Her three Malayalam short story collections include Jalavidya, Meghana and Ramakundam. She won the Lalitambika Antharjanam special award in 1996 for her book, Jalavidya. She likes talking to people and listening to their stories! You can e-mail the author at shobhaw@rediff.co.in

Stories by SHOBHA WARRIER

'The bullet train can be Modi's legacy'

'The bullet train can be Modi's legacy'

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2017

'The politician in him saw to it that the foundation stone was laid in Ahmedabad in the run-up to the assembly election in Gujarat in 2017.' 'But the statesman in him also wants it to be his legacy.'

'Identifying with a godman enhances your status'

'Identifying with a godman enhances your status'

Rediff.com   11 Sep 2017

'As long as there is misery, as long as people let themselves be exploited by rogues, this will continue.'

Why India's engineering grads should worry

Why India's engineering grads should worry

Rediff.com   6 Sep 2017

'Lakhs of engineers graduate every year in India and the IT industry used to be the primary recruiter. That is going to end.'

'There will not be a messiah'

'There will not be a messiah'

Rediff.com   1 Sep 2017

'There will only be an institutional solution between the board and the founders to take Infosys forward.'

'No founder will retire and walk out'

'No founder will retire and walk out'

Rediff.com   1 Sep 2017

'After some time, they all want to know what is happening in their companies.' 'It is better they remain board members rather than talk outside.'

We have forgotten those who fought for freedom

We have forgotten those who fought for freedom

Rediff.com   15 Aug 2017

'Those days, none of the leaders thought of amassing wealth.' 'All of them wanted to sacrifice their all for the country.' 'There are many who didn't have any money, but sacrificed their lives for the country.' 'There are many who spent their own money and worked for the country.' 'There are many more about whom we do not even know what they had done; they did everything so silently and selflessly.'

'By 2025, we will be corruption free'

'By 2025, we will be corruption free'

Rediff.com   14 Aug 2017

'I feel now we have a leader who is non-corruptible.' 'But he needs time as corruption is deep-rooted in our society, and people have no shame about being corrupt.' 'It will take at least 7 years to make some changes.'

'Nation building can't be done by people on sabbatical'

'Nation building can't be done by people on sabbatical'

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2017

'We do not want people who are air dropped and who fly out once the job is done.' 'Ever since liberalisation started, we keep on hearing that it's going to be jobless growth.' 'This speaks of the failure of the foreign returned policy makers.' 'When questions are raised, answers should be given and not a resignation.'

'Today, even the RBI is under political pressure'

'Today, even the RBI is under political pressure'

Rediff.com   3 Aug 2017

'There is no difference between the earlier government and the present government.' 'They are all following the economic policy based on the Chicago School of thought.' 'This school of thought says the government should have very little role in governing the country and the majority of the work should be handed over to the private sector.' 'This has not succeeded in the US.' 'Yet, it is being tried here by people like Arvind Subramaniam, Arvind Panagariya, Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan.'

Swadeshi Jagran Manch: 'We want Paytm to close down'

Swadeshi Jagran Manch: 'We want Paytm to close down'

Rediff.com   31 Jul 2017

'We are against Alibaba investing in Paytm.' 'We are against the concessions given to Paytm.' 'In fact, we want Paytm to close down because of its alliance with Alibaba.'

'To have a war or not is in Chinese hands'

'To have a war or not is in Chinese hands'

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2017

'India is a huge market for Chinese goods. I don't think a war stands to logic when you have economic compulsions, but then Chinese are known to do illogical things.'

They are changing the way urban India lives

They are changing the way urban India lives

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2017

Prashant Lingam and Aruna Kappagantula are changing the way houses are being built in India.

The Dileep Saga: It's only the interval, folks!

The Dileep Saga: It's only the interval, folks!

Rediff.com   20 Jul 2017

Like many such cases, this case too would have remained under wraps had the survivor not exposed the villains and the crime they had commited.

'A start-up has to be super customer-obsessed'

'A start-up has to be super customer-obsessed'

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2017

'Even if you are aping the West, if you customise the idea for the Indian market, localise it based on the Indian ethos, it will succeed.'

The terrifying prospect of more job losses

The terrifying prospect of more job losses

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2017

'What we are going to see is a large number of white collar jobs getting lost.' 'Job loss can drive people to depression, drugs, alcoholism and even suicide as there is no one to turn to when they are down.' 'There is no in-between now -- things go from a luxurious lifestyle to no lifestyle.'

'GST is going to be tax jihadism'

'GST is going to be tax jihadism'

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2017

'If my understanding is correct, one has to file not less than 37 returns per year for every ordinary business, and that too per state.' 'If you are doing businesses in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, you have to file 37x3 returns every year!' 'The consequence of GST will be chaos, confusion and possibly economic crisis.'

'There is talent. We have to nurture it'

'There is talent. We have to nurture it'

Rediff.com   28 Jun 2017

Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi of IIT-Madras discusses the disparity between academic vision and industry needs with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com.

'Modi and Shah are more chatur than Gandhi'

'Modi and Shah are more chatur than Gandhi'

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2017

'This is the first time a majority ruling government is nominating a Dalit for President.' 'So, the moral credibility definitely will go with the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi.'

'The gig economy is going to be the future'

'The gig economy is going to be the future'

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2017

'You will see more and more people working independently -- starting beauty parlours, driving cars, etc.' This is what we call the gig economy.' 'The same people who have been laid off in India or are unable to get visas to work in the US may be part of this gig economy.' 'India needs billions of jobs, and it can only be created by self-employment or the gig economy.'

'Demonetisation de-fattened the economy'

'Demonetisation de-fattened the economy'

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2017

'High denomination cash notes which was 1.4 lakh crores of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2004 became Rs 15.5 lakh crores in 2016.' 'If it had been allowed, by 2022, it would have been Rs 34 lakh crores, and that would have been the end of the Indian economy.' 'Demonetisation was a huge hit on the head of the economy, but without the hit, you could not U-turn the economy.'