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
''None of the existing vaccines have 100% efficacy.' 'Each vaccine will work openly on a certain percentage of the population.'
'You will not have a vaccine for everyone initially.'
'The propagation of an absolutist narrative that shuts down any dissent is dangerous, irresponsible, and unbecoming of India's proud democracy.' 'The government must do better.'
'MGNREGA is definitely like a lifeline and is the employer of the last resort'
'It may take two years for the economy to return to normal.' 'We should ensure that the vulnerable do not dig into their savings or give up their assets because that will set them back by several years.'
'When Arnab Goswami's arrest became a talking point, the case of my husband who was arrested much earlier, was totally ignored.' 'When so many people spoke in support of Goswami, they were silent on a journalist named Siddique Kappan'
Gopalan Balachandran recalls his eldest sister Dr Sushila Gopalan and her daughter Kamala who is now the US vice-president-elect.
'One cannot take it that the economy has recovered, and the GST payment has increased because of that, or that production is back to January 2020 level.'
'Without reviving employment, consumer confidence will not go up.'
'Better hygiene practices could lower a person's immunity and make the person susceptible to auto-immune diseases.'
'The group having rice flour and wheat flour showed an increase in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and the group that took the jackfruit flour had a significant decrease in HbA1c.' 'Our results showed a decrease in fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial glucose (PPG) after the green jackfruit flour meal.'
'How many people have died in India so far due to Covid?' 'Multiply that by at least four, and that many people in intense grief are there in the country.'
'I knew there was a huge business opportunity, but it was Dr Kalam who made me jump into it as an entrepreneur.'
'If they add a small paragraph that no purchase will be allowed below the MSP, they have a winner on their hands'
'It is a political failure, and not a medical failure.'
'The SJM has requested the government to bring a change in the law which will ensure MSP as the floor price for all farmers below which nobody should buy anything from them.'
'You have come out with a package for the kisan.' 'You have a package for industry.' 'But has anyone addressed the issues concerning small traders?'
'When you oppose a policy, you are labelled anti-government.' 'The problem is, the policymakers have never done any business in their lives.'
'No matter how much you fast track, you cannot say, here is a highly efficient vaccine even by the middle of next year or the end of next year'
'When restaurants are open, pubs are open and people are moving around, a second wave will happen because you are giving a chance for the virus to spread.'
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