What we need to do straightaway is to get our act together and educate children better than merely award degrees. Since English cannot be thrown away, it would be better to learn it well. The crux lies there. Lowering standards of UPSC tests is no use, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
'The Tata group will need for its new leader to show the same foresight and willingness to go against conventional wisdom at times to keep the group's aspirations high and uphold the values of innovation, ethics, corporate responsibility, trust and leadership that are frequently associated with the Tata name.'
A Delhi University alumnus with an MBA in finance and a doctorate, Vaish started his career as a banker in 1984, became an academician a few years later and joined the capital market in 1998.
The airport is as good a place for fashion as any other for these stars!
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
The Genie will contain lots of gamified apps.
'The tiger is the epitome of evolution.' 'Every tiger has a stripe pattern that is unique. Each tiger is unique.' 'Tigers are very elusive. It is said a tiger sees you nine times when you see it once.'
Raja Sen picks the bad movies of the year so far.
'I realised I didn't have to wait for a spectacular event or a character to emerge. All stories of ordinary people, of your family, are extraordinary,' novelist Yasmeen Premji tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
Sudheendra Kulkarni pays tribute to friend, poet and Dalit activist Namdeo Dhasal who passed into the ages on Wednesday.
'No PM has said no to anything we have proposed. I am not a politician and I cannot give speeches about things, but a lot of good things have been done in science by previous governments.' 'Under Dr Manmohan Singh, we could do a few important things. I used to meet him once in 6, 8 weeks. He often said, 'Professor Rao, you assume that you have my approval and carry on.' He was shy and decent. He is a real gentleman.' 'Science keeps me going at 80. I feel young.' Professor C N R Rao, the eminent scientist who was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, on the state of science in India.
And no, the commercial sporting leagues didn't cause the drought, says Shekhar Gupta.
Start-ups in the information technology domain are quite common these days. But three young entrepreneurs have ventured into a comparatively lesser known area of food: snacks. Arul Murugan, co-founder, Chloroplast Foods, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com, how he is bootstrapping his start-up.
The incomparable Mohammed Rafi would have turned 93 today, December 24. Raju Bharatan salutes the legend.
'I have been tagged the next superstar for a long time, but I have not reached that stage.' 'So it's very important to accept your failures, not be in denial.' 'Those films happened because I chose them.' 'Nobody put a gun to my head and asked me to sign them.'
In one of the biggest deals in the outsourced product development (OPD) market, audio and infotainment systems maker Harman International Industries will buy Indian-born serial entrepreneur Romesh Wadhwani's Symphony Teleca for $780 million (about Rs 4,800 crore at Friday's exchange rate of 61.4).
Partially paralysed but with unbreakable will power and determination, Nihad Panju has beaten the odds to become a fitness freak and is all set to run his 4th Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.
If democracy is to survive and thrive, duties have to be as important as rights and tolerance must be the foundation of public and private life.
'When the audience leaves the theatres (after watching Dear Dad), they will have a smile on their faces. They will not be disappointed. That's a 100 per cent guarantee.' Dear Dad director Tanuj Bhramar tells us why we're going to love his film.
Saroj Kumar Rath, author of the newly-published book Fragile Frontiers: The Secret History of Mumbai Terror Attacks, speaks to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Her great grandfather began sugar co-operatives in Maharashtra. Her grandfather was an eight time MP. Her uncle is currently leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. Her cousin joined the BJP on Tuesday, March 12. Nila Vikhe Patil, who could one day become prime minister of Sweden, unravels her India connections in an e-mail interaction with Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'The Parivar's ideology and politics was and remains the very opposite of what Dr Ambedkar stood for.'
Ajit Balakrishnan on understanding the anti-cash chorus.
Umrika, which won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, finally releases in India.
'The first time we actually got to meet a Bollywood star, it was Salman Khan.' 'We met him at his farm house.' 'For Pia, an actor is just an actor. There is no such thing as a star in her world, and that may or may not go down well with some people.'
'It is a concocted letter and we suspect the IB (Intelligence Bureau) to be behind this game.' 'All the investigation agencies should have quietly gone about finding more about this alleged plot to kill the prime minister.' 'Why are you leaking such a letter that reveals the plot to the press as well as to BJP spokespersons?'
'India has been placed at a level, which would ensure that red tape is cut away. That's the biggest assurance that one can get -- the biggest takeaway.'
Women candidates have bagged the three top slots in the prestigious Civil Services examination to select Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers among others.
'Playing with international stalwarts in the IPL makes a big, positive, difference.'
'The unique achievements have been made by engineers from small towns who have had a non elite upbringing and who have grown with the programme,' says R Aravamudan, one of the pioneers of the Indian space programme.
The differently-abled deserve a normal life. Nothing will stop Poonam Natarajan from ensuring that India, slowly but surely, gives it to them, discovers Shobha Warrier.
With the Maharashtra government doling out pieces of the lush green Aarey forest to various utilities, the tribals living in it for generations are feeling increasingly insecure. Hepzi Anthony reports.
How a bus conductor named Shivaji Gaekwad became the mega-phenomenon called Rajinikanth.
'In any business you have to achieve short-term goals.' 'But at the same time you have to keep your broader perspective long term.' 'It is good for business survival.'
'The 'Off-with-Rajan's-head' brigade bases its arguments on mistaken beliefs, erroneous causalities, and even downright prejudice.'
Director Ritesh Batra discusses his film, The Lunchbox, which releases this week.
When I met him last year for his 75th birthday, he seemed frail. There was a sense of urgency. I will miss Stephen. His passing fills me with sadness.
The last rites will be conducted in Mandala in Madhya Pradesh, according to his wishes.
Surinder Kapur's relentless pursuit of quality made Kapur a highly efficient manufacturer of automobile components.
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