Smart Cities and Urban Mirages

PRIME Minister Modi recently launched one of his pet programmes, namely setting up 100 “smart cities,” along with plans for upgrading 500 towns and cities (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation or AMRUT), and a pledge to provide housing for all by 2022, requiring around 20 million units by the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.

National Optical Fibre Network Project And the Expert Committee Report

THE new NDA government's approach to every issue, irrespective of the problem, seems to be the same – hand it over to the private sector. Not surprisingly, the “expert” committee's review report on the ambitious National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project –which is to provide broadband rural telephony – has recommended exactly that. Instead of BSNL, virtually the only telecom company providing rural telephony today, the committee has recommended large scale induction of private players. This is in spite of their dismal record in meeting their existing rural telephony obligations.

Nestle Must Not Escape Liability After Poisoning a Whole Generation

THE recent controversy on safety concerns surrounding Maggi noodles – the popular instant noodle brands of the Swiss transnational company (TNC), Nestle – raises a number of issues that have not been explored in much of the media reports. The entire controversy erupted after a conscientious Food and Drug inspector in UP got samples of Maggi instant noodles tested for the presence of toxic and impermissible ingredients.

15th All India Peoples Science Congress

THE 15th All India Peoples Science Congress, the bi-annual event held by the All India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN), was held in Bengaluru on May 22-25, 2015. The Congress is returning to the garden city and a premier hub of science and technology (S&T) in the country after 1992 when the 3rd Congress was held on its outskirts.The AIPSN as an organisation is perhaps unique in the world.

Cyberwar or Cyberpeace?

CYBER weapons are no longer the stuff of science fiction. They are all too real, and so is their threat to our interconnected world. This threat is bound to grow in the coming days with the internet of things, when all our devices will have intelligence and be connected to the internet. If we want to stop the internet from being weaponised, we have to start talking about what nation states should or should not do.

Zero Rating: Not Subsidised Internet But Enclosure of the Internet

AFTER the firestorm of criticism from the Indian netizens on the violations of net neutrality by Reliance-Facebook (Internet.org) and Airtel (Airtel Zero), Facebook and Airtel have come out with their defence: they love net neutrality, and will never, never violate this principle. They are only providing cheap internet access to their subscribers, who are currently without this access.

Asbestos: Govt Kow-tows to Corporate Lobbies

THE government in India continues to kow-tow to corporate lobbies at the cost of the environment and public health including occupational health. While always an integral part of ruling class politics in India, as witnessed in the seemingly never-ending saga of the Bhopal Gas Disaster, this has reached new heights under the BJP government led by PM Narendra Modi which is rapidly dismantling even the already weak environmental regulatory structure. Its mantra seems to be “development” at any cost.

Are Right-Wingers Dumb?

ARE right-wingers dumber than others? How else can we explain the tenacity with which a set of them hold on to beliefs in flying machines and genetics 7,000 years back; deny evolution; climate change? Why do the right, confronted with evidence contrary to their belief systems, prefer to invent their own facts?

Swine Flu – Extraordinary Breakdown of Public Health

THE recent spate of infections and deaths, caused by the H1N1 strain of the influenza virus across many states in India has once again brought into focus India’s ailing health care system. It is unfortunate that discussions on the country’s non-functioning public health system surface only in periods when the health system is faced with a challenge. WHAT IS SWINE FLU?Influenza caused by the H1N1 virus is also popularly called ‘swine flu’.

New Patent Policy: Surrendering to US Industry Pressure

AMONG notable hyper activities of Prime Minister Modi is his rush to change most important acts and policies of the country intended to please foreign corporate entities. One such move is to change our intellectual property rights system to make it more suitable to the US multinational giants.

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