On My Mind

Some 13 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred, and the universe started taking its present shape. Brilliant minds of ours and earlier generations have spent a considerable amount of cognitive resources to unravel this mystery. Notwithstanding the appreciable progress made in our understanding, it has been suggested by many a bureaucrat that this wastage of human capacity could have been avoided if someone had neatly prepared an office note on the big bang then. The process of documentation and record-keeping is essential in government, as in any other form of organization that grows beyond the individual. Documenting known facts of any issue, discovering more through inquiry or academic research, and then forming a well-justified conclusion forms the core of any decision that is taken. This entire exercise is colloquially known as the "paperwork". Since the stakeholders aren't just the people making the decisions, it is important that paperwork is done with due diligen...

Delhi is at a crossroads today. The air pollution levels are roaring high as the temperature sinks. The mood is sombre and there is no more Jaanta hai mera baap kaun hai . This has led to an uproar on social media as it's not advisable to step outside to protest. (Source: "Annual Traditions We Don't Know Who Started") This independent study is aimed at identifying the primary causes behind the situation followed by a dispassionate critical analysis of the effects of air pollution. We then propose some radical solutions which will help get rid of the problem as it emerges. Causes Since pointing out the stubble burning, poor construction practices, biomass burning, and vehicle exhausts angers the farmer lobby, real estate lobby, and activists angry at everything, it is important to think hard and come up with real causes for the Delhi air pollution. The primary culprits are the people from Bihar and UP because we can pin the blame on them without much outcry. (So...

If you happen to work for someone who is under the scanner of public a lot, you would've realized how important it is to have a well-functioning Public Relations cell.  Central Government of India comes first to my mind in this regard. Ours is a welfare state, where apart from the necessary functions of maintaining law and order, the government takes care of the welfare of its citizens. Besides passive subsidies, there are more active plans in the sector of education, health, financial inclusion, food distribution etc. It is in view of spreading awareness about such schemes (I know, political gains too) that government has been allocating a good chunk to Advertisement and publicity. Have a look at recent data. (src: https://factly.in/the-central-government-spent-more-than-6000-crore-on-publicity-in-the-last-11-years/) Taking into account the size of the economy, this isn't an amount to cringe about. More often than not it is one of the most important parts of ...