Suresh Prabhu, the current Union Minister of Railways is a man of many talents. A Chartered Accountant and a lawyer by profession, he has been a Member of Parliament since 1996. He was earlier a member of Shiv Sena party, which he quit in November 2014 to join the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). He was, at various times during the premiership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1996 and 1998-2004), Industry Minister, Minister of Environment and Forests, Minister of Fertilisers and Chemicals, Power, Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises. As Minister of Power, Prabhu introduced major reforms in India’s power sector. He is…
Author: oiop
An editor for all seasons (1941-2015) Nowadays it is television that holds sway in Indian households, rich or poor. And television news channels have long overtaken print as the favourite source of news, views and opinions. Print, however has also grown typified by the number of newspapers and magazines in English and regional languages. Vinod Mehta, who died on 8 March this year, personified the ideal print media: provocative yet thoughtful, rejecting sacred cows yet never descending into yellow journalism, delightful and easy to read, yet not dumbing down the content. Apart from the above, Mehta had personal qualities that…
The Indian Railways may have a very busy passenger segment, carrying passengers equivalent to the world’s population every year, but it also incurs humongous losses on this sector. A. Hari unravels the mystery behind this and tells us what steps need to be taken to make Indian Railways more cost and fare efficient. Indian Railways is today one of the leading rail networks of the world as far as passenger numbers is concerned, as the number of passengers transported every year is equivalent to almost the population of the entire world. Still, the railways incurred a huge loss of around…
A passionate film maker (1936-2015) The passing away of a doyen of the Indian film industry, Daggubati Ramanaidu is indeed an irreparable loss to cinema, as he was one of the most prolific film makers who made over 130 films in several languages including inter alia Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam etc. His banner ‘Suresh Productions’ named after his elder son Suresh Babu, is one of the most respected film companies in the country. The ‘Ramanaidu Studios’, a sprawling complex in Hyderabad, was among the first studios to be set up in Hyderabad. The studio which boasts of state-of-the-art facilities…
By banning the Leslie Udwin documentary on the 2012 Delhi gangrape, the Government of India has sent out the wrong message. It should focus on sensitisation and women safety campaigns, instead of trying to muzzle such documentaries in the mistaken belief that this will protect the country’s image. Recently there was a big hue and cry about the release of a documentary titled ‘India’s Daughter’ made by Leslie Udwin for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), that focused on the 2012 dastardly gang rape of a 23- year-old girl in Delhi, who subsequently died. This incident shocked the nation’s collective conscience…
THE young scientist was boasting of the achievements of modern science in the presence of an old man. Suddenly a bird flew past. “We can even fly like the birds!” said the scientist. “But there’s one thing they can do that we can’t,” said the old man. “And what is that?” asked the scientist, scornfully. “They can sit on a barbed wire fence.”
The female jungle nymph stick insect displays some incredible martial art moves when attacked. Standing on her two front pairs of legs, she raises her rear legs into the air. Then, in quick scissor-like movements, she kicks her rear legs together to deliver a vicious blow to her opponent. The sharp spines on her legs make the blow more painful and deter the attacker from making any further moves. Female jungle nymph stick insects are bright green in appearance. They are among the largest and heaviest insects in the world — they measure about 15cm in length and weigh as…
The Homo sapien species seems to have lost its connect with nature. But it was not always so. Early man venerated nature. Even if he hunted and killed animals for sustenance, he was truly grateful for it. But today sadly, not only has the connect between man and nature broken down, there seems to be veneration for only one kind of god. To those who believe that most of Earth’s secrets have been unveiled by science, it should come as some surprise that the evolutionary history of birds is still mired in debate and shrouded in doubt. Did the ancestors…
The Konkan Railway may just be 760-km long, but it passes through some tough terrain, making its construction a marvel of engineering. The Konkan region was given an economic fillip with the construction of this line, which the current railway minister hopes to develop further, says Dilip Chaware. He describes the challenges faced and the people behind the Konkan Railway project. Konkan Railway (KR) is an Indian marvel. The 760 km rail passes through one of the most difficult terrains in the world. Its completion within just eight years by Indian engineers is a global record, a unique feat of…
A man who prided himself on his thriftiness was dismayed to learn that there was another tightwad who lived more frugally than him. “I must take lessons in thrift from this genius,” he said to his son, “otherwise I’ll continue to overspend. Go to his house and ask him if he will accept me as his student!” It was customary to gift a goose to the guru at the time he was approached. The would-be chela drew a goose on a piece of paper and gave it to his son. “Give this to him with my regards,” he beamed. The…