My Scribles

It's over at Wembley! And guess what... http://flip.it/iBVYr

With the Modi government getting ready to celebrate its first year in office on May 26, the focus, rightly so, would be on weighing the deliverables against the long list of promises he made during the election campaign, to ascertain whether the much awaited "achhe din" wasn't a mere political slogan coined by the BJP. But in any democracy, especially one as vibrant as ours, there would be an equally compelling case to assess how the opposition, led by the Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi fared in the past one year. The Modi government started on a high note after receiving a historic mandate, winning 282 seats in the Lok Sabha. The Congress had been reduced to its lowest ever tally of 44. Modi, it seemed had the "Midas touch". Everything he did grabbed headlines from "Swachh Bharat" to "Make in India", notwithstanding the fact that one year later, we still don't quite know what these programmes entail specifically, except...

In his latest book, 'An Uncertain Glory - India and its contradictions', economist-philosopher and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has devoted almost ten pages to sing Tamil Nadu’s praise for its efficient delivery of public services. “Tamil Nadu’s capacity for innovation and creative thinking in matters of public administration is an important example for the entire country,” say Prof. Sen and Jean Dreze in their book (pp. 174). Indeed, the authors point out that Tamil Nadu (and Kerala) would be at the top of South Asian comparisons in social indicators if they were treated as separate countries. For those living in Tamil Nadu, the lofty praise in the book is not surprising for it is true indeed that the state is efficient in delivery of public services, be it the public distribution system, health care or school education. This was, after all, the state that pioneered the noon meals scheme in schools back in the eighties, which Prof. Sen praises as creative thinking in his bo...

Kundapur Vaman Kamath’s appointment as the head of BRICS bank (now renamed New Development Bank) is perhaps a testimony to his ability to build an institution. His colleagues, mentees, and peers in the corporate world say that the new stint is apt for the eminent banker, who is now returning to take up an executive role after a long gap. K Ram Kumar, Executive Director on the Board of ICICI Bank, who has worked closely with Kamath for over 15 years, told BusinessLine, “Look at the number of people he has groomed including men and women. The current character of ICICI Group is Mr Kamath’s vision.” “He is my mentor...Anyone who walks into his room, comes out inspired and there are very few people like this. You come out of his room and think, ‘Am I really that good?’ — he has that skill to fire you up,” he adds.

There is more than a passing similarity between last year’s general elections in India and the just-concluded UK general elections. In India, the Modi-led BJP won a majority on its own, putting an end to years of coalition governments. In the UK, the David Cameron-led Conservative Party won an overall majority on its own, stunning pollsters and pundits alike. In India, Modi’s overwhelming victory was widely seen as setting the stage for massive change. In the UK, these elections are also a precursor to some significant changes, from a potential exit from the EU to the revival of the Scottish independence movement. But there the similarities stop. After their crushing defeat, the leaders of the parties on the losing side were quick to own personal responsibility for the rout of their respective parties. Labour’s Ed Milliband not only resigned from his party’s leadership, but even quit politics. Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats, also quit as party leader, though hanging on to his ...

Jet engines, more commonly used for aircrafts, are a type of gas turbine engine. Now you may know steam turbines, where a fuel is burnt to produce high-temperature flowing steam which drives a turbine, subsequently turning a shaft, before being exhausted from the system. The turning of this shaft is output power and it is this rotation which drives a rotating object. A gas turbine resembles the same underlying principles, however a pressurised gas is responsible for driving the turbine. In jet engines the high-temperature pressurised gas powers the rotation of the compresssor at the front, but more importantly, what’s exhausted from the system flies out at at the rear at high speeds, producing what’s known as thrust. - Compressor – at the front of the engine are fan blades, some rotating (rotors) and some static (stators), which draw air into the engine. There are many rows of blades and as the air passes by each row it becomes more pressurised and the temperature increases. Com...

Dave Goldberg, husband of Facebook exec Sheryl Sandberg, dies suddenly http://flip.it/LAyYH

Royal baby: Catherine gives birth to a girl http://flip.it/8K6Tn