Opinion - Electronic Gurudev

Feb112017 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

Who said you need smartphones to book seats on trains

Opinion

Who said you need smart phones to book seats on trains and buses? All you require is a handkerchief, and the grimier, the better. The other day the train had barely pulled into a station when a large, hairy, male hand plunged in through the window, startling the bespectacled young man huddled in the side seat out of his catnap. It dangled a tiny lady’s handkerchief like a pendulum under his nose. Now fully awake, the chap, showing signs of being a hypochondriac, involuntarily jerked his head away, stopped breathing and watched the grubby hanky anxiously while trying to distance himself from it and the germs it probably carried, but the hanky persisted in pursuing his nose. Alarmed, he withdrew further and further into his seat quite determined to disappear through its back, when ...

Feb72017 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

Trump Is Right to Acknowledge About American ‘Carnage’

Opinion

President Donald Trump drew bipartisan criticism when he defended Vladimir Putin against charges the Russian president was a killer, telling Bill O'Reilly Sunday, "We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" Democrats and Republicans condemned Trump's remarks. But while critics attacked the president for drawing what they called a "moral equivalency" between the U.S. and Putin's Russia, what Trump said is unavoidably true: especially when it comes to war, America kills. So just how many foreigners has America killed over the course of its history? It’s a tricky question to answer. While the U.S. does a good job of tracking American casualties, it doesn’t do quite as well tallying up the casualties it incurs on its enemies. By using a variety of estimates,...

Jan262017 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

India leaves America far behind in innovation with its digital initiative

Opinion

Viewed from Silicon Valley, the progress that India has made in building a digital infrastructure, evokes awe. The American technology industry fancies itself as the global leader in innovation, yet India has leapt far ahead. Silicon Valley’s technology investors hype complex technologies such as bitcoin and blockchain. But India, with simple and practical innovations and massive grunt work, has built a digital infrastructure that will soon process billions more transactions than these do. India is about to skip two generations of financial technologies and build something as monumental as China’s Great Wall and America’s interstate highways. Though few people in the West know of Aadhaar, it has been the largest and most successful information technology project in the world. ...

Jan62017 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

An Indian Flag Printed Onto A Doormat Is Being Sold On Amazon. Very Disrespectful!

Opinion

The Indian flag is a sacred symbol of independence. It invokes a sense of immense pride in the heart of every patriot. The tricolour is a reminder of the incredible struggle and unparalleled sacrifice made by the leaders of our fight for freedom. It’s a physical embodiment of the unshakable Indian spirit. It’s a symbol to be revered. Therefore, it’s enraging to find the Indian being disrespected in such a manner. A rectangular, non-slip doormat with the Indian national flag printed on the front was an actual item being sold on Amazon. The listing has since been removed by the seller. Apart from the Indian flag, the website also has listings of doormats made of the United States flag and its various state flags. While a few western countries do approve of the use of their fl...

Dec212016 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

5 Things We Missed Out In Modi’s Demonetization Logic…

Opinion

Since the government decided to demonetize the currency of denomination 1000 and 500 on November 08th, there has been a lot of ink spilt on the merits and demerits of the demonetization move. Industry is up in arms against the liquidity crunch but is scared to speak too much against the black money drive. Journalists have typically taken extreme positions without understanding the nuances of the demonetization debate. The key issue that most are missing is that the goalpost of demonetization is not what many would like to believe. The immediate intent of the demonetization exercise is not to flush out black money, although that will be the eventual impact. Here are 5 key things we may have missed out in the demonetization logic… 01. The immediate intent was to create a liquidit...

Dec92016 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

Triple Talaq violates Fundamental Right: which is why Supreme Court should rule against it

Opinion

On 8 December, the Allahabad High Court used strong words against the practice of triple talaq, describing it as “unconstitutional” and a violation of the rights of Muslim women, but such strong words do not mean anything practically and certainly do not settle the issue in law. More on that later, but first the court's observation should be welcomed because it is significant insofar as it strengthens women's rights movement in the country; sends a strong warning to Islamic clerics that time for them to change is now; denotes a pro-liberty shift in the higher judiciary's thinking, and offers a bright ray of hope to Muslim women who are rendered destitute overnight by triple talaq. The court observed: “The instant divorce (triple talaq) though has been deprecated and not followed by all se...

Dec52016 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

Dear PM, Please Take Back The Decision That Provides Shields To Central Govt Employees From Investigation Agencies

Opinion

Recently the Centre has given its assent on the changes in the anti-corruption law that may give a ‘shield’ to government employees from prosecution. With this change, the Centre has mandated investigation agencies like CBI to take prior approval before conducting any inquiry against them. Central Govt Employees May Get A “Shield” From Prosecution, Investigation Agencies Will Need Prior Permission To Probe Following is the text of the letter that Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan sent to PM and Party leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking changes in Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill. 24th November, 2016 Dear Shri Narendra Modi Ji, Kindly find enclosed a note on the grave implications of the official amendments proposed to Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 seeking t...

Nov202016 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

Is Demonetization of High Value Currency Notes Worth All Current trouble Caused

Opinion

To understand this lets take an example - you are walking on a road. A thorn pierces your heel and the thorn contains a sort of slow poison, though you are not aware of this and ignores it thinking of it as a small issue. Now you feel pain therefore takes a pain killer. However, even after taking the pain killer, the pain returns after a couple of days. You take a double dose of the pain-killer, but again the pain returns after a week. Now, the pain killers are of no use whatsoever. The poison has become stronger with time. Meanwhile you also noticed swelling in your heels so you decide to go to a doctor. The doctor takes a scan and a test and says that the thorn had a slow poison which has now slowly started infecting your blood. However, there is still hope. The doctor says that the poi...

Nov82016 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

What do the industry have to say about PM Modi’s demonetisation move?

Opinion

Bankers and industry leaders today welcomed the move to demonetise the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as “a bold and revolutionary” step, and affirmed their commitment to smoothen the transition. State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said, We will strive to restock ATMs at the earliest and make them operational. The government has given enough exemptions to ensure urgent needs are met. We will work round the clock to ensure that customers have a smooth experience She said the banking system has handled such demonetisation in the past as well and will do so again this time. Banks will be closed tomorrow to withdraw existing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from counters and ATMs (automated teller machines). ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar said, It's ...

Oct182016 by Team - The Digital IndianNo Comments

Why Black Money is ‘Bad’?

Opinion

We have been trying to find colour in this bicolored black and white world. When it comes to the colour of money, it gets more covert and enthralling. We have been hearing about lakhs and thousands of crores of “black money” being amassed away in “benaam” bank accounts, “chupa rustam” lockers, tax havens and even in big boots of imported bravura cars of loaded businessmen, corrupt officials, mafias and some “honest” politicians. So what does this term “Black Money” or “Kala Dhan” which we habitually hear our society use for anyone who lives a lavish lifestyle actually mean? Where does it come from? Where can it be used? As Wikipedia suggests, “Black money refers to funds earned on the black market, on which income and other taxes have not been paid.” Sounds tricky, right? I be...