Thought Garage

New BC Commission took office on Thursday, 24th September and vows to request enumeration based on castes in the wake of political motivation by all major parties to include more castes in to BC. The commission is also of the opinion that it may need to extend BC reservations quota in order to include more people. Otherwise, the existing BC community will be severely impacted. Our Take on Whole Reservation Issue, in brief: Caste system is a social issue.  No matter what you do in the form of reservations, people will not forget their caste. One of the main reasons behind Chiranjeevi's motivation to come into politics is the expected unconditional support of 30% of Kapus, because he belongs to Kapu community. When leaders highlight and exploit the very caste issue on such a public face, we don't think we can ever eradicate the caste issue in our society. Even the most affluent and well educated youth, establish organizations and community groups exclusively ba...

Why not bail out failed home owners, the root cause of the whole sub prime mess and financial blackout? Bailing out businesses will not help home owners, as the original problem is still left out, and only fixing side effects.

First, the idea of a debate with YS Raja Sekhar Reddy right on, was brushed aside by Chiranjeevi saying he got no time to dabble. But then a more thoughtful reply came in, saying that He is ready if YSR himself appear in the debate. Despite 'movie' style fights for a open debate on State development by both sides, we think, finally happening of a Debate is most unlikely. Politically speaking, leaders from both sides know there is no conceivable benefit from actually having such a debate, than just talking about it in the press. Last time, Lok Satta attempted to arrange such a debate on very fair grounds, but all efforts and vision of Jay Prakash went in vain. Political parties know a lot better than informing people. Most allegations today's politicians make against other leaders, won't stand a fact check or face to face dialogue. Praja Rajyam (PR) president Chiranjeevi on Monday declared that he was ready for a public debate with Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekh...

Intimidation is not new to Politics, but not this way. So far, we have seen direct criticism on policies, statements and predictions. But the movie style of intimidation takes it to a new style. They Used To Physically Attack. Now they found a better way. If you criticize Praja Rajyam party, then you will get a bouquet of flowers every where you go. If you criticize Chiranjeevi, people will start offering prayers in the temple for your well-being. That's the movie style. The same fans, used to attack you and your belongings a little earlier. Now they think they found a better form of intimidation, the movie style. Gandhigiri or Rowdyism under the hood You can take direct criticism, with a pinch of salt, and be okay with it. But this kind of movie style 'criticism' certainly intimidates more than any thing. Though it looks like the 'Gandhian' way, I don't think it is. Its a movie style soft version of 'Rowdyism'. Most respectful way and dignified ...

Its a great news for all. Two new Thermal Power Stations are coming that could generate almost 4600 MW power on completion, in private sector. We were delighted to see such a huge investment and initiative from private sector to generate power. The Cabinet has decided to allot an extent of 16,249 acres of Government land to two thermal power projects in the private sector in Srikakulam district and to the greenfield ports in Nizampatnam and Vadarevu. Land will, however, be allotted for a price. At a meeting here on Monday, the Cabinet cleared allotment of 3,333 acres spread over four villages to East-Coast Energy Limited at Rs 85,000 an acre for setting up a 2,600-MW thermal power station at Kakarapalli in Srikakulam district. Briefing reporters later, Information Minister A. Ramanarayan Reddy said another 972.69 acres of land at Sompeta would be allotted to Nagarjuna Constructions Limited at Rs 80,000 an acre for a 1,980 MW thermal station. The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh...

Akriti team pointed to a news story on Hindu, that had a couple of images in quite a rich color that shows the traffic grid lock and sewage system that need immediate attention. Heavy downpour along with Arogya Matha celebrations at Khairatabad result in traffic gridlocks The heavy downpour on Monday evening, which lasted for nearly two hours, along with Arogya Matha celebrations at Khairatabad and the usual waterlogging hotspots, led to gridlocks on all the main road-corridors, without any exception. By 8.30 p.m. on Monday, the city received over 40 mm of rainfall. With nearly three lakh pilgrims reaching Mother Mary’s church at Khairatabad, the clouds opened up, leaving every stretch, extending as far as Malakpet, Dilsukhnagar and Saroornagar on one side and Tarnaka-Uppal on the other, packed with vehicles. The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Just another manic Monday on city roads

We mentioned recently that we have came to know a bit shocking (to us) revelation of the reasons behind the exit of TDP's No.2 leader Devender Goud and starting his own NTPP party. Close to the party cadres says the following when we grilled what led to his exit: Devender Goud is very well respected in TDP and many call him No.2 in TDP., next only to Chandra Babu Naidu. If Chiranjeevi comes into politics, TDP will loose big time, in his own words, 'TDP is a sinking ship'. Congress has enough money to alter the dynamics.  Chiranjeevi has mass following. TDP has none. So it would be wise to shift gears and change the vehicle. Even if TDP somehow survive or win the elections, He will always be a No.2, and can never become a Chief minister. Since he was respected in the party cadre and in the people, if he starts a new party, he could be the No.1. Don't join TRS, but start his own. Fight for Seperate Telangana has been intensified recently with TRS...

So far, we have seen comments that are confident, hopeful and realistic from Praja Rajyam party. But gaining criticism against the party from Congress and TDP seems to have caused bit of frenzy in the minds of Praja Rajyam office bearers. First Prediction of Electoral Results They revealed what they are banking on to win in the elections : unconditional support of people from East and West Godavari districts. In other words, the support of 100% of Kapu community living in these Godavari districts. Will it end up to be just Kapu's party? Its long been believed that 100% of Kapu community will go blind fold and vote for Chiranjeevi. Now, the first two office bearers of Praja Rajyam confirms the belief the party itself had on those two districts. We don't think it was a thoughtful gesture for any sort. It is naive, foolish and plain stupid to assert that they would win, specifically only Godavari districts. Fact Check:  List of Constituencies : East Godavari (19) ...

Responding to criticism (from Chiranjeevi) that Government is acting as a Broker in selling Government land for  private industries, YSR says some thing not acceptable from a Chief Minister. Plain, stupid! Participating in a debate on a Telugu television channel, Reddy said the government was developing assets by making use of unproductive government lands that were vulnerable to encroachment. YSR rejects Chiranjeevi's allegation on land sale Is this the only way to protect Government land from encroachment? By selling it off?

Another strong indication of how important 'Caste' would be in the upcoming elections, a political party created for the 2.5cr SCs.  We expect a strong battle between (O)BCs, SCs and STs. Sangati Manohar, founder-president of Dalit United Front and Dalit Christian Front, on Tuesday announced that he was forming a political party by name ‘Dalit Samaj Party’, for the uplift of 2.5 crore SCs in Andhra Pradesh. The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Kadapa News : ‘Dalit Samaj Party’ to be launched

At this point, we  really don't think there will be a third front that poses any significant problem to the ruling Congress or TDP.  We understand that if there will be a force that gains momentum against TDP and Congress, it will be Chiranjeevi's party Praja Rajyam. A third front, which will be a challenge to the ruling Congress as well as the Telugu Desam Party that ruled the State for nine years, will be formed in the State by the Left parties and other parties opposed to the Congress and the TDP, Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary K. Narayana has said. The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : Third front will be formed: Narayana

I have just installed Google chrome and fell in love with its Speed. Here is my experience with Google Chrome in the first few minutes.   Installation was a breeze. No restarts required. (Under 2 minutes) Page loading is quite fast and instantly visible (compare to other browsers Google Chrome is like a race car) Interface is very simple and elegant. There is no difference between Search bar and Address bar anymore. Quite handy. Also fell in love with Thumbnails of Most frequently used pages when you open a new tab. Add-ons and Extensions Once I get to serious browsing, like reading blogs on Google reader, I missed by 'Blog This' extension for Windows Live Writer. Hope, application developers will soon enhance or make their add-ons compatible with Google Chrome. Since Chrome is also built with components from Firefox, I hope extensions may be instantly compatible once allowed. Overall, I fell in love with Google Chrome for its Speed and Simplicity and of course, litt...

That is a big question and our answer as of today is NO. Lok Satta is formed on the basis of sound principles and deep understanding of people and their issues. Lok Satta also defined a list of 50 promises defining the issues and how it promises to solve them. Praja Rajyam is still to define what it is and what it want to deliver.  We believe, the motivation behind Praja Rajyam is power and money in the name of public service. ( LokSatta motto is clear and distinct from mere public service, it is more of empowering People). Most importantly, no body knows at this point, how it want to deliver. LokSatta has members that look to believe deeply in its principles and is completely Caste or community agnostic.  They are common people just like next door neighbor, but with strong belief in principles than political muscle. So far, people who are joining Praja Rajyam party are Chiranjeevi's friends and leaders from Kapu community, and politicians of the same old age beliefs a...

“As a people we are understandably eager for our economy to sprint like a tiger rather than amble like an elephant…and when elephants start dancing, they can go on for a long time, provided the stage is clear.” - Duvvuri Subba Rao Succeeding a Telugu bureaucrat Yaga Venugopal Reddy at the top echelons of the country’s apex banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), another Telugu man Duvvuri Subba Rao, Union Finance Secretary, will be donning the mantle as the next Governor. Taking over the reins of the coveted responsibility may not be difficult for him. Yet, Dr. Rao, the all-India topper of 1972 batch of civil services, apparently has his task cut out much before stepping into the shoes of Dr. Reddy. Five challenges Delivering a lecture on ‘Elephants too dance: India growth story’ a few months ago, Dr. Rao said that leapfrogging from agriculture to service economy, bypassing the manufacturing sector did not help India. The ...

  India set to launch a reusable spacecraft India is surging ahead literally out of this world as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) begins work on a wholly indigenous effort to build a space shuttle that will carry Indians into the space like US space shuttle, Columbia. India is planning to launch a reusable spacecraft for the first time in 2010 and to send a mission to Mars as early as 2012. India has been successfully developing space program in recent years and regularly launching satellites using booster rockets. But with a little cooperation with either USA or Russia, India will be able to cut the huge costs and share technology to build its own shuttle. India has agreements with both and could get help from either or both countries. URL: India set to launch a reusable spacecraft India's Infosys to acquire UK's Axon for $753 million 'The board of directors of the company has approved the proposed scheme of arrangement to acquire Axon Global Plc,'' ...

For those interested in China and Internet trends in China, found these in Webyantra's RSS feed : Tns China Sourcebook Handbook of Online China Source: Resource: China Internet Industry trends & datapoints

If you are around, don't miss it. Google is organising a workshop in Delhi on the Social Web & Cloud Computing. Its a day long event (September 5th) and on the agenda are discussions & presentations about Open Social & Google App Engine. Source: Google workshop on Social Web and Cloud Computing in New Delhi

Quite a creative decorations at one of my friend's baby shower party.