Ideas at Work

There are two separate issues in the Bangalore Club case, which the government is now trying to tackle through a law. And of the two, only one is legitimate. The first issue is whether Indian dress code should be disallowed from any premises, even a private one. I don't think so. It's not nice, and some would say it seems undignified. Possibly. But if a private group wants to set up rules for its own members, and they're all ok with it, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. By the same token, if the government wants to wage war…

There are two separate issues in the Bangalore Club case, which the government is now trying to tackle through a law. And of the two, only one is legitimate. The first issue is whether Indian dress code should be disallowed from any premises, even a private one. I don't think so. It's not nice, and some would say it seems undignified. Possibly. But if a private group wants to set up rules for its own members, and they're all ok with it, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. By the same token, if the government wants to wage war…

The Right to Education Act has to be amended, to have any chance of succeeding. In fact, almost certainly, without amendments it will do more harm than good, and there is enough evidence of this happening already. Four common-sense steps will help. (a) The regulation of the education sector has to be separated from the Education departments of states. The regulator should be able to oversee the functioning of both public schools and private schools. (b) Unaided schools should be exempt from this law, and instead be brought under a new voluntary-mandatory mix like has been done for CSR in…

The Right to Education Act has to be amended, to have any chance of succeeding. In fact, almost certainly, without amendments it will do more harm than good, and there is enough evidence of this happening already. Four common-sense steps will help. (a) The regulation of the education sector has to be separated from the Education departments of states. The regulator should be able to oversee the functioning of both public schools and private schools. (b) Unaided schools should be exempt from this law, and instead be brought under a new voluntary-mandatory mix like has been done for CSR in…

How can corporate CSR funds support more city improvement projects? I was at an event yesterday where this was discussed by some of the CEOs of large companies in the city. The ongoing neighbourhood improvement partnership competition has already helped find the first 1 crore of CSR money for a few city improvement projects, and I'm hopeful that next year there will be five times as much money, so that 40+ community projects in the city can be showcased. That kind of scale would begin to help build a very different kind of city - with citizens actively responsible for…

How can corporate CSR funds support more city improvement projects? I was at an event yesterday where this was discussed by some of the CEOs of large companies in the city. The ongoing neighbourhood improvement partnership competition has already helped find the first 1 crore of CSR money for a few city improvement projects, and I'm hopeful that next year there will be five times as much money, so that 40+ community projects in the city can be showcased. That kind of scale would begin to help build a very different kind of city - with citizens actively responsible for…

June 8th 30 million people. It boggles the mind to think that so many could live in a single metropolitan area. But the Jakarta city region is just that - the second largest concentration of people anywhere in the world. The city itself (which is itself actually 5 municipalities) is of Bangalore proportions - 10 million, 700 sq km - but the metro area which includes many other cities is thrice the size. In 25 years, a few Indian cities could look like this - vast, a little more wealthy than today, and juxtapositions of order and chaos, rich and…

June 8th 30 million people. It boggles the mind to think that so many could live in a single metropolitan area. But the Jakarta city region is just that - the second largest concentration of people anywhere in the world. The city itself (which is itself actually 5 municipalities) is of Bangalore proportions - 10 million, 700 sq km - but the metro area which includes many other cities is thrice the size. In 25 years, a few Indian cities could look like this - vast, a little more wealthy than today, and juxtapositions of order and chaos, rich and…

A Mathematics teacher at Corporation Malleswaram High School teaching a 9th standard class. Pic: Shamsheer Yousaf What can we do to improve public schooling, tangibly? Ever since the terrible PU results came out showing more children failing than passing, I've got a lot of letters asking what can be done about this. To my understanding, we need to do at least the following three things, to have any chance of intervening swiftly in the lives of millions of children. Increase the funding levels for education I know we are perfectly capable of wasting money, but even so, without proper investment…

A Mathematics teacher at Corporation Malleswaram High School teaching a 9th standard class. Pic: Shamsheer Yousaf What can we do to improve public schooling, tangibly? Ever since the terrible PU results came out showing more children failing than passing, I've got a lot of letters asking what can be done about this. To my understanding, we need to do at least the following three things, to have any chance of intervening swiftly in the lives of millions of children. Increase the funding levels for education I know we are perfectly capable of wasting money, but even so, without proper investment…