A stack of one thousand rupee notes. Courtesy: 123RF
9 November 2016

How ‘hawala’ impacts national security

On November 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to India, the demonetisation of high-value currency notes, he specifically referred to the use of Hawala and fake Indian currency notes for terrorist financing. The hawala system to move funds globally for terrorist financing is huge, secretive, and layered—and a challenge for national security agencies.

half lion Courtesy: Penguin Books Limited
21 October 2016

Understanding P.V. Narasimha Rao

An earnestly, but objectively written, biography of the late prime minister gives credit where it has been denied: PVN was the principal architect of the economic reforms that put the country on a destiny-changing path of growth, while being up against a restless party, hostile Parliament, and an apathetic public.

3.1. Cotton bales lying at Bombay terminus  Photo Dr. Jehangir S. Sorabjee - Copy Courtesy: Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee
20 October 2016

Bombay and the founding of Shanghai

The recent inauguration of the New Development Bank in Shanghai has made that city a focal point of international financial transactions between the five BRICS countries. This occasions revisiting some of the ways in which Bombay has been historically linked to it

ladakh Courtesy: Wikipedia
14 October 2016

Ladakh should not go unheard

Peaceful, Buddhist-majority Ladakh has been quietly resentful of the fact that Kashmir grabs attention at its expense. Taking it for granted may cost India dear, especially with China seeking to deepen its influence across the Himalayas

IMG_0463 Courtesy:
13 October 2016

Bombay-Burma links run deep

Mumbai and Myanmar share a historically significant link that is little known today as ties weakened after the military takeover of Myanmar in 1962. But now its newly democratic, globalising presence offers a window of opportunity for Indian businesses, both big and small, to make a foray

14th July 1904 Courtesy: Consulate General of France in Mumbai
6 October 2016

Mumbai’s historic diplomatic enclave

A vibrant foreign diplomatic corp that has been present in Mumbai for the last 200 years has contributed both to its political and economic life and imparted a social and cultural cachet

great derangement Courtesy: Allen Lane
27 September 2016

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable

An obsession with the narrow and the personal has prevented us from integrating climate change into the literature of our time. In his latest work, Amitav Ghosh forces us to confront the realities of ecological decay by examining how climate change is dealt with in fiction and in politics.

Trusteeship-Small Courtesy: Gateway House
23 September 2016

Trusteeship: business and the economics of well-being

This paper reviews if and how trusteeship can be a lodestar for globally navigating businesses and public policies through a period of technology-driven disruptions and the uncertainties unleashed by climate change.

drought (1) Courtesy: Hindustan Times
15 September 2016

Water crisis: traditional solutions work

In a paper submitted to the Degrowth Conference, Budapest, held from August 30 - September 3, 2016, Rajni Bakshi argued that there is much to learn from India's traditional water systems in preparation for the oncoming global water scarcity crisis.