The Śūnyatā (Openness) Blog

Economic Census of India - Interim Findings Is rural India more industrialised than urban India? Are there more enterprises employing 10 people or more in rural areas than in urban areas? The answer is Yes, to both the questions, as per the interim findingsof India's Economic Census 2005. We have to wait till December for the final confirmed figures. But you can read some of the interim findings here. Interesting, very interesting. Here's my take though: 1.Most industrial units are located on the outskirts of urban areas because (a) the land is cheaper and (b) to benefit from the subsidies if any, offered by the Govt. 2.However, we can't really call these areas rural. In most cases, they have become part of the city. Just because the corporation or municipal council limits do not extend till these industrial areas (yet), it does not mean they are all located in rural areas. 3.IMHO, as part of the economic census, the very classification of whether an area is rural or urban ...

Just read this news item on Rediff. Apparently, officials of the Evacuee Property Trust Board of Pakistan, concealed the information from its Chairman, that the property to be demolished houses the only Hindu Temple in Lahore. And the Chairman 'unknowingly' gave the order to demolish the Krishna Temple and build a commercial complex in its place. Imagine if some thing similar happened in India. We would have seen major riots in most communally sensitive urban areas. But I guess Pakistan is much more secular than India, and so, demolishing temples or Buddha statues is no big deal - progress is more important. However, it is interesting to note that several opposition members of the National Assembly have raised their voices against this act: saying such an act could have a bearing on Pakistan's relations with neighbouring countries. So, it is not the question of hurting the sentiments of Pakistan's Hindu citizens, but about safeguarding Pakistan's reputation among th...

If I have to rate the top three bowlers of all time, Shane Warne would be among them.And I guess it is not just about the number of wickets he has taken, but the way he bowls. While Murali enthrals with his magic, and Mike Holding used to make us gasp in awe at the fluidity of the movement, Shane's simply so obviously cerebral in his bowling, and makes it look so effortless with his wizardry. Anyways, better writers than me have written about Shane and other great bowlers. I shall reserve my writing skills for a later day, when I feel in the mood to write about the cricketers I like (Gavaskar, Steve Waugh, Kumble, Shane and of course, the one and the only Sachin). The occassion for this post however, is to declare that Shane Warne has started his official blog, and I have just posted a Welcome to blogsophere kind of comment there. You can read Shane's blog here. . Or, if you are in the mood to see the best eight balls that Shane Warne has bowled (according to Shane that is):

I haven't blogged for about 10 days now. But in these 10 days, I must have logged at least 10 comments on various sites, esp on Sepia Mutiny.Mostly long comments :-) So, I keep telling myself that I should blog about an issue when I have a lot to say. But I also notice that I have a lot more to read than I have to say. Let me look at what I want to blog about: 1. The educational system in India- What can we do to improve primary education and make higher education more market oriented? 2. The infrastructure issue in India - Our urban areas in dire need of regeneration; rural areas need basic facilities like water, sanitation and power. And then the roads. We need roads, roads and roads. 3.The health care system in India - Primary health care facility for the poor.More research into India-specific diseases. 4.The polity and taxation- Why am i mixing politics and economics? Because I agree with people who say that politics is the business of managing a country's resources. Here, ...