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adani_001

Why Is Gautam Adani Betting Big On Maharashtra?

It is a well-known fact that most businessmen like Rahul Bajaj, Keshub Mahindra, Ajit Gulabchand have a very good equation with the NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar. So the news that the Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani is in the same league comes as no surprise. In fact, in 2013 Pawar had attended Adani’s son’s wedding in Goa. Now, it is reliably learnt that the Maratha strongman with a view to attract investment in Maharashtra from the Adani Group is pulling out all the stops to ensure that Adani’s thermal power project comes up in the coal-rich Vidarbha region without any hitch. Earlier, Pawar guided Adani when he took over the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure, which runs the Mumbai distribution business with 30 lakh customers. Pawar’s strategy of rolling out red carpet seems to be yielding dividends. Now, the Adani Group has lined up a slew of investments in Maharashtra. They have picked up a majority stake in Mumbai International Airport from the GVK Group, securing the contract for the Rs 16,000-cr Navi Mumbai airport. Adani Transmission has bagged the contract to construct 400 kV substation at Vikhroli, for transmission of about 1,000 MW in Mumbai. The company will also construct another line between Aarey Colony and Padgha to evacuate another 1,000 mw. Clearly, Pawar knows which horse to back.
rohit sharma_001

Rohit Sharma Second Only To The Great `Don’!

Rohit Sharma holds a unique record in Test match cricket. He is the nearest to Sir Don Bradman, regarded as the greatest batsman of all time. The Australian run-machine who wielded his bat with gay abandon for two decades from 1928 to 1948 scored 6996 runs in 52 Test matches for a phenomenal average of 99.94. The great `Don’ played 37 Test matches against England, and five each against India, West Indies and South Africa. He played 33 Test matches at home, amassed 4322 runs for an average of 98.23, which is fractionally lower than his career average.  It is here that India’s Rohit Sharma comes second best for those who have played 10 Tests and more. The stylish Mumbai right hander is elegance personified when he gets going; he had an aggregate of 1343 runs at 79 and innings for home Test matches before his sneak attack against the England seamers and spinners alike in the second Test at Chepauk, Chennai. The first Test failure at the same venue hurt him; he hit back with a vengeance in the first innings of the second Test with a splendid 161; he scattered 18 hits to the fence and clobbered two over the line. This stroke filled knock took his home average to over 80. Remarkable indeed!
kapil sibal

What Happened To Akash2 Tablet?

It may be recalled that during the UPA regime the Union Minister for Science & Technology Kapil Sibal had flaunted a $32 tablet which would provide Internet access to the less fortunate students. Now that the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed a large section of students towards online schooling, it’s time to ask Sibal what happened to his pet project? Had it translated to a tablet in each student’s hand, there wouldn’t have been such a digital divide today. Then Sibal had announced the tablet as a cheap, simple computer. First as ‘Shaksat’, then renamed as ‘Akash’, and upgraded to ‘Akash2’.  But despite the abracadabra moment, the project failed to deliver. Today, probably an IIT student could develop easily a low-cost tablet. But at that time, it appeared to be a magical moment: parts to be sourced from China or Taiwan via a Canadian company and then assembled in India. It is surprising the vocal politician hasn’t whispered a word about it. Has the project been given a silent burial? Is this the reason why he is not expressing any views on digital divide as he fears it would bring to public glare the failure of Akash tablet in an era of whataboutery!  
RBI_001

Allow Corporate Houses To Enter Banking

An RBI working group has proposed allowing corporate houses to set up banks in India. Suddenly, former RBI governors and deputy governors want to protect the country from business houses entering the banking arena. Over the last two years, IL&FS, DHFL, Yes Bank and PMC Bank have collapsed due to their weak financial position. The latest to the list of bank failures is Lakshmi Vilas Bank, which was merged with DBS Bank. What we need to do is to have a strong deterrence so that we don’t see a repeat of YES Bank. According to KV Kamath, former MD & CEO of ICICI Bank, in his interview to CNBC TV18, the way forward is heavy investment in technology by the regulator so that on a real-time basis the creditworthiness of individuals or companies is made available. Seems a doable idea.
atul_kulkarni_001

Atul Kulkarni: Jumping The Curve, After Happy Journey

Atul Kulkarni, 56, a top Marathi actor, a national award recipient (Chandani Bar) says one should jump off a curve’s peak to restart life from the beginning of another. That’s why he has quit a Trust engaged in promoting quality education, specifically among tribal children. Announcing this on FB, he said he had headed the NGO, Quality Education Support Trust (QUEST) for 14 years since its inception and it was time to jump off. With its action and research oriented pedagogy and training,  QUEST has reached 2.6 lakh students, 9,000 teachers, 5,600 schools and anganwadis  across Maharashtra. After these long years, the moment coincided with his peak in the Trust. It also coincides with the concept of vanaprasta and semi-retirement which meant ceasing to be in a position of authority, especially in public life but implies he wasn’t abandoning being active in life. He would be its “list of friends”.  No word about his acting career, though.

TRENDS & VIEWS

Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack

It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.