China will Overtake India in Offshoring by 2011: IDC

IT research vendor IDC has developed a new Global Delivery Index, which forecasts that Chinese cities will overtake Indian cities like Bangalore and Mumbai in offshoring by 2011. Currently, Indian cities are highly ranked with Chinese cities said to be nipping at India’s heels. According to IDC, Bangalore is presently the #1 offshoring destination followed by […]

Sicko – An American Tragedy

Yesterday, we did something unusual. We traveled over 330 miles (about 520 KMs) to New York City just to watch a new movie. But then Sicko is not just any other movie. Made by the controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore (of Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and Roger & Me fame), Sicko is a wake-up […]

10th Grade Indian Kid Does Caesarean; Heart Bypass Next?

Indian news media report that in their eagerness to get their kid into the Guiness Book, a doctor couple in the town of Manaparai in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu have allowed their 15-year-old son Dileepan Raj to perform a caesarean  operation. The boy is studying in the 10th grade. Several doctors were […]

And You Thought Amitabh & Aamir Were Bollywood Stars

We’ve been watching Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan movies since the 1970s. How we loved Amitabh in Deewar (remember that famous dialog “Mere paas car hai, bungalow hai, bank balance hai”) and little Aamir singing in Yaadon Ki Baraat. And all these years, we thought these were two Bollywood actors. Shows how little we know. No. No. […]

Beautifying Dharavi

One of the tragic eyesores of modern India, the Dharavi slum in Mumbai epitomizes the failure of the Indian state to provide the most basic necessities for its citizens. Asia’s biggest slum, Dharavi is located in Central Mumbai, between Mahim in the west and Sion in the east and attracts poor people from across India […]

NYT Covers India’s Power (Electricity) Crisis

Whoa, our favorite paper New York Times has a front page story today (May 21, 2007) on India’s severe power shortages. Writing for the Times, NYT’s South Asia bureau chief Somini Sengupta describes: an electricity crisis that represents one of the major hurdles to India’s ability to hoist itself into the front ranks of the […]