Journo/Writer Economy/politics/policy/music/movies. ex @reuters, HT,ET Gigs: @WIONews @thequint @ndtv @newindianxpress @ETnow @pttvonlone RTs just are

New Delhi
Joined August 2009
One high point for me last week was watching @nikhilkamathcio talk to @rahulkanwal at the #NDTVWorldSummit. I have never heard his podcasts but realised what works for him. He is analytically precise, intellectually curious, ideologically agnostic and quite pragmatic -- but with a social consciousness. I found his measured speaking style with just the right pauses engaging. Reminded me of Sunil Gavaskar batting in his prime. Defensive but with elegant strokeplay.
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Madhavan Narayanan retweeted
If Prasar Bharati can spend ₹15 crore a year on a DD News show featuring a star anchor, while the ISRO Chairman’s basic pay is about ₹27 lakh a year, shouldn’t we rethink our priorities? If India wants to conquer space and attract our finest scientific minds, our rewards must match our ambitions.
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Madhavan Narayanan retweeted
🚨SHOCKING - FIR against Malabar: A man walked into a Malabar Gold showroom in Bilaspur with a simple request: exchange his old 22-carat HUID-hallmarked bracelet. The staff ran it through their XRF machine. Once. Twice. Three times. Every reading came back the same: 20 carat. They even told him the hallmark didn’t exist. He called the local jeweller who had sold him the bracelet. The jeweller walked in, confirmed the HUID, and asked them to test it again. Same machine. Same bracelet. Same room. This time an employee adjusted something on the machine. Suddenly the reading flipped to 916 - pure 22 carat. The jeweller recorded everything. The Sarafa Association arrived. Police registered an FIR against the showroom manager and the machine operator. The machine and DVR were seized. This wasn’t a small local shop. This was Malabar Gold “the chain that advertises trust, purity, and BIS standards across India”. One bracelet. Two readings. An 8% gap in gold value. And the only thing that changed was who was watching. If a hallmarked piece can magically lose two carats the moment a customer wants to exchange it, and magically regain them the moment someone pushes back, what exactly is the machine testing? Customers don’t walk into Malabar expecting a calibration error that only appears when they’re selling gold. They walk in expecting the purity printed on their receipt. The FIR is real. The readings are on record. The machine was seized. Malabar still hasn’t explained why the same piece of gold needed a “setting” before it became 22 carat again. Until they do, this isn’t a machine glitch. It’s a business model.
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CSR and foreign funds for a quasi-political set-up advertised as a government aid agency! Public money for a secret private set-up -- much like electoral bonds but with no transparency. @AnjaliB_ says there is a "crisis of accountability" when the rulers hide information of public interest in a democracy. Exempt from RTI! She was speaking at a session at the @PCITweets litfest on an investigative book that discusses the opaque funding and functioning of the #PMCares fund. @paranjoygt has published and co-authored the book with @Ayaskant_Das .
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Drop everything and take a moment to smile. The cyclone about to hit Andhra Pradesh has been named Arnab. Apparently,, it will be all sound and fury, signifying nothing. NCBN has to be careful, though.
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Angry Old Man #MallikarjunKharge needs to realise that his language needs moderation and anger needs management. I remember how he became angry with us journalists at midnight over something to do with Veerappan when he was Karnataka 's home minister living in a palatial home next to Taj Westend in Bangalore. He is easily provoked. Pity because he has the chance to be India's first Dalit PM. He doesn't get it. – at Noida, India
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Madhavan Narayanan retweeted
🚨EC cites “trade secrets and commercial confidence” to deny info about software used for SIR. It also says divulging information on who reviews flagged anomalies might “endanger” their lives. Reiterates that EROs remain the statutory authority to prepare rolls. @htTweets
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This is beauty of #Hinduism . A highly learned swamiji mocks religion in order to separate social rituals from a seeker's quest -- which is #spirituality . – at Noida, India
Please listen to the original not an AI.😂🤣
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Worrying to hear of a dip in India's foreign exchange reserves in the backdrop of a difficult trade environment and more importantly, the forward commitments in RBI's forex management. Extraordinary instruments like hedges, currency swaps and credit guarantees have underlying drag. But does anybody care? We are just trundling along because planning is considered socialist. If planning is socialist Fortune 500 companies with corporate planning units are communist 🙂☺️ – at Noida, India
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I think @dhruv_rathee 's real appeal comes from his aspirational common sense, not from his political videos that are well made. His audience buys his political views because he is not a political commentator but a guide for youths across needs. It is like you go to a supermarket to buy groceries but also but milk. The milk is incidental to the value of the overall visit. Make yourself useful. #DhruvRathee
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Political comunication is illogical. But funnily enough when one illogical narrative is countered with another illogical position the argument shifts to the logical. This is called balance of propaganda. If you play truth when the other guy plays perception, you can change your game -- and best the other person. However the real game shifts not on perception or truth. It shifts because of aspirations and needs ☺️☺️ – at Noida, India
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Autocorrect Commission of India – at Ghaziabad, India
Election Commission’s software has made a massive blunder. It’s translating Hindi/Urdu names by treating them as if they were English. For example, the name was Muhammad Iqbal Beg, but the software turned it into “Mohammad Iqbal Bheek Mangte Hain”. Another example: A woman’s name was Phool Kali Devi, and the software changed it to “Murkh Kali Devi” . Absolute chaos, what’s going on?
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#CJISuryaKant refused to meet #RahulGandhi, citing separation of powers as sacred. But #DYChandrachud as sitting CJI invited Prime Minister Modi to his home for #GaneshChaturthi. Matlab this CJI is smarter than his predecessor. – at Noida, India
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Madhavan Narayanan retweeted
🚨BIG BREAKING : This one hits DIFFERENT 🥺 (Must Watch, Read & Share) Former CEC Dr. S.Y. Quraishi told Dhruv Rathee a story about Dr. Manmohan Singh that every Indian should hear. Quraishi's EC took action against 4 Congress ministers, including the sitting Law Minister. Some Congress leaders started bad-mouthing the EC after that. Quraishi sent a message to the PM through his media advisor Harish Khare: stop this. The very next day: > Manmohan Singh called him in a panic. "Quraishi sahab, I want to meet you immediately" > The moment they sat down, he said that if Quraishi thought he was encouraging this loose talk, he would step down > Quraishi said he was shaken, and it took him 25 minutes to calm the PM down A sitting Prime Minister ready to quit because someone might think he had disrespected the Election Commission. Think about it for a second. > Then: the EC acted against the ruling party's own Law Minister, and the PM stood by the EC > Now: the CEC is picked by a panel the PM controls, and the CJI was removed from it > Then: the PM worried about insulting the EC > Now: the EC looks like it's worried about upsetting the PM Manmohan Singh treated institutions as sacred. Modi treats them like extensions of the BJP office. Gyanesh Kumar should watch this clip and ask himself which side of history he wants to be on. One was a Prime Minister. The other is a PR campaign 🗿🔥 xitter.cf/primeindiia/status/211…
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Madhavan Narayanan retweeted
India ranks 100/122 in the global hunger index. Can someone explain how this is possible for a world’s top 3 largest economies? Why is our ranking so low even when 80cr get free rations? Not making sense.
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#MahatmaGandhi at the Jallianwala Bagh Commission
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