Our Disgruntled Scientists

This is an edited version of a talk Rohini Nilekani gave as part of a curated series called ‘Speaking of the City,’ curated by Bangalore’s World-Famous Semi-Deluxe Writing Program at Shoonya. Rohini talks about the city’s role in her work as a philanthropist and social innovator.     An Accidental Bangalorean It’s been 35 years […]

Bombay Doordarshan, that bureaucratic monolith, has now been in existence for just over eight years. Almost unremarked upon by the press so far for its gross ineptitude and mismanagement, it suddenly became the focus of attention early this month. The Doordarshan Programme Staff Union (Dpsu) announced their decision to begin a massive strike to express […]

Rohini Nilekani is a bit nervous that people might have “an overdose of the Nilekanis” as she and her husband Nandan have been in the news all week for having signed the Giving Pledge, committing half their wealth — about $1.7bn — to philanthropy. She believes philanthropy isn’t just about giving but is also a […]

Recent assurances by Secretary of State George Shultz to the Indian government regarding U.S. supplying spare parts to the Tarapur nuclear plant have generated misdirected reaction in this country. Stripped of their politicization the facts are these: By virtue of a 1963 Indo-U.S. agreement, the U.S. has a contractual obligation to supply the Tarapur plant […]