Rediff is running an article comparing the promises made by the UPA government to the progress on the ground.

With a stagnating GDP, increasing imports and decreasing exports, slower pace of economic reforms, feet-dragging over infrastructure projects and no progress on rural infrastructure, its a big thumbs down for the UPA.

There has been more news about the geek political party Paritrana, that we covered in an earlier post.

Indian Express ran an article on the same here.

There is also an interview with Paritrana’s national treasurer Chandrashekhar posted at Arthshastra.

Bangalore is not the only city dealing with the bad-roads problem.
Kerala, which has shown much desperation for more IT investment, has an equally sorry tale to tell.

Much of the roads are exactly same as what it used to be 5-10 years ago but the vehicles on these roads are 10 or 20 times what it used be; added to this the unruly drivers scornful of traffic laws. The end result of this is total chaos and traffic snarls everywhere.

The earth's magnetic field, it seems has been weakening quite rapidly over the last few centuries and might completely disappear or flip soon.

At the present rate, Earth's magnetic field could be gone within a few centuries, exposing the planet to the relentless blast of charged particles from space with unpredictable consequences for the atmosphere and life.

Rang de basanti released today coinciding with India's republic day, the 26th January. Touted as a 'coming-of-age' film it matches the hopes and aspirations of a bunch of youngsters against the depressing social and political realities of current day India.

Abhishek Bandekar reviews Rang de basanti on NaachGaana.Com:

If Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi was a eulogy to the youth of the 70’s, Rang De Basanti is a preface to the fortunes of this generation- one that is driven by the addiction of ambition, one that is letting life slip by.

NRI's were conferred voting rights in the recently held Pravasi Bharaitya Divas meet in Hyderabad.

The news has seen reactions from both side of the fence, people who argued on engaging NRI's for India's development and those who put forth scorn at the glorification of the spineless and escapist behaviours shown by sections of our society.

Malvika Singh puts forth her views in a recent article on The Telegraph:

Those of us who live here through the never-ending trials, contortions, anarchy, corruption, tribulations and misgovernance have issues and impossible truths to contend with and overcome, based on which we cast our vote. Those who ran with their tails between their legs because they could not make good in a tough and unrelenting environment, who became second-class citizens elsewhere with their spanking new passports swearing allegiance to their new homeland, and who worked hard to make good, are now looking for new pastures in an old landscape that they fled from.

Read the complete tirade here.

Five IIT geeks have come together to form a political party - called 'Paritrana'

The core team of "Paritrana" comprises Rajpurohit , Shukla, Amit Beesen, also the vice president and a B Tech (Mechanical) from IIT Bombay and a LLB graduate, Chandrashekhar (national treasurer), B Tech (computer science) from IIT Kanpur, Bharat Sundaram, the PRO of the party and B Tech from IIT Kanpur and PhD in electronics from Melbourne.

"Paritrana means complete relief from the various causes of distress, and that is what we want to do for our people", added Chandrashekhar. Low funds have not discouraged them in their efforts of holding door-to-door campaigns in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and parts of Maharashtra

Way to go geeks.

Google video added a new dimension to Bollywood piracy when it started showing recent hits for viewing or downloading. But a legal notice took care of the issue.

The website has promptly removed the illegal videos. Film distributors in the US are keeping tabs on the website.

More on the news here.

In the ongoing plenary session of the Congress in Hyderabad, Congress workers went berserk demanding Rahul Gandhi's presence on the stage.

The delegates leaved no stone unturned to announce their loyalty to Rahul and 'Madam', referring to Sonia Gandhi:

"Madam, you have the vision of Pandit Nehru, political understanding of Indira Gandhi and dynamism of Rajiv Gandhi. The role of the younger generation cannot be underemphasised" said Vayalar Ravi, trying to be inclusive towards Rahul Gandhi in his heady praise for Sonia.

What it is that makes the Congress incapable of producing a leader from outside the Gandhi family and What is it that they see in Sonia and Rahul that no experienced Congress leader can match?

When Anil Chawla went back for an Alumni reunion at IIT-Bombay, after a gap of about 25 years, he was struck by the culture change that had swept his college. Digging further he found out the core of this change was Broadband and the personal computer, which having permeated the college life in Indian tech schools are having a disastrous effect on the students social life.

We were told that counterstrike is the favorite on the campus, with some students playing it for hours at a stretch every day. I was even introduced to someone as the invincible champion of counterstrike. I tried to talk to this so-called champion. It was a futile exercise - he did not know how to talk. His language capabilities were limited to monosyllables and some shaking of the head as a zombie probably would.

Anil Chawla wrote this to the Director-IITB.