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Nobody sticks to rules if they can be circumvented, bent or broken for benefit. Cutting corners, finding excuses, blaming others, claiming innocence, feigning ignorance, these are the traits of modern-day traders, business persons, industrialists, professionals and others.
Will foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail kill local business? This is a question that has agitated the country and its lawmakers over the past few weeks.
At Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C., stands a memorial to the Seabees, formally known as the U.S. Naval Construction Force.
In a world where we can already see the America and Europe-centred power balance shifting, it is vital that the values of democracy are upheld, and as the biggest democracy in the world, India is central to that.
Journalists are supposed to follow the rule of the five 'W's, namely, Who? What? When? Where? and How? But at the last meeting, one of the leading lights from the world of television news posed a series
What is the one unique feature about The Rotary Foundation that sets it apart from numerous other trusts and charities all over the world?
All resolutions moved by the chair were adopted unanimously and the Office-Bearers for the Rotary year 2012-2013 along with four Directors for the term 2012-2014 were declared elected without a contest
Teach your children that boys are not superior to girls; tell your daughters not to be meek, docile or submissive; tell them that they, too, can be bold, aggressive and assertive about their careers and about how they want to live their lives.
From Pune to Malabar Hill; from London to Leicester; and from life under a staircase to the offices of Channel Four as Commissioning Editor for Multi-cultural Programmes; he’s come a long way, has Farrukh Dhondy.
Rotary and Public Awards Committee Chairman Nelum Gidwani, who introduced the recipient, pointed out that Dr. Parikh was one of original promoters of the Yusuf Meherally Centre way back in 1961 and had served it in some capacity or other since then
The world economy is going rapidly downhill. Growth rates are falling or remain static. Stock markets are down. Money is moving from one country to another in search of stable economies and governments. Inflation is growing in an uncontrolled manner.
Indian newspapers are the cheapest in the world. While a daily here costs just a couple of rupees, a newspaper in London comes for a pound (Rs. 80) and the cheapest daily in Sri Lanka is available for (Indian) Rs. 22.
There was a time when NRIs were derided because they had 'deserted' the country and forgotten all about India. Dr. Alwyn Didar Singh, Secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, speaks at the last meeting.
A glittering silver salver was presented to him by Shekhar Bajaj, who had instituted the award in memory of his father, in the midst of prolonged applause by Club members and some members of the city’s diplomatic corps.
It is an innocuous (some would term it foolhardy) exercise, but there is a small group of people who have gathered under the banner of the Quality Council of India and are attempting to infuse quality into all aspects of life in the country.
Coping with reality is not a problem; the greatest difficulty is conceding this in a society that is traditionally heterosexual, says Ms Chitra Palekar at the last meeting while speaking on ‘LGBT parenting – coming out’
Mr.Azim Premji, the Chairman of Wipro, one of India's leading corporations, has made a forceful plea to all industrialists, professionals and entrepreneurs to earmark a part of their income and wealth for social service.
Television serials today are for women, by women and about women. Not only are women the heroes, they are also the villains in TV serials.
One has seen movies about absent-minded professors; one has heard about the idiosyncrasies of those who conduct volatile – even explosive – experiments in laboratories; one has also read about teachers who need to be told whether they are coming or going.
A glittering silver salver and a laudatory citation were presented at the last meeting to the octogenarian Mr. Viren Shah, former Governor of West Bengal, former CMD of Mukand Ltd. and a former member of the Rotary Club of Bombay ...
One of the greatest challenges judges face is the crisis of confidence that all institutions of governance face in society.
Binayak Sen, who has been in the headlines ever since his conviction for life on charges of sedition and the subsequent grant of bail to him by the Supreme Court and whose case has become a cause celebre among the human rights activists of the world....
Do you know that there are 40 million girls in the world who do not go to school and that around 7% of them are in India alone?
The speaker at the last meeting was Mr. Dilip D’Souza, author, activist and columnist, who spoke on “Show me the evidence: Lessons from the Binayak Sen case”.
IPP Pradeep Saxena was joined by President Paul George and Rotary and Public Awards Committee Chairman man Nelum Gidwani as a glittering silver salver and a tastefully framed Citation were presented to him amidst prolonged applause
Has India matured as a democracy ? Yes, it has. Proof of that maturity came to the fore in May when the ruling dispensation in Tamil Nadu was voted out by overwhelming numbers.
It turned out to be a veritable laugh riot at the last meeting, which was the first regular meeting of the new Rotary year.
Rotary International President Kalyan Banerjee, although he is now at the pinnacle of the Rotary movement, says that he is still in awe of the Rotary Club of Bombay.
My dear Fellow Rotarians, It had to be an Indian who would ask the world to ignore gloss and to look within. Rotary International President Kalyan Banerjee has done just that. His Theme for the year, Reach Within to Embrace Humanity, is as Indian as can be and bids well to help the world correct itself.
With one pithy observation, Mr. Alyque Padamsee, who is called God in the advertising world, set the cat among the pigeons.
Are genetically-engineered crops a boon for farmers? Will they help farmers in a predominantly agricultural country like India to live a better life?
According to the medical dictionary, “quadriplegia” means paralysis affecting all four limbs with or without total loss of function.
Free electricity to farmers is said to be one of the stumbling blocks in the country’s march towards economic success.
He runs a commercial courier service that employs those who are hard of hearing and insists on calling them “deaf” because he believes that it’s an insult to label them as "hearing impaired"
The Rotary Foundation Trustees have reached an agreement with the Aga Khan University to form a strategic partnership under The Foundation's Future Vision Plan.
The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is both incompetent and inefficient; alternatively, it has been in secret collaboration with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Did you know that one of the members of the Club attended the last meeting against his doctor’s orders?
What is the message of the Mahabharata? Is it a story about the triumph of good over evil? Is it about the victory of justice over injustice and of righteousness over immorality? Or is it something altogether different?
Investors in stock markets should buy shares when prices are low and sell when they are high. But what actually happens is just the reverse
Ms Rajashree Birla, an Honorary member of the Rotary Club of Bombay, has donated another sum of $1.12 million to The Rotary Foundation in support of Rotary’s $200 Million Challenge.
Mr.Sumit Mullick, Principal Secretary and Public Relations Officer of the Maharashtra government, admitted at the last meeting that although India had seen a lot of development over the last 63 years, there had been nothing spectacular about its progress
Greed, speed and scale – these are the three big problems of today, according to the internationally-acclaimed corporate lawyer, Mr. Nish-ith Desai.
Women's empowerment has become a buzzword today, almost 100 years after the launch of the international women's movement.
The total absence of power in villages located at a short distance from Bombay shook him out of his somnolence, says Mr. Jyotirmoy Chatterji while speaking at the last meeting
This is the true story of a Bombay girl with grit who overcame a devastating handicap (the loss of sight) at the age of 12 and emerged with flying colours on the stage of life.
The renowned Stern Review, after conducting the most comprehensive study ever on the economics of climate change, warned in 2006 that global warming could inflict worldwide disruption as great as that caused by the two World Wars and the Great Depression
Leopards are straying into settlements on the edges of metropolises like Bombay; tigers are turning man-eaters and spreading terror in villages in central India; elephants trample their mahouts and devotees at religious processions down south, or come in the way of railway trains and get mangled to death in the northeast. So just what is going on?
Broadband is a fundamental right in Finland. But what’s so great about broadband? What does it do? Broadband is a vehicle for the free flow of information from institution to institution and from people to people – and it helps educate people.
What has the foreign policy of a What has the foreign policy of a country got to do with the poverty line of $1.25 per day as demarcated by the UN and the World Bank?
This is the view of Mr. R.C. Bhargava, the Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., who spoke at the last meeting on "Putting India on wheels".
The guest speaker, an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, made loud galloping sounds, clapped her hands several times, exhorted members to follow her lead and attempted to weave a spider’s web with the help of coloured ribbons.
It is possible for the Indian educational system to perform better (and even achieve excellence) despite the fact that school teachers are not well trained. All that the teachers have to do is read the seven volumes of Swami Vivekananda’s works, follow the suggestions of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Vinoba Bhave, and imbibe Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts.
Why is India getting left behind in the race of progress, whether in the sphere of scientific development, in skill enhancement or supercomputer enlargement, but racing ahead in the field of corruption, political immorality and manipulation?
What are the prospects of the war against polio being won during Kalyan Banerjee's term as Rotary International President in 2011-2012 ?
It gives members of the Rotary Club of Bombay great pleasure to welcome in their midst R.I. President-Elect Kalyan Banerjee who is as honest and simple a Rotarian as anyone, anywhere in the world.
What’s common between a Ford, a television set, an outlet for Kentucky Fried Chicken, the McDonald’s round the corner and a good old Scottish pub?
India will enter the next orbit of growth in this decade, says Ms Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s biggest private bank
The man who has turned unknown faces into big names in the world of modelling, has one great regret ? the influx of fair-skinned models from all over the world which has sounded the death knell for Indian girls and put paid to their chances of emulating the supermodels of the world who make millions of dollars.
The one thing that stood out for me as I traversed the globe and saw 40 to 45 countries quite intimately was that each of those countries had a very strong 'Rotary culture'. Ms Vinita Bali, MD and CEO of Britannia Industries, speaks at the last meeting
District Governor Nominee Dr. Bal Inamdar, who will serve as Governor during the Rotary year 2012-2013, has made an earnest plea to leading Clubs like the Rotary Club of Bombay to become “cerebral”, to propound a new vision and to show the way towards all-round development of the community.
The common consensus is that India will grow at 8 to 9% per annum for the next decade or two and that its energy needs will go up by 4 to 5% a year.
Ms Jenny Barlow, an intrepid Australian who lost her husband to multiple myeloma about five years ago, is now a self-proclaimed crusader
There was almost pin-drop silence at the last meeting after the guest speaker, Mr. Ashok Kurien – cofounder of India’s first private television entertainment channel Zee TV launched in 1982.....
It was “tribute” time at the Rotary Club of Bombay on Tuesday, October 12, as the District Governor, Dr. Jayant Kulkarni, concluded his two-day Official Visit. The Governor, on his two-day Official Visit.
A surprising revelation was made about the city at the last meeting that most of its residents are probably unaware of – that the world is watching in anticipation as Bombay is engaged in developing its infrastructure such as its sea-link, its metros and its monorails.
A seasoned quartet of District Officers addressed the last meeting of the Club and unveiled several new features of the Rotary movement designed to democratise its affairs and to give Rotary Clubs...
What was it that saved India from the grave consequences of the financial meltdown and recession that brought the economy of even a behemoth like the US down ....
Everyone knows that most builders in Bombay charge a premium for apartments on higher floors. But do you know that Bombay is the only city in India where this money-spinning phenomenon exists?
The pioneer in the area of urban education, Ms Shaheen Mistri, who established the well-known NGO “Akansha” and recently launched the “Teach for India” ...
It’s as old as the media itself, its existence is known to the people who matter, to the powers that be. But there’s nothing official about it.
Captain G.R. Gopinath, the legendary founder of Air Deccan, India’s first low-cost airline, offered a tantalising glimpse into his difficult early years, long before....
Dr. Shyam R. Asolekar, Professor at the Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering at IIT, Bombay, who served as Head of the Department between 2006 and 2009, made assertions at the last meeting guaranteed to curdle even the hardest of stomachs.
The Rotary Club of Bombay Ramakrishna Bajaj Award for Good Governance was presented at the last meeting to Mr. Kiran Karnik, ex-Chairman and current Trustee of Nasscom (the National Association of Software and Services Companies).
The UK, with 56 million people or 1% of the world population, has over 4.5 million CCTV cameras or about 20%...
The Pakistani army has a vested interest in sustaining the propaganda that India is a perpetual threat to that country and unless it acts as a bulwark against India, their country will be wiped out.
Mr. Ashish Singh, the speaker at the last meeting, is the Additional Municipal Commissioner of the city looking after two key portfolios, v...
What’s the biggest catchword of the future going to be? According to a man hailed as one of the top three advertising persons in India, the most popular expression in future would be “interest value” rather than something as mundane as technology.
Pradeep Saxena, who assumed of fice as President of the Rotary Club of Bombay at the stroke of midnight on June 30, 2010, started the first meeting of the year by thanking all his predecessors and presenting his team members.
I am sure you must be as acutely aware as I am of the fact that enthusiastic members become passive when we do not make any demands on them....
In my humble opinion, it’s time to rename Rotary International. It should be called the "Rotary International University of LIFE". I am sure all of you will agree with me on this point.
Ms Shabana Azmi, the internationally acclaimed film and theatre actress, was felicitated at the last meeting with the Rotary Club of Bombay’s Shyam Munshi Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Performing Arts.
The son of a yesteryear legend who was described as the doyen of the Indian stage and screen world, Mr. Shammi Kapoor rose to become a film star
The Rotary Club of Bombay Taru Lalvani award for the Protestion of the environment was conferred on on the eminent climate change scientist and engineer, Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, at the last meeting of the Club.
The cat is finally out of the bag. To the question whether there are any holy cows (people who "cannot be touched") as far as the Income Tax (IT) department is concerned
Five thousand children are born with thalassaemia in India every year. No child with thalassaemia is born in advanced Western countries.
Every human being is like a diamond, waiting to be turned into a sparkling gem that would be a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.
Are you aware that the success rate of cataract surgery in India has gone up to 99.99%? .....
India’s Hindi film industry, more popular as Bollywood, first went through the era of tardy finance, low returns and usurious rates of interest
The 'Venetian Magic' fundraising programme, which was held on April 16 at the Totes, Mahalaxmi, has raised a gross amount of over Rs. 1.45 crores
The Euro is sinking, gold and the dollar are strong and India is "hot". But can anyone predict what will happen in the next few months?
Is it possible to adopt an economic model that can cause reverse mi¬gration – to make people move from urban to rural areas? It can be done...
Several eminent speakers have ascended the podium at the Rotary Club of Bombay to share tips about how to make money, how to hoard it, how to save it and how to increase wealth.
What is India's real strength that makes it a key player in the global economic scenario? According to Mr. Ashok Wadhwa, Group CEO of Ambit Holdings who is recognised as an investment whiz and one of the hottest corporate dealmakers in India, "the greatest strength that this country brings to the table is the entrepreneurial zeal that every single university student has when he comes out of college".
They are the leaders of tomorrow. Rotaractors of H.R. College with the winning team (first picture), the Best Leader from Scholar High School (centre) and the runners-up at the programme ‘Fusion 2010 – To create leaders for a better tomorrow’, arranged to develop leadership skills among the Interactors of the city’s schools
President Nandan Damani (right) present the PP Sohrab Godrej Award for Science and Technology to Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary of the Depart-ment of Space of the Government of India, at the last meeting
When the Supreme Court ruled some years back that medical negligence came under the Consumer Protection Act, there was a plethora of cases against doctors and hospitals. All kinds of medical cases were filed in District Consumer Fora, in state commissions for consumer disputes and in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
She displayed just a slight trace of remorse at being far from Bombay, the mega-city where she was born, brought up and educated....
The Indian Penal Code has seen only three amendments with regard to crimes against women in the last 150 years.
Mr. Sundeep Waslekar, strategic affairs analyst, made several important points while addressing the Club last week. His message was very clear
The dangers of climate change are as insidious as ever, never mind the charges being hurled at the IPCC and Prof. R.K. Pachauri. Mr. Pradip Shah, the well-known economist, speaks at the last meeting
After taking the stage to the tune of California, Here I Come, Rotary International President-Elect Ray Klinginsmith announced the 2010-2011 R.I. Theme – Building Communities – Bridging Continents
He brought the house down when he told a supplier (a Visiting Rotarian) that he hoped the equipment he had ordered would be delivered on time and that it would work as per the specifications that he had paid for.
The decade that has gone by has been the best decade for India. It saw India achieving three years of GDP growth at 9%; India got recognition as an economic power; investing in India was discussed by every multi-national company; and in every boardroom all over the world, there was talk of entering India, investing in India and selling in India.
At a time when every industrialist, entrepreneur and citizen is worried about power cuts and the shortage of electricity, the country’s Minister for Power, Mr. Sushilkumar Shinde, has held out hope
Many years ago, a German scientist named Dr. Ernst Hartmann noted that different families that came to live in a given house in succession (after an earlier family moved on after living in it for three to four years), had almost similar health issues.
Paul George is elected President for 2011-2012; Nowroze Vazifdar will succeed him in 2012-2013
Ms Sukanya Chabbra, who spoke at the last meeting on “The science of futurology”, has made a fascinating journey “from finance to futurology” – a journey that was “written in her stars”.
The basic lesson to be grasped in advertising, as in any other form of communication, is to know who you are talking to (the concept of “target group”); for, you can say the most brilliant of things to the wrong audience – and it won’t work.
If you are a scientist, a medical doc tor, a gynaecologist or an anthropologist, you may accept some of the pronouncements made at the last meeting by Dr. Gopalakrishna Pillai, the guest speaker who spoke on “How woman can empower man”.
India can become a developed country by 2050 if it maintains a sustained growth rate of 8 to 10%. However, since neither the IT sector nor the services sector can help achieve such a transformation, India’s growth will have to be driven by the manufacturing sector.
She came to receive an honour, but she left after sowing seeds of doubt about one of India’s biggest demographic advantages, viz., its “young” population.
She came to receive an honour, but she left after sowing seeds of doubt about one of India’s biggest demographic advantages, viz., its "young" population.
Mr. Tarun Vijay, a former editor of Panchjanya, the official publication of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is an old Hindu nationalist organisation, made a telling distinction between India and some of its neighbours at the last meeting of the Club.
What can one do if a person decides to become a fidayeen, wraps himself in bombs, goes somewhere and detonates those bombs? Nothing. No amount of money or preparedness can prevent a terrorist attack.
Just as bad currency pushes out good currency from the market, bad people take charge of government and the good are rendered helpless, unable to do anything.
The latest edition of the District Governor’s GML (or Governor’s Monthly Letter) has conferred the title of “Project of the Month” on the Bhavishya-Yaan project of the Rotary Club of Bombay.
The quiet, unassuming Dr. Rohini Chowgule created a stir at the last meeting when she told the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr. Navin Chawla, that the electoral rolls used by her and others while conducting scientific and epidemiological studies were not perfect...
Stoic, sincere and serene. These are some of the adjectives used to describe Ms Rajashree Birla, an Honorary member of the Rotary Club of Bombay and the leading light of one of India’s biggest industrial houses.
There was a time not long ago – in the 1980s – when murderers gave themselves up and confessed before their lawyers that they had committed a crime.
Three horrific disasters and one ad ministrative fiat have been responsible for the sudden transformation of the Indian insurance industry from an indolent, government-owned monopoly into what is now a “sunrise” sector providing the maximum employment opportunities.
How does one answer the question “Why is so much importance given to cricket in India at the cost of all other games including hockey?”
The Arthashastra by Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, is not merely a book ? it?s a library, a complete university. Written in the 3rd century B.C., it was studied by kings as it helped them in running their countries.
Whoever said that the older the wine, the better it is, got it all wrong: Wine aficionado
DON'T PANIC It's not the virus that kills, it's the secondary complications that do, say medical experts
‘Politicians don’t want you to vote – for you live in a high rise and you’re not part of their vote bank’
Afreen Khan : A UK-based motivational guru of Indian origin performed a rare feat at the last meeting – he made dozens of Rotarians walk barefoot on glass.
India’s biggest metropolis, often touted as the next Shanghai, is facing its severest water crisis in more than 40 years. More than a month after the non-appearance of the monsoon on its expected date
The Rotary Club of Bombay was the recipient of the ultimate encomium at the first meeting of the new Rotary year 2009-2010....says District Governor T.N. Subramanian Raju
Our Past Presidents have left a rich legacy of hard work and committed service to the community which has given our Club the name, the distinction, the fame and the respect that it is enjoying today.
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