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Finance ministry reworking strategic sale procedure for CPSEs

Loknath Das

The finance ministry is reworking strategic sale procedure to ensure outright sale of CPSEs within 4 months of issuance of documents to potential investors, a move aimed at ensuring speedier conclusion of the entire process, an official said. However, for CPSEs like Air India, which are relatively bigger in size, the timeline for completion of strategic sale is likely to be fixed at 6 months from the date of issuance of Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) about the company. Currently, there is no set timeline for concluding strategic sale of a state-owned company and…

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Education Policy For Alienated America

Loknath Das

President Donald Trump speaks to the “Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit,” Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ASSOCIATED PRESS Tim Carney begins his fascinating and challenging book Alienated America with Donald Trump’s campaign-launch pronouncement that, “Sadly, the American Dream is dead.” Carney marshals a wealth of evidence, both systematic and impressionistic, that confirms that for many Americans, this is unfortunately true. But why? “I think the answer is this,” he writes, “strong communities have crumbled, and much of America has been left abandoned, without the web of human…

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Love for education, brick-by-brick

Loknath Das

Biswanath Naru with students of his school, Nandipur Swami Vivekananda Vidyamandir in Dum Dum Park shortly after its inauguration in January.Sanat Kr Sinha Biswanath Naru sells fish for a living, but it has been 45 years that the college dropout is mastermoshai to several children of a lesser god. When the mastermoshai (teacher) began to pursue his second calling in life, all he could provide the poor children of Dum Dum Park was an apology for a roof over their head, a mat to sit on and free education. As the students of Nandipur…

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Austin Adventures: A Passion For Family Travel

Loknath Das

v The Austins. From left, Kasey, Dan, Andy and Carol AUSTIN ADVENTURES Dan Austin has a passion for family travel. That’s true not only of the trips he’s been offering for over two decades at Austin Adventures but in the very company he’s created. It’s a bona fide family business with his wife and two grown children, born from his adventures with them along the way. Austin Adventures takes people on hiking, biking and multisport adventures around the world, in South and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. They were once known…

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U.S.’s Lighthizer, Mnuchin to travel to China for trade talks: White House

Loknath Das

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for the latest round of high-level trade talks scheduled to start on March 28, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The United States also will receive a Chinese trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He for meetings in Washington that are set to begin on April 3, the White House said. President Donald Trump said on Friday the negotiations with China were progressing and a final agreement seemed…

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New EU travel requirements mean (slightly) more paperwork for American visitors

Loknath Das

Starting in 2021, Americans will no longer be able to hop across the pond for a spur-of-the-moment visit to Europe without completing pre-authorization paperwork. But they still won’t need a visa. On Friday, multiple outlets reported that the European Union had announced that Americans would be required to complete a new visa to visit member countries — a shift away from the current policy which allows US citizens to travel through the 26 European members of the “Schengen Area” for up to 90 days without a visa. In actuality, the EU’s new…

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Bridging the gap for women in science and technology

Loknath Das

The theme of #BalanceforBetter for this International Women’s Day, is very apt as there is a great need for a more gender balanced world. In the field of science and technology although much efforts are being made to reduce gender disparity, there is still much to be done. Barely 22% of artificial intelligence (AI) professionals globally are female, according to The World Economic Forum 2018. Despite a critical demand for AI skillsets there is a gender gap of 72%. While women have made incredible breakthroughs in science and technology for centuries, they are often unknown…

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Best Travel Tips And Vacation Spots For 2019

Loknath Das

The Polar Vortex this week was good for one thing: giving many of us incentive to ponder where we’d like to vacation to get away from the big chill. Soon! After spending two days at The New York Times Travel Show in New York City recently, I have some suggestions as well as ways to save money when you take a trip in 2019. Where to Go in 2019 “The world is on sale,” said Mark Murphy, president and CEO of Travalliance Media. “The dollar is strong against every foreign…

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Trump Follows Travel Cancellation for Pelosi With Same for Davos Delegation

Loknath Das

President Donald Trump canceled the U.S. delegation’s trip to the global economic summit in Davos hours after he denied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a plane to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan. “Out of consideration for the 800,000 great American workers not receiving payand to ensure his team can assist as needed, President Trump has canceled his Delegation’s trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday in a statement. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was to lead the delegation, which was also to include Secretary of…

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Is our education system the right fit for American workers?

Loknath Das

Once, we all understood the bargain: Succeed in school, get a good job, and you’d laid the groundwork for a financially solid life. Now the education-jobs equation isn’t so clear, and it’s fast growing more complex. Already, two-thirds of jobs require some form of higher education, which can be expensive. And once you have a job, chances are you’ll need at least to retrain to stay on top of new technology, if not get further degrees or certifications to climb the ladder. And as costs stack up, higher education is growing out…

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