Monthly Archives: January 2010

India’s Parliamentary Form of Government Rocks

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

Last week was a good week for President Obama. A State of the Union Address that was much more plain speak than his usual soaring rhetoric. Then he went into the lion’s den – the Republican Caucus – and demolished … Continue reading →

Posted in India | 7 Comments

Paper Problems

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

I have been dealing with a lot of paperwork lately. It’s amazing how paper centric things still are. Almost all dealings with the public agencies like the school and school district are on paper. There is some email but no … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 3 Comments

My iPad Will Have to Wait

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

I am sitting here in a doctor’s office with time to kill and no broadband. I spent a half hour on Google Reader on my Android Phone and now I’m seeing things blurry from straining my eyes too long. Wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 9 Comments

Piracy Pulling Down Music Sales

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

The FT reports that 95% of digital music downloads are illegal. The RIAA has tried many things, including taking college kids to court. Nothing works. To my mind, piracy of music: 1. Is inversely related to the chances of getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Information Products | 8 Comments

Wall Street’s Chickens Come Home to Roost

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

President Obama yesterday fired the first salvo in what is going to be a bruising battle to rein in Wall Street. More than a year after the financial crisis brought the economies of the developed world to its knees, its … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 3 Comments

Management Consulting in India

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

A new research paper Management Matters: Evidence from India suggests that the average Indian company can be improved significantly with the help of modern business practices. The study involved offering free consulting to a set of mid sized companies in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, India | 8 Comments

Google and Free Speech

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

Google issued a statement alleging that agents acting on behalf of China had tried to hack into certain corporate networks, including Google’s and the Gmail accounts of Chinese dissidents. They also announced that they would no longer censor search results … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Technology | 3 Comments

English Medium Education Can Lead to Poorer English

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

Giridhar Rao has a new essay out From Mother Tongue to Many Tongues which makes two interesting points One that English medium education can lead to “poor educational outcomes” “It is now well established that when a child begins learning … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, India | 2 Comments

Why is the Financial Industry this Big?

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

A few months back I wrote about why I thought salaries on Wall Street (and the city of London etc.) were not the big issue. The big one is about the humongous size and growth of the financial industry. Matt … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance | 8 Comments