In its report “India’s Urban Awakening – Building cities, sustaining economic growth”, McKinsey states that a good city should be able to offer fine public infrastructure, reliable social services, recreational and community infrastructure and sustainable environment. 

As Delhiites complain of increasing road traffic, pollution and population many experts suggest that the development of the capital for the Commonwealth Games will lead to an increase in urban migration. Do you think Delhi is ready for this? 

With a ‘stark warning’, McKinsey suggests that if India continues with its current unplanned urbanisation, it will result in a significant deterioration in the quality of life in cities and will put even today’s economic growth rate at risk.

Statistics show the current performance of Indian cities in water supply quantity, sewage treatment, healthcare and public transport is quite poor. 

Do you think India will be able to handle the  surge in demand that the growing urbanisation will create?

 Many believe that good governance and proper planning can steer the process of urbanisation and generate more income and create space for a better life.

McKinsey & Co director Shirish Sankhe says that India needs a “cascaded planning structure” with long and medium-term plans at the metropolitan level, eventually extending to areas like transportation, education, healthcare and environment over the years.

 Do you see India successfully handling the issues of growing urbanisation, the economic situation it threatens to create and the international pressure on environment and climate change?

At least 30 million were waiting to start their day with his discourse, through live telecast on an Indian spiritual channel.

Holy man Ramdev, known for popularising Yoga and traditional ayurvedic treatment and also for practising the ancient technique of breathing exercises called Pranayam has been beset by controversies for the last few years.

His recent decision to enter politics and “cleanse the system” has also created quite a furore.

Many political leaders have made their disapproval public including Lalu Prasad Yadav, leader of Rashtriya Janata Dal party calling his decision to join politics “berserk”.

Even though Ramdev has made it very clear he does not want to be an office holder or a Member of Parliament, he says he still aims at a 100 percent win in the next Lok Sabha elections.

Contesting elections from 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will be a part of his recent movement called ‘Bharat Swabhiman’ or Indian pride which aims to eradicate corruption and deal with other social issues like poverty and education.

The godman believes that corruption is the root cause of all problems and says if he is in power he will recall all the money in circulation which will then expose the black money and use that money for development.

Do you think Ramdev should enter politics and contest elections?

He also stresses upon the idea of nationalism and believes that there should be ‘Indianness’ in everything; in clothing, in language and in sentiment.

This ideology has led many to believe that he is no different from other right wing organisations or parties.

Claiming that he has a follower in almost every household, Ramdev says he has already earned the love and respect of people that a prime minister or president of a country gets.

Devotees at his yoga camp in Haridwar, a small but important holy city in north India, with an expression of awe admitted they will not only vote for him but also devote their entire life in his service.

After a three-hour discourse on yoga, herbal medicine, corruption and naxalism, the last I saw of Baba Ramdev was him being escorted back to his car guarded by armed security men.

Do you think Ramdev’s ideas and philosophies are a change from other political parties or groups? Should the ‘aam admi’ vote for him?

Should Swami Ramdev join politics?polling

It was a promise that Lt Cdr Rahul Nair could not keep. Some months ago, Nair had promised to return home soon to sample his mother’s cooking.

On Wednesday, Nair and fellow pilot Cdr S.K. Maurya lost their lives during the Indian Aviation 2010 air show in Hyderabad.

The pilots, having more than a thousand flying hours to their credit, were flying the Kiran MkII aircraft, which was inducted in the armed forces in the 1980s.

Post the crash, the Indian navy has grounded the fleet of 20 Kiran trainer aircraft.

The crash has left many concerned over the safety of these big birds used by our armed forces, let alone whether they are completely functional and serviceable for a war.

Since last year, at least 13 defence aircraft have crashed, killing 16 security personnel. As a nation, do we attach no value to human life?

Defence expert C. Uday Bhaskar writes in one of his reports “vintage aircrafts that have been assigned a place of pride in museums abroad are still flown by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy”.

The question that many raise now is — even though a mammoth amount is allocated for defence spending in the budget each year, why aren’t these obsolete machines updated?

Defence experts explicitly point fingers at the nexus of politicians and bureaucrats for the delays in procurement of French Scorpene submarines, INS Vikramaditya, Arjun tanks, self propelled wheeled artillery and ultra light howitzer guns.

Many also feel that since India has the second largest army in the world and with troubled borders on both its eastern and western frontiers, the government must be more sensitive to the needs of the defence forces.

Is the Indian politician ignorant when it comes to the needs of a modern army? Are politicians and bureaucrats just the ones to be blamed?

<br /> <a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2791340/” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2791340/”>Do you think India’s defence equipment is outdated?</a><span style=”font-size:9px;” mce_style=”font-size:9px;”><a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com”>polling</a></span><br />

After India’s first lunar mission Chandrayaan – 1 found evidence of water on the moon’s surface, scientists have now discovered more than 40 small craters with water ice on the moon.  

Chandrayaan – 1 carried a NASA radar on board which has detected deposits of water ice at both poles of the moon. 

Many scientists believe the discovery is very significant. They say water ice could serve as a natural resource for future lunar mission landings, can be liquefied into drinking water and water components could be used to provide breathing air and rocket fuel. 

Could this breakthrough unravel much more about the lunar space and the solar system? 

Space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, G. Madhavan Nair called this the “finding of the millennium”. 

Do you think this discovery will lead to sustainable human presence on the moon? 

Nair also believes that Chandrayaan – 2, India’s planned second lunar mission, could be taken to that region, could go further deep than the NASA radar (Mini-SAR) and substantiate the evidence found by Chandrayaan – 1. 

Has India made a place for itself in space exploration with its first lunar mission itself? Also, will these discoveries change the way we look at the moon?

January 15 is celebrated as India’s Army Day each year. Sixty-two years ago on this day, the first Indian officer took over as Commander–in–Chief of the army.

Lately, the Indian army has been under constant scrutiny. From modernization of equipment to the moral character of the organisation, many believe the army is facing too many problems at the same time.

In the recent past, there was a media frenzy about Chinese incursions and violation of Indian air space along the Line of Actual Control and also speculation whether the army would fight the growing left-wing extremism in its own country.

N. Manoharan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Land and Warfare studies, wrote in an article that reforms in the military sector are imperative for India to make a leap from a regional power to a leading global power. They are also vital to achieve the primary objective of securing the country from external and internal adversaries, he said.

Do you think the Indian Army has too many concerns to deal with? Is it time for the army to review the many aspects of the organisation?

The theme for Army Day this year is ‘Indian Army partners in nation building’.

Is the Indian army at a stage where it can help with nation-building? Should it have started contributing to nation building much earlier?

With three tiger deaths in the first two weeks of the new year, 2010 has started with warning bells ringing for the environment ministry and tiger conservationists in India.

According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, there have been 84 tiger deaths, by both natural and poaching causes, in 2009-10.

Considering that the last count of tigers in 2008 was 1411, wildlife experts say tigers could be extinct in 20 years.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said, “17 (tiger reserves) are in a very, very, very precarious state, you could have a Panna or a Sariska in any of these 17 at any point of time.”

Do you think the land of tigers will have no tigers to boast of in the near future?

Though arrests in poaching-related crimes have increased, many wildlife conservationists complain that the law does not catch up with the arrested poachers.

Sixty-six people were arrested in poaching-related crimes in 2008 and 72 in 2009 but there were no convictions.

Many poaching cases are unnoticed as poachers take away every part of the tiger’s body and do not leave evidence at the site.

Is India being callous towards its wildlife? Do you think we need more stringent laws for wildlife protection?

The region, connected to India by a narrow stretch of land called the “chicken’s neck”, has been through a string of conflicts, seen the rise of many rebel groups, lack of infrastructure and poverty.

The World Bank describes conditions in the region as a low-level equilibrium of poverty, non-development, civil conflict and lack of faith in political leadership.

According to the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, more than 426 billion rupees were kept for the northeast between 1998 and 2006.

Also, central government ministries have been earmarking 10 percent of their annual budgets for northeastern states since 1998.

The Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has said that funds to the northeastern states add up to more than what India gets from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Even with the constant and heavy flow of funds, why is development still distant from the seven sisters?

B.K.Handique, minister for the Development of North East Region, said in Parliament that the growth rate of the northeastern states has been less than the national average.

Is it corruption in the political sphere that funds do not reach the grassroots level? Or is it because of rampant extortion by rebel groups?

Is the Northeast “on the map, but off the mind” for you as well?