This Article First Appeared In nytimes.com On March 21, 2023
In a high hamlet, a two-hour trek up a verdant slope beneath ice-clad Himalayan peaks, an argument erupted over a folk tale. Two brothers, Pralad Singh Dariyal, 60, and Hira Singh Dariyal, 77, heatedly debated which nearby village in the Johar Valley was once the home of the story’s heroine. Eventually agreeing on a few possible locations, Hira said that the story, which is sung as a ballad and which he remembered from childhood, was virtually unknown today among the area’s young people. “They’re the YouTube generation,” he explained with a shrug.
“No one even knows how to sing it anymore,” Pralad added.
The voice of Pralad’s wife, Sundari Devi, rang out from the kitchen into the courtyard, where I sat with the brothers and a couple of other people in front of clothing drying on a line and pieces of a butchered sheep drying on a neighbor’s stone-shingled roof. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shouted. “Some people do remember how to sing it. Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s not important.”
This Article First Appeared In nytimes on Feb 27, 2023
In 2013, the House of Representatives had a single Indian American member. Fewer than 10 Indian Americans were serving in state legislatures. None had been elected to the Senate. None had run for president. Despite being one of the largest immigrant groups in the United States, Americans of Indian descent were barely represented in politics.
Ten years later, the Congress sworn in last month includes five Indian Americans. Nearly 50 are in state legislatures. The vice president is Indian American. Nikki Haley’s campaign announcement this month makes 2024 the third consecutive cycle in which an Indian American has run for president, and Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly announced candidacy makes it the first cycle with two.
In parts of the government, “we’ve gone literally from having no one to getting close to parity,” said Neil Makhija, the executive director of Impact, an Indian American advocacy group.
Naatu Naatu roars: How RRR used Hollywood feedback loop and social media for the Oscar win
This Article First Appeared In the Economic Times What made RRR stand out amid the bigwigs? Well, a lot has to do with the hype around the film and the constant feedback loop created by social media...the Oscars are often a feedback loop where the initial response for a movie matters the most. If the movie has already made an impact on the minds of the viewer --both in regional and international markets -- then it gets noticed. However, there are certain rules, and the most important being the film should be screened in a commercial theatre in Los Angeles County for at least seven days.
Why “Make in India” is attracting more foreign phone makers than Indian ones
This Article First Appeared In Theken.com On March 17, 2023
India’s ambitious Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile-phone manufacturing—launched with much fanfare in 2020—is failing to live up to one of its key promises. Three years on, domestic manufacturers are struggling to keep up with foreign competitors despite being given more lenient targets.
Why Don’t We Try to Be India’s Most Respected Company?
This Article First Appeared In HBR On Nov 2011.He may not appear to be one, but N.R. Narayana Murthy is quite the contrarian. At a time when few Indians felt they could become entrepreneurs, he founded Infosys with just $1,000 in the bank. When no one believed that India could offer the world high-tech products, he dared to develop software services for export. In an era when conducting business ethically was virtually unheard of, he created a values-based corporation. Today, as public anger against rampant corruption in India boils over, Infosys faces a turning point, with Murthy stepping down as chairman. In this edited conversation with HBR’s Anand P. Raman, Murthy reflects on his tenure and explains that for companies to be financially successful and good, leaders must demonstrate that values matter at every turn, with every employee.
Moving forward with a newer concept of Universal Health Care
This Article First Appeared In The Hindu On March 20, 2023.
Do we believe in health as a basic human right, which India’s Constitution guarantees under right to life? In contrast, we believe in the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health: a certain totality of health to the realms of mental and social well-being and happiness beyond physical fitness, and an absence of disease and disability. This means that we cannot achieve health in its wider definition without addressing health determinants. This necessitates a need for an intersectoral convergence beyond medical and health departments such as women and child development, food and nutrition, agriculture and animal husbandry, civil supplies, rural water supply and sanitation, social welfare, tribal welfare, education, forestry.
India’s position in the World Happiness Report has improved from 136 to 126, although it is still behind its neighbouring countries.
35 percent
Of Indian ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNI) saw their total wealth grow by over 10 percent in 2022.
$9.5 billion
The worth of mobile phone exports from India in February 2023. Apple contributes half the total exports.
₹169,000 crore
The worth of Dubai-based businessman Vinod Shantilal Adani, making him the wealthiest NRI. Vinod is the elder brother of business mogul and India's richest person Gautam Adani.
11 kilometres
The length of Asia’s longest and most advanced automobile testing track NATRAX in Godgaon, MP.
2675 captive elephants
Are in India, with most under private ownership and used for entertainment, tourism and religious purposes.
US Consulate General in Hyderabad has opened a new $340 million state-of-the-art facility in the city’s bustling financial district calling it “a tangible investment by the United States in the growing bilateral relationship” with India.
India has surpassed Japan to become the country with the world's fourth largest metro network.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has appointed Indian American healthcare professional Srilekha Palle to the Virginia Asian Advisory Board (VAAB) that serves as a liaison with the diverse and rapidly growing Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communiti
People on a US business or tourist visa can now attend interviews and apply for new jobs within the country.
Stamford mayor Caroline Simmons recently praised the contributions of the Indian American community to the city over the years in diverse fields from education to business, innovation, arts and culture.
Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of LA, has been confirmed as the US ambassador to India, ending a two-year saga of the top diplomatic post being vacant.
Global Indians are highly-skilled and dynamic risk-takers, the drivers of Brand India around the world. The stage is set and it belongs to you. What’s your story?