El Tren de la Muerte, literally translates to the train of death, but it refers to a freight train that starts its route in Chiapas state in southern Mexico, near the border of Guatemala heading to different points on the American border. Many of the dangers posed by this journey result from the train itself…More
Tag Archives: India
Is Sengol the marker of a new age
I usually wind down after a busy day listening to the ruckus of Indian politics, usually while multi tasking. Indian TV debates are almost like being in a busy Indian railway stations. It is a cacophony of a few hundred people talking all at once and somehow managing to yell loud enough to be heard…More
Vaccine Conundrum: 2023 Update
I had said in my earlier blog, “What all of this tells us with some near perfect execution and some optimistic modelling India may be able to vaccinate their target age group of 18 and above with a single shot by mid 2022, they may be able vaccinate the total population with the second dose by Mar 2023”. Today as of 26 May 2023, India has managed to vaccinate 73% of its population with a first dose and 68% of its population with a second doseMore
Adani does a Houdini
I honestly did not have much confidence in the intent of the SC Expert Committee report, yet since there were some eminent names such as Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre, OP Bhatt, KV Kamath and Nandan Nilekani, there was reason to believe the report must have substance. But the first few paras of the…More
The Vaccine Conundrum
India must not have a significant funding issue this year, with a budget allocation of 14 billion USD, however with committed export contracts and the limitations in production capacity India is likely to struggle with supply for the next 6 months. Beyond 6 months the constraint may not be supply as manufacturers will be able to expand capacity, but will be the cold storage, transportation and manpower. Unless significant investments are made in expanding cold storage facilities and training up an effective labor force, administering the vaccine will be bottlenecked and India will struggle to administer more than 3 million doses a day. What all of this tells us with some near perfect execution and some optimistic modelling India may be able to vaccinate their target age group of 18 and above with a single shot by mid 2022, they may be able vaccinate the total population with the second dose by Mar 2023. Will India’s creaking healthcare infrastructure hold up for so long? How many people are likely to die in this time, as the death toll mounts? How much more can the economy take before it breaks? India has more questions than answers in this rather grim crisis.More
Countdown to hell, did someone drop the bar of soap?
7th March 2021: infection count 18,599 per day @ 57% monthly increase India’s Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan declares victory over COVID -19 after vaccinating 20 million out of a population of 1.3 billion. To use his own words he declared “We are in the end game of the COVID-19 pandemic” Prime Minister Modi flags off…More
Nationalism, Majoritarianism and distortions like light through prism…Part 1
India on the surface is the world’s largest democracy, but in reality underneath all the glib narrative is run by a muddled Hindutva ideology. Hindutva is grounded in a myth, wherein the subcontinent flourished only when governed by Hindus. The Hindutva belief is that India’s original Hindu identity needs to be restored to bring an…More
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