Bharatvaarta

India bureaucracy is quite unique in its structure, in that it was  created by the British for their administrative needs and in independent  India, the systems and the processes have been gradually adjusted to  align with evolving demands of statecraft. Yet there is a feeling that  these changes are neither fast enough nor adequate.  We discussed these issues with Shri Avinash Dharmadhikari. Shri   Dharmadhikari was a freelance journalist and a social activist before  writing the UPSC and entering the Indian Administrative Service. He was  in the IAS for 10 years, rising to the position of working in the  Maharashtra CM Office. He quit the service then and started Chankaya  Mandal Parivar.  Chanakya Mandal focuses on coaching the UPSC aspirants and preparing  them not just in terms of content but also personal qualities for the  services. Over the years, Shri Dharmadhikari has coached and mentored  thousands of youngsters and he is a household name in the UPSC  preparation circles, especially in Pune and Maharashtra.    In this episode, Shri Dharmadhikari shared his views on how the IAS  needs to change, how the UPSC exam itself needs to evolve, the role of  lateral entry and several other challenges to the UPSC model. His candid  and forthcoming views on enforcing greater accountability for the  bureaucracy are thought provoking. Shri Dharmadhikari also talked about  the generalization vs specialization debate.

India bureaucracy is quite unique in its structure, in that it was  created by the British for their administrative needs and in independent  India, the systems and the processes have been gradually adjusted to  align with evolving demands of statecraft. Yet there is a feeling that  these changes are neither fast enough nor adequate.  We discussed these issues with Shri Avinash Dharmadhikari. Shri   Dharmadhikari was a freelance journalist and a social activist before  writing the UPSC and entering the Indian Administrative Service. He was  in the IAS for 10 years, rising to the position of working in the  Maharashtra CM Office. He quit the service then and started Chankaya  Mandal Parivar.  Chanakya Mandal focuses on coaching the UPSC aspirants and preparing  them not just in terms of content but also personal qualities for the  services. Over the years, Shri Dharmadhikari has coached and mentored  thousands of youngsters and he is a household name in the UPSC  preparation circles, especially in Pune and Maharashtra.    In this episode, Shri Dharmadhikari shared his views on how the IAS  needs to change, how the UPSC exam itself needs to evolve, the role of  lateral entry and several other challenges to the UPSC model. His candid  and forthcoming views on enforcing greater accountability for the  bureaucracy are thought provoking. Shri Dharmadhikari also talked about  the generalization vs specialization debate.

The Pallavas and Chalukyas were some of the most influential kingdoms of  South India. Their art, architecture, and culture were the defining  traits of Ancient South Indian history, and their eternal architectural   battles against each other resulted in some of the most awe-inspiring  structures India has ever seen.

The Pallavas and Chalukyas were some of the most influential kingdoms of  South India. Their art, architecture, and culture were the defining  traits of Ancient South Indian history, and their eternal architectural   battles against each other resulted in some of the most awe-inspiring  structures India has ever seen.

The Bharatvaarta Weekly is our reaction to the news headlines of the week that was.   If you liked this episode, then don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and share this content. You can stay updated with everything at Bharatvaarta by following us on social media: we're @bharatvaarta on Twitter, facebook.com/bharatvaarta.in on Facebook, and @bharatvaarta on Instagram).  #Bharatvaarta #BVWeekly

The Bharatvaarta Weekly is our reaction to the news headlines of the week that was.   If you liked this episode, then don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and share this content. You can stay updated with everything at Bharatvaarta by following us on social media: we're @bharatvaarta on Twitter, facebook.com/bharatvaarta.in on Facebook, and @bharatvaarta on Instagram).  #Bharatvaarta #BVWeekly

IIT Kanpur hosts India's National Blockchain Project which is working on  several eGovernance ideas. This discussion features two experts related  to eGovernance.  Professor Abhay Karandikar is best known for his work in the  telecommunications sector in India. Professor Karandikar is an engineer  who taught for several years at IIT Bombay, has been associated with  institutions like C-DAC, Telecom Standards Development Society of India  and is a part time member of TRAI. He has been the Director at IIT  Kanpur since 2018. With IIT Kanpur hosting the National Blockchain  Project, there’s no better person than him to understand what India  plans to use Blockchain for the eGovernance space.  Krishna Vishwanath is an entrepreneur and investor based out of Pune. He  calls himself a student of Blockchain, by which he means a PhD student  at Symbiosis. Before he got enamoured with Blockchain, Krishna has  worked extensively in the Indian capital markets. He was one of the  first investment bankers in the country when ICICI got into the  traditional merchant banking business and is an alumnus of IIM  Ahmedabad. Krishna is also the ex-boss of two of the Bharavaarata  co-founders Aashish and Srivatsa.  We talked about the concept of Blockchain at a very fundamental level -  how it relates to the way humans organize. We explored if the  distributed, permission-less concept can be fitted in the centralized  governance structures we have evolved over time. Many initiatives are  being led by IIT Kanpur using the concept of Blockchain and there was a  detailed discussion on evolution of these.   We also talked about how some of these academic innovations are used by  the government and the industry. The guests discussed the broad process  of commercialization of the research and development work done by the  academia.  

IIT Kanpur hosts India's National Blockchain Project which is working on  several eGovernance ideas. This discussion features two experts related  to eGovernance.  Professor Abhay Karandikar is best known for his work in the  telecommunications sector in India. Professor Karandikar is an engineer  who taught for several years at IIT Bombay, has been associated with  institutions like C-DAC, Telecom Standards Development Society of India  and is a part time member of TRAI. He has been the Director at IIT  Kanpur since 2018. With IIT Kanpur hosting the National Blockchain  Project, there’s no better person than him to understand what India  plans to use Blockchain for the eGovernance space.  Krishna Vishwanath is an entrepreneur and investor based out of Pune. He  calls himself a student of Blockchain, by which he means a PhD student  at Symbiosis. Before he got enamoured with Blockchain, Krishna has  worked extensively in the Indian capital markets. He was one of the  first investment bankers in the country when ICICI got into the  traditional merchant banking business and is an alumnus of IIM  Ahmedabad. Krishna is also the ex-boss of two of the Bharavaarata  co-founders Aashish and Srivatsa.  We talked about the concept of Blockchain at a very fundamental level -  how it relates to the way humans organize. We explored if the  distributed, permission-less concept can be fitted in the centralized  governance structures we have evolved over time. Many initiatives are  being led by IIT Kanpur using the concept of Blockchain and there was a  detailed discussion on evolution of these.   We also talked about how some of these academic innovations are used by  the government and the industry. The guests discussed the broad process  of commercialization of the research and development work done by the  academia.