Abhishek Kumar Singh

The Mumbai Model has been praised by the honourable Supreme Court and many more people for which we are grateful. But my message to all the citizens of Maharashtra, stay home, step out only if need be, mask up, the battle isn't over. The praise is only a sign for us to be brave and fight harder, and that is our ethos! As the first case of Covid hit Maharashtra in Pune, around March 9 last year, a containment zone was immediately formed around the home of the index case and the patient was traced, tested and isolated. At the Vidhan Sabha we had just presented our first budget as the MVA government. I remember walking into the conference hall where Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister (and Guardian Minister of Pune) Ajit Pawar, and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat were on an emergency video call with the administration of Pune. They were joined by a group of senior ministers and bureaucrats. Covid-19 was then too new to be fully comprehended. There had been varying...

Same Movement, Different Business Structure Social entrepreneurship has emerged rapidly in the last decade. It’s a wave that started because people are coming to the conclusion that governments around the world are failing to solve social problems. To combat that problem, businesses have decided to step up and fight for change. The size of nonprofit organizations has grown significantly over the years. Colleges and universities are offering more degree programs for those interested in jobs with a social focus. Most major MBA programs now offer some classes on social entrepreneurship. There are even foundations that solely invest in social entrepreneurs. It’s a revolution to aid change and usually incorporate the following aspects: Entrepreneurial Spirit Entrepreneurial spirit is a mindset. I look at it like an attitude and approach to thinking that actively seeks out change, rather than waiting to adapt to change. It's a mindset that embraces critical questioning, innovation, servi...

For the first time ever in the history of the Indian Armed Forces, uniformed personnel from the Army, Air Force and Navy have been appointed formally as additional secretary and joint secretaries in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This will help in streamlining decision making powers and other functions. When was the order issued? In an order issued earlier this week, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) which is headed by Prime Minister  Narendra Modi , Lt Gen Anil Puri has been appointed as the Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs (DMA). Maj Gen K. Narayanan, Rear Admiral Kapil Mohan Dhir and Air Vice Marshal Hardeep Bains all three are now joint secretaries in the DMA. The office of DMA is now in the second year of being set up. As part of major reforms undertaken in the Ministry of Defence, this office was set up in 2020, and is headed by CDS Gen Bipin Rawat. So far, the files had to be sent to the Secretary, DMA for any decisions to be made. Wit...

I write this with deep anguish hoping that our vice-chancellors and heads of the higher education institutions will listen to a common teacher. Every day we hear news of our colleagues dying, dying because they could not get oxygen support in time or because they wasted time running from hospital to hospital. It is heartbreaking to see young colleagues, in their 30s and 40s, dying. Many more are struggling for life. This is about teachers. But there are innumerable students who are desperately appealing for oxygen, hospital beds, many suffering themselves, many for members of their immediate and extended families, many more for friends. Some we know, but there are many more we will never know about.In all universities, we have contractual teachers. At the University of Delhi, where I teach, there is a vast number of teachers working as guest faculty. Many of them have not been paid for a long time. Some of them have been hit by the coronavirus. The university has not even thought about...