Anupam Jha | अनुपम झा | 阿努潘.杰哈

Trying to focus on you work but getting constantly distracted? Don't worry you are one among the many who are facing this issue in today's accessible world and there are ways to fix this issue. Disruptions, interruptions and distractions at work are a reality. We are used to working in teams, in open spaces, with smartphones, smartwatches and what not, all these add to distraction. In a highly collaborative world where work and information need to move through multiple people and teams, it is necessary that people interact and technology be used, which sometimes lead to distractions causing individual work to suffer. Meetings, text or chat messages, emails and co-workers etc, tend to divide our time and attention. In a survey of 202 professionals, 40% of the respondents faced more than 10 disruptions or interruptions a day while 15% reporting more than 20 interruptions. In major surveys around the world, from IT employees to other professionals, almost everybody gets interrupte...

Indian government on Monday i.e. 29th June 2020 banned almost 59 Chinese apps stating those are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order. In an unusual move by the government of India, it banned 59 Chinese mobile apps in India, in the backdrop of tensions on the India-China border in Ladakh. Thought it is very hard to understand what might have gone into this decision but it is safe to say "the decision sounds childish". If there was any existential threat from these apps, they would not have been allowed to start, even today the Government of India has an account on TikTok with millions of followers. Is this also a case of hasty decision making on the part of the Modi government or more of optics for the domestic audience who is expecting the government to face up to china? We will have to see the next steps to find out. If the government of India is seriously considering to reduce Chinese investment that is alre...

When the same people who took oath to serve you, starts attacking and harming you, then the system cannot be more broken. Police brutality is not a new phenomenon. It has been an unfortunate reality of our society and the way our criminal justice system functions. Police going overboard to secure a confession is the top most reason for such assaults. Police over the years have become an integrated cartel and operates a well-oiled network, this helps them sidestepping any accountability even when an alleged criminal die during interrogation or detention. The rare times that they are held accountable, judiciary have made stinging remarks about the need for reform. In a recent incidence a father and son duo were arrested in Tamil Nadu when they were found to have not shut their shop at the designated closing time due to coronavirus pandemic regulations put in place by the authorities. 'P Jeyaraj' -58 and his son 'Fenix' -38 were arrested and kept in police custody an entir...

An era of cold war where United States and Soviet Union stood as two blocks of power is being revisited but with a change as 'China', another communist regime, replaces Soviet Union as the second block.   The geopolitical map of the world again starts to shape itself in a cold war formation, where two blocks dominated the world order. While the Soviet-Union is long gone we have another communist regime filling its shoes. China as the biggest trading partner of the United States now believes it has the necessary wherewithal to sit on the high table and stare United States in the eye for global dominance. In a rapidly De-globalizing world, priorities for nations have changed. While trade has been decelerating prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the confrontational and hostile attitude of nations have waited to come out in the open. It is safe to say US-SINO relations have never been so strained. Once hailed as the godfather of China, US helped China reach to where it is today. In ...

Economic reforms while being an intellectual idea remains very much in the hands of politicians in a democracy. While it needs a certain level of intellectual vision, planning and execution but the on-off switch is controlled by politicians. If we closely study the political and economic situation of most countries, barring a few exceptions we will find most of the political class doesn't feel compelled to bring any significant economic reforms. They seem more interested to let the citizenry feel the status quo. Any significant changes and the political class lose its sleep for the fear of losing power. While status quo is a universal truth among politicians, any reform that is ever done is mostly by those coming from outside into the political sphere. While the hardcore politicians refrain from taking such decisions. So, what is it that prevents politicians from undertaking economic reforms while continuing with their populist agenda? Politicians are usually hated in most parts of...

Arun Shourie, former union minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government once said: "A person who is psychologically secure will not be nervous of any situation and a person who is psychologically insecure will never allow others who have a base of expertise to come near (him)." If we look at the last few years of Indian governance, India has been slowly sliding downhill with respect to government policy. Most of the policies are either hurriedly formulated in a haste or implemented worst. A policy ideally should be able to stand the test of hindsight i.e. it must be looked back in appreciation long after being implemented. Most of the policies have not been able to stand the test of hindsight in recent years, rather they have been colossal failures, hurting the country. A classic example of a government public policy that stood the test of hindsight is Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). It is an Indian labour and social security measure...

The curious case of a saffron clad baba with deep connections to the top echelons of power in the current dispensation, claiming to have found a hundred percent cure for Coronavirus. He calls it "Coronil". Baba Ramdev and his Swadeshi FMCG company Patanjali made a startling claim to have found the cure for Coronavirus. The claim was widely broadcasted by several media partners. Soon Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India swung into action and asked Baba for proof of his claims. In response Patanjali sent an eleven-page reply to the ministry. Ramdev earlier claimed that the medicine is going to cure the coronavirus a hundred percent, in the span of just seven days. The good part being, government stopped the advertisement and put a gag order on media promoting it. Government said the medicine hasn't been scientifically proven to be effective and have asked the company for all necessary information related to Coronil along with the license procured for the same. The informa...

The world has become toxic and is destined to doom. Blame for this "disaster in the making" lies entirely on humanity. While we are pushing this world into a spiral of chaos causing enough pain and suffering, "bringing kids to this world" would not only be irresponsible but CRIMINAL on our part. Antinatalism is a philosophical position and social movement that assigns a negative value to birth. It argues that people should abstain from procreation because it is morally bad. We are fully aware about the world we live in. There used to be a time when nature used to heal us, it gave us the greatest gift we could ask for, in the form of a habitat where life nurtured, human beings coexisted with other species and hope guided us. But human beings, over the centuries have worked overtime to make sure we destroy the gift we received. Due to short-sightedness, foolishness or knowingly we killed the basic pillars that made this world a paradise to live, procreate and thrive. ...

In America an employer cannot fire a homosexual or transgender employee anymore as US supreme court ruled that a landmark 1964 civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination. It is seen as a historic victory for the LGBTQ+ community.   The   case concerned of Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964, which prohibits  employment  discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex, also covers the LGBTQ+ workers. The judgement was a six-three verdict is the biggest judgement in favour of the LGBTQ community since marriage equality in 2015. It is seen as another brave step towards legitimizing and recognizing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in US. Finally the year 2020 brought something  to cheer about before we had designated 2020 as the worst year ever . Hopefully other nations can take a cue and pass similar laws to promote equality and eradicate discrimination. This is a way forward into creating a Utopia of equa...

"Success is not final, Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill Life never represents a constant growth curve, sometimes it goes down as well. It is more represented by the Electrocardiogram (ECG) graph, moving up and down in cycles. It tells us both success and failures are a part of life. One is nothing without the other, both serve a purpose. Imagine having all the success and never any failure. Success without failure will never bring the same kind of joy and emotion. It would be a mundane and monotonous feeling. It is this failure that let us enjoy the success when we achieve it. We must never take failure to heart and deal with it on practical level. We should learn from it and make necessary tweaks to improve from it, while not repeating it again. Humankind has achieved a lot since it evolved from apes, from inventing fire to a private company like SpaceX launching astronauts into space , it was never success at first instan...

Indian PM Narendra Modi on the eve of 19th June 2020, during an all-party meeting made a statement, saying there has been no incursion by Chinese troops in Galwan valley. This statement has created widespread speculation within the country and across the border. Indian PM Narendra Modi made an extraordinary claim saying there has been no intrusion by Chinese troops in the Galwan valley. His exact words were "Neither anyone has intruded into our territory, nor took over any post". This statement came during all-party meeting held by the PM to discuss the cause and effect of India-China standoff around LAC . This statement has created a lot of uproar in the country. While some say it is a surrender to China, others say PM might have made a mistake while weaving his statement and misspoken something which he did not intend to say. Whatever the reason, this statement has seriously undermined India's case and have inflicted a self-goal for the country. While it might save some...

Who thought wearing face masks would become a necessity? But, not only it's a necessity now, but people are finding it cool and hippy, they are also experimenting with materials and colours. Coronavirus wreaked havoc in most parts of the world, with that came the precautionary measures taken by people to protect themselves from the deadly virus. One such protection equipment is the face mask. It acts as a shield to stop the virus from spreading in case the infected person is wearing it, or it can stop the virus from getting inhaled for a normal person. World is still suffering from the pandemic and the fear and paranoia is not going to vanish until we have a vaccine. While the vaccine might take a year or more, the question of life or livelihood has brought people back on the streets and businesses have started opening up. Governments across the world are opening up their countries while advising safety precaution such as wearing masks, cleaning hands social distancing etc. While t...

Since India and China have found themselves entangled in a brutal confrontation in Galwan valley in Ladakh, in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives while China hasn't come up with their casualties yet. There has been, yet another call from the ultra-nationalists to Boycott "Made in China" products being imported into India. Is that really possible or is it just a pipe dream? India and China started their economic liberalization at roughly the same time in the 1990s. Both countries have seen immense poverty and economic boom after liberalization. Though due to some constraints India hasn't been able to economically develop as well as China. China focused more on their economy, infrastructure, exports than India could, partly because India is a democratic country and policies tend to go through bureaucratic red tape, which is a never ending loop, while China having an authoritarian government in a single party rule i.e. the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) went on wit...