The Shale Revolution is one of the biggest economic, environmental and geostrategic events of the last two decades. Shale oil and gas have changed the energy map of the United States and hence, the world. If you, like me, are not aware of the extent of change it has brought…

Snehal (name changed) was setting up a fine dining restaurant in South Mumbai. When I met him a few years ago, Shehal had just returned from a trip to China. He had gone there to buy furniture and fittings for his restaurant. He described his experience of walking through a…

If you are an Indian with American friends, a storm is coming your way. The year 2024 will see elections in both countries. This is a one in twenty year phenomenon. The last time it happened, social media did not exist. Now it is a key vehicle of political messaging…

Do you meet senior people in your client team when your project or relationship is going well? You should. This is a good habit like saving regularly. Let me begin with a dialogue I had with a brilliant colleague a few years ago. “Try to meet Pramod at least twice…

It is a country where a political party is more powerful than the government. A country where the army owes allegiance to the political party and not to the country. A country where the party has direct influence on all organized bodies, including businesses, banks, courts, trade bodies, and religion…

How quickly can you solve this simple case? A coastal habitat of twenty thousand households faces a challenge. The people of the habitat rely on groundwater and overdrawing has allowed sea water to seep in thereby increasing its salt concentration. There is a proposal to purify the brackish water using…

Money may not grow on trees but it seems that experts do. Experts on complex environmental, technological or political issues are to be found everywhere. In fact, they will find you on WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube or conventional media even when you are not looking for them. How do we know…

I got a WhatsApp forward that said that the rail density in India was more than that in China. Now, we all know about China’s world class infrastructure and its astonishing high-speed trains. The WhatsApp forward seemed to contradict my understanding of Chinese infrastructure. The seeming contradiction was resolved only…

China is the only country that you can compare with India, given the size, complexity and stage of development of the two countries. Over a series of articles, I will compare the two countries on different dimensions. In this piece, I will talk about reasons for inequality arising from urbanization…