Government needs to buck up

Will we have to wait for the still-in-the-making Nalanda University to get a world rankingu00a0educational institution in India? HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has set a scorching pace reforming the education system. But sadly no Indian institution, including the much vaunted IITs and IIMs, figures in the recent list of the world's best 100 universities. The ranking of top varsities once again shows an overwhelming number of varsities from the US and UK.

But Sibal has raised hopes with his plans to attract FDI in the education sector and invite foreign universities to set up campuses in India. He's now working on pushing the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, which was cleared by the Cabinet in February 2007, but has been hanging fire since. So the question is: how long before Sibal manages to get us into that rarified zone, which is currently dominated by Harvard, Oxbridge et al?

Kicking the butt
One year after it was announced, the ban on smoking in public places seems to have gone up in smoke. Delhi does seem to lead the charge in enforcing the ban. Over 11,000 persons were fined in the capital for smoking and Tamil Nadu fined 10,979 offenders. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were at the bottom of the list fining only 21 and nine offenders respectively!

But the government remains optimistic and is planning to beef up enforcement of the ban, inspired as much by the death of a bar manager in Mumbai recently after he tried to stop drunk customers from smoking.

Now, bus conductors, railway ticket checkers and health officials too can fine people who violate the ban on smoking. Now, if only they can find a way to enforce all this without more gratuitous violence.

Widely regarded as India's 'Image Guru', Dilip Cherian is lobbyist, celebrity creator and tycoon watcher. He currently parties on a 24/7 schedule that mixes cities nixes bores, and analyses Dilli