Rat_fly

@ananyashasau @SanuThink Not at all, doesn't require any bribe at all

@SanuThink Lucky one.

Is there even a single person in India whose passport was made without paying a bribe? 😭 Are any of you here that lucky? And if not, how much did you have to pay?

Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svends @HelleLyngSvends has become a growing embarrassment for Norway’s citizens and our Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre @jonasgahrstore . What should have been a proud moment for Norway @norwaymfa hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi @PMOIndia @narendramodi for the first time in 43 years, awarding him the country’s highest civilian honor, signing a Green Strategic Partnership with 12 new agreements on clean energy, sustainability, health tech, digital cooperation, and trade was instead hijacked by her personal grandstanding and turned into an international spectacle that makes Norway look rude, entitled, and diplomatically clumsy.This wasn’t a full open press conference. It was a joint statement session with clear protocols. Modi followed standard procedure for such high-level bilateral visits: brief remarks, handshake, and exit. Yet Helle positioned herself as the hero, later tweeting that Modi “would not take my question” while waving the World Press Freedom Index (Norway #1, India #157). She framed it as brave journalism. Most Norwegians see it as embarrassing performative activism that damages our national interests.Norway’s relationship with India matters. We are building real partnerships in the green transition exactly the kind of cooperation Norwegians expect from our government. Billions in potential investments, jobs, technology sharing, and climate goals. Modi’s visit was substantive diplomacy. Instead of highlighting these achievements, the global narrative became “Modi dodges questions in free Norway” thanks to Helle’s viral 16-second clip. This helps no one except her personal brand.Real journalism holds power to account, but there’s a time, place, and manner. Ambushing a foreign head of government during a state visit on Norwegian soil, in front of our own Prime Minister, crosses into disrespect. It signals to the world that Norway cannot host important partners without turning events into awkward confrontations. What message does this send to leaders from Germany, the US, China, or Saudi Arabia? Come to Oslo at your own risk?Helle’s approach reflects poorly on Norwegian citizens who value pragmatism, politeness, and results over viral outrage. Many of us are cringing. We pay taxes for competent foreign policy, not for journalists to chase personal clout at the expense of our Prime Minister’s hard work. Støre stood there politely while our guest was effectively ambushed. This undermines the goodwill built over months of preparation.The World Press Freedom Index she brandished is published by Reporters Without Borders — an NGO with its own biases, selective sourcing, and inconsistencies. India is the world’s largest democracy with a raucous, competitive media landscape. Modi has been elected multiple times by 1.4 billion people. He chooses his communication style Mann Ki Baat, controlled interviews, direct voter outreach and has stuck to it for over a decade. That’s his prerogative as India’s leader. Norway’s press norms do not dictate how foreign elected leaders behave on our soil. By shouting during a joint briefing and then spinning the walk-off as cowardice, Helle ignored the substance: cultural exchanges, economic deals, shared Arctic and Indo-Pacific interests. She made it about “her question.” This self-centered stunt fuels stereotypes of arrogant Europeans lecturing the Global South. India is a rising superpower and vital partner, not some dictatorship to be publicly shamed. Her actions risk harming Norway’s reputation as a serious, respectful actor on the world stage.Norwegians pride ourselves on being practical and solution-oriented. We understand that diplomacy requires tact. Shouting at guests during photo-ops achieves nothing constructive. If Helle has legitimate concerns about press freedom in India, there are better forums: op-eds, interviews with Indian journalists, or private diplomatic channels. Turning a bilateral summit into her personal protest makes Norway look unserious and weakens Støre’s position.This incident highlights a deeper issue with parts of legacy Norwegian media: more activism than balanced reporting. Many citizens already distrust mainstream outlets for prioritizing ideology and clicks over national interests. Helle’s behavior reinforces that skepticism. She is becoming a symbol of why some Norwegians roll their eyes at Dagsavisen commentators more focused on international virtue-signaling than serving Norwegian readers or advancing pragmatic foreign policy. PM Støre deserves better. His government invested time and resources to strengthen ties with India at a time when energy security, green tech, and diversified partnerships are critical. Helle’s grandstanding risks poisoning the atmosphere for future cooperation. Indian officials and citizens noticed. The replies to her post were filled with Indians pointing out the format was never a full Q&A, questioning why a Norwegian journalist feels entitled to hijack their PM’s visit.We should expect more from our journalists. Question leaders yes. But do it professionally, not by turning important state visits into cringe-worthy viral moments that embarrass the host nation. Norway’s citizens want a media that informs, not one that performs. We want a Prime Minister who can deliver results without his events being derailed by ego.Helle Lyng Svends is increasingly becoming an embarrassment not just for herself, but for all of us who value Norway’s reputation as a competent, respectful country. It’s time for reflection in Norwegian media circles: Is this the image we want the world to see? A nation of serious partners or lecturing activists chasing likes? Enough with the stunts. Focus on the deals that actually benefit Norwegians energy, jobs, technology, and a stable world order. Our Prime Minister and our country deserve diplomacy that works, not viral embarrassment.

@kejimao Ok, but I was thinking beyond the language.. anyways I respect your opinion 👍

@raysubrata Sadly....I had to communicate with the Vietnamese through an interpreter, while I spoke to the Indians directly using English and a bit of Hindi.....

Many years ago, I gave two presentations on how China builds its industrial and technological ecosystem—one for an Indian audience and one for a Vietnamese audience. Although the content was largely the same and went into many details that were rarely mentioned in other settings, the feedback from the Vietnamese and Indian participants was strikingly different. When I discussed the gaps between Vietnam and China, my Vietnamese friends listened very attentively to my analysis of Vietnam’s weaknesses. They even proactively acknowledged Vietnam’s deficiencies and asked me to analyze more specific issues in greater detail. However, when I compared China and India, many Indian friends became quite argumentative. They tried to compete with or challenge the Chinese perspective on almost every point, to the point where I could barely develop my analysis. As a result, they might have won the debate, but missed a valuable opportunity to have a meaningful exchange. So, I came to know which country would be the real winner for "China+1" many years beforehand.

@kejimao The cultural differences could also be potentially clogging diplomatic channels between the two countries

@kejimao Could it be also possible, you were able to communicate better with Vietnamese people? There is also a communication angle in cultural differences between China & India .. which no one can ignore

这次美国访华晚宴坐在马斯克和库克中间C位最亮眼的，是蓝思科技创始人周群飞，从农村打工妹到中国女首富，完全没有任何背景全靠自己白手起家。她出生在湖南的一个小村庄，5岁时母亲去世，父亲也因工伤残疾双目失明，家徒四壁，16岁交不起学费被迫辍学去广东打工，在一家工厂流水线打磨玻璃，白天干活，晚上疯狂自学，考了会计证、电脑操作证等技能证书，就这样过了几年，她拿着靠打工攒的2万块，拉上哥哥姐姐、嫂子姐夫等8个亲戚，在深圳开了一家小作坊，做手表玻璃加工，她一个人修机器、跑销售，就这样又干了4年。 到了2000年后手机行业开始大规模发展，一次偶然的机会她的手表玻璃厂接到了TCL手机屏幕的订单，她看到了手机玻璃市场的巨大潜力，于是迅速成立了蓝思科技，专门负责手机玻璃的生产研发和销售，一开始只做国产手机和山寨机，但是直到有一次想谈下摩托罗拉的订单，但外企的质量要求非常严格，她赌上几乎全部的资源配合摩托罗拉，拿下了全球销售超过1亿台的V3订单，直接把蓝思科技推到了行业领先位置，随后顺利拿下诺基亚、三星等外企。 关键的转折点又一次出现在了2007年，当时乔布斯发布初代iPhone，彻底把手机往全玻璃触屏的方向变革，乔布斯那变态的工艺要求全球都找不到符合的厂商，周群飞敏锐的意识到这又是一个巨大的机会，于是带领团队和苹果工程师联合攻关了3个月，突破关键工艺，成功量产了第一代iPhone玻璃面板，从此拿下苹果长期合同，后续的iPad、MacBook等几乎所有苹果设备全部都交给了蓝思科技，也帮助蓝思科技在触摸玻璃面板领域成为全区最大公司。 这也是为什么她能坐在库克旁边，那为什么马斯克也坐在她旁边呢？ 蓝思科技在玻璃面板干到全球第一后，开始往更加多元的智能化设备发展，包括汽车座舱和机器人，其中汽车领域包括车窗、中控等已经拿下了特斯拉、宝马、奔驰、理想等30家车企，机器人领域则主要负责关节、传感器等部件，这些都和马斯克的业务有深度重合。 一个15岁辍学只有初中文凭的女生，从湖南农村出来白手起家成为中国女首富，40年后进入中美会谈，坐在了马斯克和库和中间，这就是周群飞的故事。

Boarded on a flight to India. I have made this journey ~100 times over the past 45 years. But this time, it feels different. Beginning of a new chapter.

@tehseenp He promoted violence all the time

I would often share screen with Garga Chatterjee & vociferously disagree with him. Many a times I thought he could have been softer & kinder on television however I strongly disagree that he should be arrested. As long as he did not indulge or promote violence arrest is not needed.

@RMantri The failure is on the cost and taxation side imposed on the companies.. the industry is not making super normal profit

13/ The press narrative of “Indian hotels charging New York prices” deserves to be inverted. The correct framing: a structurally undersupplied market in a developing economy has produced first-world pricing on largely third-grade, third-world inventory. Instead of celebrating high rates as some sort of a win, or starting a social shaming campaign to have consumers spend / travel in India, it is time to reform the policy architecture (across Union, state, local governments) that makes the high rates inevitable, and Indian destinations outrageously expensive and uncompetitive. Consumers are smart not to spend in India because paying these prices is not just irrational, it is outright crazy.

1/ Owing to high barriers to entry, India’s lodging and hotels industry has become a cartel that raises prices at will and fleeces customers. India’s luxury hotel average daily rate (ADR) in Mumbai and Delhi now rival those of New York and London. Absurdly enough, the financial press sometimes celebrates this as some triumph of Indian hospitality. It is nothing of the sort. High prices are the unmistakable stamp of a supply-constrained market in a low income country, which should actually have a very competitively priced and deep pool of lodging options. The hotel industry is a structural failure being hyped as a success.

@RMantri If they hotel industry really had high entry barrier and consequently they were fleecing ... The financials should have been great .. just check the RoCE for the last 10-20 years for hotel companies

@MumukshuSavitri The people who come on medical visa are likely well off and won't stay back .. they are not same as illegals

I remember accompanying my relative to Apollo in Chennai for a specialized treatment years ago. The hospital was chock full of Kanglus getting treatment. Each one was accompanied by half a dozen bearded family members. Who knows how many stay behind and never go back to Kangludesh. Don’t know why they get so many special medical visas. In the name of humanitarianism we are taking on a huge security risk.

@tehseenp Every industry claims they contribute a high single digit or double digit number to our GDP.. if we add all this up, our GDP should be much bigger 😌

GOLD is being made a villain but Gold Business employees over 60lakh Indians & contributes 7% of our GDP, whereas the ordinary Indian uses gold to hedge against inflation! Why not go after Judges, Babus who use Gold to convert Black Money ? Those who purchased GOLD ETF, this budget the gains are taxed of purchased from secondary markets? Today the ₹is amongst the worst performing currency due to the faulty policies of the Finance Ministry. Lastly stop these huge convoys for all politicians ..will BJP leaders attend Himanta Biswa Sarma ji’s swearing-in tomorrow virtually? @RShivshankar @CNNnews18

@greatbong This is anyway an advertisement by BJP

The front page of Ganashakti, the CPM paper. Fun fact: Marxists hated Bankimchandra for being overtly Hindu, lampooned Rabindranath for being an out of touch aristocrat and Shyamaprasad Mookherjee, I am not even getting into

@greatbong Article

Shall I do a video post or an article on the Bengal elections?

@paranjoygt Basically democracy survives only if your party wins .. otherwise it is subverted

To my mind, this Bengal election is a litmus test of whether we have fallen below the minimum threshold of electoral integrity, whether electoral democracy has any future at all. I cannot get into numbers, but all the credible information that I have been able to gather so far points to a comfortable lead for the TMC, more than enough to make up for the SIR damage. If despite this the ECI manages to conjure a victory for BJP, this has to be the result of an electoral fraud. Such an (unlikely, despite what exit polls say) event must get the entire opposition to come together and ask if there is any point of contesting any more elections under these circumstances. — Yogendra Yadav

#WATCH | Teena Choudhry, the woman seen in the viral video wearing a black cap, confronting Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan over a traffic jam, releases a statement detailing her side of the story She says, "I have received so many messages regarding my safety. I want to let you know that I'm fine and I appreciate the concern. That day, on April 21, I dropped my daughter off for her music class at four. I was meant to pick her up at 4.45. When I took a left turn from Mahindra Taj, we got stuck in a jam there. I was in my car for 25 minutes. When the traffic did not move, I got out to find out what the problem was. For the next one and a half hours, I went to every single police officer there to request that if you get the two buses removed, people who are stuck, we can make a U-turn and join the main road. I received no reaction, no response. I did not throw that bottle towards any protester or rally, but on the ground to attract the attention of the police... Mr Mahajan was actually the only person in that rally who at least tried to listen to what I was saying. On his instructions, the two buses were moved, and we all took a U-turn, and we were able to join the main road..." (Disclaimer: Screenshot of the viral video from social media)

@vijaimantrimf Simplistic calculation ... The removal of fake names were necessary to remove the possibility of fake voting

Let’s assume that equal number of voters goes for polling as they went is past and that number is 82. Now 82/90=91.11% voting. Same maths is dished out in markets. Lower base, higher growth.(2/2)

Simple Maths! Unnecessary hype! When 82 voters out of 100 votes, the voting percentage is 82/100=82%. Now out of 100, through SIR 10 names got deleted. Eligible voters come down to 100-10=90. (1/2)

Let me tell you a brief story. Indulge me for a bit. After college, I wanted to see the “real India”. So I worked for a year or so for MIT Poverty Action Lab. In the slums of Delhi and in the villages of eastern Rajasthan. It was an incredible adventure. A Kolkata kid looking at his own country, with the eyes of a foreign graduate. I learnt a lot but there was something I couldn’t quite place my finger on. Later a foreign journalist requested me to accompany him to said villages for a couple of days. He knew I knew folks in that region. He was doing a piece on rural India. When it was all done and we were coming back to Delhi, he said the strangest thing looking outside of the car window. “They all look so happy.” And indeed that was it. The kids in particular looked mostly happy. People didn’t seem that different. Implied in the journalist’s sincere observation was that “they” perhaps should not be happy. But because they were not, in fact, miserable it was a moment of reflection. The poor’s poorness can after all be reassuring to even the best of the non-poor. Don’t get me wrong. Poverty is something very real. India scores relatively low on happiness indices, however dubious they are. Wealth matters. Charity (“philanthropy”) matters. I may not have done as much as you, but I did my bit too. And it is fair to say I am obsessed about seeing India become rich. But money is not the only thing in life. The rich are killing themselves too. Some instantly. Many gradually. Your life is cushy, which is great, but the “hundreds of millions” don’t need noblesse oblige attitude. They just need to be treated like you or me. With empathy and not condescension, even if unintentional. Otherwise the billionaire pitying the millionaire is also par for the course. The average Indian is an order of magnitude better off than a century ago. They will get an order of magnitude better still and this time within a generation. They will be fine. Let us do what we have to do silently. Worrying generically won’t change a thing.

@deepakshenoy @vijaythirumalai Totally true ..

@vijaythirumalai Isn't the sure you can travel cos you don't have constraints, an upgrade? Or you decide its not for you, but for others it certainly can be and I can see why. I preferred to have kids but can't say this is what others should do

DINK - quick Q, what do u do with all the time you have & all the money you make? Sure you can travel coz u don't have constraints wrt school etc but how else is ur life better compared to the friends in same position with kids Name one upgrade, I'll wait.

@MohMaya97 @championswimmer Your sounded balanced till you degenerated into a spite full rant on Sridhar Vembu

I have been a student of this guy. He took a couple of lectures for my Machine Learning and Deep Learning summer bootcamp back in 2017-18ish when AIAYN came out. I think he taught me backprop piece. He has also been one of the most active GSoC mentors in Delhi. Truly a tragedy that India lost such a talent. Can’t complain since I am out now too. Tried my piece by being a part of the government org - pushing for changes from inside for 3 years and losing to red tape. I was making pennies while my friends were doubling/tripling their income in the same period. I will be returning back home — but for my Maa and Paa — not for some deshbhakti ka churan. A trade off I am making conscientiously knowing very well the opportunities I am gonna let go. Also, for Mr Deshbhakt Vembu, it was cheaper to move to India than pay the 1.7 billion in Alimony. So stop falling for that stupid gimmick that the fellow is selling. He made his empire by leveraging the arbitrage of exploitative IT services sector, serving clients in the US.