Editor, Hindustan Times; comic-book freak; amateur birder; Mint-ex. sukumar.ranganathan@hindustantimes.com
Delhi
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The HT newsroom put out a bunch of specials to mark India@75. For starters, there’s 1947: The road to Indian independence, a podcast anchored by Prashant Jha, featuring experts such as William Dalrymple, Rajmohan Gandhi, Srinath Raghavan, and Durba Ghosh. open.spotify.com/show/2PLudY…
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Every Hindi film song by Lata Mangeshkar, in one graphic hindustantimes.com/static/la…
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7 medals; could have easily been double digits. But as I have repeatedly said over the past fortnight, Indians are competing in sports they never did before; and, most importantly, across many categories, their performance is better than the median. Onward and upward.
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As Piyush Goyal now puts it, people earning up to Rs 6.5 lakh don’t have to pay any tax if they invest well. And with other exemptions for home loans, college loans, etc, even those earning up to Rs 8.5 lakh, maybe even more, will not have to pay any tax at all. To rpt: BIG MOVE
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In his later years, as he became increasingly deaf, Jabba would park himself by the speaker whenever some jazz came on. And then proceed to go to sleep. Lots of good jazz where he is now. 17.11.2009 - 17.06.2023.
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It’s done now — a third of the votes have been counted. NDA at 286 and INDIA at 238. Vote shares of 45.5 and 41.3 respectively.
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Last tweet on this: nearly two-thirds of the vote has been counted. The NDA is at 292 and INDIA at 235, with vote shares of 44.8 and 41.5% respectively. The BJP itself is at 238 and the Congress at 101.
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50% votes counted. NDA at 301 so there will clearly be a third Nodi government but BJP is below 250 which is a big fall. INDIA at 225. Vote shares at 45.1 and 41.4 respectively, which itself tells the story.
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14% vote counted so we have a good indication. Trends available for 527 seats. NDA ahead in 283 and INDIA in 221. Others in 23. This should hold. So NDA will end up with 280-90. Nitish and Naidu are the kingmakers. Mamata holds her own. Akhilesh delivers. And Congress nears 100.
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Thank you. I’m delighted, excited and humbled. This is recognition of the work of everyone at Mint, past and present. @livemint
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And not saying this because of Neeraj’s win; always knew he would. To me, the two moments that made this clear were Bhavani’s performance in fencing and the way the men’s 4x400 team ran.
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20% vote counted. NDA at 287 and INDIA at 232. Vote shares at 46 and 41% respectively. Will likely hold
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A Haryana gang identified terminally ill cancer patients & built an insurance racket around them, which involved taking their dead bodies & making it seem as if they’d been involved in accidents. Long read by @snigdhapoonam and @leenadhankhar hindustantimes.com/india-new…
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Seventh milestone: 8.48 pm; 91% of vote counted. Not much difference in vote share but NDA has 124 seats/leads to MGB’s 112. Only 9 seats with a difference less than 1000 now and BJP leading only in three of these.
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Hindustan Times is the No.1 paper by readership in each of Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, and NCR, and also the No.1 in Delhi + Mumbai combined. Overall, HT is the second largest English newspaper in the country. Our readers make us what we are.
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So, after 28 years, I met my wingee from BITS last night, at the IAA awards function. He got marketer of the year and I got Editor; pretty much how I remember college too!
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Mint turns 11 today. Congratulations @capitalcalculus @CafeEconomics and all the others. And thank you @raju
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Today, @livemint turns 15. What a long strange (and interesting) trip it has been. @raju @CafeEconomics @TamalBandyo @capitalcalculus @sruthijith
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Where Ola threatens the livelihoods of thousands of tech and political writers whose stories are almost exclusively based on questioning their cab drivers
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.@httweets and @theprintindia are delighted to announce an editorial arrangement where some of The Print’s best work will appear in HT, and some of HT’s in The Print. @ShekharGupta
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And if we do what we all know needs doing, the number will be in excess of 15 in 2024. This is the beginning.
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I’m not a structural engineer but all recent airport roof collapses seem to have been caused by flimsy canopies. There is clearly a need to understand loads better and plan for extreme events (high speed gusts; heavy rainfall) etc. This is not an act of God, but the fault of man
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Completed 10 years at Mint yesterday; still feels good coming into work; that counts for something.
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For those who want to understand Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo’s work, there’s this piece in Mint Lounge circa 2011. What really drives the poor . By @CafeEconomics livemint.com/Leisure/hb81C0k…
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Just putting this out there: economy needs to grow 14% a year to double in next five years
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Media is an essential service and HT will continue to work through this crisis, providing our readers with news, expert views and informed analysis — in the newspaper and online.
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I am sorry that the flap (page 1 plus of HT) left out Odisha in the intro, which is a huge blunder. The front page of the paper says it correctly, but that’s small consolation.
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35 years ago yesterday, August 9, 1995, marked the beginning of the Internet age according to most people (it was the day of Netscape’s successful IPO).
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Never a dull moment when @MVenkaiahNaidu is speaking. While talking of migration from rural India to urban India says he was once rural development minister and then became urban development minister.
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A lot of people responded to this tweet saying 14% was too low to call an election. With 97% of vote counted, the NDA is ahead or has won in 292 and INDIA is ahead or has won in 234. This is how numbers work.
14% vote counted so we have a good indication. Trends available for 527 seats. NDA ahead in 283 and INDIA in 221. Others in 23. This should hold. So NDA will end up with 280-90. Nitish and Naidu are the kingmakers. Mamata holds her own. Akhilesh delivers. And Congress nears 100.
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The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world theguardian.com/lifeandstyle…
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I wonder what the Indian government's position is on a private firm using the prime minister's photograph in an ad.
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A thread on the bad air in Delhi, which will soon exceed the level beyond which AQI can’t be measured — 500. 1. Delhi’s air is unhealthy (150-200 AQI) through the year
2. Temperature, wind speed and direction play a role — in winter, the three combine to make things worse. 1/n
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Mint’s fourth editor was there when it all began. Congratulations @sruthijith exchange4media.com/announcem…
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Chandrika Mago was a superstar editor and one of the people responsible for making Mint what it has become. RIP
Chandrika Mago (ex TOI), dear friend & fine journalist of tremendous integrity has passed away. She fought cancer with amazing grit & determination for a decade, working for the Mint till the very end. Even yesterday, she was on her laptop, editing a copy. Farewell, my friend.
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I know it’s the time of the year when the air gets bad in Delhi, but it’s also the time of the year when you can do a 4 hour birding trip (including travel time and a stop for breakfast on the road) and see 104 species — like we did yesterday.
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As two DMs this morning remind me, the only legacy you leave behind as an editor (and I daresay as a manager anywhere) is people.
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Vinay Kamat, now the editor of Khaleej Times will take over as the next Mint editor in February. He isn’t on Twitter but am hoping he will take up @mint_ed which I’ve freeze-dried.
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According to ECI, around 8% of vote counted . NDA leads in 269 and INDIA in 178. Trends available only for 468 seats (others lead in 21) .
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Mint's three Ramnath Goenka Award winners. All superstars. Like many others in the newsroom
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Sending a car into orbit, and to have it potentially discovered by aliens (who may then get a very strange picture of us) is definitely a violation of the Prime Directive. But I like the thought that the aliens will believe “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is our holy book
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The only election that is still open is Goa. With 84% of vote counted the BJP leads in 19 of 40 seats; the Congress in 12, TMC+ in 3, AAP in 2 and others in 4. The BJP is pulling away but leads are still slim.
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I have never heard a CEO or banker criticize a budget speech, any budget speech, on TV. Never.
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The TDP and the NCP have been decimated. The TMC has suffered significant losses. And the TRS has lost ground to both the BJP and the Congress. These parties were some of the main movers behind a potential opposition alliance .
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I have always maintained that @monikahalan is the best personal finance editor in the country — and also one the best editors I have worked with. Best Personal Finance Advice From the New Experts for Managing Money - Bloomberg bloomberg.com/news/features/…
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Cash of the titans: How India’s paper money came to be
hindustantimes.com/lifestyle…
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Why Bitcoin is the largest Ponzi scheme in human history via @htTweets hindustantimes.com/analysis/…
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Congratulations @sruthijith @PrasadScribe . @livemint has really gone places — and without losing its core. @raju livemint.com/industry/media/…
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The economics of Ambedkar, from back in the day when we had Mint on Sunday. By @pramit_b . @CafeEconomics livemint.com/Sundayapp/lzpPl…
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There’s no need for India to panic on account of the Covid surge in China.
Our vaccines work better, our vaccine coverage of older people is much higher, and more people here have already been exposed to the virus. That said, we need to do four things.
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Mint goes broadsheet today -- not just a change in format but a fundamental reinvention of the paper for the digital age. #mintmore
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But just to close the loop, we will assess all claims stringently and fairly if the accusers come forward — and not merely from the statutory perspective but from that of creating a safe and productive newsroom for everyone.
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Is the Congress now a South Indian party? 27 of the around 50 seats it could win are in Kerala, TN, and Telangana
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The last edition of my regular COVID-19 column. I started it in mid March last year. Ended it on January 1. It’s been interesting. Just like the times. hindustantimes.com/india-new…
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25% vote counted in Rajasthan. 16% in Madhya Pradesh. And 12% in Chhattisgarh. BJP comfortably ahead in Rajasthan, is sweeping MP, and has clearly edged out INC in Chhattisgarh. 3-0 for BJP in heartland. Barring surprises , that’s the election. And as expected INC sweeps T’gana.
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3 solutions for Delhi's bad air
1. Stringent building norms
2. Banning heavy trucks from city
3. Clamping down on stubble burning in Punjab
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1000 best BTech students to be made PM research fellows -- to do PhDs in IITs and IISc. They will spend few hours every week teaching in technical institutions
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21 March 2020, our last physical edit meeting before the lockdown, and right, 28 February, 2022, our first physical edit meeting in almost two years. Both photographs by Anup Gupta
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AQI is now 464; schools in Delhi should have been shut today. As this article points out, GRAP has to be reviewed. According to it, the reading has to remain severe-plus (>500) for 48 hours for schools to be shut. Just not on.
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“It is in that rare galaxy of philanthropists that this man with the personal habits of a miser and the heart of an extravagant spendthrift, shines bright. “Azim Premji: A fine balance sheet. Superb piece by @companyoutsider @varunstweets hindustantimes.com/more-life…
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A long walk through one of the last remaining patches of primary oak forests in the country. The birding was good, but the forest itself was something else
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Fourth milestone: at 4.10, around 51% of vote counted. NDA leads in 132 seats and MGB in 101. 21 million votes counted. There are 19 seats where the difference is less than 1000 (NDA leading in 13 of these); and another 14 where difference is less than 2000 (NDA leading in 6)
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Fifth milestone: 5.45 pm; two-thirds of vote counted. The situation has changed a bit and become more interesting. NDA still leading with 124, but MGB now at 110. The difference in 23 seats (NDA leading in 12 and MGB in 11) is less than 1000, so they are swapping the leads around
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Abandoned husky . Found in local market. Fostering very temporarily . Looks 4-5 months old.
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Surcharge on tax for those earning over 1 crore increased from 12% to 15%. #Budget2016
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Distribution issues in many parts of Delhi today but we did publish a paper — and will continue to. Here’s our today’s epaper. Stay informed, and stay safe. epaper.hindustantimes.com/Ho…
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First milestone: as of 11.25, 10% votes counted in Bihar; NDA has won 38.22% of them and MGB 36.12%. Leading in 120 and 104 seats respectively. Just around 4.3 million votes counted in absolute numbers.
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How India’s statistical system was crippled livemint.com/news/india/how-…
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Some big takeaways from my session with @nsitharaman
Compact with states on GST will be honoured; India needs a simpler tax code with no ifs and buts; there will be more fiscal stimulus; wait for budget to see if income tax rates will be cut piped.video/watch?v=6Q25dbt2…
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HT’s special coverage of The Mahatma’s 150th birth anniversary kicked off today. Curated by @dhamini @prashantktm and @ParomaMukherjee and with lots of help from @Ram_Guha 1/n epaper.hindustantimes.com/Ho…
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The two pieces everyone interested in the Indian economy should read before the Budget: @pramit_b 's Indian economy in 10 charts livemint.com/Politics/IMrBSP… and @CafeEconomics 's argument that India is on the cusp of a fiscal revolution livemint.com/Opinion/QaUbaTX…
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Funny how it works; the Vicks obsession skipped a generation — neither wife nor me use it — but this is the son’s bedside shelf.
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All credit for anything @livemint and @Mint_Lounge do should go to @vinaykamat and @aninditaghose . I am just a former editor proud of that newsroom’s work.
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Our interview with Rahul Gandhi. In today’s papers @naqshzeb hindustantimes.com/india-new…
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The truth behind India’s new GDP numbers -- the best piece I’ve read so far on some really weird math. ow.ly/3xGkot
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