Fundamatics

Blog

  • Demonisation of Demonetisation

    Demonisation of Demonetisation

    I am Bankim Biswas and what I write is a lot of bunkum and wishwash. For instance, it’s bumkum that I’m an old 500 Rupee note. Old, yes I am for sure. But let’s make believe that I’m an old 500 rupee note numbered 5BP 6350JJ signed by someone called Governor YV Reddy.

    Today, I lie in my final resting place in some obscure vault of the RBI, awaiting my imminent demise in some shredder that will be purchased by deploying my successors i.e. new notes signed by the new Governor Urjit Patel. While I enjoy my last moments of static bliss, I recollect moments of my younger days when I was virtually in a state of perpetual motion. Right from the time of my birth as a scrap of paper and being coloured green and imprinted with Gandhi photos in a minting press, I’ve been in constant motion.

    (more…)

  • From N. R.Kamath to Samir Mitragotri – The Past and the Future of Chemical Engineering

    From N. R.Kamath to Samir Mitragotri – The Past and the Future of Chemical Engineering

    About five years ago, during a ’71 batch chemical alumni meet in Pune, there was a suggestion that an N. R. Kamath Chair Professorship be set up through our donations. Though it sounded good, nothing much came of it. As a matter of fact, we did not even get started on raising funds.

    But then, during the birth centenary celebrations of Prof. N. R. Kamath, Alum Himmatsinhka proposed this cause to a much wider audience. His determination, diligence and persistent effort resulted in the chair professorship becoming a reality.

    (more…)

  • Digital Payments: An Opportunity to Build the Next Unicorn

    Digital Payments: An Opportunity to Build the Next Unicorn

      Photograph by Ruchit Goswami

    As I am writing this note about Less-cash/Cashless India, the Indian media is reporting the great confidence in Prime minister Modi’s government, and the corporate community is showing high confidence in his leadership.  The Prime minister’s office is claiming the reports to be a validation of the acceptance and success of the bold initiative of Prime Minister Modi: the decision on Demonetisation on November 8th, 2016. (more…)

  • Standing in a Queue

    Standing in a Queue

    Standing Guide

    Thanks to our soldiers, who are dying on our borders, and to one man who works 26 hours a day without sleeping, you have been pampered and have adopted a sedentary lifestyle. You think you should be able walk into an ATM and walk out with your money in a manner of minutes.

    Well, times, they are-a-changin’ and as somebody who knows a thing or two about doing totally unnecessary things for hours on end, I thought I should use my experience and pen a guide to Endurance Cashathons, and successfully Standing them. (more…)

  • Note Ban – A Vote Spinner

    Note Ban – A Vote Spinner

    This one was truly a googly, if ever a cricketing metaphor was appropriate to economics. While the impact on India’s economy is yet to be fully realised, there is no doubt that the political dividend has been handsome. What AAP’s resounding victory in Delhi brought home to politicians of all hues, was that India was really Against Corruption. Even the champion of Development was swept away by it.

    (more…)

  • From the Beehive

    From the Beehive

    June – July, 2017

    As demonetisation and its consequences hit news headlines in India again last week, we thought the time was ripe to bring you an issue focussed on the topic. This issue explores various perspectives on different aspects of the note ban – the background, the implementation process, the long-term impact, the possibility of going cashless etc. We have a variety of articles to suit every mood – knowledgeable thought pieces and informed views for when you’ve got your thinking cap on, to humorous ones in a lighter vein that will have you laughing out loud.

    (more…)

  • Demonetisation: The Bigger Picture

    Demonetisation: The Bigger Picture

    In a move which took the country by surprise, the government demonetised currency notes of denominations Rs.500 and Rs. 1000 with immediate effect from the midnight of Nov 8, 2016. This step has been variously praised and pilloried. Politicians took predictable stands and economists are divided on its merits. Parliament was paralysed and the media hyperventilated extensively on it.

    (more…)

  • Cultivating Life

    Cultivating Life

    Recently I noted with quiet pleasure that I finally have a gardener’s hands. Coarse and calloused, with stubborn dirt underneath my chipped, uneven fingernails. A steady reminder of my 62 companions at home clustered together in the balcony and in the three-wide window enclosures that IIT has so thoughtfully provided.

    (more…)

  • Delicious By Design

    Delicious By Design

    The recession made me a rather excellent cook.

    Back in 2007, when I graduated from my masters at the Industrial Design Centre, I chose not to sit for placements (because I didn’t want to be boxed in to one particular discipline at one particular company) and started my own design practice. (more…)

  • Leap of Faith

    Leap of Faith

    “This is it” I told myself, “It’s time to take the leap of faith!” The consequences did not matter. All that mattered was that inner voice that desperately wanted me to take the plunge…and so I did. Suddenly, just like that, I resigned from my extremely promising corporate job and decided to pursue my passion– teaching.

    (more…)