BG Mahesh | Mahesh | mahesh.com » government

Should social networking be BLOCKED on the 6.8 million govt sponsored laptops?

bgmahesh — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:39:44 +0000

In the recently held elections in the state of Tamil Nadu we internet companies had a lot to cheer about – major parties in the state promised to give laptops for free to students [Govt could face legal action]. So irrespective of which party would win our industry had to gain, this rarely happens.

India to launch $35 tablet, but MPs to use iPad/Galaxy

bgmahesh — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:38:15 +0000

During June/July 2011 the government of India announced the launch of $35 tablet. It was supposed to have bee in the market by July itself but now it is expected to be launched on Oct 5, 2011. For some reason the entire project has been very confidential – there were no official press releases on the specifications of this tablet. Not sure why.

When will online journalists in India get free housing and awards?

bgmahesh — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:40:18 +0000

The print and TV media in India are no doubt the hot favorites of the governments in India (Central/Federal & State) and the politicians. The government spends sizable amounts of money on the already cash rich newspapers. Most of us in the internet industry have waited to get a piece of that pie (however small is fine, we need a beginning). Few months ago DAVP invited internet portals to submit their credentials to be eligible for advertisements from Govt of India.

Politicians in India still don’t take internet seriously

bgmahesh — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:58:05 +0000

I was reading “The IT Act of India needs to make provision for constituency websites” which talks about the lack of information of the 250,000 electoral constituencies India has (parliamentary/federal/centre, assembly/state and panchayat/local).

Tiananmen Square, Tahrir Square – does India need its is own Square?

bgmahesh — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:16:14 +0000

I came across an interesting piece “Leadership lessons from Mubarak’s failed regime“, written by John R. Ryan, president of the nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership. Not sure how many Indian political parties will even want to read such articles.

Govt to take broadband to every corner of India

bgmahesh — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:17:54 +0000

Read in Mint (Oct 11, 2010) an article titled “Play it again, Sam” which is about Tech Czar Sam Pitroda working on taking broadband to every corner of India. Few highlights,

Which online ad platform should Indian Postal service buy?

bgmahesh — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:34:37 +0000

An interesting read on WSJ, the German state owned postal service Deutsche Post AG has acquired nugg.ad AG, Europe’s largest targeted online ad platform. Deutsche Post delivers about 70 million letters a day will start selling online advertising. I had never imagined a postal service could move into online ad space, clearly shows there should be no limits when ideating.

Commonwealth Games, uncommon expenditure

bgmahesh — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:07:11 +0000

Commonwealth Games which is scheduled to be held in October 2010 has been in the news for all wrong reasons

Cost of hosting games in Delhi: Rs 30,000 crore ($1m = approx Rs 5 crore)

Political online ads to be made accountable in US

bgmahesh — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 05:08:07 +0000

In 2009, politicians in India “flirted” with the internet during the general elections. Except for Shashi Tharoor nobody is notably active on the internet.

In the US, Obama brought a new angle to online advertising during the Presidential elections. When it comes to online campaigning, the state of Maryland wants accountability from politicians (on the lines of Florida),

Bangalore Property Tax Online Payment, thumbs up

bgmahesh — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 05:53:01 +0000

Last year (2009) India’s silicon capital, garden city, I mean Bangalore (very few trees remaining) started accepting property tax on the internet. Delhi launched a similar effort well before Bangalore.

It would be interesting to know from BBMP how many are using the internet to pay their property taxes. The process is very smooth and my observations are,