HUMAN PLAY-NET

By Nirmal Anshu Ranjan New Delhi, March 9 (IANS)  If you are planning to apply online to get your name included in the electoral rolls for a Voter ID Card, hold on -- chances are your efforts may come to naught since the Election Commission (EC) says it is not accepting applications online, at least for now. This digital disconnect of the top election body of the country comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is betting big on its "Digital India" programme by putting more and more people-centric services online. An RTI application filed by me to know the fate of two online applications, including my own, threw up the startling revelation about one of the premier institutions of India, which claims to provide several citizen services at their doorstep. I had applied online for inclusion of my name about six month ago -- on September 2, 2016, precisely -- through the National Voters' Services Portal (www.nvsp.in), touted as the "...

By Nirmal Anshu Ranjan   Nashik (Maharashtra), Feb 9 (IANS)  At a time when there is talk of introducing prohibition across the country, a top Indian wine-maker says the concept has never worked and never will. Rather, efforts should be made to promote wine and beer to wean the people away from hard liquor. "Some states have imposed prohibition in the past and the move has been a massive failure. When will the governments realise that to enjoy a social drink is not same as gulping down liquor," Rajeev S. Samant, CEO of Sula Vineyards, told IANS in an interview. "If there are five million people in a state, out of which one million are alcoholics, that can't be a reason to tell one and all that you can't have drinks. Imposing a blanket ban is a stupid idea," he asserted, mincing no words. Reinforcing his contention, he said that imposing prohibition also means the loss of thousands of crores of rupees in taxes, which help in raising infrastructure, prov...

By Nirmal Anshu Ranjan Nashik (Maharashtra), Feb 4 (IANS)  As winter goes on the wane to make way for spring - a 'tipsy' gourmet music festival here has 12,000 Indian and international visitors flocking to not only tickle their 'wine buds' but also enjoy a rare mix of music genres. Amid the lush green landscape, the 10th edition of the SulaFest 2017 opened to a grand start on Friday in the foothills of Sahyadri mountain range.  The event, that had started as a one-day event in 2008 with 300 visitors, has burgeoned to a three-day festival that attracts a huge gathering of connoisseurs of wine, music and food from far and near. The weekend is set to see around 17,000-18,000 visitors, according to organisers. This year being the decadal year, the festival has been scaled up with more stalls of wines and a stellar musical lineup. At the SulaFest Bazaar - where people buy their preferred wine and liquor from the counters, Bruno Vanzan - the brand ambassador of Antica S...

By Nirmal Anshu Ranjan/IANS New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS)  Just as most of us were tempted to believe that the winter won't be that cold this time round, a sudden change in weather conditions across north India has sent a chill down the spine. Of all the cities experiencing the cold bite, Leh in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir remained frozen at minus 17.7 degrees overnight, while the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir shivered at minus 5 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Manali and Lahaul-Spiti district in Himachal Predesh, Narnaul in Haryana, Churu and Mount Abu in Rajasthan, Nainital Mussoorie and Haridwar in Uttarakhand were some of the other cities across the country that saw sub-zero temperatures. "Leh town recorded the coldest night of the season at minus 17.7 degrees Celsius and Kargil town with minus 15.6 degrees today (Thursday)," said the weatherman, adding that night temperatures could drop further due to clear night sky. "It's so cold her...