Betting big

Nandan Nilekani's ambitious unique identification number project is all set to roll and Dilliwalas will be among its early recipients.

Nandan Nilekani's ambitious unique identification number project is all set to roll and Dilliwalas will be among its early recipients. The Delhi government is set to sign a pact with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to issue ID numbers to the capital's residents. To ensure its success, two committees have been formed to oversee the implementation, one headed by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and the other with Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta. The task is humungous considering that while the first batch of UIDs will be issued soon ufffd well ahead of targets.

Given that many in the capital are apprehensive about the objectives of creating such a database, a lot will depend on how Nilekani and Dikshit implement the UID scheme.

Takeover season
The recession in some senses clearly seems to be a dim and distant memory for some bits of Dilli. Cash-rich India Inc has launched into an acquisition spree at home and abroad. According to a study, this year alone Indian companies notched up Rs 1.8 lakh crores in M&A activity until last month. This is 69 per cent more than last year. With Reliance Power snapping up a few coal mines in Indonesia or Bharti Airtel's acquisition of Zain's Africa business, or Godrej buying an Argentinian hair care company, Indian corporates are casting their net wide. Even the domestic market is witnessing both an upheaval and a political sheen, as seen in Sun TV's Kalanithi Maran picking up the profitable low-fare carrier Spicejet.

A hanging matter
Dilli is waiting to discover whether President Pratibha Patil's belief in the Constitution or her nebulous religious beliefs will influence her decision on the mercy petition of Afzal Guru. After all, in her three years at Raisina Hill, she has already commuted death sentence to eight convicts to life imprisonment. Given the political charge surrounding the Afzal case, the government naturally is wary of Patil's response. But since there is no time frame prescribed for the President to spell out her response, the anxiety is extendable too!