Uniform confusion

Dilli is not always about politics and its practitioners or about the scams and shenanigans of its many movers and shakers

Uniform confusion

Its symptoms are obvious ufffd long queues of anxious parents outside schools, confusion about admission criteria, which neither schools nor government attempt to dispel, and a general pandemonium. Several attempts have been made to "rationalize" and streamline the procedures but every year brings its own woes.

Though in its early days, the trend this year does not promise to be any different from the preceding years.

While the private schools seem to be relieved at being given a free hand in the admission process, there are still no guidelines for parents to their queries on the new procedures. If Mumbaikars face a similar test of nerves and endurance, we would dearly like to know!

Wealth mismanagement
The wages of unbridled capitalism or just a scamster out to make a killing off gullible investors? Liberalisation has led to integration of India with the global economy, but we also seem to be fast catching up with the West when it comes to Ponzi schemes. So Dilli buzzed with rapt amazement when a desi Madoff lured wealthy clients with fake schemes and skimmed off a mindboggling Rs 300 crore before the law caught up with him.

The Madoff parallel is uncanny even if Shivaraj Puri's swindle is nowhere near the scale of the US fraudster.

Though Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has assured that there was no systemic failure, Dilli is wondering how the fraudulent scheme involving high-value transactions go undetected for nearly a year. Clearly, even as investigations get underway, this and similar questions will linger well after the incident has faded from the public memory.

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