Is Delhi better than Mumbai

The city with a soul, the bustling metropolis that never sleeps, the country’s tinsel town and commercial capital - for years on end, Mumbai has been all of the above for people from all walks of life. The ‘Maximum City’ has also been home to the country’s top industrial houses, produced enough good cricketers and actors and actresses, so much so that for long it gave an impression of monopolising Talent Inc in the country. A well-connected public transport system wired by the railways, with steep realty rates and a high standard of living has only added to Mumbai’s commercial appeal, bringing it at par with the likes of Shanghai and New York. Add to that its resilience, zest for life, cultural richness, active nightlife, and you have the best that you could have ever asked for. So, when consulting firm Ernst & Young revealed in its latest survey that Delhi is the best place to live in among 48 Indian cities, including Mumbai, quite a few eyebrows were raised, and a few hearts were broken. Better infrastructure, long winding roads, numerous highways to deflect traffic congestion, a better travel network in the form of Metro and not-so-high real estate property - Delhi seemed to have scored over the country’s entertainment capital. While Mumbai boasts of paying the most in taxes, it is the Capital that takes the lead on city prosperity index in the survey due to its low population and high per capita income. And while Delhi does have an image of being an unsafe place, especially for women, Mumbai, too, has had a dent in its image equity, after the horrific serial blasts of July 2006 and the deluge of 2005. So, in real terms, does that mean that country’s political capital is better to live in than its commercial capital?

Students can become interns in UID project

After roping in techies as volunteers, and on sabbatical from the private sector, the government's unique identity project led by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has now decided to cast its net wider to even include students in its functioning. "We want to bring in those studying in universities and researchers to work for us as interns for a specified period so that they can also contribute to the success of the venture," Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) director general & mission director R S Sharma told TOI on Monday. "They can work on designated projects as summer interns, for example. We will come out with the internship modalities shortly, which will contain details of the kind of people we are looking for," he added. Sharma said there had been a "wonderful" response from IT companies to Nilekani's request to send some of their best minds to work for the UIDAI on a temporary basis. "We are still processing many of the applications but some have already joined us (on a sabbatical)...we will write to Nasscom thanking them for their help in this regard," he added. In January, Nilekani had requested the software industry body to urge their members to send engineers, having expertise in the development of large-scale software systems, on a sabbatical to the Authority so that their abilities could help fast-track the roll-out of the UID project. Sharma said the UIDAI - which has already signed MoUs with states like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh - hoped to do so with Maharashtra shortly. "Draft MoUs have been sent to all states and Union Territories. Following some points raised by the states, we have also fine-tuned the MoUs," he added. Constituted as an attached office under the Planning Commission, UIDAI's mandate is to develop and implement the necessary legal, technical and institutional infrastructure to issue an unique identity number to Indian residents, as well as authenticate the identity of a person who is in the UID database. As chairman of the UIDAI, Nilekani enjoys the rank of a Cabinet minister.