Anjuli Bhargava

India

Consulting Editor at Business Standard

Writer and Columnist at Freelance

Articles

Education in India: Why NEP has so far failed to move the needle

1 week ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

Absorb the following statements fully : 75% of Class 3 students cannot read text that should be readable by a grade below (Grade 2 level). Just below 50% of Class 5 students cannot read a Grade 2 level text. A little over 20% of Class 8 students cannot read a Grade 2 level text. This is the state of affairs after 78 years of India’s Independence and five years after the New Education policy, 2020 came into effect for its government school educated students.
Civil Aviation: The Third Wave of Privatisation

2 weeks ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

But as the general elections in 2024 came closer, the plan was put on hold and it is only in February this year that news of the process being revived began to trickle in, announcing the government’s intention of handing over the airports and monetising these assets by the end of FY 2026. As India enters its third wave of privatising its airport assets, there are many gaps that stakeholders have identified that need a closer look.
Public transport to connect our airports

3 weeks ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

Readers might be interested in an interesting piece that appeared in The Economist (tinyurl.com/yckh2txc) on India’s airports and their functionality or the lack of it. But I would like to emphasise one of the most overlooked aspects, a feature in which they lag behind almost all their global peers — seamless connectivity to and from the facility through public transport.
Air India’s flight into training turbulence

1 month ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

In the last few weeks, Air India (AI) added a few more black marks to its not so stellar report card. The Tata-owned airline was in the news after a flight bound for Delhi had to return to Chicago airport after eight out of its 12 lavatories were found clogged and unusable, an embarrassing state of affairs by any yardstick and one that reeks of some kind of sabotage.
Eyeing the Exits

1 month ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

A Turn for the Worse As things limped back to normalcy, some of the financial stress lifted in 2022 and 2023. Yet in some ways, the work-life balance especially for a low-fare airline pilot worsened. Across airlines, commanders and crew said that their duty timings became longer as they waited around at airports and lounges for the next leg of the journey -- a double whammy as they did not earn for non-flying time, yet ended up spending many more hours on duty.
HT Syndication: Eyeing the Exits

1 month ago | htsyndication.com | Anjuli Bhargava

India, March 6 -- Even as more and more Indians take to the air - passenger numbers crossed 160 million recently - there is one red flag that needs attention from all stakeholders - pilot shortage. The pandemic took a significant toll on humanity and like many other professions, many in the aviation sector - commanders, co-pilots and cabin crew in particular - were either laid off or took sharp pay cuts as airlines globally struggled to keep their head above water.
UDAN: Soaring ambition grounded by lack of committed, credible regional players

1 month ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

Launched in 2016, UDAN has benefitted more than 1.4 crore passengers; 619 routes connecting 88 airports, including two water aerodromes and 13 heliports, have been operationalised so far under the project.
A case of multiple failures, at too many checkpoints

2 months ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

Head: A case of multiple failures, at too many checkpoints Anjuli Bhargava In yet another instance that raises more questions than it answers, the director general of civil aviation (DGCA) transferred the director in the directorate of flying training (DFT) to drone operations with no explanation or reasons. The director had taken charge of flying training only in August 2024, but he was transferred on January 30, well before his three-year term was over.
Built by 5 Friends, This Village School in Uttarakhand Uses Films & Debates To Make Learning Fun

2 months ago | thebetterindia.com | Anjuli Bhargava

When Kamlesh Joshi joined Delhi University’s Dyal Singh College in 2007 to pursue an honours degree in physics, he quickly realised two things. First, he had no real interest in the sciences and had chosen the subject primarily due to family pressure. Second, the gap between him and his peers at Delhi University was more like a valley than a schism.
Air India: Three Years Hence

2 months ago | hindustantimes.com | Anjuli Bhargava

January 27 was a big day for India’s erstwhile national carrier Air India and the Tata group’s rekindled ambitions in the airline space. It was three years ago on that day that the Tata’s took back the reins of the beleaguered carrier , founded by the group in October 1932 , to effect a turnaround that would take Air India back to its previous glory.