MAM
Manmohan’s ex-advisor, scribe Baru joins FICCI
NEW DELHI: Sanjaya Baru, former official spokesman and media advisor to the former prime minister Manmohan Singh, will take over as the secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) from 1 September 2017.
This follows the completion of the five-year term of Dr A Didar Singh who had joined FICCI after his retirement as secretary in the government.
A former journalist, Baru – who was attached to PMO from 2004 to 2008 – is a political commentator and policy analyst, currently serving as director for geo-economics and strategy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore.
FICCI president Pankaj Patel said: “Dr Singh, nearing completion of five years as the secretary-general of FICCI, has been for some time been looking for a relatively lighter role within the organisation and in view of this, the FICCI Committee has decided to appoint Baru.”
FICCI has completed 90 years of its glorious existence growing from strength to strength. With Dr. Singh’s personal efforts, FICCI has shaped up extremely well during the last five years and has been extremely resilient in dealing with domestic and global challenges as well as supporting Indian industry in capitalizing on new emerging opportunities,” Patel added.
Patel said Dr. Singh would now be holding the position of the principal advisor to FICCI president from 1 September.
Earlier, he had served as associate editor at The Economic Times and The Times of India, and then as the chief editor of Business Standard. His father B P R Vithal served as the finance and planning secretary during Manmohan Singh’s stint as the secretary of finance in the early nineties.
In April 2014, his memoir The Accidental Prime Minister, about his time at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) alleged that the prime minister was completely subservient to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who wielded significant influence in the running of the Singh administration, including the PMO itself. The book had sparked off a controversy, with the PMO officially denouncing it as “fiction”. Baru, however, has said he set out to show an empathetic portrait of the prime minister.
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
