Ip Bajpai – Author, NDTV.com

Blog: TINA. We Need Lockdowns

IP Bajpai | Monday April 19, 2021

What a mess we have made. All of our own making. Each one of us has at some point been derelict. Avoided a mask, didn't observe social distance or worse, didn't report or test when we had mild Covid symptoms.

Blog: Covid - Treat The Second Wave As An Emergency

IP Bajpai | Thursday March 18, 2021

Today, as the fear of a second wave engulfs us, it seems we have learnt nothing from how the world wasted February 2020, allowed COVID-19 to spread. Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned yesterday that if we did not act fast, this time rural India could be severely hit and if that were to happen our medical system would collapse.

Blog: What Budget Delivers - And Where It Falls Too Short

IP Bajpai | Monday February 01, 2021

This is a budget that promises to boost the economy through infrastructure spend and promises continuity in tax policies. If these hopes are translated by the political will of the Government, then we could see a faster recovery next year. And it's a good idea to keep adjusting spends with receipts so that the fiscal deficit remains within the years target.

Blog: Biden Is President-Elect But He Almost Blew It

IP Bajpai | Monday November 09, 2020

Joe Biden may be president elect, but he and then Democrats failed to generate the "blue wave" that would have swept nine battleground states. Instead, he has squeaked by in four and marginally won another three.

Blog: The US Polls Just Became More Thrilling

IP Bajpai | Tuesday November 03, 2020

A fortnight ago almost every pollster had written off Donald Trump. Today, on Election Day, everyone is not that sanguine. Even "sleepy Joe" has been forced out of the comfort of his Delaware home into a last week of high-pitched campaigning in key states. If Joe Biden loses, the pollsters will be totally discredited; but Joe will be blamed for hoping that an electron...

Blog: Our Obsession With KYCs And OTPs Are Simply MCDI. Get It?

IP Bajpai | Monday November 02, 2020

Unless we fix the small stuff, we will never get the big stuff done.

Blog: A Week Before US Polls, The 3 Possible Outcomes

IP Bajpai | Wednesday October 28, 2020

So has Trump "Biden off" more than he can chew? Probably. But if states are won by small numbers, the Republicans are prepared to challenge every single narrow margin in the courts. And that is the real concern; Biden needs to be over 300 electoral votes at least to feel confident that courts will not overturn his victory by invalidating votes.

Blog: Can Trump Pull It Off? The Odds Favour Biden, But...

IP Bajpai | Wednesday October 14, 2020

The only people who are worried in fact, are the Democrats; once bitten, they don't want to be "Biden" by Trump twice.

Blog: Does Biden Really Need A Black Running Mate?

IP Bajpai | Thursday July 30, 2020

Normally, the choice of a vice presidential candidate doesn't really add much to the winning team, and most losing ones are forgotten. But it could have negative consequences like in the case of Sarah Palin in 2008. So could choosing a black candidate in an already polarised America. It could be the stick that breaks Biden's back. We will know next week.

Blog: Scoring 100% In English - As If!

IP Bajpai | Tuesday July 21, 2020

Since 100% has been achieved, I am waiting for next year when someone scores 101. Then we will really have lost it.

Blog: On Flights Amid Virus, Government's Logic Won't Fly

IP Bajpai | Monday May 25, 2020

India is flying. Again. Some would say finally. Others are not so chuffed, worrying as they are about people dashing from Green to Red zones and vice versa. Yes there is a risk but is the risk greater than the advantages of getting back to business? This has always been the key issue - let people out or contain the virus?

Blog: Lockdown Tales - 40 Days To Nirvana

IP Bajpai | Sunday May 03, 2020

What my grandmother was unable to achieve, what my wife hasn't succeeded in doing in 40 years, seven weeks of lockdown have. From being a hard-drinking, red meat-eating, exercise-eschewing and late-sleeping grumponamus, I have almost completed the circle of virtuosity and am waiting for the angels to descend from heaven and place above my head a shining halo.

Blog: Blog: No, It May Not Be The Best Idea For Migrants To Stay Where They Are

IP Bajpai | Thursday April 16, 2020

Isn't it Moses time for Chief Ministers of the eastern states? How long will they silently watch their people in far off states protesting the lack of food, water, money, shelter, and crying to go home, before they say, "let my people go"?

Blog: PM Modi's Call - To Extend The Full Lockdown Or Tweak It

IP Bajpai | Friday April 10, 2020

What yesterday looked like a continuation of the full lockdown for at least another couple of weeks is now possibly beginning to look like a more scaled version of the lockdown.

Blog: Can India Escape The Worst Of Coronavirus?

IP Bajpai | Wednesday April 01, 2020

While Italy may be a marker, since we haven't as yet had the same experience, it is possible that we may escape the worst of the European experiences because we went into lockdown much earlier and also, we had cut connections with the world even before that.

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