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The <keyword id="100214" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jaipur-Literature-Fest">Jaipur Literature Fest</keyword> (JLF), unarguably one of the biggest of literature festivals of the world, ended today. Authors, Readers, writers, journalists and book enthusiasts from India and the world attended the festival. 
 JLF is not just about great conversations but great books, food and merchandise and If you thought <keyword id="6362150" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="demonetization">demonetization</keyword> was in any way going to dampen the enthusiasm surrounding JLF, you're wrong. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/this-iot-device-will-help-you-save-money-and-reduce-your-water-consumption/articleshow/56734647.cms">ALSO READ: This IoT device will help you save money and reduce your water consumption</a> 
 This year to get on the <keyword id="322793" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cashless">cashless</keyword> bandwagon, <keyword id="322457" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="KyaZoonga">Kyazoonga</keyword> and <keyword id="6377963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Freecharge">Freecharge</keyword> tied up with JLF, to give an option out of cash transactions. 
 
The plan sounded brilliant in theory as all you had to do was: 
 
Your Registration Badge was your wallet. 
 
Each badge has a unique ‘Bar Code’, which was supposed to act as a payment gateway at the Festival. 
 
There were simple steps to load your badge: 
 
1) The E-Badges could be loaded with CASH in Indian rupees (INR) or via Indian and/or international CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS. The minimum value for recharges INR 50. 
 
2) The badges may be used for the following purchases across the Festival Hub of Diggi Palace: 
 
Food Beverages: prices for food and beverages varied from INR 10 – 2,500. 
Merchandise. 
Books at the Festival Bookstore. 
 
3) CREDIT / DEBIT CARD recharges had a bank transaction fee of 1% of the transaction amount. 
 
4) You were to receive an SMS on your registered mobile number informing you of the total amount spent. 
 
5) You could also pay directly through an e-wallet (operated By Freecharge) at all purchase points in addition to your badge. 
 
6) You were also eligible for Rs. 50 cash back for up to 6 transactions with Freecharge. 
 
All that sounded well and good until it didn't work. 
 After the first day of the festival, the stalls that were put for festival pass recharges were redeeming the money that people had put in and hardly any stall that I visited for food, books and merchandise agreed to use the Freecharge mobile wallet except once when I used <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayTM">PayTM</keyword>. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/ubereats-is-coming-to-india-this-year/articleshow/56733641.cms">ALSO READ: Guess what’s cooking? UberEATS is coming to India this year!</a> 
 
Some of the card machines weren't also working. 
 
The festival, which was otherwise impeccably organized, failed at the 'cashless economy' part which seemed like an apt metaphor for what's happening in most of the Indian subcontinent. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/why-you-would-want-to-take-a-longer-route-on-your-next-ola-prime-ride-ola-play/articleshow/56690262.cms">ALSO READ: Why you would want to take a longer route on your next Ola Prime ride</a> 
 
Great idea, mediocre implementation.

The Jaipur
Lit Fest tried to be completely cashless and failed. Here's what happened.

<ul><li><keyword id="6355588" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajasthan">Rajasthan</keyword>’s capital, <keyword id="6354779" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jaipur">Jaipur</keyword>, is now home to the biggest tech hub in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>. </li><li>The <keyword id="6821801" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhamashah-techno-hub">Bhamashah Techno Hub</keyword>, big enough to accommodate up to 700 entities with facilities provided free of charge, was inaugurated on Thursday. </li><li><keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">Startups</keyword> in the <keyword id="6530027" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="incubation">incubation</keyword> space can apply for government grants and <keyword id="6357455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> for <keyword id="572926" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="seed-capital">seed capital</keyword> that will be interest-free.</li></ul>The culture and ecosystems for start-ups are being curated all over the world, not just in India, as the value of innovation is increasing. In India, normally it’s cities like <keyword id="6355033" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="bangalore">Bangalore</keyword> and Pune that are looked at for tech startups. But, stretching across 100,000 square feet, the largest incubator in the country was <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/move-over-bengaluru-hyderabad-this-rajasthan-city-is-now-indias-biggest-techno-hub/1290556/">inaugurated in Jaipur on Thursday</a>. This city in Rajasthan is normally acclaimed for its tourism industry and the Jaipur Literature Fest but, with the <keyword id="3569473" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhamashah">Bhamashah</keyword> Techno Hub being able to accommodate 700 newcomers in the startup space, all of that might change soon. More than buildings The tech hub isn’t just buildings where startups can put up shop, but an incubation centre that will foster startups from beginning to end. The facility is geared with internet connectivity, co-working spaces, banking, IPR, advisory support and other facilities - free of charge. In comparison, the tech hub already set up in Hyderabad charges different fees for the various facilities they have to offer. The Rajasthan government, at the time of writing this article, is the only state in the country to offer all the services and facilities free of cost. Other programs, if not priced, require an equity stake in the startups instead. One of its unique features are the Tinkering Labs that aim at nurturing curiosity. Entrepreneurs and inventors can hone their skills in adaptive learning, computational thinking and physical computing using a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. There’s even government funding for students who’re coming out of college and don’t have the capital to develop their ideas further. The government has ₹500 crore set aside just for the funding of startups. One way they do that is in partnership with Bhamashah Technofund, the seed capital is provided to young entrepreneurs without any collateral or detailed evaluation. And, the funds obtained through Bhamashah Technofund are then matched by the government up to ₹2.5 million. There’s also a grant of half a million that goes out to students, to that they can at least beta test their ideas. If students are looking for funds to expand, then those requests are looked into by an external jury. The government has plans to expand the project even further, to include cities like Udaipur, Kota and Jodhpur <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/rajasthan-setting-up-largest-startup-incubation-hub-in-the-country/articleshow/63827216.cms">according to</a> Akhil Arora, the Principal Secretary at the IT and Communication Department of Rajasthan. Almost 70 startups are already work-in-progress across these three cities.

This is where India’s largest Silicon Valley is starting up

<ul><li>India’s two leading political parties have distinctly different approaches to the election.</li><li>But India’s diverse democracy may be tougher to crack than what politicians think.</li></ul>The media coverage of the upcoming elections in India is focussed on a sensational standoff between Rahul Gandhi, the President of the Indian National Congress, and the current Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). What makes this a logical fallacy is the fact that India has parliamentary government. Voters elect local leaders to the Parliament, who then elect the prime minister. BJP is betting on Modi’s charm to repeat the sweeping victory it managed in 2014. Recently, Amit Shah, the President of the BJP, said that the fight in 2019 will be a case of “Modi versus all” describing Modi as the “most popular leader in the world.” Congress has been relentless in calling out BJP’s obsession with Modi. “The issue shouldn’t be about who is going to be the Prime Minister, but who is going to be representing your interests to the government as a member of Parliament. To try and reduce our parliamentary system to a presidential one by saying that its Modi versus ‘x’ or ‘y’ is actually an injustice to the system,” professed Congress leader <keyword id="42749" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shashi-Tharoor">Shashi Tharoor</keyword> at the <keyword id="100214" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jaipur-Literature-Fest">Jaipur Literature Fest</keyword> on Thursday. “I will come with a deep and experience bench of qualified people to work with me and help me solve your problems,” Tharoor said explaining how Congress looks at political leadership. 
	
	
	<div type="image" title="Shashi Tharoor JLF" msid="67685919" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Shashi Tharoor in conversation with Mihir Sharma at the Jaipur Literature Fest on Thursday, 24 January, 2019&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>







 Dynasty politics What Tharoor deftly downplayed was the fact that Congress has been circling around dynastic leaders — the Gandhis more than any other, for decades now. Rahul Gandhi, the current president of the party, is a striking picture of privilege. His father, his grandmother and his great grandfather have been prime ministers of the country. And now, he is in the race to be the next head of the Indian state. Just this week, Congress appointed Rahul’s sister Priyanka Gandhi as the general secretary of Uttar Pradesh East, which is a politically significant region home to constituencies represented by heavyweights in BJP including Modi and the current state chief minister, Yogi Adityanath. The dynastic flavour of the Congress extends beyond the Gandhi family. Some of the other big leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot, who hold high positions within the party, come from political families that have been strong party loyalists for generations. 'Kaamdar' versus the 'naamdar' “It was said today that I cannot see eye to eye with them. Who am I to see eye to eye? I am from a poor family. You are naamdar (of a legacy name), I am kaamdar (an ordinary worker).” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally in Rajasthan two months ago. Modi’s attacks on the entitled Congress top brass yielded great results in 2014. The BJP earned a full majority and decimated the incumbent United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to just 44 seats. Five years since, Modi has cultivated a personality cult around him within the BJP. He campaigns for every election in every state — big or small — even if it is at the cost of time that he would have spent thinking through some policy decisions more deeply. Every party spokesperson showers praises on Modi for every policy decision as if the government has no other minister working. This can be a double-edged sword in a complicated democracy like India. The coming elections As the next election comes closer, the BJP and its allies have lost a lot of ground with the voters. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Modi is likely to lose nearly one third of its seats in the lower house of the parliament — the Lok Sabha, according to a survey. As Modi took all the praise for the victories hitherto, he will have to take the blame for the fall, if any. 
 
 
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 But the rejection of Modi’s presidential aura does not reflect a revival in the appeal for the Congress’ franchised leadership. The votes that BJP may lose in the coming elections, are likely to get divided between many regional parties, other than Congress. No one party is expected to secure a clear majority in 2019, according to the same survey. If BJP wins the election, the narrative will skewed toward blaming Congress for its corrupt past and obsession with political dynasties. If the Congress wins the election, the BJP will be blamed for its high-handed approach to policy making and disdain for communal politics. It is difficult to disagree when Sachin Pilot says, “Nationalism is trying to be equated the Hinduism. And people are needing certificates for how nationalist you are. And people who are reading the contract are deciding how good of a Indian you are… It’s outside the Constitution. We must stand against that.” However, the same people of India voted Modi and BJP to power despite its shortcomings. The same way Congress, which has been tainted by a slew of corruption scandals in not so distant past, is now a party that won three out of the five state polls held in November 2018, just months before the next general elections. While the media can keep asking voters if they like Gandhi or Modi, the answers will never reflect the true depth of the Indian democracy. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/if-india-goes-to-vote-today-the-result-will-be-a-cacophony-survey/articleshow/67681974.cms">If India goes to vote today, the result will be a cacophony: Survey</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-facebook-twitter-reveal-political-ad-spending-ahead-of-the-lok-sabha-2019-polls/articleshow/67651472.cms">Here's how global tech giants are tackling 'fake news' ahead of elections in the world's largest democracy</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Indias-elections-are-rigged-claims-an-American-expert/articleshow/67629226.cms">India's elections are rigged, claims an American 'expert'</a>

Presidential ego or a dynast’s charm — what Indian voters like is still a mystery to the country’s politicians

You Searched For "Jaipur Literature Fest" and got 3 results

The Jaipur Lit Fest tried to be completely cashless and failed. Here's what happened.

Tanya Dubey

This is where India’s largest Silicon Valley is starting up

Prabhjote Gill

Presidential ego or a dynast’s charm — what Indian voters like is still a mystery to the country’s politicians

Prabhjote Gill

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