For prime minister Narendra Modi and his administration, the philosophy of governance echoes an Apple slogan: "There’s an app for that".
Since Mr Modi’s election in 2014, his government has leaned into its proclivity to launch smartphone apps for its citizens.
There’s an app to follow the status of income tax refunds, an app to track the progress of rural electrification schemes, two separate apps that disburse information about applying for passports, and an app to check if a name is included in the voter registry, among many others.
No reliable tally of these apps exists, but it is safe to say they number in the dozens.
Mr Modi himself engages with his public through three apps: one that is officially linked to his office, another that is simply called the Narendra Modi app, and a third called “Mann Ki Baat” or “Things on my Mind” that archives the prime minister’s speeches.
On occasion, it can even seem as if a new app is the government’s instinctive response to a problem.
Last year, when Mr Modi announced a demonetisation drive that made cash payments difficult, the government introduced the app, BHIM, to enable instant bank transfers.
In May, four months after a soldier in the army took to social media to complain about his unit’s conditions, the government launched a “grievance redressal mobile app” to help soldiers send complaints directly to the home ministry.
The apps fit with Mr Modi’s projected image — of an internet-savvy leader — and with his Digital India campaign, which was launched in July 2015.
Ms Charru Malhotra, an e-governance scholar who teaches at the Indian Institute of Public Administration in New Delhi, said she was at first sceptical of Mr Modi’s new slogan.
“At the time, I thought it was just a repetition of the old slogan, to take governance to people’s doorsteps,” she said. “But when I visited villages and talked to people, I did find that for a majority of [the residents], the government seemed to have come closer to them because of these apps.”
Ms Malhotra said she initially was concerned the apps would reach only the literate citizens that can afford a smartphone, leaving swathes of rural India out of their ambit. However, by her reckoning, India’s base of smartphone users — roughly 300 million — indicates that there is on average at least one smartphone in every family.
Although most literate people are comfortable navigating English-language app stores, Ms Malhotra said more content should be available in local languages.
She also said that the increasing number of apps can become “confusing”.
“I think always: One India, one app. If this plethora of apps is confusing for someone like me, who studies them, imagine what it’s like for the average citizen,” said Ms Malhotra.
In Bangalore, software engineer Sulleiman Ahmed downloads as many government apps as he can. He does this “purely out of curiosity. I want to see what they’re all about”.
Mr Ahmed said that some apps — including those associated with the prime minister directly — are updated frequently and kept glitch-free, while many others are not user friendly, have bugs and grow stale rapidly.
“It’s like they just launch the app and then forget about it,” he said.
The haste to put an app to a service is “part of a deeper problem of confusing outcomes with products”, said Ananth Padmanabhan, a fellow at Carnegie India whose primary research deals with technology and public policy.
“Digital India has led to a fixation with the release of all kinds of products … of which apps are truly the easiest to launch.
“There are also these intrapreneurship programmes now within government departments, where staffers can come up with innovative solutions. I suspect many of these apps are launched as part of such ‘innovative’ thinking by these chaps, making everyone happy in the process.”
The government has attempted to situate itself in a favourable light by using apps, said Mr Padmanabhan, providing an example from the demonetisation campaign last year.
When cash was in short supply in bank ATMs, the government used a number of apps to indicate the locations of “micro-ATMs”, which had been temporarily set up to dispense banknotes.
“But in reality, many were not functional or not manned properly, or were in locations with no internet access,” said Mr Padmanabhan.
The release of an app itself might, however, prompt government departments to “set their house in order”, said Ms Malhotra. “Even if I’m being compelled to launch an app, I have to then build some kind of capacity internally to back it up.”
“It may look cosmetic,” she said. “But these apps are giving citizens multiple windows into the processes of governance. The government is laying itself bare in a way, and that means it will be forced to tighten up its systems.”
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The%20specs
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Joy%20Ride%20
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
