Roshan Shankar Profile picture
Mom: https://t.co/r4qnaJUZRX Dad: https://t.co/RDJRixrV6v Nani: https://t.co/AzAj50yCMN Telegram: https://t.co/rn0UsoedVM
Jun 6, 2021 9 tweets 7 min read
Every app that transports data, things, food, and humans work fine in India without legal backing or ruling funded by cheap foreign venture capital.

@PMOIndia has stopped @ArvindKejriwal's doorstep delivery of ration scheme that gives dignity to poor for the 3rd straight year. All ration is through taxes in India. Direct tax collection hasn't improved. Tax administration has worsened. Crony businesspersons loot the poor regularly through complicated accounting terms and lobbyists. MCPF is very high. Indirect taxes suffocate poor and subsidize rich.
Jun 2, 2021 24 tweets 6 min read
In April 2021, the BJP IT Cell leaked my number to citizens in Delhi-NCR and their networks.

While it became a source of constant irritation, mental torture, and verbal abuse for weeks, it is now a great personalized call center of stories, information, and details.

Thread. People find it difficult to ask for help. If you are polite or kind, it is easier to ask. If you pause and let them speak for the first few minutes, it makes the conversation much shorter. If you answer in English, they get nervous. If you answer with anger, they double it down.
Jun 1, 2021 4 tweets 1 min read
Second wave of Delhi excise reforms notified. Enables an ecosystem of doorstep delivery of liquor, increases specificity in rules of administration, and brings fee rationalization, granular definitions, and workflows in a post-Covid society and micro-brewery rules/processes! Another young competent officer at the helm of this notification. Prince Dhawan, this time. Many suggestions from various stakeholders who partake in the hospitality industry, tech sector, and business of community gatherings incorporated. Glad to see collaborative governance.
Apr 29, 2021 16 tweets 4 min read
Delhi Government has advocated for the removal of state control from vaccination, RWA/college/formal sector vaccination camps, and approval to any + all globally approved vaccines including cold storage ones that Delhi could do.

Still, here's why our vaccine stocks are over. /1 The Government of India made weak promises followed by weaker action on pandemic economic stimulus. Marketed like Merkel's 10% stimulus, it was just a 1% tickle. They didn't take advantage of global oil/crude prices and have bungled our economy. Mis-financed the pandemic. /2
Apr 25, 2021 11 tweets 2 min read
The peak is a fair bit away. It is important to think about oxygen capacity pragmatically in big cities as we collectively deal with a sorrowful burden on our system. There is a distribution problem with O2 as well as a supply chain problem. Some thoughts on O2, PSAs, and more./1 The plants announced by GoI are a bit too late. One still hopes that they get their act together and put out a good contract for private firms in the industrial gases and medical supplies sector. This includes easing taxation norms, improving freight assistance and rule of law./2
Mar 3, 2021 12 tweets 3 min read
Bypoll results of AAP today are important for Delhi's future. These victories tell a story of ideological support and grassroot governance. It's not like any other municipal election in India where the incumbent state government has an advantage. Delhi's not like any other state. The definition of the State is a monopoly over violence. In Delhi, Police is with the BJP and MHA at GoI, LG controls IAS officers who run election for ECI/SEC and local incumbent in the MCD is the BJP. Over years, AAP has carved a niche through delivery and communication.
Mar 2, 2021 19 tweets 9 min read
If journalists were given the freedom to investigate what AAP has been saying throughout, you would see most 2020/1 "new" policy stories 6-10 years and governance stories 3-4 years before. History will judge Manmohan Singh ji. It might miss us dearly. Hope it never comes to that. No one asked Anna ji whether he supported the formation of AAP or not. He said yes inside and maintained his intellectual ego outside. Ask anyone what Anna ji said at the Constitution Club. They've hounded AAP pointlessly for pursuing necessary politics of its time.
Jun 2, 2020 12 tweets 3 min read
Delhi Corona app happened through efforts Health/IT/Revenue Department, DeGS, NIC at GNCTD with volunteer independent freelancers, programmers, software engineers, GIS experts, and graphic designers, delivering tech for social good. A thread on the hands building for Delhi. /1 Delhi Corona is the official platform of the Government of NCT of Delhi providing citizens with comprehensive resources to combat COVID as per mandate in F. No. SS-1/HFW/COVID-19/2020/04/20-28.

Android app is on the Playstore at play.google.com/store/apps/det…

iOS version is next! /2
May 1, 2020 6 tweets 3 min read
The distributed nature of Delhi's public health infrastructure with commitment to universal healthcare coverage allows for capacity and flexibility. Prudent resource allocation, conscientious human resource management and private-public-civil society partnership can work wonders! There are 100 containment zones in Delhi now (with a few de-contained formally). Only 5 lakh people out of 2 crore population and less than 1% area has been put into containment with essential relief at doorstep. Ensures surgical strikes on Corona without at scale inconvenience.
Mar 23, 2020 30 tweets 18 min read
State governments and cities are finding it particularly hard to deal with #COVID2019india #Covid_19 making #IndiaFightsCorona hard on state capacity, finances, individuals and systems. I collaborated with @Tavpritesh and @guptasud to put together a primer for states/cities. Image It is important to know a few basic facts and statistics. Like the difference between Covid19 (the disease), 2019-nCov (nomenclature) and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus). There are some basic statistics that can be helpful based on the state, district, city, town or taluka's planning. Image
Mar 12, 2020 17 tweets 4 min read
The WHO has declared #CoronavirusPandemic. Indian travel bans imposed. Policy and governance response in India through state governments and local corporations will be key to fighting this. Think global, act local. Here's what India can do given unique constraints + conditions. First thing to understand is that the response will need clear command and control, collaboration and community response. It will need rapid learning and acting. Some of it has not even been initiated. It must be immediately and sustained over months.

Mar 3, 2020 28 tweets 17 min read
For friends in media, academia, state, market and civil society, here's a thread on #coronavirusindia #CoronavirusReachesDelhi #Covid_19, here's a thread on the complexity, science, public health issues and city governance and capacity that will help inform your work/actions. The Coronavirus outbreak originating in Wuhan has about 20% severe cases and 2% deaths. This is a heuristic average based on data from different countries. Reports on the incubation period are anywhere from 14-24-28 days. Citizen, community, city, state and national actions reqd.
Dec 22, 2019 16 tweets 28 min read
PM @narendramodi kicked off his Delhi campaign against Delhi's common citizens and @AamAadmiParty with lies, misinformation and fake news about Delhi governance and used #CAA to stoke and spread communalism A-game. Here's a fact-check on his 1 hour 37 minutes speech.

Thread. @narendramodi @AamAadmiParty First up, he tried to create a comprehensive bouquet of BJP's broken leadership in organization and ideas by getting three Cabinet Ministers, 7 MPs and VK Malhotra of yore to appear together on Delhi's platform. For a man who said #ModiVsWho, he has no answer to @ArvindKejriwal.
Nov 3, 2019 110 tweets 70 min read
The #DelhiAirEmergency has brought #AirQualityIndex and #DelhiPollution infamy.

This thread enumerates problems, approaches and solutions for Delhi based on experiences with state, market and society.

RT, reply or email at roshans[at]alumni[dot]stanford[dot]edu to collaborate! The Keeling curve has steadily crossed 450 and unprecedented urbanization increasingly looks like the future of humanity will live in cities. The sustainability of natural resources of water, air, land and energy will be critical to our survival.
May 16, 2019 27 tweets 11 min read
I decided to move back to India on May 16th, 2014 on LS voting day, a passionate decision that paused a personal life and a Ph.D. The 5 years have been interesting though. Here are my #ThrowbackThursday learnings from state and market, delivered as an India talk at @MSFTResearch. Context with information and insight is necessary. Finding a path for dialectic or synthesis requires patient exploration. Its absence causes clashes through argument and debate through conflict. To avoid that on this thread, here's my context + canvas :) Dissect + question away!
Jun 13, 2018 97 tweets 37 min read
The institution of @LtGovDelhi is compromised politically. Cruel and anti-democratic steps regressing Delhi's growth are the norm. Here are 100 reasons why @ArvindKejriwal, @msisodia, @AapKaGopalRai and @SatyendarJain are fasting and fighting for Delhi.

Read, RT and Share. /1 Delhi Government instituted Higher Education Guarantee Scheme, fulfilling its promise to secure a child's education with a government-guaranteed loan of Rs. 10 lakhs, to helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It was stalled for 402 days by LG.

This is criminal. /2
Apr 13, 2018 41 tweets 15 min read
Nirbhaya awoke India's consciousness. Unnao and Kathua might just kill its soul.

It's time to #SpeakUp and demand #JusticeForOurChild. This is a make or break moment of moral transformation.

Here's an unplanned tweethurricane that I hope will make you think and act. /1 The impunity and utter inability of the criminal justice system and sarkaar to provide security or justice to our women and children has been a slow emergency, like strangulation over six decades. #JusticeForOurChild will be a long and hard battle on multiple fronts. /2
Apr 12, 2018 11 tweets 10 min read
Landmark step by @AamAadmiParty's MP Convenor @iAlokAgarwal to further alternative politics and transparency. In a state where corporates, contractors, mafia and dynasty control political power, @AAPMPOfficial is changing the rules of the game to empower citizens. Here's how /1 .@AAPMPOfficial has at its helm @iAlokAgarwal, a daring and well-rounded anti-corruption and social activist. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, his association and leadership in Narmada Bachao Andolan, IAC and AAP is well known and respected across geographies and professions. /2
Mar 28, 2018 31 tweets 6 min read
I stand by students who fight for protection of our rights.

You can find a splice of history, sociology or anthropology to oppose it.

Don't ignore the silent screams of farmers in Bombay, or the restless frustrations of Delhi's youth.

Stand by them. Here's my reasons why. /1 The outcome sought from a democracy should be to fulfill human potential and minimize suffering at the very core, through unique and complex interactions of state, market and society, and possibly set a path to exploration, enlightenment and avoidance of the extinction event. /2
Mar 26, 2018 51 tweets 13 min read
The destruction of the larger than life mythology of a politician is necessary for our future. Myths feed power structures that exacerbate existing problems of social structure in democracies. @AAPKarnataka's campaign is a fine approach to solving this challenge. /1 The transition for India Against Corruption to @AamAadmiParty i.e. a moral transformation movement to a political party working on anti-corruption measures with a democratic lens of the world, was always going to be tricky and messy. /2