Indra's Drishtikona (Viewpoint) http://drishtikona.com My online journal with thoughts, opinions, comments and more.. Thu, 17 May 2012 09:03:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 Indra's Drishtikona (Viewpoint) http://drishtikona.com/images/favicon.gif http://drishtikona.com en Misplaced Views of Ruchir Sharma about India’s Northern States http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003070.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003070.php#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 10:07:48 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003070.php Ruchir Sharma in the chapter on India’s economy of his widely acclaimed book ‘Breakout Nations’ opines,’The centre of economic dynamism is shifting from the south and parts of the west to the major population centres of the central and northern heartland.’ “In the 1980s, when India first began to reform, economic growth increased from 3 per cent to 5.5 per cent, propelled mainly by the emergence of technology and outsourcing industries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Back in 1981, incomes in the most-developed states were 26 per cent higher than those in undeveloped states, and that gap had grown to 86 per cent by 2008. Predictably, this produced a certain arrogance in the southern states…. Southerners saw themselves as harder working, better educated, and more ready to compete in the world. Bihar became the butt of southern jokes that India could end its running territorial dispute with Pakistan by giving up Kashmir, so long as Pakistan took Bihar too. Soon thereafter things began to change, and in recent years the north has been growing faster than the south. Between 2007 and 2010, the average economic growth rate of the southern states decelerated from 7 per cent to 6.5 per cent, while that of the northern states accelerated from 4.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stormed into office in 2005. Bihar started to function, then to fly. Now its economy is growing at 11 per cent, the second fastest in India, and Nitish is lauded as a model of what a straight leader can accomplish in a crooked state. ….. the formerly dynamic southern states seemed to a hit a wall of complacency. The economy in six Indian states grew faster than 10 per cent in 2010, but none of them were in the south. Even when India’s growth dipped to 6.9 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 2012, the northern states as a whole showed a slight year-on-year acceleration, with the bulk of the deceleration attributable to the west and the south. (Interestingly,) India’s southern states still have a per capita income only slightly above the national average of $1,400. Literacy rates are rising faster in the north than the south, evidence that the new leadership is taking advantage of their demographic potential: half of India’s under-15 population resides in just five underdeveloped states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa.” While the Ruchir Sharma’s statistics might be right, I don’t find the Northern states coming up anywhere near to the Southern states. And my main skeptism is due to poor standard of education that can certainly not only be gauged by the increasing literacy or demographic potential. The standard of primary and secondary education in the Northern states that is much less urbanized than the south remains extremely poor. It’s more so because of the quality of teachers and the absence of any measure to make them accountable or motivated. The GER in higher education is dismal with gross neglect in creating intake capacity over the years for quality higher education, particularly in professional courses such as engineering and medicine or specialized science and financial subjects. The states have hardly taken any significant step to improve the learning atmosphere in the colleges at large that admit students for pass course humanity and science courses but do hardly ensure regular teaching by quality teachers to complete the curricula. All the thrust is still on making the students pass examinations by any means, even the unfair ones knowing fully-well the uselessness of such certificates for becoming employable or helping anyway in self employment. While in US I get more and more convinced that the explosion of professional colleges in thousands in Southern states not only catered to the students of the northern states but also provided the manpower requirement of the developed countries such as US and UK. Majority of the NRIs among the doctors, engineers, bankers and other professionals are from the Southern states. Even the list of distinguished American Indians in any field of activities consists of the persons with origin in Southern states. Northern states and particularly their politicians must do better than what Southern states have achieved in higher education to compete and get into the category of developed states. (Andhra Pradesh, which has 705 engineering colleges with the capacity of 3,04,200 students.) For India, the cost of illiteracy is $53.56 Billion. Can someone estimate the potential GDP rise with enrolment ratio of the students getting into higher education going up to 50%? It is anything between 12 to 20 percent, as the data appearing in media keep on giving different figure. Is my expectation very high? The US has already a ratio of 84%. ]]> Ruchir Sharma in the chapter on India’s economy of his widely acclaimed book ‘Breakout Nations’ opines,’The centre of economic dynamism is shifting from the south and parts of the west to the major population centres of the central and northern heartland.’ “In the 1980s, when India first began to reform, economic growth increased from 3 per cent to 5.5 per cent, propelled mainly by the emergence of technology and outsourcing industries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Back in 1981, incomes in the most-developed states were 26 per cent higher than those in undeveloped states, and that gap had grown to 86 per cent by 2008. Predictably, this produced a certain arrogance in the southern states…. Southerners saw themselves as harder working, better educated, and more ready to compete in the world. Bihar became the butt of southern jokes that India could end its running territorial dispute with Pakistan by giving up Kashmir, so long as Pakistan took Bihar too. Soon thereafter things began to change, and in recent years the north has been growing faster than the south. Between 2007 and 2010, the average economic growth rate of the southern states decelerated from 7 per cent to 6.5 per cent, while that of the northern states accelerated from 4.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stormed into office in 2005. Bihar started to function, then to fly. Now its economy is growing at 11 per cent, the second fastest in India, and Nitish is lauded as a model of what a straight leader can accomplish in a crooked state. ….. the formerly dynamic southern states seemed to a hit a wall of complacency. The economy in six Indian states grew faster than 10 per cent in 2010, but none of them were in the south. Even when India’s growth dipped to 6.9 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 2012, the northern states as a whole showed a slight year-on-year acceleration, with the bulk of the deceleration attributable to the west and the south. (Interestingly,) India’s southern states still have a per capita income only slightly above the national average of $1,400. Literacy rates are rising faster in the north than the south, evidence that the new leadership is taking advantage of their demographic potential: half of India’s under-15 population resides in just five underdeveloped states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa.” While the Ruchir Sharma’s statistics might be right, I don’t find the Northern states coming up anywhere near to the Southern states. And my main skeptism is due to poor standard of education that can certainly not only be gauged by the increasing literacy or demographic potential. The standard of primary and secondary education in the Northern states that is much less urbanized than the south remains extremely poor. It’s more so because of the quality of teachers and the absence of any measure to make them accountable or motivated. The GER in higher education is dismal with gross neglect in creating intake capacity over the years for quality higher education, particularly in professional courses such as engineering and medicine or specialized science and financial subjects. The states have hardly taken any significant step to improve the learning atmosphere in the colleges at large that admit students for pass course humanity and science courses but do hardly ensure regular teaching by quality teachers to complete the curricula. All the thrust is still on making the students pass examinations by any means, even the unfair ones knowing fully-well the uselessness of such certificates for becoming employable or helping anyway in self employment. While in US I get more and more convinced that the explosion of professional colleges in thousands in Southern states not only catered to the students of the northern states but also provided the manpower requirement of the developed countries such as US and UK. Majority of the NRIs among the doctors, engineers, bankers and other professionals are from the Southern states. Even the list of distinguished American Indians in any field of activities consists of the persons with origin in Southern states. Northern states and particularly their politicians must do better than what Southern states have achieved in higher education to compete and get into the category of developed states. (Andhra Pradesh, which has 705 engineering colleges with the capacity of 3,04,200 students.) For India, the cost of illiteracy is $53.56 Billion. Can someone estimate the potential GDP rise with enrolment ratio of the students getting into higher education going up to 50%? It is anything between 12 to 20 percent, as the data appearing in media keep on giving different figure. Is my expectation very high? The US has already a ratio of 84%. ]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003070.php/feed/ India- The Reasons to be Hopeful http://drishtikona.com/archives/industrymanagement/003061.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/industrymanagement/003061.php#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 05:11:01 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/industrymanagement/003061.php Some have returned to reinvent new careers in India even on meager remuneration. Some instead of opting for working as a cog in the wheel on salaried assignments in respected companies decided to go for their own enterprise to try out their own idea of business and are making waves with their futuristic ideas and innovations. The story of Anish Joel, who runs My Earth Store in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, is one. My Earth store promotes organic and eco-friendly products made by NGOs and rural communities. Foradian, a small-town venture at Kasargod near Mangalore is another example. Some of the young men and women had worked hard as students and got over the hurdles of the most difficult entrance tests of the world and had joined IITs, IIMs with many sweet dreams, passed out with laurels that would have fetched huge salaries and the opportunities to work in the coveted MNCs to lead a comfortable life. However, they decided to work under the government scheme to spend 2 years assisting collectors in Maoist areas. 5 IIM graduates passing out in 2012 have decided to revamp the entire education system through their unique business models. And the few of the farmers took risk and went for a new way to farm. Darvespura village in Nalanda district of Bihar has added another first to its name by setting a world record in potato yield. The name sake of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has harvested 72.9 tonnes of potato per hectare surpassing the earlier yield record of 45 tonnes per hectare held by farmers in the Netherlands. And it is not true that India lags in R&D. India currently has an R&D talent pool base of over 200,000 engineers growing at an average of 9 per cent a year for the last five years. Further the R&D segment witnessed a 13% salary hike and has managed to control attrition levels. The data show the satisfaction and achievement of the researchers. According to Zinnov, nearly half of the world's largest R&D spenders have their centres in India. Interestingly, many non-US companies have started looking at the country as a viable R&D investment option and planning to set up R&D centres in this lucrative market. At present, about 28 per cent companies with HQ in Japan, EU and APAC have their centres in India and this is likely to increase. India’s indigenous development of the products for the security of the nation showcases the potentials of Indians. India has successfully carried out the maiden test flight of its second indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft in Brazil. India is well ahead with its nuclear triad (ability to launch strategic weapons from land, air and sea). However, the indigenous nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant will kick off sea trials this year. There are also certain achievements that must make every Indian proud. Perhaps India is unique in conducting all its election electronically on EVMs even with its largest electorate in world. India has also undertaken the Unique ID programme, which will enrolled its 1.2 billion population. The platform is designed internet-like to enable a huge range of vendors (currently government, but in the future who knows) to create applications to deliver services — public distribution system, subsidies to farmers, education vouchers, drivers’ licences, whatever. In addition to the huge boost to empowerment, this will do wonders for the budget deficit, always the single biggest constraint on India’s growth. The double-digit dream will still become a reality. The thought of India becoming an economic superpower is no longer outlandish. Some have freedom to differ, and some questions, ‘Who says India wants to be a superpower’? ]]> Some have returned to reinvent new careers in India even on meager remuneration. Some instead of opting for working as a cog in the wheel on salaried assignments in respected companies decided to go for their own enterprise to try out their own idea of business and are making waves with their futuristic ideas and innovations. The story of Anish Joel, who runs My Earth Store in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, is one. My Earth store promotes organic and eco-friendly products made by NGOs and rural communities. Foradian, a small-town venture at Kasargod near Mangalore is another example. Some of the young men and women had worked hard as students and got over the hurdles of the most difficult entrance tests of the world and had joined IITs, IIMs with many sweet dreams, passed out with laurels that would have fetched huge salaries and the opportunities to work in the coveted MNCs to lead a comfortable life. However, they decided to work under the government scheme to spend 2 years assisting collectors in Maoist areas. 5 IIM graduates passing out in 2012 have decided to revamp the entire education system through their unique business models. And the few of the farmers took risk and went for a new way to farm. Darvespura village in Nalanda district of Bihar has added another first to its name by setting a world record in potato yield. The name sake of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has harvested 72.9 tonnes of potato per hectare surpassing the earlier yield record of 45 tonnes per hectare held by farmers in the Netherlands. And it is not true that India lags in R&D. India currently has an R&D talent pool base of over 200,000 engineers growing at an average of 9 per cent a year for the last five years. Further the R&D segment witnessed a 13% salary hike and has managed to control attrition levels. The data show the satisfaction and achievement of the researchers. According to Zinnov, nearly half of the world's largest R&D spenders have their centres in India. Interestingly, many non-US companies have started looking at the country as a viable R&D investment option and planning to set up R&D centres in this lucrative market. At present, about 28 per cent companies with HQ in Japan, EU and APAC have their centres in India and this is likely to increase. India’s indigenous development of the products for the security of the nation showcases the potentials of Indians. India has successfully carried out the maiden test flight of its second indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft in Brazil. India is well ahead with its nuclear triad (ability to launch strategic weapons from land, air and sea). However, the indigenous nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant will kick off sea trials this year. There are also certain achievements that must make every Indian proud. Perhaps India is unique in conducting all its election electronically on EVMs even with its largest electorate in world. India has also undertaken the Unique ID programme, which will enrolled its 1.2 billion population. The platform is designed internet-like to enable a huge range of vendors (currently government, but in the future who knows) to create applications to deliver services — public distribution system, subsidies to farmers, education vouchers, drivers’ licences, whatever. In addition to the huge boost to empowerment, this will do wonders for the budget deficit, always the single biggest constraint on India’s growth. The double-digit dream will still become a reality. The thought of India becoming an economic superpower is no longer outlandish. Some have freedom to differ, and some questions, ‘Who says India wants to be a superpower’? ]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/industrymanagement/003061.php/feed/ Love for Alumni and Alma Mater http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003056.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003056.php#comments Sat, 31 Mar 2012 09:14:02 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003056.php a news report about one ‘Ravi Rishi, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi who went on to own the London-headquartered consortium Vectra — a multinational conglomerate with interests in everything from private aviation to luxury apartments.’ It was in the context of the explosive interview of Chief of the Army Staff General V.K. Singh that got published in the Hindu. He referred to the substandard quality of Tatra Truck. And Tatra is in India because of Ravi Rishi. I had felt almost miserable when I read about illustrious former MCKinsey’s head, Rajat Gupta’s misery because of his closeness with Rajratnam. I was then in USA with my son, Anand and I had come across the article in Fortune in a Barnes and Nobles book shop. I wrote about my views then. Perhaps, the Alumni Meet of our 1961 batch last year in Bangaluru further aggravated my weakness. Recently, I came across a review of a book- ‘The Game Changers’ in Business Standard by the former director of IIT, Delhi. I purchased on line and got the book. Two students of IIT, Kharagpur, with an alumnus of the instittute have written the book that contains the profiles of 20 distinguished alumni of IIT, Kharagpur: Suhas Patil, Vijay Kumar, Vinod Gupta, Sam Dalal, Sridhar Mitta, Arjun Malhotra, Kiran Seth, Prabhakant Sinha, Ranbir Singh Gupta, Bikram Dasgupta, founder of Globsyn, Praful Kulkarni, Sunil Gaitonde, Anand Deshpande, Arvind Kejriwal, Harish Hande, Anuradha Acharya, Venkata Subramanian, Bikash Barai, Vikram Kumar, and Krishna Mehra.. I am going through it and the success story of each of them is giving me immense happiness. I did not know that the present governor of Reserve Bank, D. Subbarao is also from IIT, Kharagpur. He is one of those who go for IAS after studying Physics. I am sure Subbarao would have also excelled if he could have pursued physics and might have become a distinguished physicists. The ‘The Game Changers’ has Arvind Kejriwal also as one of the distinguished IITians. Kejriwal has become a household name today in India after Anna’s protest movement against corruption. Arvind after IIT had also preferred to get into the union public services as career and perhaps very soon got disenchanted. Interestingly, he was the batch mate of Rakesh, my eldest son who is now in USA and having his own enterprise. For the writers of ‘The Game Changers’, the selection of the twenty out of a huge number of the alumni IITians must have been very arduous and stressful also. I get reminded of Prof Braj Bhushan Pandey who received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at Diamond Jubilee function last year. Prof Pandey still attached with the institute. Another distinguished alumnus that the writers would have covered is Lord Bhattacharya. Purnendu Chatterji was also equally deserving. There must be many more equally or more distinguished. The writers would have their own reasons or reservations. I wish some researchers one day would work on finding out some of the IITians who failed in life. Will it not be a unique and noble research? ]]> a news report about one ‘Ravi Rishi, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi who went on to own the London-headquartered consortium Vectra — a multinational conglomerate with interests in everything from private aviation to luxury apartments.’ It was in the context of the explosive interview of Chief of the Army Staff General V.K. Singh that got published in the Hindu. He referred to the substandard quality of Tatra Truck. And Tatra is in India because of Ravi Rishi. I had felt almost miserable when I read about illustrious former MCKinsey’s head, Rajat Gupta’s misery because of his closeness with Rajratnam. I was then in USA with my son, Anand and I had come across the article in Fortune in a Barnes and Nobles book shop. I wrote about my views then. Perhaps, the Alumni Meet of our 1961 batch last year in Bangaluru further aggravated my weakness. Recently, I came across a review of a book- ‘The Game Changers’ in Business Standard by the former director of IIT, Delhi. I purchased on line and got the book. Two students of IIT, Kharagpur, with an alumnus of the instittute have written the book that contains the profiles of 20 distinguished alumni of IIT, Kharagpur: Suhas Patil, Vijay Kumar, Vinod Gupta, Sam Dalal, Sridhar Mitta, Arjun Malhotra, Kiran Seth, Prabhakant Sinha, Ranbir Singh Gupta, Bikram Dasgupta, founder of Globsyn, Praful Kulkarni, Sunil Gaitonde, Anand Deshpande, Arvind Kejriwal, Harish Hande, Anuradha Acharya, Venkata Subramanian, Bikash Barai, Vikram Kumar, and Krishna Mehra.. I am going through it and the success story of each of them is giving me immense happiness. I did not know that the present governor of Reserve Bank, D. Subbarao is also from IIT, Kharagpur. He is one of those who go for IAS after studying Physics. I am sure Subbarao would have also excelled if he could have pursued physics and might have become a distinguished physicists. The ‘The Game Changers’ has Arvind Kejriwal also as one of the distinguished IITians. Kejriwal has become a household name today in India after Anna’s protest movement against corruption. Arvind after IIT had also preferred to get into the union public services as career and perhaps very soon got disenchanted. Interestingly, he was the batch mate of Rakesh, my eldest son who is now in USA and having his own enterprise. For the writers of ‘The Game Changers’, the selection of the twenty out of a huge number of the alumni IITians must have been very arduous and stressful also. I get reminded of Prof Braj Bhushan Pandey who received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at Diamond Jubilee function last year. Prof Pandey still attached with the institute. Another distinguished alumnus that the writers would have covered is Lord Bhattacharya. Purnendu Chatterji was also equally deserving. There must be many more equally or more distinguished. The writers would have their own reasons or reservations. I wish some researchers one day would work on finding out some of the IITians who failed in life. Will it not be a unique and noble research? ]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003056.php/feed/ Indian Scientists & Technocrats: MIT Technological Review http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003055.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003055.php#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 01:41:31 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003055.php (Continued) Every young student seeking higher degree in engineering dreams of getting into Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. I also did once some fifty plus years ago. However, only few are lucky. It is interesting to learn about the way the institute through different initiatives is assisting many countries by pick up its young innovators under TR35 such as India TR35. And now MIT's India TR35 2012 has also been announced. As usual there are three innovators that are recognized a little differently. Their innovations are significant in some way: Anirudh Sharma of Ducere Technologies, Bangalore, has invented Le Chal, which is an unobtrusive navigation aid for the visually impaired. Sharma was declared the 2012 Innovator of the Year. Somnath Ray, of Dplay, Delhi, designed a new tricycle that was designed to be more stable, safer, easier to power and steer, more convenient for ingress and egress, and specifically designed around a secure load carrying with display unit functionality. Ray has been selected as the 2012 Humanitarian of the Year. Venkatesan Oosur Vinayagam of Hexolabs Interactive Technologies, Chennai, has created Mobile Antaksharifor providing easy entertainment. He is the 2012 Social Innovator of the Year. And the rest VSK Murthy Balijepalli from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, developed a novel method to forecast electricity price, grid frequency and load which can assist in making power grids smarter. Anthony Vipin Das from LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, designed eyeSmart, a Web-based application for retrieval of patient records comes in. Sachin Dev Duggal from Nivio Technologies, Gurgaon, developed a platform that could let users access latest versions of software from their personal computer, delivered over the Internet, as and when they need it, on any device. It moves a desktop computer into the cloud. Shirish Goyal, LinkSmart Technologies, Bangalore, has developed smartDNA technology, a tamper detection and originality verification system that can address the security threats. Abhijeet Joshi from National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad, has developed a multifunctional implantable platform that can incorporate several components at the nanoscale to perform multiple functions, such as diagnosis and drug delivery, simultaneously. Nitin Joshi from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has developed dual compartment nanostructures which can encapsulate two anticancer drugs, paclitaxel and curcumin, and deliver them in combination to lung cancer patients. It makes chemotherapy non-invasive. Shaunak Khire of Camber Tech, Pune, has developed a location based advertising platform called Adlibrium that enables small and medium businesses to create advertisements in five simple steps. Unni Koroth of Foradian Technologies, Kasaragod, has developed an open source student information system built on Ruby on Rails web development framework which now has more than 7 million users in over 100 countries. Abhijit Majumder from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, has created a microfluidic adhesive that can stick to the surface as tightly as a wall lizard does. Vikas Malpani of MaxHeap Technologies, Bangalore, addresses a user's complete residential requirements such as searching for an apartment, facilitating interactions within an apartment community, and connecting to relevant service providers. Jay Meattle of Shareaholic.com, Delhi, has created a powerful platform to deliver targetable data and audiences to these advertisers, a demand side platform (DSP) for selling ad inventories. Vivek Nair of Damascus Fortune, Mumbai, has found an innovative way to convert carbon emissions into industry grade carbon nanotubes. Animesh Nandiof Bell Labs India, Alcatel-Lucent, Bangalore, has innovated a Personalized Privacy Platform (P3). Vanteru Mahendra Reddy from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, worked on the development of a laboratory scale flameless combustor. Hemanth Kumar Satyanarayana of Imaginate Software Labs, Hyderabad, innovated Trialar, a digital interactive platform that helps shoppers try out clothes and accessories instantaneously, virtually, and seamlessly Priyanka Sharma of Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarhm is the only woman in the list. Her innovation relates to the design and development of a plastic biochip electrochemical sensor to be used for immunosensing applications. The work presents a low-cost disposable electrochemical immunosensor kit capable of detecting environmental pollutants as well as clinical diagnostics. Sumeet Yamdagni of Instrumentation Scientific Technologies, Bangalore, has developed instruments based on optical fiber sensing technology for structural health monitoring. ]]> (Continued) Every young student seeking higher degree in engineering dreams of getting into Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. I also did once some fifty plus years ago. However, only few are lucky. It is interesting to learn about the way the institute through different initiatives is assisting many countries by pick up its young innovators under TR35 such as India TR35. And now MIT's India TR35 2012 has also been announced. As usual there are three innovators that are recognized a little differently. Their innovations are significant in some way: Anirudh Sharma of Ducere Technologies, Bangalore, has invented Le Chal, which is an unobtrusive navigation aid for the visually impaired. Sharma was declared the 2012 Innovator of the Year. Somnath Ray, of Dplay, Delhi, designed a new tricycle that was designed to be more stable, safer, easier to power and steer, more convenient for ingress and egress, and specifically designed around a secure load carrying with display unit functionality. Ray has been selected as the 2012 Humanitarian of the Year. Venkatesan Oosur Vinayagam of Hexolabs Interactive Technologies, Chennai, has created Mobile Antaksharifor providing easy entertainment. He is the 2012 Social Innovator of the Year. And the rest VSK Murthy Balijepalli from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, developed a novel method to forecast electricity price, grid frequency and load which can assist in making power grids smarter. Anthony Vipin Das from LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, designed eyeSmart, a Web-based application for retrieval of patient records comes in. Sachin Dev Duggal from Nivio Technologies, Gurgaon, developed a platform that could let users access latest versions of software from their personal computer, delivered over the Internet, as and when they need it, on any device. It moves a desktop computer into the cloud. Shirish Goyal, LinkSmart Technologies, Bangalore, has developed smartDNA technology, a tamper detection and originality verification system that can address the security threats. Abhijeet Joshi from National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad, has developed a multifunctional implantable platform that can incorporate several components at the nanoscale to perform multiple functions, such as diagnosis and drug delivery, simultaneously. Nitin Joshi from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has developed dual compartment nanostructures which can encapsulate two anticancer drugs, paclitaxel and curcumin, and deliver them in combination to lung cancer patients. It makes chemotherapy non-invasive. Shaunak Khire of Camber Tech, Pune, has developed a location based advertising platform called Adlibrium that enables small and medium businesses to create advertisements in five simple steps. Unni Koroth of Foradian Technologies, Kasaragod, has developed an open source student information system built on Ruby on Rails web development framework which now has more than 7 million users in over 100 countries. Abhijit Majumder from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, has created a microfluidic adhesive that can stick to the surface as tightly as a wall lizard does. Vikas Malpani of MaxHeap Technologies, Bangalore, addresses a user's complete residential requirements such as searching for an apartment, facilitating interactions within an apartment community, and connecting to relevant service providers. Jay Meattle of Shareaholic.com, Delhi, has created a powerful platform to deliver targetable data and audiences to these advertisers, a demand side platform (DSP) for selling ad inventories. Vivek Nair of Damascus Fortune, Mumbai, has found an innovative way to convert carbon emissions into industry grade carbon nanotubes. Animesh Nandiof Bell Labs India, Alcatel-Lucent, Bangalore, has innovated a Personalized Privacy Platform (P3). Vanteru Mahendra Reddy from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, worked on the development of a laboratory scale flameless combustor. Hemanth Kumar Satyanarayana of Imaginate Software Labs, Hyderabad, innovated Trialar, a digital interactive platform that helps shoppers try out clothes and accessories instantaneously, virtually, and seamlessly Priyanka Sharma of Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarhm is the only woman in the list. Her innovation relates to the design and development of a plastic biochip electrochemical sensor to be used for immunosensing applications. The work presents a low-cost disposable electrochemical immunosensor kit capable of detecting environmental pollutants as well as clinical diagnostics. Sumeet Yamdagni of Instrumentation Scientific Technologies, Bangalore, has developed instruments based on optical fiber sensing technology for structural health monitoring. ]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003055.php/feed/ Indian Scientists & Technocrats: MIT Technological Review http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003054.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003054.php#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:31:14 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003054.php MIT Technological Review is now having an Indian edition, and its contribution in encouraging innovators in India is significant to observe. Here are some of the top Indian innovators selected by the MIT Technology Review India. The best part is that they are all under the age of 35! An in-depth study and the presence of IITians provide hope for future. And to my surprise, some of the best brains still remain stuck with the knowledge sector without getting allured by the management glamour. The India TR 35 programme started in 2010 and in the last two years, has identified 37 young innovators. MIT's India TR35 2011 Alefia Merchant, University of Montreal, Montreal named as Humanitarian of the Year for developing a novel way of screening children as part of community pediatric ophthalmology project at Narayana Nethralaya. Sameer Jain, MGV Dental College, Nashik for creating an innovative root canal machine Ajit Narayanan, Invention Labs Engineering, Chennai named Innovator of the Year for creating Voice device for people with speech disabilities Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan, Microsoft Research, Bangalore for creating a hybrid paper, pen, and digital slate solution for a low-cost digital record management system. Fahad Azad, Robosoft Systems, Mumbai for bridling a duct cleaning robot to improve quality of the air we breathe. Gautam Kumar, RoboticWares, Bhubaneswar named Social Innovator of the year for developing system to detect gas leakages . Pulkit Gaur, Gridbots, Ahmedabad for inventing underwater robot to clean tanks and reduce water wastage. Srinivasan Jayaraman, Tata Consultancy Services, Bangalore for devising a secure system using human ECG to authenticate, identify and diagnose. Harit Soni, Ecolibrium Energy, Ahmedabad for creating smart grid technology to optimize the use of electricity in India. Sanjoy Ghosh, Logica India, Bangalore for building a device that wirelessly monitors and reports vehicular emission in real-time. Manav Bhatia, Alcatel-Lucent, Bangalore for securing the Internet service provider’s routing network. Sushant Sinha, Indian Kanoon, Bangalore for developing a search engine for Indian laws and court judgments. Krishna Gopal Singh, EnNatura Technology Ventures, Delhi for creating ecofriendly printing ink that reduces harmful emissions by almost 99 percent. Mayur M. Sadawana, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai for inventing point-of-care multi-analyte sensor. Akash Lal, Microsoft Research, Bangalore for improving software quality using automated verification. Akshay Shah, Hexolabs Interactive Technologies, Chennai, for process management generator which can create applications on the fly. Deepak Ravindran, Innoz Technologies, Gurgaon, for creating a mobile based search engine to deliver information on any topic. Sagar Bedmutha, Optinno Mobitech, Pune, for developing an intelligent anti-spamming software for mobile phones. =To be continued]]> MIT Technological Review is now having an Indian edition, and its contribution in encouraging innovators in India is significant to observe. Here are some of the top Indian innovators selected by the MIT Technology Review India. The best part is that they are all under the age of 35! An in-depth study and the presence of IITians provide hope for future. And to my surprise, some of the best brains still remain stuck with the knowledge sector without getting allured by the management glamour. The India TR 35 programme started in 2010 and in the last two years, has identified 37 young innovators. MIT's India TR35 2011 Alefia Merchant, University of Montreal, Montreal named as Humanitarian of the Year for developing a novel way of screening children as part of community pediatric ophthalmology project at Narayana Nethralaya. Sameer Jain, MGV Dental College, Nashik for creating an innovative root canal machine Ajit Narayanan, Invention Labs Engineering, Chennai named Innovator of the Year for creating Voice device for people with speech disabilities Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan, Microsoft Research, Bangalore for creating a hybrid paper, pen, and digital slate solution for a low-cost digital record management system. Fahad Azad, Robosoft Systems, Mumbai for bridling a duct cleaning robot to improve quality of the air we breathe. Gautam Kumar, RoboticWares, Bhubaneswar named Social Innovator of the year for developing system to detect gas leakages . Pulkit Gaur, Gridbots, Ahmedabad for inventing underwater robot to clean tanks and reduce water wastage. Srinivasan Jayaraman, Tata Consultancy Services, Bangalore for devising a secure system using human ECG to authenticate, identify and diagnose. Harit Soni, Ecolibrium Energy, Ahmedabad for creating smart grid technology to optimize the use of electricity in India. Sanjoy Ghosh, Logica India, Bangalore for building a device that wirelessly monitors and reports vehicular emission in real-time. Manav Bhatia, Alcatel-Lucent, Bangalore for securing the Internet service provider’s routing network. Sushant Sinha, Indian Kanoon, Bangalore for developing a search engine for Indian laws and court judgments. Krishna Gopal Singh, EnNatura Technology Ventures, Delhi for creating ecofriendly printing ink that reduces harmful emissions by almost 99 percent. Mayur M. Sadawana, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai for inventing point-of-care multi-analyte sensor. Akash Lal, Microsoft Research, Bangalore for improving software quality using automated verification. Akshay Shah, Hexolabs Interactive Technologies, Chennai, for process management generator which can create applications on the fly. Deepak Ravindran, Innoz Technologies, Gurgaon, for creating a mobile based search engine to deliver information on any topic. Sagar Bedmutha, Optinno Mobitech, Pune, for developing an intelligent anti-spamming software for mobile phones. =To be continued]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003054.php/feed/ An Indian Scientist’s Dream http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003053.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003053.php#comments Sun, 25 Mar 2012 06:19:29 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003053.php the article on innovation written by Mashlekar with Late CK Prahalad in HBR where I came across the concept of Gandhian Innovation. RA Mashlekar always inspires. I have also a dream to see India as a super power through innovations. I wish to see a day when all working persons from the paddy fields to the R&D centres understand and contribute with some innovations. At least some will be real breakthroughs that will make India visible in global arena. And for that I would have liked the inclusion of an easy-to-understand course material on entrepreneurship and innovation for school final stage. But let me provide here the dream of R.A. Mashlekar that appeared in one of his writings.
What would be my dream for Indian Science and India in the early part of the new millennium, say for the twenty first century?Obviously, it is of an India, where the basic needs of the teeming millions will be fulfilled and we will move on to the top ladder of the World Human Development Index. What would be the possiblethat Indian Science & India will get in the next century? In my dream,I surfedthe net and landed at the India.com portal. I clicked on ' Nobel Awards', and I saw 'Indians won three Nobel prizes this year. The first one in physics is for the grand unified theory of matter and their interactions. The second one is in Physiology and medicine, for providing the first definitive neuro-biological basis ofthe humancognitive phenomena. The third Nobel Prize in economics was sharedby an Indian Scientist and Indian economist working in India, a country, which has already assumed the position of a knowledge super power by capturing 30% share of the global output of the global knowledge industry. They won the Nobel Prizefor their work in Economics of Traditional knowledge, which beautifully blended economics, science, philosophy and ethics. I clicked on'Community Health', and I saw India became the first country in the world to completely eradicate Tuberculosis. One more click on'Indian Pharma Industry' showed 'The anti-ulcer drug, whichwas basedon a molecule derived from the clues from India's traditional knowledge, maintained its leading global position andposted global sales exceeding five billion dollars.' I clicked on 'Water', and I saw ' Through a sustained effort of Indian scientists, engineers and technocrats, India has succeeded in creating a unique 'Indian Water Network', which connects all the Indian rivers and through innovative methods of water capture, recharge of aquifers etc., Indiabecame the first country in the world to reach perpetual 'Water Security'. A further click on 'Disaster Management' showed ' The recent earthquake on eightRichter scale in Assam had zero loss oflife, thanksto the advanced warning systems developed by Indian scientists and immaculate disaster management systems set up by the Indian government.' One more click on 'Energy' showed' The Prime Minister ofIndia, during the inaugural session of the 100th ' Indian Knowledge Congress', formerly known as ' Indian Science Congress' formally released the Indian technology to harness the massive gas hydrates in the Indian oceans, which will cater to the Indian energy needs for the next two hundred years'. And the final click on 'Research Opportunities' showed 'Indian brain drain has been completely reversed this year. In fact India is in an enviable position of having a queue American and European scholars to join its unique global knowledge production centres in India'.
]]> the article on innovation written by Mashlekar with Late CK Prahalad in HBR where I came across the concept of Gandhian Innovation. RA Mashlekar always inspires. I have also a dream to see India as a super power through innovations. I wish to see a day when all working persons from the paddy fields to the R&D centres understand and contribute with some innovations. At least some will be real breakthroughs that will make India visible in global arena. And for that I would have liked the inclusion of an easy-to-understand course material on entrepreneurship and innovation for school final stage. But let me provide here the dream of R.A. Mashlekar that appeared in one of his writings.
What would be my dream for Indian Science and India in the early part of the new millennium, say for the twenty first century?Obviously, it is of an India, where the basic needs of the teeming millions will be fulfilled and we will move on to the top ladder of the World Human Development Index. What would be the possiblethat Indian Science & India will get in the next century? In my dream,I surfedthe net and landed at the India.com portal. I clicked on ' Nobel Awards', and I saw 'Indians won three Nobel prizes this year. The first one in physics is for the grand unified theory of matter and their interactions. The second one is in Physiology and medicine, for providing the first definitive neuro-biological basis ofthe humancognitive phenomena. The third Nobel Prize in economics was sharedby an Indian Scientist and Indian economist working in India, a country, which has already assumed the position of a knowledge super power by capturing 30% share of the global output of the global knowledge industry. They won the Nobel Prizefor their work in Economics of Traditional knowledge, which beautifully blended economics, science, philosophy and ethics. I clicked on'Community Health', and I saw India became the first country in the world to completely eradicate Tuberculosis. One more click on'Indian Pharma Industry' showed 'The anti-ulcer drug, whichwas basedon a molecule derived from the clues from India's traditional knowledge, maintained its leading global position andposted global sales exceeding five billion dollars.' I clicked on 'Water', and I saw ' Through a sustained effort of Indian scientists, engineers and technocrats, India has succeeded in creating a unique 'Indian Water Network', which connects all the Indian rivers and through innovative methods of water capture, recharge of aquifers etc., Indiabecame the first country in the world to reach perpetual 'Water Security'. A further click on 'Disaster Management' showed ' The recent earthquake on eightRichter scale in Assam had zero loss oflife, thanksto the advanced warning systems developed by Indian scientists and immaculate disaster management systems set up by the Indian government.' One more click on 'Energy' showed' The Prime Minister ofIndia, during the inaugural session of the 100th ' Indian Knowledge Congress', formerly known as ' Indian Science Congress' formally released the Indian technology to harness the massive gas hydrates in the Indian oceans, which will cater to the Indian energy needs for the next two hundred years'. And the final click on 'Research Opportunities' showed 'Indian brain drain has been completely reversed this year. In fact India is in an enviable position of having a queue American and European scholars to join its unique global knowledge production centres in India'.
]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003053.php/feed/ Ashoka Lives through his Edicts http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003052.php http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003052.php#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:16:38 +0000 Indra http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003052.php A Tribute to Ashoka on Bihar Divas FlipKart has become my favourite e-shop for books. Recently after getting first Chanakya Chant, I got Ashoka, and then Mudrarakhash, a Hindi translation of Bishakhadutt drama on the historical story of Chanakya. I have finished reading Ashoka by Charles Allen today. Allen Turner very rightly propounds, “Ashoka may be said to be India’s founding father, being the first ruler to forge India into a single nation state. Emperor Ashoka espoused non-violence and the utterly novel concept of conquest by moral force alone-and he was very probably the first ruler in history to establish a welfare state.” The main characters of the books, Chanakya, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka have been my heroes for years. The source materials for Chandragupta Maurya are Puranas, Megasthanes’ Indica, Kautilya’s Arthshastra and ‘Mudraraksha’. Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus I in the court of Chandragupta Maurya authored Indica. Later writers such as Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny refer to Indica in their works. To Greeks, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokyptos, Sandrokottos or Androcottus. Allen’s ‘Ashoka’ is a superbly written story how the hardworking British officers of East India Company dug out the historical personalities of Ashoka, Chandragupta and Chanakya that got lost in Indian history from the debris. The missionary zeal of the British officers along with their official assignments took interest in revealing the puzzles of the Indian history too through excavations. Allen has covered the archeological discoveries of every object related to Ashoka from all over India and even Sri Lanka. The source materials for Ashoka’s story are the early Buddhist scriptures and historical literature from Shri Lanka and Ashoka’s edicts on rocks and pillars that he himself got inscribed during his reign almost all over his empire. A Map of Ashoka Empire Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus I in the court of Chandragupta Maurya authored Indica. Later writers such as Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny refer to Indica in their works. To Greeks, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokyptos, Sandrokottos or Androcottus But Allen has covered the discovery of each of the major pillars and rock edicts-major as well as minor more than thirty or so and how the written content was deciphered and finally they did also come across the name of the person who got them inscribed. “In Pillar Edict 2 Ashoka even asks rhetorically, ‘what constitutes Dharma?’ and sums it up as ‘little evil, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness and purity’=to which he adds from Rock Edict 1,’much self0examination, much respect, much fear (of evil) and much enthusiasm’. Not so much as a word about prayers, offerings, sacrifices, rituals or gods.” And on Ashoka’s secular approach, Allen refers to Pillar Edict 6, ‘I have honoured all religions with various honours’, and Pillar Edict 7, ‘My DharmaMahamatras too are occupied with various good works among the ascetics and householders of all religions’. Ashoka ends Pillar Edict 7 with closing words: “Beloved-of-Gods says: Wherever there are stone pillars or some slabs, there this Dharam edict is to be engraved so that it may long endure. It has been engraved so that it may endure as long as my sons and great grandsons live and as long as the sun and the moon shine, and so that people may practice it as instructed. For by practicing it happiness will be attained in this world and the next.” Allen has also written a chapter on the burning of the Nalanda library. Nalanda had exhaustive repository of Buddhist knowledge in the world, housed in three multi-storied libraries: the Ratnasagara, the Ratnadadhi and the Ratnaranjaka. “Muhammad Bakhtaiyar sent a messenger to enquire if Nalanda’s libraries contained a copy of the Quran. On learning that they did not, he ordered the destruction and put the entire site, extending over many acres, to the torch. The task of burning the library took several months.” Allen’s book in his note provides another story: “The last known eyewitness of the fate of Nalanda was a Tibetan monk named Dharamaswamin. Arriving at Nalanda in the year 1235, he found just one survivor, a ninety-year-old monk named Rahul Sribhadra who was teaching a small class of acolytes from a Sanskrit grammar- the only manuscript to have survived the great fire. Dharamaswamin stayed on to study, only for the class to break up in panic when it was reported that Turk raiders were heading their way. Dharamaswamin carried his elderly teacher into hiding, and when the two returned to Nalanda they found the rest of the class had fled. Having taught Dharamaswamin all he knew, the aged monk handed him his copy of the Sanskrit grammar and told him to return to Tibet.” How can any religion preach heinous task of burning books with various types of knowledge and literature, or sculpture, and architectural wonders that causes irreparable damage? Perhaps Mauryas were the most secular of the kings. Chandragupta Maurya started with Brahmin Chanakya, but later on followed Jain Guru. Ashoka too started with Brahmin, the grandson of Chanakya, Radhagupta but ended with Buddhism. What could have been a better subject to write on Bihar Divas? ]]> A Tribute to Ashoka on Bihar Divas FlipKart has become my favourite e-shop for books. Recently after getting first Chanakya Chant, I got Ashoka, and then Mudrarakhash, a Hindi translation of Bishakhadutt drama on the historical story of Chanakya. I have finished reading Ashoka by Charles Allen today. Allen Turner very rightly propounds, “Ashoka may be said to be India’s founding father, being the first ruler to forge India into a single nation state. Emperor Ashoka espoused non-violence and the utterly novel concept of conquest by moral force alone-and he was very probably the first ruler in history to establish a welfare state.” The main characters of the books, Chanakya, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka have been my heroes for years. The source materials for Chandragupta Maurya are Puranas, Megasthanes’ Indica, Kautilya’s Arthshastra and ‘Mudraraksha’. Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus I in the court of Chandragupta Maurya authored Indica. Later writers such as Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny refer to Indica in their works. To Greeks, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokyptos, Sandrokottos or Androcottus. Allen’s ‘Ashoka’ is a superbly written story how the hardworking British officers of East India Company dug out the historical personalities of Ashoka, Chandragupta and Chanakya that got lost in Indian history from the debris. The missionary zeal of the British officers along with their official assignments took interest in revealing the puzzles of the Indian history too through excavations. Allen has covered the archeological discoveries of every object related to Ashoka from all over India and even Sri Lanka. The source materials for Ashoka’s story are the early Buddhist scriptures and historical literature from Shri Lanka and Ashoka’s edicts on rocks and pillars that he himself got inscribed during his reign almost all over his empire. A Map of Ashoka Empire Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus I in the court of Chandragupta Maurya authored Indica. Later writers such as Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny refer to Indica in their works. To Greeks, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokyptos, Sandrokottos or Androcottus But Allen has covered the discovery of each of the major pillars and rock edicts-major as well as minor more than thirty or so and how the written content was deciphered and finally they did also come across the name of the person who got them inscribed. “In Pillar Edict 2 Ashoka even asks rhetorically, ‘what constitutes Dharma?’ and sums it up as ‘little evil, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness and purity’=to which he adds from Rock Edict 1,’much self0examination, much respect, much fear (of evil) and much enthusiasm’. Not so much as a word about prayers, offerings, sacrifices, rituals or gods.” And on Ashoka’s secular approach, Allen refers to Pillar Edict 6, ‘I have honoured all religions with various honours’, and Pillar Edict 7, ‘My DharmaMahamatras too are occupied with various good works among the ascetics and householders of all religions’. Ashoka ends Pillar Edict 7 with closing words: “Beloved-of-Gods says: Wherever there are stone pillars or some slabs, there this Dharam edict is to be engraved so that it may long endure. It has been engraved so that it may endure as long as my sons and great grandsons live and as long as the sun and the moon shine, and so that people may practice it as instructed. For by practicing it happiness will be attained in this world and the next.” Allen has also written a chapter on the burning of the Nalanda library. Nalanda had exhaustive repository of Buddhist knowledge in the world, housed in three multi-storied libraries: the Ratnasagara, the Ratnadadhi and the Ratnaranjaka. “Muhammad Bakhtaiyar sent a messenger to enquire if Nalanda’s libraries contained a copy of the Quran. On learning that they did not, he ordered the destruction and put the entire site, extending over many acres, to the torch. The task of burning the library took several months.” Allen’s book in his note provides another story: “The last known eyewitness of the fate of Nalanda was a Tibetan monk named Dharamaswamin. Arriving at Nalanda in the year 1235, he found just one survivor, a ninety-year-old monk named Rahul Sribhadra who was teaching a small class of acolytes from a Sanskrit grammar- the only manuscript to have survived the great fire. Dharamaswamin stayed on to study, only for the class to break up in panic when it was reported that Turk raiders were heading their way. Dharamaswamin carried his elderly teacher into hiding, and when the two returned to Nalanda they found the rest of the class had fled. Having taught Dharamaswamin all he knew, the aged monk handed him his copy of the Sanskrit grammar and told him to return to Tibet.” How can any religion preach heinous task of burning books with various types of knowledge and literature, or sculpture, and architectural wonders that causes irreparable damage? Perhaps Mauryas were the most secular of the kings. Chandragupta Maurya started with Brahmin Chanakya, but later on followed Jain Guru. Ashoka too started with Brahmin, the grandson of Chanakya, Radhagupta but ended with Buddhism. What could have been a better subject to write on Bihar Divas? ]]> http://drishtikona.com/archives/employmenteducation/003052.php/feed/