India’s Demographic Dividend

Posted on March 31, 2008 by indra

The government has been trying to upgrade the skill building institutes of the country since its 2004 budget. And in Budget 2008, one more establishment has been announced. This time it plans to set up a non-profit skill development corporation in private-public sector to harness India’s demographic dividend. The corporation will map areas where there are skill gaps, set industry standards for vocational training in association with the UK-based City & Guilds, and work like a regulatory body with industry looking after delivery. The aim is to design an accredited certification for industry-endorsed training, and continuously evaluate trainers. It is a great mission, if it comes up.

Around 10-15,000 good trainers will be required to carry out the task. What will be the source of these trainers? One solution lies in redeploying willing and able retired personnel, including from the defence sector. Another way out may be to motivate and involve the persons in industry who can take up part time job of training. Latest technology can also come to aid and ease the role of the trainers as facilitators whereby they can impart training to more number of people.

As per one estimate, Industry will need some 120-130 million people till 2015. While 4-5% are to be highly qualified specialists (PG, PH.D) in various areas for the top positions, some 20-23% are to be graduates in engineering, medicines, accountancy, and other professions. Some 30-32% requirements will be for vocationally trained people (with full schooling). 40-45% may be the requirement of unskilled persons with no formal education or who may be school dropouts for working as helpers, guards, construction workers, etc. The better quality of education at all levels of the pyramids will be the interest of the people as well as the country. With globalization, India can cash on its demographic advantage to man the scarcity of skilled manpower all over the world and in turn that can push the families of those skilled ones to a higher standard of living.

As estimated, every year, around 13 million young people enter the job market. However, about 2.5 million only get enrolled for some sort of formal training. Even then, most don’t get remunerative jobs, because of the poor quality of education and skill imparted by the education system.

Many in the industry have been having its own training facilities to man its requirements. Some of them are excellent. As reported, corporate India directly trains about 40,000 people annually via various short-duration vocational courses. It can certainly further expand it. Additionally, a government certification can impart more credibility and be a supply source for others with no such facility. A working experience in an industry for a year or two must be made compulsory, as in some countries, before one embark on further studies. ISB, Hyderabad has such restriction. I just can’t think of an MBA education for a student who doesn’t know what an enterprise is.

As per an estimate, the Centre invests around Rs 20,000 crore annually in various skill development, vocational training and entrepreneurship programmes under the various ministries. I personally think all the skill building initiatives must come under one ministry, The existing PPPs forged by CII and several industries to upgrade facilities at the over 1,800 industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the country are steps in right direction. Around 300 companies have come forward to take up the World Bank offer of Rs 2.5 crore funding for upgrading each of 1,396 ITIs to provide specialized training. Currently, the ITIs train about 7,20,000 children and other vocational institutes train one million people.

But with 300 million people expected to enter the job market in the next 19 years, India must improve on the available facilities quantitatively, but more importantly qualitatively to bridge the gap between the quality of training and the job market requirements. Every state must establish sufficient number of institutes and trade schools even in rural India. Private sector must develop a model where some of the existing facilities of the schools there be used to train the manpower required. All the school dropouts must get a training of at least one trade skill that can earn him an honest living.

Industry can extend its hands to help the people of the country. It will be in line with its new thrust for CSR as well as inclusive growth of the society in which it works. In last decade, the private sector has entered the industry of creating public schools, engineering colleges and business schools in big way. As it seems, education has become a great business. It is unfortunate that there is practically no significant investment in industrial training and skill building facilities. Perhaps it is not paying enough a business.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

An Indian Guru- Expectation Belied

Posted on March 30, 2008 by indra

It happened last Tuesday. I had seen the welcome banners for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as I entered Sector 40 enroute the park where I take my morning walk. I could understand that he must be attending some function of his followers of ‘The Art of Living’ group. But I couldn’t know the place and time. Many a times, some of my friends and his followers wanted us to join the course, but because of my lethargy, we could go for that. I had also read about him in newspaper and seen him on TV. To me Guru Ravi Shankar appeared to be a good modern spiritual thinker. Perhaps, I found him pretty liberal and secular in approach. His disciples are from middle class and even rich ones. One of my friends once narrated to me how he brought a change in the life style of the colorful Vijay Mallaya. Perhaps my friend must have read about the story somewhere. With so much input, I was already pretty inquisitive about him. In heart of heart, I wished to see him, but I didn’t as usual made any endeavour for that. Yamuna had planned for a movie in afternoon, and I had heard her instructing maids accordingly. We were to pick up Aroras at around 4.30PM from his residence.

At around 1.45 PM, Yamuna got a call from Sangita Jha. As her husband, Mithilesh Jha was busy with some meeting she wanted to accompany us to the function for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, presuming that the Mrs Sahay had invited us too for that. Mrs Sahay is a member of a kitty party in which both Yamuna as well as Sangita are the members. Yamuna is always ready for such a function. She agreed without asking me instantaneously, as the function was fro an hour starting from 3 PM. I was very happy, as my wish got fulfilled. I thought it something as a divine dictate. When I informed Arora, he also wanted to accompany us. But after few minutes he informed that he would not.

We reached the residence of Mrs. Sahay around 3 PM. A huge crowd was already waiting and singing in the living room. Many were on road itself to get a glimpse or perhaps they were not the invitees but wished to see the Guru. I managed to sit on floor though with a lot of inconvenience with men and women all around. Yamuna could get a chair in one corner. The disciples were continuously singing religious songs with many young and old women dancing too that have become a usual practice these days. Every one in crowd appeared to participating and eagerly waiting for the Guru. In between, I got restless sometimes, because of the physical torture of the postures I had to follow in sitting. But I could manage and continued. The Guru arrived. I could see him from a near quarter. The people were busy in touching his feet and giving their offerings- garlands, flowers, envelopes and packets. I was only busy in looking at his face. I expected some sort of halo on his face, some godliness in gestures and blessings, and some unusual brightness that we as less human don’t have. He appeared to be very tired and drained off. His dark complexion seemed gone darker. He happened to be so much unimpressive that his photos don’t say. Perhaps, he is more photogenic than what he really is. Only very few perhaps the host family or the close disciples could reach him. And for so many of the followers there he didn’t utter even a word. I was morose as I could hear his voice.

I wish he would have at least spoken a little, or, may be, blessed the people in general who had collected there, in few sentences. I still wonder why he didn’t do that. And my disenchantment with the guru system got further accentuated and this time a little more bitterly.

Perhaps, Guru wanted us to go to its website to hear his voice.

And finally, we returned, I consulted Yamuna and went staright for ‘Race’.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Agriculture Sector- Some Critical Issues-1

Posted on March 28, 2008 by indra

Over the years, the agriculture sector contribution in GDP has reduced to only 18.6 per cent. However, as reported, Agriculture employs 60 per cent of the workforce. The number may be debatable and doubted. However, many of issues reflected in data require actions without political sloganeering.

Over 114 million of India’s 127 million farmers operate small farms. Frankly, they are farmers by default with almost no serious education of agricultural science and techniques. Strangely, agriculture is the only sector that is manned mostly by the workforce with almost no formal education about farming. It is all inherited, if at all. The farmers have hardly the desired skills in agriculture to enable them to look at farming scientifically and commercially. They hardly know when and how to move away from the production of low value cereals and pulses to other high value agri-products to make a better living for the family. The 59th NSSO survey states that the farmer is mostly dependent on informal and often unreliable sources of information: “Only 18 per cent of the farmers across the country were aware of things like bio-fertilizers. Only 29 per cent knew about the minimum support price.”


Why can’t the imparting of knowledge regarding farming in simplest possible language be made compulsory in curricula in rural schools along with training in at least one useful skill?

Vernacular newspapers, magazines, radio and TV channels that reach rural must get at least somewhat farmers-oriented.

The universities and colleges of the states teaching agricultural related subjects in higher education must establish extension centres in villages or set up call centers that can answer the queries of the farmers in their language and if necessary visit them to demonstrate. The students and faculty must get them involve with actual problems of the farmers as much as possible to make their knowledge useful.


India has all that could make India’s agriculture a great contributor to its economic strength, may be better than other countries:

· India has the world’s second largest area of arable land of 161 million hectares, more than China and only marginally smaller than that of the United States (176 million hectares).
· India has the highest area of irrigated land (55.8 million hectares, compared the China’s 54.5 million and the US’s 22.4 million hectares).
· India is also one of the world’s largest users of artificial fertilisers (11 per cent of world usage, up from 5 per cent in 1980).
· Use of tractors in India is higher than China or Australia. And it has an innovative tractor and agricultural equipment and implement manufacturing industry.

However, India’s agricultural productivity remains lower than that of China, the US and many other countries.

· For almost all crops, Indian yields are lower compared to other major growing countries.
· India’s wheat yield per acre in 2003-05 was 2,688, compared to 6,499 for the top five countries with the highest yields after excluding China.
· India has the largest cultivated area under pulses in the world, but production has decreased from 14.26 million tonnes in 1990-91 to 13.38 million tonnes in 2004-05. India would need to import an estimated three-five million tonnes in the next five years to meet domestic demand.
·
According to the 11th Five Year Plan targets, by 2012, food grain production should reach 337 million tonnes from 208 million in 2005-06. It means a greater than 200 per cent increase, in some cases, of production of the principal crops, with no increase in net cultivable area. Pulses production would need to more than double, to 30 million tonnes. Oilseed production is envisaged as increasing from 16 million to 58 million tonnes.

It can happen only with some extraordinary innovations from the scientists in the field to improve productivity. New plant varieties with higher yields would be the answer that can happen only through better research and technology. After all, China increased rice production from 160 to 180 million tonnes in just three years from 2003 to 2005, through intensive reforms in agricultural research. As per the China Agricultural Yearbook 2005, 2,046 new plant varieties were submitted for registration. Seed quality is tested using molecular DNA technologies.

India’s performance in this area has been miserable in comparison with China. Indian farmers still predominantly use rice varieties developed 20 years ago. India’s rate of growth of rice production is the lowest in Asia, lower than even Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. In 1997, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (Icar) developed 72 new varieties of field crops that reduced to 35 by 2001.

It is unfortunate, but perhaps the scientists are neither motivated nor capable enough to take up the task before them. And that requires actions to make a breakthrough for the India’s farming bottlenecks.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Speech Recognition- Technology Brings Together

Posted on March 27, 2008 by indra

Anand has helped us in getting the web cam and the necessary software installed in my laptop. Today perhaps we are connected in best possible manner. Every week more than once we can talk and see each other on real time basis with help of the web camera. With Skype, the picture quality is better than what we used get through Yahoo. Perhaps with a better speed of broadband Internet, it will further improve.

Shannon and Yamuna have the language as the hurdle to communicate all that they wish to share with each other as mother (-in-law) and daughter. Both Shannon as Yamuna have attempted to learn the language of each other, but couldn’t take it to the point of success. It is really difficult task. One can learn it easily in childhood, but it is very difficult at advanced stage of life with no great fear of certain loss or incentive great enough to put in the right effort of endeavour. Few days ago NDTV Imagine announced a new serial ‘Angrezi mein kahate hain’ to teach English. It started on March 24. We missed the first session, but Yamuna remain awake to watch it at 11PM on that night. It is a nice programme, if followed religiously with self -practicing session. However, she has failed to continue doing that.

However, perhaps very soon technology will find the answer. I was going through the latest issue of ‘India Today’ and came across what Sunil Mittal informed the audience at the ‘India Today conclave 2008’ on technological breakthroughs for better connectivity through voice recognition.

“Speech recognition is becoming very good. Today, the American troops in Iraq are constantly conversing with their local Iraqi counterparts. Online real time, he speaks in Iraqi, he speaks back in English, this is happening now. Give it two to three years, a Chinese will converse with anybody in India and he will blabber in Hindi, you will get a response from him back in Hindi although he will be speaking in Chinese.”


A lot of work is going on voice recognition that will make the life of the business executive from all corners of world easy and efficient. I still remember the arduous irritating translating sessions when dealing with Japanese. I am sure, if once the ‘voice recognition’ software is available commercially; we shall have it loaded at both ends. Shannon then will be able too conveniently converse with Yamuna. She could get the tips on cooking and other religious rituals. However, perhaps it will still be difficult for Shannon to appreciate the dialects such as those in Bhojpuri songs and sayings that Yamuna is best at.

Perhaps it will be this technology of voice recognition that will integrate the world. One can with any one with one to one basis with no translator required.

Posted in Tecchnology | Leave a comment

Tata Motors in Global Top Leaugue

Posted on March 27, 2008 by indra

For last few months, the auto industry was waiting with suspense. Today finally Tata Motors have made the deal. It acquired prestigious Jaguar, Land Rover of UK from Ford Motors for $2.3 billion- less than half what Ford paid for the two brands-Jaguar in 1989 and Land Rover in 2000. And with this acquisition, Tata Motors now owns the iconic brands in automotive industry and goes in the top leaugue. What a great achievement for a company of India! The company that would have never thought of going beyond technical collaborations has acquired one of UK’s most prestigious brands in manufacturing sector. As Business Week asks, “Could Winston Churchill, or even the current Queen of England, have imagined a half-century ago that a pair of Britain’s proudest industrial icons would one day be owned by an Indian company?” Tata Motors create thus a history. Many claim it a day of pride for India. Let Indian Automotive Industry Celebrate. Perhaps the biggest business news of the day in the global media is this Tata Motors take over.

Ratan Tata has prudently promised to maintain the iconic brands. As reported, Tata said as early as at the Geneva Auto Show last month, “Our plan is to retain the image, the touch, and the feel of Jaguar and Land Rover. We will not tinker with the brands in any way…” Tata Motors has also assured that it “will not transfer Jaguar and Land Rover production or component sourcing from Britain to low-cost countries, as had been feared by British unions.” Ford has combined parts and even power trains of Jaguars and Land Rovers. And it has agreed to continue supplying key parts and components even after the takeover by Tata. And it means that Tata Motors willn’t be benefited by the lowcost Indian sources in near future.

However, there are many questions in industry. If Ford couldn’t afford ‘these expensive hobbies’, will it be possible to service them for Tata Motors? Can Tata Rev Up Jaguar? However, Tata motors can certainly learn and apply the acquisitioned technology to improve its own models in India, helping it steal a march on rivals both at home and internationally, as claimed by many analysts.

As it is has been happening in past let Tata Motors proves the predictors and distracters wrong again with Jaguar Land Rover deal as it did with Indica (silencing critics who thought the bus and truck maker wouldn’t pull it off) and Nano (when Ratan Tata’s business acumen was again questioned when he announced plans five years ago to build the world’s cheapest car).

Let Tata Motors try to concentrate on building now a name for the robust quality of its products. It has all the experts from all over the world to help. With deal over, the managerial talents of Tata Motors will be on test in years to come to maintain the growth towards the top. Assuming India and Indians are good enough in the areas of management, it is now in the R&D and design where India must excel.

Can Tata Motors be India’s Toyota through organic along with inorganic growth?

Posted in industry, management, manufacturing | Leave a comment

Farmers’ Real Owes and Long-term Solution

Posted on March 25, 2008 by indra

Is Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver or giveaway the answer for the suicides or miseries of the farmers in India? Can Rs 90,000 crore subsidy for the fertilizers provide real benefits to the marginal farmers? Why does not the government invest that money in agricultural infrastructure?

Again the farmers with holding above 2 hectares are not getting the waiver and Rahul as well as Sonia wish that to be expanded to include all indebted farmers. For them, the importance of vote bank is much higher than the national interest. On the other hand, the leaders such a Sarad Pawar are promising similar loan waivers for the people in all activities, be it a poultry farmers or weavers or other artisans. And why should it not be? I am sure one day, the leftists will demand it to be extended for all workforce engaged in unorganized sector too. All these categories are the major vote banks and all of them get indebted to have a living.

First of all, I don’t know if the national treasury can afford the expanded and wished level of loan waivers. And more importantly, even if it can, will it the end of misery for all theses people. And will that mean no indebtedness thereafter and no suicides?

Many opine, “Perhaps it might win some votes for Congress, but in the long run putting that money in agricultural infrastructure would have provided far better results.”

Perhaps more importantly, the farming must become or be facilitated to become profitable. After the hard work in it for year long, the farmer must earn sufficient after deducting the input cost that can make a good living for his family. Main objectives of the government or any well-wishing agencies of the farmers must provide ways and means to improve his productivity, the yield per unit land that is much lower than many countries. How can he cut the cost of inputs- fertilizers, insecticides, seeds, irrigation or labour without affecting the yield? Fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides must be more effective and cheap. Quality of the seeds used must be the best. No one should cheat the farmer with cheap and fakes. Farming must be businesslike. And the best assistance from government agencies, research laboratories, agricultural universities and even well wishing NGOs for farmers must come forward and help him with in these areas. I heard a reputed economist claiming on a TV channel that the miseries in Vidarva is because of wrong switch over to cotton farming emulating Gujarat, though the land is not suitable for the cotton. If it is true, the social leaders must convince the farmers there to go back to the cultivation of the best suited grains. If most of the region is rain-fed, the government must invest heavily in small and big irrigation projects. Instead of waiving the loans, the government must create irrigation facilities even if it would have required Rs 2 lakh crore investments.

Further the government must facilitate with laws and systems to get rid of the middlemen to get the best price for his produce that must be nearer if not same as the global price. Be it the government fixed minimum support price or one at which private companies such as Pepsico, ITC, or Reliance buys from the farmers, it must be based on the cost of farming plus profit and not at one the farmer is made to sell because of his poor negotiating power with no alternatives. Once if the price that a farmer gets for his produce is sufficiently more that the total input cost, he will earn to meet his essential expenditures, as any one else in other profession is doing. After all he doesn’t have anything to fall back on except for some produce that comes from his fields. He buys everything else as other consumers do. He needs the quality commodities of daily use at the cheapest price and that the local traders don’t offer. And in rural India, he doesn’t have any alternative source. He wishes to send his children to school that costs. He needs medical care that costs. He gets into legal problem that costs. He is to marry her daughter and he is afraid of social taboos that cost. Even the death of a near one is costly for him because of the social pressures and to maintain prestige among whom he lives. Here the poor farmers need help from the social and religious leaders.

Farmers’ earnings require additional boost for a better living. It is possible if he switches over to some commercial crop partly. As reported, a bigha of peppermints can earn Rs 20,000 per crop against Rs 7000 with wheat. Cultivation of seasonal vegetables and cattle breeding for milk can ensure regular earning, if buyers can be arranged. It can reduce fertilizers cost too. Plantation of commercial trees can be the farmers’ fixed deposit. Mushroom farming as demonstrated by Lalmuni Devi of Patna can add to the family earning. Rural women with many skills, if supported with marketing facility, can also participate to boost the overall earning of the family. And all that will be the permanent solution.

However, I don’t agree that the farmers are not happy with the waivers announced. It will also serve another purpose. It will make those farmers who till now don’t borrow going by the age-old perception of ‘borrowing follows sorrowing’ take loans from the public banks because of the hope that one day, particularly in election year, that may get waived.

However, I will like the farmers to be provided with knowledge and skills for better output from the farming that today is totally technology-based. We can’t expect them to know the farming, as they are born in a farmer family. It is unfortunate that “only 18 per cent of the farmers across the country were aware of things like bio-fertilisers. Only 29 per cent knew about the minimum support price, a mere 5 per cent were members of self-help groups while 71 per cent did not belong to any cooperative.”

I am confident Indian farmers that may be satisfied to ride a Juggad today, will switch over to Nanos too.

Posted in agriculture | Leave a comment

English for Employability

Posted on March 23, 2008 by indra

Saneli is a manager in one of the five big IT companies of the country. She was with us last Sunday. For long I wanted to know the real stories of the young new employees that join IT sector and their employability. Nasscom’s Educational Initiative, puts the rejection rate for non-engineering graduates applying to the IT and IT-enabled sector, both in “voice” and “non-voice” roles, at 82-83 per cent, for lack of skills of written and oral English. About 65-75 per cent of applying graduate engineers are also rejected. Saneli confirmed that. She has some engineers from local colleges under her. Her counterpart in London recently complained about the e-mails sent by the new engineers. They are on the assignment to provide software-related support services to a customer. Their e-mails lack clarity and the customer can’t understand what they really mean.

English was never in so much demand as today because of the MNCs hankering for India as destination for its shops and offices over and above it’s outsourcing and Indian enterprises getting global with acquisitions. One can see exponential growth of shops of all categories offering to make anyone Tom, Dick or Harry with its English courses even in small town and suburbs all around the country from Srinagar to Kanyakumari or frpm Porbandar to Itanagar.

BPOs, IT majors and MNCs expect good standard of communicating skill in English. In some work, particularly BPO or call centres they must be skilled to listen, understand, and speak in good enough English, keeping in mind the various slangs of different regions of the English speaking country. In software and other engineering services, the engineers are to read, understand and write in proper clear English.

Employees in the industry need all the four skills in different job assignments at different levels and assignments. Quite often even a new employee is sent to those countries where he will be expected to communicate with the employees of the customer company in English. Brajesh, the son of my relative Ramayan whom I got employed with HM passed out from a private engineering college in West Bengal. Brajesh has studied only in vernacular medium school. Today, he is working with a Bangaloru firm and as he informed me through e-mail he is going to Atlanta, USA. He has not completed a year in his job. He must have improved his English proficiency to the required level.

Unfortunately, the curricula in schools only emphasize reading and writing, not listening and speaking. English medium private schools as against vernacular medium government schools certainly stand better, but not as much as one expects. But why should an engineering student having English as a subject for 12 years or more for English medium, and more than 7 years even in English wise worst states not understand his lesson in English? I feel the education of language is not getting the right attention. Emphasis still is not on communicating skills but on answering questions of texts and passing the examinations and not on use of the language for communication. Teachers and students play the main role in learning of English. It is interest and incentive that can bring proficiency.

The main fault lies with the English teachers. Unfortunately, they will all fail if they are to attend an interview for a MNC themselves. They are neither ready to improve their own capability by advanced training and practicing to nor ready to improve their teaching with tech-assisted means such as excellent audio and video course materials available today in plenty for teaching English. However, it is for the students to become Eklavya and learn English by practice. And it is possible. Firstly, the teachers must at very early stage explain the need to learn English to the students to make them interested in putting effort for this. And the students must work hard to learn English.

For all graduates, particularly those with ambitions for jobs in IT sectors with science subjects or engineering education must develop proficiency of English through various institutions and programmes such as Jawahar Knowledge Centres and other finishing schools available today.

I was amazed to know from the ad on ‘NDTV Imagine’ that it is starting one such English teaching programme ‘Angreji mein kahate hain‘ from next week. But under no circumstances, one should feel morose enough to kill him as reported in ‘Outlook‘. I am myself from a rural and vernacular background and I know many who have excelled in career with initial handicap in English too.

If the Chinese can master English and American can learn Hindi why can any one pick up English of 26 letters.

And as good news, I can tell that very soon with technology of voice recognition maturing, the need for mastering English for communicating may also be over.

Posted in education | Leave a comment

Holy Holi Holee

Posted on March 22, 2008 by indra

This is one day when I get into reverse mode and my thought invariably moves down the memory lane. I was never a great Holi enthusiast. But I enjoyed it. From the childhood days, I get reminded of the big crowd that used to get collected in our family residence courtyard at Pipra. Morning used to be for the dirty holi. But the afternoon was full with dry coloured, sometimes scented powders. The more enjoying part was the spirited folk singing of Phagua. After the distribution of sweets, the groups used to move singing and stopping at different spots around the village through different narrow wide lanes ending at midnight at an old mound that we used to call ‘garh’. The last song used to be Chaaita before the crowd dispersed. Ashok, my cousin who works in railways in Vadodara is in village. Most from the villages of Bihar who are working in distant places try to reach the village on this occasion. Many a times it creates a real chaos on all the railway stations.

I fail to understand why I don’t remember much of holis of school days at Birlapur; perhaps it was because of my over involvement in studies with no friend circle at all. I do have wonderful memory of the holi at Eden Hindu Hostel of Presidency College in 1956-57 and particularly of the bath in the swimming pool of College Square.

Some of the most exciting holis I remember from the HM days. Somehow I had started taking lead and used to pull out others from their residences. But the biggest enthusiast was Late Rath and his party. I do also remember of one bhang session at one of my colleagues place one year and its terrific experience. But all that are part of history. Today we are living alone in Noida. Our social circle is very small.

Urmi, Prachi and Manisha with Yamuna (left) Yamuna with Singh family Mrs Singh and two daughters-in-law(Right)

Today Yamuna was the first to put colour on me while I was on worshipping session, so I could return only after I got up. But before that Urmi, Prach and Manisha had a session with Yamuna. She enjoys it the most. She had been singing holi songs since morning. As the maids had taken off, only after Yamuna completed her kitchen session that was something special today with pua and duum, we went to our advocate friend Mr. YK Singh who had all his family of two sons with him today. We really enjoyed both- colours as well as tasty sweets and dahiphalla.

Sanjay in our neighbourhood has come to be with her widow mother from US. He dropped in and then came AK Singh who worked for me in Harig. And thus the holi ends.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Noida – Can we do something more?

Posted on March 20, 2008 by indra

Yesterday, on return from the doctor, I found the Noida Authority (NA) men carrying out the repairing of the service road in front of our residences. I couldn’t understand how and why had it chosen those places. The contractor had neither scrubbed the base nor the mix was proper. Shouldn’t someone from the block represent and supervise the work so that the money is well spent? NA and its engineers hardly bother, as the contractors do take care of their demands in advance. Every block is having some retired civil engineers whose services can be easily sought for. Resident Welfare Association (RWA) or NA may create a panel and request them before taking up the task. Only few months ago, NA had carried out similar repair and all the stone chips had come out. Perhaps the bitumen was not of the desired quality or specified ratio was not maintained or the road rollers didn’t compress it properly. Should there be no supervision on such work? Even after my request to call the supervisor or contractor, no one came.

Every morning, I am sure, many of the residents coming out for walk face two other menaces or nuisance that RWA can look into and find some solutions. I find sweepers cleaning the road and generating a lot of dust in process. Can’t they be a little more careful? Can’t there be a better way for sweeping that minimizes the dust creations? Can our intelligent residents come out some ideas? Do we not feel suffocated while walking on the road as well as in the park? However, why should it be done only when the people are out for a morning walk or early shift at work? After all none of the sweepers is working for more than 2 hours a day. Long back I suggested if RWA could empower them with some extra work as gardener or security men and call them housekeeping hands.

The usual way of disposing the fallen leaves and other wastes followed by the sweepers is by the burning them. That creates a lot of unbearable smoke and adds to the smog that we see all day around. I feel it must be stopped immediately. Instead the waste such as leaves can be placed in a pit dug in every park of the block and transformed into organic manure. The technology is already available with the waste management group. We all know how the dust and smog in atmosphere tripped even the national grid.

And the next in the list of nuisances is the group of stray dogs that we are to face everywhere we go. Last month I had my American daughter-in-law with us and she was just shocked to see them. She asked, “Why can’t they be sterilized to gradually reduce their population”. I didn’t have any answer. I assume Delhi government has taken up some programme. I wish NA also took up the project. I have an alternative suggestion, though in lighter vein. Why not NA contacts some Chinese importer for the dogs, as they still consume them? It helps solving our problem and meets the food shortage of the billion strong Chinese.

Finally through this medium I have an appeal for the doctors in the sectors to show some compassion and visit at least the patients in their own sector if they are called. After all the residents are the own neighbours of doctors, some very old too and not the terrorists that they should be scared. I wish the RWA also appealed them through the newsletter.

I wish RWA and NA take the suggestions in right spirit.

PS: However, many things are changing for better. Shakti Mandir in Sector 40 is now having board declaring ‘Begging is crime’. And it seems, they have left the place.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

And How Can Indian Press Be Free?

Posted on March 18, 2008 by indra

I relish Khushwant Singh’s column in Hindustan Times, because he provides a different viewpoint, at least in some, that makes you light but think a little. After going through his Delhi, a fusion of history cum fiction, I did not read any of his books. It is unfortunate, but the major print media today is in hands of intellectually third rated businessmen some of them are unscrupulous too. The print media has hardly any other social objective today but one to survive the severe competition from the digital (news channels) onslaughts. What percentage of the readers today are those reading editorials and lead articles? Print media has hardly any representation in the rural India and the issues of the people in unorganized sectors and self-employed class. The news forming the majority are only polluting the simple rural population rather than providing any assistance in coming out of age-old curse of poverty though success stories and encouragement for innovation and entrepreneurship.
But Khushwant Singh’s story in ‘Outlook of March 24, 2008‘ is about the shocking way the media barons are working. How can one have faith in such media? Here is that in his words:

The hard truth about Indian journalism is that proprietors matter, editors do not; money counts, talent does not.

The latest instance is the unceremonious sacking of M.J. Akbar, founder-editor of the Asian Age. He is perhaps the most distinguished living member of his tribe. He started the weekly Sunday and the Telegraph for the Ananda Bazaar group of papers based in Calcutta. He has been elected member of the Lok Sabha and is the author of half-a-dozen books, all of which have gone into several editions. Fifteen years ago, he, with a set of friends, launched the Asian Age. It was a bold venture as the Asian Age came out of all the metropolitan cities of India as well as London. It had little advertising but had a lot more readable material taken from leading British and American journals than any other Indian daily. It was as close to being a complete newspaper as any could be. Besides these unique qualities it also published articles by writers critical of the government and the ruling party. It was probably this aspect of the journal that irked Akbar’s latest partner in the venture; he had political ambitions of his own and wished to stay on the right side of the government. So without a word of warning, on the morning of March 1 while he was on his way to office, Akbar learned that his name was no longer on the Asian Age masthead as its editor-in-chief. It was an unpardonable act of discourtesy committed by someone with less breeding and more money.

I had been a fan of MJ, not because he is from Bihar, but because I found him one of the best editors and real secular in thinking and action. And then he moves on to tell his own bad experiences.

Akbar was one of the small team of editors who helped me take the circulation of the Illustrated Weekly of India from a measly 60,000 to well above 4,00,000.It is ironical that I was sacked in much the same way in 1978 as Akbar was this year. The journal, like all others published by Bennet Coleman, including the Times of India, had been restored by the government to the Jain family. As soon as they took over, they started meddling in my business. My contract was terminated and my successor appointed. I had one week to go. I wrote a tearful piece of farewell, wishing the Illustrated Weekly future prosperity. It was never published. When I arrived at the office in the morning to tidy up my desk, I was handed a letter asking me to quit immediately. I picked up my umbrella and walked back home.

It was an undeserved, deliberate insult. It still rankles in my mind. The Jain vendetta continues to this day. Even functions held in my honour presided over by people like Amitabh Bachchan, Maharani Gayatri Devi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while reported in the Times of India, never carry my name or photograph.

I feel like stopping my newspaper ‘Times of India’, but what are the alternatives? Perhaps that is the reason that they hardly accept any thing that I write critical about the industry, be it the poor salaries and facilities for the lowest workmen, or the very much limited role of the industry in education, even the industrial training, particularly in the non-knowledge sectors. I only wish that the people came to know about the ownership of all the newspapers and its credentials and start judging themselves.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment