From the Best and the Worst States

Posted on September 29, 2007 by indra

At the recent fifth State of the States conclave of India Today, ten chief ministers, one deputy chief minister and ministers from three states debated the causes of rising inequality and the need to push inclusive growth. INDIA TODAY Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie set the tone, “the good news is that there is growth but the bad news is that, far from being inclusive, it has increased inequality”. INDIA TODAY Editor Prabhu Chawla kicked off the debate. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, in his inaugural address, pointed out that “every square inch of India is ruled by states” and that the laws of economics would work in India, but all stakeholders must work together to find the country its place in the world. Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari delivered the magic mantra in his keynote speech by asking states to make “inclusive growth the sub text of all development.”

I have tried to pick up what the chief minister of the best state, Punjab and the deputy chief minister of the worst state, Bihar stated at the conclave. Punjab remains at the top and Bihar at the bottom of ‘India Today’s survey rankings for all the five years since the survey started. I find both have come out with two very important suggestions that may not be agreed upon but could have made a lot of difference.

Parkash Singh Badal: I would request Mr Purie and Mr Chawla to hold this meeting next time in a village, under a tree. We talk about these things in air-conditioned halls and even at the Planning Commission meetings. I have requested the members of the commission to stay for one day and one night in a village and then they will realize what is to be done. My suggestion is that the prices of foodgrains should be attached to a price index the same way employees now get enhanced pay packages.

I agree with Badal. Can the chief ministers of the states or the prime minister make the legislators spend the days the houses are not in session, in one or the other villages of the state? Can the professors and students of the institutions for agriculture sciences and engineering or rural management bee made to spend some nights in villages? I do also agree with Badal’s suggestion of getting the prices of minimum support prices of farm produces fixed on the basis of other essential consumer items that even farmers need to buy from the market.

Sushil Kumar Modi: I feel the Centre should suspend all the poverty alleviation schemes and deposit money in the accounts of the poor directly. There is so much of corruption and so much of leakage. The schemes have failed to uplift the poor.

Similar suggestions have come from many economists too. It would cut down the leakages that constitute the major portion of the allotment money spent on the programmes meant exclusively to help the poor. It requires a master list of the people below the poverty line. And this list must be available on websites as well as on the board outside every panchayat bhawan for verification by the aam aadmi and for a counterchecking by independent agencies.

Posted in bihar | Leave a comment

Chinese Toys- Lessons from Mattel Story

Posted on September 28, 2007 by indra

Many years ago, I had read a story in Readers Digest about the quality of a Japanese doll that was getting inspected. The inspector rejected it as the doll had some sharp feature that could hurt the child using it. The quality may not have a total definition. But the product must not harm the user in any manner, more so a toy.

The recent stories about the Americans rejecting all sorts of Chinese imported goods must not make Indian manufacturers rejoice. Unfortunately Indian manufacturers, particularly SMEs hardly keep themselves abreast with the latest in its business. The story of Mattel cautions that the manufacturer must understand the specifications in all its perspective. It is not only dimensional and visual acceptance. It also requires some imaginative thinking to go in. The process designer must appreciate all the finer aspects such as possibility of a child putting the toy in his mouth. Any material that can harm him must be avoided to make it safe.

Mattel is the world’s biggest toymaker. It has had to recall 21m toys this year. On September 5th Mattel had confessed to an American Congressional committee its own fault. It recalled 17.4m toys containing a small magnet that could be swallowed by children. It agreed that it was due a flaw in the toys’ design, rather than production flaws in China. Mattel also recalled some other toys because of allegedly hazardous levels of lead in their paint, Mattel admitted that it had been overzealous and is likely to have recalled toys that did not contravene American regulations on lead content. The Chinese had to bear with the unfair accusations of shoddy production. Once the Chinese came to know of the in-house problem of Mattel, the Chinese felt a public apology was long overdue. Mattel too couldn’t displease the Chinese, as it could have created a supply chain problem. Mattel tried to rescue its relationship with its Chinese suppliers.

“Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologises personally to you, the Chinese people and all of our customers who received the toys.” said Thomas Debrowski, Matteel’s senior executive in a meeting in Beijing on September 21st with Li Changjiang, the chief of China’s quality watchdog.

Mr. Debrowski had not intended to talk to Mr Changjiang in the presence of journalists, but Chinese officials made it a condition for the meeting. But the Chinese are shrewd and tough. They made Mattel apologize.

For many Mattel’s apology to the Chinese was strange. Economist writes, ‘the apology was late, reluctant and was no sooner made than it was partly retracted’.

Mattel is dependent on cheap Chinese production for most of its wares. Of the roughly 800million toys Mattel produces every year, more than two-thirds are made in China. The subcontractors have to comply with safety and quality standards specified for each toy. But it is also up to Mattel to specify the process and material specifications that goes in the process, and even check for compliance.

It has become a common practice recently to blame the subcontractor for the quality of the product. According to the Western media, companies in China are operating in a largely lawless environment. There is hardly any effective regulation and little recourse to law. In August the Chinese government published its first white paper on food safety in the wake of 96 deaths from food poisoning in the first half of the year. With oversight of food safety spread between five different ministries, responsibilities are still murky. The Chinese have no culture of compliance and cut corners on safety and quality when squeezed on price.

So western firms doing business in China have a responsibility to do their homework and keep a vigilant eye on their suppliers. Buyers of toothpaste or dog food, which have also been subject to safety scares and recalls this year, should have known that more than one-fifth of China’s food products failed government safety-tests last year. Corruption, blackmail and counterfeiting are rampant. Eight buyers at Carrefour, a French supermarket chain, are under investigation for accepting kickbacks from suppliers. Zheng Xiaoyu, a former boss of the SFDA, was executed earlier this year for taking bribes to approve fake drugs and certificates claiming that the paint used by Mattel’s suppliers was lead-free.

Chinese firms, for their part, complain that they are bullied by foreign purchasing managers to cut costs. This forces them to squeeze their own suppliers, with unpredictable consequences. Local firms also moan about having to meet the complex logistical demands of foreign customers in a country where such costs are typically 15% higher than in the West.

Some feel, the Chinese focus on high-volume, low-cost manufacturing has worked well in the initial phase of the country’s economic take-off. But producers must now pay more attention to quality, brand development, governance and transparency or more harm will be done to “Made in China”. Almost 40% of British consumers are less likely to buy Chinese-made toys because of Mattel’s recall crisis, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Marketing Week, a trade publication. Hamleys, a toy shop, says it is thinking about sourcing more toys from Europe and not from China.

The different regulatory agencies in India must caution Indian consumers who are falling for cheap Chinese products including the nicely packed alluring food items. All the Indian manufacturers, who wish to play big and export in the market of developed countries, must take the quality story seriously too.

Read : No child’s play by AMAN SETHI<

Posted in industry, management, manufacturing | Leave a comment

Media and Frustrating Confusions

Posted on September 26, 2007 by indra

Many a time it becomes difficult to decide the real picture. We naturally base our opinion on the information available from media. Two recent confusions come to my mind.

Lalu Yadav and his turnaround story of the Indian railways has become a legend. Prof. G. Raghuraman of IIM-A prepared a case study on it and made Lalu talk with the best brains of the country in the institute. Lalu became an icon among management education circles not only in India but, as reported, also got invitation for presenting the turnaround story even in the best management schools of the world. Prime Minister who himself is a master in turnaround and globally reputed economist, talked publicly so highly about Lalu’s contribution to Indian railways as unprecedented and revolutionary. And then suddenly one comes across a story such as one in ‘Outlook’ (September 24 issue) by Bhavana Vij-Aurora that takes away all his clothes and makes his real image known calling all his turnaround of railways as the great sleight of hand.

  Rs 9,000 crore pension funds shown as cash surplus
  Miscellaneous funds-Rs 2,500 crore-included in earnings
  Rs 1,700 crore due to the Indian Railway Finance Commission as dividend for lease of wagons put in the profit account
  Profits shored up by showing advance earnings for 2007-2008 in last year’s balance-sheet
  Monies in the suspense account-funds promised but not yet transferred-reflected in the earnings/profits
  Tonnage carried by freight trains raised despite repeated objections and safety concerns. This brought in Rs 5,000 crore.
  Hidden costs to passenger tickets earned the railways Rs 325 crore

And then

Milking Tatkal: This was for passengers traveling in an emergency. Less than 10 per cent seats were kept in the tatkal quota and released on the scheduled day of departure. The surcharge was Rs 100 per ticket. Now 30 per cent seats have been set aside for tatkal and reservations open five days before departure. The surcharge is Rs 250 per ticket. Additional earning for railways: Rs 150 crore.

Declaring Trains Superfast: More than 100 express trains have been declared Superfast though their running time remains the same. The Superfast tag attracts a surcharge. This upgradation meant Rs 75 crore in the coffer.

Upping Cancellation Charges: Doubling cancellation charges has helped. Added profits: Rs 100 crore.

Costlier Return Tickets: Surcharge on return ticket earned the railways Rs 30 crore.

Pay More for Onward Journeys: You can no longer buy a single ticket if you have to change trains for an onward destination. For example, a person traveling from Mumbai to Guwahati could earlier buy a Mumbai-Howrah-Guwahati ticket for Rs 557. Now, he has to buy a Mumbai-Howrah ticket for Rs 517, and another ticket for the Howrah-Guwahati leg for Rs 369. Added profits for the railways: Rs 100 crore.

Which one should a person like me take it as correct? Should one believe Laluji for his benevolence towards the people of India, particularly aam aadami or a journalist?

And the ongoing war on Ram Setu is another example. I don’t bother if the project demolishes the so-called Ram’s bridge, but I am certainly concerned if it is economically or technically unviable project. Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar now in Sunday column of Times of India says, ‘Sethusamundaram project is a 150 years old idea for 150-year old ships.’ As against all the advantages and claims listed in its favour in the project documents, Aiyar quotes from a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly that exposes the claims as highly exaggerated.

Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance. But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa. And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance saving 215 nautical miles. From Africa to Kolkata, the time taken will actually increase by 3.5 hours (being piloted through the canal is a slow process), and distance reduced will be only 70 nautical miles.

John calculates that ships could lose up to $4,992 per passage if they are charged the tariff laid down in project documents. In which case ships will find it cheaper to go round Sri Lanka. If the government cuts the proposed tariff to attract traffic, John estimates that the project’s rate of return could fall to an uneconomic 2.5%.

Sethusamundaram is designed for small ships (the project documents talk of 20,000 DWT), whereas the Panama Canal takes ships of up to 65,000 DWT and Suez takes ships up to 150,000 DWT.

Instead of making the project a religious issue and fanning the sentiments of the people to divide the country and its men on non-issues, why BJP as well as DMK not answer the relevant viability questions transparently? Why can’t we have data on the ships up to 20,000 DWT that could have taken the new route? Why can’t the specification be improved to make it up to Suez? .

Unfortunately, again Manmohan Singh does not bother to talk of this technical aspect of the project and give his views, and the ruling party and the government is busy sorting out the affidavit issues that are just useless for the people at large.

In all such cases, how does an ordinary citizen get confidence in justification of its huge cost to the nation when millions are still below the poverty line and something urgent in a fast manner still to happen?

Why are the parties not answering the most important question? Should the cost overrun of the project be also a consideration? At the project’s inception in 2004, the budgeted was Rs 2,400. As reported, the costs have skyrocketed to at least Rs4,000 crore. Even before the first dredger began its work in 2005, costs had already spiraled to more than Rs3,500 crore. Would Sethusamudram Corp. Ltd have to return to the drawing board, draw up new reports, sit with parliamentary committees and receive fresh approval?

I get reminded of Sudheendra Kulkarni, the IITian ideologue of BJP making a remark somewhere, ” I doubt if our two main political parties, Congress and BJP, are even aware of what is happening in India, thanks to their lopsided economic policies.” So perhaps all the Indians today have started to doubt.

And if the articles in Outlook and TOI are factually wrong, why should there be no action on it?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Powering India-6 Nuclear

Posted on September 25, 2007 by indra

India produced over 1,30,000 MW last fiscal

India hopes to add another 78,000 MW by 2011-12.

Some estimates that India must add nearly 20,000 MW per annum in power capacity to sustain 9-10 per cent GDP growth that is one way to eliminate poverty.

According to the Union power minister, the electricity projects providing a capacity of over 50,000 MW, will make India “a power-surplus country by 2012”. These new plants will result in a power surplus of 5.6 per cent, and peak-time surplus of 0.7 per cent, by the end of the 11th Plan.

With a conservative estimated annual GDP growth rate of 7-8 per cent and an estimated energy elasticity of 0.80, India’s energy requirements are expected to grow at 5.6-6.4 per cent per annum over the next few years. This implies a four-fold increase in energy needs in the next five years.

The country’s energy basket is highly skewed towards coal (53.4 per cent), natural gas (10.2 per cent), and hydro (24.8 percent). http://powermin.nic.in/JSP_SERVLETS/internal.jsp

India’s nuclear power capacity has stagnated at 4,120 MW and contributes less than 3.1 per cent to our power generation. Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd has 14 pressurised heavy water reactors PHWRs under operation and four more are under construction.

In the best-case scenario, the increase in nuclear power’s share implies an addition of 16,000 MW by 2020, though PM targets 20,000MW or double of it.

Constraints such as the shortage of uranium are holding India’s existing reactors today to operating at 70 per cent of their capacity. Sanctions prevent India from buying uranium from the Nuclear Suppliers Group countries.

Global scenario

For the Western world dependent on a shrinking number of hostile or unstable countries for imports of oil and gas, nuclear power can eliminate the dependence.

Around the world, 31 reactors are under construction and many more are in the planning stages.

Nuclear reactors emit almost none of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

Uranium, used as fuel in nuclear power plants is available in relatively abundant amount in reassuringly stable places such as Canada and Australia.

At the moment 439 nuclear reactors in 31 countries supply 15% of the world’s electricity.

The worldwide generating capacity of nuclear power plants will probably increase from about 370 gigawatts today to 520 gigawatts in 2030.

Each nuclear plant can cost several billion dollars to build.

Areva, General Electric (GE), Hitachi and Westinghouse, are today vendors for new nuclear plants.

Today France has 59 nuclear reactors supplying 78% of its electricity. After the oil crisis of 1973, France decided to pursue the goal of fossil-fuel independence.

All the commercial nuclear plants operating in France today were based on technology devised by Westinghouse, which licensed its PWR design to France in the 1960s.

Once up and running, nuclear plants have a distinct advantage over those run on coal or natural gas.

Although the price of uranium jumped from about $70 per pound in January to about $130 in mid-July, operating costs of nuclear power plants have changed very little. (Construction accounts for as much as three-quarters of the cost of nuclear generation.)

The new plants are safer and easier to operate with longer lifespan and reduced maintenance costs, and so improved economics.

Westinghouse’s new AP1000 has “passive safety” systems that can prevent a meltdown during an emergency without operator intervention. If the reactor loses pressure because of a loss of coolant, for example, pressurised tanks deliver water to the core, since the pressure in the tanks is higher than that in the core. The new reactor’s simplified design also means that fewer motors, pumps and pipes are needed, reducing not only the potential for mechanical errors, but also costs of maintenance, inspections and repairs. Westinghouse recently agreed to provide four new plants to China.

Areva, a French nuclear company, is engineering ever more powerful plants. Its first reactor, which began operating in 1977, was rated at 900 megawatts; its latest model, the evolutionary power reactor (EPR), is a 1,600-megawatt design. The company has already begun building two such plants in Europe: one in Finland, which is now expected to start operating in 2011, about two years late, and another in France.

The “pebble bed” reactor, scheduled to be built in South Africa starting in 2009 is small size (165 megawatts) that makes it comparatively fast and cheap to build; depending on power needs, several units sharing a single control room could be constructed on one site. And the uranium fuel is encapsulated in rugged “pebbles”, the size of tennis balls, which are designed to withstand a loss of coolant without disintegrating, making the reactor extremely safe.

Cost of Power- the main objection of Indian political parties
The cost of producing electricity from various sources: Combined cycle gas turbine running on gas or naptha – Rs 3 cr per MW; coal-based thermal power plants – Rs 4.5 cr per MW; indigenously-built nuclear reactors – Rs 7/8 cr per MW and imported nuclear reactors – Rs 10 cr per MW. (Yaswant Sinha in TOI on Sep 23)

Two separate studies by the University of Chicago (2004) and MIT (2003), computed the base line cost of new nuclear power at 6.2 to 6.7 cents per KWH, as compared to 3.3 to 4.2 cents for pulverised clean coal and 3.5 to 5.6 cents for natural gas. (Brahma Chellaney)

The cost in India of nuclear power plants could be anywhere between Rs 10 to Rs 12 crore per MW. (Former PM VP Singh)

“The Prime Minister has announced a target of generating 40,000 MW of nuclear power in the future. Of this, assuming that 10,000 MW would be generated from domestic reactors, the remaining 30,000 MW would cost us Rs 330,000 crore. Now the same 30,000 MW, if produced through coal, would cost us at best Rs 120,000 crore. Using gas and water, this would cost Rs 90,000 crore only. By using the nuclear option, India would be spending anywhere beyond Rs 2 lakh crore more than by using the available alternatives. Can India afford such an expensive option?” (Sitaram Yechury, CPM)

According to all these estimates an additional 20,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020 would need an investment of at least Rs 2,00,000 crore.

India must cut down its execution times in setting up of the generation plants.India must based its decision on scientists and technologists and certainly not on politicians. India must move on all sources simultaneously. It must go for clean coal based plant, more and more hydroplants and other alternative energy sources such as wind and solar. India must also shun its isolation from the rest of the developed nation on nuclear technology and so must go for Indo-US Nuclear deal and concentrate on high breeder and throrium-based technologies where it can be the pioneer. Indian researchers must also get ahead of the other nations on waste and proliferation management and improved economics.

Posted in economy | Leave a comment

Noida Authority! Who authorizes to waste taxpayers’ money?

Posted on September 25, 2007 by indra

Noida Authority (NA) had been constructing a service lane along both the sides of the main road connecting Choura Mor to Dadri Road for last few months or perhaps a year causing inconvenience to all those who use the road regularly. Particularly senior citizens use the road to go to the nearby markets in Sector 50 and Sector 41Block C. I thought it would take some more months as a number of electrical installations, including poles and transformers are yet to be relocated. One day I saw the work getting expedited. I thought it for the new CEO. It got a bitumen layer overnight. And then I got the shock of my life when my friend Arora said that the service lane project has been completed and perhaps paid too. How can Noida Authority pay to contractor for job not completed or half done besides its shoddiness and other quality drawbacks? It will not last even a single rain.

Many of the residents including myself feel that the service lane will not serve any useful purpose. We don’t understand for whom the service lane has been built. With the gates of the sector 41 remaining closed, the residents can’t use it to come on the main road or get into the sector.


Water will accumulate on the service lane as shown in photograph above taken after a rain, as it has no proper drain incorporated along it. Rather it will become a water stream with drains of the main road and from the residences on the side discharging its water to it. The accumulated water may affect even the foundation of the houses near it. My advocate friend has already sent a notice to the CEO, NA, as one of his walls has got a crack. The contractor has dug and removed earth right up to the wall as shown in photograph given below and sold that.

I am sure NA must be undertaking a project such as this one that must have cost estimate of more than 15-20 lakes after fixing the purpose of the project and discussing the same with people whom it serves. The project engineers and the chief engineer must be having the due survey, design, and evaluation. During the execution of the project some engineers must be inspecting the quality of work and then giving the completion certificate for the payment. It is strange that Noida that must be the homes of some of the best engineers and managers of the country if not of the world, has to face such a problem that are common in our villages because of the ignorance of the users. If NA so desires it can use the services of many a retired persons even free of cost to get such a project executed properly if it so wishes and if the officers with vested interest permit that to happen. So is my question. Why can’t Noida Authority take the technically active people of the affected areas in confidence before designing and building such roads?

Some of my friends think that all the projects such as this service lanes are initiated by some builders who get elected in executed bodies of RWAs, officers in NA get the projects approved and the kitty of the commission is shared. The group hardly bothers about the aspects of benefits to the residents.

There are transformers, electric control boxes, and sewerage exhaust chimneys right on this service lane. Many a stretches are not done at all. Some of the photographs below are indicative. The same is the case with the footpath. People because of its design can hardly use it.



I appeal and request some representative of media as well as some officers deputed by the CEO of NA to go along these service lane at least once, see if what I have pointed out is right, make all the changes necessary and see that it becomes useful. Otherwise, the service lane and the footpath created nearby are serving the good purpose of disposal yards for refuges and defecation of the human beings, cattle and pets of all kinds and creating the breeding ground for the insects and flies for impending epidemics instead of aiding to making Noida Green and Clean.

Posted in governance | Leave a comment

Booming and Bubbling India- XIX

Posted on September 24, 2007 by indra

The economy is on song, (despite recent dat revealing a suspected slowdown in manufacturing growth), and India Inc. is in rapid expansion mode. This the way a report starts on a feature, ‘India is now world’s 7th largest IPO market’. It is not one sector or one institution that is on move. India is marching ahead with all its problems and speedbreakers.

From a count of zero last year, four Indian companies- Hindustan Unilever (HUL, ranked No 4), Infosys (10), ICICI Bank (19) and Wipro (20) have made it this year to the global list of Top Companies for Leaders -2007, a survey conducted by Hewitt associates in paternership with The RBL Group and Fortune Magazine.

Where to Next for India? The vast majority of the global Fortune 1000 companies agree that India is indeed worth the effort. Indian companies can innovate, build capacity in areas not generally seen as a strength, and be aggressive in expanding-beyond a predominantly U.S. focus-into Asian markets.

Sensex records single biggest gain: The Bombay Stock Exchange’s barometer Sensex on Wednesday crossed the magical 16,000-point in style, with the single biggest all-time gain of 653 points, as a cut in US interest rates triggered a buying spree in Mumbai. Experts predict it to reach 19K, and inflation slips to 3.32%, and the rupee hits a nine-year high as a sharp cut in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve increased appetite for emerging market assets and a surging stock market attracted capital inflows.

PE deals hit record $10.8 bn in 8 months: For the first time, private equity (PE) investments in India have already crossed the $10-billion mark in a calendar year, with over three months still to go in 2007, as against the total value of PE deals announced stood at $7.86 billion in 2006. The total value of equity deals involving Indian companies is now nudging the $60-billion mark.

Indian executives dread foreign postings: Gone are the days when an overseas posting would necessarily bring cheer. While Indian CEOs often don’t want to move, companies insist these postings are a means of giving their senior executives international exposure.

Organic farming changes fortune of Rajasthani farmers: Farmers in villages in Jhunjhunu district are experiencing the steady incomes generated by organic farming.

India-UK trade to cross 10 bn pounds: “There has been a step-up in the India-UK trade which is expected to cross 10 billion pounds this year.” With the surge in bilateral investment, trade between India and Germany is likely to double to 20 billion euro in the next five years and as a result, Germany would rise to become India’s second largest trade partner from its current fourth position after the US, UK and Japan, according to a FICCI-KPMG paper.

Indian financial mkts projected at $17 trillion:India’s financial markets size was estimated to race from under USD one trillion to 17 trillion by 2025 as globalisation led opportunities shift from veteran markets to emerging markets, according to an IBM study.

Rs46, 000 cr link to North-East planned: The Union government is proposing a massive investment of Rs46, 000 crore to set up new power transmission capacity, which, by 2012, could move 46,000MW of power from the North-East region and Bhutan; and will connects the North-East to the rest of India.

Left-ruled Kerala gets high on India’s IT boom: In a state that has shunned global corporate giants such as Microsoft Corp. and Coca-Cola Co, the tech industry raked in $60 million last year. Kerala’s fledgling tech industry has attracted hundreds of tech firms from the West, raking in more than $60 million (Rs243 crore) last year (may be tiny but growing slice of India’s $50 billion tech industry).

Omnitech Info enters into JV with Japanese firm: Omnitech Infosolutions Ltd has entered into an agreement with Japanese firm Sanwell Company Ltd (SWL) for setting up a Joint venture – Arham Technologies Company Ltd (ATCL) with a total investment of $ 1million (Rs 4crore) to undertake business in IT consultancy, software development for embedded systems, infrastructure management and performance management services for telecom, banking and financial services for Japanese market.

Moser plans Rs 2,000cr PV plant near Chennai: New Delhi-based leading optical storage media manufacturer Moser Baer (India) has chosen Chennai to set up a Rs 2,000 crore solar photovoltaic fabrication facility.

TutorVista expands global classroom: TutorVista, which broke new ground by offering personalised customer services through online tutoring to students in the US from India, has just extended its reach to the UK and Korea. English language tuition to Koreans is being seen as testing waters that also lap the shores of China and Japan. And its next target is teaching Spanish, the second most-spoken language in the world.

India’s largest power plant ahead of schedule: Mundra project that would comprise of five super-critical units of 800 Mw each is progressing on schedule, or rather “ahead of schedule.” Orders for equipment have already been placed with Japan’s Toshiba and Korea’s Doosan.

Media Labs Asia brings education to the doorsteps of tribals: Media Labs Asia is a body established by the Ministry of communication and Information Technology – in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like Vigyan Ashram and Bhatke Vimukta Vikas Pratishthan to train over 100 children of denotified nomadic tribes in Maharashtra.

Visual effects, made in India: Prime Focus, transports the 1,400 VFX (visual effects) shots to London, there is a sense that Indian studios are coming of age and executing high-end shots for big international releases. Tata Elxsi’s visual computing lab (VCL) is working on an episodic 3D series for a North American client and doing visual effects for a project for one of the largest studios of Hollywood.

More Indians enrolling with Australia universities: India contributed 42,798 full-fee enrolments in Australian universities, demonstrating 60.9 per cent growth on YTD June 2006, higher than China’s growth on YTD June 2006, which stood at 13.8 per cent. Indians now are the third largest migrant group in Australia after the British and the New Zealanders.

Four Indian Americans make it to Forbes list: Four Indian Americans – Acoustics pioneer Amar Bose, Google founder director Kavitark Shriram, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Bharat Desai CEO of an info-tech outsourcing firm – have made it to the Forbes list of richest Americans.

OVL wins three exploration blocks in Myanmar: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has won three offshore exploration blocks in Myanmar.

Insurance BPO to create $2-bn revenue, one lakh jobs: India has emerged as a net gainer with the country likely to generate $2-billion revenue and over one lakh jobs through insurance outsourcing business by 2010, according to a KPMG report. The size of the industry is over 1,500 property and casualty insurance companies and 1,300 health insurance firms in the US alone that makes insurance outsourcing an attractive market.

Jewellery exports post 24% growth: The domestic jewellery industry is glittering with exports posting more than 24% growth in the first five months of the fiscal with the demand for Indian jewellery surging and the global sales of diamond increasing manifold. In terms of value, the exports rose to $7,752.45 million in April-August 2007 against $6,237.32 million a year ago.

Skoda to set up turbine facility: Czech power company Skoda Power AS is setting up a turbine manufacturing facility at Hyderabad at an investment of around Rs2, 000 crore that will be set up in four phases, and will be completed by 2011 to help the fast growing power generation sector on the equipment supply front, as India has been coping with shortfalls in power generation equipment.

CAM man wins global recognition: Tapan Parikh, a doctoral student at the University of Washington and founder of Ekgaon Technologies, is the winner of the TR35 2007 Young Innovator award, instituted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published magazine Technology Review. Parikh received global recognition as the 2007 Humanitarian of the Year for his effort to help small business people by making mobile phones a more effective and result-oriented medium. Microfinance groups in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are using CAM, the mobile device developed by Parikh to increase productivity and earn more money in diverse as well as traditional businesses they are involved with.

Benetton to make India major hub: Apparel major the Benetton Group, which has a presence in 120 countries around the world and produces 130 million garments every year, will make India its major sourcing hub for fabrics to cater to markets like South America, Russia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan.

Four Indian companies bag global corporate awards: Four Indian companies, Oil and Natural Gas Corp and NTPC Ltd from the public sector, and Jubilant Organosys and GTL from the private sector, have been selected for the Global Award for emerging economies as part of the annual Golden Peacock Awards for corporate excellence.

Closing the gap on developed countries: Outbound deals have been steadily increasing for the past three years, culminating in 32 deals being recorded in the first half of 2007. North America was by far the most popular destination for Indian acquirers, being responsible for 18 of those deals.

New car buyers seek design, performance: Nearly 45 per cent of buyers of recently launched vehicle models tend to evaluate at least one other new vehicle model during the shopping process, compared to buyers of models that have been on the market for two or more years (37 per cent), according to a JD Power study.

Canada names fossil after Lucknow-based geologist: Canadian government officials and scientists had recently met at Canada’s Portugal Cove South city where two top geologists – Guy Narbonne from Canada and Jim Gehling from Australia – announced the new name of one of the many fossils discovered by SB Misra in the late 1960s.

Jet Airways bags international award: India’s largest private air carrier Jet Airways has been honoured with the Avion Award for the Best Overall In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) for small airlines worldwide.

Ericsson in push for rural broadband: Swedish telecom equipment maker Telefon AB LM Ericsson has launched a trial project in Tamil Nadu to showcase its rural broadband offering, which could enable the delivery of telemedicine and interactive education services at an affordable price in India’s villages.

India’s M&A average: two deals a day: India Inc continued with its M&A frenzy in August, striking an average of two deals a day, a marginal increase over the previous month’s deal numbers, but over three-fold jump in value terms. A total of 62 M&A deals valued at $3.37 billion were announced in August, against 59 deals worth about $0.94 billion in July, according to data compiled by Grant Thornton.

India new launchpad for auto giants: India is turning out to be the new launch pad for global car models as major carmakers prefer India to Europe and the American markets.

US cos could save $9.9 b thru outsourcing: Estimating that US businesses could be sitting on $9.9 billion in potential infrastructure savings through outsourcing, a latest Forrester study has found that companies that have outsourced, in the past, ended up with 12-17 per cent cost savings.

Refining capacity to be raised by 92 million tons: The government would augment the country’s oil refining capacity by 92 million tons from the present 149 million tons in the 11th plan through installation of four grass-root refineries.

Electronics hardware exports up 30% in FY07: The country exported electronics hardware worth Rs12,500 crore in 2006-07, up 30% from 2005-06, with North America accounting for more than a quarter of it at Rs3,410.95 crore.As per estimates of Department of Information Technology, 125 countries imported software while 191 countries imported hardware from India in 2006-07. In 2005-06, the electronics hardware export was worth Rs9,625 crore.

Reliance Energy eyes coal mines abroad: India’s No. 2 private power producer, Reliance Energy Ltd, is scouting for coal mines overseas.”We are looking at opportunities to acquire coalmines in Indonesia, Australia, Africa and Mozambique,

Selling Computers to India: Lately, China’s growth has started to slow, and the industry’s leaders have started to recognize the potential of the region’s other giant market, India. This year, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, and Acer have all announced major initiatives there, making India one of their key battlegrounds. Best of all, the demand is coming not just from multinationals and big Indian companies, but also from consumers and small businesses.

Young Indians are Happiest in the world: Young middle-class Indians are the happiest people of all and much more satisfied with all aspects of their lives compared with other nationalities, according to a new global survey by Swedish research and consulting firm Kairos Future. Further, work comes as top priority for Indian youth, followed by a good career and higher status. In contrast, for those in Europe, a good living environment comes on top and above all work-related aspects, Kairos Future said.

FDI inflow outpaces portfolio investment: Reversing the past trend, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country outpaced portfolio investment by almost $5.6 billion in 2006-07. The FDI inflows during the fiscal worked out to be $21.19 billion, while portfolio investments touched $15.62 billion, according to a report on the International Investment Position (IIP) of India released by the RBI.

BSE market cap breaches Rs50-trillion mark: The record breaking rally in the country’s stock market today pushed the total investor wealth past the Rs50,00,000 crore milestone for the first time in its history. The cumulative market capitalisation of all the 4,500-odd companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the world’s biggest bourse in terms of listed firms, soared to a new peak of Rs 50,18,265.06 crore on 21 September.

India’s retail to create 20 lakh jobs in 2 years: Organised retail, which is growing at 30 per cent annually on strong income growth and favourable government policies, is expected to create up to 20 lakh jobs in the next two years, says a study.

A new study on income inequalities in India says average incomes have risen sharply for the bottom 20% of the population by nearly 10% in rural and urban areas, between 1993-94 and 2004-05

Vienna push for small reactor export: The IAEA today adopted a landmark resolution moved by India to promote the development and deployment of small and medium nuclear reactors for countries with small electricity grids. The resolution is in line with India’s goals of exporting homegrown 220MW pressurised heavy water reactors to developing countries. India is the only country that produces such small reactors suitable for small electricity grids.

India’s Cell-Phone Ride Out of Poverty: Struggling artisans and tradespeople in rural India are finding that mobile phones are their ticket to better sales and better lives. Dominating the mobile handset landscape in India is Nokia with a 74% market share. As for service providers, at last count, there were 13 mobile-phone operators, with Bharti Airtel leading the pack with a 24% share and Vodafone (VOD ) in third place with a 17% share.

And India wins, India in final: India swept to a stunning victory over Australia to earn the right to take on Pakistan in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in Johannesburg on Monday.
Chak De! India.

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Guru I Certainly Need

Posted on September 23, 2007 by indra

On September 20, the column of Speaking Tree had an article by Kamlesh Dixit, ‘A guru to provide safe harbour’.

I remember many years ago, my uncle induced Yamuna and me to have ‘Gurumukh’ from a Guruji. We had come to our village for a vacation from Calcutta. I didn’t believe in the ritual, but I couldn’t refuse my uncle too. In a small function at home, we took ‘gurumantra’ from our young guruji who was a teacher by profession. We would have paid him some money as usual. The Guruji happened to be the son of a learned priest who was the guru of my parents and uncles in the family. On many occasion, I heard him emphasizing his point of view with help of Sanskrit slokas. I used to get immensely impressed. But thereafter I got busy in my profession and the visits to the village became rare. We couldn’t meet our guruji. His father also had left the village, which was where we had our farmland.

Many a times, I felt like seeking a guru who could answer at least some of my queries about our religion and the contents of some of the religious books. I wanted someone who could give the contemporary explanation of the teachings and rituals prescribed in our religion. Unfortunately, I have not got one till date. The story of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna given below that Dixit has included in his article, makes me think again about finding a guru.

When Swami Vivekananda first visited Ramakrishna he asked: “I have read the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures several times, I lecture and give discourses on the Gita and Ramayana. Do I still need harbour of a saint; do I still need a guru?”

Ramakrishna didn’t reply to Vivekananda’s question. After a few days Ramakrishna called upon Vivekananda and handed him a parcel to be delivered at a nearby village a few hours away by the sea route.

Early morning the boat and sailor would be ready and all he needed to do was to go to the village and deliver the parcel to the designated person.

Vivekananda agreed and decided to start early. He found the boat and the sailor ready to put out to sea. Suddenly, upon sitting in the boat, Vivekananda realised that he didn’t know the road to the village. He inquired of the sailor who had no clue, either. Vivekananda decided to go back to his guru to ask him the shortest way to the village.

Upon this Ramakrishna said, “Narendra, this is my reply to the question you asked me when we met the first time: Today, you have the medium (the boat), you have the resource (the sailor), you have the road (the sea), you know what to do (deliver the parcel) and you also know where to go but you don’t know the way. Likewise you have read all the scriptures, and you can conduct wonderful discourses on them. However, to realise the wisdom of scriptures one needs a guru, someone who has already traversed that path so that he can guide you through the journey and encourage you to not give up”.

In Sanskrit, ‘gu’ is one who dispels and ‘ru’ means darkness. Every individual who wishes to rise above his existing levels needs someone in life who can help in dispelling darkness and provide light when needed.

I hope one day I find my guru or my guru detects me and picks me up.

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China vs. India- Ying and Chandragupta

Posted on September 22, 2007 by indra

In 1974, a farmer, while digging his well, discovered first of the life-sized clay figure of soldiers of the famous terracotta army of China. Archeologists described it as the greatest archeological find of the 20th century. The first emperor wanted to be buried with his army and hoped to continue conquering even after the life.

The terracotta army was found, around the first emperor’s tomb in Xi’an, China. The site is said to contain at least 7,000 of these clay soldiers, arranged in military formation. So far, only 1,000 or so have been excavated.

Ying became the king of Qin (pronounced “chin”) when he was just 13. Qin was the westernmost of the seven provinces that were to make up the united China. Qin wasn’t the strongest of them. In fact, it was one of the weaker ones.

Ying became king in 247 BC. By 221 BC, he had succeeded in subjugating all the other provinces, creating what is known today as China. He ruled as first emperor until 210 BC, and he died at an early age of 49.

Some consider, the first emperor’s dream of conquering all his neighbours, then doing it all again in the after life, as a madman’s dream. He was simultaneously a practical genius who organised and prepared his society so thoroughly, and with such attention to detail. He gave China a script that is still in use today. He created a working administration whose descendants still run the country.

Ying was so determined to take everything with him to the afterlife that he commanded acrobats to be made for him. His actual tomb has not yet been excavated, but it’s said he re-created his entire empire down there, with rivers made of mercury, a false sky filled with stars and ersatz mountains to climb and dream on.

I read this story taken from ‘Sunday Times, London’. It made think who should be called the first king of India. These days it has become a fashion to compare India with China. Every now and then we find such stories in media. Will the credit go to Chandragupta Maurya or his grandson Ashoka? I shall like the credit to go to Chandragupta.

‘At Sravana Belgola, more famous for the massive sculpture of Gomteshwara, a Jain teacher, Chandragupta is said to have passed his final days in austerity and devotions. Chandragupta is supposed to have resided on Chandragiri, a less known hill nearby. Inscriptions and reliefs dating back to the fifth century AD record his presence; and a low cave amidst the granite scarps is said to be where, in the ultimate act of Jain self-denial, the emperor finally starved himself to death.’ Source- India -A History by John Keay

Just think for a moment. Chadragupta Maurya becomes the first great emperor of India, conquers almost the whole of India duly assisted by the statecraft of Chankya, and then leaves everything and starves himself far away from Patliputra as an ordinary man, perhaps with no big rituals, processions, or memorials. Appreciate the difference. And then get reminded of the news in media where Atalji wishes to come back again in active politics!

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Education- Where India Fails

Posted on September 21, 2007 by indra

A NASSOCOM-McKinsey study last year predicted a shortfall of 5,00,000 by 2010 for IT sector. It shocked the Indians who were languishing under the perception of its demographic advantage, as India turns out 4,00,000 plus engineers a year. Admissions last year in engineering schools touched 5,69,000. India has around 350 universities and about 17,700 undergraduate colleges. But according to Nasscom, only a quarter of technical graduates and 10-15% of general college graduates are suitable for employment in offshore It and BPO industries. All good companies are having their own institutes to train the fresh graduates. An increased interactions between the industry and engineering colleges can sort out the drawbacks of the engineering education system.

However, is it not surprising that the number of admissions in engineering so low, when in a single state like Bihar about 6,91,000 students appears for the Matric examinations? Surprisingly, as per data compiled by YS Rajan, Principal Adviser, CII, only 1.5% out of students who join school go for higher professional education and only 8% graduate. India will have to improve upon these percentages.

Primary Education

Today, over 95% of children between ages 5 and 10 is enrolled in schools and there is a school within 1 km of every habitation, barring few in Bihar and Rajasthan. Because of many initiatives such as Sarv Shiksha Aviyan and mid-day meal, the number of out-of-the school children in the 6-14 age group has dropped from 13.4 million in 2005 to 7.06 million by end-March 2006. But, shockingly, about 70% students drop out by the time they reach class 8. It gets reflected in the workforce population too. As per a Goldman Sachs report, in 2000, the working age population in India, had, on average, attended 5.1 year of school, compared to 6.4 years in China and 6.8 years in Malaysia. There are hardly any options to join vocational education after one drops out before completing class X, the minimum requirement for getting admitted in ITI. It is necessary that an innovative approach be taken to get them skilled in hundreds of various trades that can make them employable, even with help of people just experienced enough to provide the training, if the regular teachers are not available. Both manufacturing and service enterprises can come out to train them.
But another concern is about the quality of education system at the primary level. As reported, “Children learn little. Whereas they are expected to learn to read fluently by the end of standard 2, only about 50% can read fluently even in standard 5.” And that must improve by making the teachers more accountable through fresh training, and if the parents start taking interest into the education of their children. Panchayats and other social groups including NGOs can also contribute.

The quality of education in rural India is poorer. One of the main reasons is the lack of education among the mothers. There seems to be a relation between the education of the mother and the prevalence of the child remaining out of school and/or their performance. The ASER-Pratham survey of rural schools confirms this. It reports that the chances that a child is out of school are much higher for an unschooled mother. Looking at reading skills for children aged six to eight, 25 per cent of those with unschooled mothers cannot recognise alphabets compared to 13 per cent for children with educated mothers.

Trade Education

There is a serious shortage of skilled workers too for a sector such as real estate and construction. It is difficult to get good plumbers, carpenter, electricians, and even bricklayers.

India has 6,500-odd Industrial training Institutes meant to impart vocational training. There must be sufficient trade schools that can impart training to all those who don’t go for higher education. Moreover the present institutes must teach more trades instead of sticking with old and outdated 10-120 trades. In China, the students get an option out of about 4,500 trades.

Starting from the Budget for 2004-05, the Finance Minister Chidambaram is trying to upgrade Industrial Trade Institutes. In his first, he announced that 500 ITIs would be taken up for modernisation. Later, 100 ITIs were taken up for upgrades with domestic resources in a Rs 160 crore scheme, and 400 with World Bank assistance. This year Chidambaram’s Budget announced again that 1,396 industrial training institutes would be upgraded into centres of excellence in specific trades and skills through private-public partnerships (PPPs), with 300 being taken up every year from 2007-08 onwards with the cooperation of states. However, perhaps the model followed by Haryana is worth emulation by other states. The companies such as Sona Koyo Steering (at Nagina), Liberty Shoes (Karnal), Jai Bharat Maruti (Faridabad) and Maruti Udyog Ltd (Gurgaon and Rohtak) having signed MoUs to adopt five ITIs.

Chidambaram proposed an interest-free grant of Rs 2.5 crore to each ITI for revamping, and the allocation of Rs 750 crore for the modernisation of 300 ITIs every year, starting 2007-08. However, I doubt if the heads of these institutes are qualified and experienced enough to use the money efficiently. Industry and institutes tie-ups under a consultative committee of technical people could provide the best solutions.

Raghuram G. Rajan, the IMF’s chief economist once opined that ‘India could be a global leader in education and financial services, to name just two possibilities’. And certainly, India can. However, the education system in India requires an overhaul.

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Kerala’s Karats, and Buddha’s Bengal

Posted on September 21, 2007 by indra

It is strange. Karat is trying to undo all that Buddha is perspiring for in West Bengal. Karat’s foolish rigidity on Indo-US Nuclear deal on nuclear power can spoil the party of the booming economy for India. Naturally that will affect Buddha development plans for West Bengal too. Buddha has already one Mamata to fight and perhaps some more in his own party in West Bengal. Aggressive CITU is another hard nut to crack. How long can Buddha keep on talking against Karat’s views to keep the government at the center on his side for taking West Bengal on fast track?

West Bengal as such is a unique case. Generally, the stability of government means a better progress on the development front for a state. Comrades have been in power for now more than three decades in West Bengal. Thus West Bengal can boast of the most stable political climate amongst all the states. However the recent ‘The State of States’ study of ‘India Today’ presents a dismallypoor picture of West Bengal.

West Bengal is in the bottom half of the table on almost all parameters barring agriculture where it scores reasonably well, thanks to its water resources and the fertile land. But its performance is pathetic in areas like education where it is ranked 13, health (11), law and order (16) and infrastructure and budget management (15) among the 20 large states of the country. Any observer would be justified in asking why Kerala (where the Left ruled intermittently) ranks so high in health, education and law and order while West Bengal, where the Left Front has ruled uninterrupted, is trailing by such a huge margin. Simultaneously one may also ask why Kerala couldn’t emulate the model developed by West Bengal’s comrades to win the elections even after so dismal performance?


The initiative of the E.M.S. Namboodiripad regime for social infrastructure model is credited to put Kerala on track. Kerala kept on the path of progress in spite of the changing rulers. The same credit for initial progress of West Bengal goes to Dr. BC Roy, the first chief minister. But since late sixties with emergence of left front in ruling chair, West Bengal kept on going down the hill till Jyoti Basu was in the boss. Industrialist lost confidence in government. Union became too violent and aggressive. Even the comrades started sending their children to Bangalore, Mumbai or Delhi for higher education. Investment became scarce. Airlines discarded Kolkata. Kolkata became almost a dead city. Unexpectedly Buddha has brought a fresh air of hope in West Bengal for return of better days. Today West Bengal is one of the most sought after state for investments by the industrialist of the country as well for many MNCs. It is a state that seems to be booming. I don’t know if it is limited to only Kolkata.

Kerala, the state of Prakash and his equally aggressive leftist wife Brinda Karat has been unable to build on the social infrastructure to lure investments or create a consumer market that would attract investments. Why do Prakashes are not doing something to overcome this situation? Lalita Panicker has written rightly, “The Karatian worldview does not stop at the borders of India, it encompasses ties with Iran, the nuclear deal, the spread of US hegemony and on-again, off-again opposition to economic reforms. Can we be forgiven for thinking that somewhere along the way, the CPI (M) has forgotten the issues that concern the very people from whom it derives such unprecedented power?” And he puts his views on Buddha too, “West Bengal’s feisty chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee doesn’t let Messrs Karat and Co. forget. So for every ‘suggestion’ from the high command, he comes up with his own Plan B. No mindless industrialisation and reform, shouted the comrades from the capital. We’ll get the capitalists in but make sure that their human face doesn’t slip, countered Bhattacharjee.”

Ignoring his comrades in New Delhi against Indo-US Nuclear Deal to the embarrassment of Manmohan Singh, West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee doesn’t believe in ” blind anti-Americanism” and adds, ”With time, we change our thinking. And when change is good for the people, why shouldn’t we, too, change?” While Prakash is busy addressing public rally, if that can be called a rally against Nuclear Deal, Buddha is scouting for land for two US companies. Buddha endorse the need of nuclear power and American investments, ”the biggest foreign investor in a country like Vietnam is the US. Now, isn’t Vietnam a communist country? We need US investments in areas such as education, IT and other areas, despite our differences with the US policies and those of the Centre.” And perhaps, all the local comrades are with him in his pursuits to take West Bengal up in the ranking among the states. Buddha is one of the chief ministers in east who wishes to be like the southern states on development ranking.

West Bengal is safe with Buddha. Are CPM and the country safe with Karat?

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