India at 60

Posted on August 15, 2007 by indra

Media both print as well as small screen have been presenting some real good materials on occasion of India getting 60 (old or young?) on August 15, 2007. With so many channels vying with each other, it is impossible for anyone to track down all good programmes.

So far print media is concerned, I have come across at least four magazines with special issues on the occasion that has kept me engaged for last few days. I shall like to share some in a little detail.

Outlook’s I-day special- ‘India at 60’ is majestic. It has many features, but the former president, APJ Abdul Kalam’s article ‘Three homilies and a lesson’ and Munir Kadri’s eyewitness feature, ‘There were a million revelers that night’ just thrilled me. Other important contributors are Edward Luce, Pankaj Mishra, Ian Jack, and the oldman Khuswant Singh

‘India Today’ theme, What Unites India, for the special Independence Day issue is worth pondering and exciting for every citizen of this most populous democracy of the world. What is that makes India a model to be emulated? Patrick French, the author of Liberty or Death; India’s journey to Independence and Division; Mark Tully, former BBC bureau chief; Manil Suri, a mathematics professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimre County; Dipankar Gupta, professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU; Fali S. Nariman, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India; and a galaxy of prominent personalities have tried to come to some inferences based on history, tolerance, democracy, constitution, nationalism, culture, and even cricket and cinema. And ultimately, I conclude that it is just divine will that India has remained united.

Outlook Business’s special issue has carried out a stocktaking of the last 60 years with business leaders, and their vision for the next 10 years in India Inc (1947-2017).

Business World’s ‘State Of The Nation’ has covered different sectors of booming economy. I loved a portion from A Place In The Sun that is as follows:
“Today, this country stands a stronger, richer, fairer, healthier, more accomplished nation. For the first time in centuries, if not ever, Indians believe they can really change their lives for the better. Domestic companies that were minnows are now global giants. Executives who once struggled with whether they would be able to afford an apartment after retirement now make enough money every year to house a village. Domestic helpers who once struggled to wear hand-me-downs with dignity now prefer to buy clothes off the shelf. And illiterate farmers who toiled in barren fields by moonlight now live off remittances their children send them from Stockholm, San Francisco and Sharjah.”

Hindustan Times has number of informative compilations for the younger readers:

  Sixty successful men and women of India
  Sixty Indians who keep us culturally sound, grounded and proud.

Some good reading materials that appeared on I-day
  India at 60 is a country of the young people
  Just the write stuff: a list of India’s 60 best since Independence
  Cruising to the future on Highway 60
  Get Set For The Big League
  India at 60: A swot analysis by Mint

I keep on waiting for this day to get the opportunity to get a hand on these reading materials and collect it for my library. I don’t know how long that goes on.Many a times,I ponder if Independence Day could be celebrated with Bharat Mata as the main deity as Indians do with Ganesh Puja and Durga Puja. But Bharat Mata can’t be immersed after the festivity. I discard the dream.

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Can someone give me some good news from Bihar?

Posted on August 14, 2007 by indra

As an old man I spend most of my time with newspapers and news magazines- some subscribed and some on-line e-papers courtesy Internet on my laptop that Anand has provided me. I keep on looking for good news about Bihar as a very thirsty and hungry person looking for some water and food to survive. I do hardly get anything worth after wasting my energy for hours in the early morning or in the late night.

Then I go to the news that could have possibly come from Bihar too or at least could have carried mention of Bihar in some way. For instance, Tech Mahindra Ltd, part of $ 4.5 billion Mahindra Group, plans to open 5 engineering schools in different parts of the country with an aim of producing skilled manpower as per the needs of IT industry. And I start pondering and grumbling: ‘Why couldn’t one of these engineering schools be located in Bihar?’

I move to next news: ‘The government of India is planning to build 6-7 new IT townships, called knowledge townships, close to major urban centres and international airports. The residential townships will be based on the walk-to-work concept. The professionals working there will be encouraged to live close to the workplace. Each township would have a minimum 10-hectare built-up area to make it compliant with FDI rules relating to investment in real estate. Each township is likely to entail an investment of Rs 500-650 crore, depending on the area. The companies setting up units in the townships may be extended tax sops under either the software technology park (STP) or special economic zone (SEZ) scheme.’ Can Patna or Muzaffarpur have one such township? Bihar will have to urbanise if it wishes to get developed. We hardly have any other alternative.

And I move to the third news from Bhubaneswar: ‘Information and technology giant Wipro will soon set up the state’s biggest software development centre, where 15,000 IT engineers would be employed.’ When will one of the biggies of IT sector announce such news for Patna or Muzaffarpur? Why is the government of Bihar not coming out with some innovative as well as attractive plans that can allure these IT biggies? Is there any other sector that can provide employment to so many educated young men who are getting into workforce from the state every year?

And as the devastating flood in Bihar has been a hot subject, another news attracted me: “Uttar Pradesh has once again proposed two mega hydro-power projects on the Mahakali and Ghaghra rivers in Nepal near the Indo-Nepal border to prevent annual menace of floods in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during monsoons. Both the hydro projects have the potential of generating 16,000 Mw.” I had been written about it. And many had very positive comments. Why can’t the proposals come from Bihar government? If Mayawati can think on this long-term manner, why can’t our engineer chief minister? Is there no solution for this annual menace of floods for Bihar? If there is no way out that hardly any one can believe, why can’t we have a detail disaster plan so that every person in administration knows what he is do when the flood strikes the state or the region? And then even if the chief minister is out of the country on the state duty, the officers region must carry out their responsibility or face suspension or harsher punishment.

However, I keep my patience for days and night. I get some successes too. Here is one: ‘The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is constructing an ‘Art Village’ in Nalanda on 64 acres of land. Conceived on the pattern of art centres of ancient period, the ‘Art Village’ will offer tourists an opportunity to see live creation of handicrafts by the artisans of the region. Besides, the tourists would also be able to see performing arts at the open-air theatre and visual arts at the exhibition hall.’ However, I wonder who all will use the facilities. Unless the state and the central government make a real attractive hub that can make the visitors stay at and near Nalanda for sometime, at least a day, the facility might not be flourishing commercially.

Sometimes, I dig the good news from the big story: (Please go to the link to appreciate my mining effort) ‘The Railway board has firmed up eligibility conditions for deciding on the companies that will be allowed to set up a wheel factory at Chapra, a diesel locomotive factory at Marora, an electric locomotive factory at Madhepura, all in Bihar.’ I wish these the manufacturing faculties of railway ministry of the news get commissioned before the golden seat of railway ministry goes away from its occupant from Bihar.

Further I got thrilled when I find an economist such as Kausik Basu writing so nicely about the chief minister of Bihar which has not happened for many years: Kaushik Basu, professor of economics, Cornell University writes a lead article- ‘The East also Rises’ in Times of India.

“Recently, in Patna, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar gave one of the finest speeches one could have heard by an Indian politician. It was given in elegant, rhetoric-free Hindi, and with virtually no notes. He spoke about the poverty line, the numbers living below it in Bihar and what should be done about this. He then sat through several sessions listening to professional economists, and later, in an informal group, talked intelligently about reviving higher education in Bihar.”

I am sure Bihar chief minister must be having sleepless night in handling the unprecedented flood situation in North Bihar and spending his days in flood affected areas along with his officers providing the leadership from the front. I wish him a success. Very soon the state must put all the development projects on track again. I am keeping my ears and eyes open to hear that news.

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Life at 68

Posted on August 14, 2007 by indra

I normally wake up anytime between 3~4AM, but try once at least to sleep for some more time. However, generally I can’t sleep and so get up. This has been the routine for years. Following the advice of some well wisher, I take four glasses of water, and sit on my laptop. While the laptop opens my settings, I go through some slokas from Upanishads and Gita.

The screen starts with CNET news. I surf through newspapers (as some chief minister does) and some magazines on some days. My newspapers are: Mint, Business Standard, Financial Express, Business line, Hindustan Times, Telegraph, Times of India and then naturally patnadaily.com and bihartimes.com. It is really painful that none of the newspapers from Patna has any e-paper edition. On Friday and Saturday, there are weekly magazines such as Business World, India Today, Business Today, Outlook, Business Week and Economist to go through. Some odd ones get in and out off my list. In between I go for toilet and teeth brushing too. This continues till 6~6.30AM when I leave the laptop and prepare my favourite ‘masala’ tea. Yamuna joins me for tea near the lobby. I love to sit most of the time in the lobby as I find myself nearer to the outside world by sitting there. Thereafter, Yamuna gets busy in her exercise and yoga. I leave for my 5 km- walk as advised by my cardiologist. It has kept me going. Normally, I go up to sector 40, or some times for a change to sector 50. The walking track of both the parks is sufficient to complete my routine walking task in five rounds. I buy milk and curd from Mother Dairy, and vegetables and fruits from Safal. Sometimes, I buy some other essential items of grocery too, as the shops in Sector 40 open pretty early to cater to walker.

As a religious and now old man too, I have been doing every day ‘masaparayan’ of Tulsidas Ramcharitmanas, however, without any rituals, for many years now. It gives me a lot of peace. I really enjoy doing that. For the rest of the day, the companions are newspapers, magazines that I have subscribed, and books. Last week, I bought two books- ‘The Indian Mutiny’ by Saul David and ‘The Rise of India’ by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha.

Sometimes I sit on lap top again either to talk with my sons and the family in USA. Anand expects us to be in regular touch. With video camera, we get a feel of proximity. We could enjoy Emma’s yawn on screen the other day. She appeared so near that I felt like touching her on the screen of the laptop.

While I enjoy taking a nap after the meal at around 1PM, I rest a while whenever I feel like. I come to know of it when the body and mind send notice demanding it. And I confess I hate taking medicines and going to doctors.

I hardly socialize. However, there are five families that are close to us. They come and we do also visit them sometimes. They all good persons and I cherish their company.

Yamuna, my wife remains the only companion in thick and thin, when we are alone now. I don’t know if I wished for this life, but there is a lot of excitement left even in this simple life. I am waiting for someone this week who has a big project of manufacturing in mind. He has sought my help. I still feel like trying once more to get a kick of it.


I don’t know if it is destiny that makes us live this wonderful life the way it is today. But He has been kind all along and hope He shall remain so for the rest. ‘Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah…’ ‘Tamaso maa jyotirgamaya..’

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Booming and Bubbling India- XIII

Posted on August 13, 2007 by indra

Another good quarter ended June 2007. The performance of India Inc. seems fantastic. 2,308 companies register a massive 39% growth in net profit (over the previous corresponding period that ended June 2006). Top line grew 19% during this period. The performance by India Inc. at the operating income level recorded an impressive 38% compared to 28% in the earlier quarter. Stock market movement may be worrying to some, but robust basics suggest it as correction. Industrial production for the quarter is on rise, particularly the manufacturing is doing fine. Employment is growing. Prediction of growth rate is not affected. India is sure of a steady growth. Some took the shortage of skilled manpower as a gospel truth. See how Indian companies are overcoming that by putting its own facilities such as one at Mysore by Infosys. Some may doubt, but even for Indian outsourcers, the party is not over. The rising rupee may be a concern, but for some sector requiring imported raw material it helps bringing down the cost. The boom is on and it is bubbling.

Jobs grow faster than population in India: For the first time since Independence, employment has grown at a faster rate than population during a five-year period between 2000 and 2005. Is jobless growth a thing of past?

Bajaj’s with Renault: India’s second largest two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto Ltd, which has plans to develop a small car with French carmaker Renault SA, said its main contribution to the proposed vehicle would be the engine. It is an indicator of strong manufacturing India.

Top buyout cos make a beeline for India: Global private equity’s (PE) platinum leveraged buyout (LBO) firms have started arriving in India with plans to grab a slice of the country’s booming PE market. By March 2008, at least five of the world’s Top 10 LBO shops are expected to have teams on the ground here, according to executives in Mumbai’s PE circles. Does it not show the basics of the companies strong?

Wipro to buy Infocrossing of US: India’s third largest IT firm Wipro acquired US-based Infocrossing Inc, a leader in data centre space and IT outsourcing, for $600 million (nearly Rs 2,400 crore) in cash. For Wipro, the deal would create one of the world leaders in end-to-end IT infrastructure management solutions.

Wal-Mart, Bharti announce 50-50 JV: Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart, world’s largest retailer announced a 50-50 venture that will be called Bharti-Wal-Mart Private Ltd, for their cash-and-carry and wholesale business and will cater to small retailers and will source products directly from farmers and small manufacturers. The deal was important enough to be covered by ‘Business Week’ as well as ‘Economist’.

HAL 34th among top 100 global defence firms: Hindustan Aeronautics has climbed 11 notches up to reach the 34th position in the list of top 100 defence companies in the world, released by the US-based magazine Defence News saw HAL improving its position from 45 based on the company’s sales and turnover.

Four Indian institutions in world university rankings: Four leading Indian educational institutions- the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs at 57), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs at 68), the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU at 183) and the Delhi University (DU), have found their place in a list of world’s top 200 universities, with Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford dominating the rankings, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement, an authoritative journal in academia. In the list of top technology universities, IIT jumps to the third place after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Berkeley. Among the world’s top 100 science universities, IITs rank 33rd. I wonder the listing considered all IITs and all IIMs as one single institution.

Hyundai exports four lakhs Atos from Chennai: Hyundai Motor India has shipped 4,00,000 units of its small car Atos prime from its Chennai facility to overseas market. As announced earlier, the company uses India’s facility as manufacturing hub for small cars even for export.

Indian American donates $20 million to native village: Kumar Bahuleyan, 81, who was born to a Dalit familly in India, decided to donate his personal fortune as a gratitude to his village, to establish a neurosurgery hospital, a health clinic and a spa resort in Chemmanakary, in Kottayam district of Kerala. Is it not something exemplary, and encouraging for many to do something for their villages, lakhs in waiting?

M&M to develop engineering skills among students: As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is planning to take steps to develop engineering skills among students in the age group of 7-12 years in association with the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) India through an innovative programme – AWIM (A World in Motion) in Nashik that makes the challenges of maths and science exciting by bringing authentic engineering design experiences into the classroom.

TCS eyes 150 deals: TCS Financial Solutions, a strategic business unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has decided to pursue clients and opportunities in regions like Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa to reduce dependence on US clients. As reported, “Between 100-150 deals are likely to be in the pipeline in the next 12-18 months from these markets alone. Of this, 20% is likely to be in the large category ranging between $30-200 million, while 80% would be in the $5-10 million range.”

India is the 2nd largest market: India is now the second largest market for foreign major Standard Chartered Bank, which has posted a 50% rise in operating profits here in the first half of 2007 with the operating profits for H1 2007 at $320 million as against $213 million in the corresponding period last year. Is not India getting attractive on its own?

India is now 5th largest global steel producer: India has moved up two places in global ranking and is now the fifth largest producer of crude steel in the world with the revised figures for production in 2006 ahead of South Korea and Germany with the revised figures for crude steel production in 2006-07 pegged at 50.71 million tonne and that of finished steel at 51.90 million tonne.

Government to facilitate setting up of Rs65 crore R&D fund for steel: The Union government plans to facilitate the creation of an Rs65 crore fund that will finance research and development (R&D) in the steel industry, to improve the quality of steel produced in the country.

Industrial output seen up 10.6% YoY: India’s industrial output in June is expected to have grown a robust 10.6 percent from a year earlier.

India Inc raises record $22 bn: In the current year till July, Indian capital markets have seen their largest-ever initial public offerings (IPOs) and a mega follow-on public offer (FPO).

Isro to build nano-satellite platform: India’s space agency is set to launch a special platform to put into space miniature satellites catering to the needs of developing countries and the domestic scientific community.

India as outsourcing market becomes lucrative: In the first-half of the year 2007, India outpaced Australia and Japan as the largest market for outsourcing contracts in the Asia Pacific region by awarding a total of $1.68 billion worth of contracts.

Balco set to become world power in aluminium: Chhattisgarh-based Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) is all set to become the world’s largest producer of aluminium from a single location with a major expansion programme with a target to produce one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in the next three years.

SBI scouts for $1 billion acquisition: Having tasted minor success with small buyouts, State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank is ready with a $1 billion war chest to take over a niche bank which not just gives it access to foreign markets but also helps it blunt the advantage of international players who are poised to enter India in 2009.

Cox& King leases mountaine to push tourism: Tour operator Cox & Kings has acquired a mountain in the heart of the Swiss Alps in a bid to boost outbound tourism from India and boost revenues in the bargain.

Mitsubishi constructs new plant: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries India on Thursday said it has invested Rs 50 crore to set up a new plant in Tamil Nadu’s (TN) Vellore district to double production capacity in gear cutting tools.

BSNL aims at half million customers for Wimax: State-owned phone firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd or BSNL is in talks with system integrators and hardware vendors to plan a countrywide, mobile high-speed data network.

IIT launches centre for computing resources: The Indian Institute of Technology- Madras, launched the P G Senapathy Centre for Computing Resources in its campus with the state-of-the-art facility set up at a cost of Rs20 crore at an investment of Rs2.5 crore.

Indian cos teaming up for greener vehicles: Indian vehicle makers are joining the global race to make less-polluting, greener vehicles, teaming up with international firms and pouring money into research that could result in commercially viable technologies quickly.

India gets its first integrated animation studio: Compact Disc India (CDI), India’s leading integrated media and entertainment company will invest $12.40 million (Rs49.60 crore) to set up India’s first modern integrated state-of-the-art animation studio at the Kerala Industrial Development Corporation (Kinfra).

GM to source $1 bn spares from India: General Motors Corp, the largest US automaker, plans to quadruple autoparts purchases from India to $1 billion in three years, buying more from low-cost sources to combat competition from global rivals. Purchases would be about $250 million in value this year and increase fourfold by 2010.GM India has as many as 100 suppliers, of which about 40 were being lined up for global sourcing.

Corporate farming is taking some concrete shape in India. FieldFresh’s ‘Agricultural Centre of Excellence’ (ACE) is one such initiative. Even Mayawati’s government has come out with a policy that encourages contract farming and will usher prosperity for the farmers with elimination of the middlemen and assistance regarding other inputs for farming. Agriculture sector is bound to take a quantum leap in years to come.

Doesn’t one get excited to know that very soon the HRD Ministry will make available to students the expensive textbooks in a free digital form with integrated multimedia functions, such as video clips, animation, virtual reality, and hyperlinks in addition to the documented materials, for undergraduate and post graduate courses?

And India celebrates its 60.

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Rigveda in US Senate

Posted on August 12, 2007 by indra

As reported, thirty manuscripts of the ancient Hindu text Rig Veda dating from 1800 to 1500 BC are among 38 new items that have been added to the United Nations heritage list to help preserve them for posterity. The items have been included in the ‘Memory of the World Register’ set up by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), bringing to 158 the total number of inscriptions on the Register so far.

Here is another news:

July 12, 2007; Washington, DC – History was created today when the United States Senate opened its session with Gayatri Mantra from Rig-Veda, the oldest Hindu text composed around 1,500 BCE.

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nevada, before starting the prayer, sprinkled few drops of water from Ganges River of India, considered holy in Hinduism, around the podium in US Senate.

Zed’s prayer included recitations from Brahadaranyakopanisad and Tattiriya Upanisad. Zed read from third chapter of Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord). Sporting saffron colored robe, rudraksh mala, sandal paste tilak, and Hare Ram Hare Krishan inscribed yellow shawl, Zed ended his prayers with the last mantra of Rig-Veda. His concluding line was “Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all” – the English translation of “Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”

The Gayatri mantra is as follows —
OM BHURBHUVAHA SWAHA TATA SAVITUR VARENYAM BHARGODEVASYA DHIMAHI DHIYO YO NHA PRACHODYAT
MEANING ——

“We meditate the God who is the base of lives’ of universe, totally free from any sorrow, omnipresent, creates the universe, gives all pleasure/merriment,most supreme and acceptable, purest entity; May the God enlighten our minds with wisdom by His inspiration”.

It will be interesting to go through the detailed meaning through each word and its composition.

There is nothing Hindu in Veda and many religious scriptures that should be protested by some ignorant fundamentalists. The truth revealed by the Vedas is universal.

God’s foremost adjective is antmah, which means He is at the core of every atom.

Soul provides life to the body it dwells in, but who gives life to the soul? Purusha is soul and Uttam Purusha or Ultimate sustains the soul. The shape of God is actually unimaginable, achintya, therefore He appears to us according to our own imagination and choice. Immutable are His attributes. None is nearer than Him and no one is farther either, anantah.

God is paridheya, whom we can receive from all sides, at any time, at any place, within the soul. He is Truth, Knowledge, Infinite and Ultimate: satyam, gyanam, anantam, Brahm.

His name is greatest and potent of all: na tasya pratima asti, yasya naam mahadyashah. He is the basis of all creatures, One seen in many, and many in One:

Aiko Deva sarvabhuteshu, aiko bahusyam. The Vedas are the fountainhead of all knowledge.

God’s primeval and foremost name is Aum, also known as Pranavah. Aum encompasses all including sound, energy, matter, space, consciousness, air and light. The chanting of Aum has been termed as Udgeetha. This chant-ing can be mansik also which means silent repetition in mind imagining overall swarupa, form of the formless God.

‘You are never away from us but strange it is that we cannot see you. Your divine poetry (creation) never dies’.

Doing righteous deeds and surrendering unconditionally before Him qualifies the seeker to the rarest exalted position of liberation, severing connection with mundane world. “O, son of God, may you become like God, the deathless (but not God, since none can be Him).”

Only these thoughts and all such as these in scriptures of all religions can bring the world together and make it secular.

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Powering India-4: Solar Energy and Rural India

Posted on August 10, 2007 by indra

Solar energy can be perhaps the best source of energy for rural India. I don’t know about other states, but in the villages around my own in Bihar and that of Yamuna, many petty farmers have installed the solar plates. Mostly, it provides the digital connectivity and entertainment through TVs and music system, besides lighting the home and cooling too with fans. It must be put to many more uses- pumps, airconditioning, computerization, etc.

Solar rays can be used to heat or produce electricity. Solar photovoltaics (SPV) systems transform solar heat directly into power.

Solar energy accounted for a minuscule 0.039% of the world’s total energy supply in 2004. But estimates suggest that globally, SPV power has grown by an average of 41% a year over the past three years.

PV systems in India add up to only about 245 mw in aggregate capacity as of December 2005, the latest available data with the ministry of new and renewable energy. Interestingly, India is very much well placed so far the sunlight is concerned. India receives solar energy equivalent to over 5000 trillion kWh/year, which is far more than the total energy consumption of the country.

Main challenges for solar energy technology are that of increasing the efficiency and cutting down the cost.

 The efficiency of transforming solar heat into power has improved from a lowly 6% to a more respectable 15%. Some US firm such as Sunpower produces the most efficient silicon photovoltaic cell in the world, which operates at 21 per cent efficiency (percentage of energy from sunlight that is converted into electricity). The theoretical maximum is 28 per cent. Spectrolab, a subsidiary of Boeing, makes non-silicon solar cells that reach 40 per cent efficiency.

 The other effort is to cut down the cost. The costs of SPV panels have come down from as much as $20 per watt to just over $2.5/W. One company is working to reduce the cost of polysilicon, the most important raw material from $3 (Rs 120) a kilo to $1 (Rs 40) a kilo.

Indian Players

International SPV players are very bullish on India. Domestic entrepreneurs are also coming forward.

Tata BP Solar, one of India’s first solar panel makers, with revenues of Rs 450 crore, exports 80 per cent of its products. The Bangalore-based company plans to double manufacturing capacity to 80 MW by end-2007 and scale up to 300 MW by 2010. Tata BP Solar is investing $100 million to create a solar plant in Bangalore.

Moser Baer Photo Voltaic has a 40-MW (megawatt) facility in Greater Noida. It plans to boost capacity to 300 MW by 2010. Moser Baer picked up stakes in the US-based Stion Corporation and SolFocus, and Slovenia-based Solarvalue, and had invested Rs 260 crore in setting up a Photo Voltaic (PV) business to manufacture solar cells and modules. From $100 million (Rs 400 crore) this year, the company expects revenues of $1 billion (Rs 4,000 crore) by 2010. As reported, the company is “working to bring down cost from an average of 35 cents (Rs 14) per kilowatt to 10 cents (Rs 4).” A solar panel six times larger than current models is slated for early 2009.

Overseas players are also getting into India. As reported, California-based Signet Solar will invest $2 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) over the next 10 years in three photovoltaic cell plants here. With an initial investment of $ 150 million (Rs 600 crore), each of these facilities will have an annual output of 300 MW.

Solar Semiconductor, another US-based company, is setting up an SPV unit in Hyderabad.

Efficient Indian manufacturers can get into export too, as the global PV cell market stands at $7-8 billion and is expected to grow to $40 billion by 2010. According to a report by brokerage firm CLSA, the PV sector is set to grow at 38% year-on-year till 2010 to a total capacity of 6GW, taking the industry turnover to $35-40 billion.

Currently, 60 companies are in production of PV in some way or the other. With significant incentive in new semi-conductor policy, multibillion-dollar investments may be coming. Many SPV projects are reportedly in the pipeline, with the investment running to about $5-6 billion. The manufacturing process for making silicon microprocessor chips and SPV cells is basically the same, though that for the latter is far less complicated requiring fewer steps. The investment requirement is about $300 million for an SPV unit of 100 mega MW capacity.

As reported, half the global production of photovoltaic cells goes to Japan, mainly in grid-connected homes. Japan makes 40 per cent of the $6-billion (Rs 24,000-crore) solar market, expected to touch $40 billion (Rs 1,60,000 crore) by 2010. Solar-powered homes, common in Germany (40 per cent share) and the US, give power to the grid during the day (the meters run backwards) and draw power at night. This lowers the net electricity consumed by the grid.

Future Solar stations will be connected to the grid. India still fares poorly on solar electricity generation, but the government has set a target of 10 power plants of 1-MW each. State electricity boards have been asked to use at least 0.2 per cent of the electricity they generate from grid-connected photovoltaic projects by 2011. Compare this to India’s potential for solar power generation – 600 GW.

How is India using the solar energy at the ground level? Over 500,000 solar cookers are in use around India. The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam heats 100,000 litres of water a day using solar power. The government intends to make solar-powered systems mandatory in hotels and hospitals.

Innovatively designed solar cookers and lanterns could drastically reduce the need for subsidising kerosene (SKO) and domestic cooking gas (LPG). Solar PV water pumping systems can reduce the consumption of diesel. 7002 such pumps are already installed. And the saving in subsidy for kerosene, LPG, and diesel may be about Rs 40,000 crore per annum.

However, for exploiting the potential of solar energy better, research labs and manufacturing companies of India must take up R&D on a serious scale. The product designers must think of using solar energy as the power source. Efficient solar collectors can capture the available solar radiation and transfer it as heat to perform various useful activities, like heating, cooling, drying, water purification and sundry other industrial processes. Cost is a “significant impediment” to solar air-conditioning with capital costs several folds those for conventional electric vapour-compression systems. The innovative design of solar thermal collectors that can be used both for cooling, refrigeration and heating requirements, can reduce the costs per unit energy considerably.

Every house of India has a potential to save grid electricity from the fossil fuels for which the country is largely dependent on import and help reducing the dangerously increasing global warming. I wish India emulated Japan.

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Automobile Manufacturing

Posted on August 10, 2007 by indra

As an engineering professional who worked in an Automobile Industry for more than thirty years of my life, I used to write a lot on technical areas that were of interest to me. Many of my articles were published in trade journals and I was fortunate enough to have a few books in my name. A few months ago, I along with my son Anand decided it would be nice to digitize these writings and move it to this site. The goal is to eventually have all my writings ported over to this site. The good news is that the process has already started. The bad news is it’s going to take us a long time before we can have all my writings ported over.

Today, I would like to draw your attention to my writings on Automobile Manufacturing. Check it out under My Writings.

Here are the highlights with a brief explanation:

History of automobile manufacturing:
Exactly who invented the motor car is to a great extent lost in the mists of history. Many engineers in different countries were working on the same general lines in the middle of the nineteenth century deriving inspiration from the early steam buses and coaches. They all felt the need for a more compact and convenient prime mover to get into a horseless age. ….

Machining of major engine components – 5Cs:
The present trend is to manufacture only 5Cs – Cylinder block, Cylinder head, Crankshaft, Camshaft, and Connecting rod in-house and procure all other components from vendors. Some prefer to reduce these numbers depending on the availability of reliable vendors nearby. In a newer approach, even for these 5Cs, the roughing operations are being farmed out. The in-house facilities of manufacturing concentrate only on highly value-added, critical, high-technology operations that require high capital investment and can not be expected from vendors with limited resources…..

Transmission gears’ manufacturing:
Gear manufacturing has been one of the most complicated of the metal cutting processes. From the beginning of the century, the demand for better productivity of gear manufacturing equipment was posed by “The Machines that changed the World” i.e. AUTOMOBILES…..

Sheet metal stamping:
Ever increasing competition in automotive industry demands productivity improvements and unit cost reduction. The manufacturing engineers and production managers of car body panels are changing their strategy of operation. The days of ‘a simple washer to a very complicated fender, all in plant stamping facility’, are gone. In-house manufacturing facilities preferably produce only limited number of major car panels……

Auto Body welding:
Some 250~300 pressed panels from in-house and vendor facilities are brought to different subassembly stations of Body Weld Shop. Mainly resistance welding and other joining methods carry out subassemblies of pressed components in a planned sequence at number of stations. Some subassemblies are done in off-line manufacturing cells and fed in at appropriate locations into the main assembly line…

Automobile Painting:
All automobile users seek for a chemically resistant, mechanically durable, pleasant in appearance and finish painting. Design constraints of product, customer preferences, and local government regulations related to environmental control – all affect the painting process decisions. A close and effective interaction between the concerned experts from auto-plant, paint process plants, paint application equipment, and paint as well as chemical plant/s are essential for achieving the highest possible paint-shop efficiency…

Assembly and testing of cars:
Assembly of some 2000-3000 interior and exterior parts as well as major components are fitted on painted body in assembly plant that is generally constituted of :Trim Line,Chassis Line, and
Final Assembly Line….

Feel free to read/share the content with your friends in automobile industry.

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Why are we so mean?

Posted on August 9, 2007 by indra

Mumbai has a historical mansion on Mumbai’s Malabar Hill. For the last 25 years, the mansion is vacant today, gates rusted and overgrown creepers allover. Mohammad Ali Jinnah — the founder of Pakistan had built it. Jinnah wished to spend the last few days of his life. His only daughter Dina Wadia the mother of Nusli Wadia, the industrialist owning Bombay Dying wishes to spend the last few days of her life in a mansion that her father dearly loved. Dina is a British national and 88 now.

In a letter to the PM last July, Dina, who said the house bears “great sentimental value” to her, wrote: “It is now over 50 years since my father’s death and I have been deprived of my house. He bought the house in 1917 from his hard-earned money as a lawyer, got married and lived in it till partition. This is the house where I grew up and lived till I married. The property is lying idle for 23 years. It is completely neglected. I request you to return it to me after considering the two legal opinions of retired Chief Justices of India.”

According to government sources, Jinnah did not will his house to his daughter, but to his now-deceased sister Fatima, who migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and was declared an evacuee. The house was therefore taken over by the Indian government.

However, Dina has said the will was never executed and hence for all practical purposes her father died without a will. Her argument is that since Jinnah was a Khoja Muslim, who are governed by the Hindu law of succession when it comes to property and inheritance, Dina would, as a daughter, have first right to her father’s properties over his brother and sisters if he died without a will.

However, the Government of India is clearly in no mood to hand this over. Advait Sethna, GOI advocate says, “Mr Jinnah had made a will, which, according to the petitioner is unprobated and as per this will the executor is Ms Fatima who is the sister of Mr Jinnah and therefore we are saying it becomes an evacuee property. And under the Evacuee Act the ownership comes to the Government.”

The mansion is historical in every respect. Jinnah played a role that India, more so Congress Party might not like. But no doubt, Jinnah remains a historical figure. The mansion has also seen Mahatma Gandhi visiting Jinnah for the final conciliation.

But why should it not be given to Dina who was born and brought up in the mansion. She must have real emotional attachment with it. Once she has appealed to the PM and gone to the court too, the mansion must go to her on humane ground, may be with certain cnditions. Why should the law that Britishers framed, decide everything? Why should India not consider Dina more as the mother of Nusli rather as the daughter of Jinnah?

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New IAS: Will They be Good Public Servants?

Posted on August 8, 2007 by indra

‘Outlook’ had published one wonderfully great analytical report ‘Backwoods Babus’ by Anjali Puri on the new breed of the babus (IAS). Increasingly, the new members of the IAS cadre are coming from the lower income group of the society and from smaller places- semi-urban towns and villages. Children of rickshaw-pullers, farmers, mill workers, and clerks are getting selected in the IAS. They may have better feel of the ‘aam aadami’. The trend may be a precursor of inclusive growth and equity. It raises some questions too. How will it affect the governance? Will it become more efficient and humane? It will be if the new generation has more of Sudha Devi, one of the officer who said, “My humble background makes me better able to understand and relate to people’s problems. When I see a farmer with grievances standing in front of me, I see my father.” Will their humble background change their attitude and make them work hard for the benefits of those who are underprivileged, needy or just like their parents, or over the time they shall also get distanced from the ‘aam aadami’ with many excuses, trained and transformed themselves into the typically snobbish babus with all the shortcomings for a desired efficient and people’s government?

Some of the information is disheartening. There are hardly few such as V. Anbukkumar who doesn’t go for coaching in metro. I feel bad when I read the story of the family of Govind Jaiswal, son of a father who used to pull rickshaw at one time. It had to sell land to finance coaching classes for Govind in Delhi. The loss of land and its memory may become the reason behind Govind getting into the business of money massing that the babus are charged with by the people. However, his refusal of Rs 4 crore as dowry is a good signal. I wish he kept himself away from these allurements. Unfortunately, many can’t.

I also feel bad when I read the success story of Muthyalaraju Revu, son of a farmer in Andhra for a different reason. Revu had already done his B Tech from Regional Engineering College, Warangal, and his Masters in Bangalore. Revu topped the list of 2006 batch. Perhaps, Revu could have done well in any career he would have chosen. With his brilliant academic record, he might have gone for teaching and research, and he could have succeeded like many others and left his mark in his area of specialization. I still remember Ramakrishna and Braj Bhushan Pandey from my batch of IIT joining teaching and doing extremely well. Many as engineers have succeeded much more than even the best of IAS. But I don’t know if Revu opted for IAS on his own or because of the pressure of the family. It is unfortunate that in many cases, the young men hardly get the right advice and information about different professions. But my main question here is different: Can’t the union public service examination be made such that coaching does not help? Coaching makes the real merit secondary. Coaching is costly too. It is difficult for a poor family to arrange money for that. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, no bank provides loan for coaching.

However, the perseverance of some of the candidates is exemplary. Sanjay Kumar Singh, son of the court clerk in Sasaram district of Bihar got in on his seventh attempt. “He switched from pre-engineering to the merchant navy to build up a bank balance, doing his BA by correspondence at the same time from the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Then, he gave up his $3,000 per month salary to join the IAS-coaching class in Delhi.” Perhaps he is a typical case of ‘perseverance pays’.

I really admire V. Anbukkumar, son of a retired police constable from the backward Vanniyar community, who had his schooling in village Chinnapalli Kuppam, Tamil Nadu got into the IAS on his 7th attempt. It is really great, as he didn’t take any private coaching. But can one think about the number of the candidates who would have been failing even after all the permissible attempts and after spending the family’s fortunes in coaching? What are their numbers? How do they go in the career? Should it not be researched?

Great is M. Sudha Devi, the daughter of a farmer from TamilNadu, who cleared at the first attempt. She had also gone for a coaching institute in Delhi. But she had a reason that is worth noticing. Married at an early age, Sudha had given up her studies. When the marriage broke up after four years, she finished her BA, and prepared for the civil services. Sudha is just exemplary for the girls next door everywhere.

Muhammed Qaiser Abdul Haque, 29, one of the eleven children of a former power loom worker, now grocer from the textile town of Malegaon, Maharashtra, is another success story that must be emulated by the youngsters. Under all odds, he did his Masters from Pune. Haque came to Delhi and managed to join a civil services study circle for backward and minority students at Hamdard University in Delhi. Is his determination and success not extraordinary?

IAS was and will remain star attraction as profession for many years to come with the type of halo and respect it has among the lower echelons of the society. If media helps with right perspectives about different professions, the professionals will stop preferring IAS.

Some good news are already there. “The impact of IT on civil services aspirants can clearly be seen in Bangalore where many coaching institutes had to be closed due to lack of candidates. There has been a 10 to 15 per cent fall in the number of candidates taking the exam from Karnataka in the last five years” a civil services trainer in Bangalore is reported to have said.

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Nalanda International University and Politics

Posted on August 7, 2007 by indra

Why do some people see only the darker side of any endevour to create a great thing? Why do they start having suspicion about the good intentions of some who can dream, take lessons from the failures in past and get ahead?

I came across one such article by Shri Sunanda K Dutta-Ray on ‘ Reviving Nalanda’ in Business Standard. Shri Dutta-Ray is ‘not sure whether the $1 billion Nalanda Mark II project is meant to be a temple of higher learning, a money-making investment or an exercise in soft power to strengthen ties with China and Japan, draw Australasia closer and provide a cultural focal point for ASEAN and East Asia Summit countries.’ He goes further, “With most East Asian Summit members endorsing the plan at last January’s Manila summit, it sounds even more like politics than academics.”

Why is Duta-Ray so concerned and skeptical, when Amartya Sen is not? Why can’t he wait for a year or two and see the progress, when he himself mentions of “Amartya Sen, the NMG chairman, announcing last week that Nalanda would be ‘functioning in a small way’ by 2009 with ‘a few thousand students’ from all over the world. The curriculum would include philosophy and Buddhist studies, Asian history and classical and modern languages. Scientific research will follow.”

And what is wrong if the retired South Block mandarin bubbled about six-lane highways, airports at Gaya and even Nalanda and de luxe hotels, organised pilgrim tours, crash courses in Hindu and Buddhist thought, yoga centres, ayurvedic clinics, meditation homes and all manner of facilities for rich intellectual pilgrims? Boddha Gaya is already an International airport. It can expand as and when required. It can be connected to the university site by a six-lane road. An international city can always be conceptualized and realized, though as separate project, in the vicinity of the University. It can consist of the second homes of the intellectuals of Buddhists countries who wish to spend their last part of life near a place of pilgrimage. What used to be Varanasi for Hindus, Boddh Gaya can be for Buddhists.

What is wrong if an eight-lane corridor is built by China, the master infrastructure builder, between Vaisalli and Boddha Gaya as a good gesture or a diplomatic drive? Rich Jains from Gujarat can build hotels. Buddhist industrialists from Japan and Thailand can set up a number of technical training schools and help developing a manufacturing hub along the super expressway to make the people of the state, that gave them their religion, a little more prosperous.

If one is to build a great institution, one must dream. What is wrong in expecting some benevolent India baiters from US such as Bill Gates or John Chambers to set up the best software engineering institute of the world in the campus of Nalanda International University? Why can’t some influential indologists from US, UK, and Germany make the best institutions and the governments of their countries participate in the project?

Why should Dutta-Ray be so skeptical if Railway’s initiative failed as Japanese travelers demand high standards of catering, comfort, punctuality, hygiene and cleanliness? After all our own managers have created Delhi Metro too.

I have been writing about the project myself for quite sometime. Even as a person older than Dutta-Ray, I have a hope that at least this project with interest shown by the present chief minister, with the experiences of NK Singh, and with mentors such as Amartya Sen, and blessings from the former President Kalam and others, will come up on a grand enough scale in next few years to give Bihar a place of pride in the world of education and knowledge. Why can’t Nalanda International University become the best in India and one of the best in the world? http://www.drishtikona.com/index.php?s=nalanda+International+University

Why should one bother why Singapore and China have chosen to play a significant role in the project till they keep on assisting in realizing the big dream in interest of the state and the nation?

And let Mr. Dutta-Ray understand that such a project has been successfully established in the country. ISB, Hyderabad is one such institution and the person behind that is Rajat Gupta of McKinsey. And Gupta happens to be from Bengal. Vedanta University is another project of a huge dimension coming up in Orissa.

I wish as an alumnus of IIT, Kharagpur, Rajat Gupta would have been also associated with the project of Nalanda International University to create one management school of Harvard or technological institute of MIT fame in the campus.

However, the success and uniqueness of project in depth and breadth will certainly depend on who becomes the de facto CEO, and how dedicated is he to create something that the posterity can remember and be proud of.

Mr. Dutta-Ray! Why don’t you put forward your own ideas that you shall like to get incorporated?

Posted in bihar, education | Leave a comment