Dream of Rural Prosperity And Urbanisation

Posted on May 15, 2007 by indra

India is marching towards prosperity with GDP tending to grow to double digits, foreign exchange reserve exceeding $200 billion, manufacturing sector growth going beyond targeted 12%, and almost all sectors booming. Is its impact limited to the prosperity only in urban India? Will the rural prosperity remain only in policy papers, wish lists, and dreams of people like our President, PM and some more, and bypass villages?

The latest NSS survey brings hope. Rural India is very much participating in the India’s growth story. Here are some data provided by latest NSS reports. Between 1993-94 and 2004-05:

1. Per capita consumption of edible oils rose by 30% in rural areas, and 18% in urban India.
2. The proportion of rural households using cooking gas rose six-fold, from 2% to 11.7%, while the urban proportion doubled to 59%.
3. The proportion of rural households using electricity rose from 34% to 54%. The urban proportion rose from 74% to 94%.
4. Purchases of readymade garments rose by 75%, and of hosiery products threefold, in both rural and urban areas.
5. Refrigerator use increased from 1% to 4% of rural households, and from 12% to 32% of urban households.
6. Between 1999-00 and 2004-05, the proportion of TV households rose from 19% to 26% in rural areas, and from 59% to 66% in urban.

Growth has not bypassed rural areas. Between 1999-00 and 2004-05, poverty declined from 26% to 22%. That is, 44 million people rose above the poverty line.

The NSSO has data on the poorest of the poor: those who say they go hungry in some or all months of the year. Between 1993-94 and 2004-05, the proportion of rural households hungry at some time in the past year fell from 5.5% to 2.6%. More than half the once-hungry in rural areas ceased to be so. (In urban areas hunger almost vanished: the proportion of hungry households fell from 1.9% to 0.6%.) Surprisingly, the consumption expenditure of rural Bihar stands at Rs 699 per month, higher than the national average of rural consumption expenditure, which is Rs 559 per month.
However, I get the shock of life when I come to know of the performances of certain states that are perceived to be better ones. In 2004-05, the percentage of rural households reporting “not enough food every day in some months” was the highest in West Bengal (10.6%). Orissa (4.8%) came next. How is that West Bengal hungrier than even Bihar?

Of hungry rural households, the saddest are those that were hungry in every single month of the year. West Bengal is this list too, though the worst performance in this respect came from Assam (3.6%) followed by Orissa and West Bengal (1.3% each.) What does it speak for the government, the ruling party and the people of West Bengal? How can the left parties claim the success of their model when they perform so poorly even after the three decades of leftists’ continuous rules in West Bengal? Why do the people fail to realize the inadequacy and inefficiency of Leftist governance?

The rural prosperity is visible too. And I can vouch for it because of my recent cross-country travel through roads in part of UP and Bihar.

However, surprisingly though, any one with whom I talked hardly prefers to live in villages. I found many of the households from my own village building houses in Varanasi and some in Sasaram. Out of all the reasons, perhaps the personal enmity and envious atmosphere are the main. And the reason may be poorer security and threat of kidnapping that has become an industry in itself. But when I went a little more in depth, the switch over to urban living is on count of the two other factors too: to ensure a better medical treatment in case of emergency and to get the children educated. On both the count, the villages are still far behind. And unless the education system at primary and secondary level in rural India wherever the facilities are already existing, is overhauled, and teachers are made to work and effectively involved, the migration will continue and the dream of PURA (Providing Urban facilities in Rural Area) will remain unfulfilled.

My Choicest Readings April 15, 2007
1. When backward is forward by Dipankar Gupta
2. 60,000 IT professionals in US return home
3. Future bleak for MNC-owned BPOs set up for wrong reasons: study
4. The aggressive Indian by Raj Liberhan
5. Eight Indian firms among S&P`s challengers to global majors
6. Ajit Balakrishnan: India`s Grapes of Wrath
7. Want a promotion? Get China on your resume

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Kuer Singh or Kunwar Singh? The Unsung Hero of 1857

Posted on May 14, 2007 by indra

I don’t know which one of the two spellings- Kuer Singh and Kunwar Singh used for the Great hero of Uprising of 1857 are correct. Perhaps, as much as I know it should be the later.

It was my teacher in the primary school of Pipra, Late Ganga Dayal Pandey who told us about Kunwar Singh when he was our teacher. As I remember, in some special issue of ‘Yogi’, the weekly that Guruji used to subscribe, we read a poem too about Kunwar Singh that was as popular with us as one by Subhdra Kumari Chouhan on ‘Khub Ladi Mardani Wah to Jhansiwali Rani thi’ in those days. However, I have forgotten the lines that used to be on our lips those days. Many years after that I bought the book by Lt Gen S K Sinha- Veer Kuer Singh: The Great Warrior of 1857, when I came to know of it. The book didn’t impress me much. My main attraction for Kunwar Singh was so intense because he came from our district that used to be known as Shahabad (divided today in 4 districts). In those days of childhood, the most impressive aspects about Kunwar Singh was his valour shown at the age of 80, and the story about his chopping off the wounded hand by his own sword and offering that to Holy River Ganga.

Kunwar Singh became the rallying point for the rebels of the area, although he was almost 80 years old at that time. When on July 25, 1857, the rebellion erupted, the sepoys of the 7th, 8th and 40th regiments of the Native Bengal Infantry stationed in Danapur, near Patna, revolted, and wished Kunwar Singh to provide the leadership. He agreed. On July 27, the rebels decided to lay siege to Ara, a town with a big British cantonment, almost 25 kms away from Jagdishpur. As the story goes, “Kunwar Singh anticipated that the British would soon send a relieving company to the besieged garrison in Ara. Therefore, he laid an ambush for the relieving British column, which soon arrived from Danapur. The British forces were taken by surprise and they suffered a crushing defeat. Their leader, Captain Dunbar, was killed and of the 500 men under his command, only 50 managed to escape alive and reach back to Danapur.”

However, this victory was short-lived. Kunwar Singh had to retreat from Jagdispur and for the next one year, he was on the run, first to Rohtas and then onto Rewah, Banda, Lucknow and, then onwards to Azamgarh, which he soon brought under his control. The British, however, made Kunwar Singh leave Azamgarh. On April 21, 1858, the British forces, under the command of Brigadier Douglas, carried out a surprise attack on Kunwar Singh and his men, some distance away from Azamgarh. Kunwar Singh was severely wounded in the arm. The wound was so deep that Kunwar Singh decided to cut off his arm and place it into the Ganga as an offering to the river. He reached Jagdispur, exhausted and wounded on April 22 but the very next day on April 23, 1858 Kunwar Singh’s forces met the British led by Captain Le Grand at Dullaur, near Jagdispur, though the British were completely routed, the heavy fighting had taken its toll on Kunwar Singh, who died three days later.

This time, we traveled on the road that connects Jagdispur while passing through Ara and Danapur, but couldn’t make it to Jagdispur. As I am told, there is hardly anything that is connected with Kunwar Singh and his time even just 150 years after the uprising of 1857. An unobliged nation led by crooked selfish casteist politicians hardly remembers the real hero.

As Atul Sethi reported in Times of India, “Two statues of the old warrior, enclosed behind iron bars, stand in front of a pale yellow-coloured building, which has been declared as Kunwar Singh’s qila. Oldtimers, however, say that the actual qila is long gone. The building which is referred to as the qila was in fact part of a baradari or building complex during Kunwar Singh’s time, meant for male members of his family. Later, when Jagdispur passed into the hands of the British, the land here was sold to an Englishman Ernest Mellon, who became the zamindar of the area. He converted the baradari into a residence for his own use. Today, only two pillars from Kunwar Singh’s time stand in the building. Sometime in the 1920s, when Mellon decided to leave for England, he sold the baradari complex as well as the adjoining lands to Shriniwas Prasad Singh, one of the descendants of Kunwar Singh’s brother. His son, D V Singh, now 82 years old, is the oldest surviving descendant of the family today.” I really appreciate Atul Sethi for this contribution.

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Maya the Master, Daya the Devil

Posted on May 14, 2007 by indra

Proud Parent

Maya: For the whole day yesterday April 13, 2007 and even today, Maya and Daya occupied the major time of the TV News channels. In this great democracy, Maya is in the topmost chair of governance in UP, the most populous state of the country. They say Mayawati has mastered in the ‘social engineering’, a term that has become very popular recently. She is making the traditional social structure hierarchy to undergo re-engineering. For the first time, the structure is getting reversed. The Dalit is at the top and the Brahmins, Thakurs, and Banias are to work under the Dalit leadership. There is nothing wrong in that, if it serves the nation and brings prosperity to the most deprived ones. It may not be relished by some, though they may not say that openly. However, the caste barriers must break and as the results of this election has shown, it is breaking. It would bring about a great revolution in the social structure and the integration, if Maya uses the opportunities with humility and shrewdness instead of vengeances. Any one watching the oath ceremony yesterday must have realized and appreciated that. The chair is important. The birth based status is not. The subordinates bow respectfully to the boss. It happens always in all private and public enterprises. Why should there be any apprehension in political field? I only wish Mayawati took some lessons from her past performances and shortcomings, and unnecessarily didn’t annoy the bureaucracy.

Daya: While this was happening in North, in South a family feud was asking for the head of a pretty efficient minister, Dayanidhi Maran. Maran in his letter to the PM said if his resignation made the Karunanidhi family happy, he was ready to quit, and quit he did. Neither Karunanidhi nor the PM thought even for a second what all the sane people of the democracy would think of this immense injustice done to a young efficient and performing minister of the central (not state) government. And why was Daya made to resign? Dinakaran, the Tamil daily owned by Daya’s elder brother (not Daya) published an opinion poll on Karunanidhi’s potential successor- M.K.Stalin or M.K.Azhagiri. The survey in Dinakaran showed Azhagiri way less popular than Stalin. Azhagiri supporters in Madurai attacked the offices of the publication that led to three deaths. Daya was made the villain attempting to break the unity of Karunanidhi’s family. But many say that success of Maran brothers in business and their popularity among the central leadership have made Karunanidhi’s sons insecure and perhaps too jealous to go beyond the expected rational approach. Dayanidhi, by the way, is son of Late Murasoli Maran who was Karunanidhi’s nephew and also a central minister.

Are these not the greatest shades of Indian democracy evolving in last sixty years?

My Choicest readings on April 14, 2007
1. Production growth unexpectedly accelerates
2. Global Business: How competitive is India?
3. Is India overheating? Eight myths about inflation
4. Sunanda K Datta-Ray: Exiting a booming India
5. Surjit S Bhalla: Send Rakesh Mohan to China
6. English – advantage India

Posted in indian politics | Leave a comment

1857- Some Interesting Remnants From Great Uprising Days

Posted on May 12, 2007 by indra

I had been to Red Fort a number of times. However, I never knew of the most famous feature of Diwa’i am: the pietra dura panels that form the backdrop to the throne platform. I came to have the information from an article by Lahiri, a historian in Delhi University in Hindustan Times.

Italian panels of Red Fort: There are panels of birds and foliage and one representation of a Greek God. Orpheus, the greatest Greek musician of poetry and myth, is shown fiddling under a tree, surrounded by listening animals. These are Italian objects of art, and their presence in a sedate hall of public audience, where Emperor Shah Jahan attended state affairs, quirky. In the widespread loot that followed the reoccupation of Delhi by the British, the Italian panels were pilfered and carried away to England as trophy of conquest, by a captain John Jones. He sold them to the British Government for pound 500. The panels soon became part of the collection of Indian artifacts in what is now known as the Victoria and Albert museum. It was proactive Lord Curzon who could get the panels back for the Durbar to celebrate coronation of King Edward VII as the Emperor of India that was to be held in the Red Fort. Although the panels reached India before the Durbar, they could not be put in place in time for the investiture ceremony, but shortly afterwards they were restored.

Holy Shirt: The story of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s ‘Holy Shirt’ is also interesting. The shirt (presently in the fort’s museum) has verses of the Quran written on it and was apparently sent from Mecca. It was meant to provide immunity against trouble to the wearer. Not surprisingly, the king is said to have worn it continuously for the last few days, prior to his flight. However, for the reasons unknown, the king at the last moment left it behind. It was found by the French nurse of the children of a Colonel Tytler near the gate by which the royal party had fled. The shirt passed into possession of the Tytler family. The Tytlers kept the shirt in a bank vault but, until this became known, they were the victims of several robberies and more than one serious attempt on their lives. As the story goes, during the Coronation Durbar in 1903, Nizam of Hyderabad made an offer of Rs 10,000 for it. Soon after, the Imam of Jama Masjid wanted Mrs. Tytler to allow him to exhibit it in the ground in front of the mosque for some fee that was to be shared by the mosque and Tytler. The exhibition was on the verge of taking place but was vetoed by the Commissioner of Delhi at the last moment, as he ‘could not possibly run the risk of a riot.’ Eventually, the daughter of the late Tytlers sold it to the Archeological survey in 1909 for a sum of Rs 12,000.

And I also came to know of the significance of the names of many islands and landmarks in Andamans from an article in Times of India that appeared recently.

Islands of Andaman: And then it is interesting to note that the British government named or renamed some of the islands of Andaman after the soldiers who had crushed the mutineers of 1857. Hugh Rose was one who defeated Rani Luxmibai. Names such Outram, Havelock, Nicholson, Neill are also associated with the Andaman’s. That was the British wished to glorify the British generals. The recently-created Rani Jhansi Marine National Park now cradles the islands named after Outram, John Lawrence and Henry Lawrence. A tourists’ jewel Havelock, is the name of the general who retook Lucknow from Nana Sahib. Quite incongruously a Subhas Mela is held on Havelock every January.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose took symbolic control of Andamans and Nicobar for his Arzi Hukumat Azad Hind, renamed them Shaheed and Swaraj, flew the tricolour at Port Blair and appointed Colonel A D Loganathan of INA as governor of what was called a liberated part of India. However, the old names came back after World War II. The government in Delhi could take a decision to go back to the names given by Netaji.

Why can’t the names of the English generals associated with the islands in Andamans – Havelock, Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence, Neill, Outram, Inglis, Sir Hugh Rose, Paget be replaced by the heroes of the Great Uprising of 1857? Perhaps, that shows what we as a nation lack.

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One man’s fight to save 1857 heroine’s memory

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On This Day, 150 years Ago

Posted on May 12, 2007 by indra

On this very date in 1857, the sepoys mutinied in Meerut. Sepoys of the 20th Native Infantry went on the rampage, setting bungalows on fire and massacring British families.

The immediate reason for the rebellion and eruption of violence was the court martial and sentencing of 85 sepoys of the 3rd Light Infantry on May 9, 1857 in the presence of all the troops in Meerut.

On April 24, they had refused to use the cartridges of the new Enfield rifle, which they suspected to be greased with the fat of pigs and cows.

After they were stripped of their uniforms and their ankles shackled, they were marched off to prison. Lieutenant Gough said, “As they passed our regiment, carrying their boots which had been taken off for the purpose of fixing their fetters, a number of them threw them at the Colonel, cursing loudly in Hindustani, and calling to their comrades to remember them. There was a good deal of murmuring in our ranks, and had it not been for the presence of the British troops it is impossible to say what might have taken place.”

Over the past few months, there had been signs of unrest across northern India. Sepoys had become increasingly disenchanted with British officers. It was not uncommon for British officers to address Indian soldiers as ‘niggers’ and ‘suar’ (pig).

There is another story too. On the evening of May 9, after 85 sepoys of the 3rd Light Infantry were publicly humiliated and sent to prison, some of their fellow soldiers were seen in the brothels of the Sadar bazaar. It was not uncommon for the sepoys, many of whom spent long periods of time away from their families, to show up at the brothels.

However, the prostitutes refused to entertain the sepoys and sent them packing. One of the prostitutes present there was Dolly, the widow of a British sergeant. She said, “We told the sepoys that we have no kisses for cowards. We asked them if they were really men to allow their comrades to be fitted with anklets of iron and led off to prison? And for what? Because they would not swerve from their creed!”

Another prostitute from Kashmir, Sophie, added that the unanimous cry among the prostitutes was: “Go and rescue your comrades before coming to us for kisses.”

Interestingly, a similar taunt – but by a low caste labourer – could have sparked the unrest in Bengal earlier that year. According to sources, in January 1857, a labourer asked a sepoy for a drink of water from his lota. The sepoy, a Brahmin from Awadh, refused saying he would lose his caste. The labourer then shot back, “You will soon lose your caste altogether. For the Europeans are going to make you bite cartridges soaked in cow and pork fat. And then where will your caste be?”

Naturally, there must be some or many reasons that infuriated the sepoys all over the country, otherwise it couldn’t have that widespread. It was certainly the first war of independence, but without any central leadership and common objective for the country as whole.

We must remember those who gave their lives with gratitude. Without that beginning or protests against the injustices, we would not have moved to the next stage.
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1857 Revisited
Touchy uprising for teachers by AMIT ROY
Google- Sepoy Mutiny
India’s First Independence War
Images

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The Uncovered Marriage Ceremony

Posted on May 12, 2007 by indra

Basically, we had visited Varanasi and Patna for the marriage of Babloo, the eldest son of Nirmal, my cousin, but it has so happened that I didn’t cover that in my blogging.

As it appeared, the marriage in Bihar and perhaps in all states still remains tied up with dowry. And in the dowry market, the worst is one who lives in village. Every parent wishes to get a bridegroom working in urban area. But I feel bad when a father who has not been able to do anything significant in life, and who has not earned himself demand dowry as if by having a son he has done something great and he must get his price. Nirmal has not done anything in life. He is a PH.D, but couldn’t get himself effectively engaged. In my prime day when he had finished his Master Degree from BHU, I had got him a job in HM taking an obligation from the then President. But very soon, he left the job for a temporary job in a private college. He had to pay some donation too for that job. Some years ago, he had left that job too and now has brought a house in Varanasi. He is so younger to me and does do anything to keep himself engaged. I don’t know why I feel bad about it.



Tilak ceremony was lavishly arranged. Nirmal had a large number of guests too. I kept going back to our young days when the tilak in village used to be a great festive affair. Nirmal’s father and my uncle was famous for his excessive benevolence. The whole village used to be in the courtyard of the village house.





Marriage in Patna was hardly that enjoyable as none from the bride side requested me to bring along Yamuna, who had come with me. Neither Nirmal could understand and appreciate what we wanted. I could go to the marriage courtesy Ashok, my other cousin who works in Railways as ACP at Vadodara. We joined the marriage procession. In the marriage today, everyone of all means are trying to copy the all the functions that are held by the affluent families of metros. The procession include band party with dancing boys and girls and fireworks. Even the rural Bihar also enjoys the dancing, perhaps they get a glimpse of a ‘nauch’ girls that used to be the part of rural marriages in good old days. Garland exchange between bride and bridegroom has come from urban marriages and has become an enjoyable part of the marriage rituals. Hardly anyone attends the actual marriage ceremony that goes on late in night. After the dinner that is all getting arranged buffet style in similar manner everywhere, the guests return. I returned with Ashok to Janardan’s place where we were staying. Jana Dan had to take the trouble. Shook keeps me reminding of the marriage and Norma’s way of treating us as one of the usual guest from the village. My uncle had come all the way from village. He undertakes this risk that he should not. I spent some quality time with him that evening.

And now I realize I must not consider myself an important member of the family that I thought I belong to. That is no more alive. The fragmentation has made the families small, nucleus and selfish.

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Metro Making to Noida

Posted on May 9, 2007 by indra

All over Noida through Atta Pir, Botanical Garden, Golf Club to Degree College, one can see the speedy construction and raising of pillars that will support the rails for Metro. Though it has created some inconveniences, the vehicular movement remains pretty smooth assisted by Metro men. One can’t find any building materials lying outside its covered barriers obstructing the road as is the case with any other construction work of Noida authority.

While rushing to the Max Hospital for some pathological tests, one day even in early morning I saw Metro’s men cleaning the barrier covers, and present at all narrow points on the road with light guiding traffic. As I understand, this is the work culture that has been inculcated in all those who work for Metro. And all those who head big and small projects must learn from the work culture of Metro to handle the project execution with world class work standards to complete the project well in time.

Noida Authority management, all its engineers and administrators must take some lessons about project execution from the ongoing project of Metro in Noida. Noida Authority is building service lanes on both sides along the road between Choura Mor and Dadri Road and also pedestrian paths. The project is going on for months, if not years. The pedestrian paths will be of no use for old men and disabled ones because of its height. All along the road, the digging and construction materials lying on road expose the walking population to grave risk of getting hit by speeding vehicles. Why can’t the Noida Authority plan and design the project properly and execute that with speed taking lessons from Metro Project that always completes well within its agreed timeframe?


I found some neem trees in social forestry area of Sector 37 truncated and felt really shocked . I guess it must be for the execution of the Metro project. Is it the cost of development that Noidites will have to bear? Perhaps, the answer is just in affirmative, if the Metro runs above the ground to cut cost. Underground constructions are costlier but it saves the existing habitations. To me, the moving of Metro through Atta will be an eyesore too. It would have gone underground in that area.

However, let the dream connectivity of Noida with New Delhi realized fast.
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My Choicest Readings on April 9, 2007

1. India 2020 by KK Birla
2. Kidney from mum, liver from uncle
3. They just shrunk mobile tower antenna; going rural gets cheaper
4. Tata Tea forms JV with Zhejiang Tea
5. FIIs bullish on India, pump in $6 billion in calendar 2007
6. Govt approves Rs 3,594 cr for five auto SEZs:
7. Tata Power’s wind energy park to be completed by March
8. IBM to invest $6 bn in India
9. TCS to recruit 32,000 IT professionals in ’07

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Booming or Bubbling India

Posted on May 9, 2007 by indra

Mithilesh Jha, an IITian graduate engineer from Kanpur in computer engineering and working in some high executive position in Cadence India met me during my morning walk today. He was with one of his sons who is in IT-BHU studying computer engineering. I was amazed to hear from him that he has left his job and gone for starting his own chip designing company. Many young Indians are doing this. Even few fresh IIM graduates are preferring to go for doing something of their own leaving the foreign postings with huge salaries that couldn’t be dreamt off even few years ago. As it appears from all the news and reports, Indian economy is booming.

India a trillion-$ economy: Indian GDP at current market prices, according to advance estimates, is Rs 41,00,636 crore in 2006-07. With the rupee below 41 a dollar, India becomes a trillion dollar economy. And it is going to race up.

NRI: According to the report of the high-powered committee on making Mumbai an international financial hub, the 20-million strong NRI community has an estimated financial wealth of over $500 billion. Factor in other assets like real estate, gold and art and the total estimated wealth of the NRI community, the report says, is over $1 trillion.

FDI: India at least its government aims at $30 billion in foreign direct investment this year on the back of huge interest in the country from auto and electronics manufacturers. FDI would constitute 3.3% of GDP, up from 2.5% last fiscal. In 2006-07, FDI inflows touched $19 billion, of which $3.5 billion were reinvested earnings. Interestingly,
FDI inflows in the current year are mainly increasing in manufacturing, auto, semiconductor, electronic hardware and services.

India in 2025: According to a recent study from McKinsey Global Institute, India’s market will be the world’s fifth largest by 2025 from the current ranking at 12 surpassing Germany. And the middle class will have grown almost 12 times, from 50 million today to 583 million. Over 23 million Indians-more than the population of Australia today-will number among the country’s wealthiest citizens. Simultaneously, the deprived segment will drop from 54 per cent of the population in 2005 to 22 per cent by 2025.

Superlative Performing Indian IT players: The top five suppliers of offshore product design services (PDS) are large Indian IT companies and account for more than 60 per cent of the market, according to a newly-released ARC advisory group services report. The offshore PDS market is set to grow by 28 per cent annually, and is estimated to be over $4.1 billion business in 2011.

India becoming outsourcing hub for market research (MR): While most of the global firms like Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), MarketTools and Greenfieldonline are operating large captives in India, many Indian companies are gearing up to tap opportunities in market research outsourcing. India today has about 15 MR firms including large ones like Ugam Solutions, Annik Systems, Cross-Tab and Markelytics. Even BPO firms like WNS and knowledge process outsourcing firm like eValueserve are significantly involved in MR.

According to a study released by Evalueserve, India’s top Knowledge Process Outsourcing firm, Indian KPOs will generate nearly 280,000 jobs and up to $11-12 billion as revenues by 2010. India Business Outsourcing sector is moving towards high in many areas, be it legal services, financial analysis and report, publishing, engineering services, product or architectural designs, or R&D.

India IT companies to hire 1 lakh : India’s top five software companies plan to add 1,00,000 this fiscal year on top of a record 76,500 new employees who joined these companies last year. Manufacturing that has an employee base of 41.5 million will double by 2010.

Net profit for the top five outsourcing companies – Tata Consultancy, Infosys, Wipro Ltd., Satyam Computer Services Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd, ranked in that order – grew to a collective US$3 billion (euro2.2 billion) for the fiscal year through March, up 47 per cent. Sales, meanwhile, jumped 41 per cent to a combined US$13.6 billion
(euro10 billion). And the top four software companies (HCL Technologies figure was not available) won 713 new clients last year.

Indian IT consulting firm Tech Mahindra has been ranked as one of the top five leaders in the overall business support systems (BSS) worldwide. Tech Mahindra focuses on the communications space, leaving behind the global majors like Capgemini, CSG Systems and Comverse, as per the latest Gartner report — ‘Market Share: Business Support Systems for the year 2006’.

Pharmaceutical: A dozen Indian pharmaceutical companies led by Aurobindo Pharma, Wockhardt, Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy’s Lab and Sun Pharma have bagged almost one-fourth of generic drug approvals in the US in the four-and-a-half month from December 2006. Out of the 186 original abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approvals granted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the period, about a dozen Indian companies bagged 43 approvals, which is 23.11 per cent of the total approvals granted.

According to the comparative survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), between 2006 and 2007 India is top of the list with an index of 67.6, followed by Vietnam and China with 51.5 and 39.9, with regard to the business prospects of the subsidiaries of Japanese companies.

Rural spending shows prosperity: According to the 61st round of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report, the number of rural households using LPG has increased six-fold between 1993-94 and 2004-05. However, only 12 in 100 households use cooking gas. Rural India is spending a lot more money on education: Between 1999-2000 and 2004-05, the share of rural expenditure on tuition and other educational fees has risen from 29% to 44%.

Private Sector: RIL FY’07 turnover crosses $25 billion mark RIL, India’s most valued firm with a market cap of over $50 billion, has become the first private entity to cross the 25 billion dollar revenue mark.

Corporates have lined up investment worth $400 billion, and are treating human resources as precious commodity. While Tata Motors are having effective alliance with Italian giant Fiat, Mahindra and Mahindra is working with Nissan and Renaults in a facility with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore.

Indian consumers will soon have one of the cheapest mobile phones in the world, priced at Rs 777 ($19), while Tata Motors are trying to produce entry level passenger car at Rs 1 lakh. According to estimates while the number of Indian subscribers for cell phones will go above 250 million, the sales of passenger vehicles will be exceed that in Germany by 2010.

The personal computer market is set to grow by 22 per cent in this financial year and may record sales of 6.5 million units.

The Indian information technology and related services (IT/ITeS) industry is predicted to become a $100 billion plus industry by 2011, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent, according to an IDC report.

Thee organized retail sector will triple in size from Rs 35,000 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 1,09,000 crore by 2010. Reliance, Aditya Birla Group, and Bharati with Wal-mart will be major players, reliance retails alone aims to recruit over five lakh employees by 2010.

All village panchayats in Kerala would soon have their own custom-made web portals with all the information relating to the panchayat in Malayalam. Akshaya, a Kerala government initiative for cent percent e-literacy in the state, is all set to implement a pilot project to establish panchayat-level web portals with people’s participation in select panchayats of Kannur district with financial and technical assistance from Unesco.

Indian expressways are getting six-lanes. Aviation industry is booming. Indians are becoming major spenders abroad besides acquiring big companies. Railways are investing in upgradtion of technology.

Is India bubbling or booming?

Posted in economy, industry | Leave a comment

Slate or Laptop

Posted on May 8, 2007 by indra

I don’t know if the schools these days use slate or not, even in lower classes. But I used it extensively during my school days. That was the cheapest option for practicing math problems without recurring cost. Many a times I did use it for my writings too. It was so easy to make corrections. Even today I use my laptop for writing my articles. It has the same flexibility and is so easy to edit and to keep on adding and subtracting.

Naturally technology has come out with many useful gadget. One proposed initially by Nicholas Negroponte for the children of the people under poverty line was unique for it price, a $100 laptop for each school going children. It was challenging to design and manufacturing too. But they come out with the solutions.

As reported, Nicholas Negroponte’s $100 laptop will now cost $175. It will be able to run Windows in addition to its open-source interface. Microsoft Corp. hopes to develop a version of a $3 Windows software suite to run on the low-cost laptops. The software is under test on prototypes of small green-and-white laptops developed by the One Laptop Per Child Foundation. Nicholas Negroponte, the former director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab now heads the non-profit One Laptop Per Child project. He recently updated analysts and journalists on OLPC Project. “.. at least seven nations have committed to being in the initial wave to buy the little green-and-white “XO” computers – Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Nigeria and Libya – but it remains unclear which ones will be first to pony up the cash. The project needs orders for 3 million machines so its manufacturing and distribution effort can get rolling.” Negroponte expects mass production to begin by October. The XO machines will be made by Quanta Computer Inc., the world’s leading maker of portable computers. Quanta have agreed to take a profit of about $3 per machine, less than what it gets from mainstream PC companies.

India has withdrawn from OLPC. However, as it appears, Indians are seriously working on a cheap options too. Chennai-based Novatium Solutions, co-founded by US-based Analog Devices chairman Ray Stata, Netcore Solutions managing director Rajesh Jain and professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT Madras, has already got its up-and-running NetPC computer priced at Rs 4,500 only, that is a little over 100 dollars as of today in the US currency. Novatium is targeting 10 million users in the next five years for this innovative product. The company has already started a successful commercial pilot production.

But more interesting is the $10 laptop project of HRD ministry, famous for its OBC minister Arjun Singh. It is working seriously, it seems, on an idea to make laptops at $10. It has with it two designs already. The public sector undertaking Semiconductor Complex has evinced interest in the project. As reported, ‘so far, the cost of one laptop, after factoring in labour charges, is coming to $47’. The ministry feels the price will come down dramatically considering the potential demand for one million laptops. The ministry is looking into the possibility of some Indian company manufacturing the parts.

Surprisingly , one of the two designs with the ministry is from a final year engineering student of Vellore Institute of Technology and the another one from a researcher from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The laptop would be made on a single board which would make it easy to find fault and rectify it.

Six anchor groups set up by the ministry to be in touch with experts in critical areas and remove bottlenecks have been meeting regularly. Institutions like IITs and IISc are to work as anchor institutions for the project and have been entrusted with the task of research and development of cheap laptops. Sources say it would be another two years before the laptops become a reality. We can only wish that HRD project succeeded.

So who will be the winner? Let the time decide it. And that will be pretty soon.

I only imagine with this machine the students can do away with the text books as all the text books may be kept stored at one go for every class for a student. The students can also do away with slates or exercise books and use the laptop for that. With audio card added, the student can practice his capability to communicate too. Will it be a tool that can be called all-in-one, and the students can discard the huge weight of books that they carry everyday to school and suffer?

I have only one appeal. The equipment must not be given free, otherwise the students will not use it. They must earn it.
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My Choicest News on April 7, 2007
1.Airbus to invest Rs4,063 cr in India in the next decade
2.Dramatic rise in Indian staff strength to continue: IBM
3.Infosys to invest Rs 1,600cr for training
4.Nektar`s R&D facility to come up in Hyderabad
5.From cleaning homes to running a business
6.Indian biotech sector to touch $5 bn by 2009-10
7.A K Bhattacharya: Bureaucrat with a spine
8.Three new IITs proposed to be set up
9.`This is India’s moment’
10.US science academy inducts two Indians

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Noida: Enlightening Election in RWA

Posted on May 8, 2007 by indra

Yesterday, the sector 41 householders had an unique election for its RWA (Residents Welfare Association). All these years, in a meeting on someone’s initiative, people present used to decide on 5 unanimously agreed block representatives for each block (10blocks in Sector 41). However, last year regular election was held to elect the five representatives in each block. These block representatives, in turn, elected the executive committee and President. This year, the incumbent committee after getting the constitution changed went for the election of 11 persons for all the positions including President by direct voting of all the householders of the sector, some 1500 in total (Some 800 in voters list).

Basically, two sets of persons belonging to two groups- ‘Group 41’ and ‘Bansal & His Team’ were in fray. Group 41 was trying to bring a change by dislodging the incumbent ‘Bansal & His Team’. Both groups did a lot of campaigning too, including some very negative ones. While the former promised development work to be undertaken and transparency through some handouts, the later sought ‘vote for a team which stood the test of time’.



It was a scene as one sees in general election of our great democracy. One could see a huge attendance of voters, polling agents, and electioneering management in a single place- the community center. It was a unique ambience of festivity and competition mood all around.

As I understand the incumbent group won the major positions. Bansal is in driver seat of the sector again. But I really appreciate the spirit and involvement of the householders in this election. However, here also I see hardly any representation of the women. Noida represents a highly educated and matured society. The elected body would and must reflect the aspirations of the women folks of the householders too. If Bihar can have 50% women representations in its panchayats, why can’t it be in Noida? Those who are holding the office must look into this issue seriously.

I have few suggestions that I wish the new elected body could put in their priority lists and focus on it.

1.Let the sector install its own RO system for clean drinkable water supply to all householders.

2.Let the President plead and press the NOIDA authority to have a captive power station for the township, as other SEZs are planning.

3.The sector must try to get the library in Sector 41 that was in the master plan as that will be an extremely useful for the residents and will enhance the brand image for the sector.

4.The committee must end the monopoly of the cable operator by investing in a digital connectivity setup of its own to have better communication as well as entertainment.

5.The committee must take a conciliatory approach with dealing with the village Agahpur and its people. Sector 41 must adopt the village and facilitate in making that an ideal village with help of the authority in stead of raising walls to isolate them.
6.The Sector must have an interactive website to understand and solve the problems of the people transparently and develop a perception of transparency among the householders.

Can the new committee have some competitions for the up keeping of the blocks and award the best kept block and in turn, the idea must be to become the best sector of Noida?

Can it develop some sports ground for the children and youths? Will it look into the menace of the parking in days to come? Many things are to be done. But what actually comes up will all depend on what are the priorities of the newcomers and Bansal as boss or President.
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Choicest News on April 8, 2007
1. Sinosteel plans $4 bn steel plant in India
2. Finishing schools must for IT : Tharoor
3. HCL to open 100 career development centers
4. Ramachandra Guha
5. The unintended fallout of biofuels
6. The coming boom
7. Infosys BPO gets Level 4 stamping
8. New NCERT books make Maths fun
9. Tata Steel for rehabilitation first
10. IIT, IIM tie up for enhancing skills in manufacturing

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