Make in India- Some Views

Posted on February 9, 2016 by indra

1
India as it is significant player in manufacturing sector. If companies such as SKF and Sandvik manufacture and do its R &D in India, the country has certainly every talent to become a major manufacturing power of the world. India currently hosts more than 160 companies from Sweden, and 80 per cent of them invested as per their commitments in 2015. Majority of the Swedish companies are present in manufacturing, automotive, telecom, IT and retail. Swedish companies employ 1,60,000 people directly, and 1.1 million people indirectly. Swedish companies like ABB, Volvo, Ericsson, Sandvik, Scania, Astra Zeneca, Atlas Copco and SKF have invested in manufacturing and R&D in India. As part of the single-brand retail legislation, furniture company IKEA are among the first companies to have received approvals in India. Unfortunately, the big business families in India are shunning the sectors and switching to service sectors and that is a bad sign. Are the new generation in the families not ready to patronise the lucrative sector of manufacturing just to make money?

2
Under an agreement, HAL was to indigenise the Russian aircrafts it started manufacturing (assembling ) with obvious cost reduction with respect to the cost of imported ones. In phase I, when aircraft was directly imported from Russia, the average cost per fighter was Rs. 270.28 crore. In phase IV, when aircraft is manufactured by HAL from raw material, the cost is Rs. 417.85 crore. HAL takes 2-3 times more man-hours than those taken by Russians. In the case of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) project of HAL from 2001 to 2009, the Controller-General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) pointed out: “As against the envisaged indigenisation level of 50 per cent, about 90 per cent of the value of material used in each helicopter is procured from foreign suppliers.” During the production of the helicopter, despite gaining experience of making 90 of them, the labour hours remained almost double of what was prescribed by the consultant. The Shakti engine used in the helicopter “only has an indigenous name with hardly any self-reliance or technology control. Will Modi and his ministers be able to bring the change necessary? Will the projects of bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad or the the two loco plants in Bihar get completed in time? For this to prove, the Indians must elect Modi again in 2019.

3
Modi has a blueprint for developing India which includes smart cities, Make in India, Digital India and various other flagship programmes. The Japanese have decided on industrial corridors and high speed trains, and the French are talking of nuclear energy and smart cities. The two countries- France and India signed a series of preliminary pacts on the development of Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry as “smart cities”, besides another clutch of pacts on urban development, water, waste treatment and solar energy. The big push given to Modi’s Make in India programme with the Toulouse-based Airbus Group signing a pact with India’s Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd for the manufacture of helicopters.As part of the plan, the two companies plan to set up a final assembly line in India, develop tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers and undertake extensive transfer of technology to achieve 50% indigenous content.Over the last eight months, the group has stitched together at least four alliances with global engineering and technology firms to strengthen and expand its capabilities in the defence business as the Mahindra Group, like others including the Tata group and Larsen and Toubro Ltd, seeks to benefit from the government’s focus on encouraging local manufacture of defence equipment. At least three of the four alliances are in the aerospace sector.

4
Good news: Tejas – a single-seat, single-jet engine, highly agile multi-role light fighter developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – captivated the audience at the Bahrain International air show with its display in the skies. The indigenously-developed Sarang demonstrated its capabilities in the skies with four helicopters mesmerizing the huge crowd gathered at the event. Tejas took flight for the first time at an international air show.

Perhaps the next 10 years will see India becoming a giant in manufacturing sector if the push given by the government in railways, defence, and electronics will show the result.

Posted in manufacturing | Leave a comment

कंहा से शुरू हुई, कंहा ले जायेगी इस देश को जाति प्रथा?

Posted on January 30, 2016 by indra

वर्ण ब्यवस्था को सदियों पहले तत्कालीन समाज को ब्यवस्थित करने के लिये प्रारम्भ किया गया था. यह ब्यक्ति के जन्म पर नहीं, वल्कि वह किस कार्य में लगा है उस पर आधारित थी. ब्राह्मण का पढ़ना-पढ़ाना, क्षत्रिय का युद्ध में लड़ना और समाज की रक्षा करना, बैश्य ब्यापार करना और सम्पति संजोना, और चौथा वर्ण अन्य सबका था जो ऊपरी तीनों को कार्य सिद्धि में सहायता करते थे. यही कारण था कि विश्वमित्र ब्राह्मण बनने के लिये तपस्या किये. रावण ब्राह्मण होते हुये भी समाज में राक्षस बन गया. धर्म एवं जातियाँ न लोगों को महान बनने से रोक सकीं, न बैबाहिक सम्बन्ध स्थापित करने से, न बाल्मीकी को, न बेदव्यास को और न हीं महाभारत काल के शान्तनु को, न चन्द्र गुप्त मौर्य को. समाज में कभी उनके जाति की चर्चा नहीं हुई, न उन्हें हेय समझा गया.

समय गुज़रता गया, और काम के अनुसार सैकड़ों, हज़ारों जातियाँ बनती गई , क्योंकि संतानें भी वही काम सीखती रहीं जो पूर्वजों की थी. फिर हर जातियां अनेक नामों से बँटतीं गईं, जैसे ब्राह्मणों में – कान्यकुब्ज, सकलद्वीपीय, मैथिल, गौड़, और पता नहीं कौन कौन……सब अपने को दूसरों से श्रेष्ठ सिद्ध करने में किसी हद तक मिथ्या प्रचार में जाने लगे. सब मुख्य जातियों में यह हुआ.
आश्चर्य है आज़ादी के बाद एक नई बात दिखी, कुछ तथाकथित नीचे की जातियां बड़ी जातियों की पदवियाँ लगाने लगीं- सिंह, ठाकुर, राय, शर्म्मा ……….सभी इसीतरह के एक नाम जादव सिंह से परिचित होंगे………यह मेरे बिचार में कहीं न कहीं ऊपर आने की आकांक्षा का चिन्ह था. एक और तरीक़ा अपनाया गया, लोगों ने अपने के आगे पदवी लगाना छोड़ कर ‘कुमार’, ‘प्रसाद’ लिखने लगे….,,,,,,,
पर फिर आया संरक्षण और अब होड़ लगी है अपने को उन जातियों में सम्मिलित करने का जिन्हें संरक्षण दिया गया है बिभिन्न पार्टियों की सरकारों द्वारा चुनाव जीतने के लिये ….. पर सार्वभौम शिक्षा का अधिकार जातिगत पेशा से निकाल कर सभी को एक समान धरातल पर ला दिया.

यह कोई ज़रूरी नहीं कि जाति के चले आते काम में नई पीढ़ी लगेगी. अपनी शैक्षिक योग्यता के बल किसी पैदायसी जात का बच्चा इंजीनियर , डाक्टर, शिक्षक, ब्यवसायिक बन सकता है. सभी रास्ते खुले हैं शिक्षा और हुनर अर्जित कर लेने पर सम्पति प्राप्त करने के लिये.
हज़ारों तथा- कथित दलित करोड़ों के ब्यवसाय के मालिक हैं और लाखों तथाकथित सवर्ण उन्हें सलाम और उनकी जीहजूरी करते हैं और दलितों का काम करते हैं परिवार पोषण के लिये. कुछ पिछड़े रूढ़िवादियों या गाँववालों को छोड़ कोई जाति नहीं पूछता.

आज शिक्षा और कुछ कर गुज़रने की ठान लेने पर किसी जाति एवं धर्म का ब्यक्ति अपनी इच्छानुसार कार्य चुन सकता है. संस्कृत में एक कहावत है ‘बिद्वान सर्वत्र पूजयते’. बिद्वानों की पूजा असल में होने लगी है. स्वेच्छा से अंतरजातिय शादियाँ कर रहे हैं आज के युवक युवती और सम्मानित जीवन जी रहे हैं. हर किसी को अधिकार है शिक्षा और हुनर पाने की. फिर यह छोटी बड़ी जातियों की मानसिकता क्यों. यह केवल हार जाने पर हारने का बहाना हो सकता है सुविधा या सहारे की कमी नहीं. रोहित वेमुला या महेश बाल्मीकी या कोई जब उच्च शिक्षा संस्थान में दाख़िला लेता है तो वह ब्राह्मण बन जाता है, उसे वैसे ही अनुभूति होनी चाहिये. यह शिक्षित ब्यक्ति का कर्तव्य है कि अज्ञानियों के अंधकार से उन्हें मुक्ति दिलाये. यह अलग संस्था बना भीड़ इकट्ठा कर, एक दूसरे को नीचा दिखा, बल प्रयोग कर या आन्दोलन कर नहीं हो सकता. कोई सरकार इसे क़ानून बना नहीं ठीक कर सकती. इस ग़लत मानसिकता को राजनीति करनेवाले उपयोग कर भोट बटोर कुर्सी पा लेंगे और जनता आपस में लड़ती रहेगी. यही राजनीति करने वाले अशोक को कुसवाहा, राम को क्षत्रिय और कृष्ण को यादव बनाते रहते हैं. अत: हर मुल्य पर हर को अपनी पसंद की शिक्षा प्राप्त कर बिद्वान बनना है, परिश्रम कर धन अर्जित करना होगा, समर्थ बनना होगा. आज हर ब्यक्ति के लिये यह राह खुला है और यही कुछ कर गुज़रने का मार्ग है. राजनेता और मीडिया के लोग इस मसले को हल करने में सकारात्मक भूमिका अदा कर देश के बिगड़ते माहौल को और हानि न पहुचांयें

मेरी राय में भारतीय जनता दल, राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ, अखिल भारतीय हिन्दु महासभा और ऐसी सभी हिन्दुओं की संस्थाओं का दायित्व बनता है पिछड़ी जातियों को, दलितों को पूरे सम्मान के साथ अपने में सब तरह से शामिल करना. जन्माधारित बड़े छोटे के भेद भाव को हरदम के लिये और सभी तरह से मिटाने के बिना न हिन्दु बचेंगे, न उनका धर्म, और न हीं यह राष्ट्र . तथाकथित बड़ी जातियों के लोग अपने समुचित ब्यवहार से इस बढ़ते ज़हरीले माहौल को रोकें और सौहार्द पूर्ण बनायें. यही समय की माँग है . यह हमारी राष्ट्रीय ज़िम्मेवारी हैं. यह न होने पर हम इस महान देश को असलियत में कभी दुनिया के प्रथम श्रेणी के देशों में नहीं ला पायेंगे. समय की माँग है कि हम समझ और सँभल जाये और सोच बदलें…. “जाति, धर्म हैं नहीं बड़े अब, सबसे श्रेष्ठ देश अभिमान “

Posted in social issues | Leave a comment

Modi’s Performance

Posted on January 22, 2016 by indra

In few months, Modi government will complete two years. I thought for looking back at its performance: “Every time I think Narendra Modi is about to miss the bus, he surprises me,”writes Pritish Nandy.
Under Skilling India, Modi aimed at all young population to get the ability and knowledge required for getting rightly engaged with sufficient and satisfying remunerations.
Modi initiated three categories of loans without any collaterals under MUDRA for MSME entrepreneurs to remove the financial hurdles for the micro-small to medium size businesses.
He moved to Start ups for all the highly educated and aspiring lot who wishes to get into a business of their own rather than serving in an organisation.
Modi had a dream of India as a great high tech manufacturing industries that he wishes to get realised through Make in India. Tatas and Mahindras are working with Airbus and Boeing, while Ambani the junior has tied up with Russians to supply sophisticated systems to defence, and L &T may work with Toshiba for nuclear power plants. Modi through his address to the students and faculties in Gauhati recently gave a call to work for innovating new products and participate in Make in India.
Modi has been proactive towards the core population of farmers and have offered a new crop insurance programme with both much lower premiums and higher sums insured to face on the uncertainty in farming because of draught and other divine causes. The soil health card mission is also one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship projects. The scheme targets covering 140 million farmers in a span of three years beginning 2015-16. Data as on 13 January shows that only 257,000 soil samples have been tested so far. But still, it is nowhere the target. His projects also include strengthening of Krishi Vigyan Kendras and National Watershed Management Project.
For preventative measure to improve health of the masses, Modi has focused on basic cleanliness through Swachh India and by encouraging yoga.
On social measures, Modi’s priority has been on girl child and their education.
It appears this government unlike the one of Sonia is trying to empower the younger generation to dream, to deserve and to get engaged in creating more jobs too rather than offering waivers or subsidies or doles. Now it will be the task of all the country men- bureaucrats, officers and even citizens to take the maximum advantages by helping the implementation of the missions honestly and ardently. And all these programmes are totally secular and encourage every one for becoming deserving by hard work, education, skilling and innovating and to grab the opportunity available in plenty.
However, I feel something more would have done:
1. A faster way to get transformed into cashless economy. With some 20 crores families having Jan Dhan or other bank accounts and credit or debit cards, it is doable.
2. Inefficient organisation such as Food Corporation of India where a worker manages to get Rs. 4.5 lakh per month as remuneration through coercion or manipulation must end with restructuring of management and building accountability.
3. Stricter way to take tough dissuading actions against corrupt officials who become multimillionaire by misusing public money such as Yadav Singh of Noida Authority throughout the country, must be found.
4. Irrigation facilities must reach to every small farmers with less than two hectares of landholdings and they must be encouraged to switch over to crops or horticulture a that gives better returns.
5. A massive programme to build quality rural educational institutes such as Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya, Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalayas and an ITI in each block of the country must be undertaken with a time to complete them by 2022.
6. A proactive counselling system in all communities to stop suicides of farmers and action plans require special attention. On the same line, all the wings of RSS, BJP and Hindu organisations must remove the discriminations between the castes. Particularly so called upper castes or dominating castes must take the responsibility to develop mutually respectable relations by breaking the age old myths of superiority of people born in particular castes.

Can India move fast to double digit growth rate?

Posted in governance | Leave a comment

Senior Citizens: Some Urgent Issues and Suggestions

Posted on January 19, 2016 by indra

We have been discussing about some special issues and concerns of senior citizens. 1. Right medical assistance 2. Help to reach the medical provider 3. Necessity for some to keep satisfyingly engaged and usefully 4. Problems of some who wish to get a satisfaction by giving back.

Emergency Medical Assistance: The problem of dealing with ageing poses many challenges. One is geriatric care, which is a specialisation that Indian medical providers lack badly. I doubt if all medical practitioners can correctly understand the medical problems of senior citizens and its medication. Can there be way to prepare a list of the doctors in locality who can handle the medical problems of ageing citizens, advise on right physical exercise or yoga cores, and special diets, and medication? Can the doctors in locality be persuaded to attain the older patients at home, as nowadays all the doctors do’t do that.

But there is something that is more than that and can be helped. It relates to many older couples like us who live alone with children away. In medical emergency, there may be an urgent need of a helping hand. Last month, I who lived with my wife faced a worrying situation. We had faced a medical problem late in evening. It was only a neighbour, Mr. Nauryal whom I requested for help. He was kind enough to call the ambulance. He also accompanied us to hospital for an emergency assistance, got checked, treated and brought back. His acquaintance with the hospital staffs was a big help. But what would have happened, if my neighbour would not have been there. It would have been a torturous evening. Can’t something be done for the older couples living on their own to face such emergencies? I am sure we can find a solution. We can try to find and fix some volunteers who are willing to take up such responsibilities of helping senior citizens at odd hours out of their own interest. Can some hospitals be persuaded to provide door to hospital to door services for senior citizens on reasonable payment?

Lack of Engagement: Many a times, it becomes difficult to keep oneself at this age sufficiently engaged to avoid the depression resulting out of loneliness. Many of those retired ones are in real sense the repositories of wisdom and knowledge and have skills that can be helpful to the needy in the society. Can we find a way to provide some interesting and satisfying engagement to those who are willing to work and to obtain its pleasure? Some with contacts can certainly help. The other day while attending the first anniversary meet of Meghdootam Senior Citizens Welfare Forum, I came to hear about some very capable persons. While Dr. Kaul had been a successful academician, Mr. Chaubey retired after holding the top position of a big PSU with expertise in HRD and who have also published two books published. Mr. Gupta was not only the General Manager in SBI but he is also a writer. If they are willing to take some initiative to find out the projects in which these engagements are required, something great can come out. How do we channelise the expertise and resources of those who have moved out of the job market and still ready to serve the society? But before anything! we will have create a data bank of the willing and physically capable senior citizens and their special skills and expertise where they can contribute.

Pleasure of Giving: Many of us at this age are affluent enough and have the willingness to part with some money for charity that can be used for helping the needy of various type in the society. We can create a Charity Fund for the purpose and devise a system to donate from the fund for a socially relevant cause.

There may be many more suggestions and issues. We invite suggestions from every one. It will be nice if we can form a Think Group to discuss the subjects in all communities.

Posted in social issues | Leave a comment

Make in India:Wishes for 2026

Posted on December 31, 2015 by indra

Instead of wishing for 2016, just the next year, I want to wish for the decade, as it takes that much time for manufacturing company to become a world class in quality and scale.

High-end Technologies: I wish four of the top industrial companies to grow as world class in manufacturing in its field, though there may be many more such as Bharat Forge: L&T in building and manufacturing of nuclear plants such as Westinghouse or Toshiba. Tata in defence planes just as Boeing. Mahindra in transport planes. Reliance Defense in naval warships. BHEL must grow as a global leader in all electric power related equipment.But all these firms, beside creating the world class manufacturing, assembling, and testing facilities, must also have to invest extensively in its own R&D too to become leaders in its areas of activities, and aim for exporting its products up to 30 percent. The joint venture of Russia’s Rostec with Indian PSU HAL for manufacturing Kamov 226T military helicopters in India will grow as the major manufacturers of all types of helicopters for domestic and global market. The agreement signed between Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group and Russia’s manufacturer of Air Defence Missile Systems, AlmazAntey, results in setting up a world class manufacturing with R&D centre of its own and starts producing the whole range of air defence missile and radar systems for the Indian defence forces and also opens export avenues.

Some already existing companies in Defense sector must excel and scale up: 1. Dynamatic Technologies that already supplying ramps and pylons to Boeing for the Chinook, and power and mission equipment cabinets for the P8-I multi-mission maritime aircraft (MMA). 2. Tata Advanced Materials (TAML) that has contracted to supply P8-I components to Boeing. 3.Tata Manufacturing Solutions (TAL) that has begun supplying ground support equipment for the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. 4. Rossel Techsys that manufactures wire bundles for Boeing’s military aircraft. 5. Punj Lloyd has established a high-tech manufacturing facility near Gwalior to tap into this market. And the Indian companies in the prestigious (and often more profitable) realm of aerospace design: A. Hyderabad-based Cyient (formerly Infotech Enterprises) that works with aerospace multinationals on critical design-engineering products, including aero engines. B. Chennai-based Data Patterns, that has designed cutting-edge aerospace products.

All these firms will need support from the government in a big way in policies and taxation, as the vested interests in bureaucracy and services are the biggest obstructions in indigenisation programme.

Railways: The two loco engine manufacturing plants in Bihar of GE and Alstom must go in production. Both must unlike Chittaranjan Locomotives must keep on updating its technologies to remain relevant for huge sector and look for export too. The Bullet Train project will also boost the manufacturing of many input items in India. Hundreds of smaller manufacturing companies may be joining the projects as world class vendors meeting Japanese quality standards.

Electronics: India will have to move fast in creating an ecosystem for manufacturing of electronics items that may soon be the highest burden of import just behind perhaps oil. The top hundred engineering colleges with strong electronics department, research organisations such as CSIR and DRDO, the government electronics companies such as BEL must focus on developing many world class electronics products and try to find a way out to encourage and support the entrepreneurs in its manufacturing. Foxconn must succeed in its plans of setting up electronics factories and it must facilitate to set up many components manufacturing units as vendors too.

Textiles: India must aim at making this the national manufacturing sector and number one in world consuming all its cotton and with best possible value addition to suit the fashion tastes of the world.

And finally, through extensive skilling and unique entrepreneurship, every rural habitation must have a manufacturing centre where the trained men and women make something or other required by the huge market of a billion and a half.

Let India become really as (‘swachh’) clean as the other developed countries to make it all proud to attract FDI in Make in India.or

Posted in industry, manufacturing | Leave a comment

Muslims! Requesting your reconsideration

Posted on December 31, 2015 by indra

Muslims of Ayodhya must set an example of their love of Indian culture as they are part of it. Most of them believe in the story of Rama. In many places, they play the roles of various characters of Ramayana in local Ramlila and enjoy it. Their so-called leaders such as Azam Khan with their own vested interests will never like that to happen. They must realise the fact that the most of the millions and millions of Hindus over centuries believe that Rama was born in Ayodhya and Krishna in Mathura. And they also believe that Rama and Krishna are the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme. The Muslims of India must respect the faith of Hindus and Hindus must also respond. They must appreciate the difference between a temple at the place believed by Hindus as birthplace of Rama where one of the officers in Babar army forcibly built a masjid later on known as Babri Masjid like many in the country just to hurt the feelings of Hindus just because he has conquered India. The Babri Maszid at Ayodhya was no way connected their Prophet or any of their kin. This gesture will be a great one to bring harmony and peace in India. Perhaps many will agree with me and must be having the same views. Let us not wait for the court decision, as it may take years and till then in every December there will be a tension in the country for nothing. Interestingly a minister of UP expressing similar idea got sacked by his CM. Let the subject be taken out of the hands of the politicians and solved with understanding between the commoners of the two communities.

Muslims must also appreciate the tortures, humiliations and shocks that the Hindus and their religious places suffered because of some truant Muslim rulers over the centuries. Religious temples, statues, maths were demolished and a large number of their clans were forcibly converted. If today Muslims can not tolerate the demolition of just one Babri Maszid, what sort of tolerance is there in the Hindus to read the news of hundreds of temples vanishing in Pakistan and even in Bangladesh and why should the Muslims not appreciate it? Can’t Muslims at large appreciate the feeling of humiliation in Hindus when they visit Kutubminar a Maszid built out of hundred of broken temples? Should the history books remove the stories of large scale conversions of Hindus in the periods when the Muslims ruled the country? Further, the media keeps on revealing the data that makes Hindus in India upset. How should a Hindu react when he reads a news report that 400 plus temples have vanished in Pakistan? Similar stories of desecration of Hindu temples in Bengal keep on appearing. But hardly any Hindu, but for just few fanatics in Hindus, try to see Muslims of the country with any feeling of revenge. Let us live in harmony, when the priorities for the country is to fight with poverty and deprivations.

Muslim parents must press the government for providing their children good education, skilling and financial assistance for that. Their leaders will never do that as their existence will be in danger after that. Muslims got elated with Sachar Commission for minority. Secular parties took credit for the appointing the commission, announced a large number of programmes to help the minority before the general election, but nothing changed as even after ten years. The deprivation remained where it was. The All India Survey of Higher Education 2013-14, released last week, says that Muslims account for just 4.3 per cent of India’s higher education enrolment, from undergraduates to PhD students, while the community makes up 14.2 per cent of the country’s population. Will they cast their vote for those who do the maximum in empowering them with education and skilling? The huge lot of NGOs, cadres of political parties must also focus on the education and skilling of the minority, Dalit and tribal children, something on the line of KISS of Odisha that has set an example of large scale educating of tribals. This is the only way to bring equity and build integrity of India.

Posted in social issues | Leave a comment

Senior Citizens: Some Issues and Suggestions

Posted on December 29, 2015 by indra

We have been discussing about some special issues and concerns of senior citizens. 1. Right medical assistance 2. Help to reach the medical provider 3. Necessity for some to keep satisfyingly engaged and usefully 4. Problems of some who wish to get a satisfaction by giving back.

Emergency Medical Assistance: The problem of dealing with ageing poses many challenges. One is geriatric care, which is a specialisation that Indian medical providers lack badly. I doubt if all medical practitioners can correctly understand the medical problems of senior citizens and its medication. Can there be way to prepare a list of the doctors in locality who can handle the medical problems of ageing citizens, advise on right physical exercise or yoga cores, and special diets, and medication? Can the doctors in locality be persuaded to attain the older patients at home, as nowadays all the doctors do’t do that.
But there is something that is more than that and can be helped. It relates to many older couples like us who live alone with children away. In medical emergency, there may be an urgent need of a helping hand. Last month, I who lived with my wife faced a worrying situation. We had faced a medical problem late in evening. It was only a neighbour, Mr. Nauryal whom I requested for help. He was kind enough to call the ambulance. He also accompanied us to hospital for an emergency assistance, got checked, treated and brought back. His acquaintance with the hospital staffs was a big help. But what would have happened, if my neighbour would not have been there. It would have been a torturous evening. Can’t something be done for the older couples living on their own to face such emergencies? I am sure we can find a solution. We can try to find and fix some volunteers who are willing to take up such responsibilities of helping senior citizens at odd hours out of their own interest. Can some hospitals be persuaded to provide door to hospital to door services for senior citizens on reasonable payment?

Lack of Engagement: Many a times, it becomes difficult to keep oneself at this age sufficiently engaged to avoid the depression resulting out of loneliness. Many of those retired ones are in real sense the repositories of wisdom and knowledge and have skills that can be helpful to the needy in the society. Can we find a way to provide some interesting and satisfying engagement to those who are willing to work and to obtain its pleasure? Some with contacts can certainly help. The other day while attending the first anniversary meet of Meghdootam Senior Citizens Welfare Forum, I came to hear about some very capable persons. While Dr. Kaul had been a successful academician, Mr. Chaubey retired after holding the top position of a big PSU with expertise in HRD and who have also published two books published. Mr. Gupta was not only the General Manager in SBI but he is also a writer. If they are willing to take some initiative to find out the projects in which these engagements are required, something great can come out. How do we channelise the expertise and resources of those who have moved out of the job market and still ready to serve the society? But before anything! we will have create a data bank of the willing and physically capable senior citizens and their special skills and expertise where they can contribute.

Pleasure of Giving: Many of us at this age are affluent enough and have the willingness to part with some money for charity that can be used for helping the needy of various type in the society. We can create a Charity Fund for the purpose and devise a system to donate from the fund for a socially relevant cause.

There may be many more suggestions and issues. We invite suggestions from every one. It will be nice if we can form a Think Group to discuss the subjects in all communities.

Posted in social issues | Leave a comment

Make in India-Some Progress

Posted on November 16, 2015 by indra

India under Modi has promised “to push manufacturing to 25% of GDP, and through the Make in India initiative, Modi wishes to make India a global manufacturing hub.” Have we seen some good things happening that brings hope? Yes, I am getting hopeful. Three recent manufacturing sectors provide a lot of positive news reports.

1. Railways: Indian Railways last week awarded contracts to General Electric Co. (GE) for setting up plant to manufacture of diesel locomotives at Marhora and Alstom SA to set up factories for electric locomotives at Madhepura, in Bihar. Alstom that has already a strong footprint in engineering and manufacturing and supply chain in India, plans to procure about 80% of the parts from India. It means good business for many local vendors. It will cost Rs 2,052 crore for setting up the diesel locomotive factory at Marhora, the electric one will cost Rs 1,293.57 crore at Madhepura. What required is a closely assisted implementation plan? Both the central and state government must must facilitate to remove all usual hurdles such as the infrastructure requirements and trained human resources to complete the project in fastest time. The project can change the region totally if everything goes right.

2. Aeroplanes: Only few days ago, Boeing Co. and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd has formed a joint venture that will manufacture aerostructures for aircraft and collaborate on integrated systems development opportunities in India. The joint venture will initially create a facility to produce aerostructures for the AH-64 Apache helicopter and to compete for additional manufacturing work packages across Boeing platforms, both commercial and defence.“ Tata Advanced Systems is one of the select few in the private sector in India undertaking manufacturing and assembly of both aircraft and helicopters. The resulting scale and expertise at which the company now operates makes it well-positioned for large-scale systems integration work in India’s aerospace and defence sector.

In July, the defence division of the Mahindra Group, Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd, and Europe’s Airbus Helicopters also signed an in-principle agreement to set up a joint venture to manufacture helicopters in India. Both these ventures can take India considerably ahead in this high-tech sector.

It seems the indigenous Tejas will also get into mass production to get completed the order from IAF through outsourcing in big way to Indian vendors.

Defence will contribute the most in Make in India drive. One such may of BAE Systems, USA. BAE Systems may establish an AIT facility in India that “will lay a foundation to expand future work content in India, potentially leading to M777s for India and for possible export.”

3. Domestic manufacturing of mobile phones: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and even West Bengal are pushing to have manufacturing clusters for manufacturing mobile phones. Foxconn has already got the allotment of the required land for the project on Pune-Mumbai Expressway in Maharashtra. It has already started assembling some brands in Sri City industrial cluster in Andhra Pradesh, and has big plans to create the ecosystem for mobile phone manufacturing. According to the MoU, Foxconn will set up one or several hi-tech industrial parks for mobile phones, computers, monitors, televisions, network devices, electronic components, automotive electronics, precision tooling, LED lights and smart-city development in different states.

A dedicated mobile handset and electronics manufacturing facility has started taking shape at Tirupati also. The facility will house brands such as Karbonn Micromax, Celkon and Lava. Lava has also started its manufacturing plant at Noida, and is going for a bigger one in an electronics manufacturing cluster on Yamuna Expressway. Videocon has started the manufacturing in Kolkata. With so many of these manufacturers, many vendors of parts will also set up their manufacturing facilities in India.

Let us hope that in next few years, Make in India gathers further speed.

Posted in manufacturing | Leave a comment

India Moving Ahead

Posted on November 4, 2015 by indra

Is it not great when if a World Bank official says, ‘It took four months in 2005 to start a business in India, but it takes only 29 days now.’? And some good news…..

1. India now ranks 130 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business.”A forward movement of 12 spots in the ease of doing business by an economy of the size of India is a ‘remarkable achievement. Going from 142 in the world to 130, as India has done, is very good sign.” The World Bank has said in a separate box that India is the biggest reformer.

2. India is ranked 8 globally in protection of minority investors, ahead of many developed economies including the US, Germany and Japan.

3. India has moved up one position to become the world’s seventh most valued ‘nation brand’, with an increase of 32 per cent in its brand value to USD 2.1 billion. The surge of 32 per cent in India’s ‘nation brand value’ is the highest among all the top-20 countries on the list.

4. India has pulled ahead of China and the United States to take pole position as the most favoured destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the Financial Times, having received $31 billion – $3 and $4 billion more than China and the US respectively.

5. India continues to top the global confidence index.

6. India will remain the world’s fastest growing information technology (IT) market in 2016 as it is expected to spend more than $72 billion on IT services, products and hardware, up from 7.2% from the current year, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

7. As the second-fastest growing and third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world, India is moving at a frenetic pace.
8. The Strategy& study found China and India recorded R&D spending growth of 79 percent and 116 percent, respectively, between 2007 and 2015.

9. The first ever global report commissioned by the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering has revealed that while just 20% of 16 to 17 year-olds from the UK and 30% from the USA are interested in an engineering career, in India the rate is as high as 80% – the highest in the world.

10. India has made significant progress in the past two years in financial transparency . According to the global financial secrecy index (FSI) report released by Tax Justice Network (TJN), India ranked 45 in the list of 92 countries in 2015 in comparison to 32 in 2013, which is seen as a big jump.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked ninth on the Forbes list of powerful people for 2015, up six places from last year when he was at number 15.

Another study is more satisfying for India. “In the study of 175 countries by anti-graft organisation Transparency International, India ranked 85, ahead China which came at 100, the Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 said. On a rating of up to 100, India scored 38, two points ahead of China’s 36. India’s score grew by two points over last year’s assessment.”

Are these not something to celebrate? Should we get bogged down by the intolerance debate or controversy on which the media is wasting its time? Why should we all not debate to sustain and improve on these global rankings?

Posted in economy, governance, industry | Leave a comment

Creating Non-agriculture jobs in Rural Bihar

Posted on November 3, 2015 by indra

Will the new government focus on and ensure by creating non-agriculture employment? Unless, every family thinks of having engaged after the farming work for extra earning, poverty can’t be eliminated. What all can become part of these rural Enterprises?
I wish some younger entrepreneurs start thinking intensively for creating a large number of new micro-entrepreneurship projects in rural region of Bihar. Every village can grow as a small manufacturing enterprise for at least something or can provide opportunities for some service entrepreneurs, may be micro ones. With the policy such as MUDRA, finance may not remain constraint. However, the bank officers are to be motivating rather harassing lot.
1. Talents of the young girls who come to a village after marriage with certain skills such as stitching apparels or different items for household uses including cheap sanitary towels, or for knitting sweaters, or making stuffed toys can be exploited to create extra earnings for the families. An effective link between traders and these talented ones will be necessary in the ecosystem.
2. The Panchayats can be persuaded for getting the school buildings or the panchayat house for opening a skill centre, and schools such Usha Silai Schools can be sponsored with a sole objective of starting a cooperative business.
3. Other enterprises for young men such as maintenance services for agriculture machines such as tractors, pumps to electronic gadgets that are flooding the rural areas fast, can also have potential. Today, all the users go to small towns nearby.
4. Every village can have some tutors engaged for providing tuitions to students of different levels, some even helping for getting distant education for higher level courses. With gradual increase in earnings and increasing interest in education, many parents are today able to pay for this. For instance, my cousin’s wife has been providing the tuition against payment for a number of years.
5. Another attractive area may be small scale home based food processing such as pickles or satoos or some traditional seasonal snacks. Many traditional snacks such as bhoonja, tilwa, ladoo with methi, sonth, and haldi as constituents, that used to be a delicacy for winter season, are disappearing fast. And with good packing and quality assurance, one can thinking of selling it on line. Could any one imagine that upala (cow dung cake) are getting sold on-line in festivals season. One can explore and get into the right business. There is no point in having these production bases in urban areas. With improving road connectivity, transportation will hardly be a bottleneck. However, a mind set of extra earning rather than wasting time in watching useless serials on TV must change.
There can be hundred of ideas for creating jobs and it will be in national interests that graduates of engineering and management schools are roped to carry out the feasibility studies and suggest ways and means to create non- agricultural work in rural region.
6. One such idea is certainly for the graduates in agricultural sciences. Can’t they think of opening low cost advisory or technical assistance services for the farmers to improve their yield and earnings? What can be the way for improving the yields from the prevalent small land holdings, say 3-5 bighas? Some can advise the best combinations of crops, plantations of fruits and vegetables to maximise the earnings of the individual small farmers who are in majority today. Some graduates in science can open small labs for finding the chemical composition of the soils in different regions of a village to suggest the right type of fertilisers, and may be a switch to bio-fertilisers.
7. A similar service may engage some trained young persons for various healthcare services. A safe maternity home and maternity advisory service can too be an engagement and a future business proposal.
8. A weekly market in every panchayat may create opening for selling home grown vegetables and other eatables. With households getting nucleus, even a rural family may like to have alternative of cooking at home.
9. Some young men can think of getting into rural tourism, as many in urban India will like to spend a night in village if it provides excitement and entertainment.
10. Rural India itself can create employment and business. Organic manure from the waste generated in villages, housing, marriages etc can provide a lot of scope for creating business and employment for the local population. The need is to make the activities marketable and sell it through different entrepreneurship.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/the-good-earth/A-greener-way-out-of-farm-crisis/articleshow/49614230.cms
11. http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/amul-s-not-so-marginal-farmers-115102300023_1.html Can the new generation of Bihari farmers take a lesson from Gujarat get into dairy farming in big way? If GCMMF can enter into other states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal bringing similar prosperity to its farmers, why can’t happen in Bihar?
Mushroom farming or government encouraged plantation on large scale on idle government land can change the fate of many poor in rural Bihar.
With the fast social changes coming in villages, many requirements of the people living there will need many services requiring some enterprises. The government must ensure a 24×7 electricity for the rural enterprises to be better in productivity and competitiveness.
http://www.ndtv.com/photos/news/kushalta-ke-kadam-aiming-for-independence-20606?pfrom=home-campaigns#photo-263178

Posted in bihar, rural india | Leave a comment