Agriculture: Emulate Successful Practices

Posted on February 16, 2010 by indra

According to a media report, farmers in Haryana have registered a record yield of wheat production at 46.14 quintals per hectare in Rabi season of 2008-09 that is higher than that of Punjab that got a yield of 45 quintal per hectare in the corresponding year. And if we look into the reasons of the yield increase, they are

1. Farmers are buying certified seeds.

2. Farmers have introduced land levellers that has helped them getting a uniform produce and less requirement of water saving about 30 per cent-40 per cent of water.

3. Farmers are getting subsidy on rotavator, zero tillage seed driller and fertilizer machines that helped them raise their productivity.

Farmers of Haryana must target their yield to the yield of France that is at 6,700 kg per hectare. A taskforce comprising the progressive farmers and the scientists can visit France and find out how France is doing that and what Haryana farmers can’t do. Can the government help to bridge the gap?

The farmers believe there is scope for increase of 30 per cent yield with better variety of seeds and irrigation facilities.

However, I wonder why other states and particularly the region with facilities of irrigation and fertile land such as Bihar, UP and even West Bengal can’t attain the yield of Haryana.

Unfortunately, the state governments and even the scientists of the state agriculture universities are hardly interested in extending the helping hands to the farmers.

If Gujarat can bring the scientists and farmers on one platform, why can’t other states do that?

If Gujarat can give soil health cards to all farmers that carry the detail of the quality of land that helps in deciding the input amount and types of fertilizers and nutrients, why can’t other states emulate?

If Gujarat can have separate connections for irrigation pumps for ensuring uninterrupted power for agriculture purpose, why can’t other states also follow the practice?

If Gujarat can build almost a lakh check dams to raise the groundwater table, why can’t other states with water scarcity look into a similar or better solution?

The former President Kalam recently gave a detail roadmap for water management in Bihar that suffers from drought as well as flood.

I have suggested to Bihar Assembly to mitigate Bihar from the fury of the floods it will be essential to undertake the following measures.

(a) Recovering the all the water bodies from encroachments using satellite maps.

(b) All the village ponds be immediately de-silted along with clearance of inlet and outlet and revived in the Gangetic basin.

(c) Carrying out the dredging of the rivers from the center so that the riverbed is below the adjoining land area.

(d) Raising the protection wall for the wells slightly above the normal flood water level so that the debris does not fill the wells during floods and drinking water is available immediately after the floods.

(e) Creating check dams so that water can be retained in the drought prone southern Bihar.


If a government can’t act on Kalam’s advice, how can it act on some from me? Why can’t the state government get up from the Kumbhkaran-like slumber? When will the government understand that loan waivers, subsidies, and increasing minimum support prices of basic crops will not make farming viable? The government will have to put money in providing irrigation facilities and its management.

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India Can Compete thru’ Innovations

Posted on February 15, 2010 by indra

While going through the must-read stories in technology on Techmeme, I hardly find any from Indian companies. Why have Indian companies lagged in developing some real cutting edge technological products? With all India’s image as global IT major power, why the biggies are nowhere near US tech companies such as Google, Amazon, or Apple?

The big Indian companies have failed to focus on R&D and real new products that can make mark globally. Only few such as Tata Motors and M&M have some clear strategies and acquired some design centres and research companies in developed countries to overcome the drawbacks. In last few weeks, I came across some stories of innovations that are inspiring though very few in numbers.

Nanotech to treat cancer: The IIT-B, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad have developed a nano-particle that could revolutionize treatment of retinoblastoma—a rare cancer of the retina, that mainly affects children under two years of age.

India’s answer to i-Pad: Hyderabad-based Notion Ink, a company of six IITans and an MBA graduates has developed the Adam tablet PC. The Adam tablet is the first device in the world to integrate two breakthrough power saving components – nVidia’s Tegra 2 chip and a PixelQi screen to achieve together twice the battery life and performance of the i-Pad. Adam’s 10-inch screen integrates many innovations. “The chip provides an edge over the i-Pad with its ability to play full high definition videos and Flash on the web browser. It can offer the performance of a computer with the power consumption of a cellphone.” s “It will offer everything from apps, books, video, audio, to magazines, newspapers and comics.”

India’s Kindle: Ahmedabad-based Vishal Mehta, a former employee of Amazon, has developed a product in India, which could challenge the hegemony of his former company’s Kindle in e-reading. Pi, as he calls the reading device, is lighter (180 gm) and thinner (10mm) than the i-phone.

However, Indian scientists in the fields of atomic energy, satellites, and missiles have developed many indigenous technologies without any external help and must be the benchmarks for the private sectors.

Fast Breeder Reactor: India’s first Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) for commercial nuclear energy generation FBR would be commissioned in 2011. The reactor, when commissioned, would become the second-largest commercial FBR in the world after Russia’s BN-600 reactor. India embarked on a three-pronged path and has succeeded: First, natural uranium will fuel PHWRs (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors). The second stage involves using FBRs based on plutonium that will be extracted from the spent fuel of the first stage. Finally, the country’s vast thorium reserves will be used to generate electricity. A small sized 13 MWe Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) is already successfully operating in the country since 1985. As reported, the FBR technology, which forms the second stage of India’s nuclear energy programme, has potential to allow the country’s nuclear power generation capacity to grow over 300,000 MWe in the long term, without any additional uranium, as it uses the spent fuel from the already installed PHWRs.

Indian Missiles: The recently tested newer versions of India’s Agni III missiles could strike the northernmost tips of China. Indian director of the project claimed that its missile’s accuracy is better than China’s DF 21. However, Chinese Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, a professor at the prestigious Chinese National Defence University, said India is still 10 to 15 years behind China in terms of missile technology. Without getting into controversy of the superiority with respect to China, the development is certainly a great morale booster for every Indian. India is set to test within a year an Agni-V nuclear- capable missile with a range of more than 5,000 kilometres.

India is having a large network of research laboratories and huge talent bank, mostly under government control. Unfortunately, the outcome from these laboratories have not been anywhere in proportion of the input of the resources. There is hardly any system to make the contributions of the scientists in these laboratories known to the people of the country.

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Education through English vs. Mother Tongue

Posted on February 13, 2010 by indra

I am in total agreement with the views of Swaminathan Aiyar on the issue of medium of teaching at primary stage of education.

I don’t know why Pratham’s recent revelation that only 48.3% of Indian children in Class 1 could read the English alphabet, even in big capital letters, caused so much worry and furry for the educationists and administration. Modi’s Gujarat government, that doesn’t want to be left behind, proposes to teach English in Class 1. Other states will also like to follow. It hardly matters if the students in primary schools fail to recognize English alphabets.

Aiyar suggests rightly that the teaching in Class I should begin in the mother tongue of students, with English coming only later. Global research shows that children should learn reading and writing in their mother tongue first. Only after they can read fluently at a minimum of 45-60 words per minute can they absorb what they are reading. Such fluency is most easily achieved in the mother tongue. Once that is established, learning a second language becomes much easier.

The reason for the lack of proficiency of the students of English is because of the way English is taught and the very poor standard of the teachers who teaches English. If a teacher can’t pronunciate English words properly and speak fluently correct English, how can his students do that? Most of the one-teacher schools in rural India hardly know or has been trained in teaching English that can be good enough to teach.

One easy solution would have been to use audio and video aids in some sort of low-cost English language laboratory that can help in mastering the language. And the government will have to undertake the training of the teachers on footing. I don’t know why Pratham has not rated the proficiency of the mother tongue. Unfortunately, the students today are equally poor in mother tongue.

Let me confess I myself have not been able to build a good vocabulary of the two languages that I use. One is to work hard to have command of the language to have even fairly good communication in any language.

Even if a student starts English in class VI, with 7 years of learning English up to class XII, the student can easily attain good enough proficiency in English communication before joining professional courses for higher education if the teaching of English is right.

I wish the government and politician stop using teachers for political gains. It is necessary as the mass of the population and particularly the deprived class at the bottom of the pyramid still sends their children to the government schools only. Interestingly the private sector is entering education pretty fast, and do also provide much better education.

The enrollment is reaching the target, but the quality of teaching must improve and the percentage of dropouts must come down.

Let the India’s advantage of superiority in English not suffer.

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Toyota’s Recalls: A Shock and A Lesson

Posted on February 11, 2010 by indra

For every one who follows auto industry and particularly manufacturing technologies and practices, shocking news about the massive recalls of its vehicles including the prestigious hybrid Prius by Toyota has caused remorse.

Over decades Toyota became a benchmark for quality and manufacturing system for manufacturing. Toyota Production System became the bible for automobile engineers, particularly manufacturing engineers. The world learnt many new shop floor practices: Kanban, Pokayoke, Lean Manufacturing (Just-in-time),Total Productive Maintenance, Quality Function Deployment and many more Taiichi Ohno, Shigeo Shingo and Eiji Toyoda became known world over. And then the world saw Toyota overtaking General Motors to become the Number One producer of automobiles in the world.

The recent crisis raises question. Did Toyota fail to keep its system in place with its speed of growth and worldwide expansion? Many claim to have cautioned Toyota about it well in advance.

First, Toyota went for a worldwide recall because of sticky gas pedals and unintended acceleration, and then the reports appeared about the faulty brakes on the gas-electric hybrid, the prestigious Prius. As reported, the slow-moving brakes on the car might have caused a collision last July, just months after the third-generation Prius went on sale in Japan.

Toyota Motor Corp’s president has not only apologized for safety problems, but also declared that ‘the company would bring in outside an unusual action for a company that has enjoyed a reputation for high standards’.

Is it not the anti-climax for Toyota? As pointed out by Jeffrey Liker in Business Week, ‘failure to follow all the principles of the Toyota Way led to this crisis. The automaker should follow its quality precepts to find a way out.’ Was it the unmanageable over ambitions that resulted in the flaws forcing the recall?

Interestingly, Toyota is getting Prius in India next month.

Is Toyota’s failure caused by the complexity of the today’s car, as Nirvikar Singh, a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz propounds in one of his columns? As per Singh, “the automobile has become increasingly complex, with more and more electronics being built into the system, and software becoming an essential part of what makes a car run. Hybrid vehicles have added to this trend of greater complexity”. According to Prof Singh, Toyota’s problem can be seen as one of failing to keep up with complexity. I don’t agree with his opinion. The Japanese quality of manufactured goods evolved to that reliability based on the shop floor practices where many thought that practices such as Six Sigma becomes useless.

I personally think it’s a failing to assimilate the traditional values and strategies of Toyota while expanding organization globally. Perhaps, the new CEO from the family that started Toyota replacing the professional ones from the organization’s hierarchy might also be the reason.

The recalls might be signaling the limit to which the customers are cared in today’s world. And that must be the lesson for the manufacturing community.

However, I was shocked to read that Honda is also having a similar problem. Has the downfall of the Japanese manufacturing quality started? But I wonder if the Japanese will set example by solving the problem rather that enhancing the lobbying in Washington to overcome the problem.

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The ‘Litti-chokha’ and BT Brinjal

Posted on February 10, 2010 by indra

I never had any inkling that Brinjal is so important among vegetables. My grandfather used the Bangla nomenclature ‘Begun’ to express his distaste for it, as the word means ‘without any value’. As I remember, according to him, the brinjal is not a nutritious vegetable and causes even some typical problems such as gastritis.

Brinjal was never a favourite for us in the family but for some specific preparation. With Litti-chokha getting media attention with Bihar’s social entrepreneur Irfan Khan’s intention to take it to US to present it to Obama as a gift from Bihar, his state of origin, I can only say that baked brinjal messed with baked potatoes is part of typical chokha. People in Bengal like fried ‘beguni’ and offer as the first course in most of the parties. I have seen brinjal pieces in sambhar in south. Brinjal is certainly not one of the most popular among large lot of vegetables getting produced in India. Brinjal has been one of the cheapest vegetables in market.

But Bt Brinjal has suddenly taken the headlines in media for days. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had to tour almost all the main metros in the country and did face also huge protests and even the heckle from the producers of brinjal before he finally said no to the commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal in India.

I only pity Jairam for putting so much of energy, resources and focus on Bt brinjal. Ramesh being an IITian as usual has gone into the depth of the issue and put the opinions from scientists NGOs and politicians on the website of his ministry that runs into thousands of pages. It will be a good research material for anyone interested in the subject.

Were the protests engineered by vested interest or was it a show of the strength of the common people against the entry of foreign multinational in Indian agriculture?

I have been writing about the productivity of agriculture produces in India that in many cases far behind the bests in the world. I wish the scientists focus on those crops such as paddy, wheat, sugarcanes, pulses, soybeans, oilseeds and many other items rather than wasting their energy and resources on brinjal.

Irfan Alam, also known as Mr. Rickshaw, the 35-year-old IIM Ahmedabad graduate from Bihar, has redesigned and smartened up rickshaws and helped boost the pullers’ earnings and dignity. Irfan is one of 79 “unique” entrepreneurs from across the world invited by Obama to an April 26-27 “entrepreneurship meet. As reported, US ambassador is meeting him in Patna on Friday. Interestingly, the ambassador plied a ricksha on the street of Patna with his wife sitting on it.

Being a fan of ‘Litii-chokha’, I still think that the preparation requires certain innovations to be made acceptable worldwide and presentable to the president of India. Now, fortunately after a gap of many years, we have Harendra with us who can take all the troubles that go in preparing Litti-chokha that is best done in an earthen oven with sun-dried cow dung as fuel. I am of opinion that my own home district is the best for this cuisine, though I may be wrong with not much knowledge about the other areas. Anyone wishing to learn the recipe can contact Yamuna on 0120-4358743.

The credit of this entry must go to Mukhiyaji who initiated it on facebook.

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Rural India: Affluence Knocking

Posted on February 9, 2010 by indra

India Today in its recent issue has published a heartening cover story ‘Changing face of rural India’. While one can see the glimpses of emerging India in metros and other cities of the country pretty easily, it is difficult to get the right views of the success stories of rural India that lives in about 6, 38,000 villages. Even most in urban India hardly know about the developments in rural India.

The schemes such as NREGS have helped the landless households. Bharat Nirman has considerably improved the infrastructures, be it road connectivity or rural electrification, which have impacted overall economy of the rural India. The unique expansion of mobile phones is further aiding to revolutionize the rural economy.

The earnings of the farmers have gone up significantly because of the enhanced minimum support price of the produces. Since 2004, the government has hiked procurement prices for paddy from Rs 580 per quintal to Rs 1,030 and that of wheat from Rs 620 to Rs 1,100.

Productivity or yield also has increased, though the potential is still much more if compared to China or developed countries. For example, India’s per hectare yield of paddy has increased from 668 kg to 2,203 kg since 1950 with Punjab’s at top with 3,800 kg/ha , but Bihar at 1,400 kg/ha. China’s average yield is 6,336 kg/ha, and new strain developed has already achieved 10,500 kg/ha that is ultimately is targeted for 13,500kg/ha. On wheat Punjab has hit 4,200 kg/ha, but France is at 6,740kg/ha. Gujarat’s farmers have increased cotton yield six fold in nine years from 175 kg per hectare to 798 kg more than the e world average of 787 kg/ha. Productivity has come because of better seeds, right amount of fertilizers, and water at appropriate time, and also better insecticides if required.

Farmers have started increasing their earnings from switch over to new and profitable crops as well as adapting to new technologies such as drip irrigation or micro-sprinkler systems and experimenting with better farming practices. With better road connectivity, the switch over from the traditional crops to cash crops such as vegetables, flowers, and fruits have provide better and regular earnings. Many progressive farmers have started making the farming run as business and have shaken off the old myths. For example, in many villages the farmers never sold milk and milk products, but today they have started considering that as additional means of household earning. So is the case with vegetable farming that was reserved for some specific castes. The plateuing of the productivity of traditional crops such as paddy and wheat have made them think to find ways and means to improve the earnings.

Barabanki, a district in UP became pioneer in growing mint (for menthe oil). After paddy and wheat season, the farmers grow mint in the offseason between March-June with added earning. And today India is the largest producer and exporter of the oil. Surprisingly, as I wrote earlier, my in-law family in Bihar also followed the practice and got benefited. A village in Telangana (Andhra) has tasted ample prosperity by producing red jowar seeds.

And one can feel and see the affluence in rural India in number of tractors, motor cycles, and modern houses with all electrical gadgets that one normally sees in urban India. And it gives me an immense pleasure to read such cover stories.

The unscrupulous politicians can’t hold the rural India behind.

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Bhishma vs. Arjun

Posted on February 5, 2010 by indra

Arjun is again battling against Bhishma. This is to prove how Arjun compares against Bhishma. Can Arjun win again?

The Indian army christened Russian battle (T-90S) tanks as ‘Bhishma’. DRDO has developed Arjun, the main battle tanks. Even after many tests and trials, the army has not agreed to accept Arjuns and has raised many apprehensions about its specifications and performance.

As reported, to end the debates between army and DRDO, ‘Russian-origin T-90S main battle tanks (MBTs) and indigenous Arjun tanks will finally kick off its performance tests in the Thar Desert in March-April’ for arriving at the comparative performances of the two.

The Army does not want more than the 124 Arjuns that it has already ordered, while it requires 1,781 MBTs to replace the older T-55 and T-72 tanks. The army wants to import 1,657 T-90S tanks.

DRDO, however, wants Army to order a minimum of 500 Arjuns to stabilize production lines and pave the way for the development of a “futuristic” MBT.

As reported, the present cost of one Arjun is Rs 16-17 crore, while it is around Rs 12-14 crore for the T-90S. I am sure Indian engineers can come out with many innovations and make it cost competitive with Russian tanks.

According to DRDO, the army has been frequently changing “qualitative requirements” of the MBT. I doubt if the engineering talent and manufacturing facilities in India can’t meet the army requirements, if the technocrats in army cooperate with the technical experts of DRDO and other vendors.

Many even opine that the army or for that matter everyone in the defense departments responsible for procurements prefer to import its major equipment for unknown reasons.

Are the foreign vendors using some underhand methods with favours of cash and kinds to those in decision making process to get the orders? India is having a very poor reputation of corrupt practices in doing business with the foreign companies.

I have different logic for getting indigenous products and equipment. The volume production of Arjun can boost the country’s manufacturing sector.

No one wishes that the country gets poorer defence equipment because of the emotional decision in favour of the locally developed main battle tanks. But at the same time none will like the men in army to obstruct the project unnecessarily.

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India Growth Story: Some Priorities

Posted on February 2, 2010 by indra

India has earned a rightful place for itself today. The developed West has realized it and also recognized it. It gets revealed even in the name of the successful Hollywood movie, ‘Avatar’.

When China is moving on fast track of growth and building infrastructure that even developed countries today envy, many think, the Indian model is likely to prove far more sustainable than the Chinese one. India must focus on certain areas where it’s strong. It’s happening already. Here are some areas where India can really excel and it’s on the right track.

R&D: Zennov Management Consulting, which helps multinationals explore opportunities in India, estimates that 640 multinationals have together set up 750 R&D centres in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai. If you look at the pink papers, you can find the new ones coming in or the existing one expanding regularly.

And it’s not only the technology companies. For example, Emerson, the $21 billion US-based technology giant, has set up a design engineering centre in Pune to provide product and software design, and engineering services for Emerson’s divisions worldwide. Siemens is making India a major hub for R&D related to computer aided detection products for medical diagnostics tools.

Win Africans: China has gone a long way to win over African countries on its side, and India must not fall behind. India has certain advantages and can very easily win the race if Indian government makes a right move taking cue from a recent statement of Nimisha Madhvani, the Ugandan high commissioner to India, who belongs to a family that owns and runs one of the biggest business conglomerates in East Africa. “The Indian government has not really focused on the Indians in Africa which is why many of the big Indian business groups of Indian origin in that continent do not look at putting their money in India but instead tap business opportunities in Europe and America.”

Export Indians: http://business.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263916 India huge human resources will be its great asset and export. With the government facilitating the supply and if it does it right, India could emerge as the talent supplier to the world. India has signed two CEPAs, with Singapore and South Korea. CEPA, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) covers movement of both goods and people. It is currently negotiating for two more on the same lines, with the European Union (27 countries) and Japan. And the special thrust on improving the quality of education raises hope for better performance by Indians all over the world in larger number.

India will have to leapfrog its dominance in manufacturing sector. It has all the potentials. The government must take steps to open and encourage defence and other sectors primarily with government to private players. Clearly, the sectors such as aviation, power equipment, satellites, and even railways have got the potential to flood the country with manufacturing possibilities. Is it not a shame that the country can’t build sufficient number of power plants as there is one supplier of power plant equipment named BHEL? How can one think of having any development without power?

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Spiraling Prices: Who’s Responsible?

Posted on January 30, 2010 by indra

Who is responsible for the spiraling process?

Hoarders, politicians, government-both at centre and in the states, traders, farmers or the people of the country!

How is this country with more than 70% of the population without any salary cheques coming every month carrying on with this tremendous price rises? As reported, ‘food inflation touched 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16 on account of high prices of vegetables and pulses.’ Is it not strange that pulses are selling at Rs 100 to 110 per kg, higher than the price of branded refined edible oils?

As reported, ‘the prices of essential commodities have been on an upward spiral since 2004. In the last decade, rice prices have risen by 130 per cent cent while sugar prices have shot up by 193 per cent. And since May 2004, prices of rice have gone up by 77 per cent and that of tur dal by an astounding 252 per cent.’

India is unfortunate to have one so senior a minister who keeps on giving irresponsible and every time varying statements, more on possibility of the rise in the price rather than acting on and talking about the measures on the price control.

Is it because of the politics even in matters of grave national concerns? As per one estimate, the government spent about Rs1.25, 000 crore very successfully for its vote banks such a loan waivers and NREGA. It hardly executed any major irrigation programme for improving the productivity in agriculture. Would not the country have debated the choice between the investments for vote banks vs. that in improving the productivity of agriculture sector? Who can stop a government from allocating most of its revenue for appeasing the vote banks?

And what can happen if the concern of the politicians leading protests for price rise is so much political?

“Take us and keep us in 1 Anne Marg (chief minister’s official residence). I will issue an order to bring down the prices within a minute,” Lalu claimed when the police arrived to arrest him during recent Patna Bandh.

And another chief minister has funnier solution. He can stop price rise by writing a letter on rising prices to the Congress president in Italian to get her attention.

Why do the politicians and the government behave so irresponsibly? They have nothing to lose. They have their store rooms and lockers full. And still the crowd is with them and votes them to power. Is not the country is getting what it deserves?

Let us not hope for any control on prices of the essential commodities, be it sugar or onion or pulses and try to live with it, work harder to pay more for the ineffectiveness of the governance.

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Product That Prides: iPad and India’s own Kindle

Posted on January 28, 2010 by indra

Image

The techies in US and world over appear to be talking today of only one product iPad that Apple’s Steve Jobs unveiled. Will it be as popular as iPhone or iPod? Anand was the first to send the message as he had been talking about it with a lot of expectation for a long time. Apple has become a benchmark of the tech products, and all its products have been unique.

A brief description of iPad is as follows
iPad is a half-inch thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds, with a 9.7-inch capacitive touch screen IPS LCD display, and it’s running a custom 1GHz Apple “A4” chip developed by the P.A. Semi team, with a 10-hour battery life and a month of standby. It’s a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. The cheapest will be $499 in US (around Rs 25,000). I don’t know when Indian enthusiasts can have iPad and at what price. However, I enjoy immensely the excitement of the younger generation about these gadgets represented pretty well by Anand.

Kindle, the e-reader of Amazon is another product that is making waves in US and perhaps world over wherever Amazon has launched it.

I was amazed to read a news item in business page of Times of India today.

“A 34-year-old Indian is looking to revolutionize the way the printed word is read in India. Ahmedabad-based Vishal Mehta, a former employee of Amazon, is launching a product in India, which could challenge the hegemony of his former company’s Kindle in e-reading.”


I wish Vishal a success. It will be a great product for book lovers, if he can tie up with the publishers and other service providers including Amazon. And if he can cut down its price, it will be a great example of reverse innovation. He will have a market of millions world over. India badly needs such product developments. However, I shall feel really bad and pained if it turns to be a fraudulent claim.

The people, particularly the students and teachers, world over badly need a really cheap laptop. Many have been attempting for it. It started with the initiative of ‘One Laptop per Child’ (OLPC), the MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte’s non-profit effort that conceived a no-frill $75 or $100 laptops to be produced in millions to meet the target price.

The government of India had announced a project of even $10 laptop (Rs 500). And I don’t know what happened to it. I wish the scientists of all the IITs, IISc, CSIR, and DRDO or company such as HCL Infosystems could have made it happen.

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