Monday, July 02, 2007
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Comparing China and India
Growth at 9 per cent for the next 13 years would still only get us a real GDP that China will have surpassed by 2007
With 9.4 per cent GDP growth in 2006-07 on the heels of 9 per cent of the previous year, some in India have begun to believe that we are poised to give China a run for its money. It may be a tactically good move to herald the arrival of India, and to tell global investors that it is time to actively pursue the India option.
It also true that in sectors such as IT, IT-enabled services and those that need strong engineering and systems inputs, India scores higher than China. And there is hard evidence that, despite many disadvantages, Indian companies perform far better than most of their Chinese counterparts — be it in profit margins, return on capital, or shareholder returns.
However, to claim that India can now play catch-up with China is a huge exaggeration.
To understand how far behind we are in economic terms and, thus, how much more we need to focus on reforms and governance, here is some evidence.
The life expectancy at birth of an average Chinese is 71 years; for an Indian, it is 64 years. In China, infant mortality is 31 out of 1,000 live births; in India, it is 85 per 1,000.
For people of 15 years and more, the average literacy rate in China is 91 per cent; in India, it is 61 per cent. For those in the 15-24 years bracket, China’s literacy rate is 98 per cent, versus India’s 76 per cent.
Let’s now move on to GDP. Without adjusting for purchasing power parity, China’s GDP (at both constant prices and exchange rates) is $2,600 billion — three times that of India’s at around $850 billion. China’s per capita GDP is almost 2.7 times that of India’s.
With an output of 423 million metric tonnes (MT), China’s steel production is 10 times that of India’s. The Middle Kingdom produced 1.24 billion MT of cement last year; India’s output was 168 million MT. India did very well to manufacture 1.5 million passenger cars in 2006-07; China produced 5.2 million in 2006.
What about infrastructure? In 2006, China produced 2,830 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of power and, for the first time, was power surplus. In contrast, India produced 664 billion kWh with a 14.5 per cent peak power deficit. China already has around 45,000 km of barriered, restricted access, multi-lane dual carriageways. Let’s forget barriers and restricted access, as on 31 May 2007, we had 6,989 km of four or six-lane dual carriage national highways.
Telecom is an Indian success story. In 2006-07, we had 166 million mobile subscribers. By March 2007, the number of mobile subscribers in China was 463 million.China’s exports are eight times that of India’s; and imports four times greater. In 2006, China’s total value of exports and imports was $1,761 billion (or 69 per cent of its GDP). India’s was not even a fifth at $307 billion, or 37 per cent of GDP.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China during 2006 added up to $63 billion. India had a landmark year, with FDI at around $9 billion.
While beyond a point, it does not amount to much, the fact is that China’s foreign exchange reserves are now at $1,200 billion (that’s $1.2 trillion), while India’s is $208 billion.
Unless our political class decide to commit collective hara kiri, I have no doubts that India will continue growing at an average of around 8 per cent to 8.25 per cent over the next decade. Indeed, with a greater focus on infrastructure, we can even raise the decadal compound annual growth rate to a bit over 9 per cent. You know where that 9 per cent growth will take us? To a real GDP of around $2,950 billion in 2020 — a level that China will have comfortably surpassed in 2007.
In other words, 13 years of focused, unrelenting slog can get us to today’s China. That’s great. But China won’t be waiting for us to get there. So let’s get real. And realise that reforms have only just begun.
P.S. Are the Congress socialists and the CPI(M) listening?
Who'll be the Global Soft superpower?
China is soaking up resources in Africa and Latin America. And everybody else is eating their hearts out. Or are they? In its desire to lay hands on pretty much every mineral and fuel source it can find, China has laid out the diplomatic red carpet in these two regions. But while China has been totally unstoppable, India is moving in its slow, slightly chaotic way to improve its footprint in Africa and Latin America.
While the ambitions of the emerging powers may intersect, the approach and quality of China and India’s presence in these regions could not have been more different. In fact, you can almost distinguish between the Indian model and the Chinese model. But however you look at it, the underlying competition is one for soft power supremacy in a huge chunk of the world.
The Chinese model is pretty straightforward — exchange between money and diplomatic influence in return for unfettered access to natural resources. Take Africa. China first came into contact with Africa when their legendary explorer-conqueror Zheng He returned from Kenya around 600 years ago — with a giraffe. Today, China’s blitzkrieg through Africa, building roads, railways, power plants, football stadiums, writing off loans and removing tariffs bears no resemblance to Zheng’s adventures. In return, China gets loads of oil, timber, copper and other raw materials.
The Indian model is very different. From India’s freedom struggle and subsequent commercial success of the Indian diaspora in Africa, the non-aligned movement etc, India has been a subterranean constant. The difference was, India was more an inspiration than a way to fill coffers.
But China forced India to think differently. Today, India has certainly become more ‘business-like’ in its approach, though it stops short of being purely mercantilist. Senior Indian officials involved in India’s diplomatic push in these regions summarise the difference in approach. ‘‘China’s is resource-based investment, Indian investment concentrates on capacity building.’’
India’s big China jolt came in 2004 when it lost out on a huge oil bid in Angola. China blew India away with a $2 billion grant in comparison with a measly $200 million Indian offer to develop Angola’s railways. It made India sit up and take a hard look at its diplomacy and investment push in Africa. The story was no different in Latin America. During the 2007 World Cup, India made heavy weather of building one stadium in Barbados. China built six, and it doesn’t even play cricket.
But also, by 2007, the Angolans had joined a general buzz against China in Africa. Zambia was the first to start, after a Chinese-owned copper mine blew up. The Zambian opposition launched riots led by their fiery leader Michael Sata, to the extent that Chinese president Hu Jintao took the Chambishi copper belt off his schedule when he visited Zambia in February.
Angolans have complained bitterly about lack of job opportunities which the Chinese presence has worsened, and sources say Chinese companies have been pulled out of a refinery project. In South Africa, Thabo Mbeki warned against a ‘colonial’ relationship with China .
In Zimbabwe, China’s getting into bed with Robert Mugabe has not gone down well with the locals. The crux of the matter is: Chinese investment brings with it Chinese labour (many reportedly from prison camps) the growth of Chinese ghettos and little for the local population, but lots for corrupt dictators. The often irrational fear that China may be silently invading Africa is now commonly expressed.
India has taken a different path. Indian investments are largely private sector, riding on the back of the lines of credit given by the Indian government. They are also generally more equitable for the locals. Intent on keeping costs down, Indian companies find it easier to employ locals. In the process, locals end up with a greater stake in the Indian projects.
In Mexico, Indian IT giant TCS has set up a global delivery centre in Guadalajara with the declared intention of hiring 5000 staffers. The idea is to be close to its US customers. According to company reports TCS has a presence in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile — and all with local talent. Indian IT company FirstSource has just set up office in Argentina employing about 300 locals.
Mexico is the biggest beneficiary of Indian investment — over $3 billion — its proximity to the US and low costs working to its advantage. Dr Reddy’s Labs bought a Roche facility in Mexico and populated it with Mexicans. The result: Latin America is beginning to look at Indian companies as ‘partners’ not out to rob them of jobs and resources, as the Chinese are now believed to be doing. Indian energy major Reliance is reportedly planning a huge investment in Colombia, in collaboration with its US stakeholder Chevron, that is likely to run into several billion dollars.
In Africa, Reliance is planning a push into Sudan’s oilfields in a few years when the current political crisis has settled, an investment, company insiders say, that will be around $3 billion. And in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, India is the second largest stakeholder.
China has taken more flak on its investments in Sudan than anywhere else for its cynical policies — CNPC is the majority stakeholder in both Petrodar and Greater Nile and China reportedly lifts about $2 billion of oil per year. But China has also supplied weapons to Khartoum for the genocide in Darfur and shielded the Bashir regime from international sanctions in the UN Security Council. Its only after the international NGO circuit started dubbing the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the ‘genocide games’ that Beijing decided to act.
This has been a lesson to India as well. In 2005, Manmohan Singh refused permission to ONGC to invest in two big oil deals in Nigeria because of due diligence concerns. Although India is also in Africa for economic reasons, there is an effort at humane-ness. In fact, India’s big push is to get Africa connected and educated. Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, and Mauritius will be the initial countries for the Indian government’s $1-billion pan-Africa e-network project, a joint initiative with the Africa Union (AU).
The project aims to develop Africa’s information and communication technologies by eventually connecting all of the 53 African countries to a satellite and fibre-optic network. It’s ambitious and imbued with virtue. India also plans to export its open university system, among the largest in the world, to Botswana and Uganda, among others in Africa.
Of course, India is no China when it comes to focused attention to resources, but strategists in the government are convinced this is the way India would like to go in Africa — a more inclusive presence. These are aspects of Indian soft power that India believes will pay greater dividends in years to come. More than the Chinese model.
While the ambitions of the emerging powers may intersect, the approach and quality of China and India’s presence in these regions could not have been more different. In fact, you can almost distinguish between the Indian model and the Chinese model. But however you look at it, the underlying competition is one for soft power supremacy in a huge chunk of the world.
The Chinese model is pretty straightforward — exchange between money and diplomatic influence in return for unfettered access to natural resources. Take Africa. China first came into contact with Africa when their legendary explorer-conqueror Zheng He returned from Kenya around 600 years ago — with a giraffe. Today, China’s blitzkrieg through Africa, building roads, railways, power plants, football stadiums, writing off loans and removing tariffs bears no resemblance to Zheng’s adventures. In return, China gets loads of oil, timber, copper and other raw materials.
The Indian model is very different. From India’s freedom struggle and subsequent commercial success of the Indian diaspora in Africa, the non-aligned movement etc, India has been a subterranean constant. The difference was, India was more an inspiration than a way to fill coffers.
But China forced India to think differently. Today, India has certainly become more ‘business-like’ in its approach, though it stops short of being purely mercantilist. Senior Indian officials involved in India’s diplomatic push in these regions summarise the difference in approach. ‘‘China’s is resource-based investment, Indian investment concentrates on capacity building.’’
India’s big China jolt came in 2004 when it lost out on a huge oil bid in Angola. China blew India away with a $2 billion grant in comparison with a measly $200 million Indian offer to develop Angola’s railways. It made India sit up and take a hard look at its diplomacy and investment push in Africa. The story was no different in Latin America. During the 2007 World Cup, India made heavy weather of building one stadium in Barbados. China built six, and it doesn’t even play cricket.
But also, by 2007, the Angolans had joined a general buzz against China in Africa. Zambia was the first to start, after a Chinese-owned copper mine blew up. The Zambian opposition launched riots led by their fiery leader Michael Sata, to the extent that Chinese president Hu Jintao took the Chambishi copper belt off his schedule when he visited Zambia in February.
Angolans have complained bitterly about lack of job opportunities which the Chinese presence has worsened, and sources say Chinese companies have been pulled out of a refinery project. In South Africa, Thabo Mbeki warned against a ‘colonial’ relationship with China .
In Zimbabwe, China’s getting into bed with Robert Mugabe has not gone down well with the locals. The crux of the matter is: Chinese investment brings with it Chinese labour (many reportedly from prison camps) the growth of Chinese ghettos and little for the local population, but lots for corrupt dictators. The often irrational fear that China may be silently invading Africa is now commonly expressed.
India has taken a different path. Indian investments are largely private sector, riding on the back of the lines of credit given by the Indian government. They are also generally more equitable for the locals. Intent on keeping costs down, Indian companies find it easier to employ locals. In the process, locals end up with a greater stake in the Indian projects.
In Mexico, Indian IT giant TCS has set up a global delivery centre in Guadalajara with the declared intention of hiring 5000 staffers. The idea is to be close to its US customers. According to company reports TCS has a presence in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile — and all with local talent. Indian IT company FirstSource has just set up office in Argentina employing about 300 locals.
Mexico is the biggest beneficiary of Indian investment — over $3 billion — its proximity to the US and low costs working to its advantage. Dr Reddy’s Labs bought a Roche facility in Mexico and populated it with Mexicans. The result: Latin America is beginning to look at Indian companies as ‘partners’ not out to rob them of jobs and resources, as the Chinese are now believed to be doing. Indian energy major Reliance is reportedly planning a huge investment in Colombia, in collaboration with its US stakeholder Chevron, that is likely to run into several billion dollars.
In Africa, Reliance is planning a push into Sudan’s oilfields in a few years when the current political crisis has settled, an investment, company insiders say, that will be around $3 billion. And in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, India is the second largest stakeholder.
China has taken more flak on its investments in Sudan than anywhere else for its cynical policies — CNPC is the majority stakeholder in both Petrodar and Greater Nile and China reportedly lifts about $2 billion of oil per year. But China has also supplied weapons to Khartoum for the genocide in Darfur and shielded the Bashir regime from international sanctions in the UN Security Council. Its only after the international NGO circuit started dubbing the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the ‘genocide games’ that Beijing decided to act.
This has been a lesson to India as well. In 2005, Manmohan Singh refused permission to ONGC to invest in two big oil deals in Nigeria because of due diligence concerns. Although India is also in Africa for economic reasons, there is an effort at humane-ness. In fact, India’s big push is to get Africa connected and educated. Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, and Mauritius will be the initial countries for the Indian government’s $1-billion pan-Africa e-network project, a joint initiative with the Africa Union (AU).
The project aims to develop Africa’s information and communication technologies by eventually connecting all of the 53 African countries to a satellite and fibre-optic network. It’s ambitious and imbued with virtue. India also plans to export its open university system, among the largest in the world, to Botswana and Uganda, among others in Africa.
Of course, India is no China when it comes to focused attention to resources, but strategists in the government are convinced this is the way India would like to go in Africa — a more inclusive presence. These are aspects of Indian soft power that India believes will pay greater dividends in years to come. More than the Chinese model.
The new Nalanda
This could be the New Bihar Story. From the thousand-year-old ruins of an ancient university, a blueprint is being unveiled to build a world-class institute of learning...
Nearly 90 km from Patna lies a morsel of the past. Though dead and mostly buried, it jibes at the present: it speaks of a legacy that the state of Bihar perhaps so undeservedly lays claim to. Till recently, no one listened to the ruins of Nalanda. Now, their silence is being heard.
In a visionary gesture, the Nitish Kumar Government has decided to revive the university that was perhaps the biggest international seat of learning between 5th and 12th centuries AD, the first residential academic centre that attracted scholars from as far as China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. Some of these countries, including China and Japan, are now coming together to bring Nalanda to life.
“You can gauge the enthusiasm from the fact that the issue figured in the recent talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao and then with the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. It also figured in the East Asian Summit held in January in Philippines this year and is likely to be raised again at the summit in November in Singapore,” says N.K. Singh, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board.
Though countries from East and Southeast Asia—for whom Bodh Gaya and Nalanda were crucial pilgrimages—had always wanted to revive the university, it took concrete shape when it was pursued by outgoing President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He had outlined the contours of the proposed university during his special address to the Bihar Legislature last year. Of the 10 suggestions for a prosperous Bihar, revival of the university figured as crucial.
The Nitish Administration lapped up the idea, with the Chief Minister taking a keen interest in the project. He, perhaps, realises that the project can transform Bihar’s image in the international arena and yield long-term benefits for the state in terms of investment. Within a short span and at a surprising pace, the Government identified around 500 acres of land for setting up the international university and had a bill enacted by the state assembly. “By next week, we hope to take possession of around 450 acres,” says Nalanda District Magistrate Anand Kishore.
The proposed university will be situated 16 km from the ruins of Nalanda at the foot of the hills in Rajgir (earlier known as Rajgriha) and start functioning from 2009. It will be unique in the sense that it will be owned jointly by several countries, especially from South and Southeast Asia. The University Act clearly talks about setting up a consortium of international partners and friendly countries, and the project has already attracted the attention of some of the most dynamic economies of East and Southeast Asia, ringing hope in a state lagging far behind in all indices of development. The Nalanda project hopes to revive the historical ties this region enjoyed in areas like trade, science, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy.
Possibly the first of its kind in the world, it intends to recreate the spirit of its ancient counterpart. “The architecture and the buildings for the university and its campus shall be carefully designed so as to reflect its vision and mission as set out in the objectives of the university,” the Act for the university states.
History has it that Nalanda was an architectural marvel and its sprawling campus could accommodate nearly 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. It had a nine-storey library, eight compounds, 10 temples, meditation halls, classrooms, lakes and parks. The ancient university was multidisciplinary and the scholars jostled to take lessons in subjects ranging from fine arts and medicine to philosophy and astronomy. Mathematics and politics were the other crucial disciplines along with warfare. Nalanda’s most celebrated scholar was perhaps Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang, who not only studied here but also taught and spent nearly 15 years at the university. In fact, India and China have recently erected a memorial at Nalanda to honour Tsang.
The Union Government has also set up a Mentor Group, which would be headed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, have members drawn from different countries and Foreign Secretary as its ex-officio member-secretary. Singapore Foreign Minister George Hui, Wangei Hui, Director, Institute of Indian Studies, Beijing, Prof Sugata Bose (Harvard), Lord Meghnad Desai and Prof D.N. Jha of Delhi University are some who have consented to be members.
“The Mentor Group will give a report on pedagogy, syllabus, academic calendar, funding and organisational structure of the university. The group’s first meeting is scheduled in the middle of July in Singapore. After that it will hold three more meetings in Tokyo, Beijing and India to give a final shape to the plan. The report is expected by the end of the year,” says Singh.
“The report will be given a final shape in consultation with the university’s Visitor—likely to be Kalam after his term as President ends—and it will then be submitted to international agencies for funding,” says Bihar Human Resource Development Secretary Madan Mohan Jha. Nitish Kumar will formally offer the Visitor’s post to Kalam after he leaves the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The Bihar Government has already had a detailed project report (DPR) prepared by Educational Consultants of India Limited (EDCIL) for the establishment of the university, which is expected to incur a total expenditure of Rs 630 crore and an annual recurring expenditure of Rs 375 crore. Once international funding is assured for the University of Nalanda, the state government hopes that its other projects for developing tourist infrastructure would also receive international support.
To begin with, the new university will have seven Schools of Learning, including Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, Information and Communication (Informatics), Basic and Applied Sciences, Development Studies, Natural Resource Management, International Studies and Languages. The final structure will, however, depend on the report of the Mentor Group.
In the first phase, the university will offer only postgraduate, research, doctoral and post-doctoral degrees, and it expects to attract students from several countries. A scholar of international repute will be the university’s chancellor.
According to the DPR, in the first year, the university will have 1,137 students and the number will increase to 4,530 by the fifth year. The university will maintain a 1:10 teacher-student ratio and a minimum proportion of academic and non-academic staff in the ratio of 70:30. The faculty members shall be so selected that they are culturally tuned to the vision and mission of the university.
Realising that history could repeat itself in the modern context, the Nitish Kumar Government has already chalked out an ambitious plan to develop Nalanda and Rajgir as per international standards. A state-of-the-art tourist park, township, airport and golf course have been planned, targeting foreign investments, which will be used to build world-class infrastructure in the region to help boost tourism.
The biggest challenge before the state, Centre and others involved in establishing the university would be to arrange funding and get the best faculty. Only then can it hope to attract students from across the world. Only then may the clamouring ruins of Nalanda finally fall silent, the dead past laid to rest.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
US heritage body wants Ram Sethu preserved
World Monuments Fund, an international preservation organisation that brings out World Monuments Watch List of endangered sites, has said that the Government of India should be made to realise that it’s more valuable to preserve Ram Sethu than demolishing it.
Marilyn Perry, chairman of the Fund, said in an interview on the sidelines of the function to release the list of endangered sites of the world in its New York Madison Avenue office that the Federal Government could consider sending scuba divers underwater to collect sand deposits and analyse them in the laboratory. “The government could leave the disputed area untouched and make it as a tourist attraction by sending tourists in glass bottom boats to see what’s inside the sea.
That could compensate for whatever is the revenue loss of diversion. They could also invite international team of scuba divers to come and take underwater photography and tests to find out whether the rock formations still exit. It’s easy to demolish but hard to construct anything again,” she said.
Agreeing that the Fund is not a world policeman and its requests may fall on deaf ears, she said an alternative vision of the value which government officials may not see should be created. “They often only see the water and the revenue and not the archaeological importance beneath the sea. The organisers of the movement could use mass media such as television and also make a film and show to the people to create awareness. We have to create enough documentation that the bridge was ancient and that it’s sacred to both India and Sri Lanka as it demonstrates historic connections. Instead of being frightened of the national government, the organisers should mobilise local people to support the movement. You always need local support and can’t do anything without them.”
On listing Ram Sethu as an endangered historical monument, she said unfortunately the nomination for this year was already over. “The question is how to find a mechanism in this case to publicise it extensively to gather public opinion. We need to know how the Sri Lankan government and people feel about the demolition. There is no question of wrong and the right in any issue and the answer is finding consensus. How much can we save or are there any alternatives to the project without destruction? The government could be made to realise that it’s more valuable to preserve the site. Often, the Fund may not be able to convince the governments as we do not don policemen’s role. We could not stop the construction of a dam in Turkey as the government would not listen to us. The dam would flood some of the great archaeological sites yet the government was adamant,” she said.
Bonnie Burnham, president of the Fund, said the movement against the project should be tenacious in getting the public voice heard. “If we could convince the Federal Government on Taj Mahal, which would have been affected by developments, I am sure we can find a way out for this issue too. Fortunately, lot of heritage bodies in India came together and provided their support to stop an action that would have had an adverse impact on the world monument. Joint voices really do make a difference. The organisers should rope in bodies like INTACH,” she added.
“In India, I hope there will be a much greater development of NGOs at local level. There is no more awareness now and private sector can really play a role. Heritage of India is too rich for the government to take care of by itself. Voice of the private sector will have a clout on such matters. In India as of now, it’s really not easy for foreign NGOs to get established due to extremely laborious legal process. There are not strong incentives for philanthropy. Changing laws related to both the issues would have a huge impact and there is very strong interest among foreign NGOs to get involved with India’s heritage. There is no infrastructure that supports the government efforts. No community exists that does not have something important to say on Indian heritage,” she added.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Five e-mail habits that waste time and cause problems
Few communications tools give you as much exposure as e-mail. Unfortunately, mistakes in your e-mail will receive that same exposure as well. Depending on who sees your e-mail, your job, reputation, or career could suffer. Fortunately, avoiding these mistakes is easy. Here are five e-mail habits that annoy me (and maybe you as well), and what you can do differently. I’ll share another five in my next article.
#1: Vague or nonexistent subject line
Professor Woodward, who taught me contracts last year at Temple University Beasley School of Law, gave me one of the most useful pieces of advice I have ever received. “When arguing a case,” he often said, “make it easy for the judge to rule in your favor.”
Apply that same principle to e-mail. That is, make it easy for recipients to know what your message is about. If you’re like most people, you have an in-basket that summarizes your incoming messages, probably by date, sender, and subject. Don’t you love it when you can get the information you need simply from the subject line? The sender has made it easy for you and has saved you time.
On the other hand, how often have you received an e-mail without a subject or one that’s labeled, for example, “Phone number you requested.” Why couldn’t the sender have said, right in the subject line, “The phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx”?
When sending an e-mail that concerns a particular person, give details in the subject line, along with the name. For example, if Joe Brown has been promoted, make your subject line “Joe Brown has been promoted.” Do not use only the name as the subject. If you send out an e-mail with just the subject “Joe Brown,” recipients may mistakenly believe that Mr. Brown has passed on.
In the event you do need to transmit such sad news, be explicit. For example, say “Joe Brown RIP” or “Passing of Joe Brown” or “Joe Brown [year of birth] - [year of death].”
Have you ever read an advertisement for an item that’s on sale, then gone to the store only to discover that that item is sold out? By law, the store has to give you a rain check, because of abuses in the past. In the old days, the store would simply try to sell you something else instead, a practice known as “bait and switch.”
E-mail users employ bait and switch all too often, usually out of laziness. For example, you send a note to a co-worker about subject 1. That co-worker later needs to send a note to you on subject 2. However, instead of creating a new note and labeling it “subject 2,” he or she simply replies to you, discusses subject 2, but keeps the subject line as “subject 1.” Annoying, isn’t it? When you send e-mail, make sure the subject line matches the actual subject. If you’re going to send a note via a reply, change the subject line to match the actual subject.
A few months ago, during a period of really cold weather, a neighbor sent an e-mail to all the residents of our development regarding a neighborhood telephone directory, and titled it “neighborhood directory.” A half hour later, I received a reply-to-all message from another neighbor with the subject “Re: neighborhood directory.” When I accidentally clicked on that message, I read that the sender’s heater had broken and that he was asking to borrow blankets and kerosene heaters. He did get what he needed and did later get his heater fixed. However, had he given his note a better subject heading, he might have had a faster response.
Covering multiple topics in one note involves less sending and hence less e-mail traffic and volume. However, your recipient might overlook one or more of those topics. It’s better to keep to one topic per message.
When you were small, your mother probably told you to count to three before responding to someone (mine told me to count to 10). Why did she say that? She knew that answering before thinking can lead to problems.
Make sure you really mean to say what you’ve written. People can interpret your words differently from what you meant. A statement made in jest to someone via e-mail may have a greater chance of being misinterpreted than one made in person. Also, be careful about reacting and replying too quickly to an e-mail that upsets you. As Proverbs 12:16 says, “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”
I’ll talk more about it in a future article, but legal implications offer another reason to think before sending. E-mail can be subject to “discovery” by attorneys for a party that might be suing your employer. That is, the things you write in your e-mail could end up in the hands of those attorneys and could be used as evidence against your company in a trial. So before you send an e-mail, imagine that you’re on a witness stand having to explain it.
#5: Inadvertent replying to all
Before hitting Reply To All, make sure you really need to do so. Does everyone need to see your response? Does your response benefit everyone else? Or are you sending merely a private response or addressing a personal issue with the sender? In these situations, it’s better just to do a simple Reply. Otherwise, your private disagreement becomes public (and embarrassing) knowledge.
Be aware that if you receive a message because you’re part of certain message groups (e.g., a Yahoo group), your reply might go to everyone in the group even if you just hit Reply.
Do you recognize yourself in any of these mistakes? The good news is that once you recognize these issues, it’s easy to address them.
#1: Vague or nonexistent subject line
Professor Woodward, who taught me contracts last year at Temple University Beasley School of Law, gave me one of the most useful pieces of advice I have ever received. “When arguing a case,” he often said, “make it easy for the judge to rule in your favor.”
Apply that same principle to e-mail. That is, make it easy for recipients to know what your message is about. If you’re like most people, you have an in-basket that summarizes your incoming messages, probably by date, sender, and subject. Don’t you love it when you can get the information you need simply from the subject line? The sender has made it easy for you and has saved you time.
On the other hand, how often have you received an e-mail without a subject or one that’s labeled, for example, “Phone number you requested.” Why couldn’t the sender have said, right in the subject line, “The phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx”?
When sending an e-mail that concerns a particular person, give details in the subject line, along with the name. For example, if Joe Brown has been promoted, make your subject line “Joe Brown has been promoted.” Do not use only the name as the subject. If you send out an e-mail with just the subject “Joe Brown,” recipients may mistakenly believe that Mr. Brown has passed on.
In the event you do need to transmit such sad news, be explicit. For example, say “Joe Brown RIP” or “Passing of Joe Brown” or “Joe Brown [year of birth] - [year of death].”
#2: Changing the topic without changing the subject
Have you ever read an advertisement for an item that’s on sale, then gone to the store only to discover that that item is sold out? By law, the store has to give you a rain check, because of abuses in the past. In the old days, the store would simply try to sell you something else instead, a practice known as “bait and switch.”
E-mail users employ bait and switch all too often, usually out of laziness. For example, you send a note to a co-worker about subject 1. That co-worker later needs to send a note to you on subject 2. However, instead of creating a new note and labeling it “subject 2,” he or she simply replies to you, discusses subject 2, but keeps the subject line as “subject 1.” Annoying, isn’t it? When you send e-mail, make sure the subject line matches the actual subject. If you’re going to send a note via a reply, change the subject line to match the actual subject.
A few months ago, during a period of really cold weather, a neighbor sent an e-mail to all the residents of our development regarding a neighborhood telephone directory, and titled it “neighborhood directory.” A half hour later, I received a reply-to-all message from another neighbor with the subject “Re: neighborhood directory.” When I accidentally clicked on that message, I read that the sender’s heater had broken and that he was asking to borrow blankets and kerosene heaters. He did get what he needed and did later get his heater fixed. However, had he given his note a better subject heading, he might have had a faster response.
#3: Including multiple subjects in one note
Covering multiple topics in one note involves less sending and hence less e-mail traffic and volume. However, your recipient might overlook one or more of those topics. It’s better to keep to one topic per message.
#4: Sending before thinking
When you were small, your mother probably told you to count to three before responding to someone (mine told me to count to 10). Why did she say that? She knew that answering before thinking can lead to problems.
Make sure you really mean to say what you’ve written. People can interpret your words differently from what you meant. A statement made in jest to someone via e-mail may have a greater chance of being misinterpreted than one made in person. Also, be careful about reacting and replying too quickly to an e-mail that upsets you. As Proverbs 12:16 says, “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”
I’ll talk more about it in a future article, but legal implications offer another reason to think before sending. E-mail can be subject to “discovery” by attorneys for a party that might be suing your employer. That is, the things you write in your e-mail could end up in the hands of those attorneys and could be used as evidence against your company in a trial. So before you send an e-mail, imagine that you’re on a witness stand having to explain it.
#5: Inadvertent replying to all
Before hitting Reply To All, make sure you really need to do so. Does everyone need to see your response? Does your response benefit everyone else? Or are you sending merely a private response or addressing a personal issue with the sender? In these situations, it’s better just to do a simple Reply. Otherwise, your private disagreement becomes public (and embarrassing) knowledge.
Be aware that if you receive a message because you’re part of certain message groups (e.g., a Yahoo group), your reply might go to everyone in the group even if you just hit Reply.
Do you recognize yourself in any of these mistakes? The good news is that once you recognize these issues, it’s easy to address them.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
BOSNIAN PROMOTIONAL FILM “ENJOY LIFE” WINS GRAND PRIX TOURIST 2007
SARAJEVO,Bosnia – Bosnian promotional film “Enjoy Life” produced by Refresh Production has won the first prize at the Second International Festival of Tourist Film, which took place in the historic city of Plock, the capital of region Mazovia in Poland.
The Festival featured over one hundred films from Austria, Denmark, Japan, South Africa, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Poland, Lithuania, Turkey... Apart from the films on tourism, the Festival also included roundtables on the role of tourism as an integrative industry that connects people, civilizations and cultures and helps to understand them better.
The symposium “Future of tourism in Europe and promotion of countries and regions through tourist films” focused on the topics of expanding and improving economic in the economic sector.
See the Video
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Now, BIHAR govt plans to make 'waves'
A bicycle mechanic, Raghav, recently made waves by sending radio waves from his small shop at Mansurpur village in Vaishali district. The "Radio Raghav" FM station was an instant hit among people residing within 10 km radius of Mansurpur village.
Now, realising that radio is a powerful mediun to interact with the masses at the grassroots level, the state government is seriously planning to launch its own FM stations — community radio stations (CRSs). The state government has already prepared a pilot project with the help of IIM students. The technological know-how is being prepared by students of IIT (Kanpur) and IIT (Mumbai).
To begin with, the state government has selected 10 schools of Patna and Nalanda districts to operate these FM stations. These schools would transmit the programmes, the contents of which would be prepared and developed at the Soochana Bhavan. The government would help these schools in obtaining FM frequency from the information and broadcasting ministry.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, during his visit to IIM (Ahmedabad) in November, 2006, had talked to some of the students there and had asked them to prepare a blue print for community radio stations. Nitish had said such radio stations would bridge the gap between the state headquarters and the villages, by using cost-effective means of information through entertainment.
State information and public relations department (IPRD) secretary Vivek Singh, who is monitoring the creation of community radio stations, told TOI that it would be a powerful medium to communicate with the people.
The IPRD secretary said the IIM team, comprising management professor Rajnish Sinha and IIM (Ahmedabad) students Kaushlendra, Abhishek, Irfan and Rahul, has worked out the financial viability. These students have also given presentation before the secretaries of different departments, including MM Jha (HRD), Anup Mukherjee (rural development) and special secretary (CM secretariat) Chanchal Kumar.
According to the plan, the schools will be stake-holders while the principals concerned would be presidents of the school community radio stations. Though the initial cost of setting up a transmission centre is estimated between Rs 5-6 lakh, the IPRD secretary said, students of IIT (Kanpur) and IIT (Mumbai) are being approached so that the transmission cost could be reduced.
The state government is planning to set up 800-1,000 community radio stations, having services in Bhojpuri, Magahi, Vajjika, Maithili and Angika.
Now, realising that radio is a powerful mediun to interact with the masses at the grassroots level, the state government is seriously planning to launch its own FM stations — community radio stations (CRSs). The state government has already prepared a pilot project with the help of IIM students. The technological know-how is being prepared by students of IIT (Kanpur) and IIT (Mumbai).
To begin with, the state government has selected 10 schools of Patna and Nalanda districts to operate these FM stations. These schools would transmit the programmes, the contents of which would be prepared and developed at the Soochana Bhavan. The government would help these schools in obtaining FM frequency from the information and broadcasting ministry.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, during his visit to IIM (Ahmedabad) in November, 2006, had talked to some of the students there and had asked them to prepare a blue print for community radio stations. Nitish had said such radio stations would bridge the gap between the state headquarters and the villages, by using cost-effective means of information through entertainment.
State information and public relations department (IPRD) secretary Vivek Singh, who is monitoring the creation of community radio stations, told TOI that it would be a powerful medium to communicate with the people.
The IPRD secretary said the IIM team, comprising management professor Rajnish Sinha and IIM (Ahmedabad) students Kaushlendra, Abhishek, Irfan and Rahul, has worked out the financial viability. These students have also given presentation before the secretaries of different departments, including MM Jha (HRD), Anup Mukherjee (rural development) and special secretary (CM secretariat) Chanchal Kumar.
According to the plan, the schools will be stake-holders while the principals concerned would be presidents of the school community radio stations. Though the initial cost of setting up a transmission centre is estimated between Rs 5-6 lakh, the IPRD secretary said, students of IIT (Kanpur) and IIT (Mumbai) are being approached so that the transmission cost could be reduced.
The state government is planning to set up 800-1,000 community radio stations, having services in Bhojpuri, Magahi, Vajjika, Maithili and Angika.
Patna girl in final round of Indian Idol 3
The melodious voice of this Patna girl has shot her to fame following her entry into the final round of Sony's Indian Idol 3 programme. In the final round Deepali, a Patna Women's College student, will compete with 12 other contestants.
Needless to say, her feat has brought immense joy to her parents Rita Kishore and Dinesh Kishore, the latter a sub-inspector attached to special branch of the Bihar police.
Interestingly, Deepali wanted to become a radio jockey. But given her performance in the Indian Idol show, it'll not be surprising if she ends up as one of Bollywood's most-sought-after playback singers. "Deepali is now aiming at becoming a playback singer in Bollywood. For her, the sky is the limit now," her parents told.
Besides giving credit to their daughter and her trainer — Sony's music director - both Dinesh and Rita also showered ample praise on people who voted for her through SMSes in the piano round. Deepali was among the 10 finalists among 28 contestants in the Piano round held in mid-May and which was telecast from June 1 to 9.
Her parents said programme panelists Udit Narayan and Alisha Chinai, music director Anu Mallick, lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar and special guest Kailash Kher all appreciated Deepali's musical talent.
"But Alisha had special praise for her," chipped in Rita with a sense of pride.
The final round is set to be interesting given that there would be two wild-card entries, besides a finalist from Indian Idol 2, Jolly Das, who couldn't appear earlier due to illness. While the two wild-card entries will perform on June 15 (Friday), Deepali will have a brush with other contestants in the subsequent programme.
Deepali, in fact, was selected from among 5,000 contestants during the audition held at Kanpur from March 12 to 14. Post-selection she was among the 128 contestants in the preliminary round.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Patna rice
Patna rice, a variety of the species Oryza sativa, and one of the varieties of long-grain white rice, is extensively cultivated in the Indo-gangetic plains, in and around Patna, capital of Bihar state, India. Patna rice is known for its elongated kernel with grain length greater than 6 mm, and has been used as staple food by the local people for thousands of years. Sometimes, Patna rice is also called Parimal rice locally.This mildly flavoured rice comes from the Bihar region of the Ganges plains. It has a robust, long and narrow, opaque grain that keeps its shape well for curries. Basmati rice is closely related to the Patna rice but has a stronger aroma. Patna rice is the most esteemed in UK and USA and is the highest priced rice in the grocery stores.
The Mughal chronicler Abul Fazal who collected the various types of rice grown in the Gangetic belt has described the rice cultivated in Patna in glowing terms. William Fullarton of Skeldon UK made his fortune by dealing in Patna rice. He chose to name the hamlet of the coal mining workers he built in East Ayrshire, Scotland as Patna.
As at one time, most of the rice sold in Europe came from this region, Patna Rice is also sometimes loosely used to mean any long grain aromatic rice.
Another example of long-grain rice is American long-grain rice which include Carolina rice. It is believed that Patna rice was the first type of rice cultivated in America [1], and acquired the name Carolina rice. The seeds of Patna rice were taken to America, grown in Carolina and exported to Britain before the American Civil War. Thus the term Carolina rice is also sometimes used to denote this variety of rice.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Indian Idol-Meiyang Chang - Meri Saanson Mein Basa Hai
Remember Sanjaya Malakar from American Idol. Out of the blue he had become house hold name in USA. Meiyang Chang is going do same in india?. I think he is already one of the top contestants in Indian Idol. This third generation chinese from India is a dentist by profession who is popular for his good looks and he also sings very well. Overall looks like he has got a pleasant personality. (Don’t know somehow Indian idol site says “Contestant from China” though he himself had said that
he is third generation Chinese in India)
Udit Narayan who is one of the Judges had said that Chang had sung the song even better than Udit himself after hearing the song from chang which earlier was sung by Udit Narayan in a movie. Can have a look at the Chang’s Performance in the below Video.
he is third generation Chinese in India)
Udit Narayan who is one of the Judges had said that Chang had sung the song even better than Udit himself after hearing the song from chang which earlier was sung by Udit Narayan in a movie. Can have a look at the Chang’s Performance in the below Video.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Nalanda University - A cartoon film by
earn about the Nalanda University In the east in a funny animated short.
Monday, May 21, 2007
A beautiful performance in a concert by Jagjit Singh-Raag Bhairvee
A beautiful performance in a concert by Jagjit Singh when he sings Raag Bhairvee in his inimitable style. A must listen for all lovers of classical sub-continental music
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
East Mostar --- Hell on Earth 93/94
war documentry about besieged East Mostar, the bloodiest place in Herzegowina, about 6000 people, most of them civilians, died in East Mostar.
Must see before you see other Videos of Mostar.
Must see before you see other Videos of Mostar.
Stari Most in Mostar (Part 2)-We visited this City last Saturday.
This Ancient bridge was destroyed during the 92-95 Civil war in Bosnia. But now has been restored to its past Glories.
A song by Monoj Tiwari in bhojpuri..one of the sweetest language of India..frequently used in Bihar , Jharkhand and U.P.
A song by Monoj Tiwari in bhojpuri..one of the sweetest language of India..frequently used in Bihar , Jharkhand and U.P.
www.bijhar.org Singapore presents Loha Singh Skit
Loha Singh skit enacted by Vikas Trivedi during BIJHAR holi celebration in March 2007.
The skit is based on the popular radio play by the same name aired by akashwani patna, Bihar
The skit is based on the popular radio play by the same name aired by akashwani patna, Bihar
Ab ta Ban Ja Sajanwa Hamar
Hot Nagma Ravi Kissan Saira Banu Bhojpuri film (2006)
Why a Bhojpuri film as the first venture? Saira Banu's candid answer is that she has loved the language, ever since a dialect similar to Bhojpuri was spoken .
See a preview.
Why a Bhojpuri film as the first venture? Saira Banu's candid answer is that she has loved the language, ever since a dialect similar to Bhojpuri was spoken .
See a preview.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The inspiring story of Suresh Kamath
Suresh Kamath, the managing director of Chennai based Laser Soft Infosystems Ltd is an unusual man. Unlike most other entrepreneurs, he does not aspire to create a business empire; his sole ambition is to provide employment to 10,000 people. He also plans to reserve 40 per cent of the jobs for the disabled.
Suresh started Laser Soft in 1986 with just Rs 200 and five people. Today, the company is a force to reckon with in the banking software arena.
In recognition of his commitment to the disabled, President of India A P J Abdul Kalam felicitated Suresh with the Best Employer award in December 2005. He also won the Best Employer award from the Tamil Nadu government. He has been awarded the NCPEDP shell Helen Keller Award for giving equal rights and gainful employment to persons with disabilities.
Read on for the inspiring story of Suresh Kamath
Ambition as a child
I come from a poor family. We lived in a one-room-kitchen house in Mysore. Though my father struggled very hard, he did not let his penury affect the lives of his children. Unemployment, depravation, hardship pained me and right from my school days my ambition was to create employment in this country. As a child I was motivated by Mr Laxman Rao - one of my teachers at school who always advised me to do something for the country.
I heard tales of poverty and struggle from my father and grandmother. How my father could study only up to the 10th standard, as he did not have money for further education. My mother too did her schooling only till the 8th standard. But all this hardship did not stop them from encouraging us to continue with our studies. I was the eldest among my siblings and took up the mantle of setting an example. Encouraged by my performance - I was always a rank holder - my younger siblings too did very well in studies.
As far as my career was concerned, my father gave me full freedom and I decided to study engineering. I joined the National Institute of Engineering in Mysore in 1975 in electronics and then did my M Tech in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
Life after graduation
I was keen to start my own company immediately after my post graduation. But since I did not have any job experience I was advised against any such move. So, I joined Tata Consultancy Services and worked for a year. I noticed that all the major Indian software companies were into services; they were not into creating products and it disappointed me.
I was convinced that India could create excellent products thanks to the huge talent pool available here.
While at TCS I found that most of my colleagues aspired to go abroad to further their career. But I was not interested in overseas assignments.
Even at IIT, I was the only student in our batch of 20 who did not go abroad after studies. On hearing of my ambition, many of my friends ridiculed me and even called me a 'fool'! I took their scorn in my stride. However, my parents were very supportive.
They encouraged me not to pay heed to what others were saying and encouraged me to strive to give shape to my ambition.
After TCS, I joined another company that was into hardware because I wanted some related experience. I worked there for three years.
Starting Laser Soft
When I was 28, my father told me to get married. I decided to marry the girl of his choice. By then I had decided to quit my job and start my own company. I told my fiancee of my plans and asked her if she still wanted to marry me. She said, 'Yes. I have faith in you.'
On May 1, 1986 I launched my company. I intentionally chose May Day as it is also labours' day.
With initial capital of Rs 200 and five technical people from NIIT the company was launched. I told them, 'I will give you whatever I can afford but all of us will draw the same salary.' I
did not even try to hire any engineers, as I was convinced that they won't work for a small company like mine. Also, I strongly believe that you don't need engineers for programming. What you need is logic. I also wanted a team that would be the foundation of the company, who would remain with the company.
Why Laser Soft?
Because the word laser - meaning accuracy and precision - appealed to me, and soft is of course from software. Our office was a room in my house, and our first job was to get visiting cards and letterheads printed.
First client
First client
We decided to focus on banking and healthcare. Banking because it was a gargantuan sector and had huge potential. At that time automation of the banking system was a faraway dream. We approached the State Bank of India and Apollo Hospitals and told how our products could facilitate their work. SBI admitted that they had a six-month backlog in the DD purchase for Madras Fertiliser Ltd. Since we did not have computers, we requested SBI to allow us to work in the bank in the evening. They agreed.
First product
Our product for SBI was out in two weeks' time and the backlog was cleared within a month. Our first product was thus a big success. Both SBI and MFL were very happy and we were paid a remuneration of Rs 5,000.
Sensing that we could help them in various quarters, SBI sent us to their overseas branch -- which incidentally was their largest branch in the South doing business of over Rs 5000 crores. Everything was done manually. On any given day the branch could take only 25 bills from the exporters. Our product, readied in a week's time, was exclusively for handling export bills.
From 25 bills, they were able to handle 200 bills a day and the profit of the branch zoomed to Rs 55 crores (Rs 550 million).
End of first year
By the end of the first year, our turnover was Rs 128,000, and our staff strength had doubled to 10. With Rs 1000 as monthly salary, we could manage. After the success of the export bills, SBI assigned more work to us. As our work pressure increased, we hired more people and by the end of the second year we were 25 people and our profit stood at a handsome Rs 600,000. In five years' time, we computerised 70 SBI branches all over India.
Parthasarathy
Then one morning in 1987 Parthasarathy - we call him Partha - came to meet me. He was disabled and was not an engineer but had undergone a computer course that the government had offered in an institute. I told Partha, "I like to employ people like you."
And it was not a wrong decision. Partha had an amazing zeal and his disability did not stop him from being mobile. I thought it was the right model for any industry to follow.
I was not doing any charity by employing him because my company benefited more from Partha than vice-versa. I have noticed that physically challenged people are more committed than others but unfortunately we pay scant attention to them. Business houses talk about attrition. I tell them, 'Look at these people, they will never leave you.'
Disabled-friendly office
At that time our office was in the first floor and Partah had difficulty tackling the stairs. Seeing him struggle, I decided to make the entire office disabled-friendly. Our ground floor is now exclusively for the disabled people, and we have ramps in our office and there are special toilets for them too. We have also built houses for them near the office so that they can avoid long travelling hours.
After meeting Partha, I decided to hire more disabled people. We waited six months to get a disabled person who could be our receptionist.
Reservation
I don't look at employing disabled people as charity. I look at this as my responsibility. This country has spent money to educate me and I feel it is my duty to do something for the less privileged.
It had been a great experience working with them. Seeing them work, get married, settle in life and have children is a wonderful experience.
We have 550 employees now, and 15 per cent of them are disabled. We go to engineering colleges looking for disabled people but find only one or two in each college. Parents don't send them out. The biggest challenge for the physically handicapped is the attitude of their parents. We, at LaserSoft, hire them even if they are not engineers.
Other than the physically challenged, we have people suffering from cerebral palsy too working for us. We find them good in graphics. Many of our employees are deaf and dumb.
Best employer award
I was elated when I won the award but with all humility, let me say I am doing very little. I am very disappointed to see that I was chosen when there are so many business giants in India. Seven per cent of India's population is disabled but all of us turn a blind eye to them.
I realised that if I could get an award by doing so little, it means that others are not doing even this much.I was honoured to meet Dr Abdul Kalam. He is a wonderful person, a real motivator. He asked me, 'What exactly do the disabled people do in the company? Do they do software or menial job?' I told him barring two all are involved with technology.
Ambition
Ambition
My ambition is to create 10,000 jobs, and I want to reserve 40 per cent of that for the disabled. We also have a light top model as far as salaries are concerned. We don't give huge salaries to those who occupy the top positions but distribute the money to all the employees.
Reservation row
Reservation based on caste is going to divide us further. Reservation should be based on economic criteria alone. We should learn to forget our past and start looking at the future. What have today's children got to do with what some people did in the past?
What difference does it make if you are a brahmin or a non-brahmin when you are poor? How many IITs and IIMs do we have? How many good medical colleges and engineering colleges do we have? We have such a vast population but not enough resources. Instead of starting more colleges, and there should be special colleges for the disabled, the government is talking about more and more reservation
Friday, May 11, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Narayana Murthy as Prez would be a shame
This is excertps
from the Blog of D.P.Satish from IBNLIVE:COM
http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/dpsatish/237/38147/narayana-murthy-as-prez-would-be-a-shame.html
I write this at my own risk. I know I invite the ire of Indian IT professionals by talking this way about their patron saint.
Kannadiga software pros, their parents, and other Infosys worshippers will call me an insane journalist. Naive Kannada enthusiasts will say I am anti-Kannada or traitor. Shouldn't I be proud that a son of the Kannada soil is getting a waitlisted ticket to Rashtrapati Bhawan?
Let me be blunt. N R Narayana Murthy will make a poor President.
Outlook special issues editor and an obsessed Mysore Kannadiga Krishnaprasad has posted a shocking report about our potential President on his popular blog site www.churumuri.wordpress.com .
It talks about an incident that happened in Mysore last week, just before our President APJ Abdul Kalam exclaimed that Narayana Murthy would be "fantastic" as the next President of India.
It is a pity that only two much respected and unbiased news papers in Karnataka ' Deccan Herald ' and ' Prajavani ' dared to report the same incident.
Excerpts:
" As the mascot of the new, emerging, rising, shining, strident, resurgent, pumped-up India id est Bharat, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy wears the tricolour on his cuff links. So, you would think that his hairs would stand on end hearing the National Anthem being sung on his campuses.
Well, think again.
The President (the real one) was in Mysore on Sunday. But what greeted A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was not the mellifluous rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's poem by human beings, but-in the grand tradition of call centres that India's IT "revolution" somewhat exemplifies-a prerecorded electronic version that sounded more like a cheap non-polyphonic cellphone ringtone.
Reason? Hear it from the host of the show NRN Murthy.
"Indeed we had arranged for five people to sing the anthem. But then we cancelled it as we have foreigners on-board here. They should not be embarrassed while we sing the anthem."
Yes, you read that right. He thinks that foreigners should not be embarrassed while we sing our national anthem. We want him to be the next President.
Infosys said last year it had some 1,800 foreigners on its rolls. But there are no precise figures on how many foreigners were at the Infosys Leadership Institute aka the Mysore campus, which is designed to seat 6,400 students , yesterday.But it is on record that it had offered jobs to 126 students from 82 foreign universities last year.
Even if that figure of foreigners is ten times greater, does it mean Mr Murthy's company is willing to slavishly mute his nation's anthem for their sake?
If that is OK, why is it difficult for Infosys' iPod wearing foreigners to listen to a 52-second, five-stanza number? Or for their faculty to make them listen to it?
But, above all, coming to a foreign country, to a foreign city, to a foreign company is all about learning, appreciating, assimilating, understanding, and respecting that country's, that city's, that company's culture.
If Infosys' foreigners-all 126 of or whatever multiples of them-are not doing that, then they have missed a vital ingredient of their education and even more vital ingredient of their excursion.
Narayana Murthy is being spoken of the "fantastic" next President. Hopefully, the first Kannadiga to be Rashtrapati will not have similar views of the rashtra geethe being sung in the presence of foreigners."
Every one in the country knows Narayana Murthy's views on reservation. He has always been opposing quota and saying merit alone should be the criterion for education and jobs. It shows his ignorance of India's caste struggle and its background.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, son of a school teacher, went to a government school as his father had no money to send him to a private school.
He now forgets that government-funded schools, "cowsheds", as he calls them, have made him what he is today.
And do you think our politicians will vote him to Rashtrapati Bhawan?
His views on Indian languages lack self-respect and pride.
He believes people without a knowledge of English have no future in India. Will leaders like Mulayam, Lalu, Paswan, Karunanidhi, Deve Gowda, and Bal Thackeray ever support him in their wildest dreams?
NRN may not be a greedy businessman with his eye only on profits. He may be good at heart. But his corporate philosopy allows no space for healthy cultural pride. Corporate success is his mantra, and he is blind to everything else around him.
Narayana Murthy often sees cultural questions as parochial concerns. To have such a sell-out manager as President would be a shame to those of us who pride ourselves on our cultural identities.
Narayana Murthy is a hero to decultured middle class Indians who have made money because of economic liberalisation. He is a "beacon of hope" to armchair journalists. But for the majority Indians, he has now become a symbol of middle class nonsense and upper class arrogance.
Since he is being suggested as a successor to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, I think it's time to debate whether corporate leaders are fit to lead in public life. Can they do us good, or does their blinkered view of the world make them dangerous?
Would we be better off if we barred people with corporate interests from holding public office?
As a Kannadiga and an Indian, I respect what he has achieved in just 20 years. But at the same time, he is just another businessman who created an empire. Infosys is in no way different from the other money-focused corporations of the world.
Let s be honest. Let's admit the truth and put a full stop to this Narayana smarane (Bhajan)!
But then, if you were more cynical, you'd say the President is just a figurehead. What do we care if it is Narayana Murthy or Narayanbhai Rathwa?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
So finally I landed in Sarajevo- Bosnia & Herzegovina
A common site on the walls of Sarajevo - Marks of Bullets
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Bihar to set up road development authority
Bihar has decided to set up a road development authority to speed up construction of roads in a state where infrastructure is in pitiful shape. According to official sources, the idea of setting up the Bihar State Road Development Authority (BSRDA) was mooted during a meeting on road construction chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the weekend. "The chief minister directed that BSRDA be set up to monitor the construction of roads across the state," an official said. Road Construction Minister Nand Kishor Yadav said: "Officials have been asked to constitute the BSRDA soon." BSRDA would be a small body comprising technical and management experts and would have independent financial and administrative powers. It would be entrusted with the power to acquire land for road construction. Bihar is notorious for poor road connectivity. Most of the existing roads and highways are believed to be in a bad condition. This is despite budget allocations that run into billions of rupees. Last year the Patna High Court rapped the government on its failure to improve the condition of roads. In January again, the court directed the government to start building roads at the earliest and submit a report by March. The slow pace of road construction in Bihar is also attributed to threats criminal gangs mete out to construction firms. Last week, two engineers of Narsingh Constructions were killed in Madhepura, 200 km from Patna, for not paying an extortion of Rs 10 million.
Monday, January 15, 2007
British Oil Major Set to Start Oil Exploration in Ganges BAtion in Bihar
British exploration major Cairn Energy Search Ltd (CESL) is set to begin a survey in Bihar's Ganges basin for oil and natural gas Monday afternoon, the first such exploration in the state.
The CESL and its sister concern, Cairn Energy Search India Ltd, which has been given a seven-year license, will begin the survey in the basin, which comprises 13 districts spread over 15,500 sq km.
'The much-awaited work for exploration would formally start with launching of an aero magnetic survey by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,' Energy Minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav said Monday.
A specially designed and high-tech airplane was hired from Canada Sunday for conducting the survey, sources in the state mines and geological department said.
Official sources said the exploration project had got clearance from all central ministries, including defence, petroleum, civil aviation and atomic energy as well as the Geological Survey of India.
According to independent estimates, reserves in the Ganges basin, known locally as Purina basin, could be as high as 465 million tonnes of crude and natural gas.
Experts say the reserves can be tapped after drilling up to 4,400 metres. The government will get 10 percent royalty for every tonne extracted. The Edinburgh-based exploration firm had proposed the project three years ago but it got delayed due to various reasons.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/20228.html
The CESL and its sister concern, Cairn Energy Search India Ltd, which has been given a seven-year license, will begin the survey in the basin, which comprises 13 districts spread over 15,500 sq km.
'The much-awaited work for exploration would formally start with launching of an aero magnetic survey by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,' Energy Minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav said Monday.
A specially designed and high-tech airplane was hired from Canada Sunday for conducting the survey, sources in the state mines and geological department said.
Official sources said the exploration project had got clearance from all central ministries, including defence, petroleum, civil aviation and atomic energy as well as the Geological Survey of India.
According to independent estimates, reserves in the Ganges basin, known locally as Purina basin, could be as high as 465 million tonnes of crude and natural gas.
Experts say the reserves can be tapped after drilling up to 4,400 metres. The government will get 10 percent royalty for every tonne extracted. The Edinburgh-based exploration firm had proposed the project three years ago but it got delayed due to various reasons.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/20228.html
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Stop the bias against Bihar-Sign this petition
Here we are in 2007 , embarking in this New Year with great hope and conviction to take our country to new heights. We are talking about world being flat and information being power, we are talking about tele density and broadband penetration but alas we still come across horrific incidents where people are being killed for just being Bihari.By destiny they were born as Bihari and that become the cause of their gruesome killing.
The recent gruesome of killing of Biharis in Assam by ULFA militants is yet another incident which shows the kind of bias which exits in our Country against Bihar and Biharis.So how do we react to this as a Bihari and citizens of this country?
How do we express our anguish and pain when our fellow country men are being killed for being Bihari ? Following the great tradition of this great country we humbly submit our petition to all , please spare a moment for the cause of the bereaved soul and lodge your protest against this incident in strongest possible word. Let’s hope and pray that incidents like these are never repeated and also express our solidarity with the family members of the bereaved ones.
I have started this petition drive to ensure that we raise our voice against this act of cowardice. I'll request you all to send this link to all your friends and relatives and request them to sign this petition, let's try and ensure that each Bihari put his protest against this heinous act.
http://www.petitiononline.com/1bihar/petition.html
The recent gruesome of killing of Biharis in Assam by ULFA militants is yet another incident which shows the kind of bias which exits in our Country against Bihar and Biharis.So how do we react to this as a Bihari and citizens of this country?
How do we express our anguish and pain when our fellow country men are being killed for being Bihari ? Following the great tradition of this great country we humbly submit our petition to all , please spare a moment for the cause of the bereaved soul and lodge your protest against this incident in strongest possible word. Let’s hope and pray that incidents like these are never repeated and also express our solidarity with the family members of the bereaved ones.
I have started this petition drive to ensure that we raise our voice against this act of cowardice. I'll request you all to send this link to all your friends and relatives and request them to sign this petition, let's try and ensure that each Bihari put his protest against this heinous act.
http://www.petitiononline.com/1bihar/petition.html
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