Friday, February 12, 2010

Human influence on global temperature

Something similar had happened during the lead-up to the publication of the Second Assessment Report of the IPCC in 1995. On that occasion, the final draft submitted by the scientists had stated plainly, in five different places, that no human influence on global temperature at all could be detected, and it was not known when it ever would be detected.

Once again, the bureaucrats had panicked. They had realised that if, after all the millions of dollars they had spent over the years, there was still no evidence that humankind was making the slightest difference to the climate, taxpayers might not continue to subsidise their lavish quarterly junkets to exotic locations all round the world.

So they had called in a single scientist and told him to change the central conclusion of the 1995 report. He had carefully crossed out all five of the embarrassing (but true) references to the total absence of any anthropogenic signal in the global temperature record, and had replaced them with a single, more congenial (but mendacious) statement that human influence on global temperature was now discernible. He also made some 200 consequential amendments, not one of which – as far as I can discover – was sent to the thousands of scientists who had contributed to the report whose central conclusion he had now reversed.

Last year, I wanted to attend the “scoping meeting” at which scientists were going to draw up plans for the Fifth Assessment Report. I duly registered, and was peremptorily told by the convener of the meeting that I would not be welcome because – it seemed plain to me – my opinions did not accord with those of the IPCC. So much for the “open, transparent” process that Dr Pachauri used to be so fond of.

Whatever this carry-on is, it is not science.

There is no longer any credible basis for taking the IPCC seriously. It is a joke, and a failed joke. Its massive cost cannot be justified. It must be disbanded at once, and its leading bureaucrats investigated for what looks to me like scientific fraud.

In fact, it is now time to shut down the entire climate-change industry, prosecute all environmental groups, scientists, bureaucrats and bankers who have been profiting at the people’s expense by the Great Lie that was “global warming”, and to abolish the IPCC forever. It should never have been established in the first place. Now it must be put out of its misery. Enough is enough.
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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Probable fallouts of the sri lankan polls from Colombo

On the day of polls, large lines were seen outside booths in Southern districts where as polling in Colombo, UNP’s bastion, was moderate. “He has won the war for us. It will be a betrayal if we don’t vote him,” said M. Udayange, 30, after casting his vote for Rajapaksa in the Wellawetta area of Colombo. JVP’s dedicated cadres tried to make inroads for Fonseka in the interiors but failed miserably. In fact, several of the old-time cadres of both JVP and UNP were seen voting for Rajapaksa. “I was with UNP but I’ll vote for Rajapaksa. Fonseka is trying to divide the nation,” said 60-year-old H. G. Chaturanga outside a polling booth in Ratnapura district. There is definitely a question mark on the future of both the parties as they are losing their cadre and mass base to Rajapaksa. Ranil Wickramasinghe runs the risk of becoming irrelevant.

Political critic Jehan Perera says, “The results have been surprising and unexpected. However, this asymmetrical result has much to do with the asymmetrical campaign that was launched by both the candidates. The incumbent had the entire government machinery at his disposal and he used it to maximum effect as far as spread of propaganda is concerned.”

There is a need to understand the verdict in terms of the dynamics of Lankan politics. The most stunning imagery of the approach in which Northern Tamils analyse polls was given to me by a voter who was born, brought up and worked in the peninsula. He contrasted the jubilation and revelry in the south, following the announcement, with the sense of trepidation and insecurity in the north. While down south, there was a sense of “our government” being voted in, in Jaffna, it was more of a sense of a “Sinhalese government” over which the Tamil people would have limited or no sway at all.

In fact, it was the limited participation of Tamils in their provinces of dominance that sunk Fonseka. Tamil National Alliance (TNA), unarguably the sole representatives of Jaffna Tamils, joined ranks with Fonseka, prior to the elections. The decision did not convince majority of the Tamils who had suffered from the war. Also, limited availability of transportation and sporadic grenade blasts stopped many voters to venture out. “It was more a rational decision than an emotional response. Since Fonseka represented a rainbow coalition, he was more of a national candidate than the president. UNP had the largest block base where JVP has the most politicised and committed cadres,” defends political analyst K Sarveswaran.

But why were Tamils confused? Well, one of its leaders, Douglas Devananda, defected to Rajapaksa. Douglas will gain the most from the spoils. He once drew parallel between Tamil nationalism and cholesterol, saying just as there is good and bad cholesterol, there is good and bad Tamil nationalism and that you need good Tamil nationalism just like the body needs good cholesterol.

“Devananda remains close to the grassroots. He is the right mix of moderate-reformist Tamil nationalism with productive developmental attitude and populist progressivism,” says Dayan Jayatilleka, a pro-Rajapaksa political analyst.

But what changes can his fresh election bring for the Tamil people are pretty unclear. Rajapaksa won’t do much on political front as far as ethnic issues are concerned. In fact he has said that Tamils are not looking for any political package. Also, he is not likely to jeopardise the Sinhalese support he has got.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Benchmark Development

Hitesh Ankleshwaria reports on the public representatives’ obsession to fill every corner of Ahmedabad with benches

Long walks in Ahmedabad have become a comfortable proposition, courtesy parliamen-tarians, legislators and municipal councillors. Benches have filled nearly every nook and corner of Gujarat’s economic nerve centre – symbols of development in a city which was once known as the Manchester of India.

As per information obtained under the “Right to Information Act”, con-struction of benches has emerged as the frontrunner among development activities undertaken by public repres-entatives in Ahmedabad. As per the factsheet, each of them sanctioned benches worth at least one lakh rupees every year. That means every year Ahmedabad city gets benches worth Rs one crore. One can make out the new benches. It is not the new paint or the design that sets them apart but rather the “Vande Mataram” carved on them. Every ward has at least 8 to 10 benches. Elders say unanimously, “15 years back, there used to be hardly one or two. Now our area is swamped by benches.”

Bharatsinh is an RTI activist. He lives in Naroda Muthiya in the suburbs. He had asked for information under RTI about the development projects sanctioned by MPs, MLAs and municipal councillors from 2005 to 2009. The factsheet prov-ided by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) was lengthy. It said an asphalt road was built in Madhuvan Society, where Bharatsinh lives. However, no work ever took place in the society. There is no road. It further said that in one year alone (2008-09), benches worth Rs 4,66,140 were set up in his ward by councillors including the Deputy Mayor of AMC. Bharatsinh started to search for benches in his area. He found the benches but they were not put where the factsheet claimed they were. A shocked Bharatsinh asked for information on development projects carried out in the whole city by people representatives. AMC provided him a list of development works done in only nine wards out of 43. The list claimed that during 2005-2009, benches worth Rs 1,08,00,000 were set up in these wards. One can only imagine what was the amount spent on setting up benches throughout the city.

Bharatsinh says, “As citizens, we pay our taxes every year but nothing is done to develop our area. So on October 26, 2009, I used RTI and asked for information on works done and budget of corporators. After 25 days, I got the information. The list contained projects which were never implemented. I felt that this business of setting up benches in the name of development was a matter of huge fraud. I complained to our local councillor only to be told that since this held true for the entire city, I was only wasting my time trying to investigate it.”

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Rooting out untouchability

Dalits are still barred from entering some temples

Untouchability is a crime. Article 17 of the Indian Constitution abolished untouchability and its practice in any form is forbidden. Besides, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 punishes the preaching and practice of untouchability. But it still thrives in many parts of the country.

“In Tamil Nadu untouchability exists in about forty-one forms,” says P Sampath, convenor for state Untouchability Abolition Front, formed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 2007. Since then the front has unleashed a campaign to end this social evil. They are concentrating on Hindu temples where dalits are not allowed to worship.

“More than 926 temples are controlled by the Tamil Nadu government in the state. Out of these, about 100 temples do not allow dalits. In our state, more than 7,000 villages practice untouchability as a social norm,” says Sampath. But regular anti-untouchability campaigns and protests have yielded some positive results.

Now, administrations of some eight temples allow dalits to enter their premises and offer prayer. This is a big leap from old days when they were barred from entering the temples in Tamil Nadu. Buoyed by their success, the CPI (M) recently organised a temple entry campaign in Chettipulam village in Nagappattinam district. Initially, the upper caste resisted the move, triggering a clash. But the explosive situation was brought under control by the cops. Then the administration stepped in. The temple was opened for the impoverished dalits. However, dalits are not allowed to work in the farmlands of upper caste here.

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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Monday, February 08, 2010

Mayank Singh goes beyond the Sukna scam

Once an officer picks up the rank of a brigadier, he is deemed above the regiment. Thus, an officer of an artillery regiment may be assigned to command an infantry brigade or an armoured brigade. This keeps growing to the level of division, corps and command as the officer gets further promoted to the rank of major general and lieutenant general. There is a prerequisite that the Indian Army Chief must be from either infantry, armoured or artillery arms. So if an armoured corp officer promotes juniors from his arm to higher ranks, it is bound to create a block for officers from other arms. Mudslinging and manipulation hurts many competent officers.

Even in the face of such rifts and rivalries, the Indian Army has earned respect for its rich experience in combat. The young officers prove this every day in Jammu and Kashmir and the country’s northeast. And it has been in full display during Kargil. General V. P. Malik, who was at the helm of affairs during the Kargil War, cautioned the media about verifying the facts which are reported and added that they should be reported in the light of the Army laws which are different than civilian laws. He further added, “We must remain strict on discipline. Any incident of indiscipline should be dealt in two ways. First and foremost, take prompt, transparent and exemplary action. It should not matter whether the person is a general or a jawan. And secondly, we should educate soldiers as to what is correct and what is not.”

Correctness of a soldier is judged by the common man’s yardstick of honesty. Incidents of corruption and motivated rivalries and rifts present a possible shift in this regard. Lt Gen. Raj Kadyan explains honesty to be of two kinds.

He says, “Honesty is of two kinds, individual and institutional. An individual may be corrupt but as far as the institution of Army is concerned, even the Army Chief will not be spared if anything wrong comes to light. The noting on the file on inquiries can lead to action against any officer even three years after his retirement.”

His words appear correct when TSI spoke to an officer who is about to shift to field duty after completing his tenure of staff posting in Army Head Quarters. He said, “Once I join the unit in the field, issues of rifts and corruption barely affect us. In any case, when a bullet brushes past my forehead, what will make the difference between life and death will be courage and my team.”

Major General G. D. Bakshi proposes the criteria of combat experience as the remedy for the malice. He says, “We should select senior officers who are combat-qualified because he will have the requisite judgement on every soldierly issue.” It is likely that such a person will appreciate the need to have high morale and is least likely to engage in corruption or factionalism which is bound to affect the forces’ morale.
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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, February 05, 2010

Pigs, hens, cows... who next?

Humans have fallen prey to deadly diseases much easier than expected. With the advancement of science, we’ve won some battles but clearly not the war; and as experience shows, we’re waiting for the next animal...

Perhaps the most lethal but less talked about weapon of mass destruction is emergence and re-emergence of deadly epidemics and endemics. History clearly proves that epidemics have wreaked more havoc in this world than wars; and not just in terms of the death count.

To begin with, who can forget the Spanish flu? Well, we all can! In fact, our guess is nobody even remembers the fact that this influenza strain brought disaster to Europe in 1918, and wiped out 5.5% of the global population – a 100 million people across the globe died at a time when the population of the world was merely 1,800 million. More than 900 million caught the flu. The flu had a far greater impact than World War I, where total deaths were estimated to be 15 million. In just 18 months if the flu’s existence, it killed about 650,000 Americans, 450,000 Russians, 375,000 Italians, 228,000 British, 500,000 Mexicans, 44,000 Canadians and many millions more in the Asian subcontinent. Considering its severity, it has been named as the most lethal recorded epidemic in human history. And a majority of civilians today have no idea about it.

Many other epidemics have occurred in history. The major plague ran during 1855-1896 worldwide, but mostly in China and India, wherein more than 12 million died. Likewise, endemics like cholera took millions of lives and reemerged on a global scale eight times: during 1817-1823, 1829-1851, 1852-1859, 1863-1879, 1881-1896, 1899-1923, 1961-1970, and from 1991 to the present. And it kills more efficiently than flu. For example, over 20,500 of 30,000 people affected died in Egypt during 1947.

The Asian flu too took 2 million lives worldwide in 1957. Although most Americans had lived through the typhoid and small pox epidemics of 1876 and 1890, its debilitating effects, and those of yellow fever and diphtheria, are still well within living memory across the world.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

My MBA education complements my marketing responsibilities...

Jitin Prasada, CMD, PI Indisutries Ltd. & Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas

B&E: Lawyers have dominated Indian national politics since the days of India’s struggle for independence. However, today, the new council of ministers has many MBA-qualified leaders. Is there a cultural shift occuring?

Jitin Prasada (JP): I would like to see this in a different way. For those entrusted with responsibility through electoral politics, a good educational background always helps, whether it is a law degree, a management degree or some other qualification. You would recall that not too long ago, most government heads in Latin America were alumni of Ivy League Institutes of the United States. But at the same time, in a democratic set-up of governance like ours, the real education comes from working amidst the people by seeking to understand their concerns and trying to provide solutions acceptable to them.

B&E: The MBA degree is thought to be one of the most prestigious and coveted in the world. Does it add value to your political career as well?

JP: I have already mentioned that a good education always helps. To take conscious and judicious decisions, an admixture of proper education and a sense of ground-reality is always helpful...

B&E: An instance from your life which proves the same...

JP: During my stint as Minister of State for Steel, a conscious decision was taken to launch projects of Steel Processing Units in the backward rural areas of the country, where the raw material linkages were unavailable. The idea was to invigorate the rural economy, so that such projects act as multipliers to catalyse economic activities in these areas. Also, recently we launched the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Yojana’ again, with the objective of taking the cleaner fuel to the rural areas. Furtheron, my MBA education complements my marketing responsibilities for the OMCs that I have today. We have been striving hard to attain maximum customer satisfaction through new initiatives like SMS LPG booking, Smart Card project for kerosene oil etc. We propose to increase LPG coverage from the present 50% of the population to 75%, mainly targeted at rural dwellers...
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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Monday, February 01, 2010

Book business hits a Wal!

As price wars between booksellers heat up, the customers rejoice and the publishers watch out...

In the monopolistic e-world of books, created and run by amazon.com, a new entrant has not only stirred the market but has also slashed prices to pittance, bringing to the fore several debatable questions for the publishing industry and authors. Walmart.com, the new entrant is offering upcoming, highly-anticipated, hard cover books such as Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue and John Grisham’s Ford County for as low as $10 – a 60% cut from the cover prices! The competitor, amazon.com, in return has brought down the prices to the same - $10. In fact, 200 current best-sellers have been identified, including Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, to be sold at the same price along with free home delivery.

While this new offer is customer-friendly and gets ardent readers to grin, it will fetch very little to the sellers who acquire books at the wholesale price, which is close to a 47% discount over the cover price. In simple terms, a book at a cover price of $25 would’ve cost any seller around $12 and some cents. Now, online stores such as Wal-Mart can make up for losses on individual items (books, in this case) from other products, but what about the corner book stores that can’t afford such cuts? In the long run, if such price wars continue for popular books and best-sellers, there might be a scenario where purchasing books would have to be done without spending time in the warmth of a book store, flipping through a few pages and enjoying that familiar friendly fragrance of brand new books. Well, that’s just about one repercussion...

The publishing industry doesn’t approve of Wal-mart using the prices of books to better its position in the online space, that too, at ‘unrealistically low prices.’ But, if the publisher has to re-adjust the rates to keep the regular bookstores as well as the online stores alive, the authors will have to bear the brunt (which seems inescapable).

If there has ever been a time when investing one’s time and effort in the fine arts has paid off, it is now. In literature, becoming the best-seller is every author’s dream, whether or not the awards pay attention. Popular author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni counters, “An award is surely more important than a book becoming a best-seller, as it is an endorsement from critics, peers and the literary milieu of the fine quality of the writing. But, writers who are interested in creating popular fiction rather than literary fiction may not agree. In fact, winning a major prize often lands a book on best-seller lists.” Given that the vicarious pleasures of distant experiences painstakingly conjured and articulated by the author and conveniently folded into (the pages of) a book are priceless, the move to foist them off at dirt-cheap prices may sound brutal. And authors may have a lot to lose since the overall price at which their tales are sold would reduce, in turn affecting the margins they share for their books. The benefit, many feel, would be reduction in piracy, since cheaper original copies would be available. But, thankfully, books, unlike music, have a relatively lesser number of takers, and plagiarism happens to plague the literary world more than piracy.

Whatever said and done, ‘Customer is King’ is that clichéd privilege that we all love to cherish, but all we hope is that first element of this value chain, the author, earns his due and not lose to the middlemen who delude us by calling us kings!
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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, January 29, 2010

“And the 5 things we dislike...”

VISA PROBLEMS: India is too strict with issuing visas to Chinese who want to visit India. Many Chinese business people face extreme difficulty in obtaining Indian visas – most of them at best only get 3-month visas; and then they have to leave India and apply for visa again. This is creating havoc for Chinese labourers who dream to work in India; and even businessmen who want to make a fortune here. China looks forward for more cooperation from the Indian Government in terms of giving more flexibility in issuing visas to Chinese citizens.

BORDER ISSUE: There has been no progress in regards to the border issue, which is perhaps the biggest issue discerning bilateral relations between these two peaceful nations. There seems to be strong political determination from both the sides with meagre results. We have already held 13 rounds of meetings with Indian Special Representatives on this issue.

PROTECTIONISM: India’s trade protectionism and anti-dumping laws are very much demotivating for the Chinese business community. Especially with regard to India’s reaction and ban of Chinese made toys. China found it unnecessary as there is no international standard as such. India should also understand the fact that a Chinese company generates employment when it comes to India. For example, Huawei, a Chinese company employs around 4,000 Indians nationwide. Is it not a blessing?

FRUIT EXPORTS: China sees India as a big partner when it comes to export of fruits and Agri-products. China sees export prospects for Indian fruits to be sent to China in large volume like that of Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. India lacks modern infrastructure and storage capacity necessary to preserve fruits and other Agri-products. China can greatly support India in this as it is capable enough to store such products and sell them in the international market. MEDIA BIAS: If there is another aspect that China is greatly worried about, it is the biased nature of Indian media. Sometimes, the Indian media’s reaction is too anti-Chinese. Indian media often over hypes Indo-China border issues and infiltration or invasion of Chinese into Indian borders. The media often accuses China of destabilising Indo-Pak relations while the reality is opposite. It’s too imperative to be balanced when it comes to sensitive issues like border disputes and others. Media has a very responsible role. It should be careful, especially on vulnerable issues.
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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Parents: Happy and Gay!

Same-sex couples are coming out for adoption…

One of the best gifts that one could give someone is ‘life’. You may not be God, but in the form of a parent, you could be his personification for a child. Like Sushmita Sen has shown, it’s not essential to be with someone to be a parent either. Being a parent may not be easy, but this call of eternal love and emotion comes from within. In the present day scenario, there has been a surge in the number of gay couples going through adoption agencies. Adoption sure is a tough decision, and so is the procedure. Even for a conventional couple, child adoption isn’t easy. After a formal application and an NOC from CARA (Central Adoption Resource Agency), the couple has to wait till the authorities find a child suitable to their expectations, and unlike the common belief, parents are not permitted to choose their baby. Adoption isn’t as difficult abroad as is it in India, but it’s nearly impossible to adopt here if you’re gay. Homosexuality has found legal acceptance and sex between gays is no longer a crime, but according to the Supreme Court ruling, there have been no comments as regards marriage rights between gay couples or their adoption rights.

It’ll be long before India opens up to the idea of gays getting married and thereafter adopting a child legally, but for those, for whom love knows no boundaries, such beautiful relationships already exist. “I just got my son married to a girl. I found him on the Bandra Station when he was 13-years old. I raised him and supported him to be able to earn his bread. No one taught me how to be a mother, but I knew it... it is a feeling which comes from within. My partner and I never feel that we are incompetent as parents,” says Mr. Girish Kumar a.k.a. ‘Nihsa’, who lives with his partner Mr. Praveen Sharma. Just like all parents, even gay couples assume roles within a family. One assumes the role of the father and the other, that of a mother. All these feelings come to them very naturally. A child strives for love, care, tenderness and optimum support and guidance. These aspects of one’s life are not subject to sex, and can be fulfilled by anyone who feels for it in the right manner.

Greater acceptance towards gays has been observed in the recent past, but addressing the narrow-minded and editing the age-old laws is what is of utmost importance. “Our organisation, along with various activists is also trying to push for gay rights and strongly feels that the masses welcome them with open arms and minds,” says Mr. Girish Kumar, Project Director, The Humsafar Trust. It is the society which makes one feel uncomfortable in certain situations. It largely depends on us to make life simpler for others.

Emotional Quotient is an essential ingredient of parenting. Hence, as far as gay couples are concerned, it could be said that they may have higher sensibilities as regards emotional support and understanding. In a world full of prejudices, it is essential we take our first step towards creating a society where every person is treated with respect. After all, bringing a smile on a child’s face is what really matters at the end...
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IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Freedom for the famished farmer

The first step towards Green revolution 2.0 has really nothing to do with agriculture

More than 40 years ago, about a quarter of a million Indians died of starvation during the last Great Famine of 1965-67 when the rain gods played a cruel joke on the nation’s farmers. This despite India going out with a begging bowl to seek food aid from countries like the United States. That crisis had sown the seeds that eventually resulted in the 20th century miracle called the Green Revolution. India has never gone out with a begging bowl again to seek food. But today, agriculture faces yet another life threatening crisis as farmers across India commit suicide. Sutanu Guru analyses how the latest crisis can sow the seeds that will lead to a 21st century miracle called Green Revolution 2.0.

Many years ago, while working on a research project for a Think Tank, I had traveled to the interiors of Chattisgarh and Orissa to meet some farmers and got a first hand account of their lives and times. In Chattisgarh, I spent a day with Mangat Patel, a small farmer who was wiry and yet strong as an ox. Patel was illiterate and yet knew almost everything about new technological developments-including GM crops and the latest pesticides. His favourite companion was a newly acquired mobile. “ I use it to call up my wife and tell her what I want for lunch”, Patel had remarked mischievously. Of course, Patel had started using the mobile for many other purposes.

In Orissa, I spent a day with 60 year old Bhagirath Panigrahi, a fairly large and prosperous farmer by Indian standards. A first class engineering graduate, Panigrahi had opted for a career in farming because water from the Hirakud Dam had made his farms extremely fertile. But Panigrahi was completely disillusioned. Two of his sons had permanently left the village for city jobs and the third one who stuck to farming was earning more money running a taxi service. Panigrahi’s lament was simple and profound and it still resonates in my ears: “ If Rahul Bajaj is allowed to sell his two wheelers anywhere in India, why can’t a farmer like me have the same freedom?”

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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Delhi-Tel Aviv tech cooperation goes much beyond arms deals

The growth in bilateral tech cooperation is based on the principles of mutual interest. Indian company Jain Irrigation Limited has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Israeli firm Naandan Irrigation systems for an approximate $ 22 million. There are plans to introduce West Asian crops in India. Efforts are also underway to pick the best suited crops for Israel from India’s huge genetic pool. Partnership with and acquisitions by Indian firms not only means cash for Israel’s agro-tech sector, it gives it greater global market access.

One has reasons to believe that the agro-tech cooperation, in future, will overshadow the much-hyped Indo-Israeli defence deals. Induction of Israeli UAVs, advanced tracking and radar systems and plans to procure Barak and the under-development Arrow anti-missile systems are significant developments in the light of the fact that India needs force multipliers quickly and Israel needs a large market outside its domestic requirements to offset huge R&D and capital costs. There are as many 50 agents in New Delhi employed by defence firms in Israel. The push is yielding some results. Israel is today the second largest arms supplier to India. But Israel is unlikely to break the Russian stranglehold on the Indian arms market. The proposed entry of India’s private sector into defence manufacturing and growing indigenous research on missile propulsion system, guidance systems, advanced avionics and radar technology will further hinder the growth of Israeli arms business in India.

Indo-Israeli cooperation can also make its impact on the quest in both nations for uninterrupted flow of clean energy. At the vaunted Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Dr Boris Rybtchinski’s team is working on developing a dye that will tap solar power. On the rolls are two Indian post-doctoral research scholars from Chennai whom I meet. The Weizmann Institute specialises in research on fundamental science and there are more than 30 Indian scientists at work. I feel the Indo-Israeli technology cooperation is going to be a long story in which the people-to-people and business-to-business needs will far outweigh the government-to-government dealings.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, January 22, 2010

‘Past is past, I want to look forward’

From a cadre who used to put up posters for BJP to becoming its poster-boy, Nitin Gadkari has seen it all. The first BJP president from the second-generation leadership, Gadkari is seen as a progressive figure in the party. His claim to fame has been several developmental projects in Maharashtra that he carried out during his stint as minister for public works in the state. In this tell-all interview with Anil Pandey, Gadkari talks about keeping the house together and reaching out to minorities.

First thing first, what is your roadmap for the future of BJP?

My priority is to strengthen the organisation and increase its support base by at least 10 per cent. The plan is to reach out to all sections of the society and bring them into the party’s fold. Dalits, tribals, labourers from unorganised sectors and minorities, especially Muslims, who have been rendered paranoid by the Congress, are on our radar. For this, we’ll start a constructive programme of large scale and magnitude. Setting aside votebank politics, this programme will work for the downtrodden. It will lead to their social and economic development. This will not only lead to production of essential goods and services but also add to the country’s GDP. I have been doing this kind of thing in Nagpur and other parts of Maharashtra. In Nagpur, we have adopted as many as 500 poor orphans who are getting good education and upbringing. These children will shape the future of this country in due course. Similarly, in villages, we are working in tandem with farmers to produce bio-diesel. Apart from producing electricity from chaffs and other bio-wastes, we have also set up several small scale industries that deal with dairy and agro-processing. I have been doing such experiments in the past. I want to implement it here too. I am not concerned about victory. I just want to do my work.

You maintain that BJP wants to reach out to all sections of the society. However, minorities, mainly a large section of the Muslims, have concerns about your party.

This is propaganda by our opposition to malign our image. It should be pondered upon that even after 57 years of rule by the Congress, Muslim boys are mainly engaged in menial jobs. Not many IAS, IPS officers or doctors or engineers can be found. They need education that is good and can get them good jobs. In fact, in the states where BJP and its alliance-partners are in power, there has been tremendous improvement in the financial and educational conditions of Muslims. When Narendra Modi brought prosperity and unprecedented growth to Gujarat, hasn’t it helped Muslims too? Increase in job opportunity also means increased opportunity for the Muslims. Muslims in UP are the most backward. The state has been ruled by the Congress and so-called secular parties for years. The vote bank politics practised by Congress has led to exploitation of Muslims. It is a misconception that BJP is against Muslims.

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IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Education System - promote more ‘idiots’

Our pedagogy should look beyond exams and help students fulfil their dreams

Dr Parth J Shah

President, Centre for Civil Society


Since decades, the education policy India should follow has been a matter of debate. Aamir Khan’s “3 Idiots” has only intensified the discussion. In the movie, there is a flashback scene where the child protagonist attends classes of his choice. The child grows up to become a renowned scientist. The film questions the system of evaluation on the basis of examination in particular and the education system in general. In my view, this is a valid criticism. The so-called classroom model of education that we follow in our country is primitive. And we keep on following it blindly. The only thing that has changed over the last 1,000 years is the architecture of school and the quality of furniture. It just reflects that we have only focussed on resources all these years while nothing has changed in the way education is provided.

There are other issues as well that have been raised in this movie. In the West, there is a system where not only the child opts for the subject of his choice but the teachers as well. In my view, this is the best way of education. If a child chooses a subject of his liking, then there are valid chances that not only will he focus on studies but will also fetch good marks. Their examination system is such that it provides a clear evaluation of the candidate taking the test. The grading and credit system is scientifically designed to evaluate the students several times in a year and, that too, on different parameters.

Now look at India. The entire evaluation of a student is done through a three-hour sitting examination. Suppose, a child falls ill on the day of the test, either he fails or fetches poor marks. His entire year’s effort, thus, goes to the dogs. In the West, however, if a candidate falls ill on the day of the examination, he is allowed to take it on another day. His entire year’s labour does not go to waste.
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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The “3 Idiots” debate is raging in many corners

The “3 Idiots” debate is raging in many corners, some crucial, and some, well, idiotic. The one that’s generating the most brouhaha right now is, of course, the ‘credit crisis’. “In all honesty, the film is vastly different from Five Point Someone" says Madhavan, who plays Farhan Qureshi in the film. (read his interview on page 52) And lately, there have been dissenting voices raising concern over the portrayal of ragging in the film. These arguments, though, are fairly juvenile.

The real focus, of course, is on the education system, and whether educators, parents and students alike need a fundamental rethink of their perspective on what education and learning are about. Says actor Kunal Kapoor, “The film raises a lot of important questions and is one of those rare movies that also provide answers. I’m sure it will force us to re-look at a lot of things and make an impact at an individual level.”

Akhilesh Agarwal who is from the 1975 batch at IIT Kanpur and currently heads a manufacturing company could easily be the man Aamir's character of Rancho was modelled on. In the words of his batchmate Arvind Gupta, an internationally aclaimed educationist, Akhilesh is "perhaps the greatest mechanical tinkerer I've met. He bunked classes all the time and pursued his passions – gliding, power flying, aeromodelling, engines etc."

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, January 15, 2010

The son sets on Arjun’s empire

Arjun Singh’s days of glory are finally over although the veteran Congressman still has supporters on his home turf, reports Raju Kumar

After scaling the heights of political glory and fighting battles outside his royal zone, former HRD Minister Arjun Singh finds himself on the political sidelines, an object of some mirth and scorn. Singh won his first election from Majholi Vidhan Sabha in 1957 as an Independent. With that he never looked back, even after forming the Tiwari Congress. He has held a string of positions—legislator in MP, minister, leader of Opposition, chief minister, Governor and central minister. In 1993, for a brief period he was also contender for the Prime Minister’s post. For the last few years though this once tallest leader of the Vindhya area finds himself pilloried for the area’s backwardness. Kallu Prasad Saket, 61, from his village Sada says: “No matter who the King is, we shall remain poor. We think of them as our own, they don’t.”

Times have definitely changed and Singh no longer enjoys his earlier status. The last Lok Sabha elections further corroded his authority as he could get tickets neither for his son Ajay Singh nor daughter Veena Singh. His plan was to introduce the second generation while he was still around and hence despite refusal from the Congress he had his daughter contest as an Independent and got his mother Saroj Singh to talk about his political achievements but got no successes.
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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Obama’s election

Whenever America finds itself in moral dilemma, it tries to absolve itself in whatever ways. As it ceded ground and reputation in the last decade, it tried to amend by selecting a Black as its president. Obama’s election as America’s president is no less than a fairy tale. In fact, for many, the excitement of the 2008 presidential election was about witnessing a moment that people would one day read about in history books. And that is what happened. A campaign that was as bitter as conservatives could have made finally saw Obama, a political novice of sorts, outflanking an ex-First Lady, a war veteran and a gun-wielding female governor. However, on the other hand, despite Obama’s election, little has changed among the fundamentals of the racial order and neither has there been any substantial shift in US’s big-brother policies.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Five decades of forced juxtaposition

Five decades of forced juxtaposition repeatedly proved Fazl Ali’s presumptions on the uneasy alliance between two unequal economic partners. This apprehension was also shared by B.R. Ambedkar, though in a general way. “Why do Tamils hate Andhras and Andhras hate Tamils? Why do Andhras in Hyderabad hate Maharashtrians and Maharashtrians hate Andhras? Why do Gujaratis hate Maharashtrians and Maharashtrians hate Gujaratis? ……….. The hatred is due to the fact that they are put in juxtaposition and forced to take part in a common cycle of participation, such as Government…….So long as this enforced juxtaposition remains, there will be no peace between the two…,” Ambedkar had written in Thoughts On Linguistic States. “Telangana has been backward for centuries. The most crucial infrastructure element — irrigation system — was never developed here though both the Krishna and the Godavari flows through it. In contrast, coastal Andhra aggressively lobbied for and got a network of canals that took river waters deep into some districts,” BJP MLA Kishan Reddy told TSI.

Coastal Andhra settlers are often accused of exploiting Telangana’s resources. But, the seed of every demand did not merely lie in the perception of economic neglect. The cultural and lingual hegemony of neo-colonial Andhraites has widened the gulf, the diametrically conflicting economic interests adding fuel to the fire. Hence, it is more an emotional problem rather than an economic glitch. In spite of being neighbours, the two cultures were poles apart. This persistent disparity is not at all unknown to the agitators of ‘united Andhra’ but they have practical reasons.

“Assets worth millions of crores in Telangana region, particularly in Hyderabad, are owned by coastal settlers. Once the state is divided, the fate of these assets would be volatile,” a member of Telangana Settlers’ Forum expresses his apprehension.

So, as Chandrababu Naidu made a flip-flop on the electoral assurances in favour of a separate Telangana, the non-confirmative Chiranjeevi, confined to head the deserted legislative ramks of Prajarajyam, and MiM is opposing a separate Telangana state tooth and nail. It seems the Congress has a Herculean task cut out.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Monday, January 11, 2010

Japan is distancing itself from the US

It has been like that for long and this base has been playing a crucial role in furthering the American foreign policy in Asia since the Vietnam War. And thus, an otherwise subservient Japan has all along been a major helping hand. Even now, while the American assault in Afghanistan and Iraq has been going on for years, the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force plays a very critical role in refuelling the US warships over the Indian Ocean. In fact, for long, Japan didn’t have a foreign policy truly of its own – the US, since the end of World War II, playing a major role, with critics even blaming the Japanese government for literally outsourcing foreign policy to US. In all, Boston Celtics were #1 in Japan, as was Toyota in the US.

Then what exactly has gone wrong in the American behaviour towards Japan? The answer is, the Japanese behaviour towards America – vindicated, rather flamed further by the current lateral shifts in the Japanese political formations with the meteoric ascent of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), led by Yukio Hatoyama, into the helm of affairs. DPJ gave a body blow to the Liberal Democratic Party which had almost become synonymous with Japanese government in the last half a century. The victory of the DPJ should not be seen as a mere vote against incumbency but more as a sort of referendum against the US dominance in Japan’s foreign policy and military affairs. In fact, there is much pressure on the newly elected Hatoyama government to scrap several deals with US, the foremost among them being the Guam Treaty under which US expects Japan to spend nearly $6 billion for relocation of some of the US bases in Futenma in Okinawa to the American island of Guam. This, in itself, is part of a $26 billion defence package for the base realignment plan which also includes an estimated expenditure by Japan to the tune of $11 billion for the construction of a new US Marines base in Okinawa and an expenditure of $9 billion for the creation of a ballistic missile defence system.

Gavan McCormack writes in DMZ Hawai, “As the Japanese economy reeled under the shock of its greatest crisis in 60 years, these were staggering sums. It was once said, of George W. Bush, that he was inclined to think of Japan as ‘just some ATM machine’ for which a pin number was not needed. Under Obama, too, that relationship seemed not to change.”
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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Friday, January 08, 2010

Satyanarayan Maheshwari - BJP leader Kiran Maheshwari's Husband

Dr Satyanarayan Maheshwari is a proud husband. His wife, Kiran Maheshwari, is the All India BJP Mahila Morcha chief. The former MP from Udaipur is currently an MLA in Rajasthan.

Dr Maheshwari, a practising CA, says: “I do not face any problem at all. In fact, Kiran is very considerate about her family. She is always with the family when she is free. We understand the responsibilities she has to shoulder as a public figure… Her achievements and the public goodwill she has earned are a matter of pride for all of us.”

He asserts that he does not feel awkward on being introduced as Kiran’s husband. A person is always identified with the more popular family members, he adds.

He himself is actively involved in social service being a member of several organisations. Dr Maheshwari says that over the years he has mastered the art of analytical presentation of fiscal laws.

“I have the satisfaction of initiating public awareness for transparency in tax administration and the unholy nexus between corrupt tax administrators and broker-type consultants,” he says.

He continues: “I was a lead member of the team that initiated necessary legal action for recovery of huge tax dues from Lions and Rotary clubs. “These clubs are violating our tax laws in the name of social service. It is unfortunate that the Central Government is not taking any step to recover the dues of more than Rs 5,000 crores from them.” Clearly he isn't somebody who likes to stay in the shadow.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Bonding vs Rich bonding

Foreign Investment Treaties can be rich nations' hostile policy too

Foreign capital grabbed so much of attention that countries went to the extend of opening their borders for it in the form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). This dramatically led to the emergence of the Foreign Investment Treaties (FITs), a tool to promote FDIs. But researches prove it to be otherwise. FITs unlikely seem to be too beneficial in increasing FDIs and remain debatable.

The global network of FITs consists of over 2,600 Bilateral Investment Treaties apart from hundred other treaties in the form of FTAs. All is to solely promote FDIs. And FDI in 2007 was around $1.8 trillion which came down to $1.4 trillion in 2008. And it is further estimated to drop by half by the end of 2009. If properly scrutinised, FITs have least contribution in it. The primary determinants of attracting more FDIs are economic and political stability, size of domestic market, skilled labour force or a export platform to other neighbouring hubs. Brazil and Haiti are two Latin American countries. Brazil is the leading FDI recipient but has no FITs. Haiti signed an FIT with the US on 1983 but that didn’t make it an FDI hub. The first FIT was signed between Germany and Pakistan. Well, neither Pakistan has substantial contributions on the German market nor many German companies are interested in Pakistan. The US has many FITs with countries, including Albania, Cameroon, Morocco or Sri Lanka but FITs have never been a reason for US investments in these economies. US signed an FIT with Bahrain. The stock of US FDI in Bahrain came down to $60 million in 2007 from $138 million in 2006 while the total FDI rose by 2 per cent to nearly $1.8 billion. China, India or Russia attracts huge FDIs for their favourable conditions not FITs. What is also a matter of concern is that foreign investors enjoy some special benefits through FITs for alleged treaty violations from the host nations at the international tribunal. Argentia was ordered to pay $133.2 million to a US investor for changing monetary policy that restricted repatriation of foreign exchange as compensation. Mexico was asked to pay $15 million to another investor for adopting an environment standard that affected his business. Ecuador too was asked to pay $75 million to a US oil company for changing country’s tax policy. Smaller countries often fall trapped into rich countries’ greedy and hostile policies through FITs. Thus, FDIs do not always result into sustainable development. Poor nations lack proper institutions and development-oriented policy framework, is also a reason for it. Few nations actually succeeded to bring sustainable development from FDIs. Chile is the one that has been able to through relevant policies. Mexico attracted huge FDIs in quantity but it thought that bringing FDI will automatically bring sustainable development. The same question is before India today. It has about 70 FITs. Recently, it also signed another FIT with the US. Signing FIT will not change the picture dramatically. US is already India’s second biggest investor. Thus it’s imperative to focus more on development-oriented policy initiatives before going crazy about FITs.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative