New Global Indian

02 / Editorial03 / From the Publisher's Desk04 / Letters and feedback

06 / The World Comes Calling14 / Transforming India: Challenges of SocialTransition18 / Pravasis come home

22 / UN Climate Change Conferences: Kyototo Cancun24 / Universal Hinduism and Emerging NewHindu Identity28 / The Future of Indian Technology30 / In the line for Fuel32 / How the markets fared34 / WE ASC Ushers in a Brave New World

38 / GSSV: A School with a GlobalPerspective40 / NGI Newsmakers43/ Crossover with a difference

60 / Ahmedabad- The City on the move

63 / Ahmedabad: Growing Fast64 / Adani: Flying High66 / Strengthening India's Port Infrastructure68 /72 / Special Economic Zones The GrowthEngine Of Gujarat76 / Medical Tourism: Global Healthcare inIndia

79 // Paradise on earth adds new colors

82 / Pune: A Global Destination

86 /88 / Needs of Rural Maharashtra92 / Seeding Growth94 / Banks must change to reflect today'scustomers' needs.96 / The Hills beckon

98 / Taking India to the World100 / A respite for the Garden City102 / Marketing Challenges in Myriad Indias104 /108 /112 / The Trail on Lalon Fakir114 / A Classic's Return

36 / New Year Brings Resolve to create newRewards

44 /Indian Thoughts and the Western Mind

52 / The Platform for Growth54 / Narendra Modi's Exclusive Interview

GMDC: Carving New Horizons

Nitish riding high with people’s trust80

The Wonders of Science

Building the People NetworkChhattisgarh: An Eco-friendly Growth

COVER STORY

VIBRANT GUJARAT

STATESCAN

INTERNATIONAL

CONTENTS

JAN '11 / 01

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EDITORIAL

02 '11/ JAN

Kanchan Banerjee

Editor-in-chiefEmail:[email protected]


There was great enthusiasm at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

in January 2010. One year has gone by, but not silently.

It was quite literally an eventful year. The nuclear treaty

was ratified amidst fear of US monopoly over India's civil

nuclear power. But the fact that France and other countries

are also part of this game makes Indians less worried now!

Pa k i s t a n , A f g h a n i s t a n ,

Kashmir all these hot-spots

have become of secondary

interest. A new wave of

awakening towards India has

begun.

Interestingly, suddenly Delhi has become important for

all. The longest state visit of President Obama to Asia was

India. Desperation or long-term vision? It is hoped that the

future proves it to be the latter. Britain, China, Russia and

F r a n c e - a l l

great powers

are now in the

corr idors of

D e l h i . O f

course, there is

a self-interest

involved in all

these vis i t s .

However, India

needs to act not

out of naivety

b u t w i t h a

strategy to take

advantage of

this scenario.

We can use these partnerships to take India to the highest

level of development and progress. To raise its people and

spread its wisdom-based value system for global harmony

and peace, which remains the need of the hour.

But let me be the Devil's advocate. Does India have a great

stand in the world apart from its growing economy? How

much political clout does it have? Many think it is very

feeble. Those in the know have questioned that if India

truly has a foreign policy strategy. Or, is it still following

the outdated Nehruvian foreign policies? India is still

stuck in on the world stage where it doesn't yet know if it's

one of the lead players, or still a lackey. The coming decade

would make this clear for us, and the world.

But there is hope. If you ask all the countries of the world,

whose leadership they would accept among the following

powerful nations- The United States, China, Britain, India,

Russia or Japan, most would be likely to accept India.

Because, despite its shortcomings as a democratic nation,

inability to feed many of its poor and to make them

literate, this age-old India never has been an aggressor.

India has gifted life-preserving systems such as Yoga and

Ayurveda, and the message of peace and duty, the ideals

embedded in the idea of Dharma.

There is no dearth of countries that are uncomfortable in

doing business with America, especially after 9/11 and the

Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. China is authoritarian.

Japan is not only small, but also has a controversial history

and economic turmoil. Russia's impression to the world is

not that bright today. After falling from the pulpit, it is yet

to look clean to the world community. Britain has a hoary

history of dark colonialism.

India alone has never been an invader. It has given shelter

to the persecuted from around the world. It has taught to

the world what inner meaning of existence is. Hence, India

can be trusted. That said, one has to be careful about blind

faith in a country where bureaucracy is still a chain which

holds back progress, especially of the free market and free-

thinking people. Corruption and corrupt leadership are

still abundant. To play a global role, India needs plenty of

its own house-cleaning. Then only it will become 'Bharat'

which is glowing and giving light to the world.

The first icebreaking has happened. At least through

Obama, Indians were reminded of their own past and

present achievements. Now it is time for the Indian people

and leadership alike to accept it, reflect on it and plan for

the future. Until then, keep trying, keep doing and keep

discussing how to get there, and the Indians living

everywhere need to be involved more passionately,

intimately.

While the famous call ' was of the legendary

Indian patriotic leader Subhash Chandra Bose who

wanted to free India from British colonialism, today a new

tide of world leaders eager to partner with India finds a

new meaning in that historic call of Bose. This time, it is not

to free the country from any colonialism, but an effort of

the world community first to recognize and then work

with an India of tomorrow. To seize the opportunity. And,

this is remains the hope to give the necessary fuel, boost

and momentum to place India to the

right orbit.

Delhi Chalo'

Chalo Delhi!

Through Obama, Indians were reminded ofour own past and present achievements.

JAN '11 / 03

Here comes another Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the 9 one.

On this special occasion and time of the year, being an

Indian sparks a feeling of excitement, a nostalgic feeling of

joy and a sense of achievement. Also it is the time for

reflection and reverberation of memories of things that

have happened recently and of things Indians should be

proud of.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was launched to allow a place

for Indians across the globe to come together; to recognize

the contribution of NRI individuals who have made a

significant contribution in their chosen fields or

profession. The PBD also provides a forum to discuss

issues and concerns of people within Indian Diaspora.

This nostalgic home-coming event has a bigger purpose to

serve. It gives an opportunity to emphasize and discuss

important real life issues affecting Indians and India and

also finding ways to solve them.

Economic growth, GDP, Investments etc. are important

issues. But in the midst of these developments related

discussions, one of the less emphasized issues which

needs immediate attention remains Global Warming.

How is it going to affect the second most populous

country in the world? It may appear that talking about

Global Warming in this forum may not be the most

exciting subject matter because some may think that the

subject is overstretched and over-discussed. But

combating Global Warming is one of the most important

problems at the moment for the world at large and also for

India. Apart from all the typical effects of GW known to

us, one matter needs urgent attention which may be very

challenging for India in terms of security. India is

surrounded by several neighboring countries which have

borders on high mountain ranges. There are numerous

army bases and helipads that located in these regions and

several of them lay upon glaciers. Since Global Warming is

melting the glaciers India could lose many of these

important bases. Also the rise of sea level in the coastal

regions will cause tremendous suffering of people and

animals inhabiting those areas this is a matter which

cannot be postponed.

Knowing the fact that the international group of scientists

has already stated that there is a 90% chance that human-

generated green house gases account for most of the

warming in the past 50 years. What have we been doing?

Or our Indian Government for that matter, to control the

green house gases? Each and every Indian should be

aware of this deadly issue and fight it with a deep

conviction so that the following generations will see a

clean and livable India.

Secondly, I want to point to the looming dangers of global

terrorism and the terrorism in

I n d i a . W h i l e t h e I n d i a n

Government needs to continue

seeking global cooperation to

curb terrorism it needs to provide

strong commitment to find ways

to prevent terrorist attacks from

recurring. All states of India

should join hands to defeat

t e r r o r i s m b y l a u n c h i n g

mandatory training for youth for

defense and for emergency

/disaster management for the

protection for their own communities.

Thirdly, the effect of globalization has spread everywhere

irrespective of willingness to accept and participate in the

process. During the financial crisis of 2008, many

countries witnessed a financial tsunami. It shows how

precarious the financial world is and how financial

decisions made by other countries, in a global context,

may affect India or vice versa. The Indian Government

should come up with a process and mechanism to track

economic trends and create a warning system before such

disasters occur and establish a method of financial

security in volatile economic conditions.

Last but not the least, the Indian Government needs to

establish a process for an estimated eleven million of NRIs

to be allowed to exercise their voting rights. Even after two

rounds of del iberat ions

between the Government and

the election commission, the

issue of NRI, seeing their

names in the electoral list

seems to be a far cry. The Government should take the full

responsibility to formulate ways to aid NRIs to practice

the voting power by resolving this longstanding and

important issue.

New Global Indian is an international forum for the

Indian Diaspora, taking initiative and playing an

important role to connect Indians globally and to shed

light on their success stories in India and everywhere else.

As we celebrate the fourth anniversary on behalf on the

NGI family, I thank all of you for your kind support as

subscribers, contributors and sponsors. I wish you all

a very happy and prosperous New Year 2011.

th

PUBLISHER'S NOTE


Haimanti Banerjee

PublisherEmail: [email protected]

From the Publisher's Desk

How is global warming affecting the secondmost populous country in the world?

2010 closes in a few hours. For the better part, it reminded us of

the Trini Lopez song "Shame and Scandal in the Family". As

one wag put it, the people in charge took the word Common

Wealth literally, just as Mr. Raja decided that the best way to serve

his country was on a "first come" basis. The list goes on. And the

chatterati balefully concluded that this country has nothing to look

forward to.

Inspite of all of this, the India story has been quietly gaining

momentum. If for no other reason, it is what gives a forlorn world

economy a sliver of hope that it can cling on to. The stock market

delivered a steady 17.6 % return, and growth numbers continue to

hold optimism across categories (October 2010 saw the highest

number of airline passengers ever: 4.7 million) Alongside, we

witnessed an amazing number of wide-angle stories from the social

sector. Dr Shetty's insurance for farmers in Andhra Pradesh, the

resounding impact of microfinance (so much so that it frightens

governments into counteraction), the Wipro foundation's massive

footprint in primary education.And then some.

We will move into a new decade in a short while. A thought worth

contemplating: if we have to continue to provide the optimism the

world urgently seeks, each of us will need to wield influence that

contributes to it. It will build a Tsunami of confidence for India and

the planet at large. Have a great evening, drive safely into a brilliant

2011.

President & CKO, Equitor Management Consulting P Ltd

oming from the city of Kolkata where football is next only

to fish perhaps it was interesting to read about the huge

Indian soccer market that the west is looking to capture. In

my 20 years of watching soccer I never knew that India has a 1.15

billion football fans. I must congratulate and appreciate the work

done by New Global Indian for giving me these facts, which for

once is a required and nice change from reading about cricket and

IPL.

Reading your article “craving for an Indian pie” in the October

issue, I realized the magnitude of Indian soccer market and it's

something that the big investors should look into. I as an avid soccer

fan am absolutely delighted in having read this article and now

perhaps would dream of seeing a Rooney or a Ronaldo from India

someday!!

Senior Executive (IP transformation)ALCATELLUCENT

sama Jafery introduced me to NGI magazine which

covered the issue of Bihar. This Magazine is made for the

Indians globally. It glorifies the Indian culture and also

analyze the future trend that developing India will have. The most

impressive part of this magazine is the positivity and its perception

towards globe. Unlike any other magazine it talks about the

developing and shining India which will be more acceptable to

those who want to witness India a superpower.

Advertising Manager, Qaumi Tanzeem, Delhi

et me first congratulate you for editing such a fantastic

magazine, in every sense of the word - be it the content,

design and over all get up, for quite a long time. I have

observed some of your recent issues, and amazed by the kind of

subjects you covered ranging from international to regional,

focussing business, politics, health, culture, travel, education along

with reminiscences, interviews of eminent personalities. I specially

liked your special issues on different states of India. And I believe

that this magazine would definitely get more and more readership

particularly amongst the NRIs and the "new global Indians". Wish

you and your NGI team all the very best!

I am a practicing filmmaker and avid film viewer based out of

Kolkata. What I am observing in recent years, that Indian cinema is

going through a sea change, be it in the style or technique, be it in

the art of acting or story telling, or be it the publicity planning or

marketing strategy and the mainstream Hindi cinema along with

different regional cinemas gaining an international audience and

market day by day. What is most important, unlike 60s and 70s and

even 80s, we cannot define Indian cinema now simply by saying

either "Art" (the kind of cinema which get awards but not audience)

or "Commercial" (the kind of cinema which has no artistic value, no

relation with the reality, belongs to a completely 'make-belief

world', but gains commercial success, though reasons are deep

rooted); rather in recent times the borderline between the two is

becoming thinner, and at times even merging. The Indian cinema is

really emerging as the "highest form of commercial art", and truely

"global". A whole breed of young filmmakers and technicians, with

lot of new ideas, are now dominating the industry. Films like "Three

Ediots" or "Life in a Metro" or "Page 3" are being produced with lot

of risks and gaining huge success along with critical acclaim. I hope

your magazine will publish articles regularly on these emerging

trends of Indian cinema and will soon become a bridge between the

Indian filmmakers, technicians, critics, film historians and the

global audience of Indian cinema.

Wish you a very happy and productive new year!

Ramesh Jude Thomas

Bishwajeet Sarkar

Shis Ali,

C

O

L

Malay Dasgupta, Film Maker, Kolkata

READERS WRITE...

04 '11/ JAN NGI KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

Changing Indian dynamics since 2000

When Obama came calling

Who gains? Both.

One decade of this century gone. India has just overcome a

period where it grew leaps and bounds, and overcame

bitter challenges. With an economy galloping at 9% GDP

growth-rate, sequentially good monsoons. Today, India

has a 500 million strong middle class, and a Bharat with

200 million people, who live in some of the most

impoverished conditions

imaginable. India thus is a

unique opportunity, and a

formidable challenge, for its

own administrators, and for

those who wish to do business with it. India's new found

economic importance, and may one say, might, has

changed power equations in an interesting manner. The

most powerful economies in the world- USA, China,

France, Russia and UK amongst others are facing flat or

negative growth rates. All of these nations, with the

exception of China, are battling with internal economic

recession, growing domestic discontent, decline in their

military power currency, and impactful climate change

situations.

These many important factors were in world leaders'

minds when they came to India.

The US world-view under Obama is seeing a radical

change. He is the first US President since the World War 2

to cope with the possible loss of American primacy.

Throughout his presidential tenure, Obama has

repeatedly affirmed that the US can no longer bear the

burden of managing the world; whether it is reforming the

global financial system or policing the world's oceans or

states, on its own. Obama's main message is that the US is

looking for partners among the rising powers and that a

democratic India is a natural choice.

Also, economically battered at home, the US President

needed respite in terms of fresh investments in US from

India Inc which would in turn create fresh jobs, technology

transfers to India, some control on business process

outsourcing, and measures that may arrest the US

economic recession to an extent.

Standing next to the US President at the Delhi's

Hyderabad House before he left India after his November

visit, the Indian Prime Minister underlined three

important changes in India's worldview. One, India and

the US are now 'equal partners'. For generations, Indian

diplomacy has been either defensive or defiant in the

dealings with the US, the world's foremost power for

decades. Second, India recognizes US cooperation in

consolidating India's rise, particularly in ensuring the

current 9 to 10 percent growth rate over the next one

decade or more. Third, India is ready to give and not

merely take from others, which itself is a big departure

from the diplomatic traditions of the past.

Further, for India and the US, the new agenda involves

three distinct elements and all these were addressed in the

discussions between Obama and Dr Manmohan Singh

and were reflected in the joint statement they issued.

The first is about regional security in the Sub-continent.

Barack Obama: United States of America

India and the US balanced against eachother in South Asia during bad times and

agreed to disagree in good times.

COVER STORY


The World Comes CallingThe heads of all G-5 nations visited India in quick succession. India is now on the threshold to redefine itsposition and authority. analyses the take-aways.Ujjwal K Chowdhury

For more than half a century, India and the US balanced

against each other in South Asia during bad times and

agreed to disagree in good times. And, now, they have

created the basis for working together in rebalancing the

northwestern part of the Sub-continent which lies

destabilized with violent extremism. If, in reality, India

and the US can now step up their cooperation on counter-

terrorism, coordinate their policies in Afghanistan, and

reach out to democratic forces in Pakistan, they could

begin to alter the balance of forces in favour of political

moderation and economic modernization across our

Western borders.

The second area of rebalancing is in the Indian Ocean and

the Asia Pacific. US and India have now agreed to deepen

existing strategic consultations on developments in East

Asia, and decided to expand and intensify these to cover

regional and global issues of mutual interest, including

Central and West Asia. The boldest innovation of the two

leaders, however, is in breaking the 'North-South'

paradigm that has defined the contentious political

discourse between the two countries on global issues for

decades. If the world is turning out to be multi-polar, with

rising India as one if its poles, the traditional framework of

'developing versus developed world' is no longer valid.

It is noteworthy here that the US has replaced Russia as

India's largest arms supplier this year with a $3 billion deal

on 10 C-17 Globemaster 111 Cargo aircraft. India, unlike

Pakistan, pays for what it buys, and that helps the

American economy, rather than exploiting it.

However, the over-arching facts of the Obama visit are

that the President could facilitate the signing of deals

worth $10 billion with India Inc for investments in the USA

which could create in excess of 50,000 jobs there, and he

JAN '11 / 07NGI KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

could on one hand allay

fears of a total clampdown

on outsourcing to India for

the moment, and on the

other stand firm on his

decision to discourage flight

of capital and jobs away

from USAfurther.

A cynical section of Indian

in te l l igents ia remains

sceptical about the two faces

of Obama. It is indeed true

that the dilemma of the US

President is that he is caught

between a peacetime friend-

India and a wartime ally-

Pakistan. From 2008 till the

visit of President Obama

recently, India had signed

military deals worth $8.2

billion with the US. But in

last nine years, Pakistan

received a discounted assistance of $3.2 billion, with

weaponry delivered being more than what India has

bought in the last two years! Just days before Obama left

USA for India, Pakistan also managed to make the US

administration dole out yet another $2.29 billion in

military assistance for the next five years.

Washington is not only

prepared to live with the

Pakistan's misrepresentations

on Kashmir and South Asian

terrorism, it is also bankrolling it, and that too despite the

fact that, since 9/11, almost all global terrorist attacks have

a Pakistani adjective, and the worst being the 26/11

Mumbai at tacks . Unfortunate ly, the Obama

administration had already made a virtue of the limits of

the American power. It has, however, not stopped

indulging Pakistan, which in turn has not stopped

indulging the Taliban either by sections of its military and

intelligence establishments.

India cannot also hope that Obama will be of any much

help in containing China, whose expansionist agenda and

tactical alliance with Pakistan and support to Nepali

Maoists have only added to its worries.

The only positive side of the story is that a large section of

American think tank, within and outside the

administration, believes that Pakistan remains a

worrisome ally. “The biggest threat facing long-term

stability and even viability of the Pakistani state is not

India, rather, it is the rise of violent elements within

Pakistan and along its border with Afghanistan,” notes

Strobe Talbott, President, Brookings Institute.

Besides Obama administration's unwillingness to get

involved in the Kashmir imbroglio, there are other good

reasons to believe that the US-India relation has reached a

different plane. The US relationship with Pakistan is one

based upon exigent needs, more transactional in nature.

The ties with India are now for a long-term partnership

based on a range of broad range of diplomatic, economic

and strategic considerations.

Blogging before his 2006 visit to

India while he was Leader of the

O p p o s i t i o n i n t h e B r i t i s h

Parliament, David Cameron said he was going for “a

simple reason: India matters so much in the modern world

…Our relationship with India goes deep. But I think it can

and should go deeper … I think it's time for Britain and

India to forge a new special relationship for the twenty-

first century.” Visiting India again in July 2010, this time as

Prime Minister, Cameron went all out to prove his

determination to make those words come true. It is no

The Pakistan Angle

The English come to town

David Cameron: UnitedKingdom

The US President is caught between apeacetime friend- India and a wartime ally-

Pakistan.


secret that the recession-hit United Kingdom is eyeing

India primarily through an economic lens. Hence,

Cameron made a strong pitch for improving bilateral

trade and investment, particularly for India to relax rules

on foreign direct investment in legal services, banking and

insurance, and in defense manufacturing.

Both countries at the end of this July-end visit, agreed to

“substantially increase trade and significantly increase

investment,” and find ways to double it in the next five

years. But the British delegation had at least one

substantial achievement to celebrate the clinching of the

Rs.5,100 crore deal to supply Hawk trainer jets to the

Indian Air Force and Navy. The Indian interest in

attracting foreign investment in infrastructure

development was reflected in the joint statement, with

both countries agreeing to explore how best to go about

this.

While Cameron spoke of cultural ties and

history between India and its former colonial

ruler, he made it clear his main mission was to

harness the business opportunities offered by

the blossoming Indian economy to help

revitalize his own nation.

Both sides seemed to have deliberately

avoided speaking on difficult bilateral issues

publicly. If New Delhi reiterated its

reservation on the British cap on immigration,

it did so quietly. Prime Minister Cameron was

careful not to mention the Kashmir issue at all.

Unsurprisingly, his candid statements on

terrorism emanating from Pakistan against

India, Afghanistan, and the other parts of the

world, have endeared him to Indians.

In addition to business ties, Cameron said he

was also focusing his trip on climate change issues and

increased security cooperation between the two nations,

which have been targeted by terrorist attacks. He also

expressed support for an Indian seat on the U.N. Security

Council.

Interestingly, climate change, till now a 'global' issue, is

inserting itself into India's bilateral agenda as well. For, at

Cameron's initiative, it was a central leg of the strategic

new UK-India relationship. Collaboration has begun with

the UK-India Business Leaders Climate Group.

Comprising well-known CEOs, the group is working

jointly on national emissions-reduction strategies, private

sector-driven low-carbon models, and synergistic

business opportunities.

Cameron's decision to visit India soon after taking office

had sent a strong message of the value he places on the

relationship between the two countries. Britain was the 5th

largest exporter to India in 2005, but has since fallen to

18th. Exports to India dropped from GBP 4.12 billion ($6.4

billion) in 2008 to GBP 2.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in 2009.

Besides the five agreements in the nuclear field that were

announced during the visit of the French President

Nicolas Sarkozy, two more agreements between Indian

and France were signed in the

area of nuclear safety. AFrench

press release noted after these

agreements, that through these

“both nations are illustrating their resolve to enhance

cooperation in this massively important field, particularly

within the content of the forthcoming construction of two

EPR nuclear reactors at the Jaitpur site”, which would be

Nuclear Family

Nicolas Sarkozy: France


France has traditionally tended to see Indiaas a market for its arms manufacturers.

the world's largest nuclear plant once constructed.

Building nuclear power reactors had been touted to be the

centerpiece of French President's visit. France was quick

off the mark to conclude a civilian nuclear agreement with

India in 2008; and the framework agreement signed now

between the French nuclear firm Areva and the Nuclear

Power Corporation of India- to build two of the six

p l a n n e d r e a c t o r s i n

Maharashtra was an outcome

of this. France has traditionally

tended to see India as a market

for its arms manufacturers,

and India is now taking its pound of flesh on nuclear ties.

Also, both countries recognize that it is in their mutual

interest to broad-base economic relations. The two

countries signed an agreement to increase investment

mutually, and resolved to take their trade to 12 billion

Euros annually by 2012.

While nuclear commerce will be an important new

component of the bilateral relationship,

Sarkozy's visit gave both countries an

opportunity to come closer on a broad range

of bilateral and global issues. The full-

throated reaffirmation of the French

support for India's permanent membership

in the UN Security Council has been

warmly received. The resolve to enhance

bilateral cooperation in the G 20 to make it

an effect ive tool for overhauling

international monetary system and for

stabilizing commodity prices, and to work

together in international forums on issues

like those of Afghanistan, terrorism and

climate change, are indicators of deepening

political ties as well.

At least in principle, all this should help India achieve a

better balance in external relations, which are at present

seriously distorted by strategic over-dependence on the

US and a lack of clear commitment to a multi-polar order.

While Sarkozy's visit lacked the hype that surrounded the

Obama visit, it delivered much of substance. And Carla

Bruni-Sarkozy's charm and commendable work as

Ambassador for the Global Fund, which is engaged in the

fight against HIV-AIDS, TB and malaria has won much

appreciation among the Indians.

The dramatic surge in bilateral trade is the biggest story on

the India-China front in the past decade. But persistent

imbalances in favour of China are threatening a

phenomenon. What makes the December 2010 visit of the

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao especially significant is the

message that he sent out- that he understood India's

concerns on the question of market access and would try to

find ways of resolving them. Other positives on the

economic side to flow from Jiabao's visit were the

announcements on a Strategic Economic Dialogue, the

creation of a CEOs' forum, and the agreement between

banking regulators, which would hopefully allow better

synergy between the commercial operations and the

financial requirements of Indian and Chinese companies

doing business across the border. If China is able to unlock

its markets for Indian goods and services, especially in the

pharma and IT sectors, the new Indian trade target of $100

billion can easily be achieved before 2015. If not, trade will

continue to grow but the ballooning deficit will be like an

albatross around the neck of the India-China partnership.

On the political front, the Chinese side failed to 'unstaple'

the issue of distinctive visas it grants to Indian citizens

from Jammu and Kashmir who wish to travel to China.

Confident Tiger, Irrepressible Dragon

Wen Jiabao: China

India and France recognize that it is intheir mutual interest to broad-base

economic relations.

10 / JAN '11 NGI KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

India has been complaining about this Chinese policy

which it regards as an affront to Indian sovereignty and

territorial integrity for more than a year, to no avail. “Our

policy on Kashmir has not changed” is the only thing the

Chinese side would say. This time, however, Premier Wen

went a small step further and acknowledged this was an

issue that needed resolution through “consultations.”

This prickly issue apart, the Wen visit produced several

new positives on the strategic front, most notably the

decision to meet more often at the summit level and an

agreement to work together against piracy in the Gulf of

Aden. India and China should lose no time in

implementing this aspect of the joint statement, and use it

as a stepping stone for a full-fledged dialogue on the

broader issue of maritime security and freedom of

navigation. It is vital that the momentum achieved in the

relationship between the two neighbours, the world's

most talked-about rising powers, is sustained.

The back-to-back visits by Premier Wen Jiabao to India

and Pakistan have underlined Beijing's careful balancing

act between two sets of bilateral relationships, both

important to it for different reasons. The complex India-

China engagement is powered by the rising economies of

the two countries and the mutual desire to manage their

global ambitions without conflict; its strong strategic ties

with Pakistan have been built on a convergence of regional

goals. China has been more than conscious that while it

engages with India, nothing about this should make

Islamabad nervous.

In the end, this visit may have achieved very little in

solving old problems but did make two countries realize

that the future is in bilateral trade and co-operation, and it

is in their best interest not to dig the trenches any deeper.

The fact that the Premier has expressed the idea that china

does not see India as a competitor but a partner in the

global development gives hope to the pessimists.

From the Nehru-Bulganin-Khrushchev exchange visits of

1955-1956 down to the present, New Delhi and Moscow

have kept up a special partnership that has lasted more

than half a century and is perhaps unique in the annals of

world diplomacy. Barring the barren years of the Yeltsin

period soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, India

has had a greater and more sustained comfort level in

political dealings with Russia than with any other world

power. For the Russian side too, India has been a

dependable partner with considerable political and

economic value.

The 30 agreements signed by Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh and President Dmitry Medvedev, during his

Old Ties, New Touchpoints

Dmitry Medvedev : Russia


Wen Jiabao

lays wreath

at 'Rajghat' -

Mahatma

Gandhi's

memorial

in Delhi

December end visit to India, will, if fully implemented,

pave the way for full-spectrum progress across a range of

key sectors from nuclear energy and hydrocarbons to

R&D, pharmaceuticals, and information technology. The

latest visit also produced a welcome first easing in visa

restrictions for business and transit travelers.

In the civil nuclear field, Russia has been the fastest off the

block ever since the Nuclear Suppliers Group voted, to

exempt India from its export restrictions. Contractual

negotiations are currently under way for the third and

f o u r t h r e a c t o r s a t

Koodankulam but have been

held up by lack of clarity on

costs, financing and, to a lesser

extent, liability. The Russian

side is on record saying the

stringent nature of the Indian

liability law is not a major obstacle. But they are likely to

remain in a 'wait and watch' mode to see whether India

makes any concessions on this front to the United States

before themselves signing on the dotted line.

On the critical side, one look at the joint declaration is

enough to understand that the potential of trade and

cooperation between the two countries falls way short of

being fully exploited. For example, the two countries have

talked about raising the bilateral trade to 20 billion dollars

over the next five years from about 7 billion dollars now.

With China, on the other hand, India has talked about

doubling the bilateral trade to 100 billion dollars by 2015

from the present 50 billion dollars now. Compared to

Russia, India entered into an economic partnership with

China much later but the bilateral trade between the two

countries has grown at a scorching pace. This is when a

number of contentious issues continue to plague the Indo-

China relations. Russia too has a much bigger volume of

trade with China or European Union. India's close

proximity with China might be one of the reasons for its

growing relationship but it still does not explain the

exceptionally low volume of trade between India and

Russia. Perhaps one of the reasons why the strong

historical links between the two countries have not been

able to manifest themselves in the form of trade and

business is India's steady diversion towards USA for its

economic and strategic needs.

The relationship between India and the European Union

does not have the same hyper-resonance as New Delhi's

other bilateral relations. Yet, as the annual EU-India

summit testifies, both sides are engaged on issues of vital

importance. The 11th summit, for which Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh flew to Brussels in December, 2010, was

significant for several reasons. Both sides hope to conclude

a free trade agreement by the spring of 2011. EU is among

India's biggest trading partners. Last year, the two-way

trade in goods and services was worth €69 billion. The 27-

nation EU is also a big investor in India. The Broad Based

Trade and Investment Agreement, in the works since 2007,

aims to dismantle tariffs on most products traded by the

two sides. Expectations are that it could push bilateral

trade to as much as €100 billion.

However, the negotiations had stumbled on EU insistence

over including a clause on sustainable development that

would hold trade and investors to strict human rights,

particularly labour rights, and environmental standards.

India had resisted this. It is unclear if the joint declaration's

reference to “significant progress” in the negotiations

means the two sides have resolved the issue. The EU had

indicated it would not let this condition stand in the way of

the agreement, but it is in India's own interests to follow

best practices while ensuring adequate protection to the

interests of domestic trade and industry and the

workforce. Both sides are also trying to negotiate two

other major irritants a dispute over intellectual property

rights relating to Indian-made generic drugs, and the

resistance of EU member-states to free movement of

Indian professionals. The accommodation of Indian

concerns on both is crucial to a satisfactory trade

agreement.

EU is playing the right cards at the right time. Economic

and Strategic partnership with an emerging India would

help it sustain its waning global influence. And for the

Indian policy makers there are a few lessons to be learnt

from EU's insistence on Human rights. Even though it is

very beneficial for EU to partner India, but, it is still not

compromising on the cherished human values. But sadly,

for the Indian government this is an irritant. There are

India-EU Summit in December

India has had a greater and more sustainedcomfort level in political dealings with

Russia for the Russian side, India has beena dependable partner.


lessons for us to be learnt here.

As India and the US seek a reordering of the international

system, a different set of factors have injected themselves

into the Indo-US conversation: shared political values and

the common commitment to a liberal international order.

In the past, their common internal democratic orientation

could not overcome the global logic of the Cold War. Now

they provide a critical bond between New Delhi and

Washington.

India now should be very much ready to transit from its

defensive multi-lateralism of the past to a new responsible

internationalism, in the pursuit of its own enlightened

self-interests. This means India should be ready to work

with the US in strengthening international institutions,

promoting the rule of law, countering mercantilism in

trade, reducing the role of nuclear weapons, protecting the

global commons and assisting fledgling democracies into

practical policies. And this India needs to uphold

irrespective of occasional setbacks from the US side owing

to its own burden of history and internal economic

recession.

Further, there will be differences between India and US on

various issues: from global warming, climate change to

Myanmar and Iran to an extent, and new ones might arise.

In an equal relationship, one need not succumb to the

other's pressures. A consequential international

partnership between India and USA in the 21 century for

rebalancing the world need not force India to toe the US

line in all issues of differences.

Also, India and Russia share a unique and enviable history

and their friendship has stood the test of time. It is in the

interest of both the countries not to let their relations with a

third country affect this friendship. It is also imperative

that both nations work to iron out the issues that bedevil

their relationship. New Delhi and Moscow must

understand that there is tremendous potential waiting to

be harnessed and the enormous benefits it can bring to

people of both the countries. Both the countries must work

to achieve this goal.

Evolving better people-to-people relations with Pakistan

and focusing on more balanced trade relations with China

shall be the other two priorities for India in the next few

years.

The Indian diaspora, with more than 25 million people

across the world need not see the role of India in the new

emerging world order from tinted glasses of the past-

conflicts with Pakistan and China, ambivalence with UK

and France, and opportunistic relations with USA and

Russia. It needs to acknowledge the leadership role of

India in global affairs, with a permanent seat in the UN

Security Council, taking leadership in re-structuring the

UN system and the World Bank, call for more active role in

the G 20 forum, use reconciliation as the tool to sort out its

conflicts in Kashmir and Northeast, evolving a fast and

evolving business relations with China and SoutheastAsia

as a whole, and tackling terrorism and divisive tendencies

domestically with firmness on one hand and a fast

development agenda to touch the most hapless 200 million

Indians on the other.

The Indian Diaspora now needs to engage in India's

economic development story more than ever before as a

good business proposition, and to make a difference in the

life of the common man with socio-economic growth. But

it also needs to look beyond the Union Government and

strike the right relations with the states, civil society,

voluntary organizations, etc.

Also, in USA, Canada, UK or in France, the Diaspora needs

to be Ambassadors of the 'New India in the making' more

than ever before. And, not be lost in culture, values, goals

and aspirations. Being an Indian and also being loyal to the

adopted homeland will be an

important aspect of the Global

Indian persona in this decade.

N e e d l e s s t o s a y, e ve r y

successful Indian abroad will

seek to have a foot on the

Indian soil more than ever before. The next Indian story is

too tempting to resist!

The NGI mandate is to be a partner in this story, to explore

its contours, unravel its layers, and tell the world all

nuances of this story. We salute the New India where two

out of every three Indians are below 35 years, one that has

the third largest technological pool of human resources of

the world, where no stone is thrown the day Ayodhya

verdict is out in spite of media hype, where corruption in

high places is getting exposed more than ever before, and

where the last bastion of casteism (Bihar) led by its women

give the strongest body blow to the menace of casteism in

Indian polity and votes for development. And finally, with

an eco-conscious economic growth in all sectors, the state

of Gujarat can become the model for the entire developing

world and a growth engine for India.

The next Global Agenda for India

Role of the Diaspora in this changing scenario

The NGI Mandate:

st


The NGI mandate is to be a partner in thisstory, to explore its contours, unravel its

layers, and tell the world all nuancesof this story.

Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury

Email: .ujjwalk [email protected]

Executive Director,

ISBM School of Communication

Pune, Kolkata, NOIDA, Bengaluru

An India that hosts three statesmen in less than three

months, and several others awaiting our Prime Minister's

visit, is a great shift in the political, economic and social

landscape. The President of the USA, France and the

Chinese President each one with one common agenda-

better economic engagement with India, and also

competing within themselves

to seek a better share in

economic partnership. A

country seeking to grow at 9

to10 percent growth rate will

always be the economic driver

in a highly interdependent globe.

Anew Indian is emerging with an intimidating reputation

to other world citizens. An Indian is talented, skilled and

educated enough to replace you in your job and challenge

professionally. Our new generation will live through an

era where the new reputation of an Indian, one who

would be taken seriously by the rest of the world. A proud

Indian is no longer a fantasy but a reality that we are living

today. You can seek to be a proud Indian and be fully

acknowledged as someone to be taken seriously in the

new world of social, economic, technological and political

convergence.

While it is great feeling, it's also a great responsibility that

each one of carry. Responsibilities to participate, engage

and activate a social transformation that will bring a basic

economic standard and help us cope with the demands of

this transition. Given the reach of technology and rapid

adaptation by all Indians, influences of global culture and

life-style are unavoidable. A new meaning of Indian

society will evolve and strife and social transition in this

period would have to be dealt with. Sometimes, it may

turn out to be painful.

In seeking this transformation, we encounter a natural

pull of consumerism, capitalism and cultural shift among

youth especially, actively promoted by industry seeking to

expand their markets. On the other hand you encounter

social, and ethnic and cultural groups seeking to resist,

sometimes even violently. You still have others who are

Some Worries and Some Joys:

It is possible to promote respect for newlyemerging economic life. We can train and

empower people to build some basiceconomic living for all human beings.


Transforming India:Challenges of Social Transition

Dr. Pramod Kumar sees a fundamental gap in our present education system

engaged into endless debate over what is good for India.

Enormous economic value of 80 million Indians using

mobile phone access is often forgotten; middle income

group Indians flying is forgotten. Large scale

employment in different organized and unorganized

sectors is ignored and all kinds of violent protests are

organized in the name of Indian culture, when changing

Indian values need to be understood and assimilated into

our ways of living.

It is difficult to seek economic equality and social

uniformity in a society that will be driven by labels such as

those of being locals, migrants, and having the same

economic aspirations. Let's celebrate that India is now a

land of economic opportunities. Debate over socialism is

dead, how long do we want to carry the ghost of socialistic

thinking to create social strife in the name of poor people?

As someone once said, “Capitalism is distributing wealth

to some fortunate ones. Socialism is distributing poverty

equally”. It is possible to promote respect for newly

emerging economic life. We can train and empower

people to build some basic economic living for all human

beings.

Economic power has replaced the feudal and ethnic

definition of social status and power. This is great news.

However, an effort to gain economic power and social

status has led to violations of norms- integrity and respect

to fellow human beings. Values such as integrity get

compromised while competing on economic worth and

economic quality of life by professionals. Somewhere, it

has started turning into social habit and some of us do not

even feel sorry about it. Law alone is no answer to such

large scale social deviations and professional aberrations.

We need to address it to children, their schools and their

education and learning. You can hang some, how does one

address growing up children who carry it in their social

genetics?

The great news that is emerging is the young

entrepreneurial generation in India. A large number of

youth are taking to entrepreneurship in area of services,

school education, information technology, catering,

transport and a variety of methods of self-employment.

Can we protect them from culture of delays in approvals

that lead to time, opportunity and economic losses, and

push them into dishonest ways? Can we create laws,

policies and processes that do not seek to control their

drive and initiatives in the name of flimsy rules,

regulations and procedures? The basic assumption that

business is dishonest and bad must be removed as a

guiding principle in policy making.

If law is the only definition of integrity, it will be difficult

to build a society that displays conscience in action. If new

generations can learn new food habits, new entertainment

habits, new music and new pattern of clothing, we can

market meaning of integrity to new generation. You do not

need social activists to champion the cause of social values

and adopt methods that promote social segmentation and

confrontation. Political segmentation will not help either.

We need education and parenting to build a better society.

Lessons of integrity and value system are learned in

homes and schools at an early age, not in fifties. Can we

address our new generation? Rather than teaching

conservative social norms, ethnic differentiation through

social segmentation that only promotes honour killing,

can we teach them human

equality. We need to

empower our young

minds.

We need to look at our

education not only in

terms of access but also

the need, content, and

p r o c e s s e s . S c h o o l

education must empower

them with values and

power to think rather

t h a n j u s t h i s t o r y,

geography, math and

science. Skill and professional education must enable

them to seek economic opportunity. It must capture the

full range of economic opportunity. Legislate for seeking

integrity and not control the content and process. You can

monitor certificate, degree and diploma but cannot

monitor learning and it economic value. The most wise

approach will only lead to following the law and not

conscience and taking responsibility for value delivery.

Let's compete on economic

p r o m i s e a n d v a l u e o f

professional education rather

distribution of valueless

degrees and diplomas.

An India based on our value systems of the past, and

pedagogical interventions in current education systems

would lead to individuals who value performance and

integrity as two sides of the same coin- the coin of success.

Empower Young Minds with Values, Skills and

Education

Dr. Pramod Kumar is currrently

the President of ISB&M Group

of Institutes. He is a Ph.D from

IIT, Bombay and the former

Director, SIBM, Pune. He has

a l s o w o r k e d w i t h I I M ,

Ahmedabad & IIT Mumbai.

EDUCATION


Only social activists do not need tochampion the cause of social values, the

learning must be expanded to other arenas.

2010 has been an important year for India, as we received

visits from major industrial and political countries from

around the world (details in our cover story), and received

renewed interest in our burgeoning economy as the rest of

the world stares at de-growth.

2010 was also an eventful year for Indian diplomacy,

which witnessed a qualitative expansion of strategic

relations with key partner countries and a robust

engagement with India's neighbours. In a year of

unprecedented diplomatic

engagements, the Government

of India hosted 24 Heads of

States/ Governments and 30

Foreign Minister level visitors.

In the same period, the Indian

President, Vice President and Prime Minister visited 5, 6

a n d 1 1 c o u n t r i e s r e s p e c t i ve l y f o r va r i o u s

multilateral/bilateral engagements. The External Affairs

Minister, Shri S.M. Krishna, visited 18 countries, in which

most of India's diplomatic engagement naturally focused

on the neighbourhood.

With this background, the ninth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

(PBD) Convention will be held at Vigyan Bhawan, New

Delhi, from 7-9 January 2011. Organised by the Ministry of

Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), in partnership with the

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region along

with eight North Eastern States and the Confederation of

Indian Industry (CII), this flagship event of

MOIAwould be held in New Delhi, for the sixth

time.

The special feature of PBD-2011 is the

participation of Ministry of Development of

North Eastern Region and eight North Eastern States as

partner. There will be a plenary session for the Chief

Ministers of North Eastern States. This would provide the

Diaspora with an opportunity to understand the

tremendous potential of this beautiful part of India.

The focus of PBD 2011 is going to be on the young overseas

Indian. In an endeavour to connect with and engage the

younger generation of the overseas Indians with emerging

India, a plenary session on “Engaging with the young

overseas Indian” is being organized. Two pre-conference

seminars on 'Education' and 'Health care' are proposed,

that would offer new opportunities to the Diaspora to

participate in these sectors in India.

The Chief Guest for this 9 edition of PBD is Sir Anand

Satyanand, Governor General of New Zealand. We are

also expecting as usual a large number of PIO Ministers,

Members of Parliament, VVIPs and other dignitaries from

several countries.

There will be parallel interactive sessions on topics

important to the Diaspora, including Industry round

tables and special sessions on Information,

Communication & Entertainment (ICE). In keeping with

the established practice, the Prime Minister of India will

inaugurate the Convention on 8th January. Smt Pratibha

Devisingh Patil, President of India, will present the

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards-2011 to distinguished

PIOs/NRIs and deliver the Valedictory Address on 9

January.

The PBD Conventions provide a platform for

exchange of views and networking to overseas

Indians on matters of common interest and concern to

them. They also help the Government of India to better

th

th

The PBD helps the Government of India tobetter understand and appreciate theexpectations of the overseas Indian

community.


Pravasis come homeThe Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has something in store for each visiting delegate, learns Karan Rajpal

understand and appreciate the expectations of the

overseas Indian community from the land of their

ancestors and more importantly, acknowledge the

important role played by them in India's efforts to acquire

its rightful place in the comity of nations.

Consultations at earlier PBDs have led to the formulation

of the Overseas Citizenship of India scheme,

establishment of Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre,

conceptualisation of Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, formation

of Prime Minister's Global Advisory Council of people of

Indian Origin, setting up of the India Development

Foundation, and the launching of the Global Indian

Network of Knowledge (Global-INK).

Delegates to the PBD 2011 would see a new New Delhi.

While Delhi has received continuous growth, the last year,

with the commonwealth games has made the city a truly

world-class destination. With the Metro covering all major

destinations, and multiple flyovers, underpasses and

other road projects have made commuting a hassle-free

experience.

The first point of contact, the international airport would

be the first pleasant surprise for delegates from all over the

world. They land at a world-class terminal which equals or

exceeds leading airports across the globe. T3, as it is

popularly known, is not just a new airport terminal, but a

new Airport complex, that has been made from the

ground up.

While Delegates attend the PBD, they would be hosted at

various new five-star hotels that have sprung up across the

city. Unlike the last wave of hotels, the construction of

hotels has been vast and

across the city, rather than

being contained in certain

pockets.

The PBD, both as a knowledge

event, and as a networking opportunity would provide

delegates with a renewed hope and a very good reason to

visit their homeland again.

INTERNATIONAL


The Government of India hosted 24 Headsof States/ Governments and 30 Foreign

Minister level visitors in 2010.

Friday, 7 January 2011

Parallel PBD Seminar Series

Seminar on Education

Seminar on Health

Diaspora role models from North

East, Success Stories - DoNER

Cultural Program by

ICCR

Dinner hosted

by MEA (

:

Session I : Investment Potential in

Education : Technology and trends

Session II : Right to Education :

Responsibility of Diaspora

Session I : Healthnext Public

Private Partnership in India

Session II : Public Health : Engaging

the Diaspora

at

Vigyan Bhawan Annexe

Taj Palace Hotel)

0900-1340 hrs

1030 1230 hrs

1900 2030 hrs

2030 hrs onwards

�

�

Saturday, 8 January 2011

Inaugural Session with Hon'ble Prime Minister of India

Parallel Sessions

Cultural Program by DoNER Ministry

Dinner hosted by DoNER Ministry

Plenary Session I : Engaging Young Overseas Indians

(Keynote address by Mr Sam Pitroda)

Plenary Session II : Opportunity India Interaction with

Group of Union Ministers (Keynote address by Mr Pranab

Mukherjee, Minister of Finance, GoI

Plenary Session III : Investment opportunities in North

Eastern Region (Address by Chief Ministers of NE States)

:

ICE (Information, Communication & Entertainment):

Branding the Global Indian

Strengthening Cultural Bonds with the Global Indian

Gulf Session

Philanthropy : Diaspora Initiative

(Taj

Palace Hotel)

0900 1000 hrs

1030 1130 hrs

1130 1255 hrs

1400 1600 hrs

1615-1730 hrs

1930 2100 hrs

2100 hrs onwards

�

�

�

�

Sunday, 9 January 2011

Parallel State Sessions

0930 1130 hrs

1200 1300 hrs

1400 1530 hrs

1600 1700 hrs

1900 2030 hrs

2030 hrs onwards

Plenary Session IV : Interaction

with Chief Ministers on Inclusive

Growth

PBD Oration Prof CK Prahalad

Memorial Lecture (by Prof

Gautam Ahuja)

Valedictory session with Hon'ble

President of India

Conferment of Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Awards by the

President of India

Bollywood Extravaganza

(with Shaan and Aakriti Kakkar)

Dinner hosted by MOIA

(Taj Palace Hotel)

Engaging the Global Indian: 7-9 January 2011: Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi

INTERNATIONAL

The latest UN climate change conference in Cancun,

Mexico ended on 10 December on optimistic note. After

the failure in Copenhagen in 2009, Cancun conference was

also expected to end in disagreements and in ineffective

compromise. After disastrous Copenhagen summit, there

was a growing fear that the effort to avert serious climate

change had lost impetus. Fortunately the Cancun

conference ended on a far more upbeat note.

The extraordinary negotiating skills of Costa Rican

Diplomat and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana

Figures, with help and last minute intervention and

flexibility of Indian Minister

Jairam Ramesh, saved the day.

The overal l transparent

conduct of the negotiations,

e v e n d u r i n g t h e f i n a l

ministerial phase, was in

complete contrast to the rude, ham-handed, and strong-

arm tactics of the Danish Chairperson of the Copenhagen

Conference.

Climate change is a result of the catastrophic

environmental degradation caused by human activities.

About 20 % of the world's population living in the EU and

North America, using 75% of the world's resources, are

primarily responsible for the environmental degradation

and climate change. Even the major responsibility for

some of the commercial scale deforestation and rich

plantations in the southern hemisphere are owned or

managed by corporations from the Industrialised

countries. This is mainly to supply low cost commodities

and products to their citizens.

A number of emerging economies are increasing their

industries and energy generation, resulting in higher

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is expected to offer

employments, improved standard of living and reduce

poverty. In many cases these commercial operations are

designed to export products and services to distribution

outlets and consumers in the developed economies.

In recent years nearly all the UN conferences portrayed

China and India as major polluters, non-cooperative and

likely to be responsible for the future environmental

degradation. They are also accused of blocking the

decision processes in the UN conferences.

Although China and India are large carbon dioxide

emitters, this is mainly due to their large populations. In

term of per head GHG emissions they emit significantly

less GHS than the emissions from the industrialised

countries. Annual per capita GHG emission in China is

about 4 tonnes & India it is 1.2 tonne. In comparison

average annual per capita GHG emissions are over 23

tonnes for North America and 18 tonnes for the EU, Japan

andAustralia.

The quality of human life in the modern world depends on

the availability of reliable and affordable power supply.

Over 70% inhabitants of the developing countries do not

have access to this energy source. For the large

populations in the third world, major use of energy is for

basic survival: cooking their daily food.

At present annual per capita energy consumption of

electricity in Indonesia, the Philippines and most of the

African nations is about 450-500 kWh, as against 12,900

kWh in USA, 12000 to 15000 kWh in Canada, Norway,

Sweden and Finland, between 7000 to 10000 kWh in the

rest of the EU countries, while it is 2200 kWh in China and

500 kWh in India. Similar to number of other developing

countries, more than half of Indian and Chinese citizens

do not have access to reliable and uninterrupted supplies

of commercial power to meet their basic needs.

With usage of just under 4% of NorthAmericans, and 8.5 %

of EU per capita electricity consumption and low per

capita GHG emission, India should not make any

commitments on emission reduction that will

condemn

their population poverty.

th

compromise

economic development, industrialisation and

to chronic

The quality of human life in the modernworld depends on the availability of reliable

and affordable power supply.

INTERNATIONAL


UN Climate Change Conferences: Kyoto to CancunDr. Prabhu Kulkarni, President, GOPIO Ireland, explains the ramifications of the Cancun Climate Change Conference.

We should not neglect the fact

that both India and China are

classified by the UN as low

income countries. The annual

per capita income in India is

US $ 1,200 and US $ 4,500 in

China. This is significantly

lower than the average per

capita income of the middle

income countries of East Asia,

Southern America, North

Africa and the Middle East (of

about US $ 8,000 to 10.000)

and in the rich countries

(about US $ 40.000 to 60,000).

The wasteful and affluent

lifestyle in the industrial

countries is primarily responsible for the environmental

degradation & climate Change. International pressure

(particularly from the EU) on India, China and other low

income countries smacks of opportunism. Former

Imperial powers, which inflicted opium war on China,

destroyed Indian textile & other manufacturing industries

during the17th century and exploited colonies in Asia,

Africa and South America for over 200 years, are now

using the Climate Change to maintain their prosperity.

The climate change and GHG emissions are increasingly

used as non tariff trade barriers. This is likely to result in

the continuation of poverty in developing countries, and

enhance the income gap between rich and poor countries.

EU Member States have made a lot of noise without real

action on climate change without fulfilling their

international commitments developing countries. The

First International agreement, Kyoto Protocol was to limit

GHG emissions in developed economies to 1990 levels by

the year 2000. It was abandoned in 1996-97, to satisfy

increasing environmental concerns in their countries to do

more to avert climate change, and was replaced with a new

pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below 8% of

1990 levels by 2012.

Now goal posts have

changed again and

d i s c u s s i o n s o n

r e d u c i n g G H G

emissions to 15% by

2020 and 50% by 2030.

Some EU member

states and Japan are

p r o p o s i n g t o

completely abandon

the Kyoto Protocol

and its commitments

to create a new treaty

w h i c h w i l l a l s o

i m p o s e s e v e r e

c o m m i t m e n t s o n

developing countries

and commit them to reducing their GHS emissions.

Less than 10% of the funds promised under various

previous conferences are offered to developing countries

for reduction of GHG emissions by using alternative

energy technologies.

I believe that in order to achieve success in the Future UN

conferences need to insist on binding Commitments from

industrialised countries and need to substantial verifiable

new funds; to be managed by international organisations

with equal participation of developing countries.

India, China and other large developing countries should

consider making commitments that they will not exceed

their per capita GHG emissions more than 60% of the

NorthAmerican or 75% of EU emission of 2008, by 2030 (or

2050 or any agreed dates).

The major achievement of the

latest UN Climate change

Conference in Cancún is that it

has revitalised and kept Kyoto

protocol alive and allowed for

a process of meaningful

international discussions to take place without

downgrading its importance. However like several

previous UN conferences, it ended without binding

commitments or effective agreements.

Dr Prabhu Kulkarni is the founding President of

GOPIO Ireland. He is a member of the Board of

Trusties of the London based international

Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and past-

President of the Ireland India Cultural Society,

one of the most active cultural societies in Ireland

in 1980s.


Less than 10% of the funds promised undervarious previous conferences are offered todeveloping countries for reduction of GHG

emissions by using alternative energytechnologies.

BBC News: Monday, 24 , December, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8411768.stm

th

Not long ago the term 'Hindu' was largely a negative word

in the world media. To say that one was a Hindu was to

associate oneself with caste, poverty, overpopulation and

lack of education the social evils of India, one of the most

backward countries in the world. The result was that most

Hindus declined to state their religion or were apologetic

about it, including the many Hindu gurus who traveled to

the West. This situation, however, is now beginning to

change in a significant manner.

Today Hindus have emerged as one

of the best educated and most

affluent of all the minorities in the US,

UK and Canada. Overseas Hindus

run some of the most important

businesses in the world as well as in

their own adopted countries. Their

success is now extending into a

second generation as their children

continue in high level occupations,

following a strong family and

cultural seeking of high education.

And this has largely occurred

without overseas Hindus giving up

their religious identity or their spiritual practices. There

are now beautiful new Hindu temples, like the many

Swaminarayan Mandirs, in most of the main cities of the

West that are beacons of this new success. Hindus are also

gaining a political voice in the West that western

politicians are willing to increasingly hear.

India itself is also developing rapidly economically, with

perhaps the largest middle class in the world that is largely

Hindu in its population, and one that is

well educated and can communicate in

the English language. India based

companies are acquiring assets and

spreading their influence throughout

the world. These trends are likely to

develop more rapidly in the future as

the US and Europe continue to decline

at an economic level and Asia continues

to assert itself and grow. Meanwhile

this new middle class in India is

proudly Hindu in its expression,

building new temples, going on

pilgrimages, attending festivals in large

numbers and no longer feeling


UniversalHinduism

Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley) explains the emerging New Hindu Identity.

ashamed of its ancient traditions. For them to be Hindu is

not merely a shadow from the past but a light for the future

and a heritage that they feel proud of. Poorer Hindus are

now looking to this new Hindu middle class as their role

models as well.

At the same time, many people of non-Hindu birth or non-

Indian origin worldwide are taking up Hindu based

teachings like Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedic astrology,

, Indian music and dance. A significant percentage

of the Western population accepts Hindu beliefs like

karma and reincarnation and a pluralistic view of religion

that there are many paths and not just one true faith for all.

While most of these people may not regard themselves

formally as Hindus, they have deep sympathies with

Hindu teachings and the Hindu tradition, with some

formally now becoming Hindus as well. For those in the

West today, the term Hinduism suggests this new success

of overseas Hindus and their attraction to Hindu

teachings, not the old missionary stereotypes of Hinduism

as primitive, superstitious or even a work of the devil.

The result is that the term Hindu is gaining a much more

positive meaning, both in India and the world as a whole.

To say that one is a Hindu is to associate oneself with a

powerful community and great spiritual tradition that is

at the forefront of positive global development, not in the

background. This reassertive Hinduism is gradually

replacing the apologetic Hinduism of previous

generations.

The question then arises: “What

does it mean to be a Hindu?”

This important question is

particularly significant for

Hindus living in the West, as

well as for westerners who want to become Hindus, as

they must explain to the general non-Hindu population

around them who they are and what they are doing. It

raises the additional question: “What constitutes a Hindu

identity?” What those who proclaim their Hindu identity

bhajan,

kirtan Hindu Identity and the Universality of Hinduism as

Sanatana Dharma

Yoga, Vedanta and Ayurveda, along withrelated teachings and disciplines are

branches of Hinduism or Sanatana Dharmaas the greater tradition.

CULTURE


first discover is that there is a lot of acceptance of

Hinduism by the non-Hindu world and that to proclaim

that one is a Hindu is not to raise a red flag in the minds of

others. The Hindu community is known not to be

problematical but to be peaceful, helpful and aiding in the

general prosperity of the countries in which they reside.

Yet a certain dilemma relative to Hindu identity remains.

Over the last century, Hinduism has projected itself in the

world arena largely through teachings regarded as

universal like Yoga and Vedanta, which are presented as

not limited to any particular religion or country, meaning

specifically not limited to Hinduism or India. Because of

this trend towards universalism, many people in the

world think that teachings like Yoga are not Hindu in

essence but relate to some other older or broader tradition

which is only secondarily connected to what would be

called Hinduism in the world today. These universal

spiritual teachings arising from the Hindu context are

often dissociated from the idea of Hinduism as a religion,

which may be reduced to ritual and temple worship or

other Hindu social customs.

What such people fail to understand is that

This universality of Dharmic traditions is also reflected in

the Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh traditions that are often

accepted as part of the greater fabric of Hinduism and

which share similar teachings and practices.

It is not that Yoga is universal and Hinduism is but a

narrowly formulated creed or simply one religion among

many.

That is why in

the universality

of Hindu based teachings like Yoga and Vedanta derives from the

greater universality of Hinduism itself, which is rooted in the

idea of Sanatana Dharma or a universal and eternal tradition of

truth that is not limited to any particular book, person,

community or revelation and is open to the whole of truth, both

in the outer world of nature and the inner realm of

consciousness.

The same universal principles of Dharma apply not just

to Yoga, but to the Hindu tradition as a whole.


India, Hinduism is often defined as a way of life rather

than only a particular religious belief. Besides being a

religion in terms of ethical teachings and showing us a

way to gain immortality and Self-realization, Hinduism

contains a complete and comprehensive spiritual culture

and spiritual science that pervades the whole of life,

covering everything from music to medicine, from

architecture to astrology, from the art of cooking to the

highest meditation methods.

The additional question therefore arises:

Can they share their teachings

like Yoga and Vedanta without creating the notion that

such teachings are somehow different from Hinduism,

with Hinduism itself being something inferior?

The answer to this question is clearly yes. And the solution

is very simple. This is to create a greater awareness and

education about Sanatana Dharma not only for the entire

world but also for all Hindus, who seldom understand,

study or can explain the greater tradition that they are part

of.

Sanatana Dharma recognizes a single universal law that

derives from a unitary consciousness which pervades the

entire universe. The different sects of Hinduism like the

Shaivite, Vaishnava and Shakta or modern sampradayas

like Swaminarayan or Arya Samaj, or all the modern Yoga-

Vedanta movements since Vivekananda are but aspects or

formulations out of this same Sanatana Dharma, not

something entirely new or different. Yoga is part of the

Moksha Dharma or spiritual liberation side of Sanatana

Dharma that constitutes its highest dharma. Vedanta is the

philosophical tradition of Sanatana Dharma. Ayurveda is

its healing approach and so on.

In other words, Yoga, Vedanta and Ayurveda, along with

related teachings and disciplines are branches of

Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma as the greater tradition. It

is not that Yoga is the greater tradition of which Hinduism

or Hindu Yoga is just one facet. This must be clearly

understood. Hinduism formulated as Sanatana Dharma

can reclaim all of its branches and need not be reduced to

or made subordinate to

any of them. It can also

enrich all of them by

connecting them with

the culture and related

teachings that they are

organically part of.

Yet as a universal

tradition rooted in

nature not simply in

historical revelation,

Hinduism teaches us,

like ecology, that though we need to think globally we still

need to act locally. Hindu identity consists of various local

adaptations of the Sanatana Dharma according to

particular gurus, lineages, deity lines and so on, as

adapted to various individuals, communities and

cultures. Hinduism is not a mere vague universalism but

one that has been adapted to time, place and person for

centuries. It can be readapted to current times, places and

individuals as well, without losing its greater universal

orientation or its specific identity.

As time moves on, the term Hindu will provide as much a

source of pride and identity as that of any religious

affiliation or denomination, if not more. But it will do so

without exclusivism and intolerance on one side, or

apathy and apologetics on the

other. Such a vibrant Sanatana

Dharma will be able to draw in

individuals and cultures from

all over the world, helping

them to discover their true nature and place in this

wonderful universe of Being-Consciousness-Bliss or

Sacchidananda.

That resurgent Hinduism and new arising of Sanatana

Dharma is crucial for all humanity and can help lead us to

a future that not only brings a higher consciousness into

humanity but restores our balance with all of nature.

Can Hindus show

the universality of their teachings but also preserve their unique

identity as Hindus as well?

Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is a

western born knowledge-holder in the Vedic tradition. In

India, Vamadeva is recognized not only as a Vedacharya

(Vedic teacher), but also as a Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor

and teacher), Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer), Puranic (Vedic

historian), a Hindu acharya (Hindu religious teacher) and

a Raja Yogi. He has written several dozen books on the

related topics. www.vedanet.com


Hindus are also gaining a political voice inthe West that western politicians are willing

to increasingly hear.

The Indian technology industry got its start running call

centers and doing low-level IT work for western firms.

Then, in the 2000s, it started taking on higher-level IT

tasks, offering management consulting services, and

performing sophisticated R&D. Now there is another

transition happening, one far more significant: a transition

to development of innovative technology products.

Instead of providing IT services as the big outsourcing

companies do, a new breed of startups is developing high-

value products based on intellectual property. The Indian

industry group NASSCOM

estimates that in 2008, the

country's software product

revenues totaled $1.64 billion.

It forecasts that this will grow

to $11 billion per year by 2015.

I attended the NASSCOM Product Enclave in Bangalore,

this week, and gave several talks to the 1000+

entrepreneurs in attendance. I was surprised at the

changes that are powering the new transition: its tech

workers are leaving high-paying jobs in IT services, and

kids out of school are ignoring social taboos against failure

and defying marriage customs to become entrepreneurs.

A few Americans are also joining the fray, starting their

ventures in India rather than in Silicon Valley. Though in

China, returnees from the U.S. are fuelling the

entrepreneurship boom, they aren't as important in India.

Sadly for my Indian friends in Silicon Valley who are

looking to return home, returneesformerly in high

demand and treated like rock starsare out of vogue and

now treated like rocks.

Why are highly paid workers in an industry that does

lucrative contract work for multinationals jumping ship?

It's the same dynamic as you observe in the United States.

Entrepreneurs start their companies when they are, on

average, 39 years of age. They have 10 to 15 years of work

experience and ideas for products that solve real customer

problems; they get tired of working for jerk bosses; and

they want to build wealth before they retire. So they defy

their fear of failure and take the plunge into

entrepreneurship.

India's outsourcing industry is about 20 years old and has

hundreds of thousands of workers with 10 to 15 years of

experience and ideas for innovative products.

At the NASSCOM event, I met dozens of tech-service

industry workers who had become entrepreneurs. A

surprisingly high proportion weren't developing

products for their former customers, but were instead

looking inward to solve India's problems. The one who

impressed me the most was K. Chandrasekhar, of Forus

Health.

Chandrasekhar learned that that the vast majority of the 12

million people in India who are blind could have

maintained their sight if only their problems had been

diagnosed and treated on time. The diagnostic equipment

for a single hospital cost at least US$60,000which put it out

of the reach of most regional clinicsand required

ophthalmologists to perform the diagnosis .

Chandrasekhar and Forus cofounder Shyam Vasudev

decided to leave their jobs as senior executives at NXP

Semiconductor (an offshoot of Philips) to create an

affordable, all-in-one intelligent pre-screening

device that is non-invasive and can be used by

minimally trained technicians in rural India. The

device provides an indicative report in 10 minutes

for five major eye-related problems, including

diabetic retina. This frees the doctor up to treat

patients rather than administer tests. The product

costs less than $15,000, and Forus expects the price

to drop to half that in volume production.

Another impressive entrepreneur at the

NASSCOM event was Vishal Gondal. In youth

entrepreneurship, Gondal is the Bill Gates of India.

He dropped out of college to start his first company

when he was 16, and launched his big

successIndiagameswhen he was 23. He sold part of

his company for a multi-million dollar sum 2005.

So far, the biggest inhibitor of youthentrepreneurship in India has been thesocial stigma associated with failure.

TECHNOLOGY


The Future of Indian TechnologyVivek Wadhwa reflects on the present and future trends in the Indian Technology Industry

He now mentors young entrepreneurs and invest in

startups via his fund called Sweat & Blood Venture

Group.

But college-dropout tech entrepreneurs like Gondal

are extremely rare in India. Most make the wise choice

to complete their education before joining a startup. So

far, the biggest inhibitor of youth entrepreneurship in

India has been the social stigma associated with failure

and the low social esteem bestowed on startups. In the

arranged-marriage systemwhich is still the norm in

Indiaa young male who joined a company such as

Infosys or IBM would command the best marriage

proposals, and those who took the startup path risked

trading down. No longer. All of the young

entrepreneurs I met said either that they had told their

parents that they would find their own partners, or that

their parents supported their decision.

It also used to be that nearly all the graduates of India's

prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

would join investment banks or take senior positions in

the outsourcing industry. Given the huge salaries these

workers commanded, entrepreneurship was out of the

question. Yet I met dozens of entrepreneurs who had left

these institutions and were now risking it all on

entrepreneurship. Two such are Pavan Thatha and

Rakesh Thatha.

After completing his MBA from IIT-Bombay and working

in the outsourcing industry for four years, Pavan Thatha

persuaded his brother Rakesh, an IIT-Madras graduate, to

leave his job at Computer Associates India and start a

security-software firm called Arrayshield. That was in

May 2010. By October 2010, they had hired two more

IITans who left new jobs at Oracle India and John Deere.

The new recruits took 75% paycuts. The recruits received

intense pressure from their family not to take the risktheir

parents couldn't understand why they would leave

prestigious, high-paying jobs to risk it all. But they were

determined to be part of the journey of the brothers, to do

something to make a difference and change the world.

And it isn't just the Indians who are seeing opportunity in

India.

Valerie Rozycki had always wanted to be an entrepreneur

and was keenly interested in emerging markets while a

student at Stanford University. She believed India's

growing economy would provide great opportunities for

someone like her. She had an idea to build a mobile

engagement platform based on dialing numbers or

“missed calls” (most Americans are not familiar with the

concept of “missed calls”, but in the developing world,

they are a common way of sending a short message: “I'm

on my way home”, “pick me up”, “I love you”, etc.). So, in

February 2010 she started a company called ZipDial, in

Bangalore. The company

leverages “missed calls” in

marketing campaignsto log

votes.

Valerie clearly has many great opportunities in Silicon

Valley. When I asked her what a (white) gal like her was

doing in a place like Bangalore, she smiled and said,

“when all of the action is in Bangalore, who needs Silicon

Valley?”

Guest writer Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned

academic. He is a Visiting Scholar at UC-Berkeley,

Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School and

Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship

and Research Commercialization at Duke University.

You can follow him on Twitter at @vwadhwa and find

his research at www.wadhwa.com.


It isn't just the Indians who are seeingopportunity in India.

As India forays into various civil nuclear co-operation

agreements with countries such as France, Russia and the

US, India's policy planners should well remember that

there are smaller but important players in the nuclear

energy market. Just as it is important for India to be a

member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and be on

the right side of the NSG, it is

also equally important for us

as a sovereign nation to have

access to nuclear fuel and raw

material legitimately from all

commercial sources. Time and

again, in the procurement of

hydrocarbons and raw materials, we have lost out to

China, which has made major inroads into Africa's

hydrocarbon and mineral market. It is time for us to plan

proactively since nuclear energy is going to constitute a

significant part of our total national energy requirements

in the 21st century. We don't always have to look up to

Uncle Sam for our nuclear energy requirements and the

ways to obtain reliable sources of raw material for nuclear

fuel.

It is likely that there will be a significant lag period in

developing thorium fired nuclear energy reactors. It is also

a fact that we as a nation will not be able to mine uranium

in Meghalaya on a larger scale owing to political reasons.

Japan is still reluctant to do nuclear commerce with India.

We continue to have difficulty with Australia in brokering

a civil nuclear energy agreement. They refuse to sell

uranium to India while doing so without any qualms to

China. Such a scenario limits our sources of raw uranium

for nuclear energy production. We will have to diversify

our sources for raw uranium for our nuclear energy needs.

It is thus time to look to other sources for our

requirements, a possible source being the Republic of

Niger, a developing, landlocked, Francophone country of

fifteen million tribal population.

The Republic of Niger has been troubled by numerous

military coups but still maintains a legal, rule-based

Uranium ore (yellow cake) is Niger's largestexport. Some Indian investment in the

cash-starved economy of Niger will helpcreate a win-win situation.


In the line for FuelA Adityanjee explains India's urgent need to secure sources of Uranium ore, and suggests a way out.

system of international commerce. It remains at peace

with its neighbours. Niger pursues a moderate foreign

policy and maintains friendly relations with the West and

the Islamic world as well as non-aligned countries. It

belongs to the United Nations and its main specialised

agencies and in 1980-81 served on the UN Security

Council. It maintains a special relationship with its former

colonial power France. Indeed, France had provided India

with nuclear fuel for the Tarapore Nuclear reactor (TAPS)

when the US reneged on the bilateral contractual

agreement. France had taken a very pragmatic view of

Pokhran-II in 1998 unlike rest of the Western world. France

has been an ardent supporter of India's civilian nuclear

programme even prior to the 2005 Indo-US agreement.

France had signed a civil nuclear agreement with India

following the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver

which preceded the formal Indo-US agreement. India

needs to exploit the special relationship France enjoys

with the Republic of Niger in forging a trilateral nuclear

c o m m e r c i a l a n d m e r c a n t i l e r e l a t i o n s h i p .

The Republic of Niger's subsistence economy is based on

two or three commodities. Uranium ore (yellow cake) is

Niger's largest export. Foreign exchange earnings from

livestock export are second. Export of other raw materials

also helps the national exchequer. Substantial deposits of

phosphates, coal, iron, limestone, and gypsum also have

been found in the Republic of Niger. The persistent

uranium price slump has brought lower revenues for

Niger's uranium sector, although uranium still provides

72 per cent of national export proceeds. Therefore, this is

the time for India to sign a long-term agreement with

Niger at a low fixed price for several decades. It is

important to remember that the Republic of Niger is not a

member of the NSG. It will be easier to negotiate an

agreement with a non-NSG member like Niger because it

would not make signing the NPT as a pre-requisite unlike

Australia or Japan.

The Republic of Niger enjoyed substantial export earnings

and rapid economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s

after the opening of two large uranium mines near the

northern town of Arlit. When the uranium-led boom

ended in the early 1980s, however, the economy stagnated,

and new investment since then has been limited. Niger's

two uranium minesSOMAIR's open pit mine and

COMINAK's underground mineare owned by a French-

led consortium and are operated by French interests.

However, as of 2007, many licences have been given to

other companies from countries such as Canada and

Australia in order to exploit new deposits. It is time that

Indian companies too, both private and public sector, open

their account in the Niger and obtain these independent

licences to exploit new deposits of uranium ore. The

sooner we do that, better it

would be for our long-term

national interests.

China should not upstage India yet again in harvesting

this important source of yellow cake. Nor do we wish

Pakistan to play the Islamic card as Niger is a Muslim

majority nation-state. Let us not forget that Pakistan is

multiplying its nuclear arsenal at an astonishing pace. It is

single-handedly blocking any efforts to negotiate the

Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty, despite being a US ally.

The Department of Atomic Energy and the Ministry of

External Affairs need to do their homework fast and

approach the national government of Republic of Niger

for a long-term agreement for mining uranium ore for

India. Some Indian investment in the cash-starved

economy of Niger will help create a win-win situation. If

we can rope in our French friends in a multi-lateral

venture in the Republic of Niger, all the better.

Dr Adityanjee is President, Council for Strategic Affairs,

New Delhi. E-Mail: [email protected]

ECONOMY


In the procurement of hydrocarbons andraw materials, we have lost out to China.

2010 Market Review: Decent 17% Gain; Follows

Sparkling 81% Rise In 2009

2011 Forecast: Bull Market

To Continue But With Sober Returns Like 2010

2010 Performance of Asian/western Markets:

1. The SENSEX closed 2010 at 20,509 - a decent 17% gain,

especially after a sparkling 81% rise in 2009;

2. In November the SENSEX crossed the previous all-time

closing high of 20,873 (last seen in Jan 08). The band this

year between the low and high was 5,215 points; this is

less than 2009's band of 9,305 points and 2008 of 12,422

points;

3. Quantitative easing in the

West created liquidity in

the system, and with India

b e i n g a m o n g o n l y a

handful of major economies

showing GDP growth above 8%, Foreign Institutional

Investors (FIIs) bought Indian shares worth a new

record US$29.3 bn. This far surpassed their previous

record of $18 bn in the bull market of 2007;

4. India continued to attract FII money, despite some of the

worst corruption scandals in the last decade, because of

the strong economy. This does not mask the urgent

need for a political and corporate governance "clean

up";

5 .

W i t h s t r o n g U S $

inflows, due to keen

foreign interest in India,

the Indian Rupee gained

nearly 4% to end at

Rs44.81 vs the US$. Last

year it rose 5%.

1. Forecast GDP growth of 8.8% for the fiscal y/e 3/11 and

9% for y/e 3/12. A 2-speed world economy set to

continue in 2011. India along with China will continue

as drivers of world economic growth;

2. Corporate profits growth expected of 17-20%. SENSEX

new all time highs to continue, although the first quarter

should be challenging due to higher interest rates and

stubbornly high inflation. Expected SENSEX band next

year: 17,000 25,000 as the economy strengthens. With

quantitative easing in the West creating liquidity,

money should flow to growth markets. FIIs expected to

continue to favour India. SENSEX should rise about

15% in 2011;

3. Interest rates expected to rise from early 2011 on worries

of higher inflation, stoked by higher food and oil prices;

4. IPOs, M&Aand PE deals to show decent growth in 2011.

So, what are the risks? They are, inter-alia:

1. Higher interest rates, to anchor inflationary

expectations, slow the Indian economy;

2. Global economic shocks;

3. Monsoons fail;

4. Unforeseen/external shocks (war/oil/other).

Sectors favoured: Infrastructure and construction, Banks,

I.T.,

Pharmas, Metals, Autos and Hotels. Expect another

volatile year.

Sri Lanka leads with a 91% gain, with Indonesia and

Thailand following with rises over 40%. Most Asia Pacific

markets show positive returns, though subdued

compared to 2009. Russia still manages a 25% rise after a

spectacular 154% gain last year.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)bought Indian shares worth a new record

US$29.3 bn.

ECONOMY


How the markets faredDeepak Lalwani reviews the Indian Financial market and decodes them for the Global investor

Delegates from over 40 countries are due to convene in

Delhi at the ground-breaking WE-ASC World Education

Culture Congress, 12 to 15th January.

This event, organised by Shruti

Foundation, is convened by Lady Shruti

Rana, the renowned musician and Indic

scholar. This four-day meet is designed

to explore traditional knowledge

systems, their value in modern

education culture and the role holistic

education can play in socio-economic

success and looking to the future:

sustainable development.

“I sincerely hope that our collective

endeavour will initiate a new dawn in

the evolution of 'education culture' and

societal development”.

Initiated in Delhi, the WE-ASC movement promotes

'mainstream' development of holistic teaching methods.

With this aim in mind, Lady Rana, the driving force

behind WE ASC, has initiated this forum for cross-cultural

debate on 'soft skills' and traditional knowledge systems.

This is particularly pertinent at a time when India faces a

'youth boom' and currently seeks to partner with external

providers to fulfil the increased demand for college and

university places.

One strategy towards holism with regard to education

might be the creation of a network of semi-independent

schools and private universities which are willing to

implement traditional knowledge systems. This may

provide a base from which to grow into the 'mainstream'

and thus begin a process of introducing change in terms of

expansion and inclusion of a traditional/holistic

curriculum with attendant evaluation systems.

Smt. Sheila Dikshit (Chief Minister of Delhi) will

inaugurate the congress, presided over by Dr Karan Singh

(MP) with special guest Dr Veerappa Moily, Union

Minister for Law and Justice. Plenary speakers include

Lord Meghnad Desai, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, H.H.

Anandmurti Gurumaa, Mr Parsuramen, Director,

UNESCO, Dr Sonal Mansingh, Kapil Dev and others. The

list of participants as diverse as it is long.

In terms of speakers, submission of papers and themes,

there are four key areas of discussion: pedagogy,

traditional knowledge, innovative curricula and revisiting

evaluation systems.

Planning is in place regarding the Congress resolutions.

Centring on education policy on educational and cultural

rights, ethics, course and curriculum development,

evaluation and accreditation, these directives are to be

followed-up with educational, cultural and research

institutions, policy-making and government bodies

internationally as well as the subsequent congresses

planned in SouthAfrica and UK among other countries.

Beyond the discussions and debates WE ASC is a cultural

event designed to facilitate links and collaborations.Ahost

of associated events have been scheduled to expose

delegates to traditional crafts, ancient techniques and

histories such as Nada Empowerment and Indian Sacred

Arts Workshops. The performance at the inaugural

cultural program by Ritu Samhara, (depicting the six

seasons with six dance styles choreographed by Pt. Birju

Maharaj) promises to add an exceptional atmosphere to

this unique occassion.

th

- Lady Shruti Rana

EDUCATION


WE ASC ushers in a Brave New WorldWE-ASC WORLD EDUCATION CULTURE CONGRESS

12th 15th January 2011, New Delhi, India

Congress Theme:

Special Focus:

“Relevance of Integral Applications in Formal “Education Culture”;

Soft Skills and Traditional Knowledge Systems (TKS)

Information panel:

12th 15th January 2011, New Delhi, India

Conceptualised and Organised by SHRUTI FOUNDATION

www.we-asc.org www.shrutifoundation.org

UNESCO, ICCR, BRITISH COUNCIL, NEHRU

MEMORIAL MUSEUM & LIBRARY, LIFE POSITIVE, NEW GLOBAL

INDIAN

Nehru Memorial, Museum And Library (Teen Murti Bhawan), India

Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

British Council, 17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi

WE-ASC CONGRESS: c/o Shruti Foundation 206 Southex Plaza, 389

Masjid Moth,South extension Part II, New Delhi 110049

phone: +91 11 26252532 | +91 11 26259209

email: [email protected]

Convener: email:[email protected]

Event manager: +91 9958781912

email: [email protected]

WE-ASC WORLD EDUCATION CULTURE CONGRESS

Partners:

Venues:

Lady Shruti Rana

Sanjay Goel

For Information and Registration, contact:

Yasmin Chandra-Singh profiles the upcoming education congress, the WE-ASC

The holiday and the New Year season

is a time of nostalgia as we remember

and respect the rich traditions of our

past. It's also a time of inspiration as

we optimistically anticipate an

abundant future. Also, most

certainly, it's a time of resolution as

we make plans to dream bigger and

live bolder.

That's true for each of us as

individuals, and it's also true for us at

AAHOA as we focus on our activities

during the year ahead.

In 2011, doing business in the hotel

industry in America will continue to

mean complexity, complications and

change. AAHOA will help hoteliers

adapt to this challenging marketplace

in four meaningful, measurable ways.

First and foremost, our advocacy with franchisors and

government bodies at the national, state and local levels

will remain strong. Our work on behalf of fair franchising

as well as fair banking, fair taxing, and fair competition are

unchanging and unyielding priorities.

Second, our professional development will enable our

members to learn, improve and build an even firmer

foundation for themselves as well as for future

generations. Ongoing education and improvement can't

be overemphasized. In good times, they help you to

succeed while in difficult times, they enable you to

survive.

Third, our products and

services will provide valuable

benefits to our members and

continue to create revenue

streams that keep AAHOA

financially healthy. For example, an online travel agency

and a purchasing cooperative are two important in-house

services that are currently under development.

Fourth, our commitment to serving the community must

continue to remain a top priority. One example of how we

are currently reaching out to serve is the AAHOA

program through which members donate free

hotel nights for use by returning military personnel and

their families. Another example isAAHOA's involvement

with the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, which aims to

improve education in rural and underprivileged areas

around the world.

The spirit of volunteerism is vital to the success of

AAHOA. We are successful as an association when

hoteliers are not just members, but when they are

members when YOU are involved and engaged.

AAHOA's strength comes from our members. We at

AAHOA will continue to count on you and call on you to

be the real voice, the real strength, the real difference that is

AAHOA.

As we celebrate the start of a new year, it's useful to

remember that AAHOA started in 1989 with just a couple

of hundred members. Today, we number more than

10,000 members and we are the pre-eminent voice of hotel

owners.

While we have come a long way and we are proud of what

we are, we know that we haven't become all we want to be.

In short,AAHOAis not perfect but we aren't done yet.

Our world and our industry will continue to change in

2011, and AAHOA is sure to change with it so our

members can adapt and prosper. For now, we wish you a

memorable holiday season and a new year that is rich in

new opportunities, new happiness, and new rewards.

“Salute

to Soldiers”

active

C.K. Patel serves as Chairman of the Asian American

Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), which has more

than 10,000 members who together own more than 20,000

hotels with a combined market value of almost $130

billion.

INTERNATIONAL


Our commitment to serving the communitymust continue to remain AAHOA's top

priority.

C.K. Patel, about AAHOA's plans for the coming year.NEW YEAR BRINGS RESOLVE TO CREATE NEW REWARDS

C.K. Patel , AAHOA

Global School of Silicon Valley, a brand new elementary

and middle school in Silicon Valley is set to create a new

bench mark in Global Education. With the prime objective

of providing outstanding education and preparing the

children to be competent in a fast globalizing economy, the

school hopes to open more campuses in San Francisco Bay

Area and others key cities in United States.

The 11-acre campus on Clarinda Way in San Jose, the heart

of Silicon Valley, has been given a makeover and hopes to

attract students with a complete curriculum, friendly and

passionate faculty who strive to provide the best

education in United States ofAmerica.

“Our objective is to give the

best education based on a 21

century curriculum to help our

children acquire the skills to

lead in a global economy,” says

Narpat Bhandari, CEO and Country Director of the school.

Bhandari, who has lived in Silicon Valley since 1976, took

on the project because of his passion for education and

giving back to the local community.

The new Global School of Silicon Valley is the first U.S.

campus of the 2002-founded Singapore-based

Foundation, which runs an award-winning network of 21

schools in eight countries, including Japan, Vietnam,

Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, India, Thailand and Singapore.

This record growth was achieved under the leadership of

Atul Temurnikar, former IBM Singapore chief, who co-

founded the school.

“The mission of our schools is to nurture global citizens

and impart an international perspective besides building

entrepreneurial skills early,” says Atul Temurnikar,

Chairperson of the Foundation which he co-founded with

Bhandari's brother-in-law and diplomat late Dr. L.M.

Singhvi. Dr Singhvi's younger sister, Chandra Bhandari, is

currently on a mission to take her brother's legacy to 21

century by providing effective leadership and inspiration

in global education.

Passion for Education: Teachers at the Global school

impress with their ability to ignite intellectual curiosity.

With their wisdom, experience, creativity, and

compassion they empower students to take ownership of

education and become the kind of problem solvers we

need in our global community.

“All our teachers have extensive training and experience

as educators and possess a variety of talent. Teachers on

board have plunged into the task of creating an innovative

and comprehensive curriculum that focuses on relevant

themes while reinforcing essential skills, says Chandra

Bhandari-Acting Principal and Vice Chairperson.

One Inclusive price: The school incorporates the unique

an inclusive price concept whereby the tuition covers full

day (0800-1600) and a complete curriculum. It includes

free home work support and tutoring as well. Danny

Domiray, the school's Director, says the school is creating

an assessment test for candidates who can use a school

tour from Monday through Saturday. And parents are

thrilled as seen from the comment of senior Oracle

st

st

EDUCATION


The goal of the Global School project is tocreate a US network of schools in 20 key

US cities in next five years.

GSSV: A School with a Global PerspectiveNEW SILICON VALLEY SCHOOL REDEFINES KG THROUGH K-8 EDUCATIONAn Indian novelty in American school education in the Silicon Valley through GSSV is being discovered by V E Krishnakumar

executive Ravi Pathak who enrolled his son Navneet in 4

Grade. “I liked the spirit and the vision behind the school,”

he says.

Global Approach: The school's holistic approach to

education includes dance, music, drama, studio arts,

sports and extracurricular activities, with the ability to

link-up with other campuses in the Global School

network. Besides global exposure and all inclusive fees, it

will offer language lessons in Hindi, Spanish and

Mandarin. “Our objective is to bring innovation in

education and bring technology to the campus,” says Mr

Bhandari.

The school boasts of excellent facilities and is also giving a

global spin by having eleven trees from as many countries

planted in the courtyard to signify its geographical

presence. The courtyard reflects a deep historical

awareness and not just chasing fads. The trees are from

Japan, Brazil, and England and in front of each tree are

notes on its cultural, historical or biological significance.

Lego Robotics Competition: The global school of Silicon

Valley entered its first official competition in Lego

Robotics with only six weeks of preparation time. Our

teachers and students put in their best foot forward and

made all of us proud by claiming the Judge's Award for

overall performance in the Robotics competition. We

congratulate all teachers and students who participated.

Volcano Project & NBC: Currently a group of our students

from K-4 to K-8 are preparing a volcano project that

involves rock-fall measurement, volcanic activity

measurement, hurricane tracking, map analysis,

compiling research data, and evacuation strategies. We

consider this an important milestone that will be used to

launch international collaborative learning with European

and Asian schools. NBC TV will document and broadcast

this innovative educational process.

The goal of the Global School project is to create a US

network of schools in 20

key US cities in next five

years. The school plans

to have over 4 campuses

in San Francisco Bay

Area before it spreads its

wings to Los Angeles,

Chicago, New York and

New Jersey.

In order to empower our

youths, the school is

taking bold initiatives,

for example, a science

lab is unheard of in an

elementary school. The

use of the latest technological teaching tools will enable

the our students to communicate and learn with other

children around all 21 campuses, making Walt Disney's

dream of 65 years ago ”It's a Small World” a reality.

th

For more information, please visit,

www.myglobalschool.org

V.E. Krishnakumar is an award winning journalist and

publisher living in Silicon Valley. He can be reached at

[email protected]


Bobby Jindal pens book- Leadership and Crisis

Manjeet Singh is the next British Consulate-General to China

Simran Preet Singh Lamba becomes one of thesoldiers of US

Nikku Madhusudhan and team have discovered anew planet

Krishna Arora wins the Shilling Wall Tributeaward

Many Indian politicians have been prolific writers. Long

given to oral rhetoric, some amongst them also found time

to pen their thoughts, and share their vision with the

world. Now, the

Indian leaders in the

global arena have

s tepped on the

plate.

Bobby Jindal (Born

Piyush Jindal) - the

39 year old Indian

American Governor

of Louisiana has

w r i t t e n a b o o k

named "Leadership

and Crisis". The

book mainly deals

with Jindal's ability

t o m o u n t h i s

administration against the two biggest calamities faced by

the state in the past years- the Hurricane Katrina, and the

now-infamous Gulf oil spill.

A former congressman, Jindal was also the secretary of the

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals earlier,

during the George W. Bush administration.

Manjeet Singh, a London based NRI, is going to become

the next British Consulate-General to China from Britain.

Mr. Manjeet Singh was one of the students of Eton College.

He studied for a LLB at Oxford University with

Philosophy, Politics and Economics, passing out with a

first class honours degree.

But before he received the LLB degree, we saw Manjeet

Singh to work in the Chancellor of the Exchequer and then

to the Home Secretary as a Special MediaAdviser only.

Manjeet Singh has served on the management Board of

UK media company, Carlton Communications. He is also

the founder of the Ethnic Media Group and a publisher of

various news Magazine and Channels too. He had played

important roles in China-related work assignments

previously in his career.

A multilingual person, Mr. Singh speaks Chinese,

German, Dutch, French, Spanish and Arabic, loves music,

sports, literature and cosmology with core of his heart.

In 1981, the Armed forces of US had banned the

conspicuous religious articles of faith for the soldiers of

their country - turbans and unshorn hair were included as

the conspicuous religious articles of faith.

Sikhs had been serving in the US Armed Forces for a

number of years, while keeping their religious identities

intact.

This particular ban order made it difficult for the Sikh

service personnel. But, after 30 years, the 26 years old Sikh

Simran Preet Singh Lamba has become the first Sikh

soldier in the US army.

Simran Preet Singh Lamba's religious accommodation

request was rejected in March 2010. But, he appealed and

the appeal was accepted in September 2010.

Ateam lead by NRIAstronomer Nikku Madhusudhan has

discovered a new star-studded planet. An alumnus of the

Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Mr. Madhusudhan is

now at the Princeton University. He and his team have

discovered a new and carbon-rich planet, which is larger

than Jupiter, has temperatures of over 2300°C and orbits a

star about 1,200 light-years from our own planet - Earth.

The name of this new planet is WASP-12b.

Krishna Arora, a dynamic 80 year old Indian, has become

the first Indian to receive the Shilling Wall Tribute award.

She received the award for her contribution to the

community through the 'tele-cooking' services and for

helping associations for the senior citizens. The award has

been given by the multicultural commission of the

Australian state of Victoria.

Krishna Arora had been living in New Delhi, India for first

62 years of her life and then joined her family in Australia

in 1992.

A former teacher at the Institute of Hotel Management,

Pusa for many years, Ms. Arora felt the need to offer her

help to the community around her.

IN THE NEWS


NGI NEWSMAKERSMithu Ghoshal profiles Indians who have been making news all over the world

It's a Bollywood film complete with an item number, but

made by Indian Americans for the desi crowd at home and

abroad and, touted as the first Hindi film shot entirely in

Washington.

"9Eleven has nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks", says

Producer Narain Kumar Mathur, who describes it as a

fast-paced thriller. Made under the banner of Mathur's

Amar Durga Films, the feature-length filmIs now in the

post-production stage under the supervision of Indian

American artist Aftab Asghar. The film is set for release in

NorthAmerica and in SouthAsia in June 2011.

Film Producer Narain K Mathur reveals that the movie is

set in Mumbai, and portrays the life of 10 people from

different walks of life thrown together in an unfamiliar

place and terrorized to the core by an unknown entity. "I

really can't give too much away about the plot, but the title

is crucial to the story," Mathur says mysteriously,

declining to reveal more.

The film is penned and directed by Mannan Singh

Katohora, whose previous films include "Arya" (2003), a

psychological thriller, and

"When Kiran Met Karen"

(2008) "a controversial cross-

cultural lesbian film", both in

English. Katohora says he

chose to make the film in

Hindi because the screenplay demanded it to be.

The music for the film has been set by Bollywood's Jatin

Pandit, who is well known for his work in the Indian films

“DDLJ,” "Khiladi," “Vaastav,” "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander”

amongst others. Pandit, who recorded the

music for the film online from his studio in

Mumbai, is excited about this venture.

"They are all so talented and have so much

energy," he says. "I am so charged by the

energy and enthusiasm that I feel like a new

music composer. The lyrics for the item

number, the sole song in the film, are by

Sanjay Chhel, lyrics writer of films like

'Rangeela', 'Daud', 'Yes Boss' and 'Jo Bole So

Nihal'."

The Editing, Sound and Post Supervision of

the film will be done by Aftab Asghar, who's

previously edited film "Where Are You

Sophia?" was appreciated in the 2009

Cannes Film Festival. His other works

include films like "Batter Up" that has won

27 awards in different film festivals

worldwide.

Nikkitasha Marwaha, is playing the key

character of the item-girl. Nikkitasha is a

model and dancer. She Is Washington's

Miss India Worldwide 2009 and US

national winner of Sony TV's "Boogie

Woogie" dance competition and a top 10

finalist of Zee TV's "Dance India Dance"

reality show. All of actors involved in this

project had to brush up their Hindi

shedding their American accents through

multiple rehearsals with the help of chief

assistant director Roli Chaturvedi.

CINEMA


The film portrays the life of 10 people fromdifferent walks of life thrown together inan unfamiliar place and terrorized to the

core by an unknown entity.

Crossover with a differenceAftab Asghar discovers an upcoming Indian film which is based in Mumbai but shot entirely in Washington.

Around 1960, Dharampal was traveling in a train from

Gwalior to Delhi. He came across a group of people from

two villages on , a pilgrimage, who had gone from

near Luckhnow to Ramehswaram. Dharampal narrates in

his works an experience he had through this interaction in

the train.

“I said they must all be from one jati, from a single caste

group. They said, 'No, no! We are not from one jatiwe are

from several jatis.' I said, how could that be? They said that

there was no jati on a yatranot on a pilgrimage. I didn't

know that.”

The so called caste lines that we all were told and believe as

facts were not so. Dharampal, a 38 year old Gandhian then,

admits he didn't know. The small interaction threw the

Gandhian into introspection. Where did we acquire this

idea of caste based society? The ways of the society

certainly was not the perspective of those who spoke for

and about the Indian society. It was not even in the

perspective of those who took the mantle to govern India

after transfer of power from the British. During the

interaction in train that lasted over 6 to 7 hours,

Dharampal also enquired if they would go to see Delhi, the

capital of the free India. Their negative response left

Dharampal wondering.

“Those people on their pilgrimage were not interested in

any of this. And they were representative of India. More

representative of India than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ever

was. Or I and most of us could ever be.”

Dharampal describes this experience of his as

“I think in a way that meeting gave me a view of India, the

larger India.”

The characteristics of a caste system, in its origin in the

West, do not reflect in the ways of people of India or the

Hindu society. The caste system in the West is a social

stratification based on inheritance, endogamy, economic

and political power. These were of the clergy, the rulers,

and the commoner. Inheritance and endogamy were

important elements of the caste system. In practice this

lead to segregation and access to rights (consumption,

teertha


Indian Thoughts andthe Western Mind

Mayank Shekhar speaks about the caste system and its origin in modern Indian history



occupational and ceremonial). In John Locke's words, The

west was barbarian. What we know of India, its society

and systems today, is what Westerners described of it.

Their description was not a factual account of India. In

Prof. Balagangadhar's words, “Indians took to this way of

talking about themselves the way ducks take to water.”

It is a little known fact that until the seventeenth century

European traveler's records from India reported a highly

educated and productive Indian society. Together with

China, India produced 73% of the world's industrial

production in 1750. While education was accessible only

to the privileged in the eighteenth century England, India

had an elaborate system of education. Drawing attention

to civility amongst Indians and Indian education, John

Locke attributed this barbarianism (in the West) to lack of

education. These facts are not found in the textbooks.

The acquired knowledge of caste system is invariably

accompanied with the stories around water wells,

physical beatings, denial of access to temples and

untouchability. One can certainly leave the emotional

pitch found in these stories aside. The Christian

missionaries and travelers who landed in India saw the so-

called caste system and described their observations as

such, but, there is no mention of any of the horror stories.

While Prof. Balagangadhar argues that the characteristics

of the western caste system is absent from the Indian

society, he also asserts that is not an equivalent of

caste. A research group from Kuvempu University is

studying the phenomenon and has collected useful data.

Though the Kuvempu University research is ongoing, it is

able to draw our attention to some interesting facts. For

example, they do not find any evidence of an ideology for

. Even the idea of endogamy exists only on paper far

removed from practice. allow marriage across

for several reasons including survival of a , and

uniting different belonging to the same cluster.

Inheritance is also not found as a necessary constituent of

. have ceremonial practices to include a new

member. Food habits and social practices vary by climate.

Prohibitions are not universal for a and are limited to

climate or regions. Practices change with time. These

reflect upon the adaptability of the practices. Another

critical finding of this research is absence of textual

authority. Neither the people themselves, nor the

, nor Sanskrit scholars use text to support

the aspects or practices of , except, on some occasions

by Brahmins in performing a ceremony when there is a

dispute. The word Dharma is used for good actions,

respecting one's elders, hospitality, doing pooja etc.

and Sanskrit scholars do not refer to

texts or for Dharma.

In Sanskrit texts, as we know, Dharma is used for duties,

moral and ethical values, right-wrong, righteous-

unrighteous, doable-not-doable actions and . Words

Dharma, , and are used by different

writers to mean good and bad, doable and not-doable

actions. Balagangadhar Tilak points out that the words

and dharma have been used interchangeably in Sanskrit

texts. They used Dharma , an exposition of

Dharma, instead of

. i or

is concerned with the regal

j u r i s p r u d e n c e ( ) .

Dharma is used in this sense to

define duties. Manu defines Dharma for each of the ,

where each of the duties was important to sustain a society.

When one becomes extinct, then some other persons

will have to take that labor otherwise society will become a

ship without a rudder. The writers of the Sanskrit text

recognize the fact that good and bad, and right or wrong

are subjective to circumstances. There are numerous

examples in the Sanskrit text where actions normally

considered wrong or not righteous are allowed in

jaati

Jaatis

Jaatis jaatis

jaati

jaatis

jaati Jaatis

jaati

jaati

swamis purohits

Jaati

Purohits

Dharmashastra Varnadharma

niti

adharma karya akarya

niti

pravachan

niti

pravachan Nit Niti Shashtra

r a j n i t i

varnas

varna

The caste system in the West is a socialstratification based on inheritance,

endogamy, economic and political power.

CULTURE


calamities and other circumstances.

The bottom line is that morals, ethics, truthfulness etc. do

not provide answers to all situations and writers of the

Sanskrit texts were well aware of the exceptions. Same is

true for common laws and is recognized by the writers. In

other words, answer provided by religion is not sufficient.

Unlike in the west where laws and justice were applied

depending upon the status of the concerned, both wealth

( ) and desire ( ) can be acquired through Dharma.

In this sense Dharma can be looked upon as the equivalent

of morals of the western philosophers. Dharma is neither

about , , , or nor about

their desire or designs. Hindus, even then, do not loose site

of and . Dharma as it becomes obvious

is used in different senses and is not an equivalent of

religion, short of recommending religion, religion,

religion of upholding, of right actions, of wrong actions

and so on.

Balagangadhar Tilak supporting his demand for

argued that we need our own schools, our own systems

and our own government. Until then we would just be

implementing and perpetuating the colonial designs. He

would not compromise for anything less; the state of

affairs was amply clear to Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai. When

was put to vote in the Nagpur session of congress it

got overwhelming votes against the wishes of Mahatma

Gandhi. Coming out of this session, Mahatma Gandhi

expressed that he will not return to congress ever again. By

this time he had decided to move back from South Africa

to India. He was visiting India to evaluate and identify a

suitable place for his and was invited to the

national session of the

congress by Lala Lajpat Rai.

Dharampal deliberates on the

Indian

in his collected writings. He

points out that we do not

know our people and we do

not know our systems. The

alienation of the leaders from

t h e l a r g e r I n d i a i s

unfortunate. The actions of

the leaders, and thus the

policies and programs, had

very little to do with the larger

India. If anything, it had to do

with the legacy of the

colonials and continuance of

the colonial institutions and

systems, which replaced the

once successful indigenous

systems. According to Prof.

Balagangadhar, this is a result

of the colonial consciousness. For this very reason the

Panchayti Raj instituted by the constitution did not work,

while the and the village systems still

worked. It is interesting to note that the version of the

introduced in the constitution was different

from the deliberations on the from 1930s

until the transfer of power. Questions were raised in the

constituent assembly to address these. These, however,

could not be addressed giving lack of time in the

constituent assembly as the reason. Unfortunately, the

larger India and its working systems were left aside

replaced by a hurriedly put together system. Dharampal,

reflecting on the and , suggests that Mahatma

Gandhi was in the process of arising larger India's ,

and by this time, it was too late for he did not live too long.

Until cautioned by Dharampal's writings and of Colonial

Consciousness in the researches of Prof S.N.

Balagangadhara, Ghent University, Belgium, one takes the

Western perspective and looks at its own people and its

systems just as the Westerner did. The social stratification

in the caste system is the characteristics of the European

societies. It is debilitating to associate caste system to the

Hindu society of pre-colonial period. Colonization has

disconnected its people from its own systems, tradition,

culture and past. “Colonialism” according to Prof

Balagangadhar, “alters the way we look at the world and it

displaces native ways of experiencing the world through

sheer violence.”

“In the colonized field that the Indian mind had become,

many Indians set up tents to sell their merchandise: an

attack on the Indian caste system; an instant mixture of

reform that could cure the ills of the Indian 'religions';

tracts and books that told tales of the tyranny of the

Brahmin 'priests'; and, of course, the sale of the seductive

siren songs of modernization and progress.”

Contrary to the Christian claim of universality of religion,

religion is not practiced by all human beings nor do all

societies have religion. Dogmas and beliefs could be found

in any society, however, in tradition these are not

institutionalized as a religion. Hinduism is a way of life

transmitted from generation to generation. The practices

vary depending upon region, climate, time and age,

and . Just as acquiring knowledge is a

building block process, one's experience ( ) takes

one to the next step of . Reasoning helps after one has

the and applies to differentiate. Once one

becomes aware of the colonial consciousness the next

steps for a Hindu come naturally.

artha kama

Ishwara Brahma Vishnu Shiva Shakti

atma-kalyana moksha

raj kula

Swaraj

Swaraj

ashrama

Chitta, Manas and Kaala

Bees Biswa Sasana

Panchayati Raj

Panchayati Raj

chitta manas

chitta

chitta,

bhuddhi manas

anubhava

jnana

anubhava bhuddhi

Mayank Shekhar is Secretary, Educators' Society for the

Heritage of India (ESHI) and can be reached at

[email protected].


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EXCLUSIVE


Emerging as one of the most 'Investorfriendly' destinations in the country, Gujarat

highlights a focus on business andInvestments.

The Curtain is about to rise, as the Vibrant Gujarat Global

Investor Summit 2011 (VGGIS) is all set to begin. Gujarat

has been, for some time now been considered as the

growth engine of the Nation but now, the definition is

changing. Vibrant Gujarat 2011 is converting the engine

into a jet plane!

The air in the state capital Gandhinagar is vibrant. Visitors

can feel the excitement in the air. The Vibrant Gujarat

summit would be organized at the purpose-built

M a h a t m a M a n d i r i n

Gandhinagar. The event has

n o w a c h i e v e d g l o b a l

i m p o r t a n c e . T h e r a p i d

transformation of the state,

world class infrastructure

projects have lent further credence to Gujarat's ability to

lead the country's industrial progress.

Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Summit aims to facilitate investment

alliances for the participating countries. The biennial

Summit will be the ideal platform to discuss and

deliberate business opportunities in the new age world.

80 countries and 12 Indian states have confirmed their

participation as final touches are being given to the mega

event to be organized on January 12 and 13 2011. Gujarat's

Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has been taking special

care of the event, being present in road shows held

recently in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru,

Hyderabad, etc. to promote the event.

The Summit, attended by representatives from leading

global economies and a galaxy of international fora of

business, policy makers, business and political

delegations will host extensive B2B interactions, a mega

exhibition, sectoral seminars and conventions. The 2011

Summit has got a head start with pre summits and

convergence meets at various national and international

Fora.

Gujarat offers a model for Economic progress and

development for the developing nations. Its significant

contribution to the Indian economy has made India visible

as a competitive market in spite of the downturn in World

Economy.

Emerging as one of the most 'Investor friendly'

destinations in the country, Gujarat highlights a focus on

business and Investments. Gujarat has emerged as one of

India's major Industrial hubs and is now India's most

Industrialized State. The state now generates a total of 27%

tax paid to the government of India countrywide. With

the concurrent Vibrant Gujarat Summits, it is evident that

Gujarat has the highest success rate of projects

implemented in the Country. Gujarat's Industrial Policy

2009 is geared for catalyzing robust, sustainable and

Kusum Rajgor has details on the Vibrant Gujarat 2011.

The Platform for Growth


Gujarat has conducive and industrialfriendly policies to achieve steady growth.

inclusive growth. The Industry in Gujarat has

evoked new models of development.

Enhancing IRs and SIRs while traversing

through Product Clusters, Industrial Estates,

Industrial Parks and SEZs these phases have

met with success and co-exist as Gujarat

plunges to expansion with Business growth.

And it houses a number of multinational

corporations, large private sector companies,

strong public sector enterprises and a large

number of medium and small scale units.

Gujarat has the distinction of being the ?rst state to enact

the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act, 2004. Special

Economic Zones (SEZs) are growth engines that can boost

manufacturing, augment exports and generate

employment. The Government has introduced the

scheme of SEZs in order to provide a hassle free

operational regime and encompassing state of the art

infrastructure and support services. Conventions are

generally held during the programs which have

sectoral focus on Industrial investment, Agro-

Processing, Biotech-Pharma, Natural Gas and Oil,

Infrastructure, Mining, Tourism, Apparels, Gems-

Jewellery, Garment & Textiles etc.

Gujarat contributes 21% in exports and 13% in

India's total industrial production.

Gujarat has a stable Government which works

like a corporate entity. Gujarat has conducive

and industrial friendly policies to achieve

steady growth. Gujarat values time and has

setup efficient procedures which are nimble

enough to su i t changing bus iness

environments.

Business and enterprise is in the blood of the

Gujarati people. Its labor force is competitive

and disciplined. Gujarat has consistently recorded the

least number of man days lost due to labour unrest

amongst all states in India.

Being one of the most industrialized states in India,

Gujarat has a key role in

driving India ahead. The

decision of the Tatas to

shift the Manufacturing

Plant of Nano car to Gujarat shows the commitment of

the Gujarat Government in aiding serious investors.

Gujarat has always been willing to extend its support

to any organisation looking at India as a possible

investment destination.

Vibrant Gujarat summit serves as a perfect platform

to understand and explore business opportunities in

the State of Gujarat. The Summit has had resounding

successes in the past attracting several companies

from Asia and Europe to establish their presence in

Gujarat.

Previous Summits' Highlights2003

2005

2007

2009

The 2003 Global Investors' Summit was held coinciding

with the glorious Navratri Festival where a total of 76

MOUs worth USD 14 billion were signed.

The 2005 Summit saw signing of 226 MOUs garnering an

investment of USD 20 billion.

The Summit was held from January 10, 2007 to January 13,

2007, at Science City, Ahmedabad. The summit was

attended by industry majors like Tata, Birla, Reliance,

Shell, General Motors, ICICI to name a few resulted in

signing of 675 MOUs worth USD 152 billion.

The Government of Gujarat organized the 4th biennial

Global Investors' Summit 2009 during 12-13 January, 2009.

Based on the theme Gujarat Going Global and aimed at

bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations,

thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit

served as a perfect platform to understand and explore

business opportunities with the State of Gujarat.

Gujarat has become a model state for development and

progress. What would you describe as most important

achievements during your leadership of the state?

I feel satisfied that with our relentless efforts of past eight

years now:

Our aim is to take Gujarat at par with the best in the world

in terms of living standards and doing businesses. We are

looking at an inclusive growth index, where every section

of the society is a part of our development revolution.

The work done by our Government in basic amenities like

Every child including a girl child goes to the school

Every home in every village gets uninterrupted electricity

We create maximum jobs in the country

We contribute to 16% of Inda's industrial production

We contribute to 22% of India's exports

We contribute to 30% of the India's stock market capitalization

EXCLUSIVE


Gujarat's Growthis the Nation's Growth

Exclusive interview of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by andKanchan Banerjee Ujjwal Kumar Chowdhury

water, road and power have shown exemplary results

through which there has been overall prosperity. We have

strengthened the water grid of the state by inter linking

rivers and undertaking massive initiatives for water

conservation. After successfully implementing the

Jyotigram Yojna, we have all 18000 villages of Gujarat

electrified with 3 phase power supply 24x7. On road

network, both in rural and urban areas, the development

work has been exemplary.

We have focused on improving the HDI in the state. We are

providing healthcare to every mother and child. We want

to see that everyone is sharing the fruits of development.

For backward regions of the State, we have special

programmes like Sagar Khedu Yojna and Van Bandhu

Yojna. For the urban poor we have introduced Garib

Samriddhi Yojana and UMEED programme for urban

employment.

The key principles are: Good Governance, Good

Governance and Good Governance.

The most expensive commodity for an investor is his

transaction cost. We value time and energy of everyone. To

this effect, I always tell investors that we offer you red

carpet treatment and warmth from our people with a

business friendly mind set. The results are here to see.

Moreover, I do not believe in knee jerk reactions. I believe

in holistic planning and quantum leaps in progress. We

are making plans for the long-term that are being executed

at great speed, the impact is seen today.

Participation of the people is another hallmark of my

administration. We have made development a mass

revolution.

Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit started as a state level

event in 2003, but now it has acquired a global character. It

has also changed scope from an investment event to a

knowledge and technology exchange platform. The

previous Summit, held in 2009, saw the participation of

forty seven countries, with the heads and representatives

of various countries. This was in addition to a large

number of national and international delegations from

varied sectors. This event, which was held in the backdrop

of a global recession, surprised everyone with investment

agreements of US Dollars 240 billion. After 4 successful

Summits the investments are made in autopilot mode. We

have institutionalized mechanisms to realize the fastest

implementation and completion of projects.

During the Vibrant Gujarat Global summit 2011

investment flow for Gujarat is not the sole objective. The

bigger objective is global networking for knowledge and

technology sharing; to learn the best practices and involve

and encourage our people to think big and take up

challenging projects. This time, besides investment

facilitation for projects in Gujarat, we are providing a

platform to other Indian states and countries of the world

for networking among themselves and entering into tie

ups. We have also added many

events like panel discussions,

discussion forums, young

entrepreneur summit and

many more. Gujarat, as you know, has always been a land

of entrepreneurs and these events have further ignited the

enterprising spirit of the Gujaratis. This is why the summit

gives me a lot of satisfaction.

Gujarat has very strong fundamentals. It is not only a

landmass with conducive business environment; but a

true business spirit as well. Business, in Gujarat, is a

celebration of life. More importantly, its fundamentals are

strong not in a particular sector but across all economic

sectors. Its vibrancy can be felt not only in economic

activities but also in social life. In addition, Gujaratis are

known for their value systems and ethics which facilitate

and sustain rewarding and enriching businesses as well as

a fulfilling life.

Our maximum focus is on the

social infrastructure. We are

translating the success of

physical infrastructure into

g r o w t h i n s o c i a l

infrastructure as well. The

PPP model which has

What are the key principles you've been following to

achieve the success?

Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit has become a

phenomenon by itself. What is the special focus of this

2011 edition and how is this different and evolved from

the earlier versions? What are your expectations from

this Vibrant Gujarat event?

Your visionary leadership has made Gujarat the hub of

Indian business. What strengths and opportunities do

you find in Gujarat for the same?

While the physical infra-

structure of Gujarat has

gone through a radical

change in this decade, what

do you have to say with

r e g a r d s t o t h e s o c i a l

infrastructure, including

availability of trained

human resources, in recent

t i m e s ? W h a t m a j o r

a c h i e v e m e n t s a n d

limitations therein? What

are your plans in this sector?

Participation is a hallmark of myadministration.


worked wonderfully is now being tried in social sector as

well. We are not only setting up state of the art social

institutions, but many of them are coming up in the private

sector or on the PPP model.

We have more than doubled the intake capacity of our

technical institutions and on the other hand we are

providing soft skills to our youth, particularly to make our

youth employable. For the TATA Nano project we could

muster 1000 skilled workers from the vicinity of the project

in 10 months. We are already the highest creator of

employment in the country as per a Central Government

report. We are converting our ITIs into Centres of

Excellence, again on the PPP mode.

Water scarcity is now

a matter of the past. To

e n s u r e t h a t t h i s

massive drive of

industr ia l izat ion and

urbanization keeps getting

enough power, we are

a u g m e n t i n g p o w e r

generation capacity in a

huge way. We are also ensuring that these power plants

are eco-friendly. Gujarat is the first state to come out with a

dedicated solar power policy and our policy is a

benchmark to the Nation. In the same way, we are already

producing wind energy.

There is tremendous potential for tourism in Gujarat,

which we are ready to exploit. As a result, the tourism,

aviation and hospitality industry in the state is expected to

see heavy investments. Even today, the number of tourists

has increased. We are aggressively working on improving

the infrastructure of tourist places.

The government plans to set up new small airports to

facilitate air services linking all major towns of the State.

The government proposes to develop these airports on

public private partnership (PPP) basis. At present, Gujarat

has 15 airports of which 9 are under operational

jurisdiction of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), 3 with

Indian Air Force, of which 2 have civil terminals and 2 are

private airports.

Tourism Corporation of Gujarat has prepared proposals

for several projects to be placed before prospective

investors at the VGGIS-2011.

The state government has identified beaches, which it

proposes to promote as tourist spots. It is offering all help

for setting up restaurants along the highways that run

through the length of the state from Vapi in the south to

Kutch in the north. We see bright opportunity in the

highway restaurants, as most tourists prefer to travel by

road in the state. Gujarat, is planning to add 30 highway

restaurants in the state within the next 3 years. The plan is

to have at least one restaurant with key amenities at every

200 km stretch. Similar opportunity exists on our major

tourist places including temples, beaches, Rann of Kutchh

etc: to build hotels, restaurants and recreation joints. NRI

investors can have share of this pie.

I believe that Chess is a game which requires lot of

intelligence and lot of patience. Both these qualities are

useful for the youth. I want to promote this game with this

Water and power have been long term challenges in the

state. What is the current status and what initiatives are

on for providing with water and uninterrupted power

a c r o s s G u j a r a t ,

e s p e c i a l l y f o r

industrial use?

Gujarat Tourism has had a strong push in recent times

with Amitabh Bachchan being made the Brand

Ambassador and with the Gir and Rann of Kutch

campaigns. What is current business size and trends in

tourism in Gujarat and what are your plans for the next

two years in this sector?

What opportunities do the NRIs have in tourism and

hospitality sectors in Gujarat now and in next two years?

You've been a great fan and promoter of Chess. Recently

you have organized world's largest chess event in

Gujarat called Gujarat Swarnim Chess Mahotsav. What

is the mystery behind Chess?


consideration. I am happy that we achieved

a grand beginning.

Gujarat was never known for its agriculture

development before seven years. It has been

a perennially water scarce state marked by

recurrent droughts. We have made

concerted efforts on the water management.

While we have implemented maga projects

like Narmada, Sujalam suflam, river

interlinking, we have worked equally hard

on water harvesting and conservation. We

have built half a million check dams across

the state and encouraged creation of water

bodies in farms (Khet Talavadis). Today, we

are the only state where groundwater level

is rising! At the same time, we are

popularising micro irrigation devices to

ensure economic use of water. While we

worked on the water front so rigorously, we

simultaneously empowered our farmers with knowledge

of scientific farming practices. Through soil health cards,

farmer knows which crop to sow and which nutrient to

use. Since last six years our agricultural scientists are

moving from village to village during a month long Krishi

Mahotsav to equip our farmers with the knowledge of

right practices.

With the result, the agriculture growth rate has been 9.6%

vis-à-vis the national average of less than 3% . To ensure

that this enhanced productivity in agri sector benefits the

rural masses in a big way, we have chalked out a detailed

programme for value addition. We are taking steps that

the cotton grown in Gujarat is converted to clothing within

the state and exported across the world. Milk and

vegetables from Gujarat are now being exported to

different parts of the world.. There is a special emphasis in

enhancing the logistic chain by setting up cold storage

chains.

I firmly believe that we are trustees and whatever we have

inherited has to be passed on to the coming generations in

equal or better shape. I also believe that it is only in

harmony with nature, one can grow a sustainable manner.

The main theme is that it is not enough to show the

dangers of climate change to the world and to the people.

It is also necessary to show the way forward. My book not

only shows the way forward but also shows how these

measures have been implemented.

We have promoted wind and solar energy in a big way. We

have undertaken water conservation in a big way. To

ensure a good quality of urban life, we are very switching

to CNG based transport, all our public transport like buses

and autorickshaws run on

CNG. We have state wide gas

g r i d w h i c h e n s u r e s

uninterrupted supply of gas

f o r i n d u s t r i e s t h e r e b y

reducing damage to the

environment. We are working aggressively on water re-

cycling and better management of solid and liquid urban

waste.

My vision of India of tomorrow is a strong Nation. I see

India as a nation which evokes and fulfills everyone's

dreams and which has opportunity of growth for all. Even

while we are working for Gujarat's growth, I always feel, it

is ultimately for India's growth.

Recently former President Abdul Kalam

has asked other states to emulate

Gujarat''s agriculture success . What are

these successes?

You are regarded as India's green leader today. What

inspires you to be the protector of the environment and

the eco-system?

You are the second world leader to write a book to deal

with climate change. Your new book 'Convenient

Action' is supposed to be a 'green auto-biography'. What

are the main themes of this book?

What measures you've taken so far for implementing

some of the 'green' ideas in Gujarat?

People are very much familiar with your vision for

Gujarat. What is your vision for India of tomorrow?

Vibrant Gujarat has changed its scope froman investment event to a knowledge and

technology exchange platform.


A few months ago, my jaws dropped when I saw that

Forbes Magazine had selected Ahmedabad as the third

fastest developing cities in the world! They are talking

about my city the city I have known and loved all my life. I

have known it as a city that has many wonderful things to

offer to its residents. From its' historic architecture and

great food to its thriving business community and art and

culture centers, it is one of the most hospitable cities I

know. Of course, during my many visits back to the city I

have known that it is changing at a very fast pace. So I

jogged my mind to remember all the changes that I have

noticed since I became an NRI.

Since the last 35 years I have

been travell ing back to

Ahmedabad - every few years

and every time I land on its

soil, I get impressed by the amount of change that has

happened since my previous visit. These changes have

been very interesting for me at a personal level and I can

see how it creates a shape of newAhmedabad that is today.

Today's Ahmedabad is on the move, on the road of

development, progress, and accomplishments that is a

matter of pride for every Gujarati.

Growing up, I knew Ahmedabad to be the city of textile

mills over 60 of them. Most citizens woke up with the

almost ritual quelling of the horn in any of these mills.

Almost every resident was somehow connected with the

textile trade either as a worker, weaver, cloth designer or a

fabric color producer. The city was beaming with retail

stores that sold all kinds of fabric. This was the city of

Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. The city where the

movement of non-violence took birth and grew to touch

the entire country and the world. This is the city of Indian

Institute of Management a home to one of the best

management schools and SEWA a birthplace of self-

employed women and microfinance.

It was hard to say if the city of Ahmedabad that I grew up

in was a city with the atmosphere of a village or was it a

village with large enough population to be a city. It was

quiet, yet brimming with people, and felt like it was stuck

somewhere between 18 and 19 century oozing out

strength and stability.

That is theAhmedabad I left in 1976.

My first return back after four years meant coming to a

very familiar surrounding which was soothing to the soul

after being away in a totally unknown place and culture.

There were changes going on and it felt like the city was

losing its soul A lot of textile mills were closing or were on

the verge of getting closed so it meant that a lot of labor

force was either out of work or was worried about losing

their jobs. There was the sense of gloom that was setting on

the city. It was also a sign of changes to come but for me, I

remember feeling that it is nice to know that I can always

come back to what I have always known. How wrong was

I! The soul of the city had been emerging and its pulse was

picking up at far ends. The city and the entire state of

Gujarat was and has been on the move since!

Every visit since my first one has shown me how things

have improved and changed in that part of India that was

once so familiar to me. So here is a walk down those streets

ofAhmedabad to see how they have developed.

The first thing you notice as soon as you fly into

Ahmedabad is its new, modern and efficient airport

teaming with travellers. If you happen to visit the city by

road, you are impressed by its highways probably the

most developed road system in the entire country. You

notice new businesses, colleges, and retail stores lined up

as you travel to the city. A few years ago, I remember,

travelling by car was not considered safe or practical and

now it seems that travel bug has taken over each citizen.

Roads are busy at any time of the day or night. Gone are

the days when highway travel was to be avoided if

possible and should be taken only during day time if you

are safety conscious. And every Gujarati is! The highways

in Gujarat now rival developed nations.

th th

One of the most noticeable yetunquantifiable changes I find is theenthusiasm and pride of its people.

FEATURE


Welcome to Ahmedabad The city on the Move!Meenal Pandya reflects on a city she left as a young person, and delights in coming back to.

If you visit the new Kankaria now you may get amazed at

what a vision can make. Gone is the old Kankaria lake with

street vendors, homeless people, and stray dogs roaming

the periphery. Today it is an attraction for families from all

over the city to enjoy beautiful light show and music and

water activities. Or attend the international kite festival in

January and enjoy the crisp air filled with kites of every

size and shape. Or visit the city during Navratri and savor

the dance festival. Then there is the Riverfront project that

will change the face of Sabarmati River with the water of

Narmada swelling the river.

Yet despite all the grown and development the city seems

to have kept its soul intact. The new city and the old values

are still living side-by-side. Go to any restaurant (now

there are hundreds of them) at night and you will see large

crowds of people families with older grandparents and

young children, group of young students, and office

friends mingling. If you were new to the city, you will

think there is some festival going on but it is possible that it

is only a regular weeknight. Every Amdavadi is a food

lover and it shows on the streets, on the menus of the

restaurants, and in the homes.

The air is cleaner thanks to CNG fuel in every rickshaw.

During many of my previous trips, the side effect of

enjoying my time in India came with the price of losing my

voice. As soon as I would land in Ahmedabad, the

pollution in the air would start bothering my throat and

after only a couple of days there, I will lose my voice.

Suddenly a few years ago, I noticed that I am able to use

my voice during my entire trip and at first I could not

pinpoint the reason. Then slowly I realized that it is the

lack of pollution in the air due to new environment-

friendly rickshaw fuel.

I know that it is just not the city of Ahmedabad but the

entire state is on the move.

New and innovative industries have replaced the old

textile mills and small businesses. Today Gujarat boasts of

progress in every field from chemical, petrochemical

industries to pharmaceutical and biotechnology to auto

industry and knowledge sector. All these progress is

visible even to a tourist like me.

One of the most

n o t i c e a b l e y e t

u n q u a n t i f i a b l e

changes I find is the

enthusiasm and pride

of its people. Gone are

the days when youth

of the state was not

sure about its future.

Today every young

person in the state has

a dream, a plan for the

future and is proud to

be a Gujarati. When

youth is charged up to

achieve something,

you can smell the change in the air.

Of course not all changes are for the better. Over my last

several trips I have noticed a slow but detectable move

towards westernization in many forms. Having lived in

the western world for most of my life, I am acutely aware

of the downside of the culture definitely the glamorous

aspects of westernization that gets adopted in the east.

Breaking family values, disregard for age-old healthy

habits including food habits, and value system can bring

devastating results. It is worrisome me to see these values

being thrown by the wayside and the glamor of the west

adopted with enthusiasm.

I have to admit that these

changes have continued to

make my trips back home more

pleasant. And, I am not the

only one. I notice that our

friends and family members

who have been NRIs for many years are now enjoying

their trips back home and some of them are even

considering moving back.

I hear Gujarat saying to all NRIs “Welcome to Gujarat. The

State is on the Move.”

Meenal Pandya can be contacted at [email protected]


It was hard to say if the city of Ahmedabadthat I grew up in was a city with the

atmosphere of a village or was it a villagewith large enough population to be a city.

Ahmedabad is growing and at a rate that has now

attracted global attention. The magazine has said in

a report that Ahmedabad is one of the fastest-growing

cities in the world and it has put Gujarat's largest city in

third rank after two Chinese cities Chengdu and

Chongqing.

Ahmedabad is India's seventh largest city, and Forbes has

placed it ahead of Chennai and Bangalore in terms of

growth. The article mentioned Ahmedabad is a city

'whose per capita income is twice that of the rest of India'.

Ahmedabad is now described as the largest metropolitan

region in Gujarat, perhaps the most market-oriented and

business-friendly of Indian states.

While surveying the 'Next Decades' Fastest Growing

Cities' in the world, the magazine has not focused upon

established global centres like New York, London, Paris,

Hong Kong or Tokyo which have dominated urban

rankings. They have also not looked at cities that have

achieved prominence in the past 20 years and the massive,

largely dysfunctional megacities. Ahmedabad leads the

list of Indian cities ahead of Bangalore which is home to

Infosys and Wipro and Chennai which has created 100,000

jobs this year, says the magazine.

Ahmedabad municipal commissioner IP Gautam, said

“Ahmedabad has been growing at a fast pace with

ambitious infrastructure projects like the BRTS, Sabarmati

Riverfront Development and Kankaria Lakefront.” He

added, “It is also because of positive development by the

state government and local governments like AMC and

AUDA that Ahmedabad is seeing development at such a

fast pace.”

Also, the government's proactive policies have spruced up

development in the city. He also mentioned that Vibrant

Gujarat summits have brought in a lot of projects in and

around Ahmedabad and development has been put in top

gear.

Ahmedabad houses chemicals, pharmaceuticals and

textiles companies and boasts of a thriving information

technology industry. Numerous foreign companies have

set up bases in and around the city. While chemicals and

textiles were traditional strongholds in Ahmadabad,

Pharmaceuticals has now made the city its own. Anumber

of major pharma companies, such as Zydus Cadila,

Torrent have made it their home.

The last decade has seen Ahmedabad transformed to

world-class urban modernity. The Bus Rapid Transit

System (BRTS) started in 2009, has won the USA

International Sustainable Transport Award. Flyovers have

bypassed congestion and the Riverfront Development

project will soon open the city's best green land for public

use.

The McKinsey Global Institute

(MGI) has estimated India's

cities will soon house 40 per

c e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s

population and will generate

70 per cent of new job opportunities. This is a vital time for

Indian cities to follow Ahmedabad's success to win

business from centres in China USAand Europe.

Ahmadabad today offers something truly unique-

Infrastructure that rivals international destinations, but

almost zero traffic congestion. The NGI team visits

Ahmadabad and other prominent Indian cities very

regularly, and we are constantly amazed at the smooth

flowing traffic. While lesser vehicular population helps,

the road planning should also be given due credit.

Here's looking forward to an Indian city that grows at a

pace matched with amenities.

Forbes


Ahmedabad today offers something trulyunique- infrastructure that rivals

international destinations, but almost zerotraffic congestion.

Ahmedabad: Growing FastKusum Rajgor explores Ahmedabad- one of the world's fastest growing cities.

DEVELOPMENT

The Adani Group, despite its humble beginnings in 1988,

is today one of the fastest growing professionally owned

enterprises in India and in the global arena. The flagship

company, Adani Enterprises Ltd. (formerly known as

Adani Exports Ltd.), was established by Gautam S Adani

in 1988 as a partnership firm. An entrepreneurial vision

coupled with lofty ambitions set the pace for the growth of

the company.

The journey from a being India's most trusted trading

house to a diversified conglomerate has been fast-paced,

yet fascinating. Today, the Adani business portfolio is a

diverse, yet profitable assortment of Edible Oil, Logistics,

Power Generation, Coal, Oil and Gas Exploration, Gas

distribution, Real Estate, Ports, Special Economic Zones

and IT enabled services. Its growth has been organic,

leading to a synergy among its business units, making

them more productive and

competitive together.

a US $ 5 billion

c o m p a n y b a s e d i n

Ahmedabad, has corporate

plans for capacity addition of

20,000 MW by 2020; presently, projects aggregating

to16,500 MW are under various stages of planning and

execution. These are planned to be completed by 2014.

Adani Power Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises

Limited, is developing number of power

projects along with i ts dedicated

transmission system. At the flagship plant at

Mundra, 3 Units of 330 MW each have been

commissioned. Adani Power Limited has

successfully executed 400 KV Double Circuit

transmission system of about 430 KM from

Mundra to Dehgam.

,

located in Kutch District, Gujarat and is the

largest SEZ of India. Spread over an area of

over 100 sq km, Mundra Port and Special

Economic Zone is a multi-product and large

format private SEZ approved by the

Government of India.

Adopting the popular Concept of "One

Leveling and Seven Conections". The

developed land and seven connections would comprise

Roads, Water, Power, Sewage and Drainage, Infocom and

Gas.

, India's largest private port and special

economic zone, was incorporated as

in 1998 to develop a private port at

Mundra, on the west coast of India. The company

commenced commercial operations in October 2001.

was

incorporated in November 2003, to set up an SEZ at

Mundra. MSEZ was merged with GAPL in April 2006. The

company was renamed as Mundra Port and Special

Economic Zone Limited, to reflect the nature of business.

Mundra Port provides cargo handling and other value-

added port services. Mundra SEZ is India's first port-

based multi-product SEZ.

The Group has made forays into high growth sectors like

Power, Infrastructure, Global Trading, Logistics, Energy. It

is now the operator of largest private port in India, the

developer of the largest multiproduct SEZ in India,

operates the largest edible oil refining capacity in the

country, and still remains one of the largest trading houses

in India.

Adani,

Mundra Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Limited

(MPSEZ)

Gujarat Adani Port

Limited (GAPL)

Mundra Special Economic Zone Limited (MSEZ)

Adani's growth has been organic, leading toa synergy among its business units, making

them more productive and competitivetogether.

CORPORATE


Adani : Flying High!Kusum Rajgor explores the successful post-liberalization corporate case-study through the growth-story of the Adani group

New Frontiers: Real Estate

Shantigram

The Indian real estate sector is on a strong growth path, led

by rising GDP, improving demographics, growing

affordability, increasing impact of IT/ITES and organised

retail sectors, supported by strong FDI and portfolio

inflows. The unprecedented demand has driven the need

for organised sources of funding, creating 'investability'

and has led to the emergence of real estate as a sustainable

asset class. The office space in India is also far lower when

compared with international peers like Hong Kong and

New York.

The group has taken up an integrated township

development inAhmedabad projected as Shantigram. The

location of the Township shall be on S G Highway

approximately 10 Km away from Thaltej Circle towards

Gandhi Nagar.

will be the one of the largest and most modern

futuristic township of its kind. The township project shall

involve the development of Residential and Commercial

Spaces.

Adani Enterprises is one of the leading trading houses in

agro commodities. Adani's Agro commodities business is

focused on trading in various Agro products in India and

internationally, including grains, pulses, castor and soya.

Adani Enterprises has emerged as a leading importer of

pulses. The company is present in every aspect of trade of

bulk agro commodities from importing, selling

domestically to exporting and

doing third country trade.

Based out of Ahmedabad,

India, AEL has operations

across the globe. 70 commodities. 60 countries. 30 offices,

including 8 overseas offices in USA, UAE, China,

Singapore, Indonesia, Mauritius and Myanmar. AEL is

truly a diversified asset backed commodities trader,

sourcing, producing, marketing and transporting them

across the globe.

With growth plans clearly chalked out, the Group intends

to fully leverage its capacities and the vast available

opportunities currently available in the new economy.


Adani is now the operator of largest privateport in India.

What had been the policy initiatives taken by the

Government of Gujarat for development of maritime

infrastructure in the State?

Can you elaborate on the salient features of the recently

announced Shipbuilding Policy 2010?

In the 1980s, Indian ports suffered from obsolete

technology, lower cargo handling efficiency, congestion

a n d d e l a y s a n d p o o r

c o n n e c t i v i t y w i t h t h e

hinterland and were unable to

compete with the growing

international maritime trade industry. However, Gujarat

decided to take a different route and reaped enormous

economic success. In the early 1980s, the state decided to

harness ports and international trade as a model for

economic development and established Gujarat Maritime

Board. Gujarat Maritime Board was created in 1982 under

the Gujarat Maritime Board Act, 1981, with a vision “To

enhance and harness ports and international trade as

vehicles for economic development”.

Over the next two and half decades, the GMB planned the

integrated development of new ports, along with the

required road and rail links. Several forms of privatization

models have been initiated such as private jetties, joint

venture ports, private ports and other maritime

infrastructure. The state's port policy statement of 1995

and BOOT policy of 1997 spell out an explicit strategy of

port-led development, including the creation of 10

completely new, world-class ports, in which private-sector

participation would play a dominant role.

The key initiatives undertaken by GMB in the last 2 years

were launching the Shipbuilding Policy 2010, undertaking

development of new port locations such as Chhara,

Nargol, Kacchigadh, Hazira etc.

To streamline and integrate development in shipbuilding

sector as well to optimise utilisation of infrastructure

available in Gujarat, the State Government has announced

a comprehensive shipbuilding policy in the year 2010.

Despite a long coastline of 7500 km, the country's share in

Gujarat decided to take a different routeand reaped enormous economic success.

CORPORATE


Karan Rajpal interviews B K Sinha, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Ports & Transport Department and the Chairman,Gujarat Maritime Board, Government of Gujarat

Strengthening India's Port Infrastructure

the overall order book in the world is around 1.12%, in

which share of Gujarat in the context of Indian order book

is over 60%. The gross shipbuilding capacity of the

shipyards in Gujarat is nearly 1.11 million DWT. Salient

features of shipbuilding policy are as below. 1) Looking at

the potential, the Government has identified probable

stretches/locations for setting up of large and medium size

shipyards in clusters in the form of Marine Shipbuilding

Parks (MSP). 2) GMB will acquire Government land and in

turn will allot to the shipyard company on lease basis for

shipbuilding/repair purpose for the license period. 3) The

shipyard company shall have to pay launching fees, port

dues, waterfront charges, land lease rental, development

charges, other development cost and scooping charges for

using dredged material, to GMB at the rate prescribed in

shipbuilding policy 2010 announced by GoG. 4) For

Shipyards the capacity to built vessels more than 30,000

DWT, license to use the waterfront and leased land shall be

maximum up to 30 (Thirty) years. For shipyards smaller

than above capacity, the period shall be maximum up to 15

(Fifteen) years, with provision of renewal on merits. 5) The

Shipyard Company shall have to execute a “Land lease

and License Agreement” with GMB for land and

waterfront usages as per the modal agreement as the GMB

may prescribe. By implementing the Shipbuilding policy,

it is planned to attract private investment, provide world

class ship repair facility and, enhance industrial growth of

the state and overall socio-economic development of the

state.

We also view Gujarat as a gateway for North and North-

western States of India which are landlocked but have

tremendous economic potential in terms of trade,

commerce and industry. Therefore, port development in

Gujarat, majorly contributes in overall development of

India and is complementary to the objectives of national

maritime development. It would be interesting to note

that large part of the entire growth of maritime capacity in

Gujarat has been achieved without any support from

central budget. Thus, due to its explicit policies, GMB has

delivered world-class infrastructure to the entire country.

How do you compare port

development in Gujarat with

overall national maritime

development?


GMB will acquire Government land and inturn will allot it to shipyard companies on

lease basis.

GMDC will definitely be a beacon of growth and

development for the State of Gujarat.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited a

premier mineral development public sector undertaking

of Government of Gujarat, made a humble beginning in

the year 1963 with a mandate to explore and develop the

un explored mineral wealth of Gujarat. With

this humble beginning, there was no looking

back. From a smal l s i l i ca plant in

Surendranagar District, it gradually became an

umbrella mineral resource provider for

industries in Gujarat. GMDC has carved a niche

for itself in mineral scenario of not only the State

of Gujarat but also of India. Over a period it has

diversified in to mineral development of lignite,

fluorspar, bauxite and manganese. In order to

optimize the usage of vast wealth of Lignite

deposits in Kutch, GMDC also forayed in

forward integration and set up a Lignite based

Thermal Power Plant with generation capacity

of 250 MW. This power plant was unique in the

sense that it was the first power plant in State of

Gujarat which employed the CFBC technology,

the most environment friendly technology

available in power generation segment.

GMDC has developed a core competence in

open cast mining which is strong technical

expertise and well trained technical manpower

it is set to soar newer heights in the field of

mineral exploration, development and

research.

Recognizing this strength and role of GMDC,

the Government of Gujarat has, in its new

recent mineral policy, visualized GMDC as the

première mineral player in the State. The new

CORPORATE


Kusum Rajgor profiles the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation,one of Gujarat's most successful corporations.

GMDC: CARVING NEW HORIZONS

mineral policy emphasizes more on triggering

mineral based industrial growth. The lignite

resources have been reserved for power

generation and wherever possible, for under

ground coal gasification by State PSUs or by

Joint Ventures with State PSUs.

GMDC would continue to supply surplus

quantity of lignite from its mines to the

industries in state, in particular to small and

medium industries on a long term basis in a

transparent manner.

GMDC has been made a facilitating and

channelising agency for bauxite sale and export.

GMDC would become the sole supplier to

bauxite users in the state for higher value

addition. Export of bauxite, both plant grade

and non plant grade would be carried out

through GMDC.

In addition to the existing 1153 hectares

reserved for GMDC, the remaining areas of

manganese reserves would be granted to

captive users for forming a JV with GMDC to

produce value added products.

The new mineral policy has made GMDC as a

catalyst and a propeller in manganese based

industries. This would open up a whole new

gamut of industrial growth particularly in the

under developed regions of the state.

Spreading its wings beyond the boundaries of

the State, GMDC has been allocated coal block

in Naini, Orissa. The estimated reserves of this

coal block is 250 million tonnes, which would

support a power plant with a capacity of 1750

MW.

GMDC has invested in wind power generation

in Saurashtra to harness abundant wind

resource for generating clean energy.

Generation of wind power to the tune of 20 MW

has already commenced. It is planned to install total 100

MW by March 2011.

In order to achieve vertical integration to fuel the growth

of the company in the coming years, GMDC is venturing

into beneficiation of its mineral resources in collaboration

with prospective private players. Value addition achieved

through such beneficiation would make GMDC a prime

player mineral market of the country.

GMDC has been bestowed with invaluable mineral

resources and exclusive mining rights, which have

generated wealth for various stakeholders in the society.

As a corporate philosophy, GMDC has been responsive

indeed to the various societal needs of remote rural areas

from where mineral wealth is generated and lending a

helping hand in a responsible manner. Be it

environmental needs, developmental needs in the form of

employment generation, education, health care, water,

sanitation, women empowerment, micro irrigation or

critical need at the time of natural disasters, GMDC has

chosen to respond responsibly. GMDC has never ever

undermined its social obligations towards the society of

which it is indeed an integral part.

In times to come, GMDC will definitely be a beacon of

growth and development for the State of Gujarat.


Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are growth engines that

can boost manufacturing, augment exports and generate

employment.

T h e

Government

of India first

in t roduced

the scheme of

SEZs in the

EXIM Policy

2000 in order

to provide a

hassle free

operational

regime and

encompassin

g state of the

a r t

infrastructur

e and support

services. Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a specifically

delineated duty free enclave and shall be deemed to be

foreign territory for the purpose of trade and operations

and duty and tariffs.

Government of India has enacted the Special Economic

Zone Act 2005 and has framed SEZ Rules 2006. As per the

provisions under the Act, the minimum area requirement

for setting up multi product SEZ is 1000 hectare and for

sector specific SEZ is 100 hectare. For specific sectors

namely: IT, ITES, gems and jewellery and non

conventional energy, the SEZ area requirement is 10

hectare. Further 50% of the SEZ area has to be a processing

area.

Government of Gujarat has accorded priority for setting

up Special Economic Zones and has introduced the Special

Economic ZoneAct 2004 followed by the SEZ Rules 2005.

Under the Provision of the Gujarat SEZ Act 2004, the

SEZs in Gujarat

INTERNATIONAL


THE GROWTH ENGINE OF GUJARAT

R. J. Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Dahej SEZ Ltd. explains Gujarat's constant fascination and success with SpecialEconomic Zones

The main objectives of SEZ Schemes are;�

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Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI),

Earning foreign exchange,

Boosting exports, especially nontraditional exports,

Creating employment opportunities,

Introducing new technology,

Developing backward regions,

Stimulating growth of sectors like: electronics,

information technology, R&D, infrastructure and

Human Resources Development that are regarded

important to the economy;

Creating backward and forward linkages to increase

the output and raise the standard of local enterprise

that supply goods and services to the zone and

thereby generating additional economic activity.

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES

Special Economic Zone Development Authority

has been constituted. The Authority is headed by

the Chief Secretary to the Government and

includes Secretary of the department from all

major ministries as members.

TheAuthority has been assigned the duties to get

the proposal from the SEZ developer and make

recommendations to the State Government.

Various factors are taken into consideration-

land availability, the nature of the proposal, the

status of the developer and importance of SEZ to

the state economy etc.

The Approval Committee in SEZ works as single

window clearance for the purpose of granting permission

to the unit including state level clearances under the

Gujarat SEZAct 2004.

The Special Economic Zone Development Committee

constituted for each SEZ consists of the developer of SEZ

or his nominee as chairman, Development Commissioner

or his nominee and nominee of the State Government as

members. The main role of the SEZ Development

Committee is to prepare a plan for the development of

zone, provide infrastructure and amenities, allocate &

transfer plot on lease and regulate construction of

buildings as per Gujarat Development Control

Regulations (GDCR) for SEZ.

Dahej SEZ Ltd (DSL), the Developer of SEZ has plans

to provide all requisite infrastructure facilities in SEZ with

the help of Co-Developers and on its own. The Co-

Developers approved for SEZ are as Gujarat Industrial

Development Corporation (GIDC) for water supply and

effluent disposal facilities; Torrent Energy Ltd (TEL) - for

setting up power project and distribution of power in SEZ;

Gujarat State Petronet Corporation (GSPC) for

distribution of natural gas to SEZ units; Bharat Sanchar

Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) - for communication and data

transmission network; Dahej Hospitality Ltd. (DHL) for

hospitality project in SEZ and Sapthagiri Hospitality Ltd.

(SHL) for convention centre and hospitality project.

Besides basic infrastructure and facilities put up by Co-

Developers, DSL has plan to provide facilities like Fire

Fighting Services, Bank Office Building, Training Centre

and other services.AHousing Complex is planed by GIDC

atAtali about 10 Kms. from SEZ location.

Dahej SEZ Ltd. has allotted plots in SEZ to 57 units

covering chemical, petro-chemicals,

pharma and engineering sector. Of these, 5

units have gone into production and

started exports. From the rest, 20 units are

under advanced stage of implementation

of their project. The exports from Dahej

SEZ during 2009-10 was Rs. 90 crores and

is Rs. 150 crores upto October, 2010 for the

current year.


Important units in the Dahej SEZONGC's C2/C3 plants in SEZ Part II. Products of the

plant will be supplied through a pipeline to a joint

venture project of ONGC (OPaL). Total Investment: Rs.

1000 crores

OPaL, a Joint Venture between ONGC and other

companies to set up Petrochemical Complex with a

capacity of 1 million TPA ethylene, and will produce

plastic polymers. Total Investment Rs.13000 Crores.

Chemical Industry Projects: DIC Fine Chemicals, Roxul

Rock Wool, Pidilite Industries, Sajjan Specialty Ltd.,

Indofil Chemicals, Rallis India Ltd., Meghmani

Specialty Chemicals Ltd., Firmenich Aromatic, Gujarat

Dyestuff Industries

Pharma Projects: Sun Pharma. and Torrent Pharma,

Glenmark Ltd., Fermenta Biotech Ltd.

Heavy Engineering & Ship Building Projects: Godrej &

Boyce Mfg., Saraswati Ind. Syndicate, Sarju Impex

Ltd.,ABG Shipyard Ltd. etc.

R.J. Shah, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Dahej

Special Economic Zone. This SEZ from India ranks 22nd

among 25 zones identified by fDi Magazine. Dahej is the

only SEZ from India to feature in this list.

Dahej SEZPromoter: Dahej SEZ Ltd. (DSL), a company promoted by Gujarat

Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and Oil & Natural Gas

Corporation (ONGC).

Location: 40 Kms. from Bharuch, the Main Railhead connecting Mumbai

Delhi.

NearestAirport: Surat (110 Kms) and Baroda (110 Kms)

Solid cargo handling port byAdani Port

SEZ’s In Gujarat

60 Total no. of SEZs

Approved 11Multi-product

SEZs 49

19

Sector Specific

SEZs

Notified SEZs

Major IndustriesIT & ITES, Textile,

Pharma, Engineering,

Chemicals, Ceramics,

Gems & Jewellery.

Functional SEZs13

Total Exports: Crores1,13,000*2009-2010 Figures. Source: Dahej SEZ

Medical tourism can be generally defined as the condition

of 'cost valuable' personal health care in association with

the tourism business for patients needing surgical

intervention and other forms of healing. The process of

healthcare tourism is equally facilitated by the corporate

sector concerned in medical and healthcare as well as the

tourism industry.

The Government of Gujarat

has taken the opportunity to

promote its world-class

medical facilities towards

making Gujarat a destination

for medical tourism for Non

Resident Indians. Concept of "Medical Tourism" includes

combining Healthcare with tourism potential and offering

the best of the East and the West under one roof.

Medical Tourism in Gujarat (a.k.a. MTIG) is a developing

concept whereby people from the world over visit India

for their medical needs. Most common treatments are

heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery, cancer

surgery, spine surgery and dental care. A recent study by

the New York-based consulting firm, McKinsey, found

that medical tourism could bring over $2 billion a year to

India by 2012.

India is measured the leading country promoting medical

tourism-and now it is moving into a new area of "medical

outsourcing," where subcontractors offer services to the

overburdened medical concern systems in western

countries.

Gujarat has several world class Hospitals, which provide

international standard health care. Shalby, Apollo, CIMS

and Krishna Heart care are the prime Hospitals known

among NRIs.

Dr. Pankaj Doshi, Medical Director of Shalby Hospital

Says;' “Gujarat is emerging as a destination of Medical

Tourism. At Shalby, we've had patients coming from

abroad for knee replacement and other procedures for

over 14 years. These include both Indians from Abroad,

and foreigners. The key, as always, is to offer services and

facilities that meet and exceed global standards.

He added, “While we have been known more for our knee

The main things prospective patients lookfor are technology, high-end infrastructure,quality services, skilled & experienced full

time doctors.


Medical Tourism:Global Healthcare in India

Kusum Rajgor looks at medical tourism, a fast developing phenomenon in Gujarat

replacement speciality, due to the multi-disciplinary

facilities available under one roof, patients can avail

multiple procedures. “

Multi-specialty hospitals offer treatments for complex

issues such as cardiology or orthopedics, to cosmetic ones

such as Dentistry and Dermatology. What this ensures is

that the patients and their families can plan multiple

procedures, if need be, on the same trip, and save time and

costs.

Also, there has been a trend where multiple family

members come in for different procedures at the same

time. Multi-specialty hospitals like Shalby offer them

different health care specialties under one roof. This

minimizes movement within the city or the country for

different healthcare needs. Dr. Doshi says, “We've seen

multiple examples where the family members

accompanying the primary patient have also undergone

certain procedures while they were here.”

The main things prospective patients look for are

technology, high-end infrastructure, quality services,

skilled & experienced full time doctors & globally

recognized accreditations like the NABH.

For hospitals like Shalby, the

g o a l r e m a i n s t o o f f e r

healthcare that is at par with

global facilities, but offers

affordability.

But there are certain issues

which need to be addressed carefully for Medical Tourism

promotion. Health sector expect certain support & relief

from Government, Local Authorities, Medical Financial

Institutions, Support from TPAs, and Corporates in terms

of regular, non deductible payments. And also land

acquisitions, Legal permissions, interest rate on loans,

subsidy on certain equipments, tax reliefs etc, more over

relief in rate of electricity, corporate taxes, relaxation in

labor laws, BMW disposal laws etc. are needed for the

health sector boost. Above all Government must ensure

quality check & uniform pricing for all medicines, surgical

& consumables before they are available for use. In many

ways, Medical tourism needs to be looked at and treated at

par with facilities that governments provide for setting up

SEZs and other export oriented sectors.

HEALTHCARE


Treatments range from those for complexissues such as cardiology or orthopedics, to

cosmetic ones such as Dentistry andDermatology, all under one roof.

Cost ComparisonKnee Replacement Surgery (TKR) (Avg Price)

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India $ 6,600( at Shalby)

Mexico $ 12,971

Thailand $ 11,644

Costa Rica $ 11,375

South Korea $ 15,600

Malaysia $ 7,000

USA $ 40,000

Cost Comparison� India in comparison to developing countries

is cost effective & has superior technology

& skilled doctors

(like

Thailand )

� India in comparison to developed countries

is also cost effective & has comparable

technology & equally skilled & experienced doctors

(like

USA)

The effect is palpable; it could be seen and felt throughout

the state, in every bit of Bihar. Walk into any government

office, you could see an exuberance, could feel a positive

energy suffusing the workplace. This is the effect the

world is talking about, the the charisma of a

great leadership. He has brought in an enthusiasm, an

aggression & a creative energy which was missing for a

long time.

The Nitish Kumar government has brought in the

resurgence of Bihar, has been instrumental in the

transformation of the image & economy of Bihar. In a span

of just five years, supported by a spate of dedicated efforts

& developmental measures, the government has brought

out a complete metamorphosis of the state. The spruced

up infrastructure, sense of security among masses & the

rising economy stands testimony to this transition. In fact

the overwhelming mandate in the recently contested

elections is a public applause to the present government's

accomplishments.

How has it been possible to bring about this all round

development of the state which seemed impossible till

recently? Neeraj singh, a journalist from a local magazine

VOB replies, “The Nitish Kumar government, right from

the onset had a vision- a clear plan of action. They were able

to mark out and focus on core areas of development which

had been neglected previously by their predecessors. Their

measures to improve infrastructure, primarily rural roads

and bridges, health, basic education particularly for the girl

students, curbing crime and restoration of law and order in

the state was immensely effective. These tangible

developments in the basic amenities gave tremendous

confidence to the people that this government was

extremely serious about the task in hand”.

Many frontiers on the developmental plank are paying

off now, even at such an early stage. The rise in economic

activities has already started putting brakes on the

exodus of workforce from Bihar. Sashi ,an electrical

contractor working in Pune says “Five years earlier,

there were plenty of electrical workers coming from

various parts of Bihar to work. But now their numbers

have reduced considerably. The workers tell him that

they are able to earn better here at their home, than they

were able to earn while away from home, so what is the

need to go?” This is a promising sign for Bihar, their

willingness to stay, earn and enrich their motherland.

Since the government has

already set up a high standard

of performance in their first

term, the expectation and the

resultant benchmark for assessment of their performance

in the present term will undoubtedly be higher. They

would have to continue with their basic reform programs,

and recognize newer areas for work. Lack of private

investments still remains the missing link for taking Bihar

to the next level. The Chief Minister has convinced his

constituents of his promise, and ability to perform. Now

the same goodwill needs to extend to outside parties.

Plenty of Public Private mega projects will have to be

initiated. World class higher educational institutions will

have to be wooed into the state.

The government has resumed its second term on a very

high note. A clear majority in a state that has been racked

by caste-based politics, is a substantial achievement. The

first major task initiated is fighting the corruption in the

system. All government ministers & officials have been

asked to account for their assets on the official website.

Their unaccounted assets are to be frozen and submitted

into the state coffers for public use. This is a laudable start,

in complete sync with what Bihar needs. A good five years

again and Bihar will be in business on the global stage.

Nitish effect,

STATESCAN


The spruced up infrastructure, sense ofsecurity among masses & the rising economy

stands testimony to this transition in Bihar.

The world is talking about the astounding success of Nitish Kumar- led government in the recently contested electionsin Bihar. takes a glance into the reasons and challenges that lie ahead.Anand Singh

Nitish riding high with people’s trustNitish riding high with people’s trust

Goa's Image

Plans for the future

Growth in the Industrial Sector

The image of Goa across the globe is that of a nice paradise

for tourism and beaches. When we travel all over the

world, we have experienced a lot of importance being

given to being a Goan. We feel proud about it and think

god has blessed the state.Alot of people say Kerala is god's

own country, even their tagline for promotion is the same,

but Goa is Paradise on Earth.

The reason why Goa is popular mainly for beaches is

because of unplanned tourism. For so many years, we

haven't seen much happening on a planned structure in

tourism. So, when tourists started visiting, the only thing

that attracted them was the beaches and consequently,

today 80% of the tourism is

centered around the beaches in

the Western part of the State.

But now the economic regional

plan which the State Government has evolved should

rectify this. We thought there was no point in

concentrating and overcrowding the existing coastal belt,

but instead shift the tourist focus towards the eastern part

of the state. Goa is immensely beautiful. 85% of land in

Goa is either forestland or used for agriculture. Goa

tourism has identified eco-tourism as one of the potential

areas of tourist attraction for the next 10 years if executed

as per plans. The focus of tourists when they come to Goa

is a clean life: clean people, clean surroundings and a clean

atmosphere. People come here for leisure, and we can

provide them a better time by shifting the focus from the

coastal belt to the forests.

Goa also has immense potential in adventure tourism:

there is scuba diving, coral reefs, a lot of unexplored

islands which are ideal for exploration trips. Goa also has a

sound culture unlike the rest of the country and the

festivals like the Shigmo which is normally celebrated by

Hindus and is very popular in the state. After the

Portuguese and the Brazilian carnivals, Goan carnivals are

one of the most famous. If we look at these two major

cultural aspects, a lot can be done in promoting the

cultural tourism of the state. Religious tourism also holds

immense potential; Goa is blessed with over 3000 temples.

Here, there are three wildlife sanctuaries, two bird

sanctuaries ,one bird watching sight at Carambolim lake

and heritage monuments in the form of old Goa to explore.

Goa should be accessible throughout the year as every

season has its own charm and appeal. Over last 1-2 years

there is consistent change in advertisement and promotion

of Goa tourism to project hinterland, back water tourism,

wildlife sanctuaries which are not known to other world.

Swapnil M Naik, Director, Department of Tourism.

Government of Goa said, “Goa is one of the hotspots

where each year 25 lac of tourist visits Goa every year in

which 20.5 to 21 lac is domestic tourist and rest are

foreigners. Domestic tourists are more affluent as they

come in large number to enjoy the sun, sand and beaches.

Goa has a land area of 3702 sq. Km, and there are over 3000

temples out of which we have famous religious

architecture like the Old Jama Masjid, the Bom Jesus

Church which are already major tourist attractions.

Heritage is another area that can be developed. There has

been successful lobbying with the government to protect

and maintain the heritage structures. In the days of

prohibition, the government would not allow anyone to

touch the heritage structures. Last year the Government of

India announced Goa as a heritage state and has given an

incentive from income tax in case one sets up a hotel. So in

the future, we can find Goa emerging as a good

entertainment and leisure destination shifting the focus

from the coastal belt to the non coastal or the 'Green' areas

of the state. Ultimately, the beauty of the state lies in its

ecology and we're very fortunate to have it.

From 1989 onwards, we could see many electronic

The focus of tourists when they come toGoa is a clean life.

STATESCAN


Paradise on earth adds new colorsMritunjay Kumar explores Goa's plans for the future

companies coming to Goa. We started with TATA, Zenith

Computers came in '89, Philips employees arrived, Bharati

Telecom was one of the companies set up by Government

EDC, Goa Electronics was set up, BPL employees arrived

shortly, then Siemens came to Goa in 1993. Many

companies came to this state thinking that they would do

well and obviously the incentives of the State were an

attraction for them to come and set up.

Vice Chairman, Economic Development Council,

Government of Goa, Mr. Nitin Kunkolienker said, “We

need to give focus on green and clean industries like the IT

and Pharmaceutical industries which generate good

employment and use limited infrastructure and

contributes good tax and non-tax revenues to the state.”

He further added, “Goa as a strategic advantage as the

South, West and North are high consuming areas. We need

to connect the infrastructure: the ports, airports, railways

and roads, all of it has to be well connected. Goa has all the

four within a radius of 8 Km - the only such state in the

world.”

Goa as a state is developing: the state is planning on a new

airport, the railways are going to be double tracked, and

the Konkan belt is going to be developed. The reason we

mention this is because better infrastructure will have a

direct impact on the human resource. Goans need to align

themselves and study and be prepared for what is going to

happen in the next 10 years. As the infrastructure changes,

skilled manpower will be needed and the influx of people

from other states will deprive the locals of employment

opportunities if they are not ready. In the long run, this

will impact the demographics of the state as well and we

are not only concerned with the employment

opportunities, but with the demographic effects as well.

Tourism and Industries are backbone of Goa as state

economy is concerned. Most of the revenues are collected

from industries, only loophole is supply of power to some

extent. Government of Goa has several plans for new

investments policies for NRI, acquisition is already on as

3-4 industrial state is ready to

set up in near future.

A D Naik, Managing Director,

Industrial Development Corporation, Government of Goa

said, “ The meritorious and beneficial point for NRI to

invest in this state is that every essential requirement is

available in radius of 30-40 km. Natural harbor, Ports,

Railways. Airport all the basic means of transportation is

20-25 km from any industrial state. IDC suggested a road

map for the fullest utilization of the potential created

under the IT sector and to oversee its implementation.”

The Road Ahead


Goa also has immense potential inadventure tourism.

From a hilly 'Pensioner's Paradise' to 'the Youngest City of

India'…..From travelling in bullock carts to swishing off in

style with Rolls Royce and BMW's; munching missal pav

to tandoori chicken to Italian pasta; from being attired into

the gold embroidered nine yard Paithani to the branded

halter tops and Levis ; from

listening to Hindustani

classical to rocking to the tunes

of jazz and blues;

from shopping at

local kiranas to

swishing the trolleys

in style in food

b a z a a r s ; f r o m

watching movies in

single run-down

theatres to multi

screen multiplexes;

F r o m l o u d

barga in ing with

street hawkers to

choosing the best in

hi-class hyper marts; from residing in teakwood high

ceiling wadas to plush spacious villas and townships-

Well, this is the New Age Pune - transforming literally

with buoyancy culturally, historically and economically.

Puneonce upon a timea sleepy'Pensioner's Paradise' is

known by different taglines. For its educational

excellenceit is referred to as 'Oxford of the East', for its

automobile and engineering hubit is referred to as the

'Detroit of the East' and of lateas the 'Silicon Valley of India'

for its distinction in the Information Technology.

An emerging urban cityPune has outclassed other Indian

cities into haute and happening metropolis. According to

theASSOCHAM Eco-Pulse Survey 2008, Pune is the one of

the largest emerging metros in India. This survey ranks the

city number one in terms of business environment,

infrastructure availability, real estate availability,

educational institutes and employment opportunities.

According to Forbes Magazine-Emerging Global Cities, its

ranks Pune as among the top ranking emerging global

cities next to Warsaw, Abu Dhabi, Chengdu, Toulouse,

Curitiba and Tripoli.

Pune has homes suited for all kinds ofbudgets.


Pune: A Global DestinationPune is emerging as an international and multi-ethnic hub in business, lifestyle, entertainment andgastronomy. dives deep into the city that is capturing the world's attention.Manju Rughwani

Pune: A Global Destination

Connecting Globally

Of Townships, Skyscrapers And Swanky Spaces

World Class Service At Your Feet!

The Information Technology sector has escalated Pune on

a world map.

It is interesting to note that Pune is the home for world

class IT giants like IBM, Wipro Technologies, Microsoft,

Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services,Amdocs,

Accenture and the likes.

According to Maharatta Chambers of Commerce,

Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), there are over 1000

plus IT companies present with several IT Parks. The IT

sector has changed employment landscape in the city with

over 2,20,000 people working in IT companies. In 2008-

2009, Pune accounted for over $5 billion in IT exports.

In addition to this, Pune IT scenario is festooned with

Government IT Parks such as Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park

Hinjewadi (Phase-I & Phase II), Kharadi Knowledge Park

and Talawade Techno Park. It has prominent Private IT

Parks like ICC Tech Park, Magarpatta Cybercity, Marisoft-

-Vascon, Cerebrum, Weikfield Infocity and many more.

Pune has a very strong digital infrastructure here with

excellent internet connectivity. According to MCCIA, the

city has the highest internet penetration (1 in every 5 uses

internet) and scores highest in terms of tele-density.

Pune is the pioneer city in India where the Super-

Computer was invented. Says proudly Dr Vijay Bhatkar--

Founder Executive Director, Centre for Development of

Advanced Computing (C-DAC): “The invention of super-

computer 'PARAM' way back in early nineties created

waves across the world with Pune as the potential

destination with state of art educational institutes and

research centres.”

Speaking about Pune as an IT destination is Deepak

Nathani, Chief Executive Officer, CybageIndia's fastest

growing software company, says that, “Pune has an edge

over other cities because of factors like pleasant weather,

Mumbai-Pune Expressway, international flight

connectivity and a large pool of IT talent. The proactive

role played by Software Technology Park of India and

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has

added a boost by attracting IT and BPO's from across the

country and the world. In fact, NASSCOM was among the

first to aggressively promote IT in Pune in comparison

with other city.”

From ancient wadas to swanky glass facades buildings,

the real estate scenario is upbeat in Pune. From lush greens

to tall buildings, Pune has witnessed the sudden boom in

the residential and commercial space. It has become the

hot favorite destination for the Non Resident Indians

(NRIS) and the expat community in Pune.

Rohit Gera, Vice President

Gera Developers, a reputed

five decade construction

company points out, “Since the

last few years, there are NRI's especially from Dubai and

Middle East who have invested in residential properties.

This is because of the financial loom in Dubai markets. So

also the recession lull in the UK and US markets has

prompted many of them to choose Pune. This is because of

the affordability factor compared to Mumbai.”

Commenting on commercial space segment is Gera, said,

“Presently, there is a huge gap of both demand-supply

situation in the commercial space. As far as large sized

offices and IT parks are concerned, there has been a huge

oversupply due to global financial crisis. Corporate firms

were very cautious for choosing their floor space lavishly.

Moreover, the commercial space comprising of malls,

multiplexes are more and more concentrated in locations

like Kharadi, Vimannagar and Hinjewadi (Phase II and

Phase III).”

Pune today is a hub for over top class international chain of

, “The last decade has

seen a tremendous boom among property buyers. In

comparison with other Indian cities, the best aspect of

Pune is that real estate sector is growing peripherally. You

name any locality, there are residential spaces available for

all kinds of housing-right from affordable housing to high

end premium luxurious homes. Currently, Pune has

homes suited for all kinds of budgetsbe it stand alone

apartments, large sized townships and skyscrapers with

state of art automation systems and hi-tech amenities.”

Nitin Nyati, Director, Nyati Builders, Pune, one of the

premier builders in the City, opines

DEVELOPMENT


Pune is emerging as a hub for medicaltourism with patients descending from

Middle East, Iran, Oman and Africa.

hotels like Lemon Tree, Hyatt, J W Marriott, IBIS,

Radisson, Le Royce, Westin and the likes. Opines Ravi

Varma, President, National Association of Realtors,

“Without doubt, Pune has witnessed a sudden boom in

the hospitality and tourism

sector. Earl ier the room

occupancy in Pune was at its

peak with the presence of five

stars like Le Meridien, Sun N

Sand and Taj Blue Diamond.

Today, practically at every nook

and every there are four-five

star hotels due to growing

MNC's and their clients.”

Pune is the healing ground for

all kinds of life-threatening

ailments. Says Dr Amita

Phadnis, Director, Oyster and

Pearl Hospital, “Lately, Pune is

emerging as a hub for medical

t o u r i s m w i t h p a t i e n t s

descending from Middle East,

Iran, Oman and Africa. Since

the last few years, there has

been an incursion of NRI's who

come here especially for

surgical treatments relating to

angioplasty, knee and hip

replacements, spinal deformity and oncology.”

She further added: “With most of them between the age

group of early 40's and 50's, Pune healthcare is

comparatively 25 percent cheaper as compared to

Mumbai and Delhi. The city has a pool of high caliber

specialist doctors and surgeons. Lastly, it is the foreign

student community in the city that is prompting many

foreign nationals to descend to Pune healthcare sector in

their own individual capacity.”

Over the last five years, Puneites have become fitness

conscious citizens striving for a healthy mind and fitter

body. This is the evident with the presence of over 600

fitness clubs. There is a huge presence of international

chain brands of fitness brands like Gold Gym, World Gym,

Sky,Anytime Fitness, Fitness First and others who have set

up in Pune. This has paved the way for sophisticated

fitness equipments and availability of vitamins and

proteins supplements.

Reasons Abhimanyu Sable, CEO-Founder, Abs Fitness

and Wellness Clubs, “Puneites have become health

conscious. They have realized that fitness and wellness is

part of their daily lifestyle. The days are over when fitness

was just for wrestlers and body-builders. Today, fitness

has caught the fantasy for all age groups right from

teenagers, women, middle aged and senior citizens.

Everyone is hitting the health clubs with full vigor.”

“Fitness is a fun based and wellness activity. Freaks want

to network and meet up with new friends and socialize

together. Today, every fitness freak wants to experiment

with all kinds of workout activities coupled with

entertainment. It comes with the entire package ranging

from cardio, weight training, pilates, dance, yoga, martial

arts and the likes,”said Sable who has over two decade

experience in the fitness industry.

Tushar Ramanan, Director, Tushar Fitness Studio, said,

“Pune is the perfect destination for gym culture for all age

groups. Thanks to the pleasant weather, exercise is really

fun through all seasons.”

He further explains, “Pune has interestingly two

variations of fitness. The first is entirely focused on

wellness programmes with beauty treatments, spas and

overall personality grooming. The second is focused on

only body building programme where freaks from the age

group of 40-75 years of age who yearn for the six pack abs

and muscular physiques to the likes of Shah Rukh Khan,

JohnAbraham and Salman Khan respectively.”

Healing With World Class

Specialists

For That Oomph Figure And The Six Pack Abs…


Shopping Therapy: De-stressing Moments

Where's The Party Tonight!

And Finally, Pune's Strong Infrastructure!

Pune's Real Challenge!

Shopping has become a cult and almost a daily affair in

Pune. From shopping in shops located in the typical Laxmi

Road or Main Street, retail therapy has swept Puneites

away with rising disposable incomes.

Today, Pune has a large number of budget and premium

shopping malls like Shoppers Stop, Central, Big Bazaar,

Reliance Mart, SGS Mall, Jewel Square, Central, Ishanya

Mall and the likes where you can look out for the top class

international brands.

Explains Siddarth Manohara long time Puneite who has

worked in the hospitality and retail sector“The 21 century

Puneite is very choosy and brand conscious. Pune retail

sector has a large presence of lifestyle and value addition

format malls with everything right from household stuff

to food to clothes to cosmetics all available under one roof.

In modern times, with double income earning population,

couples shop in bulk quantities and they have been spoilt

for wide choices.”

In addition to this, Siddarth pointed out, “With increasing

globe-trotting citizens, food malls is well equipped with

separate shelf dedicated to international cuisine brands

where all kinds of croissants, herbs and sauces are

displayed. Readymade Mughali cuisine mixes are hot

favorites amongst expats and young professionals.”

Disco nights and thundering rock music is what any

happening Gen-Y loves. Lately, Gen-Y is foot-tapping with

amazing music at party spots like Stone Water Grill, ONE

lounge, Smokies, Hard Rock Cafe, High Spirits, Casanova,

Elbow Room, Area 51, Scream and Aqua. Pune has

witnessed international artists to the likes of Florida, Akon

and Bret Lee.

Speaking about the musical taste of Puneites is Lamba

who elucidates, “Like musically inclined lovers, hip-hop,

house, RnB and retro have always been hot favourite

genres. But lately, trance, psychedelic and techno have

also become as popular like never before.” Pune is one of

India's unique cities where Indian and International music

is listened to with equal panache. Appreciation of music

ranges from crowds thronging night-clubs, to thousands

visiting the famous Sawai Gandharva festival, which

celebrates classical music of all major formats.

Behind this robust Pune's growth, credit goes to the efforts

of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in providing

the basic infrastructure of concreted roads, efficient urban

public transport system, regular water supply, electricity

and above all protecting the charm and pristine of the

Pune hills.

According to Environment Status Report 2007-2008, Pune

will witness a slew of new infrastructure and development

initiatives. First of all, the civic corporation has signed an

MOU with the Delhi Metro Corporation for constructing a

Pune Metrowhich will reduce travelling time

considerably.

With its successful initiative of setting up Bus Rapid

Transport System, the corporation is towards hi-tech e-

governance projects like Passenger Information Systems

and Intelligence Transport Projects to improve the

efficiency of public transport system.

To protect the green cover of Pune, the Corporation has

proposed to set up 35 gardens and plantation drive of

50,000 trees every year. It has proposed for the

development of 546.acres Bio-Diversity Park in areas like

Pashan, Baner and Sutarwadi to restore the local flora and

fauna, to create carbon sinks and awareness about nature

conservation. And finally, in

the wake of terror attacks, the

Pune police and PMC are

seriously considering to set up

' C r i t i c a l P u b l i c S p a c e

surveillance System' for safety and security of its citizens.

With robust growth, Pune is faced with number of

challenges to meet the growing Pune population.

Highlights Partha Sarthy Biswas, a civic journalist with a

local weekly tabloid, “Infrastructure is the biggest

challenge to Pune city. If the city is to prosper, it has to

focus on strong infrastructure. It includes public transport

system, sanitation, water supply, power supply and civic

amenities.”

Hurrah Pune! There are miles to go and achieve!

st

Appreciation of music ranges from crowdsthronging night-clubs, to thousands visiting

the famous Sawai Gandharva festival.


As part of the IGNOU-UNESCO collaboration, the Sir C.V.

Raman Chair for Science Education at IGNOU organised a

Science Olympiad for students of the 11th and 12th

standard from SAARC countries. With an initial

participation of around 6,500 students registered online,

and after several stages of selection, 41 students were

selected for the IGNOU-UNESCO Science Olympiad

Medal and 1,000 students were identified for Merit

Certificates.

The award ceremony of the

Science Olympiad coincided

with the S i lver Jubi lee

concluding celebrations of

IGNOU, the 65th Anniversary

of UNESCO, World Science Day and Jawaharlal Nehru's

121st Birth Anniversary. Among the top 41 rankers, 29

were from India and 12 from other SAARC nations one

from Maldives, two from Afghanistan, and three each

from Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The medals were

contributed by the Department of Science and Technology

(DST), Government of India, for the cause of promotion of

Science.

The subject-wise Awards of Excellence, in the form of a

'Notebook' each, were sponsored by the DST, while the

awards for Overall Excellence 'Intel Awards of Excellence'

with a laptop for each winner, were sponsored by Intel-

India.

The IGNOU-UNESCO Science Olympiad 2010 brought

smaller SAARC nations closer to India in terms of

understanding the penetration and depth of science in our

country, and also provided a common platform to share

scientific knowledge for mutual benefit. The Science

Olympiad will continue to be an annual feature of IGNOU

hereafter.

While presenting the IGNOU-UNESCO Science

Olympiad medals to the winners, UNESCO President

Davidson L. Hepburn, highlighted some of the salient

observations from the World Science Report, 2010. This

report depicts the evolving status of Science in the last five

years. The report particularly shows how, while

disparities between countries and regions remain huge,

the proliferation of digital information and

communication technologies is increasingly changing the

global picture. One of the positive findings of the

UNESCO Science Report is that Research and

Development funding has continued to expand globally,

as Governments have been providing greater recognition

to the crucial role of Science in socio-economic

development.

It is clear from the Report that the developing countries

that have progressed quickly in recent years are the ones

which have adopted policies to promote science,

technology and innovation. The UNESCO Science Report

also highlights the perceptible changes over the last five

years in the Indian Science system. The main challenge

facing us will be to improve both the quality and quantity

of Science personnel.

In its 2010 report, the Science Advisory Council to the

Prime Minister, headed by Prof. C.N.R Rao, delineates,

among other things, some of the priorities in Science

education and research of the country in the coming

decades. The report emphasises the necessity of

enhancing the quality of Science education at all levels,

from elementary schools to Post-Graduate institutes. At

the early levels of education, the key to excellence in the

education system is the teacher.

The Chair for Science Education and the Institutes for

Competency Advancement of Teachers through

Technology (iCAT) at IGNOU are proposing massive

continuing education programmes for Science and

Mathematics teachers. Through subject-based

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

pedagogy and with the help of self-learning and self-

training modules, we need to provide capacity-building to

a large number of teachers in Science.


Governments have been providing greaterrecognition to the crucial role of Science in

socio-economic development.

The Wonders of ScienceINTERNATIONAL

Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU

Governments have been providing greater recognition to the crucial role of Science in socio-economic development,explains the Vice Chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai,

Maharashtra mirrors India in many ways. Though one of

the many states in India, it has a vast land mass, varied

climactic conditions, and people of from different social

and financial classes living in it. While urban areas such as

Mumbai, Pune receive considerable attention, others get

left behind. There are issues that plague it from various

angles. These are only a few that need to be looked at-

Healthcare, one of the most needed supports from the

government, remains systematically ignored. The ground

realities in the area of reproductive health services show

p e r s i s t i n g s h o r t a g e o f

essential supplies for a

s igni f icant per iod. The

utilization of PHCs for

maternity care is negligible

and points to dissatisfaction

with the public health system in the community. The

absence of emergency obstetric care services in the public

sector in rural areas forces the use of unregulated private

medical facilities. Unless these issues are addressed

effectively, no concurrent programme, such as those run

by the government, can make a successful move towards

safe motherhood.

The responsibilities of the health system in contributing to

preventing and combating under nutrition have not been

adequately emphasized so far. Gaps are seen at several

levels: medical training and orientation of health

professionals, inadequacies of health systems including

human and financial resources, medicines, outreach and

community services, lack of monitoring and feedback

mechanisms to know whether programmes are effective.

Above all, in the public health programmes as well as in the

interventions by private practitioners, there is inadequate

recognition of the direct linkages between infections and

undernutrition and perpetuation of the vicious cycle of ill-

health, undernutrition and ill-health. More than 20% of

maternal mortality and 50 to 56% of child mortality is due to

underlying causes of undernutrition. To combat under-

nutrition, prevention, treatment and control of infections,

provision of ante-natal care, immunization and appropriate

care of childhood and maternal health complications.

Another important strategy is nutrition education,

coordinating with the ICDS scheme to make growth

monitoring and supplementary feeding more meaningful,

and availing every opportunity for early detection and

treatment of undernutrition. It is up to the health system to

play a crucial role in breaking the vicious cycle of

undernutrition and putting a stop to shameful and

unnecessary deaths. But this would require a lot of changes

in the health care system itself!

A report submitted before the parliament by the Union

irrigation ministry has shown that a whopping 28 polluted

rivers flow through Maharashtra.

The state thus has the highest number of polluted rives in

the country. Moreover, the state's pollution control

authorities have not even asked for more funds to clean

them.

What is worse is that out of this amount, nearly Rs 52 crore

are lying unspent. Rivers named in the reply include

prominent and mighty ones like Bhima, Godavari, Mula,

Muthha, Pauna, Panchaganga, Patalganga, Indrayani,

Koyna, Kundalika, Kanhan, Kolar, Mithhi, Tapi, Giran,

Neera, Wainganga, Wardha, Krishna, Purna and

Chandrabhaga.

The worst polluted among these are the ones in the

industrial belts of Raigad district, with Patalganga

emerging as the most polluted river.

While the Centre released Rs 4,085 crore to clean up 150

rivers in 27 states, Maharashtra, which has the maximum

number of polluted rivers, got the smallest allocation of

Rs106.94 crore.

Health

Water

In public health programmes, there isinadequate recognition of the direct

linkages between infections andundernutrition.


NEEDS OFRURAL

MAHARASHTRAMaharashtra remains plagued by multiple issues. highlights some issues, and facts related to them.Dr. Raja Pokharapurkar

Mobile & Agriculture in Maharashtra

Suicide of Farmers in Maharashtra Causes & Remedies

The Indian agricultural sector, at present, suffers from

decelerating productivity growth rate. It is essential to

catalyze agricultural productivity, raise rural incomes,

and release land for urbanization and industrialization to

feed the growing population. Serious challenges must be

addressed in order to achieve faster productivity growth.

These include infrastructure constraints, supply chain

inefficiencies and significant problems in the diffusion of

and access to information. The increasing penetration of

mobile networks and handsets in India, therefore,

presents an opportunity to make useful information more

widely available. This could help agricultural markets

operate more efficiently and overcome some of the other

challenges faced by the sector. It is therefore timely to take

a fresh look at the impact of mobile telephony on

agriculture performance in India.

The key finding of this research is that mobile phones can

act as a catalyst to rejuvenate the collapsing extension

services in the country. However, this does not in any way

dilute the need for urgent and significant improvements in

supporting infrastructure and capacity building to realize

much needed productivity gains in agriculture.

For last few years every other day we read the news of

farmers committing suicides. The number of farmers who

have committed suicides since 1997 has crossed 1 lakh. In

this context the actual problems being faced are to be

understood and analysed. Innovative remedies have to be

thought of which are to be implemented with sincerity by

the Government and the implementing agencies, along

with putting in place ways to rehabilitate the affected

farmers..

An attempt has been made in this article to address the

issue of farmers' plight leading to suicide and measures to

address the issue have been suggested. Several studies

have been conducted by the Government and social

science organizations to analyze the agrarian crisis and

farmer's suicides families in Maharashtra.

In 1947 the share of Agriculture in total GDP was 50%.

Gradually it declined and has now come down to about

20%. Still however 60% population depends on

agriculture for the survival. In 1988-89 i.e. prior to

introduction of Financial Sector Reforms, growth rate in

Agriculture in India was 15.4%, which has come down to

9.4 %( 2006-07). Such statistics point to a decrease in farm

production, but also point at a larger swathe of population

surviving on a sector of the economy that is de-growing.

For upliftment of the farmers there is need for a joint

initiative by State Government, Central Government and

Financial Institutions. There is need of-

i) Timely and adequate support by way of credit to farmers

with focusing small and marginal farmers to have them

modern equipment for improved agricultural

productivity.

ii) To issue Kisan Credit Cards to all the eligible farmers to

have them access to get differential-term loans from all

banks.

iii) To form Self Help Groups of Tenant farmers/ share

croppers & agricultural workers and give them micro-

credit through banks.

iv) Encourage the farmers to adopt allied activities like

dairy, fishery, poultry etc. with farming activities.

v) Diversification/crop rotation in agricultural production

in changed scenario.

vi) Adoption of upgraded technology inputs alongwith

provision of infrastructure inputs like power at subsidized

cost, supply of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, tractors and

credit provision through all nationalized banks.

vii) Adoption of Non-Farm activities with allied

agricultural activities.

viii) Arrangements of marketing /forward linkages

/contract farming to sell their produce at remunerative

prices.

If these facilities are given to farmers they may achieve

self-sufficiency in agricultural production. There is need

for major review of agricultural policy to meet the

changing needs of both producers and consumers.


STATESCAN

How do you see the growth of seed industry in the

country in short and long term?

What in your opinion is the growth potential of cotton

seeds market in India and what would be the driving

factors for this growth?

More than 85% of total area under cotton production has

been covered by Bt cotton seed. How do you see its

impact on the future of GM seeds of non-food as well as

food crops?

Do you feel farmers are willing to pay a premium for

High Yielding BT Cotton varieties in regulated markets?

The organized Indian seed industry is just over 40 years

old and presently 5 largest in the world valued at around

Rs. 7000 Crores. In the last one decade it has grown at 12-

13% per annum and experts believe that if everything goes

on well it should attain 3 largest position in the world

after the US and China by 2014 to be valued at around Rs.

12000 Crores.

The demand for quality

branded cotton hybrid seeds is

bound to increase to replace

varieties and non-proprietary

seeds. Even in Punjab and

Haryana where cultivation of

varieties was on a significant scale few years back, BT-

hybrid cotton has replace them. High yields from hybrid

cotton coupled with increased demand of cotton both in

national and international markets due to shrinkage of

cotton cultivation in the USA, Turkey and other countries

will trigger higher demand for cotton seed in India.

The rise of BT-cotton in India has been phenomenal in the

history of acceptance of any technology in agriculture.

Farmers and every stakeholder in agriculture realize that

this technology solved one of the most difficult problems

of the boll worms and relieved the farmers of all the

tension in cotton production and the country from a low

yield bracket. Majority of people in their heart of heart

welcome GM technology in crops; however, because of

some unfounded fear created by environmentalists, few

are still undecided. The government and those related to

agriculture need to take a call to repeal the fear of general

public for GM crops or else posterity will blame us for

working against the larger interest of farmers and the

country. Note that all the national science academies of

India have recommended release of new BM crops in their

recent joint report.

It is ultimately the high yield that decides on the

purchasing behavior of farmers. They may pay premium

th

rd

The public sector is more suited for basicand strategic research, while the private

sector has proved its efficiency in appliedand adapting research.

CORPORATE


Seeding GrowthIndia's seed industry is coming of age, and aiding agriculture in new ways.

interviews Vidyasagar Parchuri, the Chairman and ManagingDirector of Vibha Seeds Group.Indrani Sarkar

Vidyasagar Parchuri, the Chairman and Managing Director of Vibha Seeds Group

NUSUN

SINNOVA CETOMERE

DIVINE

Entrepreneur Leadership Award 2010'

has worked with dedication and attention to detail and transformed the lives for the

rural population. During his close interactions with farmers, Vidyasagar realized that

Indian farmers' desire to access seeds of different crops through a single window. He

further established companies to deal with cash and vegetable crops: in 1998

specializing in cotton and sunflower, in 2003 for vegetables,

in 2004 to harness the biotechnology tools for quantum jumps in crop improvement,

and (2008) for flori- and horticulture crops.

At present, Vibha is one of the top three seed and allied companies in India with a

turnover of over USD 125 million. Last November, Vibha inaugurated one of the world

largest multi-crop seed conditioning plant covering 12 million sft. With a range of

processing facilities which includes ultra modern cob drier, cotton de-linting, and cold

storage, Vibha can now roll out 100 trucks of processed seeds per day, covering more

than 190 products in 12 field crops and 20 vegetables.

Mr. Parchuri was awarded with ' at the

Agriculture Leadership Summit recently.

on BT cotton hybrids provided they are sure to get better

yields.

Significant advances has been made in seed technology

worldwide including very high-tech genetic engineering.

Working with these technologies requires lot of

investment in R&D which is not possible unless the

government supports it directly or indirectly. All these

years, the seed technology in India was largely in public

domain with research institutions producing the nucleus

seed and public-seed corporations the commercial seeds.

Since technology evolution is a continuous process, the

public research and findings built over the years need to be

also shared with the private sector.

Besides released materials, advanced seed materials and

even germplasm need to be made available to the private

sector so that there is a rapid growth and benefit from the

seed sector. The public sector is more suited for basic and

strategic research, while the private sector has proved its

efficiency in applied and adapting research and even

extension. Public-private partnership models of

appropriate nature need to be fostered on a

much larger scale that done at present.

The production to consumption

value chain of cotton is the longest

among those for different crops.

Textile industry that works with

high sophistication and quality

parameters for using cotton is

now increasingly looking for

sourcing good and uniform

quality cotton for their business.

Further there are initiatives like

“Better Cotton” started by

consortiums of such industries at

the global level. This development

may eventually bring different

players of the value chain including

farmers, seed, fertilizer and pesticide,

ginning and textile industry people in a

loop for the mutual benefit. If this happens

cotton pockets producing finer and cleaner

quality of cotton may emerge.

One of the biggest problems that the Indian agriculture

faces today is the increased cost and non-availability of

labor. Raising crops like cotton which employs lot of labor

is becoming problematic not only for the seed industries,

but also for the commercial cotton production.

Government policies are known to have largely created

this problem driving the labor out of farm lands for petty

unproductive works under the banner of employment

guarantee schemes. Government needs to rework on their

policies else the whole of Indian agriculture may cripple.

Given the varietal potential and land holdings we have, it

looks difficult but some intensive R&D with good

engineering brains should be initiated. However, we need

to strongly work on reducing the cost of cultivation by

optimizing the use of every input in cotton else other crops

that require low cost of cultivation would be a threat to

cotton production.

What is your opinion on Government's support and

facilitation in promoting technology driven seed

industry? What are the major policy issues impeding

the growth of seed industry in India?

In the changing industrial scenario, do

you see any new developmental cotton

pockets in India?

Your suggestions for the future growth of the cotton

production in the country?


Lifestyles, in the last decade,

h a v e u n d e r g o n e a

p h e n o m e n a l c h a n g e .

Erstwhile luxuries have now

become necessities. While the

s p e n d i n g c a p a c i t y o f

individuals has gone up,

banks have played a major role

in catering to the financial

needs of the individuals.

In India, Economic prosperity

and the consequent increase in purchasing power has

given a fillip to a consumer boom. Changing consume

demographic like growing disposable incomes, youngest

population in the world, increasing literacy levels, higher

adaptability to technology, growing consumerism, fiscal

incentives for home loans, changing mindsets-willingness

to borrow/lend, desire to improve lifestyles, banks vying

for higher market share indicate vast potential for growth

in consumption both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Rising Annual Disposable income among individuals,

growing awareness and changing lifestyles of the

c o n s u m e r s h a v e

fuelled the growth of

retail banking sector.

All the retail banking

s e g m e n t s a r e

expected to witness a

tremendous growth

owing to the low cost

o f b o r r o w i n g ,

changing customer

attitudes towards

b o r r o w i n g a n d

optimism regarding

economic growth.

Major products of

retail credit include

housing finance, auto

finance, gold loans

and personal loans.

S t a t e b a n k o f

H y d e r a b a d , a

premier Public Sector

bank in India has

over 1233 branches

spread over 14 states

and 2 union territories. The bank

has computer ized al l i ts

branches, and plans to add

another 230 branches and 300

ATMs during 2010-11.

Having consistent track record

of profit since inception, the

bank has been offering a wide

range of products, services and

excellent banking solutions to

their retail customers. SBH has

been adjudged the best tech savvy Bank by Business

World and Price Water House Cooper. IBA- GALLUP

survey has ranked the bank as No.1 in Customer

Satisfaction in SB accounts.

The bank prides itself on its quick delivery process, in

furtherance of which it has specialized branches to ensure

that timely and efficient processes are in place. Further, it

is reaching out to the customers, with its tech savvy

products that enable the customer to transact from the

comfort of his/her home.

State Bank of Hyderabad believes in keeping pace with the

requirements of the ever changing retail clientele. As a

pioneer in this retail segment, the bank offers a wide range

of products: Housing, Vehicle, Gold Loans, Mortgages,

Education and Personal Loans.

Though Housing Loans continue to be the biggest growth

segment, SBH is now focusing in a big way on Gold Loans.

Gold Loans are a quick and hassle free means of raising

funds for short term requirements. Recognizing this need

of the public, SBH has gone a long way in facilitating

consumers to raise funds in the shortest time possible, by

pledge of gold. It promises its customer a gold Loan in 30

minutes. This segment has been lately seeing a lot of

action, with south-based private sector players launching

their operations aggressively pan-India.

State Bank of Hyderabad has expanded and diversified by

focusing on non urban segment as well as varied income

and demographic groups.

The bank is continuing to focus on the retail segment in the

year 2010-11. The performance of advances in Housing

Loans and vehicle Loans in particular has been good with

the bank registering a growth of 188% (Y-O-Y) and 366%

(Y-O-Y), respectively.

CORPORATE


Indrani Sarkar profiles the State Bank of Hyderabad, a bank poised to capitalize on strides made in technology.

Banks must change to reflect today's customers' needs.

SBH at a GlanceWell spread network of 1233 branches

All the branches under CBS

1068 ATMs Across the country

More than 20,000 ATMs of State Bank Group

Total business stood at Rs.1,33,933 crore

�

�

�

Impressive Performance Once AgainSeptember, 2010�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Net Profit up 35.15%(Y-O-Y) to Rs.465.72

crore

Operating Profit grew 46.97%(Y-O-Y) to Rs.

938.61 Crore.

Net interest Income jumped 69.91%(Y-O-Y)

to Rs.1,305.97 crore

Total Business registerd 19.25%(Y-O-Y) to

Rs.1,33,933 crore

Total advances improved by 23.67%(Y-O-Y)

Total Deposits increased by 16.28%(Y-O-Y)

Capital Adequacy Ratio at 15.62%

NIM improved to 3.33 from 2.54%

ROA (annualized) at 0.99%�

What is your vision of tourism in

Himachal?

What are the areas on which the Government. would

concentrate for development in the sphere of eco tourism

etc.?

Apart from the traditional tourists circuit/hill station

what other kind of tourism would you develop

(promote)?

Heli skiing could be an attractive preposition. Could you

please enlighten us on this?

The vision is to develop economy

growing tourism, to increase the stay

of the tourists by activity based tourism and make

Himachal Pradesh number one destination of the country.

The Government. is also in the process to finalize 20 years

perspective tourism master plan for the sustainable

tourism development of the State.

In order to diversify the tourism products and to attract

the tourists to unexplored areas the Department of

Tourism, Himachal Pradesh has taken some unique

initiatives for promoting environment & eco friendly

tourism in the state. Camping, trekking, mountain biking

activities etc. are being promoted by tapping British Raj

visitors for locating their ancestors through Churches &

Cemeteries.

The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation is

promoting lesser known destination- adventure tourism,

religious & rural tourism, besides MICE tourism in the

state.


The Hills Beckon

With its diverse natural features Himachal Pradesh has vasttourism potential in segments like adventure, culture, heritage,pilgrimage, rural tourism and eco-tourism. interactswith Mrs. Manisha Nanda, IAS, Principal Secretary (Tourism)

Archana

The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation

has an agreement with Himachal Helicopter

Skiing Private Ltd. Heli skiing is being

promoted for the last 15 years in the state. Now,

the Government is going to introduce Heli-

Taxi Services in the state to acquaint the

tourists to the unexplored destinations. In

Himachal Pradesh there are more than 51

helipads. With the Heli-Taxi Services, it may

help to promote the remote & untouched

beautiful areas throughout the year.

The Department of Tourism, Himachal

Pradesh has taken some unique initiatives for

rural tourism promotion like Home Stay and

'Har Gaon Ki Kahani' (Every village has a

story) schemes. Under Home Stay scheme, till

date there are 295 registered home stay units in

the state and 752 rooms are available in these

registered units for experiencing rural

hospitality. However, in the state there are 2139 registered

hotels having bed capacity of 51928 beds. The

Government. is providing incentives to registered home

stay units like no VAT, no luxury tax and electricity and

water consumption on domestic rates.

For Mega Tourism projects, EOI's are being invited for

tourism resorts, film city, golf courses etc. in the state.

National and multinational companies are looking

forward to invest in the state. Himachal has tremendous

tourism potential like beautiful landscapes, peaceful &

environment friendly atmosphere and hospitable people.

Keeping in view of these factors investors are encouraged

to invest in the state for tourism development.

The Department of Tourism & Civil Aviation has short

listed few sites for mega tourism projects, which are being

offered to private sector by inviting Expression of Interest.

Yes, options are open. Himachal Pradesh Tourism

Development Corporation (HPTDC) is doing these tours

and initiatives for city tours (conducted) and HPTDC will

soon introduce pick up services from Chandigarh & Kalka

Railway stations.

In terms of tourist inflow the state is receiving more

visitors than its total population. During the year 2009, the

figure of tourists who had visited the state was 1.14 crore

and till June 2010 the figure of tourist in the state was 78.74

lakhs.

Apart from resident, stay accommodation,

what steps can the Government takes to

develop tourism in the rural area?

Himachal has tremendous potential to attract foreign

investment in tourism projects. What schemes has the

Government purposed to float so that foreign investors

are encouraged to enter the tourism sector?

How would you encourage investors to invest in the less

developed parts of the state rather than investing in the

already developed ones (Rohru & lakes which form the

natural ice skating rinks but due to lack to infrastructure,

transport, road connectivity)?

Would you be hand in glove with any private firm in

identifying locations?

Do you think introducing “conducted tours” with or

without collaboration of private firms be another way to

encourage investors to invest in the state and encourage

the tourist too?

TOURISM


Recognizing India's contribution to world civilization,

Will Durant had said, "India was the Motherland of our

race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages; she

was the mother of our

philosophy; mother, through

the Arabs, of our mathematics;

mother, through the Buddha of

the ideals embodied in

Christianity; mother, through

the village community of self governance and democracy.

Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all."

Today, as we term India as a rapidly growing, developing

country, somewhere, we

forget to acknowledge its

contribution to world

culture. Somewhere, we

forget to explore, how the

dynamism of our beautiful

country remains confined to

the borders within. The

need is to make the voices

within shout out - the need

is to take not just Indian

cuisine and cinema but also

the culture and youth to the

world and establish an

Identity of being a proud

nation. India remains the

Land of the Mystic, with

'poverty' being one of the

most common adjectives

used to describe the country.

However, we are much more than just that. As India's

contribution to the world culture remains unsurpassed,

Happy Hands Foundation seeks to Take India to the

World.

Happy Hands Foundation, a non-profit organization

works closely with artisans and craft-groups to

continuously innovate, and create objects that are

remnants of India and its diverse flavors. With over 200

crafts being endangered, it is time to give a glimpse of real

India to the World. These crafts that range from being a

metal hairpin to tussar silk scarf, are not restricted to

accessories, but are symbols of the tribes and communities

that crafts them. Each weave has a story, and every object

has a significance that dates back to almost a century ago.

It is these stories that seek recognition, because it is these,

that make us who we are, and form a strong part of our

Indian Identity.

For example, long ago, it was Budhha who etched a

Mandala for the first time, and has been known to predict

the cycle of life, every year. Today, the teachings of the

Mandala are widely followed all over the world, but

etching a Mandala is not for everyone. The Mandala is

now famous as a symbol and you would notice it in sacred

geometry designed jewellery or even in paintings. The

history and story of the Mandala however, is still untold.

India is a land of extreme variety, a land of vast

biodiversity and climatic zones from the sea level coastal

settlements to the extreme habitats built on top of lofty

snow covered mountains. Similarly regions of very heavy

rainfall and abundant vegetation are contrasted with dry

deserts, each with appropriately evolved housing and

While we still speak of diversity of crafts, itis important to spare a look at the conditionof craftsmen who have spent generations

practicing an art form.

CULTURE


TakingIndia toThe World

Medhavi Gandhi, Founder, Happy Hands Foundation,shares her experience with craftsmen from across India

other built forms that find a resonance with the particular

climatic zone in which it has evolved. Much can be learnt

from the manner in which local communities have

invented solutions to tackle the diversity of climates.

These solutions are both a creative response for survival

and celebration alike - the bamboo rainshields of Assam,

Tripura and Meghalaya are worn by farmers as headgear

while the palm leaf sunshades of Andhra Pradesh are

carried as umbrellas by shephards or used as shelters in

open-air weekly markets. The jhappi, bamboo rainshield

of Assam, is decorated with red appliqued forms and

transformed into a votive offering that symbolizes a good

harvest. These creative community responses represent

the triumph of the human spirit over the forces of nature.

Indian crafts are like a mosaic with reflections of various

colors, shapes and forms of existence merged into a

picture, which spells everlasting beauty. The craft world is

full of contrasts, an amalgamation of objects of utility,

articles of daily use, symbols of religious engagements,

ranging from the simplest form of craftsmanship to the

most technologically enhanced ones. The range and

diversity of Indian crafts is staggering. To understand this

diversity one would need to look at numerous dimensions

that include all the historical processes that shaped the

transformations of our society over time. Social and

cultural diversity has multiplied particular forms of

artifacts, each shaped by a multitude of forces leading to

the vast canvas of variety that can be witnessed today.

Therefore the vast array of artifacts, implements, built

environments, ornaments, clothing, headgear and

personal body decorations all showed the deep need for

holding on to their unique identity as distinct from that of

their neighbours.

While we still speak of diversity of crafts, it is important to

spare a look at the condition of craftsmen who have spent

generations practicing an art form. Most do not have

access to marketing/distribution channels for the existing

production which is later given to local merchants to

promote. The local merchants pay artisans a minimal

wage, while prices escalate as the supply chain stretches

longer. The artisan in the end, hardly has a benefit. To

sustain, craftsmen usually take up other jobs, and with

time, the craft faces a natural, neglected death.

T h e m o r e

e n t e r p r i s i n g

c r a f t s m e n , h a ve

started exporting.

With the money, they

are able to afford

better education,

and high-standard

lifestyles for their

families. Art shows,

E x h i b i t i o n s a n d

Workshops abroad

allow them the much

needed exposure

and the respect their

art form invites stays

with them forever.

Many a time, art enthusiasts from across the globe visit

their humble homes, in search of a lucrative business

opportunity, and work with the craftsmen on various

product development initiatives, newer designs, etc. But

their expectations do not always bear fruit given the

technological differences and education levels between

the villages of India and the Western Designers. Language

also, proves to be a barrier in basic communication.

We at Happy Hands therefore initiated The People's

Project a space on the web where each artisan has his own

(shop). You can buy directly from him, and send in

your designs to us if you wish to.

In the past year we have had several Indian students from

US and UK willing to help us with exhibiting in the

University complex, or even at the local Indian gatherings.

And it is then that we realized, that culture isn't restricted

to the geographical boundaries. It spreads like fire if you

wish it to. A little effort on behalf of each one of us, can

make a difference to the lives of

these artisans, for who each

object made is a bet on

survival.

In a globalized world today,

these crafts struggle to find a little space- on the shelves of

stores or on the mantles of comfortable homes. They seek

recognition from a visitor in the form of “Oh what a

beautiful piece…where did you get it..” in the hope that

you will tell their story…in the hope that the visitor would

want a similar object. Lets spread the stories of these

communities and tribes, of their hopes and dreams, their

beliefs and traditions…

Dukaan

For any Details, please contact:

[email protected] www.happyhands.in

To see products and artisan's crafts, please visit:

www.people.happyhands.in


Indian crafts are like a mosaic withreflections of various colors, shapes andforms of existence merged into a picture.

The metro rail launching service in March is going to be

this year's excitement in Bengaluru, the city that become

unworthy of old epithets like “garden city” and

“pensioners' paradise” to become the metaphoric bee in

the bonnet for some world leaders as the city was hailed

and riled as the symbol of India's Information Technology

surge that drew outsourced jobs from everywhere work

got too costly to run.

But the cost and time overruns

in the metro project -- which

will only run for eight of its

planned 42 kilometres this

year -- is also emblematic of the cancer-like growth of this

city to accommodate the huge influx of people, as civic

authorities and politicians watched glad-eyed and found a

way to regularise illegal tenements by an ingenuous

Akrama-Sakrama absolution scheme, while the green

cover went down along with and the water table and has

threatened all livability parameters.

Still, if growth is continuing and realtors and business

honchos are looking happy, there's hope that springs

eternal in the hearts of the Bengaluru denizens. After all,

the city of scarcities of the bjli-sadak-pani kind, is home to

intelligent people full of ideas to improve things, even if

their voting average of below 40 percent in the local body

elections last month and the city corporation council last

March, may suggest they lack determination or are unsure

of success under a state government that's forever in

political firefighting.

Take the Metro.

The Namma Metro as it's called to mean “our metro” is to

get a fillip as the union government has agreed to share the

cost escalation with the Karnataka government,

something the Planning Commission was not keen on. The

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) was in a fix as

the cost of the first phase had risen to Rs 11,809 crore from

Rs 6,395 crore estimated in 2005. The first train service

The cost of the first phase had risen to Rs11,809 crore from Rs 6,395 crore estimated

in 2005.

DEVELOPMENT


A respite for the Garden City

John Thomas explains how the metro might solve some of Bangalore's persistent problems, in more waysthan currently understood

from Baiyyappanahalli to the M Chinnaswamy Cricket

Stadium now will not languish for want of funds.

Since only about 55% of the total financing comes from the

state and central government as equity and subordinate

debt, the BMRCL is looking to raise Rs 3,000 crore from

other lending agencies such as Korean Exim Bank, French

Development Agency and KFW of Germany as well as

local banks to fund the first phase. A further loan of Rs

1,000 crore from the Asian Development Bank is also

under discussion, with a view to have all the funds in by

March.

The Metro project is vital to Bengaluru as this project is not

only a stimulant for the construction sector, but also a

trigger for infrastructure and building activity along

swathes of the city it cuts through. The upheaval on the

ground all over Bengaluru will settle with reconstruction

of several roads and construction of bypasses,

underpasses and flyovers to match.

The way people travel will also be affected as many of the

city bus routes will be altered to feed Metro stations and

common ticketing system for buses and trains will make a

difference in the use of the auto-rickshaws, which the city

boasts the largest population of. The city's other credit in

transport, as the city with the largest number of two

wheelers, may also go at this rate.

The transport department has also proposed that the 5%

motor vehicle tax on the state road transport corporation

buses that run in the city and outside be removed to reduce

their cost and thereby help the corporations reduce bus

fare, if not hold it down and still have fleet-renewal.

This entire activity would also lead to renewal and

realignment of sewers and drinking water pipes as well as

electricity supply lines, which would be another big

benefit to the citizens who have become so dependent on

private borewells and water tankers (as water is supplied

by taps only three or four days a week) as well as power

generators and (as the city's

power trips or shuts down

often enough daily).

The latest award of the Krishna

Water Disputes Tribunal rejecting Andhra Pradesh's

objection to Karnataka raising the height of the Almatti

Dam (which will allows Karnataka to draw more water

from the river that flows into Andhra Pradesh) has raised

hopes in the new year of additional supply of drinking

water to Bengaluru, when the river Cauvery's supply has

woefully fallen short. Piping water from the Krishna as

well as tributaries of Hemavati and Netravati and

Kumaradhara rivers are new plans, says G Thyagaraj who

heads a committee searching alternative water sources for

the city.

The encouraging thing is that environment consciousness

has hit Bengaluru's citizens and planners so that voices

like that of senior scientist T V Ramachandra of the Energy

and Wetland Research Centre of IISc's Centre for

Ecological Sciences, worrying about an industrially

developed Bengaluru dying out in a water famine because

its water bodies have been neglected and encroached, are

not ignored.

So if Bengalurians are

goose-stepping around

t h e d u g u p a n d

barricaded city roads

and enduring traffic

diversions and traffic

j a m s w i t h a n

expression like they are

chanting the “Aal iz

well” mantra of the

Aamir Khan film Three

Idiots, they're living on

the hope that the

current infrastructure

renewal drive will be a

mixed blessing (no pun

intended).

The writer is a retired

Deccan Herald and

Vijay Times journalist.


The encouraging thing is that environmentconsciousness has hit Bengaluru's citizens.

The insights that led to Pan Parag going the sachet way,

explained a seasoned advertising professional-turned-

academic, were many. The predictable one was the higher

cost of the larger box packaging used earlier. The second

was the need for the consumer

to lug that box around,

shamelessly displaying a

p r o d u c t w h i c h w a s n ' t

approved of by society. The

last trigger was the fact that

because of these two constraints, the pan-wallahs were

buying the larger boxes, and retailing them in smaller

quantities at a huge margin. The manufacturers wondered

why they shouldn't be reaping the benefits themselves.

The lessons here are reflective of the many elements that

go into defining market dynamics in India. Couple with

this the emerging layers of technology adoption by

consumers, expansive exposure to global brands and

lifestyles, a burgeoning 'middle of the economic pyramid',

and willingness to experiment,

and the opportunities before

marketers are endless. So are

attendant challenges.

Chal lenges in market ing

communications are really

fundamental, making one

wonder if deliberating on them

is of relevance anymore.

Thinking through, one realises

that it is more critical than ever

before to attack these issues at

the roots.

The concept of 'Integrated

Marketing Communications' is

fantastic. In a perfect world, it

would be put into practice to

greater effect. What are some of

the elements that go into shaping

consistent consumer experiences

through multiple touch points?

Advertising, public relations,

e v e n t s a n d e x p e r i e n t i a l

marketing, direct marketing,

c u s t o m e r r e l a t i o n s h i p

management initiatives... the list

goes on, empowered in great

measure by the 'digital' and 'social' paradigm.

With growing need for specialists in each of these

domains, especially emerging and rapidly evolving ones,

there is a distancing from the core of the brand. How else

does one explain the emergence of techies in not just

digital communication, but even advertising and CRM? I

am not inferring that any of them understand brands any

lesser than the rest. It's just that their core skills are not

brand-led, not marketing-led. So there emerges a need for

the marketing team at the centre to take along a multitude

of specialists on the brand track.

Now, let's shift to the marketing / brand communication

professional at the client end. More often than not, this

professional is drawn from the advertising industry. And

as even several advertising professionals admit, not all

disgruntled advertising professionals shifting to the client

end are capable or best suited for drive the 'integrated

marketing communication' agenda.

IMC - The Paper Tiger

Doing justice to the Indian market, acrossproduct categories, demands that one

understands and respects the variety andindividuality of its constituents.

BUSINESS


Marketing Challenges in Myriad IndiasIndia's marketing landscape has changed. Explains.Gokul Krishnamurthy

I'm not batting for or pointing the blame on the client or the

many agencies that work with them. I am leading up to the

basic and unfortunate functional divide between

marketing as a function and marketing communication,

both in agencies and client organisations. Why is

marketing communication treated as an execution

function, except perhaps for the top rungs of brand

consultants and agency partners? This is reflected, opine

some marketing communication professionals and

marketing heads, in the profile of intake - while the

marketing teams are drawn from the top B-schools, their

colleagues in marketing communications are

'communication' specialists of a different ilk. In effect,

KRAs lead to silos within which professionals are

cocooned. Integration must start moving from lecture

halls and C-suites to the work force, for communications

to reflect the marketing vision across the board.

When working for the PR arm of an MNC ad agency, I

realised that the most valuable input (perceived) we were

delivering were not to the brand, but to a political agenda.

And sales, which is the ultimate truth, had no connection

with the 'brand building' we were doing.

The Indian market is still being figured out by marketers.

Stories of local brands growing to become regional brands,

and regional brands aspiring to become national, abound,

with inspiring success stories. But is there a science to all

these success stories? Even if there is, was this science

discovered along the way through trial and error, or was it

deployed to effect the brands' success? More marketers

than not admit that marketing success in the Indian

market has been highly reliant on adapting to market

realities. The other basics of brand building are hygiene.

Given this reality, can marketers afford to not have their

ears to the ground at all times? The truth, contend CEOs

and business leaders, leaves much to be desired.

Reliance on third party research, often dated, is excessive.

While a marketing communication professional might

visit 30 cities in 30 days to ensure that a brand makeover is

implemented to the 'T', not many of them are tuned in to

the pulse of consumers. Ever wondered

why the experience at the customer care

centre doesn't quite match the beautiful

advertising of your cellular service

provider? Or why the television

commercial for a leading private bank,

which promises you the convenience of

carrying your account wherever you go,

doesn't say that it doesn't hold for current

accounts? Net result: disgruntlement,

leading to progressive lack of trust in

marketing messages.

Marketing communications, being the most visible

consumer end of marketing, tends to get glorified, often

more than it should. The gratification that this gives the

brand custodians employees and partners tends to

render them ignorant of or even indifferent to the

marketing vision. This disconnect results in dissonance in

the mind of the consumer.

A few brands have disconnected with this mystery. But

they present other marvellous mysteries. MTR ready-to-

eat foods is my fall back option while living out of south

India. That perhaps explains how MTR managed to find

investors in a virgin category.

Marketing communication often tends to flow from the

brand to the consumer. In reality, the marketing function

needs to be rooted in the consumer, originating in his or

her pulse. The situation becomes worse when the incorrect

or an inappropriate insight becomes the basis for

marketing action and messages. Also, while brand

consistency is of paramount importance, the messaging

and treatment will have to be tweaked for different

constituents of a market as incredibly heterogeneous as

India. With national campaigns becoming the base,

regional markets are treated like extensions for marketing

campaigns. The communication often sticks out like a sore

thumb. It is impossible for one brand or marketing

manager to understand the nuances of each market, and

the idioms of each language, to make an impact.

Doing justice to the Indian market, across product

categories, demands that one understands and respects

the variety and individuality of its constituents. A new

generation of marketing managers, most of them inspired

by social media can, at best,

claim to reach one layer of the

Indian consumption pyramid.

'Thanda matlab Coca Cola'

worked for most of India. The

company had the insight to think inwards, into markets, to

invest in local brand ambassadors, and campaigns.

'Think global, act local' doesn't suffice anymore.

There's a need to 'think local, think consumer;

listen to the consumer, and speak the brand'.

Marketing communications needs to be

empowered to do this holistically.

Reality Check

A Layered Nation

The author is a writer on marketing, former

editor of advertising and media weekly IMPACT,

and till recently consulting editor, TOP OF

MIND, the marketing journal from The Times of

India group.


There's a need to 'think local, thinkconsumer; listen to the consumer, and

speak the brand'.

What is that enables a manager to do things faster

and better, learn ways to save time and money? Why

do people feel they lack opportunity or do not have

insight to emerging opportunities? .Some of these

organizations are transnational businesses and yet

their people find themselves doing insignificant jobs

with no possible value add to their roles. Some

people find themselves lost in ever-changing

business environments

w h e r e p e r f o r m a n c e

standards are dynamic.

Many people are unable to

cope with faster learning

requirements and find it challenging. All these

factors are causing faster disengagement and

stagnation for a large section of the workforce. These

in turn will lead to a show and gradual decline of the

organization's growth. Even if the firm operates in a

growing market and the business is sustained. In the

long run, it would impact the organization

adversely. So the question comes how to best

provide avenues to the workforce, to enable them to

add value to the role and meet challenges of an

expanding business?

The organization must encourage creation of an

opportunity pool of stretch assignments that would

help employees gain insight to emerging

opportunities and get an understanding of job roles

of different business. This would help them to add

value to the current job and prepare for larger and

diverse future roles. One of the ways to enable this is

to create network groups within profession

internally and externally .This will expose them to

different process, practice and people capability's

that will enhance the employees' understanding of

business and their confidence. This will help them

understand the value they are adding from an

external source .This would provide a window of

opportunity to showcase their work to the

organization and to the external world. This will

help them see their jobs as significant assignments. It

is important that organizations help employees to

see the changes taking place worldwide in their

profession. It's equally important to encourage

employees to explore information learn best practice

in their respective fields; this would help them to

understand the competencies that they need to be

add to their professional repertoire. If such practices

are linked to process change and innovation, it

would drive value to the employee's role and their

The organization must encourage creationof an opportunity pool of stretch

assignments that would help employees


Building the People NetworkEnabling people to network across functions and businesses is a key managerial ability, says Anirban Banerjee

organization. It would also add value

to the processes in the businesses, and

help build scale in the long run.

Only when you have the skills to add

value in the job you will be in position

to add value to your role. This in turn

would lead to capacity expansion and

thus higher level of competency. The

ability of an organization to attract and

retain fresh talent and continuously

enhance the capability of existing

talent is the opportunity that of peer to

peer exchange of information and

knowledge sharing that takes place. If

a new recruit finds working with present team

exciting then it's more likely that he will find the

work engaging. In a real work scenario, it's not the

work but the vision of result of the output that drives

people. One way of creating an environment of

competency is to create key assignment network for

top talent groups that helps them to know how

others would meet a challenge and possible

solutions to it. As this covers behavioral and skill-

based knowledge, it gives a wider exposure to

complex issues that are contemporary.

Benchmarking of competency and performance

drive is effective only when a learning framework to

aid the required competency is in place. Most of the

time, people are activity driven and less focused on

the end objective of a assignment. Thus, in a attempt

to master the activities in a job, they often lose sight

of measuring the outcome itself. This is more so in

the Indian context where the workforce perceives

performance to be quantity driven and pays little

attention to quality or the impact of

the outcome on the business. Thus,

they fall in the activity trap and are not

able to leverage from the synergy of

the structure. So they see little utility

in learning and remain oblivious to

the core purpose of the business.

Meeting challenges of new age

business calls for a change in the way

we s e e o u r wo r k . L e a r n i n g

intervention to enrich job roles in

alignment with core purpose of the

business is needed. The other key

challenge that initiative will help

solve is the relation between structure and job

description, the aspects of career succession and role

overlap. So role fulfillment along with a platform to

enrich jobs can be great thrust to people to learn,

grow and perform. Most importantly, it would help

to grow leaders and help

them increase their net

worth by enlarging their

network.

To make people, process and structure get aligned

we need to support organization development

initiatives with learning interventions. The initiative

to create knowledge management process

supported by learning intervention can help people

add right competency at the right time .We need to

enable employees to see the big picture and help

them to see the value of organization structure and

leverage from it. Often people are not able to put a

framework to link in the roles, process and

competency thus not being align with the

organization strategy as they are not able to see the

ways to leverage from each element. Most

organizations are matrix structured and depend on

interlocking of multiple processes and diverse

competencies across geography and cultures. Its key

to bring in synergy among all the elements and

enable leadership development and drive growth

that builds batter planet.

The author is a Senior Manager Human Resource

Learning at Dr. Reddy's Leadership Academy. He

can be reached at [email protected] or

[email protected].

HUMAN RESOURCE

Most organizations are matrix structuredand depend on interlocking of multiple

processes.


What are the major achievements of your Government as

the state completes ten years of its existence?

You have the vision of making Chhattisgarh the hub of

Indian logistics and agro-based businesses. What

strengths and opportunities do you find in the state for

this?

What measures have been taken by the

Government of CG in executing the plans for

containing Naxalism and violence in the state? With

what success rate?

When the state came in to existence we had inherited

poor infrastructure. As we all know regional

imbalance is what prompted Chhattisgarh's

creation as a separate state. We envision a state

of affairs where all those regional imbalances

have been done

w i t h a n d a

m a j o r i t y o f

development

i n d i c a t o r s

achieved. Any

one can see the changes. Then our road

length per 100 sq. Km. was only 17.75 Km.

which is increased and now it is 20.40. Then

Irrigated area was 23 % which is now 32%. Then per capita

income was Rs. 10744, whereas now at current prices it is

Rs. 38,534. Then per capita energy consumption was Rs.

354 units, which is now 838 units. As far as health

indicators are concerned IMR was 76 which is reduced to

57, MMR was 407 which is reduced to 335. GSDP of the

state was only Rs. 29,539 crores which is now Rs. 38,802

crores. Our GSDP growth rate was 11.49 % which is the

highest among all other states of the nation. These

indicators themselves reveal the success story of the state.

In all I can say that Chhattisgarh is fully geared up to

ushering in a new era of fast and all-round development.

Yes, basically our rich natural resources are our major

strength. With more than 28 Minerals, Chhattisgarh is one

of the richest states in the mineral resources in the country.

Chhattisgarh has India's 20% iron ore, 17% Coal, 12%

Dolomite, and100% Tin reserves. We produce 16% of

India's total minerals. Our Mineral resources help us to

produce India's 30% Aluminium, 27% Steel and Sponge

Iron, and 15% of Cement. We are going to be the leader in

these sectors with the highest production rate.

While industrial growth occupies a place of priority in the

State Government's economic policies, agriculture gets an

equal thrust in the developmental agenda. In fact, the

fertile plains of Chhattisgarh are known as the 'Rice Bowl'

of Central India. The State Government is aware that

agriculture and forest wealth can generate enormous

employment opportunities. It is but natural that the

Chhattisgarh State Skill Development

Mission (CSSDM), set up under the

chairmanship of the Chief Minister, has

ident i f i ed agr i cu l ture and food

processing, medicinal extracts from forest-

based herbal plants, forest and forest

produce-based industries and village

industries as key areas among others for

creating an estimated 12.5 million jobs by 2022.

Chhattisgarh has unmasked the actual faces of Naxalites

EXCLUSIVE

108 / JAN '11 NGI KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGEBlurb 1:

Blurb 2:

Chhattisgarh: An Eco-friendly GrowthUjjwal K Chowdhury gets a feel of the growth-story and challenges of Chattisgarh today, in a free-wheeling discussionwith its longest serving Chief Minister, Dr Raman Singh.

Thrust sectors in Chhattisgarh's NewIndustrial Policy include large, core-sectorindustries, which would typically develop

their own satellite townships.

by exposing the gap between their words

and deeds. Now the whole country is not

only realising how Naxals are against the

Indian constitution, democracy, poor people

and development, but is also witnessing the

destructive activities and suffering the

consequences. It is my firm belief that

naxalism and terrorism are just two faces of

the same coin. We therefore have adopted the

policy of strict action against Naxalites. The

police force has been increased exponentially

from 22000 to 49000 during last six years. For

the training, capability and capacity building

of security forces, we have established Jungle

Warfare College at Kanker. We have created

STF and an anti-terrorist force. With support

of the Government of India we have opened

three CIAT (Counter Insurgency and Anti-

Terrorist) Schools.

I have sensitised our officers to understand the needs and

problems of our rural population. Gram Suraj Abhiyan,

Vikas Yatra, Kisan Mahotsav, Kuposhan Mukti Abhiyan

etc. were conducted for the purpose. We have improved

PDS, launched a scheme to provide 35kg Rice per month/

per poor family @ Rs. 1 & 2 Rs. per kg. More than 36 lakh

poor families benefited. Rate of interest for farmers' loan is

reduced from 14% to 3% per annum. Free Iodised salt is

being distributed to all poor families, free textbooks to

about 50 lakh School Students, and Free cycles to all High

School going Girls from poor Families. The outcome of our

efforts are-No hunger deaths, No farmer suicides, Even in

worst naxal affected area, PDS in not an issue, food

security being complemented with nutritional support

and Mitaanin Programme, MMR reduced from 407 to 335

IMR from 76 to 57 and Institutional Deliveries increased

from 20 to 41, Dropout rate of girls students is reduced,

rate of admission is increased.

As I said earlier, we are going to become the leader in

Aluminium, Steel & sponge Iron and Cement Industries.

We are emerging as Power hub of India. We would like to

ensure that it is not only the power provided but it should

be quality and affordable power. In next three years all

our Generation, Transmission and Distribution

companies together would be investing almost Rs. 18000

cr. to insure that the state will not only continue to enjoy

the status of zero power cut but also provide a quality and

cheap power for citizens.

Thrust sectors in Chhattisgarh's New Industrial Policy

include large, core-sector industries, which would

typically develop their own satellite townships. The State

encourages private sector investment in new industrial

areas. A successful private industrial park has already

come up in Raigarh. Private sector corporate entities and

estates are also allowed to install Captive Power Plants to

generate and distribute power directly within the estate,

without any restrictions.

How far has the government succeeded in

taking good governance to the interiors of

the state and bringing the below poverty

line in the vortex of development?

How far have the NRIs and industrialists from other

states responded to the business opportunities emerging

in CG in recent years? Which are the most preferred

sectors and locations?

While the physical infrastructure of CG has gone

through a considerable change in this decade, what do

you have to say with regards to the social infrastructure,

including availability of trained human resources and

public health, in recent times? What major achievements

and limitations therein? What are your plans in this

sector?


Chhattisgarh is a land locked state.

Poverty and backwardness is its major

problem. 50 % of its Geographical area

is under forest cover. 60% of its total

area is under fifth schedule area and

45% population is scheduled cast and

scheduled tribe. In the terms of police

stations 32% area is naxalism affected.

out of total population 43% families

are poor. In this background need to

improve human development indices

is obvious. We have up-graded sub

health centres, primary health

centres, communities and district

health centres in a large number and

achieved national average in this

regard. To meet specific requirements

various innovative schemes are

launched. Free Heart Surgery, free

cochlear implant. Sanjivani Sahayata

Kosh for free treatment of poor

families, rural Medical core scheme,

24X7 Primary Health Centre,

emergency management response system (108

Ambulance Services) is some major initiatives, which have

changed the scenario.

Ans- A c c o r d i n g t o

National standards there must

be one Hand Pump for every

2 5 0 p e r s o n s . N o w i n

Chhattisgarh there is one Hand

pump for every 85 persons. So

Chhattisgarh is way ahead of this bench

mark. We have increased our irrigation

potential from 22% to 32%. Brought 58,700

ha. Under assured irrigation through tube

wells, wells, micro irrigation tanks,

sprinklers and pump sets. You would be

happy to know that Chhattisgarh is the only

state in India having an official zero power

cut policy not only for urban areas but also

for the rural areas. We often say that we have

zero tolerance of power cut in the state. In

order to ensure that we generate adequate

power, we also distribute it properly. In next

five years, capacity addition of 40,000 MW

with an investment of Rs. 2,00,000 cr. will be

assured. In next 3 years our Korba City will

be the energy capital of India as this city will

generate 10,000 MW of power.

We have a very powerful single window system in place,

for transparency in various approvals a time bound

mechanism is developed along with strong support of

information technology.

Water and power have been long term challenges in the

state. What initiatives are on for providing with water

and uninterrupted power across CG?

India's image has once again taken a big setback due to

corruption at high places with regards to investments

and infrastructure building. How are you tackling these

issues? What are your plans and measures to curb

corruption and ensure transparency and single window

dealing with administration for the NRIs and external

investors and entrepreneurs?


Chhattisgarh is the only state in India havingan official zero power cut policy not only for

urban areas but also for the rural areas.

' is a philosophy that is beyond

'worship of God'. In fact, the Bauls and

Fakirs of West Bengal and Bangladesh

believe in humanism, what they call '

. Lalon Fakir could loosely be

termed a prophet but that would be against

the ' ,

This is not a mere piece for a tourist trying

to explore Bengal. This is not a piece for a

scholar to know the unknown. This is, but, a

piece for a willing soul, who would like to

travel through a life; one life; the life of

Lalon Fakir. The attempt is to provide a

mere glimpse of a journey into ' through

Fakir Lalon Shah. The Fakir was once poetic in his playful

but suspicious remark 'does Lalon know the of

?', although by then he had reached the apex of

' or discourse; he had reached the zenith of

the ' - the philosophical circle of

that started with the Bhakti movement in the Eastern part

of the Indian subcontinent. Lalon's emphasis was on the

act of knowing. He was not an agnostic, not even distantly

'Kantian', which questions the possibility of

epistemological knowledge and demonstrates

possibilities, but he is suspicious of the so called 'knowing'

apart from living, experiencing, doing or from any state

where the margin between knowing and experiencing

dissolves. With Lalon, we get a unique politico-

philosophical movement that cannot be grasped with the

categories of modernity.

It's difficult to know ' or

the way of being of . One

experiences it or lives through

it with the guidance of an

appropriate living Guru. So, like Lalon, I would like to

start disclaiming that I indeed know the ' of ,

but since we dwell in the Bangla language we live the

philosophy. My claim is is uniquely captured

in language developed through our saints.

Dwelling in a language? Yes. My interest in Fakir Lalon

Shah started at a very early age as a poetic interest, and

grew slowly into a philosophical quest with the necessity

to understand the big that is universal but lives uniquely,

in a particular form, through the language. Finally,

manifested a lifestyle

movement; a way of being for an entire

community that cherished and practised

certain politico-spiritual values in daily life

to remain joyful and active.

My interest here is not to repeat commonly

known information such as Lalon was born

in 1774 (1181 by the Bengali Calendar); the

date is not known but calculated backwards

from his day of departure or 'death' on 17

October 1890 (1297), knowing that he had

the total of 116 healthy years of life. I was

amazed when I came to know that he

anticipated the day he was going to spend his final

moments to meet death. The month of always the

desired month for the (saints) of Bengal to meet

the day of transformation, to play the act of departure the

death. Lalon preferred the 1 of to hide himself from

his followers.

Also, he consciously kept his identity undisclosed. Taking

from the 'teen pagol' or three crazy characters of Nodiya,

Lalon vehemently opposed the ills of caste, class and

patriarchy and despised all forms of politics of identity for

fear of communalism. The three crazy characters of

as he lovingly sang the eulogy for them in his

famous song ' ', are

Chaitanya, Nityananda and Odoitacharya. For his

disciples, Lalon is borne of the same 'water' as any other

human being. He was found by Molom Shah and Motijan

Bibi by the bank of the now dead Kaliganga River, a young

boy of around 16 years at the edge between water and

earth suffering from small pox. He was saved and nursed

by Motijan and he never left Molom Shah's place, where

we see his shrine now in Cheuria, Kushtia. The shrine is

known to his followers as Motijan-Lalon Mazar. Motijan

still lies next to him, but because of our patriarchal society,

the mother's name has been suppressed over time; it is

now widely but wrongly known as Lalon Mazar or Lalon's

shrine.

So first thing we should learn is that, all the stories that are

available as a biographical history of Lalon, are baseless.

He is neither from a Hindu family, nor is he a Muslim,

Buddhist, Jain, Christian, or the other. His movement was

political and not narrowly ' '. He is the prime

Nadia Bhaab'

Manob

Dharma'

Bhaab'

Nodiyar Bhab'

bhaab

Nodiya

Nodiya's bhaab'

Nodiya Porimondol' Nodiya

bhab'

Nodiya

bhab' Nodiya

Nodiyar bhab

Bangla

Bangla

Nodiyar Bhab

Kartik

shadhoks

Kartik

Nodiya,

teen pagole holo mela Node (Nodiya) eshe

spiritual

st

Fakir Lalon Shah's movement is the primesymbol of anti-communal politics in the

subcontinent.

CULTURE


The Trail on Lalon FakirArnab Acharya explores and experiences a unique community.

symbol of anti-communal

politics in the subcontinent and

consequently for the world, who

succeeded in delinking from his

kinship and family origin for

that purpose as well as from any

identity based on geography or

particular locations. He belongs

to a global human community,

although was born in , he

defies all geographic and

political boundaries. This is

already a superb achievement.

Secondly, I would like to

highlight his anti-caste, anti-

class and anti-patriarchal

practices. One may call this

politics as ' ' in a broader

sense taking advantage of this

powerful word that does not

denote the Roman or Greco-

Christian concept of 'religion'.

The difference can be understood easily if we note that

while it sounds absurd to say, 'water has religion', it is

absolutely proper to say, 'water has a way of being, a

, that can be investigated, contemplated and

realized'. In the language, we use the word to imply

the way of being of beings irrespective of whether they are

'material' or 'immaterial'. However, we need to be very

careful in using the word ' since Lalon was against

any form of institutionalized belief systems, rituals or

practices. Like water, humans have a way of being that is

proper to it. Nevertheless, unlike water humans can 'taste'

their own being. The supreme goal of a living person is to

engage all her faculties to 'taste' herself as a way to taste the

spirit, that she is not merely a finite being, but privileged

with infinite potential and possibilities to become what

she desires. A journey through Lalon's life and land might

provide one's spirit with just that.

This point may lead us to a third : In , particularly in

the 'Lalon School', the word we use for 'Spirit' is ' ',

but the term is never used independently of ' ' (the real

human beings). This is a fundamental distinction between

the predominant western notion of Spirit either as a

Subject or a Process. The question of Spirit in the modern

philosophy is generally posed as an epistemological

problem; the problem of knowing an object by a subject,

assuming a distinction and difference between the subject

and the object. notion of ' ' is conceived

along with the (Nature), which includes biological

beings endowed with divinity. The same ' ' is

everywhere, but when it appears in human beings it

becomes ' ' or beyond the description of all

language or semiotic systems. This is the reason why

does search God or Allah outside the materiality of

Nature manifesting as human beings. Or even, do not

search God merely inside of human beings. does

not believe that there is an outside to inside or an inside to

the outside.

Afamous song of Lalon says :

(OAllah, how could I understand your

playful manifestations?

You areAllah but you are utteringAllah

to address yourself!)

The concluding question that I'd like to raise is that should

Lalon, like many of the great saints in our sub-continent,

be the meeting point where we could wash our bloody

history of communalism, our history of politics of identity,

caste and class systems and patriarchal practices? The

answer is definite yes but

material lures loom large over

our people. I can clearly see

that the political revolution of

changing the world starting

from the subcontinent is dependent on our capacity to

integrate the ethico-political resources, or ' ' as

we generally call it, gathered by our great saints into our

politics.

To be political today in the subcontinent will depend on

our capacity and will to dig into our own resources and

return to our great minds.

Nodiya

dharmo

dhormo

Bangla

dhormo'

Nodiya

Porom

Jeev

Nodiya's Porom

Prokriti

Porom

bedantor

Nodiya

Nodiya

Allah ke bojhe tomar opaar leeley

Tumi aponi Allah daak Allah bole .....

spirituality


It's difficult to know 'bhab' or the way ofbeing of Nodiya.

At a time when restoration of some of the best Indian films

of the yore has been taken up by both government and

private organizations, one film's ongoing restoration is

notable. M S Sathyu's classic a film while set in

the time of India's 1947 partition, is relevant more than

ever today, when the world is besieged with hatred.

The story of Salim Mirza (played brilliantly by Balraj Sahni

in what was his last screen

appearance), who saw only

humanity and not the hatred

induced by religion-based

politics in the society around

him, is soon making a return

on the big screen. Sathyu's

1973 classic is getting restored to full audio-visual glory

that can be bestowed upon by latest technology.

Arguably the best-ever film to tackle the theme of India's

partition, the film was in the Competition section of the

Cannes Film Festival and was India's entry for the Best

Foreign Film Oscar. The good news is that the restored

version will be released commercially in theatres,

including Pakistan. , with a screenplay by Kaifi

Azmi and Sathyu's wife Shama Zaidi (who also did the

costumes), is based on a powerful story by Ismat Chugtai

on the impact of politics on individuals. Centered around

a Muslim family in Agra which faced the brunt of socio-

political hatred during the 1947 partition, it remains the

cinematic milestone that most sensitively depicted the

turmoil leading to the mass migration in the Subcontinent,

even though several other powerful films on Partition got

made later- most notably Govind Nihalani's , the late

Pamela Rookes' and Chandraprakash

Dwivedi's . The film was made even more

memorable by the defining performance of Sahni in the

role of protagonist Mirza.

The man who has taken up the task of complete restoration

of the film is Subhash Chheda, a Mumbai-based film

society activist and film historian. Chheda, who earlier has

bought the rights of a significant number

of award-winning regional language

films for home video distribution, has

taken up the restoration of as

a mission. And he has left no stone

unturned to get the best-possible image

and sound restoration done on the film.

Explaining the process, he says,

“Restoration of a timeless classic is tricky.

The integrity of the original has to be

maintained while making it appealing to

v i e w e r s a t t u n e d t o c u r r e n t

technologies.” Immense patience and

hard work, apart from the money, has

gone into the process. In the image

restoration part alone, an astounding

level of work has been done as the

damaged picture negative was cleaned

to remove physical blemishes, followed

by high resolution scanning of every

single frame the whole film contained

over 1,97,000 frames! An army of

technicians has worked to remove

flicker, dirt and dust injuries, and

scratches and tears from the frames.

Frames whose colours had faded were

re-colorised and missing frames were

Garm Hava,Garm Hava

Tamas

Train to Pakistan

Pinjar

Garm Hava

Garm Hava is a simple story of a proud,stoical man who refuses to give up his

roots and identity even as the hot winds ofcommunalism and religiosity threatens to

uproot his family

CINEMA


A CLASSIC'S RETURNUtpal Borpujari has details on restoration of Garm Hava, a film that touched many souls.

recreated by comparing them with adjacent frames.

In the sound restoration part, every single sound wave

was enhanced and split into different tracks to sync it to

international theatrical sound systems. The sound has

been upgraded from the original mono to 5.1 stereo, and

the final mixing has been done in Dolby. Special effects

came in the form of latest image stabilisation techniques

that were used to reduce camera shakes. “Special effects

normally associated with new films, has been used

perhaps for the first time in the world during the

restoration of ,” says Chheda. But while doing

all this, meticulous efforts have been made in maintaining

the sanctity of the original film. Chheda explains,

“Nothing has been added, nothing deleted. Everything

has merely been enhanced to give a complete theatrical

experience to the modern viewer.”

The cost, effort, time and expertise put for the restoration

of the film, he stresses, will make it only one among a

handful worldwide to undergo such an elaborate process.

“When seen in theatres, it will be as if it has been made

recently, and not in another era,” he says. Accompanying

the film's release, expected in the first half of 2011, will be a

book chronicling the story of making of the film and its

relevance in present times, authored by Satyen Bordoloi.

“The entire publicity for the film, from website to

brochures and trailers, will be done matching modern

sensibilities. The effort is to make this classic live for at

least another 100 years, when hopefully a new generation

will find new relevance to this eternal masterpiece,” says

Chheda.

But why particularly “Garm Hava” for restoration? For

Chheda and his team, it is the subject's timelessness, and

its relevance to current times, was the reason to take up the

project. And he puts it succinctly, “Taken at face value, it is

a simple story of a proud, stoical man who refuses to give

up his roots and identity even as the hot winds of

communalism and religiosity threatens to uproot his

family. You wonder how a film set in 1948, shot in 1973 and

seen in 2010 will be relevant. However, this deceptively

simple film, which has just one single scene of physical

violence while depicting a very violent time, has a lot

going into it than meets our eyes. In these times of

globalization and the resultant changing dynamics across

the world, when individuals and families are facing

different kinds of trauma because of violence and

displacement, the story of Garm Hava remains a case

study.”

To keep up with the present-day trends, the film will have

a comprehensive website, apart from the book in English,

Hindi and Urdu versions that will comprise all details and

images about the film, the historical backdrop as well as

comments about it from

several great filmmakers of

India, and campus screenings

and seminars across the

country apart from domestic

and international releases.

Pages dedicated to the film

have already come up social networking sites like

Facebook to connect it to the younger, Net-savvy

generation. For a film that very sensitively recreates a

painful part of the Subcontinent's history, there can be

nothing more apt as a tribute than bringing it back to a

generation for whom Partition is just a topic in their

history books.

Garm Hava

The writer is a New Delhi-based film critic and

filmmaker, who won the President's Swarna Kamal for

Best Film Critic at the 50 National Film Awards, 2003.

He can be contacted at [email protected]

th


Nothing has been added, nothing deleted.Everything has merely been enhanced to

give a complete theatrical experience to themodern viewer.

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