India: High on ice in Mumbai
Chilling out as a concept has taken on a new dimension altogether with Hyacinth Lifestyles introducing “21 Fahrenheit” the first-ever ice lounge in India.
The dynamic trio of Hyacinth Lifestyles Vaibhav Tandel (CEO of Hyacinth), Aalok Purohit (AVP Marketing) and Harshan Dharmadas (AVP Operations) came together while working on a similar project in Dubai. When the three realised that India didn't have an ice-bar/lounge, a prominent feature in London, Canada, Las Vegas and other places, they thought, ‘Why not be the pioneers?' And so the three joined forces to create “21 Fahrenheit”, an 820 sq. ft. bar-lounge in Andheri, Mumbai.
“The term ‘concept restaurant' is used casually in India. In reality, a concept restaurant is one that builds its décor, menu, facilities etc in keeping with a particular theme/concept. The ice lounge seemed a delightful idea, considering that India has sub-tropical climate and people would love a place where they could not only have fun but also chill out, literally speaking!” explains Harshan.
Concept-driven
Vaibhav elaborates, “21 Fahrenheit is just one of the many firsts we have planned. Hyacinth Lifestyles was formed with the objective of introducing concept-driven properties to India. Ice bars can sometimes be seen as a gimmick and remain open for only three to four months. But we plan to keep 21 Fahrenheit open all year round, while constantly introducing new and exciting features: everything from the drinks to the interiors will be changed every six months. The whole beauty of ice is that you can do what you want with it.”
21 Fahrenheit is indeed a marvel, to say the least. Stepping inside the simple, frosted-glass doorway, guests begin their evening with a quick drink at the bar strategically located near the entrance. Then one is ushered into a dressing-area. Puzzled? Well, here guests are offered a navy blue furry Parka and insulated moon-boots and gloves, all specially designed to brave the chill that awaits inside. If you've any qualms about hygiene, Aalok is reassuring “We offer a fresh set of this thermal gear to every guest who walks in. Once worn, the set is immediately sent to the laundry. What's more, we stock all sizes because we have kids as young as five years to adults as old as 65 years visiting us.”
Ensconced in the thermal-wear, you step into the icy confines of 21 Fahrenheit and a blast of cold air welcomes you. Nothing you have heard prepares you for the real thing. Everything — from the seats to the walls to the curtains to the chandeliers to the crockery — is made of ice! “Except the flooring (tiled to keep people from slipping), everything is made of ice. It was quite a task to create the curtains with petal-shaped ice pieces hung on a special string and to make sure the heat from the lights does not melt the ice but instead gives you a soft glow. However, we were adamant about settling for nothing but the authentic. So we worked diligently on ideas till we found the right way. In fact, we were able to have energy-efficient lighting custom-made to suit the feel for a lounge. We have designed every piece on our own and have a team of professional ice-carvers working with us to manifest those ideas. Care has been taken to make the glasses and other cutlery like sushi platters from edible ice so that even if one consumes the glass/crockery by mistake, it won't create a problem,” say the partners.
It is attention to such details that has made 21 Fahrenheit a huge hit with the young and old alike within a span of 2-3 weeks since its inauguration. “We get a footfall of 200 people daily on an average with 60-70 coming in the afternoons from 2.00 p.m., which is when we open. We've already hosted a birthday party where the guests were super-excited to cut the cake and have fun in –6 degree Celsius!” smiles Aalok, even as Harshan adds, “We've also had queries about hosting product launches, fashion shows and bachelor parties. It's been an overwhelming response.”
Wholesome experience
Well, the response is as much for the place as for its innovative and tongue-tickling cuisine that the trio has developed after much research. “We're the first ice lounge to offer eatables instead of just drinks because we wanted our guests to have a wholesome experience when they come to enjoy here. Thus it is that they can enjoy various kinds of sushi and sashimi, desserts as well as desi stuff with a twist, such as vodka pani puri.”
The ice lounge will soon be accompanied by a pan-Asian restaurant overhead. “That will have authentic Indian, Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine and an interactive kitchen.” One can gain admission with an acclimatisation charge of Rs. 750 per head, which entitles you to a welcome drink (mocktails or jelly shots) and thermal gear. You are then billed for what you eat/drink.
The trio agree that it is tedious to maintain the ice lounge. “We've hired a team of professional ice-maintainers who regularly clean stains, repair chipped ice etc. We also have put in place specialised systems and a team to monitor those to maintain the temperature at –6 degree C (21 Fahrenheit), which is what has inspired the name) and a generator backup in case of a power failure.”
No wonder, then, 21 Fahrenheit has become, and promises to remain, Mumbai's coolest nightspot.
By: Reshma S Kulkarni
Saturday, December 26, 2009
187 tourists compelled to take army shelter due to heavy snowfall in Tsomgo -Nathu La
Sikkim Police comes to the rescue of stranded tourists
GANGTOK, December 24: A total of 187 tourists have been given shelter in the army transit camp and civil area in 17th Mile for the night by the police and army personnel following heavy snowfall in the high altitude areas of Tsomgo-Nathu La area today.
Heavy snowfall had occurred in the above high altitude in the afternoon hours while the tourists were returning back to Gangtok after visiting the tourism spots of Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu La area. Hundreds of tourists had gone to these spots today.
While returning back, around 28 vehicles carrying 187 tourists got stranded late in the afternoon due to heavy snowfall which occurred in areas above 13th Mile. Other tourists had already slipped before this incident.
Sherathang OC ASI Buddha Hang Subba who was coordinating the relief operation along with other police personnel told Sikkim Express that tourist vehicles could not negotiate the snowy steep inclination along the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg near Mandakini Falls at 15th Mile. Light was also fading fast due to the winter and the tourists were anxious about their safety following which they were giving shelter for the night in the army transit camp and civil area at 17th Mile, he said.
The police personnel located in the high altitudes including Sherathang and other outposts in the area came to the rescue of the stranded tourists and teamed up with the army to provide accommodation for the night for the stranded tourists.
All the tourists are safe, said ASI Subba.
If the weather clears up tomorrow then the tourists will be coming down to Gangtok. However, if the vehicles are unable to travel due to bad weather conditions, buses provided by Travel Agents Association of Sikkim will be used to bring them back down to Gangtok safely.
source: Sikkim express
Sikkim Police comes to the rescue of stranded tourists
GANGTOK, December 24: A total of 187 tourists have been given shelter in the army transit camp and civil area in 17th Mile for the night by the police and army personnel following heavy snowfall in the high altitude areas of Tsomgo-Nathu La area today.
Heavy snowfall had occurred in the above high altitude in the afternoon hours while the tourists were returning back to Gangtok after visiting the tourism spots of Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu La area. Hundreds of tourists had gone to these spots today.
While returning back, around 28 vehicles carrying 187 tourists got stranded late in the afternoon due to heavy snowfall which occurred in areas above 13th Mile. Other tourists had already slipped before this incident.
Sherathang OC ASI Buddha Hang Subba who was coordinating the relief operation along with other police personnel told Sikkim Express that tourist vehicles could not negotiate the snowy steep inclination along the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg near Mandakini Falls at 15th Mile. Light was also fading fast due to the winter and the tourists were anxious about their safety following which they were giving shelter for the night in the army transit camp and civil area at 17th Mile, he said.
The police personnel located in the high altitudes including Sherathang and other outposts in the area came to the rescue of the stranded tourists and teamed up with the army to provide accommodation for the night for the stranded tourists.
All the tourists are safe, said ASI Subba.
If the weather clears up tomorrow then the tourists will be coming down to Gangtok. However, if the vehicles are unable to travel due to bad weather conditions, buses provided by Travel Agents Association of Sikkim will be used to bring them back down to Gangtok safely.
source: Sikkim express
Sikkim to produce a Gas from Janary 2010
"Sikkim Gas Plant", Nainaam Industry located at Makha, 12 Km from Singtam
25 Dec, Rangpo: Nainaam Industry located at Makha, 12 Km from Singtam boasts to place Sikkim as milestone, an one step ahead in self reliant state in India through its very own gas production plant in coming days. Oxygen and Nitrogen which are a very essential life saving gas for Human and Industries will be produced in Sikkim itself from January 2010. Sikkim is totally dependent upon Siliguri, West Bengal from where the gas is supplied meanwhile. There is a frequent shortage of gas sometimes, sometime due to closure of highway which makes delay in arriving at appropriate time during useful porpose.
According to Company CEO Mr NK Agarwal the 90% of the plant components fittings are being completed and within next couple of days 10% would completed, thereby allowing for final commissioning for full fledge production plant as a major production unit. It is projected that approximately 500 barrels of Oxygen and 200 barrels of Nitrogen would be manufactured everyday from this plant. The company CEO further stresses that they would continue to work on next level of plan where other types of gases too can be produced from the plant.The majority of supplies are meant for Hospitals and Hydel Power Projects where these gases are mostly consumed for useful works, as said.
source: voice of Sikkim
"Sikkim Gas Plant", Nainaam Industry located at Makha, 12 Km from Singtam
25 Dec, Rangpo: Nainaam Industry located at Makha, 12 Km from Singtam boasts to place Sikkim as milestone, an one step ahead in self reliant state in India through its very own gas production plant in coming days. Oxygen and Nitrogen which are a very essential life saving gas for Human and Industries will be produced in Sikkim itself from January 2010. Sikkim is totally dependent upon Siliguri, West Bengal from where the gas is supplied meanwhile. There is a frequent shortage of gas sometimes, sometime due to closure of highway which makes delay in arriving at appropriate time during useful porpose.
According to Company CEO Mr NK Agarwal the 90% of the plant components fittings are being completed and within next couple of days 10% would completed, thereby allowing for final commissioning for full fledge production plant as a major production unit. It is projected that approximately 500 barrels of Oxygen and 200 barrels of Nitrogen would be manufactured everyday from this plant. The company CEO further stresses that they would continue to work on next level of plan where other types of gases too can be produced from the plant.The majority of supplies are meant for Hospitals and Hydel Power Projects where these gases are mostly consumed for useful works, as said.
source: voice of Sikkim
India: Excise duty exemptions to be phased out gradually
Sikkim Industrial units gets breather for some more time.
Taxing issues
The Task Force favoured the scrapping area-based exemptions in the case of Cenvat
It instead favoured a direct investment linked cash subsidy to foster balanced regional growth
K.R. Srivats
New Delhi, Dec. 25
India may move to a dual Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime next year, but the Cenvat (excise duty) related exemptions, especially area-based ones, will not be withdrawn at one go for ushering in the new tax system.
The Finance Ministry is not in favour of doing away with all the Central excise exemptions, numbering about 330, as part of the switchover to the GST regime.
The excise exemptions are only going to be “grandfathered” – brought down gradually –even if GST is ushered in earlier, a top Finance Ministry official said.
The official highlighted that India was a democracy and certain exemptions will have to be retained. A Task Force on GST appointed by the Thirteenth Finance Commission had in its recent report recommended that area-based exemptions in the case of Cenvat should not be continued under GST.
The Task Force had suggested that direct investment linked cash subsidy may be given, rather than area based exemptions, if it was considered necessary to provide support to industry for balanced regional development.
The task force report also highlighted that the case for providing area based exemption was extremely weakened in the face of its recommendation for sharp reduction on combined rates of CGST and SGST. A combined rate of 12 per cent (CGST and SGST) has been recommended by the Task Force in its report.
Currently, industries set up in the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh enjoy exemption from payment of Cenvat.
The Task Force felt that area based exemptions created economic distortion and affected the economic viability of units located in non-exempt areas. They are prone to misuse and difficult to administer, the Task Force had said.
Threshold limit
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry may favour a threshold limit that aligned with the proposed uniform State GST threshold of gross annual turnover of Rs 10 lakh both for goods and services.
The first discussion paper on GST, released by the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on VAT, had proposed a uniform State GST threshold of gross annual turnover of Rs 10 lakh both for goods and services.
Currently, the threshold prescribed in different State VAT Acts, below which VAT is not applicable, varies from State to State.
For the Centre, the discussion paper suggested that the threshold for Central GST may be kept at Rs 1.5 crore and the threshold for Central GST for services may also be appropriately high.
The current thinking in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is that the threshold of Rs 1.5 crore proposed for goods was on the higher side. Having a threshold of Rs 1.5 crore for goods may shrink the tax base and thereby the revenue neutral rate may go up, official sources said.
The Finance Ministry is also not keen on having separate threshold limits for goods and services. “It is difficult to have two separate threshold limits,” official sources said.
Related Stories:
Sikkim Industrial units gets breather for some more time.
Taxing issues
The Task Force favoured the scrapping area-based exemptions in the case of Cenvat
It instead favoured a direct investment linked cash subsidy to foster balanced regional growth
K.R. Srivats
New Delhi, Dec. 25
India may move to a dual Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime next year, but the Cenvat (excise duty) related exemptions, especially area-based ones, will not be withdrawn at one go for ushering in the new tax system.
The Finance Ministry is not in favour of doing away with all the Central excise exemptions, numbering about 330, as part of the switchover to the GST regime.
The excise exemptions are only going to be “grandfathered” – brought down gradually –even if GST is ushered in earlier, a top Finance Ministry official said.
The official highlighted that India was a democracy and certain exemptions will have to be retained. A Task Force on GST appointed by the Thirteenth Finance Commission had in its recent report recommended that area-based exemptions in the case of Cenvat should not be continued under GST.
The Task Force had suggested that direct investment linked cash subsidy may be given, rather than area based exemptions, if it was considered necessary to provide support to industry for balanced regional development.
The task force report also highlighted that the case for providing area based exemption was extremely weakened in the face of its recommendation for sharp reduction on combined rates of CGST and SGST. A combined rate of 12 per cent (CGST and SGST) has been recommended by the Task Force in its report.
Currently, industries set up in the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh enjoy exemption from payment of Cenvat.
The Task Force felt that area based exemptions created economic distortion and affected the economic viability of units located in non-exempt areas. They are prone to misuse and difficult to administer, the Task Force had said.
Threshold limit
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry may favour a threshold limit that aligned with the proposed uniform State GST threshold of gross annual turnover of Rs 10 lakh both for goods and services.
The first discussion paper on GST, released by the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on VAT, had proposed a uniform State GST threshold of gross annual turnover of Rs 10 lakh both for goods and services.
Currently, the threshold prescribed in different State VAT Acts, below which VAT is not applicable, varies from State to State.
For the Centre, the discussion paper suggested that the threshold for Central GST may be kept at Rs 1.5 crore and the threshold for Central GST for services may also be appropriately high.
The current thinking in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is that the threshold of Rs 1.5 crore proposed for goods was on the higher side. Having a threshold of Rs 1.5 crore for goods may shrink the tax base and thereby the revenue neutral rate may go up, official sources said.
The Finance Ministry is also not keen on having separate threshold limits for goods and services. “It is difficult to have two separate threshold limits,” official sources said.
Related Stories:
Health:India: Animal trials prove safety of ‘bhasmas’: Ayush
Aarti Dhar
American Medical Journal had reported high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the drugs and the Health Ministry clarified that detoxification was done and no side effects were reported
The government has validated the safety of eight ‘bhasmas’ -- used in several Ayurvedic drugs -- through rigorous animal trials. These drugs have often been criticised in the Western countries for heavy metal content in the form of ‘bhasma.’
“Trials have found that these bhasmas are safe and the results will be published shortly,” reliable sources in the Department of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) told The Hindu.
Concern
There was concern against the use of Ayurvedic medicines -- which is growing in popularity in the West -- when in 2008 a research published in the Journal of American Medical Association reported detection of ‘extremely high’ quantities of lead, mercury and arsenic in such drugs.
Then the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said that “these metals are used after proper detoxification process and no significant adverse drug reactions have been reported regarding their use in India.”
Awareness project
Subsequently, the Department of Ayush had launched a project called Golden Triangle to scientifically validate Ayurvedic drugs.
The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research are the two other partners in the project which have now come out with the scientific validation of the eight bhasmas.
In fact, the government has started in the United States a Centre for Research in Indian Systems of Medicine for promoting Indian systems of medicines there.
Symposium
The Centre has already held a symposium on ‘Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs: Development and Marketing’ here to emphasise the need for quality assurance and standardisation of these drugs.
Another major initiative taken up by the government is the setting up of industrial clusters for Ayurvedic drugs where common testing facilities will be set up to manufacture the products more scientifically. The government plans to set up 10 such clusters across the country.
Ensuring quality
Each cluster has been given an initial fund of Rs.10 crore and the clusters have made a buy-back arrangement with the cultivators of medicinal plants to ensure quality of the products.
The government has tied up with the Quality Council of India (QCI) to start a voluntary certification process. The QCI has identified 29 drug testing centres that can certify the manufacturing units.
Aarti Dhar
American Medical Journal had reported high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the drugs and the Health Ministry clarified that detoxification was done and no side effects were reported
The government has validated the safety of eight ‘bhasmas’ -- used in several Ayurvedic drugs -- through rigorous animal trials. These drugs have often been criticised in the Western countries for heavy metal content in the form of ‘bhasma.’
“Trials have found that these bhasmas are safe and the results will be published shortly,” reliable sources in the Department of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) told The Hindu.
Concern
There was concern against the use of Ayurvedic medicines -- which is growing in popularity in the West -- when in 2008 a research published in the Journal of American Medical Association reported detection of ‘extremely high’ quantities of lead, mercury and arsenic in such drugs.
Then the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said that “these metals are used after proper detoxification process and no significant adverse drug reactions have been reported regarding their use in India.”
Awareness project
Subsequently, the Department of Ayush had launched a project called Golden Triangle to scientifically validate Ayurvedic drugs.
The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research are the two other partners in the project which have now come out with the scientific validation of the eight bhasmas.
In fact, the government has started in the United States a Centre for Research in Indian Systems of Medicine for promoting Indian systems of medicines there.
Symposium
The Centre has already held a symposium on ‘Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs: Development and Marketing’ here to emphasise the need for quality assurance and standardisation of these drugs.
Another major initiative taken up by the government is the setting up of industrial clusters for Ayurvedic drugs where common testing facilities will be set up to manufacture the products more scientifically. The government plans to set up 10 such clusters across the country.
Ensuring quality
Each cluster has been given an initial fund of Rs.10 crore and the clusters have made a buy-back arrangement with the cultivators of medicinal plants to ensure quality of the products.
The government has tied up with the Quality Council of India (QCI) to start a voluntary certification process. The QCI has identified 29 drug testing centres that can certify the manufacturing units.
CHINA: World's fastest rail journey starts operation
Xinhua
The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway with the world’s fastest train journey with a 350 km-per-hour average speed, started operation on Saturday.
Two passenger trains rolled out the Wuhan Railway Station and Guangzhou North Railway Station, cutting the 1,068.6 km journey to three hours from the previous 10 and a half hours.
The service between Wuhan, a metropolis in central China, and Guangzhou City, a business hub in the southern Guangdong Province, was put into trial operation on Dec. 9, reaching a maximum speed of 394.2 km per hour.
In 2004, China hailed the completion of the rail line from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, both in Guangdong Province, with a speed of 160 km per hour. Now the speed more than doubled within five years, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed line. The average of high-speed rail ways is 243 km per hour in Japan, 232 km per hour in Germany and 277 km per hour in France, he said
Xinhua
The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway with the world’s fastest train journey with a 350 km-per-hour average speed, started operation on Saturday.
Two passenger trains rolled out the Wuhan Railway Station and Guangzhou North Railway Station, cutting the 1,068.6 km journey to three hours from the previous 10 and a half hours.
The service between Wuhan, a metropolis in central China, and Guangzhou City, a business hub in the southern Guangdong Province, was put into trial operation on Dec. 9, reaching a maximum speed of 394.2 km per hour.
In 2004, China hailed the completion of the rail line from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, both in Guangdong Province, with a speed of 160 km per hour. Now the speed more than doubled within five years, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed line. The average of high-speed rail ways is 243 km per hour in Japan, 232 km per hour in Germany and 277 km per hour in France, he said
Friday, December 25, 2009
INDIA: PRESIDENT GREETS ON CHRISTMAS
President’s message on the occasion of Christmas
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil today greeted fellow citizens on the auspicious occasion of Christmas.
In a message, the President said:
“On the occasion of Christmas, I extend my greetings to all my fellow citizens.
The festival of Christmas reminds all of us of the profound message of Lord Jesus Christ to promote peace, unity and harmony in society and amongst one another. May this year’s Christmas inspire us on the path of mutual understanding for the overall development of the nation”.
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil today greeted fellow citizens on the auspicious occasion of Christmas.
In a message, the President said:
“On the occasion of Christmas, I extend my greetings to all my fellow citizens.
The festival of Christmas reminds all of us of the profound message of Lord Jesus Christ to promote peace, unity and harmony in society and amongst one another. May this year’s Christmas inspire us on the path of mutual understanding for the overall development of the nation”.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
INDIA:GOA DOCTOR CURE FOR BREAST CANCER
Now, no amputation to cure breast cancers
A Goa-based doctor has invented a technology that can save women from amputating their cancer-infested breasts.
“The treatment, known as the Targeted Intra-operative Radiotherapy (TARGIT), can cure the fatal disease in just 25 minutes,” Jayant Vaidya, who is currently placed in UK, said.
TARGIT treats the tumour by delivering radiotherapy within the breast. The patient can go home the same day the surgery is conducted, he said.
Dr. Vaidya, who began his research during his stint at Tata Memorial hospital in Mumbai, later pursued it in University College at London.
He has also worked on Intra-beam machine used for brain treatment. “The machine was developed for application on breast in 1996-98,” he said
A Goa-based doctor has invented a technology that can save women from amputating their cancer-infested breasts.
“The treatment, known as the Targeted Intra-operative Radiotherapy (TARGIT), can cure the fatal disease in just 25 minutes,” Jayant Vaidya, who is currently placed in UK, said.
TARGIT treats the tumour by delivering radiotherapy within the breast. The patient can go home the same day the surgery is conducted, he said.
Dr. Vaidya, who began his research during his stint at Tata Memorial hospital in Mumbai, later pursued it in University College at London.
He has also worked on Intra-beam machine used for brain treatment. “The machine was developed for application on breast in 1996-98,” he said
Evolutionary mechanisms yield biological diversity
An international team of scientists has discovered how changes in both gene expression and gene sequence led to the diversity of visual systems in African cichlid fish.
In research published in a the latest issue of the journal PLoS Biology, Assistant Professor Karen Carleton, together with others describe how over 60 species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria have adapted their visual sensitivity in response to specific ecological factors, including what they eat and the clarity of the water in which they swim.
Evolutionary biologists seek to understand the mechanisms behind genetic changes that have led to the vast diversity of life on Earth. There are two important molecular mechanisms that contribute to organismal diversity - changes to the sequence of genes, and changes in the way genes are expressed, including when, where, and how much of a gene is made.
First study
This study was one of the first to look at how both gene sequence and gene expression can contribute to the same trait, and showed that they contribute in complementary ways.
“African cichlid fishes are some of the most diverse animals on the planet. Their visual systems differ dramatically in their sensitivity and represent some of the largest differences known in vertebrates,” explains Hofmann in a University of Maryland press release. “Yet there has been little understanding as to why such diversity exists. Our findings have important implications for understanding both the factors and the mechanisms responsible for generating biodiversity.”
Different genes
Cichlids have several different cone opsin genes that enable them to detect light across the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. Different species express different subsets of these opsins to create alternate visual systems.
The method of foraging for food was a key factor influencing fish vision. Fish whose diets consist primarily of zooplankton were more likely to have UV sensitivity, which enables them to detect the presence of these small transparent aquatic organisms that absorb ultraviolet light. In contrast, cichlids in the murky waters of Lake Victoria expressed longer wavelength combination of opsin genes, regardless of what they ate.
This long wavelength combination matches the light that is best transmitted through the murky water. A few Lake Victoria fish at clearer sites turned on shorter wavelength genes, suggesting that opsin expression matches the light environment. Therefore opsin gene expression in both lakes is adaptively determined based on important ecological variables.
An international team of scientists has discovered how changes in both gene expression and gene sequence led to the diversity of visual systems in African cichlid fish.
In research published in a the latest issue of the journal PLoS Biology, Assistant Professor Karen Carleton, together with others describe how over 60 species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria have adapted their visual sensitivity in response to specific ecological factors, including what they eat and the clarity of the water in which they swim.
Evolutionary biologists seek to understand the mechanisms behind genetic changes that have led to the vast diversity of life on Earth. There are two important molecular mechanisms that contribute to organismal diversity - changes to the sequence of genes, and changes in the way genes are expressed, including when, where, and how much of a gene is made.
First study
This study was one of the first to look at how both gene sequence and gene expression can contribute to the same trait, and showed that they contribute in complementary ways.
“African cichlid fishes are some of the most diverse animals on the planet. Their visual systems differ dramatically in their sensitivity and represent some of the largest differences known in vertebrates,” explains Hofmann in a University of Maryland press release. “Yet there has been little understanding as to why such diversity exists. Our findings have important implications for understanding both the factors and the mechanisms responsible for generating biodiversity.”
Different genes
Cichlids have several different cone opsin genes that enable them to detect light across the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. Different species express different subsets of these opsins to create alternate visual systems.
The method of foraging for food was a key factor influencing fish vision. Fish whose diets consist primarily of zooplankton were more likely to have UV sensitivity, which enables them to detect the presence of these small transparent aquatic organisms that absorb ultraviolet light. In contrast, cichlids in the murky waters of Lake Victoria expressed longer wavelength combination of opsin genes, regardless of what they ate.
This long wavelength combination matches the light that is best transmitted through the murky water. A few Lake Victoria fish at clearer sites turned on shorter wavelength genes, suggesting that opsin expression matches the light environment. Therefore opsin gene expression in both lakes is adaptively determined based on important ecological variables.
India: National Policy on Bio-fuels announced
The National Policy on Bio-fuels and its implementation has been approved by the Union Cabinet. Setting up of a National Biofuel Coordination Committee and a Biofuel Steering Committee has also been approved. The Policy endeavors to facilitate and bring about optimal development and utilization of indigenous biomass feedstocks for production of bio-fuels. The Policy can be visited at the Ministry’s Website www.mnre.gov.in.
Bio-fuels provide a strategic advantage to promote sustainable development and to supplement conventional energy sources in meeting the rapidly increasing requirements for transportation fuels associated with high economic growth, as well as in meeting the energy needs of India’s vast rural population. Bio-fuels can increasingly satisfy these energy needs in an environmentally benign and cost-effective manner while reducing dependence on import of fossil fuels and thereby providing a higher degree of National Energy Security. The Indian approach to bio-fuels is based solely on non-food feedstocks to be raised on degraded or wastelands that are not suited to agriculture, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel vs. food security.
The salient features of the National Policy on Bio-fuels are:-
· Bio-diesel production will be taken up from non-edible oil seeds in waste /degraded / marginal lands.
· An indicative target of 20% blending of bio-fuels, both for bio-diesel and bio-ethanol, by 2017 has been proposed.
· Minimum Support Price (MSP) for non-edible oil seeds would be announced with periodic revision to provide fair price to the growers.
· Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) for purchase of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel would be announced with periodic revision.
· Major thrust will be given to research, development and demonstration with focus on plantations, processing and production of bio-fuels, including Second Generation Bio-fuels.
· Financial incentives, including subsidies and grants, may be considered for second generation bio-fuels. If it becomes necessary, a National Bio-fuel Fund could be considered.
· A National Biofuel Coordination Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, will be set up to provide policy guidance and coordination.
· A Biofuel Steering Committee, chaired by Cabinet Secretary, will be set up to oversee implementation of the Policy.
The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been designated as the co-ordinating Ministry for biofuel development and utilization while specific roles have been assigned to other concerned Ministries. MNRE has taken several initiatives on various aspects of biofuel development. An exercise has been initiated with scientific agencies – ICAR, CSIR, DBT, DRDO, NOVOD Board on collection, screening and identification of elite germplasms of jatropha and on processing and end use technologies. The objective is to generate and make available elite planting materials for plantations. The scientific agencies and the private sector have identified 25 superior genotypes/accessions of jatropha for further multiplication for demonstration at various sites in potential States. Another exercise has been taken up on realistic costing of biodiesel which will provide guidance on review and revision of the purchase price for biodiesel. A survey has been undertaken to assess the status of Jatropha plantations in nine States. Major thrust is being given to development of second generation biofuels. An Indo-US MoU has been signed on biofuels with focus on joint R&D, particularly on second generation biofuels such as, cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel. Another initiative with research institutes and industry is on for development of high efficiency engines for use of SVO for stationary applications.
The National Policy on Bio-fuels and its implementation has been approved by the Union Cabinet. Setting up of a National Biofuel Coordination Committee and a Biofuel Steering Committee has also been approved. The Policy endeavors to facilitate and bring about optimal development and utilization of indigenous biomass feedstocks for production of bio-fuels. The Policy can be visited at the Ministry’s Website www.mnre.gov.in.
Bio-fuels provide a strategic advantage to promote sustainable development and to supplement conventional energy sources in meeting the rapidly increasing requirements for transportation fuels associated with high economic growth, as well as in meeting the energy needs of India’s vast rural population. Bio-fuels can increasingly satisfy these energy needs in an environmentally benign and cost-effective manner while reducing dependence on import of fossil fuels and thereby providing a higher degree of National Energy Security. The Indian approach to bio-fuels is based solely on non-food feedstocks to be raised on degraded or wastelands that are not suited to agriculture, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel vs. food security.
The salient features of the National Policy on Bio-fuels are:-
· Bio-diesel production will be taken up from non-edible oil seeds in waste /degraded / marginal lands.
· An indicative target of 20% blending of bio-fuels, both for bio-diesel and bio-ethanol, by 2017 has been proposed.
· Minimum Support Price (MSP) for non-edible oil seeds would be announced with periodic revision to provide fair price to the growers.
· Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) for purchase of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel would be announced with periodic revision.
· Major thrust will be given to research, development and demonstration with focus on plantations, processing and production of bio-fuels, including Second Generation Bio-fuels.
· Financial incentives, including subsidies and grants, may be considered for second generation bio-fuels. If it becomes necessary, a National Bio-fuel Fund could be considered.
· A National Biofuel Coordination Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, will be set up to provide policy guidance and coordination.
· A Biofuel Steering Committee, chaired by Cabinet Secretary, will be set up to oversee implementation of the Policy.
The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been designated as the co-ordinating Ministry for biofuel development and utilization while specific roles have been assigned to other concerned Ministries. MNRE has taken several initiatives on various aspects of biofuel development. An exercise has been initiated with scientific agencies – ICAR, CSIR, DBT, DRDO, NOVOD Board on collection, screening and identification of elite germplasms of jatropha and on processing and end use technologies. The objective is to generate and make available elite planting materials for plantations. The scientific agencies and the private sector have identified 25 superior genotypes/accessions of jatropha for further multiplication for demonstration at various sites in potential States. Another exercise has been taken up on realistic costing of biodiesel which will provide guidance on review and revision of the purchase price for biodiesel. A survey has been undertaken to assess the status of Jatropha plantations in nine States. Major thrust is being given to development of second generation biofuels. An Indo-US MoU has been signed on biofuels with focus on joint R&D, particularly on second generation biofuels such as, cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel. Another initiative with research institutes and industry is on for development of high efficiency engines for use of SVO for stationary applications.
India: Telecom 2009 – Saga of Growth
INDIA:TELECOMMUNICATION
The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development of a nation. The Telecom Sector, which has the multiplier effect on the economy, has a vital role to play in economy by way of contributing to the increased efficiency. The available studies suggest that income of business entities and households increases in the range of 5 to 10 per cent by the use of telecom services and there is direct relationship between tele density and GDP. The Government of India reorganizes that provision of world class telecommunications infrastructure and information is key to rapid economic and social development of the Country.
Present status of the Sector
Telecommunications is one of the few sectors in India that witnessed the most fundamental structural and institutional reforms since 1991. Emerging as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, Indian telecom still continues to register a significant growth. Indian telecom network has about 526 million connections as on 31st October 2009. With 488 million wireless connections, Indian telecom has become the second largest wireless network in the world after China. The current addition of about 14 million connections per month puts the telecom sector on strong footing. The target of 500 million connections by 2010 has been achieved in September 2009 itself. Approximately 85% of the eleventh plan target of 600 million connections has already been achieved at the half-way point.
Growth of Telecom Sector
The opening of the sector has not only led to rapid growth but also maximized consumer benefits as tariff have been falling as a result of unrestricted competition. From meagre 22.8 million telephone subscribers in 1999, it has grown to 54.6 million in 2003 and to 429.72 million at the end of March 09 with further addition of 96 million during the period from March to October of 2009. Wireless Telephone connections have contributed to this growth as the number of wireless connections rose from 3.57 million in March 2001 to 13.29 million in 2003, 101.86 million in March 2006, 391.76 million in March 09 and 488.41 million as on 31st October 09. The wireline has shown increase from 32.70 million in 2001 to 41.42 million in March 2005 but then started declining to 40.22 million in March 2006, 37.96 million in March 2009 and 37.25 million in October’09.
(Table I)
Table I: Growth of telephones over the years (in Million)
Mar 06
Mar 07
Mar 08
Mar 09
Apr 09
Oct. 09
Fixed lines 40.23
40.77
39.41
37.96
37.81
37.25
Wireless
101.86
165.09
261.08
391.76
403.66
488.41
Gross Total
142.09
205.86
300.49
429.72
441.47
525.66
Annual growth (%)*
44
45
46
43
NA
NA
Wireline Vs. wireless
Changes taking place in structure of composition of Telecom Sector are obvious. The growth of wireless services has been substantial, with wireless subscribers growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60 per cent per annum since 2004. The share of wireless phones has increased from 5.26 per cent in 1999 to 92.91 per cent in October 2009. On the contrary, the share of fixed wire line has steadily declined.
Private vs. Public
The liberalization efforts of the Government are evident in the growing share of the private sector which is playing an important role in the expansion of telecom sector. The share of this in total telephone connections is now 81.73 per cent as per the latest statistics available for October 2009 as against a meagre 5% in 1999.
Trend in Teledensity
Teledensity is an important indicator of telecom penetration in the country. The Teledensity which was 2.32% in March 1999 increased to 12.7% in March 06 and further to 36.98% March 09 and 44.87% in Oct, 09. Thus there has been continuous improvement in the overall teledensity of the country.
The rural teledensity which was above 1.21% in March 2002 has increased to 9.46% in March08 and further to 15.11% in March 09 and 19.69% at the end of Oct.’09.
The urban teledensity has increased from 66.39 in March 08 to 88.84% in March 09 and stands at 104.23% at the end of Oct.’09.
Wide gap between urban and rural teledensitites indicate need for rapid increase in teledensity of rural areas. Introduction of wireless phones in rural areas and various measures of Government under USOF for expansion of mobile network in remote rural areas, will enhance rural teledensity. Private Service Providers are also looking for opportunities in rural areas due to saturation in urban areas.
Shifting focus on Rural Telephones
While rural subscribers have not grown like urban sector, with introduction of mobile services in rural areas, the rural subscribers recently are increasing.
The rural Telephone connections have gone up from 3.6 million in 1999 to 12.3 million in March 2004 and further 123.51 million in March 09.
Their share in the total telephones has constantly increased from around 14% in 2005 to 31% as on 30.9.09.
The rural subscribers have grown at 161.91 million as on October’09.
During 2008-09, the growth rate of rural telephone was 61.48% as against the growth of 36.71% of urban telephones. The private sector has also contributed to the growth of rural telephones as it provided about 80% of rural telephones as on 30.9.09.
Internet / Broadband
Several policies have been announced and implemented to promote broadband in the country. As a result of these measures the broadband subscribers grew from 0.18 million in 2005 to 6.2 million as on 30th April 2009 and about 7.2 million, at the end of the October 2009.
To achieve the stipulated target, the government has issued guidelines for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Services. Introduction of BWA services will enhance the penetration as well as growth of broadband subscribers. Wi-Max has also been making headway for penetration of wireless broadband connectivity across all the sectors.
New Horizons for further Growth
3G Telecom services
The explosive growth of the telecom industry in India is being followed by the urge to move towards better technology and the next level of service delivery. One of the key frontiers is the launch of 3G technology. The government has recently announced guidelines for penetration of 3G telecom services.
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
MNP allows any subscriber to change his sevice provider without changing his mobile phone number. With the announcement of guidelines for MNP, telecom service provider will be forced to improve quality of their service to avoid losing subscribers. This can be seen as maturing element of the Indian telecom industry and a natural step for the industry to go forwards.
Value added Services (VAS)
The mobile value added service include, text or SMS, menu based services, downloading of music or ringtones, mobile TV, videos, streaming, sophisticated m-commerce applications etc. Prior to 2008, a majority of VAS revenues were attributable to SMS’s. However, recent trends indicate that this mix is evolving with consumer awareness and other factors.
Manufacturing
Indian telecom industry manufactures a compete range of telecom equipment using state of art technology and exist excellent opportunities for investors in this sector. The production of telecom equipments in value terms is expected to increase from Rs, 412700 million (2007-08) to Rs.488000 million during 2008-09. India has potential to emerge as a global hub for telecom manufacturing. Favourable factors such as policy moves of the government, incentive offered, large talent pool in R&D and low labour cost can provide an impetus to the industry. Exports increased from INR 4020 million in 2002-03 to INR 1,10,000 million in 2008-09 accounting for 21 per cent of the total equipment produced in the country.
Foreign Direct Investment
The liberalisation in financial sector have beneficial results as that in telecom sector. Today, telecom is the third major sector attracting FDI inflows after services and computer software sector. At present 74% to 100% FDI is permitted for various telecom services. This investment has helped telecom sector to grow. The total FDI equity inflows in telecom sector have been US$ 2010 million during April-September 2009- 10.
Vision:
While celebrating the success in the telecom sector, the government recognizes the fact that there is no room for complacency. The government is now looking forward to achieve the target of 600 million telephone subscribers by the end of Eleventh Plan and 1 billion by the end of 2015.
Rural telephony continues to be the thrust area of the government. It is recognized that provision of affordable telecom services in rural areas enhances the ability of people to participate in market economy, which, in turn improves their productivity and contributes to their earnings. It is therefore, proposed to achieve rural teledensity of 25% by means of 200 million rural connections at the end of 11th Plan. In view of the present growth, 40% rural teledensity is expected by 2014.
Recognizing the potential of Broadband services in the growth process, it has been proposed in the Eleventh Plan targets to provide the broadband for all secondary and higher secondary schools; all Public Health Care Centers and Gram Panchayats. It is also envisaged that internet and broad-band subscribers
will increase to 40 million and 20 million, respectively, by 2010.
Conclusion- Truly Inclusive Telecom Growth
Telecom connects people across the length and breadth of the country irrespective of income bracket and it provides many benefit to all in the society. It contributes significantly to India’s GDP and particularly benefits the poor people in the country. The mobile phone has revolutionalised Indian economy in that it has become more inclusive in terms of enabling greater participation of the poorer section of society. Now, people in these regions can conduct their business in a more economical manner; they do not have to move from place to place in order to do business. Small businessmen and small traders are able to do their business over telephone, and that is a very important contribution to the growth of the country. And broadband will only improve matters.
GG/AT
INDIA:TELECOMMUNICATION
The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development of a nation. The Telecom Sector, which has the multiplier effect on the economy, has a vital role to play in economy by way of contributing to the increased efficiency. The available studies suggest that income of business entities and households increases in the range of 5 to 10 per cent by the use of telecom services and there is direct relationship between tele density and GDP. The Government of India reorganizes that provision of world class telecommunications infrastructure and information is key to rapid economic and social development of the Country.
Present status of the Sector
Telecommunications is one of the few sectors in India that witnessed the most fundamental structural and institutional reforms since 1991. Emerging as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, Indian telecom still continues to register a significant growth. Indian telecom network has about 526 million connections as on 31st October 2009. With 488 million wireless connections, Indian telecom has become the second largest wireless network in the world after China. The current addition of about 14 million connections per month puts the telecom sector on strong footing. The target of 500 million connections by 2010 has been achieved in September 2009 itself. Approximately 85% of the eleventh plan target of 600 million connections has already been achieved at the half-way point.
Growth of Telecom Sector
The opening of the sector has not only led to rapid growth but also maximized consumer benefits as tariff have been falling as a result of unrestricted competition. From meagre 22.8 million telephone subscribers in 1999, it has grown to 54.6 million in 2003 and to 429.72 million at the end of March 09 with further addition of 96 million during the period from March to October of 2009. Wireless Telephone connections have contributed to this growth as the number of wireless connections rose from 3.57 million in March 2001 to 13.29 million in 2003, 101.86 million in March 2006, 391.76 million in March 09 and 488.41 million as on 31st October 09. The wireline has shown increase from 32.70 million in 2001 to 41.42 million in March 2005 but then started declining to 40.22 million in March 2006, 37.96 million in March 2009 and 37.25 million in October’09.
(Table I)
Table I: Growth of telephones over the years (in Million)
Mar 06
Mar 07
Mar 08
Mar 09
Apr 09
Oct. 09
Fixed lines 40.23
40.77
39.41
37.96
37.81
37.25
Wireless
101.86
165.09
261.08
391.76
403.66
488.41
Gross Total
142.09
205.86
300.49
429.72
441.47
525.66
Annual growth (%)*
44
45
46
43
NA
NA
Wireline Vs. wireless
Changes taking place in structure of composition of Telecom Sector are obvious. The growth of wireless services has been substantial, with wireless subscribers growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60 per cent per annum since 2004. The share of wireless phones has increased from 5.26 per cent in 1999 to 92.91 per cent in October 2009. On the contrary, the share of fixed wire line has steadily declined.
Private vs. Public
The liberalization efforts of the Government are evident in the growing share of the private sector which is playing an important role in the expansion of telecom sector. The share of this in total telephone connections is now 81.73 per cent as per the latest statistics available for October 2009 as against a meagre 5% in 1999.
Trend in Teledensity
Teledensity is an important indicator of telecom penetration in the country. The Teledensity which was 2.32% in March 1999 increased to 12.7% in March 06 and further to 36.98% March 09 and 44.87% in Oct, 09. Thus there has been continuous improvement in the overall teledensity of the country.
The rural teledensity which was above 1.21% in March 2002 has increased to 9.46% in March08 and further to 15.11% in March 09 and 19.69% at the end of Oct.’09.
The urban teledensity has increased from 66.39 in March 08 to 88.84% in March 09 and stands at 104.23% at the end of Oct.’09.
Wide gap between urban and rural teledensitites indicate need for rapid increase in teledensity of rural areas. Introduction of wireless phones in rural areas and various measures of Government under USOF for expansion of mobile network in remote rural areas, will enhance rural teledensity. Private Service Providers are also looking for opportunities in rural areas due to saturation in urban areas.
Shifting focus on Rural Telephones
While rural subscribers have not grown like urban sector, with introduction of mobile services in rural areas, the rural subscribers recently are increasing.
The rural Telephone connections have gone up from 3.6 million in 1999 to 12.3 million in March 2004 and further 123.51 million in March 09.
Their share in the total telephones has constantly increased from around 14% in 2005 to 31% as on 30.9.09.
The rural subscribers have grown at 161.91 million as on October’09.
During 2008-09, the growth rate of rural telephone was 61.48% as against the growth of 36.71% of urban telephones. The private sector has also contributed to the growth of rural telephones as it provided about 80% of rural telephones as on 30.9.09.
Internet / Broadband
Several policies have been announced and implemented to promote broadband in the country. As a result of these measures the broadband subscribers grew from 0.18 million in 2005 to 6.2 million as on 30th April 2009 and about 7.2 million, at the end of the October 2009.
To achieve the stipulated target, the government has issued guidelines for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Services. Introduction of BWA services will enhance the penetration as well as growth of broadband subscribers. Wi-Max has also been making headway for penetration of wireless broadband connectivity across all the sectors.
New Horizons for further Growth
3G Telecom services
The explosive growth of the telecom industry in India is being followed by the urge to move towards better technology and the next level of service delivery. One of the key frontiers is the launch of 3G technology. The government has recently announced guidelines for penetration of 3G telecom services.
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
MNP allows any subscriber to change his sevice provider without changing his mobile phone number. With the announcement of guidelines for MNP, telecom service provider will be forced to improve quality of their service to avoid losing subscribers. This can be seen as maturing element of the Indian telecom industry and a natural step for the industry to go forwards.
Value added Services (VAS)
The mobile value added service include, text or SMS, menu based services, downloading of music or ringtones, mobile TV, videos, streaming, sophisticated m-commerce applications etc. Prior to 2008, a majority of VAS revenues were attributable to SMS’s. However, recent trends indicate that this mix is evolving with consumer awareness and other factors.
Manufacturing
Indian telecom industry manufactures a compete range of telecom equipment using state of art technology and exist excellent opportunities for investors in this sector. The production of telecom equipments in value terms is expected to increase from Rs, 412700 million (2007-08) to Rs.488000 million during 2008-09. India has potential to emerge as a global hub for telecom manufacturing. Favourable factors such as policy moves of the government, incentive offered, large talent pool in R&D and low labour cost can provide an impetus to the industry. Exports increased from INR 4020 million in 2002-03 to INR 1,10,000 million in 2008-09 accounting for 21 per cent of the total equipment produced in the country.
Foreign Direct Investment
The liberalisation in financial sector have beneficial results as that in telecom sector. Today, telecom is the third major sector attracting FDI inflows after services and computer software sector. At present 74% to 100% FDI is permitted for various telecom services. This investment has helped telecom sector to grow. The total FDI equity inflows in telecom sector have been US$ 2010 million during April-September 2009- 10.
Vision:
While celebrating the success in the telecom sector, the government recognizes the fact that there is no room for complacency. The government is now looking forward to achieve the target of 600 million telephone subscribers by the end of Eleventh Plan and 1 billion by the end of 2015.
Rural telephony continues to be the thrust area of the government. It is recognized that provision of affordable telecom services in rural areas enhances the ability of people to participate in market economy, which, in turn improves their productivity and contributes to their earnings. It is therefore, proposed to achieve rural teledensity of 25% by means of 200 million rural connections at the end of 11th Plan. In view of the present growth, 40% rural teledensity is expected by 2014.
Recognizing the potential of Broadband services in the growth process, it has been proposed in the Eleventh Plan targets to provide the broadband for all secondary and higher secondary schools; all Public Health Care Centers and Gram Panchayats. It is also envisaged that internet and broad-band subscribers
will increase to 40 million and 20 million, respectively, by 2010.
Conclusion- Truly Inclusive Telecom Growth
Telecom connects people across the length and breadth of the country irrespective of income bracket and it provides many benefit to all in the society. It contributes significantly to India’s GDP and particularly benefits the poor people in the country. The mobile phone has revolutionalised Indian economy in that it has become more inclusive in terms of enabling greater participation of the poorer section of society. Now, people in these regions can conduct their business in a more economical manner; they do not have to move from place to place in order to do business. Small businessmen and small traders are able to do their business over telephone, and that is a very important contribution to the growth of the country. And broadband will only improve matters.
GG/AT
Speech by her Excellency the President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the inauguration of the state wide area Network (SWAN)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:42 IST
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, known for its natural beauty and friendly people.
The Lakshadweep Islands can be called the nation's window to the Indian Ocean, as they are the outermost territory of India, lying in this great ocean. These islands, consisting of atolls and reefs have for centuries been witness to busy sea trade routes and commerce, which plied to and fro across the Indian Ocean, between India and the Gulf region and other lands. Along with commerce came sailors from distant lands. They brought with them social customs and ideas and also interacted with the local population. Such was the attraction of the Lakshadweep Islands, that great travelers such as Al-Beruni, Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo have made references to them in their writings.
Just as the beauty and resources of these islands was a magnet for seafarers in the centuries gone by, even today they are an attractive destination for travelers. The pristine beauty provides great potential for the growth of tourism. However, this sector should be evolved as not only a revenue generator, but also undertaken in a manner which ensures that the ecological balance and natural beauty of the islands is maintained. The Lakshadweep Islands should be eco-friendly habitats, and in this context, eco-tourism as well as cruise tourism can be interesting options that can be explored.
The people of Lakshadweep have a positive attitude towards developmental activities and are aware about their rights and duties. With such a population, the implementation of the various schemes and programmes of development is greatly facilitated. All those involved in administration should develop a people-friendly approach in their work. This is very important as a responsive and accountable system of functioning is fundamental for achieving the goal of sustainable growth.
The development of island territories requires a strategy that provides good connectivity between islands as also with the mainland. Ship, boat and air services are essential for connectivity and all efforts must be made to develop regular and effective transport linkages. However, in today's age, ICT is an effective tool of communication. I am glad that the State Wide Area Network known as SWAN has been implemented in the islands to provide connectivity between the various Government departments. It will be a platform for e-governance and other IT enabled services. Even more significant would be SWAN's ability of ensuring a communication channel for disaster management, in case such needs arise. I am sure that as this Project begins operation today, it shall help in the improvement of education, health awareness, providing information about the weather, entertainment and news delivery services. I am, therefore, happy to be inaugurating the SWAN Project. I hope that as the bandwidth is increased, internet facilities will be extended to the people for their business and personal use.
Science and Technology and its practical applications have a very important place in the scheme for faster progress. Desalination of water, necessary for providing drinking water to the island residents, requires technical expertise. Similarly, as the demand for generation of electricity shall continue to go up, efforts to encourage the use of solar energy, wind energy, bio-energy and other sources of renewable energy should be further strengthened. Apart from working on cutting edge technologies, scientists should also find low-cost technological solutions that are easy to implement and within the reach of end-users. Local authorities can encourage interaction between the scientific community and the general public so that scientists can understand the needs of the people and incorporate it in their research, and people get an opportunity to explain their requirements and problems to researchers.
Health delivery and its improvement is a very important element of any administration's work. Earlier today at the Indira Gandhi Hospital, I inaugurated the Intensive Care Unit. I was happy to see ICU facilities that will now be available for critically ill patients and they would no longer need to travel to the mainland in emergencies. I hope that there would be a continuous effort to improve the availability of health facilities from basic primary health care up to specialty hospitals. The medical community has a special role in ensuring the well being of the people. I would urge them, as I have on several occasions, to come forward to serve people in remote areas.
There are many issues on which the Administration of the Lakshadweep and its people can work on. Education is very important for building an enlightened citizenry. The effort should be that all young girls and boys attend school. Vocational training centres, to impart skills to the youth for making them employable, should be set up. The youth are the future and their holistic development must receive foremost attention.
Being an island territory, I am sure that the people have a natural skill and competence for maritime related professions - shipping, upkeep of shipping vessels and fishery, among others. A strong focus could be given to facilities for value addition to the fish catch. More Self Help Groups and NGOs can be created and NGOs involved in the industry related to coconut production and its by-products. I am sure that co-operative societies would also be able to play a great role here.
We, as a nation, can be proud that we have achieved much since we became of a free nation. We are the world largest democracy, and one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies. The endeavour is to make every constituent of the Indian nation strong and to follow a strategy that allows the benefits of growth to reach all citizens. I can only assure the people of the Lakshadweep that your interest and welfare is important and would receive support from the Government of India.
With these words, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and may all your wishes be fulfilled in the coming year.
Thank you. Jai Hind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14:42 IST
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, known for its natural beauty and friendly people.
The Lakshadweep Islands can be called the nation's window to the Indian Ocean, as they are the outermost territory of India, lying in this great ocean. These islands, consisting of atolls and reefs have for centuries been witness to busy sea trade routes and commerce, which plied to and fro across the Indian Ocean, between India and the Gulf region and other lands. Along with commerce came sailors from distant lands. They brought with them social customs and ideas and also interacted with the local population. Such was the attraction of the Lakshadweep Islands, that great travelers such as Al-Beruni, Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo have made references to them in their writings.
Just as the beauty and resources of these islands was a magnet for seafarers in the centuries gone by, even today they are an attractive destination for travelers. The pristine beauty provides great potential for the growth of tourism. However, this sector should be evolved as not only a revenue generator, but also undertaken in a manner which ensures that the ecological balance and natural beauty of the islands is maintained. The Lakshadweep Islands should be eco-friendly habitats, and in this context, eco-tourism as well as cruise tourism can be interesting options that can be explored.
The people of Lakshadweep have a positive attitude towards developmental activities and are aware about their rights and duties. With such a population, the implementation of the various schemes and programmes of development is greatly facilitated. All those involved in administration should develop a people-friendly approach in their work. This is very important as a responsive and accountable system of functioning is fundamental for achieving the goal of sustainable growth.
The development of island territories requires a strategy that provides good connectivity between islands as also with the mainland. Ship, boat and air services are essential for connectivity and all efforts must be made to develop regular and effective transport linkages. However, in today's age, ICT is an effective tool of communication. I am glad that the State Wide Area Network known as SWAN has been implemented in the islands to provide connectivity between the various Government departments. It will be a platform for e-governance and other IT enabled services. Even more significant would be SWAN's ability of ensuring a communication channel for disaster management, in case such needs arise. I am sure that as this Project begins operation today, it shall help in the improvement of education, health awareness, providing information about the weather, entertainment and news delivery services. I am, therefore, happy to be inaugurating the SWAN Project. I hope that as the bandwidth is increased, internet facilities will be extended to the people for their business and personal use.
Science and Technology and its practical applications have a very important place in the scheme for faster progress. Desalination of water, necessary for providing drinking water to the island residents, requires technical expertise. Similarly, as the demand for generation of electricity shall continue to go up, efforts to encourage the use of solar energy, wind energy, bio-energy and other sources of renewable energy should be further strengthened. Apart from working on cutting edge technologies, scientists should also find low-cost technological solutions that are easy to implement and within the reach of end-users. Local authorities can encourage interaction between the scientific community and the general public so that scientists can understand the needs of the people and incorporate it in their research, and people get an opportunity to explain their requirements and problems to researchers.
Health delivery and its improvement is a very important element of any administration's work. Earlier today at the Indira Gandhi Hospital, I inaugurated the Intensive Care Unit. I was happy to see ICU facilities that will now be available for critically ill patients and they would no longer need to travel to the mainland in emergencies. I hope that there would be a continuous effort to improve the availability of health facilities from basic primary health care up to specialty hospitals. The medical community has a special role in ensuring the well being of the people. I would urge them, as I have on several occasions, to come forward to serve people in remote areas.
There are many issues on which the Administration of the Lakshadweep and its people can work on. Education is very important for building an enlightened citizenry. The effort should be that all young girls and boys attend school. Vocational training centres, to impart skills to the youth for making them employable, should be set up. The youth are the future and their holistic development must receive foremost attention.
Being an island territory, I am sure that the people have a natural skill and competence for maritime related professions - shipping, upkeep of shipping vessels and fishery, among others. A strong focus could be given to facilities for value addition to the fish catch. More Self Help Groups and NGOs can be created and NGOs involved in the industry related to coconut production and its by-products. I am sure that co-operative societies would also be able to play a great role here.
We, as a nation, can be proud that we have achieved much since we became of a free nation. We are the world largest democracy, and one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies. The endeavour is to make every constituent of the Indian nation strong and to follow a strategy that allows the benefits of growth to reach all citizens. I can only assure the people of the Lakshadweep that your interest and welfare is important and would receive support from the Government of India.
With these words, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and may all your wishes be fulfilled in the coming year.
Thank you. Jai Hind.
We owe it to India, says Bhutan King
Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on Wednesday attributed the friendship with India to the success of Bhutan as a nation.
“Bhutan would not be where it is today without India’s friendship,” he said while delivering the Madhav Rao Scindia Memorial Lecture here.
“Some say Bhutan was wise to seek strong bilateral relations with India. Yes, after all, whether we speak about our socio-economic progress or our recent transition to democracy, India has been our steadfast partner and friend. But I feel that the true wisdom lies in the fact that we sought and continue to seek true friendship with India,” he said.
Nehru’s journey
The King saw the root of the ties between the two countries in Jawaharlal Nehru’s journey to Bhutan in 1958, which subsequently led to the widening of bilateral cooperation.
“One country [India] - while still radiating joy and warmth from the attainment of Independence - ushered the other [Bhutan] into the realm of modernisation,” the King said.
Since then, the ties have grown strong, vibrant, and dynamic. From religious and cultural links to political and economic cooperation, the ties encompassed a diversity of areas and issues on which both countries worked closely together in each other’s best interests.
Changing world
The strength of India-Bhutan ties, the King felt, was more striking when viewed in the context of the changes that took place in the world in the last few decades.
“With modernisation, people have a greater awareness of the world beyond our region. And, though awakened to new realities and experiences, our friendship has evolved as only true friendship can over time.
Despite the vast difference in size and population, our friendship has been constant because of the pillars of trust and understanding on which we have founded it. Our relationship stands as a model of partnership and cooperation.”
Justifying the title of his talk - “Changing World and Timeless Values” - the King said he wanted to think more deeply into finding an enduring place for simple human values in a world that was becoming unrecognisable from one generation to the next. “And how sadly, while the need for values is stronger and more urgent than ever, the climate in which they would flourish grows more and more unfriendly.”
Focus on basic values
Advocating adherence to basic human values as only these would guide the world through the problems of environmental degradation, terrorism and world poverty, the King said that though the approach may sound idealistic, he felt this was the natural and practical way of approaching things that seemed intractable and inflexible.
“The image of a shared planet must always be present in our minds - and especially in the minds of those who are in positions of leadership,” the King said.
Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on Wednesday attributed the friendship with India to the success of Bhutan as a nation.
“Bhutan would not be where it is today without India’s friendship,” he said while delivering the Madhav Rao Scindia Memorial Lecture here.
“Some say Bhutan was wise to seek strong bilateral relations with India. Yes, after all, whether we speak about our socio-economic progress or our recent transition to democracy, India has been our steadfast partner and friend. But I feel that the true wisdom lies in the fact that we sought and continue to seek true friendship with India,” he said.
Nehru’s journey
The King saw the root of the ties between the two countries in Jawaharlal Nehru’s journey to Bhutan in 1958, which subsequently led to the widening of bilateral cooperation.
“One country [India] - while still radiating joy and warmth from the attainment of Independence - ushered the other [Bhutan] into the realm of modernisation,” the King said.
Since then, the ties have grown strong, vibrant, and dynamic. From religious and cultural links to political and economic cooperation, the ties encompassed a diversity of areas and issues on which both countries worked closely together in each other’s best interests.
Changing world
The strength of India-Bhutan ties, the King felt, was more striking when viewed in the context of the changes that took place in the world in the last few decades.
“With modernisation, people have a greater awareness of the world beyond our region. And, though awakened to new realities and experiences, our friendship has evolved as only true friendship can over time.
Despite the vast difference in size and population, our friendship has been constant because of the pillars of trust and understanding on which we have founded it. Our relationship stands as a model of partnership and cooperation.”
Justifying the title of his talk - “Changing World and Timeless Values” - the King said he wanted to think more deeply into finding an enduring place for simple human values in a world that was becoming unrecognisable from one generation to the next. “And how sadly, while the need for values is stronger and more urgent than ever, the climate in which they would flourish grows more and more unfriendly.”
Focus on basic values
Advocating adherence to basic human values as only these would guide the world through the problems of environmental degradation, terrorism and world poverty, the King said that though the approach may sound idealistic, he felt this was the natural and practical way of approaching things that seemed intractable and inflexible.
“The image of a shared planet must always be present in our minds - and especially in the minds of those who are in positions of leadership,” the King said.
Health Insurance- Its need.
It was when Neeraj Purandare tried to bump up his medical cover that he hit the "pre-existing" wall.
Purandare had just undergone a heart surgery and at just 42, got the fright of his life.
That's when the ignored Rs1 lakh policy suddenly looked like a lifeline. One of the first calls he made from his post-operation hospital bed was to his agent.
Purandare wanted to bump up his cover and that of his family to Rs5 lakh. The distance between a "want" and real life became obvious as not only was the bump-up denied, his existing policy became significantly more expensive to maintain.
With lifestyle-related diseases (hypertension, diabetes, heart problems) hitting one in every 10 urban Indians, and the cost of private sector medical care resembling a five-star hotel bill, effective medical insurance becomes important. Let's talk about how to negotiate insurance company rules if you get diagnosed with a serious ailment like Purandare did.
If you don't have a cover Not having a cover means you have just dipped into your savings and paid up the hospital bill and now realize that you need health insurance.
It wouldn't be easy at this juncture simply because we are dealing with "insurance", which, in essence, is against unplanned events such as an accident or a disease that you are not yet suffering from.
Insuring you, who has already been diagnosed with a disease, would mean that the insurer is increasing his probability of paying the claim. Simply put, he would be making losses on his business and that is the reason why even the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), allows companies to refuse customers a cover if they are found "unfit".
Till the time the insurance market was a virtual monopoly, outright refusals were common, but privatization has changed this. With 15 of the 19 insurers being private players and two companies catering exclusively to the health insurance business, the chances of getting a cover, despite having a pre-existing disease, are much higher now. So, don't give up if you hear a "no" from one insurer.
Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo DKV Health Insurance, says: "In our case, someone who has, say, hypertension can obtain cover by paying additional premium. Someone with terminal cancer would be uninsurable. To ensure that healthy individuals do not overly crosssubsidize unhealthy individuals, care is exercised in allowing members with pre-existing conditions into the risk pool."
So, you can get a cover, but at a higher premium. Remember, a fresh cover will not cover your existing disease (diabetes, hypertension or whatever else) and any complication arising out of it (for example, hypertension can lead to a stroke) for four years. From the fifth year, the pre-existing clause is waived off and your policy will start covering these ailments as well.
C. Balaji Kaddapa, vicepresident, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd, says, "Since we can exclude covering preexisting diseases for a maximum of 48 months, we need to load the policies so as to recover costs for the higher risk we take from the fifth year."
If you have a cover The rulebook says that you cannot be refused a policy renewal. Deepak Mendiratta, managing director, Health and Insurance Integrated, says: "As per the norms, an insurer cannot deny an insured person a renewal, however adverse the situation may be. At most, the insurer can charge extra premium at the time of renewal."
But real life is different. Having a health insurance policy is not enough. Like Purandare, you will still have to sweat it out if you want to top up your cover. The insurer will apply the same scanner that is used when issuing a new cover to give you the extra bit. So, be prepare for either an outright refusal or shelling out extra.
Sreeraj Deshpande, head, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd, says, "If an insured person is looking to increase his cover, he will have to face a waiting period of four years for any pre-existing diseases for the extra sum insured."
You can get a pre-existing ailment covered without a waiting period clause only under a group health insurance scheme, the one offered by your employer. Most group policies include pre-existing diseases. Says Jacob: "When there is a guaranteed size of risk pool with a mix of healthy and sick people, it is possible to cover pre-existing conditions. That's what happens with group insurance."
But, this too has a caveat. Do not depend on your group insurance alone. You never know when you may hop jobs and whether your new employer will give you a similar cover. Most importantly, when you go out in the market shopping for an individual cover, you will hit the pre-existing wall once again.
And that is usually around the time you retire. At 60, given urban lifestyles, the chances of getting a lifestyle disease are much higher.
The only advice Money Matters has on this: buy a health insurance policy as early in your life as you can and keep increasing the sum insured while you are healthy. If you get caught unprotected, shop aggressively for a policy. You may have to pay more, but chances are that you will get a cover.
It was when Neeraj Purandare tried to bump up his medical cover that he hit the "pre-existing" wall.
Purandare had just undergone a heart surgery and at just 42, got the fright of his life.
That's when the ignored Rs1 lakh policy suddenly looked like a lifeline. One of the first calls he made from his post-operation hospital bed was to his agent.
Purandare wanted to bump up his cover and that of his family to Rs5 lakh. The distance between a "want" and real life became obvious as not only was the bump-up denied, his existing policy became significantly more expensive to maintain.
With lifestyle-related diseases (hypertension, diabetes, heart problems) hitting one in every 10 urban Indians, and the cost of private sector medical care resembling a five-star hotel bill, effective medical insurance becomes important. Let's talk about how to negotiate insurance company rules if you get diagnosed with a serious ailment like Purandare did.
If you don't have a cover Not having a cover means you have just dipped into your savings and paid up the hospital bill and now realize that you need health insurance.
It wouldn't be easy at this juncture simply because we are dealing with "insurance", which, in essence, is against unplanned events such as an accident or a disease that you are not yet suffering from.
Insuring you, who has already been diagnosed with a disease, would mean that the insurer is increasing his probability of paying the claim. Simply put, he would be making losses on his business and that is the reason why even the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), allows companies to refuse customers a cover if they are found "unfit".
Till the time the insurance market was a virtual monopoly, outright refusals were common, but privatization has changed this. With 15 of the 19 insurers being private players and two companies catering exclusively to the health insurance business, the chances of getting a cover, despite having a pre-existing disease, are much higher now. So, don't give up if you hear a "no" from one insurer.
Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo DKV Health Insurance, says: "In our case, someone who has, say, hypertension can obtain cover by paying additional premium. Someone with terminal cancer would be uninsurable. To ensure that healthy individuals do not overly crosssubsidize unhealthy individuals, care is exercised in allowing members with pre-existing conditions into the risk pool."
So, you can get a cover, but at a higher premium. Remember, a fresh cover will not cover your existing disease (diabetes, hypertension or whatever else) and any complication arising out of it (for example, hypertension can lead to a stroke) for four years. From the fifth year, the pre-existing clause is waived off and your policy will start covering these ailments as well.
C. Balaji Kaddapa, vicepresident, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd, says, "Since we can exclude covering preexisting diseases for a maximum of 48 months, we need to load the policies so as to recover costs for the higher risk we take from the fifth year."
If you have a cover The rulebook says that you cannot be refused a policy renewal. Deepak Mendiratta, managing director, Health and Insurance Integrated, says: "As per the norms, an insurer cannot deny an insured person a renewal, however adverse the situation may be. At most, the insurer can charge extra premium at the time of renewal."
But real life is different. Having a health insurance policy is not enough. Like Purandare, you will still have to sweat it out if you want to top up your cover. The insurer will apply the same scanner that is used when issuing a new cover to give you the extra bit. So, be prepare for either an outright refusal or shelling out extra.
Sreeraj Deshpande, head, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd, says, "If an insured person is looking to increase his cover, he will have to face a waiting period of four years for any pre-existing diseases for the extra sum insured."
You can get a pre-existing ailment covered without a waiting period clause only under a group health insurance scheme, the one offered by your employer. Most group policies include pre-existing diseases. Says Jacob: "When there is a guaranteed size of risk pool with a mix of healthy and sick people, it is possible to cover pre-existing conditions. That's what happens with group insurance."
But, this too has a caveat. Do not depend on your group insurance alone. You never know when you may hop jobs and whether your new employer will give you a similar cover. Most importantly, when you go out in the market shopping for an individual cover, you will hit the pre-existing wall once again.
And that is usually around the time you retire. At 60, given urban lifestyles, the chances of getting a lifestyle disease are much higher.
The only advice Money Matters has on this: buy a health insurance policy as early in your life as you can and keep increasing the sum insured while you are healthy. If you get caught unprotected, shop aggressively for a policy. You may have to pay more, but chances are that you will get a cover.
Fortunate to be part in India's growth story
On 1 February, Mark T. Robinson, a 24-year Citi veteran, took over the reins of Citibank NA's Indian unit from Sanjay Nayar, who left for private equity fund KKR India Advisors Pvt Ltd. Shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi, the first foreign-origin chief executive officer of Citi South Asia in nine years, Robinson seems be enjoying his stint.
In an interview with Mint, Robinson talks about the future of consumer banking and Citibank's India plans. Edited excerpts: How has your experience been in India?
I was in Russia when I got a call from Ajay Banga, then chief executive officer of Citi Asia Pacific, and came to India on 26 November (in 2008). Sanjay (Nayar) was the CEO until 31 January.
My experience has been very positive on different levels. I have been extremely fortunate to be working for Citibank, where we have got a very large and a 107-year-old business.
With that history come great relationships with leading corporates and small companies.
The relationships with leading companies run into multiple decades.
On the personal front, it has been a very positive experience. My wife and children have made many friends in a very short time. Indians would probably rank No. 1 in the world league in terms of entertaining. This aspect makes it easy to be a part of the society and meet people in a casual manner.
Have you fired people? What have you done differently from your predecessor, apart from spending 50% of your time in Delhi?
I have not come here to fire people or do something radical. First, I understood the business and gave people some understanding of what my background is. Let me also correct you that I am not spending 50% of time in Delhi.
I have offices in Mumbai and Delhi and I am where I need to be. However, on weekends I am with my family in Delhi.
I'm very lucky that our consumer business is based in Delhi and this helps me spend a lot of time with my family.
Also, we have to interact with the government and this takes me to Delhi at least once every week. Besides, we have some of our important corporate clients in Delhi.
Like any two people, Sanjay and I are different, but I would not like to focus on the differences. We all have the passion to run the business and deliver the best to our customers. How you go about it is different--it depends on what the priorities are.
I have inherited a sound strategy. We have got a wonderful business here and I did not come here and say I have to change this and do this differently. I came in with an approach to build on the business created. There was something which was well understood that there was a need to restructure and clean up our distress activities like consumer lending.
Have you rationalised workforce?
There has not been any organised retrenchment. There are a lot of people working for TCS (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd) and Wipro (Wipro Technologies Ltd), who solely work on Citi-related projects.
Citibank may have created employment for 35,000 people, directly and indirectly.
We have hired more people but there have been selective areas where we have let people go as well.
Are you happier to be operating out of India and not Europe?
I think as a banker it has been a unique experience (in the) last 12 months being in India compared with any other part of the world. The conditions in Western Europe deteriorated quite significantly compared to the conditions in India. In Russia, the economy would shrink by about 10% this year. I am fortunate to be a part of the Indian growth story.
How's India different from Russia?
The length of time that Citibank has been here certainly makes a lot of difference. We have been in Russia for about 17 years. The commercial environment is much younger there.
In India, we have developed a very broadbased activity, which only comes with time.
We have got very large relationships with TCS and Wipro to do all the back office services, which we can do only in India.
We have a large equity investment in India. We have a much more developed capital market in India and hence play a broader role in the equity and debt markets. India is quite unique in this respect.
These businesses are just evolving in Russia.
The consumer markets in the two countries are very different. The average Russian is more affluent compared with an average Indian.
What's the status of your consum er finance arm, CitiFinancial Con sumer Finance India Ltd (CitiFi nancial)?
The unsecured loan business was being done out of CitiFinancial. We are over the hump in terms of consumer losses and we would be at normalized levels by the third quarter of next year.
The second major part would be the credit card portfolio. We are still originating new credit cards and the credit losses are very high.
Abnormally high? About 20% or in their teens?
I don't want to specify. I think teens is a common industry average and we are also around that.
We are still working through those issues. We have tightened our origination criteria.
We have a card base of 2.5 million, of which 1.4 million cards are active.
Because you don't have annual fees on a large number of cards, they are sold as a free option and the usage level is very low as there are two to three cards in the consumers' pockets and they would not use it unless there is a good value proposition.
Credit performance in this segment is lagging behind, but by the end of next year we would reach the normal level.
The third part is the mortgages business. Here the credit performance is very strong.
We don't engage in auto loans. We also distribute investment products. That has been off in the last 12 months, but the business is coming back.
What's the future of CitiFinancial?
CitiFinancial is a part of Citi Holdings and any asset under Citi Holdings would be one for which we would want to realize some value over time. We could realize value from CitiFinancial through multiple options--an outright sale, a partnership or an IPO (initial public offering). CitiFinancial is an attractive business and has a great pool of talent. We have assets and about 2,000 people.
CitiFinancial has around 800 certified professionals authorised to sell insurance products, which is the highest compared with any financial institution or non-banking finance company.
When we bought down the network to 118 from 450, we selected the location in a way that fits the future needs.
However, they do not form a part of our core operations and hence they could be better off with somebody that sees value in them.
Can you independently take deci sions on CitiFinancial's fate in In dia?
There is not likely to be a single prospective buyer or partner for all of CitiFinancial operations. Our strategy will be country- or region-specific.
There's no global strategy and it would have to be countryspecific. It's an ongoing process. We are not working against some artificial deadline. Any investor with a real ability can come in and have access to this highly talented employees and network. What kind of growth in assets and profits do you see for this year?
We will see loan book shrinkage on the consumer side for the fiscal year ending 31 March, 2010, but for the calendar year 2010, we will be able to keep the consumer banking portfolio flat. We have a large commercial loan portfolio and we are budgeting a 20% growth there. We can see an upward trend on account of episodic financing--major companies embarking on major acquisitions or projects.
What are the most critical busi nesses in India?
We are very much a part of the flow of transactions, which we call the global transaction service that includes the cash and trade management and custody business. This is the key when it comes to contribution to global revenues. It accounts for almost one-third of our business in India. We provide these services to foreign institutional investors coming to India and corporates.
Year to date we are No. 1 in IPO financing and No. 2 player in the bond market. We are a very large player in the government securities market.
Are you also participating in the government's disinvestment pro gramme?
We are pitching very hard.
We played a role in the Oil India Ltd IPO. We are actively engaged with the government for similar such transactions.
Our capital market activities have strong connectivity with our global network. We can bring in international investors to these divestment programmes.
Indian transactions are quite large and if you wish to be a material player in the global ranking, you have to do well in India.
Our affluent banking business is yet another important business.
Any pocket of worry in India?
Banking is a complex business today. You have to be humble and there is not a single banker who doesn't think a lot more about risk today. I am very conscious of the fact that I am in a country which has averted the worst of the economic crisis the world has seen.
There is a feeling that foreign banks don't do much in India in terms of innovation and consum ers won't miss them if they are not there.
I haven't heard this before. I haven't heard of any country that has said we don't need to benefit from practices that seem to work in other markets.
Citibank has benefited from being in India in so many ways. We have been able to offer careers to so many different people who have become a part of senior management of other banks. Rana Talwar, Aditya Puri... I can name 20 people. I can't think of any other bank that has contributed to the export of talent.
I will give you a list of our top 100 customers and I would hope that they all would say that we have benefited from Citi's global experience. Increasingly, corporate clients are going into central Europe and we are possibly the only foreign bank in India that has a wide network in central Europe.
Financial institutions provide a backbone to international commerce and that may not be visible to everybody. We are very much a part of the process where Indian corporates connect to global clientele and consumers. International banks are a very important link through which India is linked to the rest of the globe.
Are you considering any structural change of moving from a branch model to a subsidiary?
There is no road map to becoming a subsidiary. We are comfortable operating as a branch.
Are you considering listing in India on the lines of what Standard Chartered Bank is doing?
What Standard Chartered is doing is listing the mother ship. I think it's an interesting move. They are a little bit different from Citi. Their Indian operations are a very significant part of their global operations and a local listing can bring them some intangible benefits.
Any plan to expand into rural In dia?
We are the largest international bank financier to microfinance institutions. We have almost $200 million of loans outstanding to these institutions. We are also the largest holder of no-frills accounts with about 15,000 accounts.
That's a drop in the bucket but this is our opportunity to learn how to provide basic banking service in a different cost model. At the same time, what we are doing is linking our community service initiative with the micro-finance institutions.
Recently, we opened a branch in Akola (Maharashtra), an under-banked area.
When it comes to foreign banks such as Citi, the Reserve Bank of India always talks about reciproci ty. The Indian central bank is not allowing Citi to open too many branches as US authorities are not liberal to Indian banks.
They use it very broadly with most foreign banks. If the country is going to benefit from international institutions, why hold the country hostage to such an approach?
Has the government support to your parent slowed down expan sion in India?
No. There has been no direct impact of moderating our business approach. What has impacted us is the business condition. At its core, the US tax payer is entitled to a return and the return depends on your growth in countries like India.
On 1 February, Mark T. Robinson, a 24-year Citi veteran, took over the reins of Citibank NA's Indian unit from Sanjay Nayar, who left for private equity fund KKR India Advisors Pvt Ltd. Shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi, the first foreign-origin chief executive officer of Citi South Asia in nine years, Robinson seems be enjoying his stint.
In an interview with Mint, Robinson talks about the future of consumer banking and Citibank's India plans. Edited excerpts: How has your experience been in India?
I was in Russia when I got a call from Ajay Banga, then chief executive officer of Citi Asia Pacific, and came to India on 26 November (in 2008). Sanjay (Nayar) was the CEO until 31 January.
My experience has been very positive on different levels. I have been extremely fortunate to be working for Citibank, where we have got a very large and a 107-year-old business.
With that history come great relationships with leading corporates and small companies.
The relationships with leading companies run into multiple decades.
On the personal front, it has been a very positive experience. My wife and children have made many friends in a very short time. Indians would probably rank No. 1 in the world league in terms of entertaining. This aspect makes it easy to be a part of the society and meet people in a casual manner.
Have you fired people? What have you done differently from your predecessor, apart from spending 50% of your time in Delhi?
I have not come here to fire people or do something radical. First, I understood the business and gave people some understanding of what my background is. Let me also correct you that I am not spending 50% of time in Delhi.
I have offices in Mumbai and Delhi and I am where I need to be. However, on weekends I am with my family in Delhi.
I'm very lucky that our consumer business is based in Delhi and this helps me spend a lot of time with my family.
Also, we have to interact with the government and this takes me to Delhi at least once every week. Besides, we have some of our important corporate clients in Delhi.
Like any two people, Sanjay and I are different, but I would not like to focus on the differences. We all have the passion to run the business and deliver the best to our customers. How you go about it is different--it depends on what the priorities are.
I have inherited a sound strategy. We have got a wonderful business here and I did not come here and say I have to change this and do this differently. I came in with an approach to build on the business created. There was something which was well understood that there was a need to restructure and clean up our distress activities like consumer lending.
Have you rationalised workforce?
There has not been any organised retrenchment. There are a lot of people working for TCS (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd) and Wipro (Wipro Technologies Ltd), who solely work on Citi-related projects.
Citibank may have created employment for 35,000 people, directly and indirectly.
We have hired more people but there have been selective areas where we have let people go as well.
Are you happier to be operating out of India and not Europe?
I think as a banker it has been a unique experience (in the) last 12 months being in India compared with any other part of the world. The conditions in Western Europe deteriorated quite significantly compared to the conditions in India. In Russia, the economy would shrink by about 10% this year. I am fortunate to be a part of the Indian growth story.
How's India different from Russia?
The length of time that Citibank has been here certainly makes a lot of difference. We have been in Russia for about 17 years. The commercial environment is much younger there.
In India, we have developed a very broadbased activity, which only comes with time.
We have got very large relationships with TCS and Wipro to do all the back office services, which we can do only in India.
We have a large equity investment in India. We have a much more developed capital market in India and hence play a broader role in the equity and debt markets. India is quite unique in this respect.
These businesses are just evolving in Russia.
The consumer markets in the two countries are very different. The average Russian is more affluent compared with an average Indian.
What's the status of your consum er finance arm, CitiFinancial Con sumer Finance India Ltd (CitiFi nancial)?
The unsecured loan business was being done out of CitiFinancial. We are over the hump in terms of consumer losses and we would be at normalized levels by the third quarter of next year.
The second major part would be the credit card portfolio. We are still originating new credit cards and the credit losses are very high.
Abnormally high? About 20% or in their teens?
I don't want to specify. I think teens is a common industry average and we are also around that.
We are still working through those issues. We have tightened our origination criteria.
We have a card base of 2.5 million, of which 1.4 million cards are active.
Because you don't have annual fees on a large number of cards, they are sold as a free option and the usage level is very low as there are two to three cards in the consumers' pockets and they would not use it unless there is a good value proposition.
Credit performance in this segment is lagging behind, but by the end of next year we would reach the normal level.
The third part is the mortgages business. Here the credit performance is very strong.
We don't engage in auto loans. We also distribute investment products. That has been off in the last 12 months, but the business is coming back.
What's the future of CitiFinancial?
CitiFinancial is a part of Citi Holdings and any asset under Citi Holdings would be one for which we would want to realize some value over time. We could realize value from CitiFinancial through multiple options--an outright sale, a partnership or an IPO (initial public offering). CitiFinancial is an attractive business and has a great pool of talent. We have assets and about 2,000 people.
CitiFinancial has around 800 certified professionals authorised to sell insurance products, which is the highest compared with any financial institution or non-banking finance company.
When we bought down the network to 118 from 450, we selected the location in a way that fits the future needs.
However, they do not form a part of our core operations and hence they could be better off with somebody that sees value in them.
Can you independently take deci sions on CitiFinancial's fate in In dia?
There is not likely to be a single prospective buyer or partner for all of CitiFinancial operations. Our strategy will be country- or region-specific.
There's no global strategy and it would have to be countryspecific. It's an ongoing process. We are not working against some artificial deadline. Any investor with a real ability can come in and have access to this highly talented employees and network. What kind of growth in assets and profits do you see for this year?
We will see loan book shrinkage on the consumer side for the fiscal year ending 31 March, 2010, but for the calendar year 2010, we will be able to keep the consumer banking portfolio flat. We have a large commercial loan portfolio and we are budgeting a 20% growth there. We can see an upward trend on account of episodic financing--major companies embarking on major acquisitions or projects.
What are the most critical busi nesses in India?
We are very much a part of the flow of transactions, which we call the global transaction service that includes the cash and trade management and custody business. This is the key when it comes to contribution to global revenues. It accounts for almost one-third of our business in India. We provide these services to foreign institutional investors coming to India and corporates.
Year to date we are No. 1 in IPO financing and No. 2 player in the bond market. We are a very large player in the government securities market.
Are you also participating in the government's disinvestment pro gramme?
We are pitching very hard.
We played a role in the Oil India Ltd IPO. We are actively engaged with the government for similar such transactions.
Our capital market activities have strong connectivity with our global network. We can bring in international investors to these divestment programmes.
Indian transactions are quite large and if you wish to be a material player in the global ranking, you have to do well in India.
Our affluent banking business is yet another important business.
Any pocket of worry in India?
Banking is a complex business today. You have to be humble and there is not a single banker who doesn't think a lot more about risk today. I am very conscious of the fact that I am in a country which has averted the worst of the economic crisis the world has seen.
There is a feeling that foreign banks don't do much in India in terms of innovation and consum ers won't miss them if they are not there.
I haven't heard this before. I haven't heard of any country that has said we don't need to benefit from practices that seem to work in other markets.
Citibank has benefited from being in India in so many ways. We have been able to offer careers to so many different people who have become a part of senior management of other banks. Rana Talwar, Aditya Puri... I can name 20 people. I can't think of any other bank that has contributed to the export of talent.
I will give you a list of our top 100 customers and I would hope that they all would say that we have benefited from Citi's global experience. Increasingly, corporate clients are going into central Europe and we are possibly the only foreign bank in India that has a wide network in central Europe.
Financial institutions provide a backbone to international commerce and that may not be visible to everybody. We are very much a part of the process where Indian corporates connect to global clientele and consumers. International banks are a very important link through which India is linked to the rest of the globe.
Are you considering any structural change of moving from a branch model to a subsidiary?
There is no road map to becoming a subsidiary. We are comfortable operating as a branch.
Are you considering listing in India on the lines of what Standard Chartered Bank is doing?
What Standard Chartered is doing is listing the mother ship. I think it's an interesting move. They are a little bit different from Citi. Their Indian operations are a very significant part of their global operations and a local listing can bring them some intangible benefits.
Any plan to expand into rural In dia?
We are the largest international bank financier to microfinance institutions. We have almost $200 million of loans outstanding to these institutions. We are also the largest holder of no-frills accounts with about 15,000 accounts.
That's a drop in the bucket but this is our opportunity to learn how to provide basic banking service in a different cost model. At the same time, what we are doing is linking our community service initiative with the micro-finance institutions.
Recently, we opened a branch in Akola (Maharashtra), an under-banked area.
When it comes to foreign banks such as Citi, the Reserve Bank of India always talks about reciproci ty. The Indian central bank is not allowing Citi to open too many branches as US authorities are not liberal to Indian banks.
They use it very broadly with most foreign banks. If the country is going to benefit from international institutions, why hold the country hostage to such an approach?
Has the government support to your parent slowed down expan sion in India?
No. There has been no direct impact of moderating our business approach. What has impacted us is the business condition. At its core, the US tax payer is entitled to a return and the return depends on your growth in countries like India.
Goods, services tax could boost India Inc's bottomline: Bhide
The Revenue Secretary, Mr P.V. Bhide, with the Assocham President, Dr Swati Piramal,at the National Conference on 'GST - Roadmap to 2010', in the Capital on Wednesday.
New Delhi, Dec. 23
The proposed dual-goods and services tax (GST) system could boost the bottomline of India Inc in an appreciable manner as it will bring down their net burden of taxation by as much as 25-30 per cent, informal calculations made by the Finance Ministry showed.
That the GST would substantially enhance the competitive edge of both the manufacturing and services industry was brought to the fore by the Revenue Secretary, Mr P.V. Bhide, at aconference organised by Assocham here today.
His remarks on the visible advantages of GST come at a time when there are some who still question the wisdom of planned switchover to the dual GST. The GST sceptics feel that the existing VAT system needs some more time to settle down and that the GST introduction should not be rushed through.
Mr Bhide used the occasion to also highlight some of the invisible advantages that needed to be factored in by the GST sceptics. He pointed out that GST could remove the disability that domestic producers suffer from and also equalise the burden between domestic and imported goods.
Currently, domestic industry is subject to a variety of indirect taxes on its output. As the rates of tax and their nature vary from State to State, it becomes impossible to apply these taxes fully to competing products that enter the domestic stream through imports in a WTO-compatible manner.
Mr Bhide said that special additional duty of 4 per cent currently applicable to import of goods does not fully counter-balance all domestic taxes such as Central sales tax, value added tax and others, as the rates of tax on a given product varied from State to State.
Once these taxes are subsumed within GST and the rate of SGST for a product is uniform across the country, a border tax equivalent to that rate would equalise the burden between domestic and imported goods, Mr Bhide said.
Exporting community
The Revenue Secretary also said that the GST regime is likely to confer substantial benefits on the exporting community in so far as it would permit the neutralisation of a substantial burden of State-level taxes suffered on inputs and finished products, which was not the case today. Moreover, this would be true of both goods and services in respect of all State taxes that are subsumed within the GST.
Meanwhile, Mr Bhide said that every effort was being made to pave the way for the introduction of GST in a timely manner. The scope and nature of constitutional amendments that are needed to enable the implementation are under active discussion at the Centre.
Mr Bhide said that the draft amendment Bill has already been prepared and was being examined by experts. Work was also underway on the drafting of CGST law and model legislation for SGST. Progress has also been achieved in the conceptualisation of IT infrastructure that would be required to implement the IGST model for inter-State supply of goods and services.
The Revenue Secretary, Mr P.V. Bhide, with the Assocham President, Dr Swati Piramal,at the National Conference on 'GST - Roadmap to 2010', in the Capital on Wednesday.
New Delhi, Dec. 23
The proposed dual-goods and services tax (GST) system could boost the bottomline of India Inc in an appreciable manner as it will bring down their net burden of taxation by as much as 25-30 per cent, informal calculations made by the Finance Ministry showed.
That the GST would substantially enhance the competitive edge of both the manufacturing and services industry was brought to the fore by the Revenue Secretary, Mr P.V. Bhide, at aconference organised by Assocham here today.
His remarks on the visible advantages of GST come at a time when there are some who still question the wisdom of planned switchover to the dual GST. The GST sceptics feel that the existing VAT system needs some more time to settle down and that the GST introduction should not be rushed through.
Mr Bhide used the occasion to also highlight some of the invisible advantages that needed to be factored in by the GST sceptics. He pointed out that GST could remove the disability that domestic producers suffer from and also equalise the burden between domestic and imported goods.
Currently, domestic industry is subject to a variety of indirect taxes on its output. As the rates of tax and their nature vary from State to State, it becomes impossible to apply these taxes fully to competing products that enter the domestic stream through imports in a WTO-compatible manner.
Mr Bhide said that special additional duty of 4 per cent currently applicable to import of goods does not fully counter-balance all domestic taxes such as Central sales tax, value added tax and others, as the rates of tax on a given product varied from State to State.
Once these taxes are subsumed within GST and the rate of SGST for a product is uniform across the country, a border tax equivalent to that rate would equalise the burden between domestic and imported goods, Mr Bhide said.
Exporting community
The Revenue Secretary also said that the GST regime is likely to confer substantial benefits on the exporting community in so far as it would permit the neutralisation of a substantial burden of State-level taxes suffered on inputs and finished products, which was not the case today. Moreover, this would be true of both goods and services in respect of all State taxes that are subsumed within the GST.
Meanwhile, Mr Bhide said that every effort was being made to pave the way for the introduction of GST in a timely manner. The scope and nature of constitutional amendments that are needed to enable the implementation are under active discussion at the Centre.
Mr Bhide said that the draft amendment Bill has already been prepared and was being examined by experts. Work was also underway on the drafting of CGST law and model legislation for SGST. Progress has also been achieved in the conceptualisation of IT infrastructure that would be required to implement the IGST model for inter-State supply of goods and services.
Two Sikkimese philatelists received Sapphire award in “Stampmania 2009″
source:VoiceofSikkim
23 Dec, Vadodara: Shital Pradhan and Roshan Prasad from Sikkim received Sapphire award each at “Stampmania 2009″ the First National One Frame Philatelic Exhibition held on 18-20 December 2009 organised by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Around 448 philatelists from India had participated in the competition. The awards were categorized as Diamond, Ruby, Silver, Sapphire, Topaz and Certificate of Participation.
Shital Pradhan had received the award for his theme “Sikkim through Philately” in ‘Not yet categorized’ category while Roshan Prasad received Sapphire award for his “Cricket – Indian Sub Continent” in thematic category. Roshan Prasad had represented the Sikkim Philatelic Society at Vadodara and had also received special award from the organizing committee. Four Philatelists from Sikkim had sent their exhibits in the national event that had Sumina Parajuli receiving the Topaz Award while Deepen Pradhan received the Certificate of Participation.
It is an honour for our young budding philatelist from our state to compete at national level philatelic competition and receive an award. This achievement shall encourage our Sikkim Philatelic Society too, said Ganesh Pradhan, President, Sikkim Philatelic Society. Sikkim Philatelic Society congratulates each of them for their success, he further added.
source:VoiceofSikkim
23 Dec, Vadodara: Shital Pradhan and Roshan Prasad from Sikkim received Sapphire award each at “Stampmania 2009″ the First National One Frame Philatelic Exhibition held on 18-20 December 2009 organised by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Around 448 philatelists from India had participated in the competition. The awards were categorized as Diamond, Ruby, Silver, Sapphire, Topaz and Certificate of Participation.
Shital Pradhan had received the award for his theme “Sikkim through Philately” in ‘Not yet categorized’ category while Roshan Prasad received Sapphire award for his “Cricket – Indian Sub Continent” in thematic category. Roshan Prasad had represented the Sikkim Philatelic Society at Vadodara and had also received special award from the organizing committee. Four Philatelists from Sikkim had sent their exhibits in the national event that had Sumina Parajuli receiving the Topaz Award while Deepen Pradhan received the Certificate of Participation.
It is an honour for our young budding philatelist from our state to compete at national level philatelic competition and receive an award. This achievement shall encourage our Sikkim Philatelic Society too, said Ganesh Pradhan, President, Sikkim Philatelic Society. Sikkim Philatelic Society congratulates each of them for their success, he further added.
Soot absorbs 80 per cent of the solar radiation it receives; directly warms the atmosphere
It is no longer just greenhouses gases and their ability to produce global warming that scientists worry about. Concern has been growing over the role played by soot.
Fine particles of soot result from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Soot is produced by diesel engines, the burning of coal, forest fires, burning of crop residues and when firewood and dung is used as household fuel.
Soot particles absorb 80 per cent of the solar radiation they receive and directly warm the atmosphere, said S.K. Satheesh of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Cloud burn off
Absorption of sunlight by soot could heat the surrounding atmosphere to such an extent that clouds “burn off,” suggested Dr Satheesh in paper published in Nature in 2000 that was co-authored with V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
Soot in the atmosphere could be having as much as 60 per cent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, observed Prof. Ramanathan and G. Carmichael in a review paper published in Nature Geoscience in 2008.
The increased levels of soot and other pollutants in the atmosphere were reducing monsoon rainfall over India, said Prof. Ramanathan and others in another paper in 2005. Droughts might double in frequency if the emissions continued unabated.
However, William Lau of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in the U.S. and others have suggested that the soot from northern India along with dust from the deserts of western China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East were producing an ’elevated heat pump’ over Tibet.
The effects
The rising hot air produced by enhanced heating drew in warm and moist air over the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, there could be an “advance of the rainy periods and subsequently an intensification of the Indian summer monsoon,” they remarked in a paper published in 2006.
More recently, there has been concern over soot hastening the melting of the Himalayan glaciers.
“Over areas of the Himalayas, the rate of warming is more than five times faster than warming globally, remarked Dr. Lau at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in California earlier this month. The ‘elevated heat pump’ could be contributing as much or more to atmospheric warming in the Himalayas as greenhouse gases.
Besides, soot being deposited directly on the glaciers too seemed to be playing a part. Chinese and American scientists published this month the results of research that looked at ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau. “We find evidence that black soot aerosols deposited on Tibetan glaciers have been a significant contributing factor to observed rapid glacier retreat,” reported James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and others in their paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.
Cutting soot emission
In a recent article in the magazine Foreign Affairs, Jessica Seddon Wallack, director of the Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai, and Prof. Ramanathan have argued that reducing soot and ozone precursors could rapidly slow the pace of global warming, thus giving efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions time to get off the ground.
Emissions of soot and ozone precursors could be brought down significantly at relatively low cost with technologies that already existed. While carbon dioxide could remain in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stayed aloft only for days to weeks while ozone persisted for just weeks to months.
Reducing the emissions of these pollutants would quickly lower their concentration in the atmosphere and, in turn, their impact on global warming, they pointed out.
For U.S. dollars 15 billion, 500 million households could be provided with clean stoves, Prof. Ramanathan was quoted as saying in a recent media report. These families were currently using firewood, coal and dung as fuel and the switch would greatly reduce soot production.
Undesired result
Cutting soot levels in the atmosphere might produce the opposite effect – an increase in warming rather than a reduction, pointed out Dr. Satheesh,. He received the Bhatnagar Award this year.
Much of the warming of the atmosphere occurred when the earth’s surface became heated by radiation from the sun. Removing soot could increase the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, thereby leading to greater warming of the atmosphere.
One recent study showed evidence of such an effect in California where reduction in soot levels after about 1980 led to a statewide surface temperature increase.
By N Gopal Raj
It is no longer just greenhouses gases and their ability to produce global warming that scientists worry about. Concern has been growing over the role played by soot.
Fine particles of soot result from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Soot is produced by diesel engines, the burning of coal, forest fires, burning of crop residues and when firewood and dung is used as household fuel.
Soot particles absorb 80 per cent of the solar radiation they receive and directly warm the atmosphere, said S.K. Satheesh of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Cloud burn off
Absorption of sunlight by soot could heat the surrounding atmosphere to such an extent that clouds “burn off,” suggested Dr Satheesh in paper published in Nature in 2000 that was co-authored with V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
Soot in the atmosphere could be having as much as 60 per cent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, observed Prof. Ramanathan and G. Carmichael in a review paper published in Nature Geoscience in 2008.
The increased levels of soot and other pollutants in the atmosphere were reducing monsoon rainfall over India, said Prof. Ramanathan and others in another paper in 2005. Droughts might double in frequency if the emissions continued unabated.
However, William Lau of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in the U.S. and others have suggested that the soot from northern India along with dust from the deserts of western China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East were producing an ’elevated heat pump’ over Tibet.
The effects
The rising hot air produced by enhanced heating drew in warm and moist air over the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, there could be an “advance of the rainy periods and subsequently an intensification of the Indian summer monsoon,” they remarked in a paper published in 2006.
More recently, there has been concern over soot hastening the melting of the Himalayan glaciers.
“Over areas of the Himalayas, the rate of warming is more than five times faster than warming globally, remarked Dr. Lau at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in California earlier this month. The ‘elevated heat pump’ could be contributing as much or more to atmospheric warming in the Himalayas as greenhouse gases.
Besides, soot being deposited directly on the glaciers too seemed to be playing a part. Chinese and American scientists published this month the results of research that looked at ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau. “We find evidence that black soot aerosols deposited on Tibetan glaciers have been a significant contributing factor to observed rapid glacier retreat,” reported James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and others in their paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.
Cutting soot emission
In a recent article in the magazine Foreign Affairs, Jessica Seddon Wallack, director of the Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai, and Prof. Ramanathan have argued that reducing soot and ozone precursors could rapidly slow the pace of global warming, thus giving efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions time to get off the ground.
Emissions of soot and ozone precursors could be brought down significantly at relatively low cost with technologies that already existed. While carbon dioxide could remain in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stayed aloft only for days to weeks while ozone persisted for just weeks to months.
Reducing the emissions of these pollutants would quickly lower their concentration in the atmosphere and, in turn, their impact on global warming, they pointed out.
For U.S. dollars 15 billion, 500 million households could be provided with clean stoves, Prof. Ramanathan was quoted as saying in a recent media report. These families were currently using firewood, coal and dung as fuel and the switch would greatly reduce soot production.
Undesired result
Cutting soot levels in the atmosphere might produce the opposite effect – an increase in warming rather than a reduction, pointed out Dr. Satheesh,. He received the Bhatnagar Award this year.
Much of the warming of the atmosphere occurred when the earth’s surface became heated by radiation from the sun. Removing soot could increase the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, thereby leading to greater warming of the atmosphere.
One recent study showed evidence of such an effect in California where reduction in soot levels after about 1980 led to a statewide surface temperature increase.
By N Gopal Raj
Govt nod for flying the tricolour at night
Indians can now fly the Tricolour at night, provided the pole is high enough and the flag is well lit.
Responding to industrialist Navin Jindal's petition, the Home Ministry has decided that Indian citizens can fly the tricolour night as well, provided the flagpole is at least 100 metres tall and the flag itself properly illuminated.
Indian citizens can now fly the National Flag even at night. This is subject to the condition that the flagpole is really tall and the flag itself well-illuminated.
The Home Ministry took the decision following a proposal in this regard by industrialist Naveen Jindal, who had earlier won a court battle in the 1990s for flying the national flag (tiranga) as a fundamental right for every citizen.
In a communication to Mr. Jindal, also a Congress leader and Member of Parliament, the Ministry said it has examined the proposal and had no objection to installing “giant flagpoles for flying the National Flag day and night at various places.”
In a representation to the Ministry in June 2009, Mr. Jindal had sought permission to fly mammoth-sized national flags on monumental flagpoles during night. Mr. Jindal had said that the National Flag is to be flown in “as far as possible between sunrise and sunset” as per Flag Code of India, but it was a common practice worldwide for massive national flags to be flown day and night on monumental flagpoles of 100 feet and above in height.
Citing the example of countries like Malaysia, Jordon, Abu Dhabi, North Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Turkmenistan where monumental flags are flown at night, Mr. Jindal proposed that such flags be flown in India also.
In response to Mr. Jindal’s letter, the Ministry said that such flagpoles could be installed, provided there was adequate arrangement for proper illumination of flags at night with backup in case of power failure and the flags are replaced immediately as soon as they get damaged.
After almost a decade long legal battle initiated by Mr. Jindal on behalf of the people of India to give them the right to hoist the national tricolour publicly, the Supreme Court in 1996 passed a landmark judgement allowing every citizen to fly the national flag with respect, dignity and honour, thus making it a fundamental right.
Undeterred by directions to remove the National Flag from his factory premises, Jindal fought a 7-year long legal battle and finally emerged victorious in 2002.
The Union Government approved the recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee headed by P. D. Shenoy and removed the restrictions on the use of the National Flag by all Indian citizens from January 26, 2002.
The Flag Code, established in 1950, has been amended after the historic and landmark decision of the Union Cabinet.
Indians can now fly the Tricolour at night, provided the pole is high enough and the flag is well lit.
Responding to industrialist Navin Jindal's petition, the Home Ministry has decided that Indian citizens can fly the tricolour night as well, provided the flagpole is at least 100 metres tall and the flag itself properly illuminated.
Indian citizens can now fly the National Flag even at night. This is subject to the condition that the flagpole is really tall and the flag itself well-illuminated.
The Home Ministry took the decision following a proposal in this regard by industrialist Naveen Jindal, who had earlier won a court battle in the 1990s for flying the national flag (tiranga) as a fundamental right for every citizen.
In a communication to Mr. Jindal, also a Congress leader and Member of Parliament, the Ministry said it has examined the proposal and had no objection to installing “giant flagpoles for flying the National Flag day and night at various places.”
In a representation to the Ministry in June 2009, Mr. Jindal had sought permission to fly mammoth-sized national flags on monumental flagpoles during night. Mr. Jindal had said that the National Flag is to be flown in “as far as possible between sunrise and sunset” as per Flag Code of India, but it was a common practice worldwide for massive national flags to be flown day and night on monumental flagpoles of 100 feet and above in height.
Citing the example of countries like Malaysia, Jordon, Abu Dhabi, North Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Turkmenistan where monumental flags are flown at night, Mr. Jindal proposed that such flags be flown in India also.
In response to Mr. Jindal’s letter, the Ministry said that such flagpoles could be installed, provided there was adequate arrangement for proper illumination of flags at night with backup in case of power failure and the flags are replaced immediately as soon as they get damaged.
After almost a decade long legal battle initiated by Mr. Jindal on behalf of the people of India to give them the right to hoist the national tricolour publicly, the Supreme Court in 1996 passed a landmark judgement allowing every citizen to fly the national flag with respect, dignity and honour, thus making it a fundamental right.
Undeterred by directions to remove the National Flag from his factory premises, Jindal fought a 7-year long legal battle and finally emerged victorious in 2002.
The Union Government approved the recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee headed by P. D. Shenoy and removed the restrictions on the use of the National Flag by all Indian citizens from January 26, 2002.
The Flag Code, established in 1950, has been amended after the historic and landmark decision of the Union Cabinet.
Dalai Lama, Rinpoche, Sikkim CM to be guests at MSU event in January
source:Express News Service
Dec 23, 2009 at 0529 hrs
Vadodara:
The Dalai Lama, Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche along with over 400 Lamas, the chief minister of Sikkim and other followers of Buddhism will take part in an international conference at the Maharaja Sayajirao University premises on January 15.
MSU Vice-Chancellor Prof Ramesh Goyal, told media persons: “There will be more than 400 Lamas in addition to the dignitaries who have confirmed their participation. They are the Dalai Lama, Samdhong Rinpoche, and the chief minister of Sikkim .”
He said 144 of the 183 abstracts received by them for presentation have been finalised. “Of these, 45 are international abstracts. Also, there are more than 250 delegates from outside Gujarat,” he added.
He said arrangements are afoot to make the event a grand success. “We have received a grant of Rs 1 crore from the state government for the event. An exhibition will be held to promote tourism in the state,” said Prof Goyal.
source:Express News Service
Dec 23, 2009 at 0529 hrs
Vadodara:
The Dalai Lama, Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche along with over 400 Lamas, the chief minister of Sikkim and other followers of Buddhism will take part in an international conference at the Maharaja Sayajirao University premises on January 15.
MSU Vice-Chancellor Prof Ramesh Goyal, told media persons: “There will be more than 400 Lamas in addition to the dignitaries who have confirmed their participation. They are the Dalai Lama, Samdhong Rinpoche, and the chief minister of Sikkim .”
He said 144 of the 183 abstracts received by them for presentation have been finalised. “Of these, 45 are international abstracts. Also, there are more than 250 delegates from outside Gujarat,” he added.
He said arrangements are afoot to make the event a grand success. “We have received a grant of Rs 1 crore from the state government for the event. An exhibition will be held to promote tourism in the state,” said Prof Goyal.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)
The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has been established as a not for profit Organization under section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 and was registered in July, 2003. The National Internet Exchange of India is the neutral meeting point of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country. Its main purpose is to facilitate exchange of domestic Internet traffic between the peering ISP members. Five additional Internet Exchange Nodes have been operationalised at Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Mohali (Chandigarh) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) to add to the existing NIXI hubs at Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida.
It manages the .IN Registry for the Country Code Top Level Domain Name in the country. Presently, more than 73 Registrars have been accredited to offer .IN domain name registration worldwide to customers. It has in turn also helped in proliferation of Web hosting in the country and Indian language content in the Internet. 5.5 lakh .IN Domain Names have been registered till November 10, 2009. Two Data Centers have been established in Delhi and Chennai towards disaster management with an up time of maximum 5 minutes.
The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has been established as a not for profit Organization under section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 and was registered in July, 2003. The National Internet Exchange of India is the neutral meeting point of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country. Its main purpose is to facilitate exchange of domestic Internet traffic between the peering ISP members. Five additional Internet Exchange Nodes have been operationalised at Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Mohali (Chandigarh) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) to add to the existing NIXI hubs at Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida.
It manages the .IN Registry for the Country Code Top Level Domain Name in the country. Presently, more than 73 Registrars have been accredited to offer .IN domain name registration worldwide to customers. It has in turn also helped in proliferation of Web hosting in the country and Indian language content in the Internet. 5.5 lakh .IN Domain Names have been registered till November 10, 2009. Two Data Centers have been established in Delhi and Chennai towards disaster management with an up time of maximum 5 minutes.
India wary as China spreads Nepal reach
SUJAN DUTTA
The Telegraph
New Delhi, Dec. 21: When Nepal army chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung was being feted with the honorary rank of general in the Indian Army here last week, his deputy was quietly signing a deal with a visiting Chinese military delegation in Kathmandu.
To analysts in Kathmandu, the two developments will inevitably evoke a familiar description of Nepal — that of “a yam stuck between two boulders”. The boulders, of course, are India and China.
But in New Delhi, the military establishment is concerned that India’s army and government are risking losing a space they have traditionally held on to.
General Torun Jung Bahadur Singh, who was acting as army chief in Kathmandu in the absence of Gurung, signed a deal with Major General Jia Jialing, deputy director in the foreign relations cell of the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army. The Chinese pledged 20.8 million yuan (Rs 14.2 crore approximately) as aid for “non lethal” military equipment.
Nepal’s ammunition-starved army is looking for newer and surer sources of supply since India began turning off the tap of military aid in 2001 and then almost brought it to a halt in 2005.
To the defence establishment in New Delhi, the signs are unmistakable: China is stepping-in in Nepal just as it had in Sri Lanka and before that in Myanmar because India has been chary of continuing with military aid to neighbours beset by domestic troubles.
Sri Lanka has all but moved on after brutally crushing the three-decade LTTE insurgency with military might in May this year. Sri Lanka’s army was using Chinese weaponry and ammunition apart from the outdated Indian equipment it had in its arsenal.
In Myanmar, where India was shy of courting the military junta because of Delhi’s political support to the democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi and the fear of international criticism, it has stepped up visits and exchanges. Three years ago, India even supplied field guns and a maritime surveillance aircraft to Myanmar.
But by then the Chinese were everywhere, investing in Myanmar’s ports, highways and industries and helping prop up its army militarily.
For the military establishment in India, the waning of goodwill in Sri Lanka and Myanmar is a loss that it is now trying to make up. In Nepal, senior Indian Army officers say, there cannot be a waiting period.
Nepal is vastly different for India from the island nation or from Myanmar. With neither of those countries does India have an open border. The unique India-Nepal relationship grants reciprocal citizenship rights (minus voting rights) to the residents of each country. Nepalese Gorkhas serve in the Indian Army in large numbers.
The move to fete General Gurung and resume arms supplies to Nepal’s army, sources argue, should be seen in this context — and not merely from the point of view of touching off sensitivities among the Himalayan nation’s Maoists.
One officer said that when Prachanda headed the government before being forced to quit over the reinstatement of the former Nepal army chief, General Rukmangad Katawal, there were moves by Kathmandu to get closer to China.
Prachanda’s defence minister and former chief of the Nepal Maoists’ militia, Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal), visited Beijing in September 2008. The Chinese army’s deputy chief, Lt Gen Ma Ziaotian, who also oversees India-China military relations and was in charge of their two joint drills, met Prachanda in December last year.
Now, Prachanda’s successor and Nepal’s current Prime Minister, Madhav Nepal, is scheduled to visit China on December 26.
The Chinese have expressed concern over the Tibetan protests in Nepal at a time Kathmandu is reported to have sought Indian military help to build an airstrip for its army’s air wing in Surkhet near Nepal’s border with Tibet. The Nepal Maoists have been quick to allege that India intends to use such an airstrip as a base for operations against China in the event of hostilities.
After being given his honorary rank and hosting General Deepak Kapoor at a lavish reception in the Nepalese embassy in Delhi last week, General Gurung is understood to have invited the Indian Army chief to Kathmandu.
Traditionally, a new Indian Army chief’s first visit has been to Nepal where he, too, is given the honorary rank. Kapoor’s predecessor, General J.J. Singh, now governor of Arunachal Pradesh, was twice advised against visiting Nepal for the ceremony. Kapoor has visited many countries and is now in the last leg of his tenure.
Whether Kapoor will accept the invitation and visit Kathmandu before he retires early next year will be a demonstration of the Indian government’s diplomatic intent in the face of the resurgent Maoists in Nepal.
The resumption of arms supplies — armoured personnel carriers, Insas rifles, ammunition and possibly even tanks — to Nepal’s army and a visit by Kapoor will demonstrate not only New Delhi’s resolve in encouraging an “apolitical and professional” military in Nepal but also its determination to maintain its strategic and political space in the Himalayan country that China is nibbling into.
source:
SUJAN DUTTA
The Telegraph
SUJAN DUTTA
The Telegraph
New Delhi, Dec. 21: When Nepal army chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung was being feted with the honorary rank of general in the Indian Army here last week, his deputy was quietly signing a deal with a visiting Chinese military delegation in Kathmandu.
To analysts in Kathmandu, the two developments will inevitably evoke a familiar description of Nepal — that of “a yam stuck between two boulders”. The boulders, of course, are India and China.
But in New Delhi, the military establishment is concerned that India’s army and government are risking losing a space they have traditionally held on to.
General Torun Jung Bahadur Singh, who was acting as army chief in Kathmandu in the absence of Gurung, signed a deal with Major General Jia Jialing, deputy director in the foreign relations cell of the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army. The Chinese pledged 20.8 million yuan (Rs 14.2 crore approximately) as aid for “non lethal” military equipment.
Nepal’s ammunition-starved army is looking for newer and surer sources of supply since India began turning off the tap of military aid in 2001 and then almost brought it to a halt in 2005.
To the defence establishment in New Delhi, the signs are unmistakable: China is stepping-in in Nepal just as it had in Sri Lanka and before that in Myanmar because India has been chary of continuing with military aid to neighbours beset by domestic troubles.
Sri Lanka has all but moved on after brutally crushing the three-decade LTTE insurgency with military might in May this year. Sri Lanka’s army was using Chinese weaponry and ammunition apart from the outdated Indian equipment it had in its arsenal.
In Myanmar, where India was shy of courting the military junta because of Delhi’s political support to the democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi and the fear of international criticism, it has stepped up visits and exchanges. Three years ago, India even supplied field guns and a maritime surveillance aircraft to Myanmar.
But by then the Chinese were everywhere, investing in Myanmar’s ports, highways and industries and helping prop up its army militarily.
For the military establishment in India, the waning of goodwill in Sri Lanka and Myanmar is a loss that it is now trying to make up. In Nepal, senior Indian Army officers say, there cannot be a waiting period.
Nepal is vastly different for India from the island nation or from Myanmar. With neither of those countries does India have an open border. The unique India-Nepal relationship grants reciprocal citizenship rights (minus voting rights) to the residents of each country. Nepalese Gorkhas serve in the Indian Army in large numbers.
The move to fete General Gurung and resume arms supplies to Nepal’s army, sources argue, should be seen in this context — and not merely from the point of view of touching off sensitivities among the Himalayan nation’s Maoists.
One officer said that when Prachanda headed the government before being forced to quit over the reinstatement of the former Nepal army chief, General Rukmangad Katawal, there were moves by Kathmandu to get closer to China.
Prachanda’s defence minister and former chief of the Nepal Maoists’ militia, Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal), visited Beijing in September 2008. The Chinese army’s deputy chief, Lt Gen Ma Ziaotian, who also oversees India-China military relations and was in charge of their two joint drills, met Prachanda in December last year.
Now, Prachanda’s successor and Nepal’s current Prime Minister, Madhav Nepal, is scheduled to visit China on December 26.
The Chinese have expressed concern over the Tibetan protests in Nepal at a time Kathmandu is reported to have sought Indian military help to build an airstrip for its army’s air wing in Surkhet near Nepal’s border with Tibet. The Nepal Maoists have been quick to allege that India intends to use such an airstrip as a base for operations against China in the event of hostilities.
After being given his honorary rank and hosting General Deepak Kapoor at a lavish reception in the Nepalese embassy in Delhi last week, General Gurung is understood to have invited the Indian Army chief to Kathmandu.
Traditionally, a new Indian Army chief’s first visit has been to Nepal where he, too, is given the honorary rank. Kapoor’s predecessor, General J.J. Singh, now governor of Arunachal Pradesh, was twice advised against visiting Nepal for the ceremony. Kapoor has visited many countries and is now in the last leg of his tenure.
Whether Kapoor will accept the invitation and visit Kathmandu before he retires early next year will be a demonstration of the Indian government’s diplomatic intent in the face of the resurgent Maoists in Nepal.
The resumption of arms supplies — armoured personnel carriers, Insas rifles, ammunition and possibly even tanks — to Nepal’s army and a visit by Kapoor will demonstrate not only New Delhi’s resolve in encouraging an “apolitical and professional” military in Nepal but also its determination to maintain its strategic and political space in the Himalayan country that China is nibbling into.
source:
SUJAN DUTTA
The Telegraph
A voice of sanity and reason on China
Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea — 1930-2009
Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea was one of the world’s leading scholars on China, a political scientist who skirted the minefield that her subject’s often fraught relations with India laid before her peers with integrity, wit and an objectivity of consideration rare in the field of Sinology.
Taking to academia at a time when India was recovering from its traumatic war with China in 1962 and emotions ran high, Mira Sinha, as she was known prior to her marriage to veteran journalist Ajit Bhattacharjea, was capable of being objective even in the most trying of circumstances. And though it may be tempting to conclude that with her passing, an era of balance in Indian analyses of China has come to an end, the tradition of scholarship she pioneered has more than a few adherents within academia, the media and also government, thanks in large measure to the work of the Institute of Chinese Studies which she helped to found.
Born in 1930 and selected for the elite Indian Foreign Service in 1955, Mira Sinha’s first posting was to the Indian Embassy in Beijing. She worked there for nearly four years when she fell victim to a bizarre government rule of those times that forced women officers to quit if they got married. She resigned from the IFS – the service to which her first husband also belonged – and soon began teaching post-graduate courses on Chinese politics at Delhi University.
In a conversation with The Hindu, one of her students, former foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, recalled the trying circumstances under which she set up the Department of Chinese Studies at Delhi University in the 1960s. Sinophobia was at its peak “There were four of us in one batch and there were more teachers than students. But she persevered and even at times when Sino-Indian ties went through tremendous emotional upheaval, she retained her capability of being objective. To do so consistently is a tribute to her calmness, grace and dignity.”
A founder member of the China Study Group and the Institute of Chinese Studies, of which she was the first director, Mira Sinha Bhattarchjea was consulting editor of the journal, China Report. After retiring from Delhi University in 1995, she continued as an emeritus fellow of the ICS. She was the author of numerous scholarly papers, a book, ‘China, the world, and India’, and co-editor of ‘Security and Science in China and India’ along with Manoranjan Mohanty and Giri Deshingkar. Besides China, Mira was also a scholar of Gandhi and was working on a major work on the Mahatma at the time of her death.
She would often warn of the dangers of viewing China through the British colonial construct. “Why stick to the 19th century concept that we must always be at loggerheads with our neighbours and that we need some sort of buffer state? If we don’t change our attitude, we will just become the tools of the Americans,” she wrote. She was a regular contributor to Frontline over the years.
Never one to discount the boundary dispute, she also took a swipe at the boundary-centric news reports covering high level Sino-India summits to the exclusion of everything else. “No matter how the outcome of the recent visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is assessed, it would be difficult to deny that the centrepiece of the summit was the festering boundary problem. In fact, judging by the substance and thrust of the three political documents signed, this appears to have been the real purpose of this visit, as indeed it seems to have been of every prime ministerial meeting since 1954,” she wrote in Frontline in 2005.
With the border dispute still being sorted out, Mira believed that the “economic prospect” would play an important diversionary role and would help “advance the process forward on this most knotted problem of boundary settlement.”
In perhaps the only clear headed analysis of how the boundary talks have made progress including what amounted to a no-war pact, she pointed out the achievements so far — a stated and shared agreement on the nature of the problem, reaching a single comprehensive settlement covering the entire stretch, wrapping this up in a package that should shape the form and nature of the future relationship and an agreement not to use force by any means, which can be interpreted as amounting to a no-war pact. Both sides have also largely demilitarised the borders and set in place a border management system to encourage easy cross-border movement of goods and people.
Mira Sinha recognised the strong national emotions over the border dispute but felt the time had come to change the images and fears of the ‘other’ in the public mind. She incisively examined even the blandest of statements and pointed out the “unexpected bonus” from the agreement to open an additional point for border trade via Nathu La in Sikkim. “This agreement appears to be politically innocent but actually has great political significance. It masks the diplomatic achievement of the seemingly impossible. It is being interpreted as a confirmation of the existing realities, namely, that Sikkim is part of India as Tibet is of China though both will continue to assert that this is not so. That is the way of diplomacy and there is no way of simplifying this,” she wrote.
During her last visit to the ICS, when the media was generating hysteria over the alleged increase in the number of Chinese “incursions”, she expressed dismay over the “madness of looking at things by the hour,” reminiscences Dr. Alka Acharya. “Her passing away has dealt a blow to the voice of sanity on India-China relations.”
(Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea died in New Delhi on December 13 after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband, Ajit Bhattacharjea, and her daughter, Namita Unnikrishnan.)
By: Sandeep Dikshit
Courtesy: The Hindu
Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea — 1930-2009
Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea was one of the world’s leading scholars on China, a political scientist who skirted the minefield that her subject’s often fraught relations with India laid before her peers with integrity, wit and an objectivity of consideration rare in the field of Sinology.
Taking to academia at a time when India was recovering from its traumatic war with China in 1962 and emotions ran high, Mira Sinha, as she was known prior to her marriage to veteran journalist Ajit Bhattacharjea, was capable of being objective even in the most trying of circumstances. And though it may be tempting to conclude that with her passing, an era of balance in Indian analyses of China has come to an end, the tradition of scholarship she pioneered has more than a few adherents within academia, the media and also government, thanks in large measure to the work of the Institute of Chinese Studies which she helped to found.
Born in 1930 and selected for the elite Indian Foreign Service in 1955, Mira Sinha’s first posting was to the Indian Embassy in Beijing. She worked there for nearly four years when she fell victim to a bizarre government rule of those times that forced women officers to quit if they got married. She resigned from the IFS – the service to which her first husband also belonged – and soon began teaching post-graduate courses on Chinese politics at Delhi University.
In a conversation with The Hindu, one of her students, former foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, recalled the trying circumstances under which she set up the Department of Chinese Studies at Delhi University in the 1960s. Sinophobia was at its peak “There were four of us in one batch and there were more teachers than students. But she persevered and even at times when Sino-Indian ties went through tremendous emotional upheaval, she retained her capability of being objective. To do so consistently is a tribute to her calmness, grace and dignity.”
A founder member of the China Study Group and the Institute of Chinese Studies, of which she was the first director, Mira Sinha Bhattarchjea was consulting editor of the journal, China Report. After retiring from Delhi University in 1995, she continued as an emeritus fellow of the ICS. She was the author of numerous scholarly papers, a book, ‘China, the world, and India’, and co-editor of ‘Security and Science in China and India’ along with Manoranjan Mohanty and Giri Deshingkar. Besides China, Mira was also a scholar of Gandhi and was working on a major work on the Mahatma at the time of her death.
She would often warn of the dangers of viewing China through the British colonial construct. “Why stick to the 19th century concept that we must always be at loggerheads with our neighbours and that we need some sort of buffer state? If we don’t change our attitude, we will just become the tools of the Americans,” she wrote. She was a regular contributor to Frontline over the years.
Never one to discount the boundary dispute, she also took a swipe at the boundary-centric news reports covering high level Sino-India summits to the exclusion of everything else. “No matter how the outcome of the recent visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is assessed, it would be difficult to deny that the centrepiece of the summit was the festering boundary problem. In fact, judging by the substance and thrust of the three political documents signed, this appears to have been the real purpose of this visit, as indeed it seems to have been of every prime ministerial meeting since 1954,” she wrote in Frontline in 2005.
With the border dispute still being sorted out, Mira believed that the “economic prospect” would play an important diversionary role and would help “advance the process forward on this most knotted problem of boundary settlement.”
In perhaps the only clear headed analysis of how the boundary talks have made progress including what amounted to a no-war pact, she pointed out the achievements so far — a stated and shared agreement on the nature of the problem, reaching a single comprehensive settlement covering the entire stretch, wrapping this up in a package that should shape the form and nature of the future relationship and an agreement not to use force by any means, which can be interpreted as amounting to a no-war pact. Both sides have also largely demilitarised the borders and set in place a border management system to encourage easy cross-border movement of goods and people.
Mira Sinha recognised the strong national emotions over the border dispute but felt the time had come to change the images and fears of the ‘other’ in the public mind. She incisively examined even the blandest of statements and pointed out the “unexpected bonus” from the agreement to open an additional point for border trade via Nathu La in Sikkim. “This agreement appears to be politically innocent but actually has great political significance. It masks the diplomatic achievement of the seemingly impossible. It is being interpreted as a confirmation of the existing realities, namely, that Sikkim is part of India as Tibet is of China though both will continue to assert that this is not so. That is the way of diplomacy and there is no way of simplifying this,” she wrote.
During her last visit to the ICS, when the media was generating hysteria over the alleged increase in the number of Chinese “incursions”, she expressed dismay over the “madness of looking at things by the hour,” reminiscences Dr. Alka Acharya. “Her passing away has dealt a blow to the voice of sanity on India-China relations.”
(Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea died in New Delhi on December 13 after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband, Ajit Bhattacharjea, and her daughter, Namita Unnikrishnan.)
By: Sandeep Dikshit
Courtesy: The Hindu
EIGHT INDIAN FLAVOURED CEOS IN US
It appears that Indians are leaving their mark on corporate US in more ways than one. Forbes has come up with a list of what it calls 'Eight Indian Flavoured CEOs'. It highlights how US immigrants of Indian origin have managed to get into the boardrooms of capitalist US. It shows how they are at the helm of affairs of corporations that rule the world.
Some names from the list that make India proud are Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo), Vikram Pandit (Citi), Francisco D'Souza (Cognizant) and Shantanu Narayen (Adobe) among others. However this number is still negligible in context of the huge immigrant population of Indians out there. Nevertheless, it is much better than zero a decade back.
In short, Indians are making great headways towards ruling global corporations. Also they are fairing much better than the other immigrants in the US!
Some names from the list that make India proud are Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo), Vikram Pandit (Citi), Francisco D'Souza (Cognizant) and Shantanu Narayen (Adobe) among others. However this number is still negligible in context of the huge immigrant population of Indians out there. Nevertheless, it is much better than zero a decade back.
In short, Indians are making great headways towards ruling global corporations. Also they are fairing much better than the other immigrants in the US!
The Indian economy is much more closely linked to the rest of the world than it was in the last decade.
How does this affect equity investors?
Here's an interesting analysis by Wealth Insight columnist Devangshu Datta.
The Correlation Quotient
In the early1990s, when India was opening up to foreign investors, one of the attractions was that it was a closed “out-of-step” economy. Indian financial markets didn’t move in tandem with world markets because India had little exposure in terms of either exports or imports.
For a portfolio investor, correlation, or the lack of it, are important. There is defensive value and stability in holding uncorrelated assets because in a balanced portfolio, some asset will always be generating positive returns.
By the time of the dot-com boom, the situation had changed. Indian markets were increasingly in step with the rest of the world. Exports grew very fast after1993 and until 2008-09, continued to grow much faster than overall GDP.
Around 28 per cent of India’s GDP is now tied to its exports. About 15 per cent ($180 bn in 2008-09) is merchandise exports, while services (software, tourism earnings) contribute around 13 per cent of GDP ($145bn). A third significant source of forex inflows is NRI remittances, which amounted to over $52 billion in 2008-09. If we factor in merchandise imports as well, around 55 per cent of Indian GDP is directly linked to overseas trade-flows.
There has been a slowdown and reversal of the growth trend in 2009-10 due to the weak global economy. Both exports and imports have fallen. But the long-term relationship is clear — India is tied more closely to the global economy than it has ever been. The relationship is likely to get even closer once the global economy recovers.
India has also seen strong expansion in both FDI and FII flows. By some estimates, FII exposures in Indian equity now amount to roughly 17-18 per cent of market capitalisation. Hence, although the Mexican peso crisis and the “Asian Flu” of the 1990s didn’t affect local markets much, global events in the 2000s have had serious impact. India was a major beneficiary of the global bull run between 2005-2007 and it suffered along with the rest of the world in 2008-09.
While the equity market movements are obviously linked, it’s not just the equity markets where the relationship is apparent. The Indian commodity exchanges also see fluctuations that closely track movements on global commodity exchanges like the London Metals Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, etc.
The Dubai crisis that is brewing could therefore, have serious implications. The UAE, of which Dubai is part, is one of India’s largest trading partners. Dubai itself is home to around 10 lakh Indian migrant workers, who are a major source of remittances. India exported about $23 bn to the UAE in 2008-09.
In concrete terms a crisis in Dubai means some migrant workers will lose jobs, (hence remittances will drop). Indian banks with UAE exposure (most Indian banks) could also take a hit. In addition, engineering and construction outfits and realtors with UAE projects, and exporters focussed on that region, will all see business contraction.
More than just the “real impact”, the meltdown may also cause a failure of confidence. It may lead to capital flight out of the Indian equity markets, affecting valuations of businesses unconnected with Dubai. Some of this effect is already apparent in that there’s been indiscriminate selling across banks, realty, engineering, etc.
It’s beyond our brief and frankly, expertise to judge how the crisis will pan out. A bail out of some description is guaranteed but the market may or may not approve of the fine print. Also, even if the debt now at stake is guaranteed, Dubai is likely to see drastic economic contraction as indeed, it has for over a year. It’s anybody’s guess how serious the ramifications could be.
However, this could be a buying opportunity for Indian investors who have been uncomfortable with the high valuations of the past few months. Sensex-Nifty stocks have been trading at an average PE of 22+. If the crisis causes a 20% drop as Mark Mobius has suggested, the PEs will reduce to more acceptable levels.
It would be optimistic to expect things to blow over immediately. However, a long-term investor shouldn’t be concerned about a fast rebound. The crisis creates a window for entering at relatively low valuations. Accept that, and wait for returns.
-Devangshu Datta
How does this affect equity investors?
Here's an interesting analysis by Wealth Insight columnist Devangshu Datta.
The Correlation Quotient
In the early1990s, when India was opening up to foreign investors, one of the attractions was that it was a closed “out-of-step” economy. Indian financial markets didn’t move in tandem with world markets because India had little exposure in terms of either exports or imports.
For a portfolio investor, correlation, or the lack of it, are important. There is defensive value and stability in holding uncorrelated assets because in a balanced portfolio, some asset will always be generating positive returns.
By the time of the dot-com boom, the situation had changed. Indian markets were increasingly in step with the rest of the world. Exports grew very fast after1993 and until 2008-09, continued to grow much faster than overall GDP.
Around 28 per cent of India’s GDP is now tied to its exports. About 15 per cent ($180 bn in 2008-09) is merchandise exports, while services (software, tourism earnings) contribute around 13 per cent of GDP ($145bn). A third significant source of forex inflows is NRI remittances, which amounted to over $52 billion in 2008-09. If we factor in merchandise imports as well, around 55 per cent of Indian GDP is directly linked to overseas trade-flows.
There has been a slowdown and reversal of the growth trend in 2009-10 due to the weak global economy. Both exports and imports have fallen. But the long-term relationship is clear — India is tied more closely to the global economy than it has ever been. The relationship is likely to get even closer once the global economy recovers.
India has also seen strong expansion in both FDI and FII flows. By some estimates, FII exposures in Indian equity now amount to roughly 17-18 per cent of market capitalisation. Hence, although the Mexican peso crisis and the “Asian Flu” of the 1990s didn’t affect local markets much, global events in the 2000s have had serious impact. India was a major beneficiary of the global bull run between 2005-2007 and it suffered along with the rest of the world in 2008-09.
While the equity market movements are obviously linked, it’s not just the equity markets where the relationship is apparent. The Indian commodity exchanges also see fluctuations that closely track movements on global commodity exchanges like the London Metals Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, etc.
The Dubai crisis that is brewing could therefore, have serious implications. The UAE, of which Dubai is part, is one of India’s largest trading partners. Dubai itself is home to around 10 lakh Indian migrant workers, who are a major source of remittances. India exported about $23 bn to the UAE in 2008-09.
In concrete terms a crisis in Dubai means some migrant workers will lose jobs, (hence remittances will drop). Indian banks with UAE exposure (most Indian banks) could also take a hit. In addition, engineering and construction outfits and realtors with UAE projects, and exporters focussed on that region, will all see business contraction.
More than just the “real impact”, the meltdown may also cause a failure of confidence. It may lead to capital flight out of the Indian equity markets, affecting valuations of businesses unconnected with Dubai. Some of this effect is already apparent in that there’s been indiscriminate selling across banks, realty, engineering, etc.
It’s beyond our brief and frankly, expertise to judge how the crisis will pan out. A bail out of some description is guaranteed but the market may or may not approve of the fine print. Also, even if the debt now at stake is guaranteed, Dubai is likely to see drastic economic contraction as indeed, it has for over a year. It’s anybody’s guess how serious the ramifications could be.
However, this could be a buying opportunity for Indian investors who have been uncomfortable with the high valuations of the past few months. Sensex-Nifty stocks have been trading at an average PE of 22+. If the crisis causes a 20% drop as Mark Mobius has suggested, the PEs will reduce to more acceptable levels.
It would be optimistic to expect things to blow over immediately. However, a long-term investor shouldn’t be concerned about a fast rebound. The crisis creates a window for entering at relatively low valuations. Accept that, and wait for returns.
-Devangshu Datta
INDIA- INTELLIGENCE BUREAU 122 YEARS OLD
23 dEC 2009
Following is the text of lecture Shri P. Chidamabaram on the 22nd Intelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment Lecture:
“The Intelligence Bureau is 122 years old. It celebrated its centenary in the year 1987. Since 1988, a number of distinguished persons – political leaders, scientists, jurists, police officers and administrators – have delivered the Centenary Endowment Lecture. I find that the subjects chosen by the speakers covered a wide range. I confess that I toyed with the idea of speaking on something totally unrelated to the security establishment. However, I thought that discretion was the better part of valour and settled on a subject that is, I hope, both contemporary and futuristic. I thank Shri Rajiv Mathur, Director, Intelligence Bureau for inviting me to deliver this prestigious lecture.
Violence is Omnipresent
2. Humankind has, through the millennia, co-existed with violence. Hunting and gathering were marked by violence. Tribal groups employed violence to assert their authority over land to the exclusion of other tribal groups. Kingdoms were established by violence; kings were overthrown by violence. War was invariably an instrument of policy: to be a warrior was an honour and great kings were also great warriors. In the twentieth century alone, humankind witnessed two world wars and many smaller wars. About 15 million people were killed in the first World War. Nearly 60 million died in the second World War. In all the conflicts since 1945, it is estimated that nearly 30 million persons may have been killed.
3. It is only in the latter half of the twentieth century that the seeds were sown for a movement against war. The famous words of Pope John XXIII come to mind: “No more war, never again war.” Nevertheless, little wars were fought over territories or boundaries. Fierce civil wars were fought, and are being fought, within countries. Nations joined together to fight a despot or eject an invader or quell a rebellion. As I speak to you, there is an “official” war in Afghanistan and many more unofficial battles. A world free from war appears to be a distant dream. While accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief of the world’s mightiest armed forces said: “We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.”
4. Can war be justified? It is a debatable point. Those who justify war point to the larger objectives of a war. That was the case in the Balkans, that was the case in Iraq, and that is the case in Afghanistan. The jury is still out.
5. Through the twentieth century, many small wars were waged within countries. In Russia and in China, war took the name of “armed liberation struggle” in order to liberate the country from the yoke of capitalism and usher in the so-called rule of the proletariat. The main driver was ideology. Stripped of the rhetoric, it is plain that such conflicts were also driven by the desire to establish the supremacy of a leader or a party. Such ideology-driven internal wars led to the establishment of one-party States such as in China, Vietnam and Cuba.
6. After the second World War, there was another kind of war. It was called the Cold War. It was fought not with armies or aircraft or ships. It was fought in the shadowy world of espionage and intrigue. Its soldiers were agents and double agents. Its objectives were not very different from the objectives of a regular war. The ultimate goal was military supremacy over other countries of the world. It is said that the Cold War came to an end with the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9, 1989, but that was not the end of all wars. Just as the Cold War came to an end, we witnessed the emergence of another kind of war, namely, jihad. Jihad is a war or struggle against unbelievers and, currently, it is waged by a number of groups owing allegiance to Islam. Unlike the original Crusades, jihad is not fought like a conventional war. Jihad employs terror as an instrument to achieve its objectives. Such terror is directed against all and sundry, its victims are usually innocent people, and its goal is to overawe and overthrow the established authority. The tactics of the jihadis have been copied by militants belonging to other groups too, not excluding militants professing the Hindu faith.
7. By a quirk of fate, India in the twenty-first century has turned out to be the confluence of every kind of violence: insurrection or insurgency in order to carve out sovereign States; armed liberation struggle motivated by a rejected ideology; and terrorism driven by religious fanaticism. Never before has the Indian State faced such a formidable challenge. Never before have the Indian people been asked to prepare themselves for such fundamental changes in the manner in which the country will be secured and protected.
The Agony of 26/11
8. Let me summarize the situation as I found it on December 1, 2008. Two days after the terrorist attack in Mumbai was repulsed – after paying a heavy price of 164 lives – the nation was in shock and anger. A billion plus people felt they had been humiliated and the country had been brought to its knees by a small band of terrorists. The security establishment was in disarray and numerous questions were being asked. Had the intelligence agencies failed? Did the first responder, the Mumbai police, prove to be totally inadequate? Was the famed National Security Guard too slow to get off the block? Did the leadership of the police let down its men? Did the security forces take too long to neutralise ten terrorists? Did the Central and the State Governments fail to provide strong leadership? Did the crisis management system collapse? Did the country pay too heavy a price before it repulsed the terrorist attack? Did the Government fail the people in not mounting a swift counter-attack on the perpetrators of terror?
9. These questions continue to haunt me and many others even today. I think I have found the answers to some of these questions, but I do not intend to fill this lecture with those answers. My purpose is to outline the broad architecture of a new security system that will serve the country today and in the foreseeable future.
The State of our Police
10. Let me begin with the foot soldiers. All the States and Union Territories put together had a sanctioned strength of 1,746,215 policemen as on January 1, 2008. Against that number, only 1,478,888 policemen were in place. There are 13,057 police stations and 7,535 police posts in the country. The ratio of available police to per 100,000 people for the whole country is about 130. The international average is about 270. There is no substitute for the policeman who walks the streets. He is the gatherer of intelligence, the enforcer of the law, the preventer of the offence, the investigator of the crime and the standard-bearer of the authority of the State, all rolled into one. If he is not there, it means that all these functions are not performed. That – the failure to perform essential police functions – is where the rot began and that is where the rot lies even today. The first step, therefore, in devising a new security system in the country is to recruit more policemen and policewomen. In my estimate, States would have to recruit over 400,000 constables this year and in the next two years in order to fill the vacancies and in order to provide for expansion of the police forces. A bad police constable is worse than no police constable. Recruitment must therefore be transparent, objective and corruption-free. The Central Government has devised and commended to the States a transparent recruitment procedure that will be totally technology-based and free of any human interference. On its part, the Central Government has implemented the new procedure in the recruitment to the Central Para Military Forces.
11. The police stations in the country are, today, virtually unconnected islands. Thanks to telephones and wireless, and especially thanks to mobile telephones, there is voice connectivity between the police station and senior police officers, but that is about all. There is no system of data storage, data sharing and accessing data. There is no system under which one police station can talk to another directly. There is no record of crimes or criminals that can be accessed by a Station House Officer, except the manual records relating to that police station. Realising the gross deficiency in connectivity, the Central Government is implementing an ambitious scheme called “Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS).” The goals of the system are to facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data and information at the police station and between the police station and the State Headquarters and the Central Police Organisations.
12. If intelligence-gathering is the corner stone of fighting insurgency or insurrection or terror, the foot solider cannot work in isolation. He must be enabled to gather intelligence from the people as well as the representatives and quasi-representatives of the State such as the Sarpanch, the Lambardar, the village accountant etc. More often than not, intelligence is provided by the citizen who would wish to remain faceless and nameless. It is therefore important that State Governments adopt “Community Policing” and establish a toll-free service under which a citizen can provide information or lodge a complaint. It is the myriad bits of information flowing from different sources that, when sifted, analysed, matched, correlated and pieced together, become actionable intelligence. That function must be performed, first and foremost, at the police station.
13. To sum up, we must have more police stations and, at the police station level, we must have more constables, some of whom are exclusively for gathering intelligence. We must also have a system of community policing, a toll-free service, and a network to store, retrieve and access data relating to crimes and criminals.
14. Moving up the ladder, at the District and State levels, the Special Branch is the key to better intelligence and more intelligence-based operations. There should be at least one police officer in each police station exclusively for intelligence gathering. As the intelligence gathered flows up to the District Special Branch and State Special Branch, there should be an adequate number of well-trained analysts to analyse the intelligence and to draw the correct conclusions. Intelligence is a specialised function. Not every police officer is qualified to be an intelligence officer. It is therefore imperative that the State Special Branch should be restructured as a specialised and self-sufficient cadre of the State police in terms of personnel, funds and equipment. On January 7, 2009, the Central Government had circulated a proposal to restructure the Special Branch in the State police forces. The implementation of the proposal will mark the beginning of a long-haul effort to restructure the intelligence-gathering machinery at the District and State levels.
15. At the District and State levels, the police must also be the first responder in case of a militant or terrorist attack. 24 x 7 control rooms must be set up at the District and State levels. Quick Response Teams must be positioned in every district capital and in important towns. Commando units must be raised and placed at different locations. The Central Government is supporting and funding the conversion of two companies of selected IR Battalions into commando units. QRT and commando units should have modern weapons and equipment. The age profile of these units must be young and older men must, periodically, make way for younger men. A special Anti-Terrorist Unit should be created at the State level to pre-empt terrorist activities and investigate terrorist crimes. While States have begun to take steps on these matters, the pace is still slow. States must give a full and true picture of the tasks completed by them and their state of readiness to face any threat or attack.
The Difficult Tasks Ahead
16. From what I have said so far, the changes that are required to be made in the architecture are quite basic and simple. They can be done by providing more funds, tightening the administration and working to a time-bound plan. Of course, it will also require sound leadership at the political and police levels. However, when we move upwards, serious questions concerning constitutional responsibilities and division of powers will arise. Also, difficult questions would have to be posed and answered regarding the current responsibilities of different organisations. Questions concerning jurisdiction and turf would also arise. If our goal is just extracting a little more from the ‘business as usual’ model, then these questions can be brushed aside or provided ‘don’t-rock-the-boat’ answers. I am afraid that would be self-defeating. Sooner than you think, there may be another crisis like the hijack of IC-814 or another catastrophe like the Mumbai terror attacks. Hence, the time to act is now and I would spell the last word with capitals: N-O-W.
17. I therefore propose a bold, thorough and radical restructuring of the security architecture at the national level.
18. The present architecture consists of political, administrative, intelligence and enforcement elements. At the political level, there is the Cabinet Committee on Security. The administrative element is the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Prime Minister’s office and the Cabinet Secretariat. The intelligence elements are spread over different ministries: there is the Intelligence Bureau which reports to the Home Minister; there is the Research and Analysis Wing which falls under the Cabinet Secretariat and, hence, reports to the Prime Minister; there are organisations such as Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and Aviation Research Centre (ARC) which report to the National Security Adviser; and there is the National Security Council Secretariat under the NSA which serves the National Security Council. The armed forces have their own intelligence agencies, one each under the Army, Navy and Air Force and an umbrella body called the Defence Intelligence Agency. There are other agencies which specialise in financial intelligence. These are the Directorates in the Income Tax, Customs and Central Excise departments, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Enforcement Directorate. The enforcement element of this architecture consists of the central para-military forces such as CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, Assam Rifles, SSB and the NSG. What will strike any observer is that there is no single authority to which these organisations report and there is no single or unified command which can issue directions to these agencies and bodies.
19. Some changes have indeed been brought about after December 1, 2008. The most beneficial change has been the operationalisation of the Multi-Agency Centre. By an Executive Order issued on December 31, 2008, the MAC was energised with a broader and compulsory membership and a new mandate. Every piece of relevant information or intelligence gathered by one of the participating agencies is brought to the table. It is analysed and the analysis is shared with the participating agencies. The key benefit is that no one can say that his/her organisation was kept in the dark. Another beneficial change has been the extension of the reach of MAC to the State capitals and the setting up of the Subsidiary-MAC in each State capital in which all agencies operating at the State level, especially the Special Branch of the State police, are represented. Through the MAC-SMAC-State Special Branch network, the Intelligence Bureau has been able to pull more information and intelligence from the State capitals. It has also been able to push more information and intelligence into the State security system.
20. Another innovation is the security meeting held every day, around noon, under the Chairmanship of the Home Minister. NSA, Home Secretary, Secretary (R&AW), DIB, Chairman, JIC, and Special Secretary (IS) attend the meeting. The broad directions issued at the end of the meeting have brought about better coordination in all aspects of intelligence including gathering, analysing and acting upon the intelligence.
21. We should resist the temptation to exaggerate the gains that have been made through these changes at the top. The Home Minister – and by extension the Government – is indeed better informed. The agencies involved are more alert. However, in my view, it does not mean that our capacity to pre-empt or prevent a terrorist threat or attack has been enhanced significantly. As far as responding to a terrorist attack is concerned, we may have enhanced the capacity to contain and repulse an attack, but I think that there is still some distance to go before we can claim to have acquired the capacity to respond swiftly and decisively to a terror attack. It is this assessment which leads me to argue that the security architecture at the top must be thoroughly and radically restructured.
The New Architecture
22. Some steps in this direction are self-evident. For example, there is a need to network all the databases that contain vital information and intelligence. Today, each database stands alone. It does not talk to another database. Nor can the ‘owner’ of one database access another database. As a result, crucial information that rests in one database is not available to another agency. In order to remedy the deficiency, the Central Government has decided to set up NATGRID. Under NATGRID, 21 sets of databases will be networked to achieve quick, seamless and secure access to desired information for intelligence/enforcement agencies. This project is likely to be completed in 18 – 24 months from now.
23. Two more projects will commence early next year. The first is the Business Process Re-engineering of the Foreigners Division at a cost of about Rs.20 crore. The second is the more ambitious Mission Mode Project on Immigration, Visa and Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking with the objective of creating a secure and integrated service delivery framework for facilitating legitimate travellers and strengthening security. The scheme will network 169 missions, 77 ICPs, 5 FRROs and over 600 FROs with the Central Foreigners’ Bureau. It is estimated to cost Rs.1011 crore, but the rub is it is slated to be implemented over a period of four and a half years. The gaps in the visa system have been exposed in a number of cases, the most notable among them being the case of David Coleman Headley. The compelling need to create a fool-proof system cannot be overstated. Hence, it is necessary to put the project on a fast track, engage a Mission Director, beg or borrow the money to implement the project, and complete the task within 24 months.
24 It is our experience that the networks of terror overlap with the networks of drug-peddling, arms-trading and human-trafficking. The agencies that deal with the latter category of crimes are scattered. For example, the Narcotics Control Bureau is under the Ministry of Home Affairs while the Central Bureau of Narcotics is under the Ministry of Finance. The Arms Act is administered by MHA. As far as human-trafficking is concerned, the primary responsibility lies with the State Governments, but anti-human trafficking cells have been set up only in 9 districts of the country. Regulation and enforcement in each of these areas require to be strengthened and brought under the overall management of internal security.
The Way Forward – NCTC
25. Another major idea is the proposal to set up the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). As the name suggests, the goal is to counter terrorism. Obviously, this will include preventing a terrorist attack, containing a terrorist attack should one take place, and responding to a terrorist attack by inflicting pain upon the perpetrators. Such an organisation does not exist today. It has to be created from scratch. I am told that the United States was able to do it within 36 months of September 11, 2001. India cannot afford to wait for 36 months. India must decide now to go forward and India must succeed in setting up the NCTC by the end of 2010.
26. Once NCTC is set up, it must have the broad mandate to deal with all kinds of terrorist violence directed against the country and the people. While the nature of the response to different kinds of terror would indeed be different and nuanced, NCTC’s mandate should be to respond to violence unleashed by any group – be it an insurgent group in the North East or the CPI (Maoist) in the heartland of India or any group of religious fanatics anywhere in India acting on their own or in concert with terrorists outside India. NCTC would therefore have to perform functions relating to intelligence, investigation and operations. All intelligence agencies would therefore have to be represented in the NCTC. Consequently, in my proposal, MAC would be subsumed in the NCTC. Actually, MAC with expanded authority will be at the core of the new organisation and will transform itself into NCTC. The functions that will be added to the current functions of MAC are investigation and operations. As far as investigation is concerned, Government has set up the National Investigation Agency, and that agency would have to be brought under the overall control of NCTC. The last function – operations – would of course be the most sensitive and difficult part to create and bring under the NCTC. But I am clear in my mind that, without ‘operations’, NCTC and the security architecture that is needed will be incomplete. It is the proposed ‘operations’ wing of the NCTC that will give an edge – now absent – to our plans to counter terrorism.
27. The establishment of the NCTC will indeed result in transferring some oversight responsibilities over existing agencies or bodies to the NCTC. It is my fervent plea that this should not result in turf wars. Some agencies would naturally have to be brought under NCTC and what come to my mind readily are NIA, NTRO, JIC, NCRB and the NSG. The positioning of R&AW, ARC and CBI would have to be re-examined and a way would have to be found to place them under the oversight of NCTC to the extent that they deal with terrorism. The intelligence agencies of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Finance would, of course, continue to remain under the respective Ministry, but their representatives would have to be deputed mandatorily to the NCTC. NATGRID would obviously come under NCTC. So also, CCTNS would have to be supervised by the NCTC.
28. Given the overarching responsibility of NCTC and its mandate, it will be obvious that it must be headed by a highly qualified professional with vast experience in security related matters. Considering the structure of our services, it is natural to expect that the head of one of our organisations will be appointed to the post, by whatever name it may be called. He/she could be a police officer or a military officer. He/she must be one who has impeccable professional credentials and the capacity to oversee intelligence, investigation and operations. He/she will be the single person accountable to the country on all matters relating to internal security. At the Government level, and in order to be accountable to Parliament, it would be logical and natural to place the NCTC under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
29. That leaves the question of the structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs itself. MHA now handles a wide portfolio of subjects ranging from ‘freedom fighters’ to ‘forensic science’. Is this a functional arrangement to deal with the grave challenges to internal security that we face and that we will face from many more years? I am afraid not. It is true that the words ‘Ministry of Home Affairs’ have an authoritative ring, but the MHA now performs a number of functions that have no direct relation to internal security. For example, it has a division dealing with freedom fighters but it does not have even a desk for dealing exclusively with forensic science. There are other divisions or desks that deal with Centre-State Relations, State Legislation, Human Rights, Union Territories, Disaster Management, Census etc. These are undoubtedly important functions and deserve close attention. However, internal security is an equally, if not more, important function that deserves the highest attention. In my view, given the imperatives and the challenges of the times, a division of the current functions of the Ministry of Home Affairs is unavoidable. Subjects not directly related to internal security should be dealt with by a separate Ministry or should be brought under a separate Department in the MHA and dealt with by a Minister, more or less independently, without referring every issue to the Home Minister. The Home Minister should devote the whole of his/her time and energy to matters relating to security.
30. It is after one year in office that I have ventured to outline the new architecture for India’s security. There are two enemies of change. The first is ‘routine’. Routine is the enemy of innovation. Because we are immersed in routine tasks, we neglect the need for change and innovation. The second enemy is ‘complacency’. In a few days from today, 2009 will come to a close, and I sincerely hope that we may be able to claim that the year was free from terror attacks. However, there is the danger of a terror-free year inducing complacency, signs of which can be seen everywhere. A strange passivity seems to have descended upon the people: they are content to leave matters relating to security to a few people in the Government and not ask questions or make demands. I wish to raise my voice of caution and appeal to all of you assembled here, and to the people at large, that there is no time to be lost in making a thorough and radical departure from the present structure. If, as a nation, we must defend ourselves in the present day and prepare for the future, it is imperative that we put in place a new architecture for India’s security.
31. Thank you for your patience and courtesy.”
sOURCE: pib.
Following is the text of lecture Shri P. Chidamabaram on the 22nd Intelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment Lecture:
“The Intelligence Bureau is 122 years old. It celebrated its centenary in the year 1987. Since 1988, a number of distinguished persons – political leaders, scientists, jurists, police officers and administrators – have delivered the Centenary Endowment Lecture. I find that the subjects chosen by the speakers covered a wide range. I confess that I toyed with the idea of speaking on something totally unrelated to the security establishment. However, I thought that discretion was the better part of valour and settled on a subject that is, I hope, both contemporary and futuristic. I thank Shri Rajiv Mathur, Director, Intelligence Bureau for inviting me to deliver this prestigious lecture.
Violence is Omnipresent
2. Humankind has, through the millennia, co-existed with violence. Hunting and gathering were marked by violence. Tribal groups employed violence to assert their authority over land to the exclusion of other tribal groups. Kingdoms were established by violence; kings were overthrown by violence. War was invariably an instrument of policy: to be a warrior was an honour and great kings were also great warriors. In the twentieth century alone, humankind witnessed two world wars and many smaller wars. About 15 million people were killed in the first World War. Nearly 60 million died in the second World War. In all the conflicts since 1945, it is estimated that nearly 30 million persons may have been killed.
3. It is only in the latter half of the twentieth century that the seeds were sown for a movement against war. The famous words of Pope John XXIII come to mind: “No more war, never again war.” Nevertheless, little wars were fought over territories or boundaries. Fierce civil wars were fought, and are being fought, within countries. Nations joined together to fight a despot or eject an invader or quell a rebellion. As I speak to you, there is an “official” war in Afghanistan and many more unofficial battles. A world free from war appears to be a distant dream. While accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief of the world’s mightiest armed forces said: “We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.”
4. Can war be justified? It is a debatable point. Those who justify war point to the larger objectives of a war. That was the case in the Balkans, that was the case in Iraq, and that is the case in Afghanistan. The jury is still out.
5. Through the twentieth century, many small wars were waged within countries. In Russia and in China, war took the name of “armed liberation struggle” in order to liberate the country from the yoke of capitalism and usher in the so-called rule of the proletariat. The main driver was ideology. Stripped of the rhetoric, it is plain that such conflicts were also driven by the desire to establish the supremacy of a leader or a party. Such ideology-driven internal wars led to the establishment of one-party States such as in China, Vietnam and Cuba.
6. After the second World War, there was another kind of war. It was called the Cold War. It was fought not with armies or aircraft or ships. It was fought in the shadowy world of espionage and intrigue. Its soldiers were agents and double agents. Its objectives were not very different from the objectives of a regular war. The ultimate goal was military supremacy over other countries of the world. It is said that the Cold War came to an end with the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9, 1989, but that was not the end of all wars. Just as the Cold War came to an end, we witnessed the emergence of another kind of war, namely, jihad. Jihad is a war or struggle against unbelievers and, currently, it is waged by a number of groups owing allegiance to Islam. Unlike the original Crusades, jihad is not fought like a conventional war. Jihad employs terror as an instrument to achieve its objectives. Such terror is directed against all and sundry, its victims are usually innocent people, and its goal is to overawe and overthrow the established authority. The tactics of the jihadis have been copied by militants belonging to other groups too, not excluding militants professing the Hindu faith.
7. By a quirk of fate, India in the twenty-first century has turned out to be the confluence of every kind of violence: insurrection or insurgency in order to carve out sovereign States; armed liberation struggle motivated by a rejected ideology; and terrorism driven by religious fanaticism. Never before has the Indian State faced such a formidable challenge. Never before have the Indian people been asked to prepare themselves for such fundamental changes in the manner in which the country will be secured and protected.
The Agony of 26/11
8. Let me summarize the situation as I found it on December 1, 2008. Two days after the terrorist attack in Mumbai was repulsed – after paying a heavy price of 164 lives – the nation was in shock and anger. A billion plus people felt they had been humiliated and the country had been brought to its knees by a small band of terrorists. The security establishment was in disarray and numerous questions were being asked. Had the intelligence agencies failed? Did the first responder, the Mumbai police, prove to be totally inadequate? Was the famed National Security Guard too slow to get off the block? Did the leadership of the police let down its men? Did the security forces take too long to neutralise ten terrorists? Did the Central and the State Governments fail to provide strong leadership? Did the crisis management system collapse? Did the country pay too heavy a price before it repulsed the terrorist attack? Did the Government fail the people in not mounting a swift counter-attack on the perpetrators of terror?
9. These questions continue to haunt me and many others even today. I think I have found the answers to some of these questions, but I do not intend to fill this lecture with those answers. My purpose is to outline the broad architecture of a new security system that will serve the country today and in the foreseeable future.
The State of our Police
10. Let me begin with the foot soldiers. All the States and Union Territories put together had a sanctioned strength of 1,746,215 policemen as on January 1, 2008. Against that number, only 1,478,888 policemen were in place. There are 13,057 police stations and 7,535 police posts in the country. The ratio of available police to per 100,000 people for the whole country is about 130. The international average is about 270. There is no substitute for the policeman who walks the streets. He is the gatherer of intelligence, the enforcer of the law, the preventer of the offence, the investigator of the crime and the standard-bearer of the authority of the State, all rolled into one. If he is not there, it means that all these functions are not performed. That – the failure to perform essential police functions – is where the rot began and that is where the rot lies even today. The first step, therefore, in devising a new security system in the country is to recruit more policemen and policewomen. In my estimate, States would have to recruit over 400,000 constables this year and in the next two years in order to fill the vacancies and in order to provide for expansion of the police forces. A bad police constable is worse than no police constable. Recruitment must therefore be transparent, objective and corruption-free. The Central Government has devised and commended to the States a transparent recruitment procedure that will be totally technology-based and free of any human interference. On its part, the Central Government has implemented the new procedure in the recruitment to the Central Para Military Forces.
11. The police stations in the country are, today, virtually unconnected islands. Thanks to telephones and wireless, and especially thanks to mobile telephones, there is voice connectivity between the police station and senior police officers, but that is about all. There is no system of data storage, data sharing and accessing data. There is no system under which one police station can talk to another directly. There is no record of crimes or criminals that can be accessed by a Station House Officer, except the manual records relating to that police station. Realising the gross deficiency in connectivity, the Central Government is implementing an ambitious scheme called “Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS).” The goals of the system are to facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data and information at the police station and between the police station and the State Headquarters and the Central Police Organisations.
12. If intelligence-gathering is the corner stone of fighting insurgency or insurrection or terror, the foot solider cannot work in isolation. He must be enabled to gather intelligence from the people as well as the representatives and quasi-representatives of the State such as the Sarpanch, the Lambardar, the village accountant etc. More often than not, intelligence is provided by the citizen who would wish to remain faceless and nameless. It is therefore important that State Governments adopt “Community Policing” and establish a toll-free service under which a citizen can provide information or lodge a complaint. It is the myriad bits of information flowing from different sources that, when sifted, analysed, matched, correlated and pieced together, become actionable intelligence. That function must be performed, first and foremost, at the police station.
13. To sum up, we must have more police stations and, at the police station level, we must have more constables, some of whom are exclusively for gathering intelligence. We must also have a system of community policing, a toll-free service, and a network to store, retrieve and access data relating to crimes and criminals.
14. Moving up the ladder, at the District and State levels, the Special Branch is the key to better intelligence and more intelligence-based operations. There should be at least one police officer in each police station exclusively for intelligence gathering. As the intelligence gathered flows up to the District Special Branch and State Special Branch, there should be an adequate number of well-trained analysts to analyse the intelligence and to draw the correct conclusions. Intelligence is a specialised function. Not every police officer is qualified to be an intelligence officer. It is therefore imperative that the State Special Branch should be restructured as a specialised and self-sufficient cadre of the State police in terms of personnel, funds and equipment. On January 7, 2009, the Central Government had circulated a proposal to restructure the Special Branch in the State police forces. The implementation of the proposal will mark the beginning of a long-haul effort to restructure the intelligence-gathering machinery at the District and State levels.
15. At the District and State levels, the police must also be the first responder in case of a militant or terrorist attack. 24 x 7 control rooms must be set up at the District and State levels. Quick Response Teams must be positioned in every district capital and in important towns. Commando units must be raised and placed at different locations. The Central Government is supporting and funding the conversion of two companies of selected IR Battalions into commando units. QRT and commando units should have modern weapons and equipment. The age profile of these units must be young and older men must, periodically, make way for younger men. A special Anti-Terrorist Unit should be created at the State level to pre-empt terrorist activities and investigate terrorist crimes. While States have begun to take steps on these matters, the pace is still slow. States must give a full and true picture of the tasks completed by them and their state of readiness to face any threat or attack.
The Difficult Tasks Ahead
16. From what I have said so far, the changes that are required to be made in the architecture are quite basic and simple. They can be done by providing more funds, tightening the administration and working to a time-bound plan. Of course, it will also require sound leadership at the political and police levels. However, when we move upwards, serious questions concerning constitutional responsibilities and division of powers will arise. Also, difficult questions would have to be posed and answered regarding the current responsibilities of different organisations. Questions concerning jurisdiction and turf would also arise. If our goal is just extracting a little more from the ‘business as usual’ model, then these questions can be brushed aside or provided ‘don’t-rock-the-boat’ answers. I am afraid that would be self-defeating. Sooner than you think, there may be another crisis like the hijack of IC-814 or another catastrophe like the Mumbai terror attacks. Hence, the time to act is now and I would spell the last word with capitals: N-O-W.
17. I therefore propose a bold, thorough and radical restructuring of the security architecture at the national level.
18. The present architecture consists of political, administrative, intelligence and enforcement elements. At the political level, there is the Cabinet Committee on Security. The administrative element is the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Prime Minister’s office and the Cabinet Secretariat. The intelligence elements are spread over different ministries: there is the Intelligence Bureau which reports to the Home Minister; there is the Research and Analysis Wing which falls under the Cabinet Secretariat and, hence, reports to the Prime Minister; there are organisations such as Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and Aviation Research Centre (ARC) which report to the National Security Adviser; and there is the National Security Council Secretariat under the NSA which serves the National Security Council. The armed forces have their own intelligence agencies, one each under the Army, Navy and Air Force and an umbrella body called the Defence Intelligence Agency. There are other agencies which specialise in financial intelligence. These are the Directorates in the Income Tax, Customs and Central Excise departments, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Enforcement Directorate. The enforcement element of this architecture consists of the central para-military forces such as CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, Assam Rifles, SSB and the NSG. What will strike any observer is that there is no single authority to which these organisations report and there is no single or unified command which can issue directions to these agencies and bodies.
19. Some changes have indeed been brought about after December 1, 2008. The most beneficial change has been the operationalisation of the Multi-Agency Centre. By an Executive Order issued on December 31, 2008, the MAC was energised with a broader and compulsory membership and a new mandate. Every piece of relevant information or intelligence gathered by one of the participating agencies is brought to the table. It is analysed and the analysis is shared with the participating agencies. The key benefit is that no one can say that his/her organisation was kept in the dark. Another beneficial change has been the extension of the reach of MAC to the State capitals and the setting up of the Subsidiary-MAC in each State capital in which all agencies operating at the State level, especially the Special Branch of the State police, are represented. Through the MAC-SMAC-State Special Branch network, the Intelligence Bureau has been able to pull more information and intelligence from the State capitals. It has also been able to push more information and intelligence into the State security system.
20. Another innovation is the security meeting held every day, around noon, under the Chairmanship of the Home Minister. NSA, Home Secretary, Secretary (R&AW), DIB, Chairman, JIC, and Special Secretary (IS) attend the meeting. The broad directions issued at the end of the meeting have brought about better coordination in all aspects of intelligence including gathering, analysing and acting upon the intelligence.
21. We should resist the temptation to exaggerate the gains that have been made through these changes at the top. The Home Minister – and by extension the Government – is indeed better informed. The agencies involved are more alert. However, in my view, it does not mean that our capacity to pre-empt or prevent a terrorist threat or attack has been enhanced significantly. As far as responding to a terrorist attack is concerned, we may have enhanced the capacity to contain and repulse an attack, but I think that there is still some distance to go before we can claim to have acquired the capacity to respond swiftly and decisively to a terror attack. It is this assessment which leads me to argue that the security architecture at the top must be thoroughly and radically restructured.
The New Architecture
22. Some steps in this direction are self-evident. For example, there is a need to network all the databases that contain vital information and intelligence. Today, each database stands alone. It does not talk to another database. Nor can the ‘owner’ of one database access another database. As a result, crucial information that rests in one database is not available to another agency. In order to remedy the deficiency, the Central Government has decided to set up NATGRID. Under NATGRID, 21 sets of databases will be networked to achieve quick, seamless and secure access to desired information for intelligence/enforcement agencies. This project is likely to be completed in 18 – 24 months from now.
23. Two more projects will commence early next year. The first is the Business Process Re-engineering of the Foreigners Division at a cost of about Rs.20 crore. The second is the more ambitious Mission Mode Project on Immigration, Visa and Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking with the objective of creating a secure and integrated service delivery framework for facilitating legitimate travellers and strengthening security. The scheme will network 169 missions, 77 ICPs, 5 FRROs and over 600 FROs with the Central Foreigners’ Bureau. It is estimated to cost Rs.1011 crore, but the rub is it is slated to be implemented over a period of four and a half years. The gaps in the visa system have been exposed in a number of cases, the most notable among them being the case of David Coleman Headley. The compelling need to create a fool-proof system cannot be overstated. Hence, it is necessary to put the project on a fast track, engage a Mission Director, beg or borrow the money to implement the project, and complete the task within 24 months.
24 It is our experience that the networks of terror overlap with the networks of drug-peddling, arms-trading and human-trafficking. The agencies that deal with the latter category of crimes are scattered. For example, the Narcotics Control Bureau is under the Ministry of Home Affairs while the Central Bureau of Narcotics is under the Ministry of Finance. The Arms Act is administered by MHA. As far as human-trafficking is concerned, the primary responsibility lies with the State Governments, but anti-human trafficking cells have been set up only in 9 districts of the country. Regulation and enforcement in each of these areas require to be strengthened and brought under the overall management of internal security.
The Way Forward – NCTC
25. Another major idea is the proposal to set up the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). As the name suggests, the goal is to counter terrorism. Obviously, this will include preventing a terrorist attack, containing a terrorist attack should one take place, and responding to a terrorist attack by inflicting pain upon the perpetrators. Such an organisation does not exist today. It has to be created from scratch. I am told that the United States was able to do it within 36 months of September 11, 2001. India cannot afford to wait for 36 months. India must decide now to go forward and India must succeed in setting up the NCTC by the end of 2010.
26. Once NCTC is set up, it must have the broad mandate to deal with all kinds of terrorist violence directed against the country and the people. While the nature of the response to different kinds of terror would indeed be different and nuanced, NCTC’s mandate should be to respond to violence unleashed by any group – be it an insurgent group in the North East or the CPI (Maoist) in the heartland of India or any group of religious fanatics anywhere in India acting on their own or in concert with terrorists outside India. NCTC would therefore have to perform functions relating to intelligence, investigation and operations. All intelligence agencies would therefore have to be represented in the NCTC. Consequently, in my proposal, MAC would be subsumed in the NCTC. Actually, MAC with expanded authority will be at the core of the new organisation and will transform itself into NCTC. The functions that will be added to the current functions of MAC are investigation and operations. As far as investigation is concerned, Government has set up the National Investigation Agency, and that agency would have to be brought under the overall control of NCTC. The last function – operations – would of course be the most sensitive and difficult part to create and bring under the NCTC. But I am clear in my mind that, without ‘operations’, NCTC and the security architecture that is needed will be incomplete. It is the proposed ‘operations’ wing of the NCTC that will give an edge – now absent – to our plans to counter terrorism.
27. The establishment of the NCTC will indeed result in transferring some oversight responsibilities over existing agencies or bodies to the NCTC. It is my fervent plea that this should not result in turf wars. Some agencies would naturally have to be brought under NCTC and what come to my mind readily are NIA, NTRO, JIC, NCRB and the NSG. The positioning of R&AW, ARC and CBI would have to be re-examined and a way would have to be found to place them under the oversight of NCTC to the extent that they deal with terrorism. The intelligence agencies of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Finance would, of course, continue to remain under the respective Ministry, but their representatives would have to be deputed mandatorily to the NCTC. NATGRID would obviously come under NCTC. So also, CCTNS would have to be supervised by the NCTC.
28. Given the overarching responsibility of NCTC and its mandate, it will be obvious that it must be headed by a highly qualified professional with vast experience in security related matters. Considering the structure of our services, it is natural to expect that the head of one of our organisations will be appointed to the post, by whatever name it may be called. He/she could be a police officer or a military officer. He/she must be one who has impeccable professional credentials and the capacity to oversee intelligence, investigation and operations. He/she will be the single person accountable to the country on all matters relating to internal security. At the Government level, and in order to be accountable to Parliament, it would be logical and natural to place the NCTC under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
29. That leaves the question of the structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs itself. MHA now handles a wide portfolio of subjects ranging from ‘freedom fighters’ to ‘forensic science’. Is this a functional arrangement to deal with the grave challenges to internal security that we face and that we will face from many more years? I am afraid not. It is true that the words ‘Ministry of Home Affairs’ have an authoritative ring, but the MHA now performs a number of functions that have no direct relation to internal security. For example, it has a division dealing with freedom fighters but it does not have even a desk for dealing exclusively with forensic science. There are other divisions or desks that deal with Centre-State Relations, State Legislation, Human Rights, Union Territories, Disaster Management, Census etc. These are undoubtedly important functions and deserve close attention. However, internal security is an equally, if not more, important function that deserves the highest attention. In my view, given the imperatives and the challenges of the times, a division of the current functions of the Ministry of Home Affairs is unavoidable. Subjects not directly related to internal security should be dealt with by a separate Ministry or should be brought under a separate Department in the MHA and dealt with by a Minister, more or less independently, without referring every issue to the Home Minister. The Home Minister should devote the whole of his/her time and energy to matters relating to security.
30. It is after one year in office that I have ventured to outline the new architecture for India’s security. There are two enemies of change. The first is ‘routine’. Routine is the enemy of innovation. Because we are immersed in routine tasks, we neglect the need for change and innovation. The second enemy is ‘complacency’. In a few days from today, 2009 will come to a close, and I sincerely hope that we may be able to claim that the year was free from terror attacks. However, there is the danger of a terror-free year inducing complacency, signs of which can be seen everywhere. A strange passivity seems to have descended upon the people: they are content to leave matters relating to security to a few people in the Government and not ask questions or make demands. I wish to raise my voice of caution and appeal to all of you assembled here, and to the people at large, that there is no time to be lost in making a thorough and radical departure from the present structure. If, as a nation, we must defend ourselves in the present day and prepare for the future, it is imperative that we put in place a new architecture for India’s security.
31. Thank you for your patience and courtesy.”
sOURCE: pib.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)