The Queen’s Baton Relay – Address by Hon’ble Chief Minister

IPR News Service


His Excellency, respected Shri B.P. Singh ji, Governor of Sikkim, respected representatives of Queen’s Baton Relay, national and internationally acclaimed mountaineers and sportspersons from Sikkim, cabinet colleagues, MLAs, Member of Parliament Lok Sabha, local gentry, Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, officials and participants.


On behalf of the people of Sikkim, I express immense happiness to be part of this great tradition of the Commonwealth Games. During its long journey outside and within India, the Queen’s Baton Relay entered Sikkim this morning. And, I daresay, it has entered the most peaceful State, its natural ally in its commitment to fostering world peace. This event in itself fosters fraternity among the commonwealth members. The promotion of representative democracy and individual liberty, the pursuit of equality and opposition to racism, to fight against poverty, ignorance and disease are also great values that the Queen Baton Relay (QBR) represents and brings in its wake. Sikkim with its natural endowments, peace and tranquillity readily espouse common and shared values and objectives of the Commonwealth as enshrined in its institutional framework.


We welcome all our guests to our land, Sikkim which we claim as the rooftop of India, housing the Mount Kanchenjunga which indeed is the guardian deity of the people of Sikkim now extended to the people of India. Sikkim will charm the visitor with its law-abiding citizens, their warmth and hospitality rooted deep within our tradition and culture.


India is greatly honoured and privileged to host this edition of Commonwealth Games in October this year. As the multi-national and multi-sports events features thousands of elite athletes from members of the Commonwealth of Nations, amongst them many of Sikkim’s participating athletes will get great exposure to hone inherent talent and skills groomed and tutored amidst the Himalayan splendour.


Sikkim has contributed its might offering to the country some great athletes in various disciplines. Late Sonam Gyatso, the first Sikkimese to scale Mount Everest, late Pem Dorjee Bhutia (more widely known as Neelu), Jaslall Pradhan, Bhaichung Bhutia, Tarundeep Rai, Chungda Sherpa, Nirmal Chettri, Sanju Pradhan, Nirmal Dahal Special Olympic Bharat Medal winner, mountaineers Phul Maya Tamang, Yangzee Sherpa and others are some of the sporting names who brought laurel to the State. We have groomed a host of other names from the State, who have excelled at the regional, national and international arena in number of fields including mountaineering, sports, martial arts and the like. During the last one and half decade, the Government of Sikkim has consistently identified local talent and groomed them through a well thought through process. Local talent find Footballer Uttam Rai who is just 15 is going to play for India under 16 in the Tata Tea Arsenal Club. Similarly Nitin Rai is playing for the Staten Island Cricket Club in New York.



I would like to quickly state some of our new and innovative measures to encourage our youth in Sikkim.


■ New and independent Sports and Youth Affairs Department created in the State to promote sporting activities on a more organized manner;

■ State Sports Policy for Sikkim framed and adopted;

■ Construction of a number of Youth Hostels at the village level;

■ “Talent Search Amongst Youth” project launched – to identify sporting talents among young boys from across the State. The boys and girls so selected are provided with schooling facilities together with state-of-art sporting facilities;

■ Palzor Stadium with all modern sporting facilities was formally inaugurated on 3rd April 2005 by the then President of India, His Excellency Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. We have further committed a sum of Rs. 5 Crores for green turfing Paljor Stadium with artificial grass. This will make Paljor Stadium an all-weather and world class stadium;

■ A new Sports Academy shall be established at the Paljor Stadium complex which will be dedicated towards development of talents in various sporting activities;

■ Bhaichung Stadium in Namchi, Geyzing Stadium and Mangan Stadium are under construction during this financial year. 17 Community Playgrounds across the State are also progressing;

■ We have also taken initiatives in the area of adventure sports particularly with regard to river rafting, para-gliding, rock climbing etc. and the prospects of introducing training in Skiing, hang-gliding and bungee jumping are also very promising;

■ An all-inclusive Khel Gaon i.e. Sports Village is being developed at Ranka which is nearing completion;

■ The State Government has made 2% reservation for artists and sportspersons in government employment;

■ We observed the year 2005 as Youth Revolutionary Year and 2006 as Capacity Building Year to bring about a sense of inclusiveness amongst the youth in the development of State;

■ We have instituted State Award of Rs. 1 lakh in cash and a citation to people with excellent track record in the promotion of literature, music, drama, arts and sports. We have already honoured host of our sportspersons and artiste including Captain Ramsingh Thakuri, Late Pem Dorji Bhutia, Shri Jas Lal Pradhan, Late Tulsi Ram Sharma Kashyap, Shri Danny Denzongpa, Shri Sonam Tshering Lepcha, Lharipa Ganden Lama, late Benjamin Rai, Shri Baichung Bhutia and Shri Chungden Sherpa;

■ The State Government has also introduced a new and unique set of incentives to promising Sportspersons of the State by instituting Cash Awards in various categories, as below:


Olympics- Rs 1 crore → Gold Medal

Rs 50 lakh → Silver Medal

Rs 25 lakh → Bronze Medal



Commonwealth & Asian Games- Rs. 20 lakhs→ Gold Medal,

Rs. 10 lakhs → Silver Medal

Rs. 5 lakhs → Bronze Medal


National games- Rs. 5 lakhs → Gold Medal,

Rs. 3 lakhs → Silver Medal

Rs. 2 lakhs. → Bronze Medal


Junior National Championship- Rs. 50,000 → Gold Medal

Rs. 30,000 → Silver Medal

Rs. 20,000 → Bronze Medal


The wealth of human resources in our young population in Sikkim is one that matches the best available anywhere in the world. They are dynamic, creative and highly imaginative. They constitute the upcoming generation of leaders who will need to be fully equipped and groomed with qualities to be in a position to inherit the responsibilities and duties of leadership in different fields. In this context, our endeavour has been to cultivate skills and personalities in various fields among our youths.

The number of youth in the age group between 0-19 constitutes 46.66 percent of Sikkim’s population as per the 2001 Census. The State Government is set to harness this resource by facilitating several measures. Channelizing and developing skills, talent among this target group in their spheres of interest is part of the way of ensuring the demographic dividend for our State and Country.


The Skill Development Initiative we launched in 2002 has encouraged policy intervention at the national level wherein the Central Government has launched the National Skill Development Mission in the XIth Five Year Plan. The launching of the Chief Minister’s Self-Employment Scheme in 2002, has been instrumental in carrying forward the Skill Development Mission. Thousands of young boys and girls have been covered for self-vocational ventures encompassing various agro-based activities, including IT related, tourism connected activities.


As evident, thousands of Sikkimese youths are brimming with creative energy, innovation and upward mobility. The holding of the Commonwealth Games in India will only add to their zest and fervour in chasing their dream to excel in their chosen fields.


Dear friends, the Queen’s Baton (QBR), created in 1958, has travelled through many civilizations; through the desert sands, through the refreshing mountain breeze and across Continents. But the message it has carried ever since has remained the same – that peace, humanity, democracy and equality must remain the order of the day – be it yesterday, today or tomorrow. The Queen’s Baton that we held today has passed through the hands of great achievers across land, air and sea in more than 70 nations. Before the relay concludes its journey at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3, 2010, it would have travelled an impressive 340 days covering a distance of more than 190,000 kilometers.


Tomorrow, we will pass the Baton to fellow citizens across border for its next leg of the journey. When the Baton embarks thus, memories of its ride on the docile yak, high in the Sikkim Himalaya, will be accompanied by the experience of mesmerising peace. Thus, Sikkim would have passed on its message to the world of experiencing happiness and peace; harmony in living with Nature; highlighting life’s true values of forbearance, restraint and tolerance.


With these words I commend that the spirit of humanity, mutual respect and the spirit of Sports triumph forever!


Thank you all

Jai Hind!

Over 600 Citizen Centric Services Available on-Line
14 Mission Mode Projects Gone Live
Apex Committee on NEGP Reviews the Plan Progress


Of 1100 citizen and business centric services targeted for delivery, over 600 services of various Departments of Central and State Governments are now available electronically – anytime, anywhere. This was disclosed by the Cabinet Secretary Shri K M Chandrashekhar here today while speaking to media after review of the progress of e-governance initiatives by the Apex Committee on National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). The Cabinet Secretary said that the Mission Made Projects (MMPs) under NeGP approved in 2006 have the potential to transform the socio-economic landscape of rural India.



People can now obtain copies of their land records, Job Cards for employment under MNREGS, certificates relating to birth/death/income/caste/domicile etc., on-line. Benefits under various social services schemes such as various types of pensions – widow/handicap/old age etc., scholarships, education assistance etc., can be availed electronically. There are many more such services, to name just a few like passport application, information about market prices of agricultural produce and commodities and even telemedicine and diagnostic assistance for diseases available through electronic mode.



The Apex Committee on NeGP met today under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary. Shri Nandan Nilekani, Chairperson, UIDAI, Shri Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the PM on Information, Infrastructure and Innovation, Shri Som MittaI, President NASSCOM and Shri Kiran Karnik, former President NASSCOM also attended the meeting and deliberated on the hurdles and issues that needed to be tackled to accelerate the transition in governance.



Of 27 MMPs under NeGP, 14 have already commenced delivery of services in different parts of the country. These include Mobile Computer Applications (MCA21), Pensions, Central Excise, Income Tax, Passport, Banking & Insurance, Land Records, Road Transport, Common Services Centre, e-Courts, EDI, National Service Delivery Gateway (NSDG) & India Portal. All MMPs shall start delivering e-services by 2014. Under all these projects 1,100 services are likely to be available progressively with full availability by 2014.



To enable all this, state wide connectivity is being provided through State Wide Area Networks (SWANs) ensuring a minimum of 2 Mbps connectivity up to block levels. SWANs are operational in 23 States and the remaining will become operational by March 2011.



State Data Centres (SDCs) will serve as the repository of data at state level. Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for SDCs in 31 states have been approved and bid process has been completed in 16 States. All 31 SDCs will be operational by December 2011.



More than 80,000 CSCs have been set up across the country and the number is expected to cross 1,00,000 by March, 2011. The Government has planned to have 2,50,000 in all by 2012 to cover all Panchayats to enable people to access the services under e-Governance in their vicinity.



The meeting took stock of progress made so far as well as of the major impediments, and made certain recommendations. These included the need for creating suitable HR framework in the form of Dedicated Project Teams for implementation of projects in a Mission Mode. The need of creating Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) as an institutional mechanism for long term sustained project implementation based on interoperable standards was emphasized. It was also agreed upon to leverage the private sector’s expertise in project management and implementation aggressively while ensuring that strategic control of the projects remains with the Government.



Ensuring mandatory e-delivery of some identified services within a given time frame through legislation is another important recommendation of the Apex Committee, the Cabinet Secretary added. He said that those services which could be quickly modified and moulded through business process reengineering need to be identified both in the Central and State Governments and road map for mandatory e-delivery of such services in given time frame has to be worked out. His office will become a paperless office from April 1, 2010 as step towards this transition, the Cabinet Secretary announced.



SP/AT/AS

PUBLIC EYE - THE SUPERPOWERS OF GANDHIAN AUSTERITY

by SUNIL KHILNANI


In his book, Imagining India, Nandan Nilekani writes: “Wherever I go, I find that Indians know our growth numbers backward and forward, and there is a strong, common feeling among us that our country has finally come of age.“ It's something I've seen even in the slums of Mumbai: The statistics of India's new growth economy grip the popular imagination. Children who scavenge trash for a living report confidently and accurately that India is the second-fastest growing economy in th world, and see in the numbers a happier future for themselves.

Strikingly, this Indian trust in economic improvement as a means of greater happiness coincides with something of a countermovement among economists in the West. Some of the best of them now argue that, r beyond a certain point, economic growth doesn't in fact result in national contentment. It's an argument Mahatma Gandhi actually made one hundred years ago, though today's economists have regression analysis to work with. The distinguished economist Richard Layard writes of the citizens of the Western countries he's studied, “In the last 50 years...They have become much richer, they work much less, they have e longer holidays, they travel more, they live longer, and they are healthier. But they are no happier.“ Layard, along with Nobel laureates such as Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz as well as Partha Dasgupta have been trying to work out new, non-economic statistical measures to gauge national well-being, including quality of life and ecological sustainability.


In the advanced industrial countries, governments too are seeking to build some of these apparently new ideas into their assessments of how their citizenry is doing. It was Nicolas Sarkozy who invited Sen, Stiglitz and the French economist Jean-Paul Fitoussi to prepare a report outlining a new, more differentiated gauge of economic prosperity and human well-being.

And in the US, President Obama has signed into law the creation of a new system of “key national indicators“, a “dashboard“ of measures (developed by a NGO project called The State of the USA--also the name of the website at which the information is posted) which aim to give a picture of national well-being that is fuller than the simplicities of GDP and growth statistics.

Gandhi would have been pleased to hear of such developments. “The rich are often unhappy, the poor happy,“ he wrote in Hind Swaraj in 1909. He counted himself among the latter group, though I confess I've never thought of him as a good example of someone who knew how to be happy.

He was too obsessed by self-mortifying experiments, and his household was hardly a cheerful one, given his sometimes disdainful and ferocious treatment of his wife and his children.

The Gandhi family was not a Happy Family. But Gandhi was someone who thought a lot about well-being as a psychological condition, and understood that the link between

LIFE LESSON - FIRST CUT - WHY I NOW SWEAR BY THE PUNJABI `KUDI' DIET

by PRIYA RAMANI



Last year around this time I met a man who rocked my life. Turned it upside down. Or inside out, whichever you pre- fer. My husband had no objec- tions to my regular rendezvous.
Even my mother approved although she hasn't yet met him. In fact, knowing him improved my relationship with both of them.
No please, I'm not the Art of Living sort. I would never be an accessory to an orange robe. But let me start at the beginning.

Unlike most urban Indian girl children today, I had an active childhood. My parents allowed me to pick athletics over dance.
My father was kind enough to wake up at 5 . 3 0 a m e v e r y day to ferry me to athletics training. I travelled for state and regional competitions. I drank raw eggs in milk, courtesy my hero Rocky. My runners' legs are a legacy of those days.

But after the athletics phase wore off, exercise became more about weight management than endorphins or excellence. I went to aerobics classes with women who were always obsessing about what they wore when they exercised and how little they ate before and after they exercised. After a while I got bored of gyms and classes. I was active and I didn't really gain weight. I didn't need to exercise, I reasoned. Besides, who had the time, I was too busy in my hotshot career.

When people asked me how I m a n a g e d t o “ s t a y s o s l i m “ , I responded with a standard oneliner: No idea, I only exercise when I'm having sex and when I'm balanc- ing above public loos to avoid con- tact with the toilet seat.

I liked to think of myself as a con- scious vegetarian. Soon I could tell my amaranth from my ragi and believed seeds (sesame, flaxseed, methi) would keep me healthy. I avoided white bread and ate minimal sweets. And swore by nutritionists who asked you to stay away from cooked food before noon and who believed in the theory that grown women didn't need dairy. Yes, I hated milk. Until last year, I had never eaten yogurt too, but I knew the names of all non-dairy foods that contained calcium.

But that life is over.

Now I exercise at least four times a week. I eat a minimum of three fruits a day and lots of almonds. In fact, I eat double the amount of food I used to in my past life. I begin every day with 400g of yogurt. And end it with a glass of milk. I eat pan- eer three times a week. In the last one year I've gained 6 kilos. These days I often buy a size medium, not small.

I'm consuming so much dairy I'm going to turn into a cow, I tell the man who changed my life. But how do you feel, he always replies.

Let's see. My skin glows, my hair rarely feels like straw. I no longer feel exhausted all the time. My mother nags me much less and my husband's happy with my new, more active self. I walk straighter and I am definitely stronger. I am now firmly on the Punjabi side of the milk debate. I think every Indian woman who thinks staying thin is staying healthy should listen care- fully to her protesting bones and make friends with an orthopaedic surgeon like I did one year ago. It's a relationship that's guaranteed to change her life.

Write to lounge@livemint.com www.livemint.com Priya Ramani blogs at blogs.livemint.com/firstcut

UIDAI Finalizes List of Empanelled Training Agencies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has finalized the list of the 15Training Agencies empanelled with it for providing training to various categories of personnel working for Enrolment Agencies.

Enrolment Agencies will capture demographic and biometric information of residents and send it to UIDAI’s central database to enrol residents for Aadhaar- the UIDAI’s unique 12 digit number.

UIDAI DG, Mr. R.S. Sharma said that, “since the enrolment process requires a certain amount of technical as well as soft skill to ensure quality and accuracy of the data, the UIDAI has stipulated mandatory certification for all the personnel involved in the enrolment process.” UIDAI has appointed a testing and certification agency to conduct on- line testing to assess the individual‘s ability to carry out enrolments according to its prescribed standards.

Although UIDAI has not mandated training, yet given the mandatory certification for enrolment personnel the UIDAI had issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for Empanelment of Training Agencies on the basis of technical competency criteria set out in the EOI. The Training Agencies empanelled with the UIDAI are All India PTU DEP Association, Aptech Ltd., CDAC, Cavalier India, Everonn Education Ltd., Ecit, CMC Ltd., Hero Mindmine Institute, India Can Education Pvt. Ltd., Manipal K12 Education (P) Ltd., Manipal Education, NIIT Ltd., Tata Interactive Systems, DOEACC Society and Crux Management.

Mr. Sharma added that, “Registrars and Enrolment Agencies can avail the services of any of these empanelled Training Agencies to develop the skills of their personnel.”

“De-hyphenating” Sino-Indian ties


by M. K. Bhadrakumar

During his China visit National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon said that China's close relationship with Pakistan should have no bearing on the momentum of New Delhi advancing the impetus of Sino-Indian ties.

India needs to view Sino-Pak. ties in perspective and with new thinking.

A fortnight-long lecture tour of China in April was revealing as to how little the Indian discourse factors in the winds of change sweeping across that country. The day I arrived in Beijing from Shanghai en route to Tibet, the Chinese capital received a hugely controversial figure in the politics of our region — the redoubtable “Amir” of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) of Pakistan, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rahman, who is suspected to be the “father of the Taliban.”

Two aspects regarding Mr. Rahman's visit intrigued me. The JUI-F has no Chinese counterpart but Beijing solved the dilemma with the Communist Party of China (CCP) stepping in to hold Mr. Rahman's hand. The CCP and JUI-F may seem like oil and water but today's China hopes to make them mix. During Mr. Rahman's visit, the CCP and JUI-F signed a memorandum of cooperation. Second, from Beijing Mr. Rahman headed for Xinjiang.

It was an extraordinary moment — the energetic Maulana getting exposed to the violent politics of our region, thanks to the ideology of militant Islam practised by his progenies and on the other hand, the sheer audacity or ingenuity of Beijing's policies in hosting him while Xinjiang is bleeding at the hands of Islamist militants based in Pakistan and is barely coping with the shenanigans of the drug mafia on the Karakoram Highway.

Surely, Pakistan is of immense importance to the Chinese strategies. It is a time-tested friend, a market for China's exports, a vital link in China's new communication chain connecting the Persian Gulf, Middle East and Africa, but most important, a land that shelters Islamist militants from China who may have come under the influence of foreign powers. Unsurprisingly, security cooperation with Islamabad has assumed high priority. The following report in the government-owned China Daily newspaper last week underscored the complexity of the relationship: “An increasing number of members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which led the riots and is labelled a terrorist group by the U.N. Security Council, are reportedly fleeing to Pakistan and settling down there for future plots. According to latest reports, the ETIM has been in close collaboration with the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. An ETIM leader is also reportedly hiding in Pakistan and there are reports of a “Chinese battalion” made up of about 320 ETIM members of the Taliban forces. ‘It is not hard for them to hide in Pakistan. They have similar religious beliefs, appearances and languages as the locals,' the Beijing-based World News newspaper reported on July 1.”

Besides, China faces unprecedented geopolitical challenges in carrying forward the “all-weather friendship” with Pakistan. Pakistan has become a hunting ground for the U.S. regional strategies. There is a qualitative difference from the U.S.-Pakistan collaborative ventures of the Cold War era. The U.S. today depends on Pakistani military to end the Afghan war so that without the war casualties complicating the western public opinion, continued American and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military presence in the Central Asian region becomes sustainable. The U.S. strategies factor in the NATO's future as a global security organisation, trans-Atlantic ties and of course China's rise and the challenge it poses to the U.S. supremacy in the world order in the 21st century. In short, Pakistan is an-almost irreplaceable U.S. ally at the present phase of the geopolitics of the region and will remain so for the foreseeable future, given its geography, political economy and its unique dealings with terrorist groups. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's impending arrival in Islamabad for co-chairing the U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue — second in four months — underscores Pakistan's centrality in Washington's foreign policy calculus.

What emerges is that no more is it the case that whatever China does in Pakistan is with an ulterior motive against India or that Beijing's policy toward Pakistan is quintessentially India-centric. As a matter of fact, the trend for quite some time has been of Beijing trying to keep a balance between its relations with India and Pakistan. Unfortunately, motivated sections of the Indian strategic community in their self-seeking zest to sub-serve the U.S. geo-strategy, often deliberately obfuscate these sobering geopolitical realities. The political symbolism in the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and other leaders receiving the National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon in Beijing and holding discussions with him in his capacity as the special envoy of the prime minister just ahead of the arrival of the Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on a weeklong “working visit” cannot go unnoticed — even while making allowance for the high esteem in which Mr. Menon is held as a scholar-diplomat on China.

Which is why Mr. Menon's remarks in Beijing following his consultations needs to be welcomed as reflective of a profound understanding at the top policymaking level in New Delhi regarding India's most crucial foreign policy challenge in the period ahead – relations with China. Mr. Menon said that India is looking forward to forging “a relationship [with China] which is not externally driven.”

Hopefully, a lid has been firmly put on the can of worms that Uncle Sam periodically held out in front of us — an “alliance of Asian democracies” involving the U.S., Japan and Australia. There is great need to shield India's normalisation with China from episodic U.S. interference. On the sidelines of the recent U.S.-India strategic dialogue in Washington, senior American officials resuscitated in their public diplomacy the George W. Bush era ideas of the U.S. and India patrolling the Indian Ocean and working together with Japan and Australia – doctrines which seemed irrelevant and quixotic once the world financial crisis erupted and new realities emerged in the international system.

Equally, India needs to view Sino-Pak ties in perspective and with new thinking. Mr. Menon was spot on while saying that China's close relationship with Pakistan should have no bearing on the momentum of New Delhi advancing the impetus of Sino-Indian ties. Indeed, it is high time to de-hyphenate. “We're no longer in an either-or, zero-sum game kind of situation. Our [India's] relationship with China is not dependent on the state of our relations with Pakistan, or vice versa. And judging by what we have seen in practice over the last few years, I think that is also true of China.” He said this while stressing the convergence of Indian and Chinese interests on a range of global issues, which demand a “new stage of the relationship”.

The government has done well to refuse to be enticed by the motivated exhortations by sections of our strategic community to join issue with Beijing over the China-Pakistan nuclear deal controversy – despite genuine apprehensions over anyone consorting with Pakistan, which could have a bearing on nuclear non-proliferation. Mr. Menon said, “This [Sino-Pakistan deal] was not the whole point of the visit. This took less than two and a half sentences in the whole visit.” The U.S. opinion-makers and the noisy pro-American lobby in the Indian strategic community have been suggesting that the Sino-Pakistan nuclear deal was primarily directed against India. To quote from a western media report, “China and Pakistan are threatening to disrupt India's nuclear aspirations by stepping up collaboration of their own.” However, the two reactors that China proposes to set up at Pakistan's Chashma complex under IAEA safeguards do not threaten India's security nor do they shift the “strategic balance” between India and Pakistan. On the contrary, if Pakistan steps into the fold of any form of non-proliferation regime including the IAEA safeguards that China seems to have in mind, it can be a good thing to happen.

Again, the American commentators attempted to insinuate that the China-Pakistan deal raises misgivings in the international community, which in turn may revive concerns about the wisdom of the U.S. making out a special dispensation for India. This is sheer baloney. The litmus test is Japan's readiness to open negotiations to explore the possibility of nuclear commerce with India. What is overlooked is that the NPT as such did not bar nuclear trade with a non-signatory like India. Rather, it was the Nuclear Suppliers Group [NSG] that brought in the “iron curtain”. The NSG was a one hundred percent American concoction aimed at penalising India under a designated multilateral regime. Plainly put, as the U.S. began sensing the compelling need in terms of its global strategies to forge partnership with India as an emerging power, the barriers became an inconvenient relic of the past. Similarly, let us not overlook that the US may well offer a nuclear deal to Pakistan at some stage.

In short, Beijing will foster its ties with Pakistan at a crucial juncture when the latter figures as a key partner in the US regional strategies. Pakistan, on its part, has been an exemplary partner who robustly eliminates any U.S. interference in its relationship with China. The US has been savvy enough to realise the virtues of “de-hyphenated” ties in our complicated region. The spectacle offers a morality play for India.

(The writer is a former diplomat.)

The perils of ‘half-way house’ diplomacy

by Siddharth Varadarajan


Having decided to engage Pakistan on issues beyond terror, it is counterproductive for India to artificially limit the subjects it is willing to discuss.

Future diplomatic historians will, no doubt, tell a more complex story but the broad outlines of External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna's less-than-successful visit to Islamabad seem clear enough.

Having hosted Home Minister P. Chidambaram three weeks back and heard firsthand from him exactly what India wanted on the terrorism front, the Pakistani side's expectation from the foreign minister-level meeting was that there would be discussion and, presumably, some agreement on a wider set of issues. In the run-up to the meeting, Indian officials, too, had let it be known that they were looking at a range of subjects like trade and people-to-people contact as a way of building trust. When he arrived in Islamabad, Mr. Krishna said India was ready to discuss all outstanding issues. Pakistan knew the formal resumption of the composite dialogue — or some updated variant of it — was still some distance away. It was also prepared to discuss the deepening of confidence building measures as a stepping stone. But it was wary of publicly accepting a formula or roadmap for engagement that frontloads not just terrorism but every other issue that India considers important while leaving issues that Islamabad considers ‘core' to an unlit backburner for future ‘warming up.'

The irony is that these issues — Jammu and Kashmir, peace and security, Siachen and Sir Creek — are subjects India and Pakistan have wasted several years of formal dialogue over without either side budging one bit. For example, Indian soldiers remain firmly perched upon the Siachen glacier's commanding heights despite officials from the defence ministries of India and Pakistan having held several rounds of talks. Many more rounds can safely be held without our jawans being required to come down by even one metre — if that is what the government wants. Given the long-standing deadlock over proposals for verification of a mutual withdrawal, the Pakistani side knows nothing would be gained by yet another meeting of defence secretaries. But the civilian government which is struggling to assert its authority against multiple power centres within and even outside the ‘establishment' needed something to show for its diplomatic exertions.

The Indian delegation, however, did not come to Islamabad with a mandate flexible enough to accommodate the need for these kind of harmless optics. Worse, their limited mandate was undermined from within by Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai's accusation that the Pakistan state — with which Mr. Krishna was going to sit down and have talks — had planned the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was undiplomatic in mentioning Mr. Pillai's unhelpful remarks in the same breath as Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed's inflammatory speeches against India. But people on the Indian side need to ask what the home secretary hoped to achieve by saying the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate of the Pakistan army had been involved in 26/11 “from the beginning till the end.” Indian investigators had questioned Lashkar operative David Coleman Headley well before Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. Pillai held talks with their Pakistani counterparts in Islamabad last month. One can only presume this question of ISI involvement “from the beginning till the end” was raised by them with Rehman Malik.

In Islamabad, Mr. Chidambaram told reporters that India wanted Pakistan to vigorously investigate and follow up the leads available in the Mumbai terror attacks. He said he was leaving Pakistan with the conviction that “[Mr. Malik and I] have exchanged views, understood the situation and agreed that we should address the situation with the seriousness it deserves.”

Three weeks have elapsed since the Home Minister made that statement. Is that time enough to form a judgment on Pakistan's “seriousness”, let alone decide to gut the possibility of its cooperation by making a public accusation of state complicity? At stake is not the veracity of Headley's information — though it is worth asking why the statements of a terrorist who helped attack Mumbai in order to get India and Pakistan to go to war should be taken at face value — but the utility of levelling a serious charge in public. Did Mr. Pillai or his advisers do a cost-benefit analysis beforehand and conclude that blaming the ISI in this manner on the eve of the foreign minister's talks would make Pakistan more likely to address India's concerns about terrorism?

If Mr. Pillai's comments on the ISI betray a failure of the government to think strategically, the decision to postpone any front-channel discussion on issues like Siachen and Kashmir till there is greater “trust” is also deeply flawed.

In politics, the default option is often the easiest one to take. Having suspended the composite dialogue in the wake of the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, it would have been quite simple for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to keep the dialogue process under suspension indefinitely. There would be no need for him to explain anything to anybody. But just as Atal Bihari Vajpayee had the courage to invite Pervez Musharraf, the architect of Kargil, to Agra in 2001, or to travel to Islamabad in January 2004 despite cross-border terrorism not ending, Dr. Singh was brave enough to say that not talking to Pakistan indefinitely was a bad option. The Prime Minister showed enormous political courage at Sharm el-Sheikh last year and againt at Thimphu in making a case for engagement. He knew full well that his decision would run against the grain of both hawkish political sentiment and the risk-averse attitudes of the security establishment. And in a concession to these quarters, his advisers came up with the formula of incremental dialogue.

In the wake of the acrimony that Mr. Krishna's visit has produced, the government's critics in the opposition and the ‘retirati' are likely to say Dr. Singh was wrong to try engagement. But that would be an incorrect conclusion. Thursday's fruitless talks and the rather churlish comments of Mr. Qureshi since then are not the product of dialogue and engagement but of the half-way house that Indian officials have parked themselves in. Dr. Singh was bold enough to steer India away from the rigid position of no dialogue but he should have been bolder still in recognising that indulging Pakistan's desire for official talks on Kashmir, Siachen and other ‘core issues' would cost India nothing and would actually be a cheap way of moving the CBMs process forward.

India's current rigidity on this question is counter-productive. No doubt Dr. Singh is wary of how a more open attitude towards the resumption of dialogue would play. All democracies — and many non-democracies — have to worry about public opinion. But in this particular case, the burden of good optics weighs much more heavily on the civilian government in Pakistan than it does on the UPA government in India. If India looked at the problem strategically, it would recognise the importance of not allowing jihadi and extremist forces in Pakistan to depict the civilian government as an entity which meekly surrenders to Indian positions. Anti-Indianism is the glue that the terrorists and their backers in Pakistan use to bond with a public which is otherwise under daily attack by them. The creation of a dialogue structure which allows the Pakistani side to hold its head high domestically against extremists of all hues is what India should be striving for, especially at a time when the attack on the Data Ganj Bakhsh shrine in Lahore has outraged the Pakistani people. Mr. Qureshi may have been abrasive and tactless in many of things he said but his remarks on Balochistan and Kashmir and even infiltration (‘deal firmly with them and we will back you') led hawkish journalists to attack him as pro-Indian. India is dealing with the complexity of a sharply divided Pakistani establishment and society. It should resist the temptation of matching Mr. Qureshi's desperate grandstanding and instead think deeply about how the process of engagement which has started can be broadened and deepened.

Blue-Blooded Blue-Chips

By Niti Kiran
Jul 13, 2010

If you want the best, then you need to pay for the best. This maxim applies not just to consumer markets but also to the stock markets, especially when one sets out to buy blue chip stocks. The term blue chip derives from the game of poker, where blue-coloured chips carry the highest value. In stock market, blue chips refer to stocks of large, well-established, and stable companies that offer scope for steady but significant long-term growth.

However, one needs to be cautious about paying too high a price for these stocks. Hence, one needs to hunt for stocks in this category that are available at reasonable valuations. We have made an effort to screen such stocks for you.


Screening Criteria
In our list, we have included companies that have average return on equity (RoE) and earnings per share (EPS) of more than 20 per cent over the past five years. These blue chip stocks were picked from the primary universe of BSE 500 companies.

To ensure that these companies are able to meet their interest-payment obligations, we have tested them for adequate interest-coverage, and not-too-high debt-equity ratio.

Moreover, by limiting the price-earnings to growth (PEG) ratio at 1.5, we have tried to filter out the exorbitantly priced stocks from this list.

Upon running the above-mentioned filters, we got a list of seven stocks. All these belong to different sectors and are the leading entities in their segments.

GSK Consumer Healthcare: The company leads in the malted food beverage segment with brands such as Horlicks, Boost, Maltova and Viva. It continues to leverage on the strong brand equity of Horlicks and Boost by introducing value-added variants of these brands. The parent company, GlaxoSmithKline Plc. UK, has a strong and well-established product portfolio of various brands.

The company has over the past few years put up a robust performance through sustained volume growth in its core brands and higher contributions from new product launches. It is a cash-rich company with a balance of Rs 820 crore as on December 2009.

Rising household incomes, increasing urbanisation, more hectic lifestyles, and growth in the number of working women are some of the factors that are expected to boost the demand for processed food products. The company is expected to maintain its recent pace of growth on account of a positive outlook for the food industry.

Larsen & Toubro: It is India's leading technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing company. The company also has manufacturing facilities in China, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Slowdown in the industrial and the real estate sectors in the second half of CY2009 adversely affected the revenue and profitability of the sector during the year.

To provide thrust to sluggish economic growth, the government is looking at boosting spending on infrastructure and simplifying the procedures for project approvals. L&T is likely to benefit from these government initiatives.

The company recently bagged an order for six laning of Krishnagiri-Walajahpet Highway from NHAI. It has also signed a joint venture with Howden to design, engineer, manufacture and supply axial fans and air pre-heaters to Indian thermal power plants of capacity ranging from 100 MW to 1,200 MW. These products are vital components of energy-efficient thermal power plants. The order book position of the company stood at Rs 70,300 crore at the end of FY09.

Marico: It is a leading group in the beauty and wellness space. The company occupies a leadership position with significant market shares in categories such as hair oil, post-wash hair care, anti-lice treatment, premium refined edible oil and niche fabric care. The company's branded products are present in SAARC countries, West Asia, Egypt, Malaysia and South Africa.

In January 2010, Marico entered the South East Asian region through the acquisition of the hair styling brand Code 10 in Malaysia.

The company plans to focus on rural markets in order to achieve deeper penetration for its existing products and develop a basket of products more suited for these markets.

Maruti Suzuki: The company, which is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, is India's leading passenger car company, accounting for over 50 per cent of the domestic car market. It offers a full range of cars -- entry level Maruti 800 and Alto; mid-range cars such as the stylish hatchback Ritz, A star, Swift, Wagon R, and Estilo; sedans such as DZire and SX4; and sports utility vehicle Grand Vitara.

Financial year 2008-09 witnessed unprecedented fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment both globally and in India. However, the Indian economy was less affected and managed to grow well above 6 per cent. In FY10, however, the auto sector left behind its blues and put up a stellar performance, with Maruti Suzuki leading from the front.

The company has identified some key areas for action in the coming years, such as global procurement of high-technology components which are not available in India. Further, it plans to enhance the reliability of its supply chain, by focusing on industrial relations issues.

Piramal Healthcare: It is a healthcare company and is currently the fourth-largest in the Indian market with a diverse product portfolio spanning several therapeutic areas. It is also one of the largest custom-manufacturing companies with a global footprint of assets across North America, Europe and Asia.

In April 2010, the company acquired Bharat Serum & Vaccines' Anesthetic products' business consisting of Propofol, Bupivacaine and Atracurium Besylate. Recently, Piramal Healthcare sold its domestic formulation business to Illinois-based pharmaceuticals major Abbott.

Sesa Goa: The company is the country's leading private sector iron ore producer and exporter, with mining and processing facilities at various locations in India. It currently has access to 240 million metric tonne (MMT) reserves of iron ore. It is part of the Vedanta group's diversified global business interests in metals and mining industry with operations in India, Australia and Zambia.

Given the slowdown in the global economy, it is not surprising that the steel industry witnessed a sharp drop in demand during the second half of 2008-09. This led to a sharp reduction in steel production and hence contraction in demand for iron ore.

However, the company has a strong cash position and is actively exploring opportunities for acquiring mines to add to its resource base - both organically and inorganically - at a time when the depressed global economic scenario offers cost-effective opportunities.

Titan Industries: It is the world's fifth-largest integrated watch manufacturer. The company was formed as a joint venture between the Tata Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Its businesses include watches, jewellery, eyewear, and precision engineering.

In Q4FY10, the company registered healthy growth in volumes in the jewellery segment, despite high gold prices, pointing to a revival in consumer sentiments.

To avoid duplication of efforts in the retail area, the company has introduced the integrated retail services function. In the coming years considerable benefits are expected to accrue from the integration of retail services activities

source:valueresearch

Excerpt from The 100/0 Principle, by Al Ritter

What is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others? It's The 100/0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.

Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.

The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.

STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.

STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the bait.

STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.

At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When this occurs, you need to avoid being the "Knower" and shift to being the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like "that won't work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll teach you," "that's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I know," etc.

Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like "Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc. In other words, as a Learner, be curious!

Principle Paradox

This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.

Hilly Sikkim, sandy Goa to sell tourism together

By The Hindustan Times

July 14,2010


The hills of Sikkim can now sunbathe in Goa! To tap tourism synergies and boost business, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) and its Sikkim counterpart have signed an agreement to promote each other's diverse tourism platters. GTDC Managing Director Nikhil Desai said the arrangement would mutually benefit both states and that similar ge of synergies was on cards with several states like Meghalaya, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Karnataka to beef up tourism in Goa.

"The MoU (memorandum of understandin) will help towards mutual promotion of tourism, showcasing each others' cultural heritage to the tourists and felicitating inbound travel into the respective states," Desai said.

The agreement was signed on June 23 between Desai and Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director S. Anbalagan.

Desai said the MoU covered issues like hotel, package booking and sharing of resources.


"Once a booking is made in one of these states, 15 per cent of the amount will go to the corporation that has made the booking. Also, anybody who visits Goa and wants to visit one of these five states, could be assisted through the state corporations and visa versa."

To cater to the potential increased streams of tourists, Desai said, the GTDC would incorporate private hotel owners into the business.

"We are in talks with private hoteliers and even they will benefit from the MoU," he said.

A popular beach tourism destination, Goa annually attracts nearly 2.5 million tourists, out of which nearly half a million are foreigners.

Sikkim – The exotic beauty

Sikkim – The exotic beauty

by Kamna Arora

It was my first trip to a state situated in the lap of the world's third highest mountain, Khangchendzonga. Out of all the states in the Northeast, I had chosen Sikkim as my destination this summer. It was my chance to get a glimpse of one of the most beautiful and green states of India. And as I set foot in Gangtok, I knew I had made the right decision.

Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, is one of Northeast India's most visited cities. The pleasant weather welcomed me with open arms. Away from Delhi’s scorching heat and horrible traffic, I was in a state endowed with exceptional natural resources, green lustre, beautiful waterfalls, gorgeous mountains, trimmed trees, wonderful landscapes, and scenic beauty.

Nestled in the Himalayas, Sikkim is a hotspot of biodiversity. The five-hour long drive from Bagdogra airport to Gangtok was not tiring at all since I was held spellbound by the arresting beauty of the mountains.

I spent two days in Gangtok. The capital was breathtakingly tranquil and truly emerald in colour. I had to miss my trip to Nathula, thanks to landslides, which are common during rainy seasons in Sikkim. Nathula is a pass on the Indo-China boarder. Here, not only one gets a chance to see an international border, but pose with Chinese Army officers as well. I had no option but to miss this opportunity to have a look at The Dragon.

People in Sikkim are warm, honest and humble. Trust me, you can’t get cheated in this northeastern state. A cabbie told me that you can roam on the streets of Sikkim with lakhs of rupees in your pocket, and you won’t be robbed.

I went for local sightseeing on the first day of my trip. Hiring a taxi in Gangtok is not difficult at all. The cabbie asked for Rs 2,000 for taking me to more than 10 sites. I saw the striking Enchey Monsatery, charming Flower Show, Sikkim’s Cottage Industry, Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Banjhakri Waterfalls, Tashi view point (from where Khangchendzonga is clearly visible), Hanuman Tok (where Lord Hanuman rested while bringing Sanjeevani Buti for Lord Rama’s brother, Laxman), and Ganesh Tok.

MG (Mahatma Gandhi) road is the best place to spend evenings in Gangtok. It is one of the best shopping destinations I have ever seen. One can get almost everything here, and that too at a very reasonable price. Vehicles are not allowed inside this market. The use of plastic is also banned. Fountains in the middle of the road and slow music make it a tourist’s preferred choice in the evenings. Comfy chairs near the fountains give tired tourists much-required rest.

Who says it is difficult to get vegetarian food in Sikkim? I can assure you that you will get all kinds of varieties here. A number of vegetarian hotels on MG Marg were truly a delight.

Darap village: Home away from home

After Gangtok in east Sikkim, my next destination was Darap Cherry village in the western part of the state. I had preferred a village over the famous Pelling town to quell the curiosity about how a village looks. The village was almost 135 kms away from Gangtok. I had to cross Pelling to reach this village.

This was the first time I was going to stay in a village. I had read about the concept of village tourism on the Sikkim government’s website, and thought of just experiencing it. I had no idea what it would be all about, except that we would be away from the chaos of a town or city.

What a wonderful village it was! The panoramic view of mountains surrounding the village just stole my heart. It was no less than heaven. It was pure beauty, completely untouched by urbanisation. As soon as I reached the village, I was warmly welcomed by the president, Mr Sushil Tamang. The place was so refreshing and beautiful that I forgot it was time to have lunch. But my host did not. Within 20 minutes, I was served relishing ‘homely’ lunch. ‘Homely’ because food tasted as lip-smacking as it does at home. Less spices, less oil and more taste. Mr Tamang then showed me my room. Surrounded by trees, the room was pleasing enough (it was far better than the one I stayed in Gangtok). After a few minutes, I was served hot tea. I was told I could even use the kitchen if I wished to. It was frankly a home away from home.

After an hour or so, Mr Tamang and I went around to see the picturesque village. I visited a Limboos’ home (a community), a local school (though there were no students as summer vacations were on), cardamom gardens, meditation centre, and local nurseries.

The village was not only rich in natural resources and bio-diversity, but also in culture and customs of local tribes. I got a chance to experience the village lifestyle from close quarters. The villagers were very welcoming. I must share the fact that most of the villagers are not poor in Sikkim, thanks to cardamom gardens and the land which they have sold to the government for some projects. In fact, they are proud to call themselves a beggar-free state. And they love Zee TV. The entertainment channel has a major following in Sikkim, locals revealed.

Kids here were not shy at all. A four-year-old rosy-cheeked boy, Lohit, did not take much time in becoming my friend. He used to wave his little hand at me and share his ball to play.

In fact, the kids know the technicalities of the place really well and hence walk along the hills in a disciplined way.

In the evening, Mr Tamang told me how this concept of village tourism took birth. The Sikkimese government has started promoting tourism on a much larger scale recently, but this was just helping cities, not villages. The villages were not benefiting from the government’s tourism drive. It was then that the educated unemployed youth of Darap village realised the potential of the beauty of the place they lived in and started promoting community-based tourism to make it a sustainable source of livelihood for villagers. This concept is firming up in other villages too, and the concept of homestays is gaining popularity across the state.

And then I was briefed about the heroes of Sikkim - football captain Baichung Bhutia and Bollywood star Danny Denzongpa. After the dinner, I was told Mr Tamang is hosting Danny’s younger brother, who was there to celebrate a personal occasion with his set of friends. Danny owns a very famous brewery in South Sikkim.

The next day, we went for local sightseeing. The mighty Khangchendzonga Waterfalls, amazing Khechuperi (Wish fulfilling) Lake, scenic Sewaro Rock Garden and beautiful Rimbi Waterfalls made me realise what all I miss in Delhi. I miss ‘nature’. And the next day, I had my flight back to Delhi.

And as I landed, I was welcomed by scorching heat. What accompanied me till my home were not mountains and waterfalls, but pollution and vehicles’ noise. The transition was difficult to bear, but I had to accept how urbanisation has robbed Earth of its virginity.

(The views expressed by the author in the blog are his/her own)

How our scientists helped avoid ‘Bhopal 2'

by D. BALASUBRAMANIUM

The team quickly set up facilities to examine how the MIC was manufactured and stored, what led to “the event”, and how to get rid of the methyl Isocynate from tank 611.

The role that our scientists and engineers played, on the spot, during the catastrophic period has not been duly brought out.

Much has been written about the recent judgment in the Bhopal gas tragedy. But the role that our scientists and engineers played, on the spot, during the catastrophic period has not been duly brought out. It was nothing less than heroic. Let us see why and how.

Toxic gases leaked out at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal from a stainless steel tank containing 42 tons of liquid methyl isocyanate (MIC), in the wee hours of 3 December 1984. MIC was stored in two such tanks (each containing 42 tons) since October 1984, and one of them leaked (tank no. 610) on the fateful night. The other (611) fortunately did not, but what if it too leaked?

Two problems
The MIC in it had to be somehow safely disposed. Thus the problems were two: one was understand what led to the leakage and what all toxic material leaked out; and two, learning from this, how to safely dispose the MIC off the other tank.

The accompanying, equally major question was: what were the effects of the toxic gases on the people around — how and why did they cause death and damage, and how can such damage be countered or avoided. Thus, one aspect was chemical and engineering related while the other pathology and treatment related.

Let us take one by one; first the chemistry and storage conditions.

MIC boils at 80°C but does evaporate at lower temperatures. It is thus best stored refrigerated (below 10°C).

This was not done at Bhopal during those days. While ultrapure MIC can be inert, trace impurities set up a chain reaction. One of them producesa solid polymer which can clog up pipes through which MIC is transferred from the storage tank.

Another reaction occurs when water comes into contact and reacts with MIC, generating heat; this in turn causes MIC to react further, generating more toxic material. The heat also releases trace amounts of materials (that contaminate or accumulate in stainless steel vessels, or connecting pipes) which lead to further runaway reactions. The questions thus were: did water somehow enter tank 610 through leakage, did a chain of toxic chemicals arise, and why did MIC leak out copiously into the atmosphere.

Dr. S Varadarajan, who was the Secretary of the Government of India Department Science & Technology, rushed to the site at Bhopal soon after the tragedy, he inspected the site and the tanks, obtained the inputs from the Carbide people, obtained manuals and protocols, and decided to look into the residues still left in tank 610, in order to get an idea of what all could have happened to the MIC. Importantly, these would give a lead on what could be done to safely dispose the MIC off tank 611, which too had about the same 40 tons of MIC.

In order to do so, he put together a team of chemical engineers and related experts — namely Dr. L.K. Doraiswamy, N.R Ayyangar, C.S.P Iyer, A .A Khan, A.K. Lahiri, K.V. Muzamdar, R.A Mashelkar, R.B Mitra , O.G.B Nambiar, V.Ramachandran, V.D Sahasrabuddhe, S. Sivaram, M. Sriram, G. Thyagarajan and R.S. Venkataraman.

Quick action
This team of 16 quickly set up the facilities to examine how MIC was manufactured and stored at Bhopal, what led to “the event”, and how to get rid of the MIC from tank 611. The story of how they did this, through “Operation Faith” is a proud one. What did they find and do?

What did they find? One: The factory cut corners in the name of economy.

Rather than store MIC in a series or batch of small, easier handled tanks, they used huge ones.

Two: The tanks were not kept refrigerated, but at ambient temperature. Three:

The caustic soda in the accumulator (used to emergency- dump MIC) was grossly insufficient. Four: Analyses of the residual material in 610 revealed as many as 12 different products of MIC reactions. Five: The escape valve and the scrubber used to treat gases exiting the vent did not work well, if at all.

In short, conditions ripe for the initiation of a runaway reaction existed already in tank 610 well before the event. And as much as 500 kg of water could have entered the tank that night, very likely through vent header pipes. Back up of water in these lines released metal contaminants, making matters more violent. What did they do next, about the potential bomb stored in tank no. 611? Here the team showed its true grit. Learning from the detailed analysis of the 610 tragedy, they put forward a crisis management protocol.

This included devising methods to prevent any leakage, precautions to be taken to minimize damage, providing information to the government on steps to be taken to minimize effects of potential toxic gases, and offer authentic information to the press and public continuously to avoid confusion and panic. They then set up the task of handling 611. The best thing to do was — to make the final product, Sevin, for which MIC was stored in the first place.

Dr. Varadarajan termed this exercise as “Operation Faith”. The process of converting 21 tons of MIC from 611, one ton from tank 619 and material form a number of drums into Sevin, at the rate 3-4 tons daily started on Sunday December 16th, 1984 and ended six days later. Thus was a second ‘Bhopal' avoided.

We tend to complain and cavil about our colleagues when things go wrong. Here was crisis management and forestalling at its best, at the darkest hour in Indian's recent history. Let us appreciate and applaud those, even if 26 years after. We shall turn to the other heroes, Drs. S. Sriramachari and Heeresh Chandra, who handled the medical part of the event in the next article.

The Honest Always Stand Alone by CG Somiah: A Review

The Honest Always Stand Alone by CG Somiah: A Review

By John Cheeran

Honesty should be always vouchsafed by others but to a large extent, author CG Somaiah, who has had a remarkable career with Indian Administrative Service, has succeeded in portraying himself as a man and officer of unshakeable integrity in his memoirs. Somiah served as comptroller and auditor general, central vigilance commissioner and union home secretary in a distinguished career. His service story, The Honest Always Stand Alone, manages to engage the reader and his courage of conviction and firmness of opinion clearly come across the pages.

Though boastful and bashful at times, as befitting someone who has brushed shoulders with decision makers during a crucial time in independent India’s history, Somiah’s effort would make interesting reading even for people who are not immediately connected with the civil service. Somiah, however, disappoints us by holding back details that would have rocked the state and national politics.

For example, Somiah prefers to keep the ‘inside information’ surrounding the Bofors gun deal that rocked the political career of the young prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to himself though claiming to know much more than you and me. Instead, the author lets us know that he used to play tennis with Ottavio Quattrochi, the Italian businessman accused of acting as a conduit for bribes in the scandal.
Somiah, however, does offer a telling glimpse into the feckless nature of the Indian political class when he narrates the then home minister Buta Singh’s grovelling towards the minister of state Arun Nehru, since the latter enjoyed the confidence of Rajiv Gandhi.

It has often been said that IAS is the steel frame (or it was) of the nation. Somiah, proudly, and justifiably stakes claim that his backbone lent it further solidity. May be, being a Kodava, a community that has been celebrated for its inimitable and often intrepid approach to life, has helped Somiah a great deal when choosing between the meek and the bold.

WELCOME TO QUEEN'S BATON IN SIKKIM

Sikkim Chamber of Commerce welcomes arrival of Queen’s Baton in Sikkim on 16th July 2010.

This is a great moment of joy for all of us. The relay which began from Buckingham Palace in London is in Sikkim from 16th July.

Sikkim’s inclination towards Sports is well known and our sportsmen have shown great inclination to achieve perfection in the event that they have chosen.

The Baton will have traversed over 190,000 kilometres in 340 days, making the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi one of the longest relays in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

We do hope Commonwealth Games 2010 will be full of excitement. Our Best wishes.



S.K.Sarda
President
Sikkim Chamber of Commerce

TAX FILING - Is your tax return form errorfree?

BY SONU IYER


Last Saturday, I met my neighbour, Mr Pathak, a retired bureaucrat from the ministry of labour, during my yoga session. He looked worried. After some gentle probing, he shared the reason: it was an income-tax notice. Due to certain errors in his returns last year, the assessing officer (AO) termed his returns “defective return“ and issued a notice to him to rec- tify the defects. Under the Indian tax laws, if the defect in the returns is not rectified in the given time, the return is consid- ered “invalid return“ and it is assumed that the return was nev- er filed. You need to keep a few things in mind to ensure you file error-free returns.

Choosing the form

The first step is to pick up the correct form. There are seven income-tax return (ITR) forms prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). You need to pick up your form de- pending on the kind of income you get.

ITR 1 (Saral II) is appli- cable for individuals who have salary income, income from oth- er sources and income from a house property.

ITR II is applica- ble for individuals and HUFs (Hindu undivided families) not having income from business or profession and so on.

Mention correct address and bank account number For timely correspondence with income-tax authorities and timely delivery of refunds claimed in the return form, it is im- portant to mention the correct address and bank account de- tails. In case of refunds where the electronic clearing system option is selected, it is mandatory to provide the correct mag- netic ink character recognition (MICR) code and bank account number in the return form. MICR code is a nine-digit number, which appears at the bottom of all cheque leaves next to the cheque number. Double-check permanent account number (PAN)

PAN is an important identification number through which in- come-tax authorities identify taxpayers and record their in- come, taxes deducted on his behalf and the taxes paid by him.

Quoting incorrect PAN may pose a problem both for taxpayers as well as to income-tax authorities. Incorrect quoting of PAN also attracts a penalty, so always double-check your PAN.

Disclose exempt income A common slip up is non-disclosure of income exempted from tax, such as dividend income from mutual funds or capital gains on securities.

Though exempted from tax, these must be reported in the ITR form.

Disclose pension income, it's taxable It is often understood that monthly pension income is not taxable but that's not true. Uncommuted pension (which has been annuitized to receive regular income) is taxable in the hands of the individuals.

Interest income is taxable at your tax rates We all earn interest income on our savings bank accounts and at times due to the insignificant amount, we forget to in- clude the interest income in our return of income, assuming that the bank would have already deducted tax at source (TDS).

Banks do not deduct tax on interest earned on savings account and deduct tax at a lesser rate on the interest earned on fixed deposits. You would need to pay tax on interest earned on sav- ings account and on interest on fixed deposits at your applica- ble tax rates.

Mention details of TDS In case of TDS, ensure that details, such as tax deduction ac- count number (TAN), and other details are as per the TDS cer- tificate. If details are not correctly filled, the AO would not al- low the credit of TDS and you may get a tax demand notice.

Annual information return (AIR)

While filing returns, it is essential to report the details of high-value transactions in the AIR questions. Such transactions are with respect to cash deposit in excess of Rs10 lakh, your credit card expenditure exceeding Rs2 lakh, purchase and sale of immoveable property valued at Rs30 lakh or more, purchase of units of mutual funds for at least Rs2 lakh, investment in bonds for at least Rs5 lakh, in shares for at least Rs1 lakh and Reserve bank of India bonds for at least Rs5 lakh.

Fill relevant ward or circle Do you know who is the concerned AO and where are you re- quired to file your returns? You should find out about the rele- vant ward and circle at the information desk set up at the tax office or other special filing locations. Filing of return in the in- correct ward or circle may lead to unnecessary hassles.

Online return submission Online filing can be done with or without digital signature.

But, for those filing it without digital signature, it is mandatory to submit the ITR V form generated online at the income-tax office in Bangalore within the prescribed time.

Finally, do not forget to sign the return form. Happy filing!

Sonu Iyer is tax partner, Ernst & Young.

LATE INCOME TAX RETURNS ????

LATE RETURNS - What if you miss the 31 July ITR deadline?

BY BINDISHA SARANG


With just about a fortnight left to the last date of filing returns, you don't have much time on your hands. However, if you are unable to meet the deadline due to unexpected circumstances, there's still a way out, though it may come with a cost attached.
Extensions are passé Earlier, it was common for the income-tax (I-T) depart- ment to extend the last date of filing. But you better not bank on it because there have been no extensions for the last few years. “Extension of deadline was a trend a few years back, but for the last four years or so, the I-T department has not made any deadline extensions,“ says Ankur Sharma, director, TaxSpanner.com, an online tax preparation and filing portal.
Grace period You can actually file returns up to 31 March 2011. Says Sharma: “If an individual does not file return of income by the due date, he can still file re- turns up to 31 March of the next financial year. In such a case, no penalty is imposed.“
However, you may have to pay a penalty of Rs5,000 if this 31 March deadline.
The caveat But getting a grace period is not the end of the matter.
While the grace period would solve your basic problem of fil- ing returns for a year, you may face some caveats. Loss not carried forward: Tax rules permit you to carry for- ward losses, such as loss in- curred through a business, property or investment, to the next assessment year. If you file your returns after 31 July, you won't be able to carry for- ward losses. Losses incurred under the head “house proper- ty“ are an exception though.
Interest you'll be charged If you delay filing your re- turns beyond 31 July, you will have to pay interest under cer- tain circumstances. Says Shar- iq Contractor, partner, Con- tractor, Nayak and Kishnadwa- la, a chartered accountant firm in Mumbai: “(Though) the penalty is based on the discre- tion of the income-tax office, the interest is mandatory on tax payable which are de- layed.“

Here are the heads on which you will have to bear additional interest burden.

Income-tax due: If you had income-tax dues in the current assessment year and you ha- ven't filed your returns in time, you will be charged interest.
According to section 234A, you will have to pay a simple inter- est of 1% per month on the amount of income-tax due.

Advance tax due: An individ- ual is required to pay advance tax on three prescribed dates every fiscal year; whatever re- mains needs to be settled at the time of tax filing. If you settle, say, 90% of your advance tax on the last instalment date and didn't file returns till 31 July, you will have to pay 1% simple interest per month on the re- maining 10% advance tax, ac- cording to rules of section 234B (shortfall in payment).

Under section 234C (failure in payment), “in case you owe advance tax and you have failed to pay that by the due date, you will be charged a simple interest of 1% per month if the advance tax payments in the prescribed time frames are less than the re- quired percentage,“ says Shar- ma.

However, you won't be charged interest if the shortfall in payment of advance tax is on account of underestimation. For instance, if you get an income by sale of property on 16 March, and the advance tax instalment deadline was 15 March, then there was no way through which you could have estimated this income and paid advance tax on it. So, as long as you pay ad- vance tax on such income when you file you returns, before the deadline or any time up to 31 March of the fiscal year, you will not be charged any interest. The same rule applies if you failed to estimate capital gains or if you have income from winning lot- tery.

Wealth tax: If you don't file returns of wealth tax on time, you will again have to pay a simple interest of 1% for every month of delay.

Contractor says, “The I-T de- partment may send you a no- tice and you would unneces-sarily expose yourself to penal- ty.“ Since there's still time left, why not simply hurry up.

Be a kitchen detective

by SUJATA C.


The Hindu What's that? Al that's red is not chilli powder.

Check out your kitchen shelf and find out what's what. Some of the things out there could be adulterated.

An evening out with your family is fun and it is tempting to eat the delicious smelling, attractive food from the streets. Your parents and teachers would have warned you about the hazards of eating street food.

According to National Institute of Nutrition, in India some 4, 00,000 children below five years age die each year due to diarrhoea. Poor hygiene and unsafe drinking water routinely cause illnesses among the poorer classes.

Danger lurks in the packaged food we find on kitchen shelves. Profiteers routinely adulterate food items like milk, dal, ghee, honey and so on. In recent years, food adulteration has evolved into a very profitable business, causing serious health hazards. Some can even cause cancer.

You can understand the seriousness of this offence by the outbreaks of epidemics. In 1998 an epidemic of dropsy occurred in New Delhi due to the consumption of contaminated mustard oil. The symptoms of the disease were water retention in the limbs, skin ailments, limb tenderness, and diarrhoea, enlargement of the liver, eye disorders and even heart failure. Couple of years back a big artificial milk scam was uncovered in the capital once again.

Food adulteration is a crime and if proven the offence is punishable under the law provided under the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1955. In spite of legal checks, we still find the problem widespread, because it is easy to bribe officials and get away with punishable crime. The Government of India has also enacted an integrated food law called the Food Safety and Standards Act in August 2006 and a Food Safety Authority is being established to match global standards. Some common adulterants

Milk : Cow/buffalo milk can be adulterated with cottonseed oil. Or urea and liquid detergent are used to create synthetic milk. Starch is also used commonly to contaminate milk. These adulterants can be detected in the lab.

Vegetable oils are generally mixed with castor oil.

Tur dal : Metanil yellow, a non-permitted colour is a common adulterant in food items like laddu, tur dal and turmeric. Metanil is easily available and not expensive. It makes the dal shiny.

Kesari dal is banned due to the presence of a toxin that causes paralysis of the lower limbs and stunted growth when consumed for prolonged periods. It is cheaper and used to adulterate tur dal and dal flour or besan. It is pointed and wedge shaped and can be identified only with very careful examination.

Ghee : Ghee essence is used in vanaspati or cheaper oils and passed off as pure ghee especially in summers when the heat keeps it in a liquid state. This type of ghee will not solidify like normal ghee. It may also not have that grainy texture of pure ghee.

Sugar : With chalk powder and white sand.

Tea powder : With used tea leaves.

Honey is generally adulterated with invert sugar or jaggery.

Wheat flour : With excessive sand and dirt, even animal excreta.

Chilli powder : Red brick powder, grit, sand, dirt, non-permitted colours and saw dust.

Asafoetida : Soap stone and other earthy matter is used for adulteration.

Cumin seeds : Grass seeds are camouflaged and coloured with charcoal dust

Turmeric : Lead chromate is used to give turmeric its natural colour. It is very harmful.

Coriander powder : With dung powder.

Dried papaya seeds are mixed with black pepper seeds. When put in water dried papaya seeds will float on the surface.

Puffed rice gets its bright white colour thanks to the ultramarine blue intended for clothes.

Food labs can detect these adulterations. In fact you too can carry out some of the chemical tests to detect adulteration as you move to higher classes.

Get to work, Sherlock Holmes:

Ground spices like coriander and chilli are adulterated with red bran and saw dust. Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust will float . Sand and other dirt will settle at the bottom.

Put some ghee in the deep freeze. The ghee will solidify but the oil remains liquid.

Soak some coriander powder in water. Dung will float and can be easily detected by its foul smell.

Rub the cumin seeds on your palms. If your palm turn black it means grass seeds have been coated with black colour.

To check if pepper is adulterated put it in water. Dried papaya seeds will float.

Shake a little powdered asafoetida in water. Soap stone or other earthy matter will settle at the bottom.

Always check the 'Best before ...' date of packaged food when shopping.

You can be alert too and double check dates when you accompany them for grocery shopping.

Check the spices for Agmark or the ISI mark — these are certification of purity of the product.

Keywords: kitchen chemistry, adulteration

Is gravity real? A scientist takes on Newton




I's hard to imagine a more undamental and ubiquitous aspect of life on the earth than gravity, from the moment you first took a step and fell on your diapered bot- tom to the slow terminal sag- ging of flesh and dreams.
But what if it's all an illu- sion, a sort of cosmic frill, or a side effect of something else going on at deeper levels of re- ality?

So says Erik Verlinde, 48, a respected string theorist and professor of physics at the Uni- versity of Amsterdam, whose contention that gravity is in- deed an illusion has caused a continuing ruckus among physicists, or at least among those who profess to under- stand it. Reversing the logic of 300 years of science, he argued in a recent paper, titled On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton, that gravity is a consequence of the venerable laws of thermodynamics, which describe the behaviour of heat and gases.

“For me, gravity doesn't ex- ist,“ said Verlinde, who was re- cently in the US to explain himself. Not that he can't fall down, but Verlinde is among a number of physicists who say that science has been looking at gravity the wrong way and that there is something more basic, from which gravity “emerges“, the way stock mar- kets emerge from the collective behaviour of individual inves- tors or that elasticity emerges from the mechanics of atoms.

Looking at gravity from this angle, they say, could shed light on some of the vexing cosmic issues of the day, such as the dark energy, a kind of anti-gravity that seems to be speeding up the expansion of the universe, or the dark mat- ter that is supposedly needed to hold galaxies together.

Verlinde's argument turns on something you could call the “bad hair day“ theory of gravity.

It goes something like this: Your hair frizzles in the heat and humidity, because there are more ways for your hair to be curled than to be straight, and nature likes options. So it takes a force to pull hair straight and eliminate nature's options. Forget curved space or the spooky attraction at a distance described by Isaac Newton's equations well enough to let us navigate the rings of Saturn, the force we call gravity is simply a by- product of nature's propensity to maximize disorder.

Some of the best physicists in the world say they don't un- derstand Verlinde's paper, and many are outright sceptical.
But some of those very same physicists say he has provided a fresh perspective on some of the deepest questions in sci- ence, namely why space, time and gravity exist at all--even if he has not yet answered them.

“Some people have said it can't be right, others that it's right and we already knew it-- that it's right and profound, right and trivial,“ Andrew Strominger, a string theorist at Harvard, said.

“What you have to say,“ he went on, “is that it has inspired a lot of interesting discussions.
It's just a very interesting col- lection of ideas that touch on things we most profoundly do not understand about our uni- verse. That's why I liked it.“

Verlinde is not an obvious candidate to go off the deep end. He and his brother Her- man, a Princeton professor, are celebrated twins known more for their mastery of the mathematics of hard-core string theory than for philo- sophic flights.

Born in Woudenberg, in the Netherlands, in 1962, the brothers got early inspiration from a pair of 1970s television shows about particle physics and black holes. “I was com- pletely captured,“ Verlinde re- called. He and his brother ob- tained PhDs from the Universi- ty of Utrecht together in 1988 and then went to Princeton, Erik to the Institute for Ad- vanced Study and Herman to the university. After bouncing back and forth across the ocean, they got tenure at Princeton. And, they married and divorced sisters. Erik left Princeton for Amsterdam to be near his children.

He made his first big splash as a graduate student when he invented Verlinde Algebra and the Verlinde formula, which are important in string theory, the so-called theory of every- thing, which posits that the world is made of tiny wriggling strings.

You might wonder why a string theorist is interested in Newton's equations. After all, Newton was overturned a cen- tury ago by Einstein, who ex- plained gravity as warps in the geometry of space-time, and who some theorists think could be overturned in turn by string theorists.

Over the last 30 years, gravi- ty has been “undressed“, in Verlinde's words, as a funda- mental force.

This disrobing began in the 1970s with the discovery by Ja- cob Bekenstein of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Stephen Hawking of Cam- bridge University, among oth- ers, of a mysterious connection between black holes and ther- modynamics, culminating in Hawking's discovery in 1974 that when quantum effects are taken into account, black holes would glow and eventually explode.

In a provocative calculation in 1995, Ted Jacobson, a theo- rist from the University of Maryland, showed that given a few of these holographic ideas, Einstein's equations of general relativity are just another way of stating the laws of thermo- dynamics.

Those exploding black holes (at least in theory--none has ever been observed) lit up a new strangeness of nature.
Black holes, in effect, are holo- grams--such as the 3D images you see on bank cards. All the information about what has been lost inside them is encod- ed on their surfaces. Physicists have been wondering ever since how this “holographic principle“--that we are all maybe just shadows on a dis- tant wall--applies to the uni- verse and where it came from.

In one striking example of a holographic universe, Juan Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study constructed a mathematical model of a “soup can“ universe, where what happened inside the can, including gravity, is encoded in the label on the outside of the can, where there was no gravity, as well as one less spa- tial dimension. If dimensions don't matter and gravity doesn't matter, how real can they be?

Lee Smolin, a quantum grav- ity theorist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, called Jacobson's paper “one of the most important papers of the last 20 years“.

“But it received little atten- tion at first,“ said Thanu Pad- manabhan of the Inter-Univer- sity Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India, who has taken up the subject of “emergent gravity“ in sever- al papers over the last few years. Padmanabhan said that the connection to thermody- namics went deeper than just Einstein's equations to other theories of gravity. “Gravity“, he said recently in a talk at the Perimeter institute, “is the thermodynamic limit of the statistical mechanics of atoms of space-time“.

Verlinde said he had read Jacobson's paper many times over the years, but that nobody seemed to have gotten the message. People were still talk- ing about gravity as a funda- mental force. “Clearly we have to take these analogies seri- ously, but somehow no one does,“ he complained.

His paper, posted to the physics archive in January, re- sembles Jacobson's in many ways, but Verlinde bristles when people say he has added nothing new to Jacobson's analysis. What is new, he said, is the idea that differences in entropy can be the driving mechanism behind gravity, that gravity is, as he puts it, an “entropic force“.

That inspiration came to him courtesy of a thief.

As he was about to go home from a vacation in the south of France last summer, a thief broke into his room and stole his laptop, his keys, his pass- port, everything. “I had to stay a week longer,“ he said. “I got this idea.“

Up the beach, his brother got a series of email messages first saying that he had to stay longer, then that he had a new idea and finally, on the third day, that he knew how to de- rive Newton's laws from first principles, at which point Her- man recalled thinking, “What's going on here? What has he been drinking?“ When they talked the next day it all made more sense, at least to Herman. “It's interest- ing,“ Herman said, “how hav- ing to change plans can lead to different thoughts“.

Think of the universe as a box of scrabble letters. There is only one way to have the let- ters arranged to spell out the Gettysburg Address, but an as- tronomical number of ways to have them spell nonsense.
Shake the box and it will tend toward nonsense, disorder will increase and information will be lost as the letters shuffle to- wards their most probable configurations. Could this be gravity?

As a metaphor for how this would work, Verlinde used the example of a polymer--a strand of DNA, say, a noodle or a hair--curling up.

“It took me two months to understand polymers,“ he said.

The resulting paper, as Ver- linde himself admits, is a little vague.

“This is not the basis of a theory,“ Verlinde explained. “I don't pretend this to be a theo- ry. People should read the words I am saying opposed to the details of equations.“

Padmanabhan said that he could see little difference be- tween Verlinde's and Jacob- son's papers and that the new element of an entropic force lacked mathematical rigour. “I doubt whether these ideas will stand the test of time,“ he wrote in an email message from India. Jacobson said he couldn't make sense of it.

John Schwarz of the Calif- ornia Institute of Technology, one of the fathers of string the- ory, said the paper was “very provocative“.

Smolin called it, “very inter- esting and also very incom- plete“.

At a workshop in Texas in the spring, Raphael Bousso of the University of California, Berkeley, was asked to lead a discussion on the paper. “The end result was that everyone else didn't understand it ei- ther, including people who ini- tially thought that did make some sense to them,“ he said in an email message.

“In any case, Erik's paper has drawn attention to what is genuinely a deep and impor- tant question, and that's a good thing,“ Bousso went on, “I just don't think we know any better how this actually works after Erik's paper. There are a lot of follow-up papers, but unlike Erik, they don't even understand the problem.“

The Verlinde brothers are now trying to recast these ide- as in more technical terms of string theory, and Erik has been on the road a bit, travel- ling in May to the Perimeter institute and Stony Brook Uni- versity on Long Island, stump- ing for the end of gravity.
Michael Douglas, a professor at Stony Brook, described Ver- linde's work as “a set of ideas that resonates with the com- munity“, adding, “everyone is waiting to see if this can be made more precise“.

Until then the jury of Ver- linde's peers will still be out.

Over lunch in New York, Verlinde ruminated over his experiences of the last six months. He said he had simply surrendered to his intuition.
“When this idea came to me, I was really excited and euphor- ic even,“ Verlinde said. “It's not often you get a chance to say something new about New- ton's laws. I don't see immedi- ately that I am wrong. That's enough to go ahead.“

He said friends had encour- aged him to stick his neck out and that he had no regrets. “If I am proven wrong, something has been learned anyway. Ig- noring it would have been the worst thing.“

The next day, Verlinde gave a more technical talk to a bunch of physicists in the city.
He recalled that someone had told him the other day that the unfolding story of gravity was like the emperor's new clothes.

“We've known for a long time gravity doesn't exist,“ Verlinde said, “It's time to yell it.“

EQUITY MARKET - Even the unluckiest wins long term



What if you were the unluckiest investor in the world and invested at the peak of the market.
And not once but every time.
Short term, we know the an- swer--you bleed and lose a part of your investment. But what happens in the long run?
Do you still lose money or is there some truth in the saying that equity wins long term?
Mint Money explored this further and did some data crunching. Our numbers say that it's a win-win situation for you if you leave your money in the market for at least five years, even if you catch it at the worst possible time.

“It is well known that the buy-and-hold strategy benefits investors with a horizon of around five years, irrespective of when he enters the market,“ says Nitin Rakesh, chief execu- tive officer, Motilal Oswal Asset Management Co. Ltd.
How we did it To do this, we dug out re- turns from the Nifty index over the last 19 years, ending De- cember 2009. Then we as- sumed three worst-case invest- ment scenarios, which we fur- ther split over three time hori- zons--19, 10 and five years.

In the first scenario, we assumed that you ended up in- vesting Rs10,000 every year whenever the market was at its highest point that year for 19 years, 10 years and five years.
In the second, you got unlucky again and invested Rs10,000 every month, again when the market was at its peak, over the same three time periods. In the last scenario, you had a lump sum of Rs1 lakh, which you in- vested once over the three time periods but, unfortunately, you repeated the same mis- take--invested when valua- tions were the highest.

Here's how you would fare in the three scenarios over the time periods we've chosen.
Scenario I If you invested Rs10,000 ev- ery year for 19 years (1991 to 2009) in such a way that you caught the market at its highest point each time, you would have managed to gain an annu- alized return of 12.13%. In oth- er words, on an investment of Rs1.9 lakh, you would have earned an additional Rs4.53 lakh. Your gains on Rs1 lakh over 10 years (2000 to 2009) would have been Rs1.20 lakh or 16.69% annually.

In the last five years, when recession gripped the entire world, markets generated a reasonable 7.40% annualized return per annum on a similar investment.
Scenario II You wanted to distribute your investments well, so de- cided to invest Rs10,000 every month. But little did you know that your luck, or rather the market, would turn against you and you would end up invest- ing when the market was the most expensive each month.

But this still isn't a reason to grieve. Even after committing the same mistake continuously for 19 years, you would have gained 10.50% annually. Over 10 years, your annualized re- turn would be 14.76% and over five years 12.08% annually.
Scenario III We also calculated returns if you invested, say, Rs1 lakh only once over the three time peri- ods we have considered. But you made this single invest- ment when the market was at its peak. Even here, you stand to gain. Over 19 years, your re- turns would be 12.32% com- pounded annually, 11.47% over 10 years and 12.84% over five years.
What it means Equity works even if you are the unluckiest investor. The numbers say it all: even in the worst-case scenarios, you stand to gain. And over all three time periods.

Therefore, we can safely say that long-term equity investing can change fortunes even if someone enters the market at the worst possible time.

Ironically, few have the pa- tience to stay on. Any fall in the market sends investors in a panic. In fact, most of them re- deem their investment even at the cost of incurring a loss.
Says Rajan Mehta, executive director, Benchmark Asset Management Co. Pvt. Ltd: “His- tory shows that people over- react and end up making wrong decisions... Most of them are wiser only in hind- sight.“

While our data shows that any time is a good time to enter the market provided you stay the long term, people often lose out in an attempt to time the market over short periods. THE LONG RACE Even the unluckiest person, who invests when the market is at its peak each year, would stand to gain, provided he keeps his money in the market for five years.

source;livemin

DID YOU KNOW?

BINDISHA SARANG


The last time you went shopping, the shopkeeper refused to take the Rs500 note you gave him saying it was fake. You were shocked and didn't clearly remember how it came to you.
Obviously you were innocent in your own eyes, but the law may not think so. You could be held guilty of possessing a fake note.
Your only option is returning the fake note at your nearest police station or bank.
RETURNING AT POLICE STATION If you go to a police station, the police will make a diary entry in your name and cross-question you about the note. Once they are convinced you are innocent and have been a victim, you would be free to go. However, your name would get registered in police records for future reference. RETURNING AT BANK When you take the note to a bank, it gets impounded.
Of course, you lose the sum. The bank stamps the note with: “counter- feit banknote impound- ed“. You get an acknowledgement receipt for it. Once the bank impounds the fake note, it files a first information report (FIR). The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Master Circular 2010 says: “(An) FIR is required to be filed in respect of each case of detection of counterfeit note irrespective of the number of pieces and bona fides of the tenderer.“ The bank sends a copy of the FIR to the forged banknote vigilance cell at its head office. In future, the bank may even keep a watchful eye on you to ensure you don't deposit any other fake note. All cash handling staffers at the bank branches, cur- rency chests, and treasuries along with sub-treasuries are trained to detect counterfeit notes, as per RBI orders.
WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO Don't ever try to palm off a fake note to an unsuspecting victim.
If you are caught doing so, you could end up in prison.
IS THERE A WAY OUT?
There's practically no way out. So try your best to avoid getting caught in such a situation. All currency notes have security fea- tures as specified by RBI. Remember to check these, especially when transacting in currency notes with higher denomination.

Visit www.rbi.org.in to know the security features. You will also find these displayed at all bank branches.