Passline Business Magazine June 2014 by Passline Business Magazine

Contents

Large chunks of revenue remain untapped 6

Realistic liquor policy need of the hour 10

Page

Opportunity and duty to take the country forward

Will Modi be the savoiur

FBL, SIB fare reasonably well

Joseph Chavara

An engg college without money

Tourism gains momentum

New dawn likely in stock market

Diverting water

Datsun Go-the resurrection

Inkel Tower-1

Federal Bank supports E-literacy

Symbols for anniversary gifts

Audi is his car 28

FISAT

emerging

3 From the Editor

‘Ache din aane wala hai!’

bove are the words of Narendra Modi , our new Prime Minister, after a few days of swearing in . He portrays himself as a savior of forthcoming days. Has it any stuff in his prediction ? Or the state of the economy would reveal itself after the euphoria over the beginnings settles down ?

Editor & Publisher

Varghese Paul Kozhikode Vineeth Mukundan 8714986177 Chennai Augustine Joseph Ph: 09381000534 Bangalore Gireesh Gopal 54, 2nd Main, Vyalikaval Bangalore - 560003 +91 7204560000 Manager-Marketing Sajan K 09895344485 Keethara Publications Pvt Ltd 38/125 1st Floor, Narakathara Road, Kochi-682 035, Kerala, India. Editorial : +91 484 4038346 Marketing : +91 484 4039346

Any way, his beginning is admirable, with the lean cabinet and laudable slogan – minimum government and maximum governance. And also the gesture like inviting SAARC leaders for swearing in ceremony . Like any other brand new head either of a nation or a institution, he too comes out with a 10-point charter stating focus on growth, education, energy, infrastructure, controlling inflation and transparency etc. He reiterated to his ministers the dictum of the government as good governance, effective delivery of social and public services , speedy implementation of schemes and programmes. What else a citizen wants from his ruler? These are the pillars for the growth of an economy particularly a country like India. There is no hesitation to say that Modi has dramatically improved the governance at the Centre even within a short time at office. He takes personal ownership of all decisions taken by his government , which is a quality of a good statesman. His ministers and bureaucrats are working long hours, six days a week. Transparency has risen; no signs that bribes are being taken to swiftly clear large projects. Renowned economist Arvind Subramaniam said Modi could be the Deng Xiaoping of India. He attributed his analogy based on three or four reasons. Firstly, Modi represents a decisive break from dynasty rule like Deng Xiaoping who broke madness of Mao Zedong ideology. Other two things are Modi’s decisiveness, pragmatic approach and the obsession to get things done like the Chinese reformist leader. Subramaniam also hopes that the new government will resist the temptation to do cheap things for short term gains and drive the bureaucracy efficiently for the delivery of long – term work. Whatever be his political rivals or opponents are harping against him, he thought outside the box and dared general public of India to give a clear mandate to change their lives for the better. It is now his turn to deliver. Though started admirably, he beat a long shot to shatter the expectations of many who have constantly down played his sincerity and under estimated him. So far so good, but coming days are crucial for him because expectations of the people are at its zenith. Of course `Ache Din` (good days ) will come provided if Modi plans for the looming battles of the future. To do that , he has to give India new tool of political and economic persuasion.

Varghese Paul

Inbox

Apropos `on the road’

udos to PASSLINE for starting a series on vehicles, especially cars. In an age when we cannot see a house or residence without a porch or shed having no a vehicle it is relevant to publish a column featuring the A to Z of vehicles, prominently about cars, as they have become the mode of transport of an average family in Kerala. But one important thing that I would like to mention is that while highlighting its features, amenities and accessories it would be ideal to let the readers know the availability of spare parts of the vehicle in the market.

Inspiring success

P N Paraman, Mumbai

he cover story on Andrew Nettikadan (April issue) is exemplary and inspiring for those aspiring to start an enterprise and lead an enterprising life. He may be the only person in the country who built a publishing empire by his own effort and hard work till its golden jubilee year by distributing school textbooks and syllabi that too to thousands of schools. He is a multifaceted personality who indulged not only in a world of words but also in the field of arts and culture and charity. The yeoman service he is rendering through Kalabhavan is a solid proof of his achievements in this field. Moreover his trust activities are aimed at the uplift of the marginalized and downtrodden in society. Let God give him the health, strength and longevity to continue his relentless task towards the betterment of society, especially for students, even with his children at the helm of affairs. C V Bastian, Ayyanthole, Thrissur

News Busters

Munde a la Mahajan

od has abruptly taken away what Gopinath Munde preserved for the rural people of India through a car accident on June 3, 2014. Pramod Mahajan, another BJP stalwart and brother-in-law of Munde, had also been recalled by God a few years ago. Both lost their lives in the prime of their career. Munde’s wife is Mahajan’s sister Pradnya. Unfortunately, Mahajan was the victim of the bullets of his own brother’s pistol. Munde was born in Parali, Maharashtra, on December 12, 1949, to Pandurang Munde and Limbabai Munde in a middle-class farmer family of the Vanjari caste. His siblings included elder sister Saraswati Karad and elder brother Pandit Anna, who is actively involved in social and political work. The third child in the family, Gopinath has two younger brothers, Manikrao and Venkatrao. Munde is survived by three daughters and wife. One of his daughters, Pankaja Munde, is an MLA in Maharashtra.

812-km run, 812 donors

oby Chemmanur is unique. He lives without a religion, caste or politics. His caste is human, religion is love and aim is to conquer the world with love. He is love personified. He loves all and is loved by all. That is why he ran from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram, 812 km, by encouraging like-minded people and offering help to the deserving and downtrodden. He has helped 1,000 families during a stretch of 600 km donating ambulances and wheel chairs and providing medical assistance to students and colleges. He is also giving Maradona gold coins to 812 blood donors selected by lot.

Gopinath Munde PA S S L I N E

May 31 - June 30, 2014

His marathon culminated at Thiruvananthapuram. Various dignitaries and celebrities from politics, cinema and industry, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, felicitated him

Boby Chemmanur for his philanthropic mission and service to society. His marathon was `liked’ by 20 lakh fans on Facebook.

5 ECONOMY

Opportunity and duty to take the country forward

Dr V K Vijayakumar

istory suggests that economic development is like a game of snakes and ladders. There is no straight path to the top, and there are fewer ladders than snakes, which means it is easier to fall than to climb. A nation can climb the ladders for a decade, two decades, three decades, only to hit a snake and fall back to the bottom, where it must start over again, and maybe again and again, while rivals pass it by. There is a huge pool of competitors, and only a few nations defy the long odds against success. These are the rare breakout nations.—Ruchir Sharma India has now a new government. There are lots of expectations from the new government on the economic reforms front. For the Indian economy, this was a make-or-break election because the future of the Indian economy and thereby the nation depends on the new government’s ability to implement some bold economic reforms. Implementation of such reforms, some of them potentially unpopular, will require a lot of political will and courage, which, in turn, demanded a comfortable majority for the ruling dispensation. In other words, India’s ability to sustain a high growth rate for a long period and become what Ruchir Sharma calls a ‘breakout nation’ depended on the outcome of the election. Fortunately for the country this has been achieved in ample measure. A nation becomes a developed country with high per capita income only through sustained economic growth over a long period of time. No country in the world has become a developed country without sustained high economic growth. The oil-rich countries of the Middle East are the only exceptions to this

rule. Whatever the limitations and deficiencies of economic growth, the employment opportunities and the tax revenue that growth generates, leads to substantial economic and social benefits. This is the reason why all countries, particularly developing ones, give great importance to economic growth.

friendly economic policies played a crucial role in the economic development of these Asian Tigers. Communist North Korea is behind capitalist South Korea by a wide margin. The fact is that the ordinary workers of South Korea have a living standard that comrades in communist North Korea cannot even dream of.

In the 1960s and 70s when Latin America started climbing, Asia and Africa were plagued by grave economic problems. In the 1980s and 90s when Asia started climbing, Latin America was temporarily swallowed by the snake. The famine of the 1970s and the serious structural problems of Africa made many economists and statesmen conclude that Africa is a ‘hopeless continent.’ But now, economists are referring to “Africa Rising.” In the 1960s, the Philippines and Burma (now Myanmar), projected as potential economic powerhouses, were crippled by terrible politics. Sri Lanka couldn’t exploit her true potential thanks to the dreadful ethnic conflict that plagued the nation for long. There were major issues in the developed world also. The once-powerful Soviet Union collapsed. Japan which grew at a scorching pace in the seventies and eighties suddenly screeched to a halt and stagnated for the next two decades. To cut a long story short, to sustain a high growth rate for a long period of time is a very difficult task indeed!

In China, Mao’s reign witnessed major social and cultural development; but the economy didn’t take off. Incredible economic takeoff happened in China thanks to the marketfriendly economic policies initiated under the leadership of Deng Xiao Peng who assumed power in 1978. Deng’s liberalization enabled China to achieve the world record of sustaining a near-10% average growth rate for 25 years.

A study of the post-Second World War economic growth will lead us to some interesting conclusions: Only one-third of the developing countries could sustain 5% average economic growth for a decade; only one-fourth could sustain 5% average growth rate for two decades; only one-tenth could do so for three decades; and only two developing countries could achieve an average growth rate of 5% for five decades—South Korea and Taiwan. Overcoming the attacks from small snakes, these two economic powerhouses rapidly climbed the ladder of economic growth. Result? They succeeded in solving their basic economic problems and achieved high per capita income and good quality of life for their people. It is important to note that market-

Now, let us come to the history of India’s growth rate. India achieved 3.5% average growth the three decades—1950s, 60s and 70s—following Independence. Even though this was much better than the stagnation of the British period, that was poor performance compared to the high growth rate achieved by the Asian Tigers which were as backward as India was in the early fifties. The culprit in India’s relative poor performance was her economic policy. The ‘LicencePermit-Quota Raj’ which replaced the British Raj stifled private initiative and enterprise available in abundance in this country. The Indian economy moved to a high growth trajectory during the 1980s: we moved up from 3.5% to 5.6%. Rajiv Gandhi’s liberalization initiatives played an important role in this growth surge. But since this high growth was financed by debt-creating capital flows, it led to a balance of payments crisis in 1991. This crisis of 1991 proved to be the turning point in India’s economic history. The Narasimha Rao government under the competent economic stewardship of the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh initiated far-reaching economic reforms which demolished the licence raj and released the animal spirits of Indian entrepreneurs. The new policy of liberalization, privatization and globalization catapulted the Indian growth rate from the so-called ‘Hindu Growth Rate’ of

the early decades to tiger economy levels. The 1990s saw India’s growth rate climb to 6.2%. After a brief slowdown following the global recession caused by the dotcom bubble burst, the Indian economy accelerated to an incredible growth rate of 8.3%, largely powered by the global boom of 2003-08. India was one of the few Emerging Market economies least affected by the global recession of 2008. The Indian economy really shone (remember the BJP’s India shining campaign) during UPA 1. But when the political skeletons came out of the cupboard during UPA 2, all hell broke loose. The serial scams led to policy paralysis which substantially impacted the economy. Also, the many populist programmes of the government like the MGNREGA made inflation a structural problem thereby preventing the RBI from giving a monetary stimulus to the economy by cutting interest rates. Growth slumped to 4.5% in 201213 and is likely to be around 4.8% in 2013-14. The biggest challenge before the new government would be to revive the growth rate. The government will have to take the initiative to kick-start the investment cycle by instilling the much-needed business confidence and implement a host of other reforms including rationalization of fuel pricing, reining in the fiscal deficit, introduction of the much-delayed GST etc. These reforms call for strong political will. Strong leadership alone will not suffice. Only a government with a clear majority can implement serious reforms which can be unpopular. It is here that the Modi government scores. Good economics, unfortunately, is often bad politics in the short run. But it will turn out to be a ladder for the economy to climb up. This can be good politics in the long run. The voters have given the new Prime Minister a phenomenal mandate to lead the country and save it from the economic morass into which it has fallen. It is Mody’s opportunity, privilege and duty now to lead the country to economic progress and well-being. (The author is Investment Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas)

May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

6 EXCHEQUER

Large chunks of revenue remain untapped impact of governments. The inclusive growth objective projected in the budgets became the empty rhetoric of politicians.

Dr Mary George

ndia has been known for its profiItion ciency in public finance administrafrom the period of Chanakya.

The present fiscal authorities of the state who know the state craft of tax collection thoroughly well, however, follow a lackadaisical attitude towards revenue mobilization. A thorough overhaul of the fiscal situation of the state has become an urgent need. Tax and non-tax revenue potential of the state has to be re-examined and reaffirmed and more resources have to be found for development initiatives. The post-economic reform period has been the beginning of a phase of fiscal reform for the national and sub-national governments. In spite of a series of effective measures of fiscal reform, fiscal crisis has been the buzz word of globalization. Fiscal crisis has reduced the development effectiveness of governments all over, including India. Withdrawal of governments from social sectors by reducing public expenditure reduced the development and poverty PA S S L I N E

Amit Bhaduri (2009) provides the image of two Indias which fit in this situation. His first India is one that shines with its rich neighbourhoods, corporate houses of breathtaking sizes, glittering shopping malls and high-tech flyovers over which flow a procession of new-model cars. The other India is the India of helpless peasants committing suicides, dalits regularly lynched in not-so-distant villages, tribals dispossessed of forest land and livelihood, and children begging in the streets of shining cities. The widening in equality portrayed by Amit Bhaduri is equally suitable also for Kerala. Fiscal intervention of the state has failed to reduce inequality. Though fiscal policy is concerned with the government’s revenue, expenditure and debt operations, it has failed to strike a balance between revenues and expenditures. Expenditures on salaries, pensions and interests grow unchecked while revenue growth is limping forward. This has created mounting pressure on government finances which adversely affects even the essential development expenditures. When populist and wasteful expenditures

May 31 - June 30, 2014

grow unbridled, productive and development expenditures are cut drastically. Further, when the per capita plan expenditure of 17 major states in India is examined Kerala comes only as 12th and its per capita plan expenditure is lower than the national average. The long-term negative development impact of such short-sighted policies cannot be ignored. In this context, it is rational to examine why fiscal crisis is left to grow unchecked.

states’ own tax revenue plus the share of net proceeds of tax from the Centre.

Official statistics show that revenue mobilization has fallen short of potential and target (budget-target) for the past few years. Revenue mobilization has a few lofty objectives in the democratic setup of Kerala. They are:

Currently major source of revenue is own tax revenue which contributes 65% to 70% of the revenue receipts of the state. It is in this context that the reason why the government gives scant attention to revenue mobilization needs careful analysis.

•

Maintaining the social sector achievements already made

•

Attaining sustainable, rapid economic growth and

•

Reaching fiscal balance as mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act)-2003. The mostsuited method of fiscal consolidation is through raising more revenue through tax and non-tax sources.

Our tax potential, as estimated on the basis of consumption expenditure, is much higher than what is targeted through the budget. While Kerala holds 2.75% of the population of India, it accounts for more than 10% of the national consumption of the country which indicates the still higher tax potential of the state. Similarly, Kerala has vast potential to raise non-tax revenue. The state with its network of social development institutions holds the first position in human development index (HDI) among Indian states. High HDI means high investment in health and

Sources of revenue: (a)

Tax revenue which includes

(b) Non-tax revenue (revenue from general, social and economic services) and (c) Central transfers which include grant-in–aid from the Union Government (non-plan grants, plan grants , special plan grants and grants for Centrally sponsored plan schemes).

7 education. But the non-tax revenue treasury bans could be avoided. gil Committee has reported that there magnitude of tax revenue raised but collected from these services is very are1,700 illegal quarries working in not realised. ‘Tax evasion’, ‘tax avoidance’, ‘getting low. For example, take the case of Kerala. According to the Mining and stay orders’ etc are the normal tricks medical education. The Justice MoGeology Department, only 160 quar- Table 1 : Tax revenues raised but not that industrialists and traders use to realized (principal taxes) hammad Committee has estimated ries are registered functionaries while escape tax payment. In this corrup(Atprovidthe end all ofthe 2012-13) the financial requirement of others are active in illegal min- This table unravels the secret behind tion nexus, politicians, tax officials ing medical education to one student as Rs 3 lakh per semester. Amount under dispute (crore) Amount not under dispute (Crore) Accordingly selffinancing medical col- Sl. No. item of Tax Over 1 Over 5 Over Total Over 1 Over 5 Over 10 Total Grand leges charge Rs 3 lakh year but years 10 year but years years Total per semester whereas less but less years less than but less government and than 5 than 10 5 years than 10 aided-sector mediyears years years cal colleges charge 1 Taxes on 15.95 1.43 0.37 17.75 40.57 5.12 3.39 49.08 66.83 only Rs 20,000 which means each medical Agricultural student here enjoys an income implicit subsidy of Rs 2 Land 101.95 11.33 _ 113.28 8.94 _ _ 8.94 122.22 2,80,000 per semester. revenue It is true that these 3 Stamps and 1.41 1.58 0.20 3.19 38.7 67.72 71.86 178.28 181.47 candidates are admitregistration ted on merit and they fees deserve differential treatment. But, can’t 4 Sales Tax 5475.1 1481.50 769.1 7725.70 7150.5 3665.00 4461.00 15276.50 23002.20 the affordable stu5 Central Sales 49.53 74.78 20.42 144.73 36.63 25.94 26.46 89.03 233.76 dents be charged a Tax few multiples of the 6 Sales tax on 1093.51 189.95 13.05 1296.51 _ _ _ 0.00 1296.51 present rate while motor spirit leaving the SC/ST and and low-income candilubricants dates untouched? A similar trend of policy 7 Taxes and _ _ _ 0.00 2638.00 1601.00 1320.00 5559.00 5559.00 is pursued in the case duties on of ayurveda, engineerelectricity ing, MBA etc courses 8 Surcharge on 0.43 0.60 _ 1.03 _ _ 0.10 0.10 1.13 run by the governSales Tax ment and quazi9 State Excise _ _ 22.40 22.40 _ _ 215.31 215.31 237.70 government sectors. Even the Supreme 10 Taxes on 1.08 0.18 _ 1.26 784.27 33.84 _ 818.11 819.37 Court has intervened vehicles and warned against 11 Other taxes 173.9 _ 0.34 174.24 830.04 2.49 _ 832.53 1006.77 the poor quality of Total 6912.86 1761.35 825.88 9500.8 11527.65 5401.11 6098.12 23026.88 32526.96 services and learning imparted by such (At the end of 2012-13) Source: Finance Accounts, GoK. institutions. Cases of poor non- tax revenue mobilization ing which shows the magnitude of the slow growth of tax revenue. The and taxpayers all have their own are many and varied as it spreads apathy shown by the governmental amount under dispute comes to Rs built-in spaces. In order to break this to around 100 different services machinery. When the Central govern- 9,500.8 crore. The amount not under nexus and to augment revenue mobiSource: Accounts, rendered by the government. Say, finance ment revises royalty Gok. on major minerdispute, but not realized, comes to Rs lization, coordination between road, for example, the services (diagnostic als (which is the prerogative of the 23,026.88 crore. Thus revenue raised rail, air and port ways is needed along Thishealth table unravels thesecond secretyear, behind slow growth of tax inrevenue. dispute comes to and others) provided by public Centre) every the state but not realized 2012-13 isAmount adding under with e-governance. Further, declinlaboratory and government hospigovernment revised the royalty on up to Rs 32,526.96 crore. Lack of 9500.8 crore. Amount not under dispute, but not realised comes up to 23026.88 crore. Thus, revenue ing share of Central shares has to be tals. Charges on diagnostic services minor minerals (which is the preroga- political will and murky tax adminisscientifically resolved. There everraised but not in way 2012-13 adding tration up to are 32526.96 Lack of political will and murkyaretax range between 10% and 37% of that tiverealised of the state) back in is 1997. the major crore. factors contribgrowing new areas of revenue which charged by the private service provid- Thisare shows sheer negligence administration thethemajor factors contributing this situation. By introducing tax unuting toto this situation. By introducing could beE-governance, identified and brought ers. When the developed countries on the part of the government and e-governance, the tax administration administration can be revamped and made corruption free. When tax is collected lineby‘disputes’ andtax der the on tax net broadening the and most of the emerging countries Geology Department even to collect can be revamped and made corbase. Tax arrears may be collected orders’what willis decline what happened ruption-free. in the easeWhen of income tax. follow the fiscal policy of ‘stay collecting due to theas exchequer. tax is collected through appropriate measures minireasonably high rates and provide online, ‘disputes’ and ‘stay orders’ mizing delay as suggested by CAG, There are many more areas of nonworld-class services in education decline justin as itthe happened the Look at the tax item number on electricity and duties table. inUnrecovered revenue up tois 2013. Since revenuecomes mobilization revenue all of 7which contribute taxwill and healthcare, Kerala, with low case of income tax. theand way other to reduce revenue and fiscal insignificant amounts to the comes under the dues of government rupees 5559very crore. Most of this amount public sector rates, provides very poor services. deficit and to augment development revenue receipts of the state. Lookare at item number 7 on on electricity institutions and private corporate. if these dues recovered time, electricity board could be Therefore, it is high time we upheld initiatives, urgent steps may be taken tax and duties in the table. UnreThus, a result of ineffective revthe motto “better servicesrescued for better from theaspresent vulnerable positioncovered and treasury ban could be avoided. to revamp the collection of tax and revenue comes to Rs 5,559 enue policies pursued and inefficient payment”. This will keep our public non-tax sources of revenue. Thus, crore. Most of this amount comes administration, revenue receipts fell health institutions clean and hygienic it is the lack of commitment and under the dues of the government short of budget expectations and and equipment in working condiaccountability towards the governed and other public sector institutions the fiscal situation became grim and tions. of the present government which acand private corporates. If these dues even treasury restrictions have been centuates the fiscal crisis in the state. Further, the royalty from minor are recovered in time, the Electricintroduced. minerals (rock, sand etc) is another ity Board could be rescued from (The author is member, Kerala Public source of non-tax revenue. The Gad- The following table illustrates the the present vulnerable position and Expenditure Committee) May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

8 Opinion

Will

Modi be the

saviour? Passline News Service

JP stalwart Narendra Modi has assumed office as the country’s 15th Prime Minister and he and his team of ministers have started addressing the immediate problems the country faces. The hope Modi had given right from his hectic election campaigns is being reflected in the Sensex which went up by 1,400 points on May 16. It then crossed the 25,000 mark. The rupee too touched Rs 59.25 to a dollar, achieving a 10-month high.

like bureaucracy, the judiciary and the political system, should also be reformed. In a recent newspaper article, C J George, Managing Director of Geojit PNB Paribas, mentions that if an investor doesn’t get a minimum 15% annual income from the stock market then it means there is no need to invest in stocks as an income of 10% can be received even from fixed deposits in banks. Today the Sensex would have touched the 53,000 point even if an income of 15% was calculated from January 2008 when the index had touched the 21,500 point.

The question that comes immediately to everybody’s mind is: Will Modi, known as a well-wisher of industries and development, become the saviour of As this observation has been the economy? This astested globally as a success, the sumes importance since C J George Indian stock market is eagerly his ‘Gujarat model’ of waiting for a big change to development has become a reach this height. With the matter of discussion in the country present increase in the market and and abroad amidst charges that the the developmental policies of the government that he led in Gujarat, new government in place it won’t be his home state, was working only a surprise if the Sensex and Nifty for the elite in society and avoidhit 60,000 and 20,000, respectively, in ing the downtrodden. Industrialists the next four years. and youngsters are now looking at India had witnessed good ecoModi’s assumption of power with nomic progress during the first UPA great expectations and they have government (2004-09). The annual already pinned their hopes on the economic growth at that time was new dispensation. They feel that not around 8.5% and many job opporonly the economy, but also the other tunities were created then. It was bepillars of our democratic polity, PA S S L I N E

May 31 - June 30, 2014

cause of this that the UPA was again elected to power in 2009. However the country witnessed one of the worst forms of governance during this time. The annual growth rate declined to 4.5% and many lost their jobs. The Sensex touched an all-time low in 2008 and remained constant for years afterwards. In 2007-08, the rate of the rupee was 40 to a dollar and our currency declined further to 75% in the next four years to reach Rs 70 against the dollar. These circumstances certainly had played their role for Narendra Modi to achieve a handsome win during the recent election. Modi had always been telling the people that if Abjo Joy the NDA came to power it would save the country from the economic crisis into which it had fallen. The question that comes to everybody’s mind is how he can carry out this assurance better than former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is known as one of the best economists of the country. Everyone knows that Singh was Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance in 1972, Secretary in the Finance Ministry in 1976, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India under the then Finance

Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, during 1982-1985, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (1985-1987) and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Economic Affairs during the tenure of V P Singh. He also served as an IMF member during 1983-84. As Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party leader and the indefatigable crusader against corruption, says the root cause of inflation is corruption and removing corruption can bring down the cost of doing business which translates to lower costs to the customer. He also says that government has no business to be in business. Experts from various sections of business and industry are also looking forward to a sturdy change in the economic structure. Abjo Joy, President of the Kerala Realtors Association, says: “The economic development of a country depends upon a government with a clear mandate, which has happened this time. If governments change every time, the country may lose its steadiness in financial systems. The real estate sector in Kerala has been totally ruined by unscrupulous elements. Mismanagement and lack of professionalism and regulation have spoiled the sector. The Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill 2013 has been okayed by the Union

9 9

Cabinet but is yet to be approved by Parliament. The bill also aims to provide a uniform regulatory environment in the sector which is laced with black money, corruption, red tape and land mafias. The Real Estate Regulatory Authority should be set up at the earliest to make lucidity in all dealings. The authority will act as a nodal agency to coordinate efforts towards development of the sector and render advice to the appropriate government to ensure the growth and promotion of a transparent, efficient and competitive sector”. “The banking sector is fully governed by the Reserve Bank of India and therefore the change of guard at the Centre may not affect the banking sector much. Raghuram Rajan is doing well as RBI Governor. Even then suggestions are arising from certain corners that instead of a bureaucrat a political nominee will be more appropriate for the coveted post. These are policy matters and the decision has to be taken by new government. The economy of our country will depend on the stability and permanence of the new government. As the monsoon will hit the country soon and prices of commodities will rise again, inflation will go up. In such a situation the government will be required to act more sternly and firmly to pull the economy back to

its normal position. The share market has to develop positive signs. All this will depend on the government at the Centre which has to focus on economic growth,” says Varghese K I, General Manager, Federal Bank. “Industrialists expect better policymaking decisions, good infrastructural Varghese K I projects, protection of investors’ needs and also relaxation of taxrelated problems. There should be consistency while making plans and resolutions. The NDA government should look into these,” says E P George, Chairman, Kerala Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “We hope for better decisionmaking policies and good infrastructural development projects from this government. I don’t think that the change in government will bring instability to the economy. Look at Kerala, where both LDF and UDF governments have ruled but no drastic changes have been noted in the prices of commodities, which have almost remained the same. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had served the nation well in the midst of several controversies. Modi

clear and he cannot blame his coaliis also a good administrator and he tion partners for any poor govermay employ some developmental nance. He knows this better than strategies for the betterment of anyone else. That is why he told the country. India is emerging as a the newly elected MPs that technological hub and many the days ahead are not for entrepreneurs are born every relaxation but for hard work. day. But most of them fly Though there were controverto other nations because of sies surrounding his regime lack of infrastructural and in Gujarat, he drove the state financial facilities here. This towards economic stabilwill be a great loss to our naity and created a model for tion and therefore we should others. And he had earned look forward to providing all the basic amenities to Sijo Kuruvilla the praise of world leaders for his governance. But his these innovative minds here. role as the Prime Minister of Therefore the new government should focus on this area,” says the largest democracy in the world remains to be tested and evaluated in Sijo Kuruvilla George, CEO, Startup the days to come. Village. “At present the private banking sector is functioning without many problems. Raghuram Rajan has remained very supportive with his firm and fair decisions. We are a Kerala-based association. State Finance Minister K M Mani has been very helpful to us. He has taken steps to reduce the licence fee. Modi is known as industryfriendly though there are complaints from many that he supports some big corporates,” says C J Joseph, President, All Kerala Private Bankers Association. The mandate the people of the country have given Modi is very May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

10 ISSUES

Let HC criticism lead to a realistic liquor policy I

ndian courts seldom give a chance for public criticism by taking unpopular stands on the moral beliefs of middle-classes. A single bench of the Kerala High Court has recently made history by openly criticizing the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) for treating its customers like cattle. Let us hope that the unseemly scenes of long queues on the city roads and bylanes before KSBC liquor shops will disappear sooner than later. They are a blot on the socalled God’s Own Country!

K Vijayachandran

As on now, only Gujarat, the birth state of Gandhiji, and its nearby Union Territories practise some sort of prohibition. In all other states KSBC-type state public sector enterprises are in charge of IMFL

PA S S L I N E

However, the moralists among our religious and political leaders seem to be extremely unhappy for the fear of losing their support base among moralists and puritans, who look at prohibition as the panacea for all sorts of crimes and societal ills. They look at enforcing sanctions against liquor production and consumption, or prohibition, as a fundamental or moral responsibility of the State. And successive governments, when they come out with new liquor policy statements, swear by total prohibition to be their ultimate goal. They promise to move towards such a dream policy slowly but steadily. In the past, several countries have experimented with total prohibition and there are any number of country reports on its failure. Quoted below are extracts from a detailed report by Mark Thornton of Cato Institute (January 1991) on US experience: “National prohibition of alcohol (1920-33)—the “noble experiment”—was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden

May 31 - June 30, 2014

created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. The results of that experiment clearly indicate that it was a miserable failure on all counts. The evidence affirms sound economic theory, which predicts that prohibition of mutually beneficial exchanges is doomed to failure.

states KSBC-type state public sector enterprises are in charge of IMFL trade, except in West Bengal where the excise department is directly in charge of regulating the production and trading of both IMFL and the so-called country spirits.

“...Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became “organized”; the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant. No measurable gains were made in productivity or reduced absenteeism. Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of prohibition.”

Unlike their foreign originals, Indiamade whisky, brandy, vodka and rum are manufactured from the very same stock of denatured spirit or arrack distilled from the molasses waste of the cane-sugar industry. Several traditional Indian drinks like toddy and coconut brandy of Kerala and cashew feny of Goa had faced tough competition in serving the hospitality industry from imported products and their clones during the colonial regime. Only very few of them have survived the cultural invasion by foreign technologies. Several decades of policy interventions could neither reverse these negative trends nor usher in a healthy and wholesome national policy for the alcohol industry which is a major constituent of the hospitality industry.

After national independence, governments of several Indian states had tried out total prohibition in line with the moral teachings by religious as well as political leaders. All these attempts were failures and there were not many takers among state governments for the fiscal incentives offered by the Central Government in the late seventies when Morarjee Desai, a prohibition fundamentalist, was Prime Minister. As on now, only Gujarat, the birth state of Gandhiji, and its nearby Union Territories practise some sort of prohibition. In all other

The state beverages corporations that were ushered in during the early eighties were expected to play a positive role in this regard. But they have failed for a variety of reasons. True, they have helped in augmenting the excise incomes of state governments in a mindless manner during the past three decades. KSBC was established in 1985 in line with the national policy and as recommended by a judicial commission of inquiry appointed by the state government in order to streamline the liquor trade in the state.

11 are part of the hospitality industry passing KSBC and outside of the tax According to the introductory note the support of the UDF and LDF which is growing rapidly. net. The stiff tariff rate inflates the on its website, KSBC was established governments. And the LDF governaverage price of the product by six as a public enterprise with the objecment’s initiative in this direction in Bars in star hotels charge their own times. This makes a temporary bar tives of: (1) providing genuine liquor 2001 was too little and too late. The fancy retail prices for beer and licence an attractive political busiat reasonable prices, through Govtoddy industry is virtually dead today IMFL which is three to four times ness. In recent years there had been ernment agencies, and (2) preventand the organized toddy plantations the name plate prices on the bottles a proliferation of poor-quality bars, ing the exploitation of consumers that have come up in the private indicated by KSBC. They are part having no long-term stake in the through increased taxation as well as sector are getting fine-tuned to neera of the hospitality industry and price hospitality industry and scheming to exploitation by middlemen. Conand allied products. make a kill by way of sumer protection was to serve quick profits. KSBC PERFORMANCE: TRENDS OVER 25 YEARS as ‘the guiding policy’ of this state-level public sector enterPrepared from data published in website Possibly the situation prise. The state Abkari Act was is no different even in suitably amended in 1984 in order Item Y1987-88 Y2012-13 Change Ratio other states, which are to enable KSBC to ‘procure spirit much more infested Physical Lakh cases and arrange blending, bottling, with the corrupt poli12.5 245.1 20 sealing and distribution of arrack, Purchase IMFL tics of the so-called Purchase Beer 5.5 103.1 19 and also for dealing with the sale liquor barons. The Sale IMFL 12.6 244.3 19 of IMFL.’ excise departments Sale Beer 5.2 101.6 20 in most Indian states, However, the state governincluding Kerala, ment has mostly neglected the have turned totally Fiscal Rs. Crores founding objectives of KSBC, dysfunctional. Coorand there is plenty of truth in Purchases 41.8 1,489.0 36 dination, regulation the criticism of the High Court Gross sales 81.4 8,818.2 108 and policymaking at that its major concern was only Gross margin 39.6 7,329.2 185 the national level as raising its own revenues. Trends Profits 4.8 300.9 63 well as participation on the physical and fiscal perfor4.0 80.9 20 of local governments mance of KSBC over the 25-year Vending fees charged by KSBC 4.0 220.0 55 in the administration period ending with the fiscal year Net profit taxable of the excise depart40.7 7,241.0 178 2012-13 are summarized as a box Duties + Taxes paid to GOK ment are essential if item. Taxes and duties appropriDividend paid to GOK 8.2 we want to establish ated by the state government even a semblance through KSBC have increased Ratio analysis of rule of law in the by 178 times during this period. Duties + Taxes paid as percent of sales 50.0 82.1 manufacture, trading It was Rs 7,241 crore in 2012Duties + Taxes paid Rs/Re of purchase 1.0 4.9 and consumption of 13 and amounted to more than 102.9 98.8 liquor. one-fourth of the state’s total tax Duties + Taxes paid as % Gr Margin revenues in that year. The failure of KSBC fixation is an integral part of their The prohibition of arrack and the to catch up with its more important The volume of IMFL sale had overall business management. KSBC collapse of the toddy industry durfounding objectives needs to be seen increased by 19 times during this and the excise department have very ing the last two decades have helped in this broader context. Let us hope period and beer sales by 20 times. little control over them. the 20-fold increase in the sale that the present initiatives from the Compared to the population involume of IMFL by KSBC and the Freedom to fix their own retail High Court will ultimately lead to a crease during the quarter century state government has increased its prices is a major incentive for getting more wholesome and more comprethis is a phenomenal rise and could mark-up by way of duties and taxes and operating a bar licence. And hensive abkari policy that is in tune be accounted for only by culture five-fold, from Re 1 per rupee of there are reports that there is an with the new realities. shifts and policy changes. The trend liquor purchases in 1987-88 to Rs 5 unholy alliance between the liquor analysis during the period shows (Author can be contacted at: kvijaya40@ in 2012-13.That was how in financial barrens and bar licensees: products that IMFL sales started picking up gmail.com) terms KSBC sales registered a more are supplied at subsidized prices, bysharply soon after the closure of arthan 100-fold increase in 25 years. rack shops and ban of arrack sale in any form in 1995. This was seen as a KSBC’s sales outlets benevolent act of political leadership did not increase to by the anti-liquor lobby. And the fact catch up with the that IMFL which has replaced arrack five-fold increase in is nothing but flavoured and blended volume sales leading arrack, bottled, sealed and branded to a situation where by IMFL manufacturers is often clients were handled overlooked. like cattle, as observed by the High Court. The abkari policy of annual auctionThere are 338 retail ing of the ownership rights of toddy shops directly under shops had effectively forced a sort of technological obsolescence on the KSBC and 46 retail shops managed by local coconut toddy industry. Inherthe Consumerfed. ited from the colonial era, it continues to block the natural development Seventy percent of KSBC sales is through of a native industry. The recommendations of the Udayabhanu Commis- these 384 retail outlets distributed over the sion as well as the initiatives taken by length and breadth toddy workers for modernizing this of the state and the industry by launching special cocobalance 30% through nut farms for tapping and related technological innovations did not get private bars, clubs and KTDC outlets which May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

12 12IN PERSPECTIVE

Passline News Service

he year 2013-2014 was not encouraging for banks in the country because of the macroeconomic conditions prevailing. Kerala banks were not any exception. Kerala had four listed banks—State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in the public sector and Federal Bank (FB), South Indian Bank (SIB) and Dhanlaxmi Bank (DB) in the private sector. The nature of business is generally the same except that SBT has a good share of government and public sector business. All these banks have declared their financial results for the year ended March 31, 2014. An ordinary shareholder will be interested to know about the dividend pay-out. The shareholders of FB and SIB will be happy as they have proposed a dividend of 100% and 80%, respectively, which is 10% above last year’s in both cases. In fact these banks have not posted notable higher profits than last year. The net profit of FB, Rs 839 crore, is just 0.01% above last year’s and for SIB it is Rs 507.50 crore,1% above last year’s. SBT had paid in April 2014 an interim dividend of 25% pending finalization of accounts. But it could not declare anything as final dividend thanks to the net profit posted being Rs 304 crore which is down by 50.25 % from last year. It is worth noting that for the entire State Bank Group profitability has fallen 30% and for the other PSU banks the fall is around 39%.

The cost of deposits is the largest single item in the expenses side of any bank. In order to bring this down, banks endeavour to increase low-cost deposits, generally current accounts and savings accounts (CASA), and to decrease bulk deposits bearing high interests. In this area FB could do well as it could reach CASA at 30.8%. SBT and SIB could attain this a little above 20%. Thanks to inorganic growth some time ago, as on March 31, 2014 FB had the highest number of branches, 1,174. SBT had 1,117 and SIB 800. A serious investor will look deep into key parameters like capital, NPA, return on asset (ROA), book value etc. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) continues to be comfortable for all the three banks—SBT 11.52%,FB 14.73% and SIB 12.53 %—against the mandatory 9%, though for all the three banks there is a reduction from the previous year. As these banks have strong core capital, dependence on capital instruments (tier II bonds) is low and so cost of servicing the capital could be kept low.

The non-performing assets (NPAs) at national level are increasing alarmingly. In PSU banks it is around 4.7%. However with good recovery steps and monitoring, NPAs could be brought down by both FB and SIB. SIB has lower gross NPAs at 1.19%. For FB it is 2.46%. The net NPA is 0.78% and 0.78%, respectively. At SBT, NPAs increased substantially. Gross NPA went up to 4.35% from SBT leads with the highest total business of Rs 1,60,119 crore though 2.56% and net NPA to 2.78% from 1.46%, resulting in huge provisions the growth during the year was only from profit. This is one of the major 5.27%. FB’s growth was only 1.5%. reasons for the net profit dipping Business growth in SIB was betby 50% for SBT. Return on assets ter with10.05%. For FB advances (ROA) at 1% is reasonable. But declined because of reduction in SBT posted poor return on asset of corporate loans to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore. Generally credit pick-up 0.29% much lower than from last year’s 0.66%. The ROAs for FB and was sluggish throughout 2013-14 SIB are 1.20% and1%, respectively, except for some momentum in the lower than last year’s 1.31% and last quarter.

PA S S L I N E

May 31 - June 30, 2014

1.17%, respectively, as the net profit did not increase in proportion to increase in total assets. SBT had a book value of Rs 933.86. The book value for FB is Rs 78.33 and for SIB Rs 25.06. The face values of the shares are Rs 10,2 and 1, respectively. As SBT could create large reserves in the past the book value per share is very high. All the said banks have achieved reasonable margins between interest received and paid (NIM). The NIM for FB is 3.32%, SIB 3.02% and SBT 3%. It can be seen that the two private sector banks, FB and SIB, had done better than the public sector major SBT. Both FB and SIB could keep the cost-to-income ratio, a measure of efficiency, below 50%. They have strong institutional ownership and the shares to the public are well distributed. The managements in these banks have a professional approach with stable and consistent policies and at the same time are well prepared to adapt to any changes/innovations that will enhance customer delight. Top management teams are groomed to take up any challenges. The average age of staff around 35 makes them very vibrant as newgeneration banks. The motivational level of staff in these banks is very high. For these reasons when the banking industry in India was reeling under pressure because of unfavourable economic conditions both FB and SIB could weather the storm and bring reasonably good results. Tailpiece: DB declared the results on May 23, 2014. It has recorded a nuge loss of Rs 252 crore. It is skipping dividend for the consecutive third year .The total business has grown by 5.4% from last year to Rs 20,069 crore but is still below the position,(Rs.21,595 crore) of March 31,.2012.

Silverlining The banking sector in India is passing through its worse period. Most of the banks’, including State Bank Group, profitability has nosedived compared with the previous year. Thanks to the economic paralysis and the inertia of the previous Central government, which impacted the performance of corporate in India. The profitability of banks were shaken due to the burgeoning NPA of these corporate in the last fiscal. The State Bank Group’s profitably has fallen 30 % and other PSU banks, the fall is approximately 39%. The silver line in this turbulent time is the performance of Federal Bank Limited (FBL) , Kerala’s own bank and second largest private bank in the country, is posted a net profit of Rs 839 crore , though the increase in profitability is negligible compared to the previous year. The bank has good fundamentals. The shares of FBL are always moving upwards in recent rally, ever since the NDA regime began . The experts in stock market are optimistic that the FBL scrip will touch 200 mark in these days. According to them, FBL is Kerala’s only bank being owned by the public and managed by the professionals. The recovery of NPA from the grounded King Fisher Airlines (KFA) will substantiate their findings. KFA has a total debt of Rs 7,000 crore to the consortium of Indian banks which has been categorised as NPA. Out of this amount Rs 3,000 crore belongs to India’s largest public sector bank and they were not able to recover a single pie till the date, except the steps taken for the securitisation of certain asset of the beleaguered client. FBL has recovered their share of loan amount to the tune of Rs 60 crore from KFA whereas the public sector bank with larger representation , work force and resource has failed.

PERSONALITY

Joseph Chavara

he marketing and branding of a product has become easier and a trouble-free process these days because unlike earlier, there are various social media and online web portals available for the purpose today. Naturally, this has led to tough competition among advertising agencies. To thrive in such a situation, a professional ad maker or an ad firm is required to explore more innovative ideas with different modes to please the audience and enjoy the clients’ appreciation. In 1985, Joseph Chavara started Chavara Ad Media with his first advertisement on Parthas Textiles. A string of ad films followed, and today he is effectively and productively moving to direct his 400th film on Tierra Foods Tapioca Chips. Joseph, who was initially a journalist, was interested in film interviews many of which were published by film magazines. His interest in films took him in 1983 to the set of Oru Kochu Swapnam in Chennai. He however realized that it was hard to get into the field and therefore thought of doing something different. He then started Chavara Ad Media. “For us, creativity is never an end in itself and our most powerful creative ideas always come from insights based on a thorough understanding of the context within which the idea needs to operate. Our best creative ideas clearly match marketing intent with consumer needs. We do this through a process called ‘creative planning’ and it is the most efficient way of developing really powerful ideas,” says Joseph. Branding, he says, is done by making an emotional touch with the audience and telling a story that hits a soft corner and resonates long after the message ends. Every aspect of the process involves a holistic, dynamic, multi-touch, multi-media, multi-channel approach. “We create propositions which are subsequently developed into ads,

Joseph Chavara The doyen of creativity Passline News Service

then use focus groups to find the best ad among them. We love to create a work that is visually beautiful and controversial also, work that gets people talking. And we love to create work that engages at a deep emotional level, or simply makes you laugh”, says Joseph. In his artistic mind lies an inkling for politics too. About his political life he says that he had contested from Mattannur constituency of Kannur for the Socialist Janata (Democratic) Party against E P Jayarajan of the CPI (M) in 2011. His experience with active politics and writing slogans has helped him to script many of his memorable ad films later.

meaning more effectively. Celebrity endorsement is still the main part of an ad now, but then it is important to note that stars shouldn’t overshadow the products. “The concept of an ad film was entirely different earlier. At that time the main centre of entertainment was the cinema theatre and my ads were made to suit the interval of the film. But the advent of television has changed the ad scene. The most

disappointing thing haunting us is that unlike in films people behind an ad film are going unnoticed. As in mainstream films there are good musicians, script writers etc also in the ad films sector but I doubt whether they get due recognition or the approval they deserve,” adds Joseph. Joseph Chavara has bagged many awards such as those from RAPA, Fuca, Cochin Ad Club and Pepper.

He has already written scripts for 2,000 radio advertisements and there were times when he used to do 60 radio ads on a single day. He says: “My first successful work was with Nirapara rice, which I had done by depicting the traditional lifestyles of paddy farmers in Kuttanad and also of V-Guard cables by giving the technical specifics of the cable. The most challenging work I had done was for V-Guard pumps, where I had to travel throughout India to spot a perfect location. I have also got a chance to remake two advertisements, one for Bhavans Studios and another for V-Guard, for which A R Rahman had first composed the music. I have also worked extensively with music director Gopi Sundar. At present we have clients like Kandamkulathi, Tierra Foods, Nippon Toyota etc. Joseph recalls some of his old ads like those of Alapatt where an old lady transforms herself into a young lass when she adorns jewellery and another one in which Priyanka Chopra plucks ornaments from the sky. Telling big stories and magical moments had played a big role in earlier days, but today the focus is on small and brilliant ideas which convey the May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

14 PROJECT

instant wheat products. The demand for wheat-based products in India will continue to increase substantially to 10 million tonnes by 2014.

Prof. Job K T

ndia is the third-largest wheat producer in the world with a production of 88.13 million tonnes in 2012. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major wheatproducing belt. Wheat-based products such as bread, noodles, pasta and biscuits figure prominently in the shopping list of many consumers in urban areas. Whole wheat atta is usually manufactured by grinding in stones. This atta is used in making chapatis, pooris, parathas and other roasted cereal-based products. The atta is found with fibre content varying from near-0% to 12%. Whole wheat atta obtained from grinding wheat grains is creamy brown in colour and quite coarse compared to other types of flour. Changing lifestyles, continuing trend in migration of population from rural to urban areas, additional income generated by the growth of information technology and other services sectors and convenient factors to cook the food have generally made Indian consumers more inclined towards readymade PA S S L I N E

May 31 - June 30, 2014

Roller flour mills (RFMs) serve the purpose of processing wheat to convert it into flour. The plant will have facility to produce maida, atta, sooji and bran. There are 812 RFMs in the country producing about 25 million tonnes of milled products worth Rs 1,200 crore. According to the Kerala Flour Mill Association, there are 43 RFMs in the state having a combined installed capacity to crush 5,000 tonnes of wheat per day producing approximately 3,000 tonnes of products worth Rs 9 crore. In Kerala, based on the consumption pattern, it is found that atta requirement per day is estimated at 1,200 tonnes. The atta produced in RFMs has its own disadvantages. The high bran content of whole wheat atta produced in chakkis makes it a fibre-rich food. This may help to regulate blood sugar as well as other health problems. Hence consumers favour chakki-fresh whole wheat atta compared to atta produced in RFMs. Chakki atta has a premium price in the market. A major portion of the requirement of atta will be reCalories and Nutrition Content of placed by chakki fresh whole wheat 100g Chakki Atta atta in the immediate future. The calories and nutrition content of Calories (kcal) 326.7 a typical chakki fresh whole wheat protein (g) 12.0 atta variety are shown in the table: fibre (g) 2.0 Carbohydrate (g) 65.0 Calories and Nutrition Content of (of which sugars) (g) 1.0 100g Chakki Atta fat (g) 1.7 The major brands of chakki atta (of which saturates) (g) 0.4

available in Kerala are Aashirvaad (ITC), Pillsbury (General Mills) and Annapurna (Hindustan Unilever Ltd). Middle-level players are regional brand holders. Elite (Elite Foods Pvt Ltd), Nirapara (KKR Group), Mezza (Mezza Foods) etc are the Kerala brands of chakki atta.

Sl. No. 1 2 3 4

Requirement Land 60 cents Buildings 8000 sq.ft Open yard 2000 sq.ft Machinery required are pre-cleaner, de-stoner Rs. 100.00 lakh machine, vibro separator,Particulars aspiration channel, scourer Sl. No. Cost machine, dampener, chakki, plant shifter, automatic (Rs in lakh) packing machine etc 1 Land Own Laboratory equipment for testing moisture content and Rs. 5.00 lakh 2ash content Buildings 120.00 3Raw materials Machinery & Equipment required are medium soft wheat and 50 tonnes of100.00 wheat per day materials. Equipment @ Rs.17,000 per5.00 tonne 4packingLaboratory potential 30 people 5Direct employment Miscellaneous fixed assets 25.00 power requirement 60 Hp

5 6 7 8

Description

6 preliminary and pre-operative expenses 30.00 7 of product Contingency@ 25.00 As an offshoot feature/benefit10% improvement, a recent introduction of atta with multi-grains st entered the has market and the players are Aashirvaad, Pillsbury and Manasa, a Chennai-based 195.00flour mill. 8 Working Capital- (1 Year) The brand leader in the market is Aashirvaad which is estimated to produce one lakh tonnes per month. Total 500.00 NSSO sample surveys have estimated that Indian families stock The wheat/wheat products at home and take 10/15 kg per month. A majority of consumers prefer packaged and branded atta particularly in urban and semi-urban areas. The plant capacity of 48 tonnes per day which the present market could easily absorb is proposed in the product opportunities. Branded and packed wheat atta has become a fast-moving consumer good (FMCG). Project details having a capacity to grind 48 tonnes of wheat per day producing 42 tonnes of chakki fresh whole wheat atta and byproducts like sooji (3 tonnes) and bran (3 tonnes) in the table.

Sl. No.

Particulars

1 2

Sales income from chakki atta, sooji and bran Cost of raw materials, salary, power, depreciation, sales commission interest on term loan, administrative expenses etc. Operating profit Break even point pay Back period internal Rate of Return

3 4 5 6 Sl. No.

Particulars

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Land Buildings Machinery & Equipment Laboratory Equipment Miscellaneous fixed assets preliminary and pre-operative expenses Contingency@ 10% Working Capital- (1st Year) Total

Amount ( Rs in lakh) 4200.00 4000.00 200.00 60% Less than 3 years 35% Cost (Rs in lakh) Own 120.00 100.00 5.00 25.00 30.00 25.00 195.00 500.00

The approximate investment required for setting up a 48 tonnes per day wheat processing unit will cost Rs 500 lakh (see table). It is expected that financial institutions will provide term loans to the extent of 63% of the fixed assets amounting to Rs 175 lakh. Apart from this, the unit is also eligible for a working capital loan of Rs 140 lakh (75% of working capital) in the first year. In order to encourage the promotion of foodbased industries in India, the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) has offered a subsidy to the extent of 25% of the fixed assets to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh. Hence a chakki atta unit is eligible for a maximum subsidy of Rs 50 lakh. KINFRA is the nodal agency to channelize the subsidy. The balance in the project cost of Rs 135 lakh will have to be mobilized by the promot-

The proposal to set up manufacturing facilities to crush 48 tonnes of wheat per day is found to be viable. The financial projections are found to be attractive to plan investment in Kerala. ers. The financial viability of setting up a 48-tonnesper-day wheat grinding unit is provided in the table: The consumption of wheat products is increasing in Kerala due to certain inherent advantages. Wheat products are very good food items for diabetic patients. The consumption of various wheat products like maida, atta and sooji is increasing year after year. These products are manufactured in RFMs in the country. The high bran content of whole wheat atta produced in chakkis makes it a fibre-rich food. This may help to regulate blood sugar as well as other diseases. Consumers using atta manufactured by RFMs are slowly moving to chakki fresh whole wheat atta. The proposal to set up manufacturing facilities to crush 48 tonnes of wheat per day is found to be viable. The financial projections are found to be attractive to plan investment in Kerala. (Professor Job K T is a retired member of senior faculty of the Centre for Management Development, Thiruvananthapuram. Presently he is the Director, Enterprise Development Services, Thiruvananthapuram, offering training, consultancy, asset valuation and quality management system services to small and medium enterprises. He can be contacted at jobkt012@gmail.com) May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

16 rare feat

Building Up

An Engg College Without Money PART I

Dr.G.P.C. Nayar

he incredible story of an ordinary educational entrepreneur who ventured to start an engineering college without a rupee in hand and without any support from any religious group or an organization or a group of people but with sheer grit and will power is told by him here. The person is none other than Dr.G.P.C.Nayar, who steered the destiny of self financing professional educational institutions in the State for a decade as its President. He is now the National President of the Associations of Unaided Professional Colleges in India. This is the tale of an enterprise established without any capital. Is it possible to set up a college without own money? Venturing to set up an institution that requires investment of crores of rupees is not only unbelievable but is too adventurous, so say many. Without any capital in hands an entrepreneur has promoted PA S S L I N E

an institution in Kerala, that is my story.

A little bit of history before I may elaborate the story.

as the news on the Central Govt. policy appeared in the media, some 72 people in Kerala applied for engineering colleges. I also decided to apply thinking that the Kerala Government may sometimes change the policy in view of the central policy. The application fee was just Rs 5,000. One copy of the application was sent to the Kerala government for NOC. My justification while applying for a college was Rs.5000/- as application fee is not a big amount and if there is any chance for a sanction; then I can think of raising funds. If I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t apply this time there may not be another chance was my thinking.

Both LDF and UDF Governments were reluctant to sanction colleges in the unaided sector till the year of 2000. At the same time the Central Government policy was lenient and allowed colleges to whomsoever applied and the AICTE was asked to formulate the guidelines. As soon

Ironically, the then pro-right minister P.J.Joseph of the Left ministry, without consulting the Cabinet, sent NOCs to AICTE for all the applications received by him. When the matter came to light it created turmoil as it was against the policy of the Govt. The then Chief Min-

It is also the story of the beginning of a high-profile engineering college, one among the best 75 engineering colleges in India called SCMS School of Engineering and Technology aka SCMS Engineering College. To establish an engineering college one needs a minimum of Rs.15 crores at the first phase. To complete it as a state-of-the-art college with all facilities at least Rs.75 crores have to be invested.

May 31 - June 30, 2014

ister E.K.Nayanar sent a fax message to AICTE for canceling all the NOCs. As it was a common cancellation, AICTE ignored it and started processing the applications. On hearing this, the Education Department summoned all the applicants to Thiruvananthapuram for a meeting, to assess the genuineness of the applicants. It was Alphonse Kannanthanam, then Secretary, Higher Education, who met the applicants. All the applicants submitted documents to prove availability of sufficient funds and documents of ownership of 25 acres of land as prescribed by AICTE. SCMS (my institution) was the only exception. It had neither the required capital nor the land. We apprised him of the truth. He sarcastically commented that all those who are here have tonnes of money and acres of land. Without both fund and land, you also want to start an engineering

college. Well, it is a great desire! But we reminded him about our expertise and efficiency to run such a college, our proven caliber to run a quality educational institution. He was not convinced with our claim because, it was not the criterion to get a college sanctioned and even AICTE may also think the same way. Three weeks later AICTE’s fivemember panel reached Kerala to have an on-the-spot appraisal of the applicants. The meeting was arranged at a Kovalam hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. In the intervening time we found a plot of 24.76 acres, negotiated with the owner, pledged the domestic gold for Rs.5 lakhs and gave it as advance for its purchase and signed an agreement with him. We reached Kovalam with this agreement document. I thought I can convince them our genuineness with the copy of the agreement.

The Committee did not appreciate the agreement papers. They insisted for the original title deed of the property to accord sanction for the college. However, they did not reject our application. There were SCMS Vice Chairman Prof.N.C.George and my son and SCMS director Dr.Pradeep Thevannoor with me on both the occasions. On the way back we were thinking of how to raise the required funds. SBI was our bank but, the bank did not give us much hope when we consulted with them. There was nobody else before us. We adopted a do-or-die act; prepared a Rs.15-crore Project Report and submitted a loan application with the Bank. ‘I shall process this and forward to higher-ups but find no possibility of getting the loan in such a short time,” local Branch Manager asserted. Yet, I was optimistic. As a matter of fact I never leave a thing half way. I will go to any extent to

get what I want. So I said, ‘okay you send it with your strong recommendation to higher ups and leave the rest of the matter to me’. This happened in late November 2000. On December 12, as a surprise, two letters landed on my table. One from AICTE and another from Kerala Government. Contents were the same, to present the original property deed of 25 acres bought for college trust at the Bangalore office of the AICTE before December 18. If not, SCMS will have no college in 2001, both the letters emphasized. It was impossible to raise the money, buy the property and reach Bangalore office within five days. All our people lost hope except my son Dr.Pradeep and me. Let’s try. We decided. These letters can be used to persuade the Bank, we thought. Thus we met the Assistant General Manager Mr.Nambiar, who was in charge of

the Ernakulam SBI Commercial Branch, with these letters. I told him that we are a preferred customer and have not defaulted even once any of the loans taken by us in the past. We coaxed him to forward the application with strong recommendation. He did it fairly well. Rest depends on luck. We told him to leave the rest to us. Though he endorsed it firmly he said, while handing over the file, that no bank in the world has sanctioned such a huge amount as loan instantly. It needs at least processing time. Not only that, what asset you have to give as collateral, to get such a large amount as loan. Properties of the trust or other equally valuable document have to be produced as security. This comes after the loan is sanctioned, I said. So it can be thought of then. That was my attitude. Anyway it is a lucky dip, I thought. Then and now SBI is the only professional bank in India, which looks at the in

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18 If you say that the decision may take more time, sorry I don’t want the loan’, I concluded.

dividual, rather than the documents for sanctioning loan. Not only the collateral but also the social status of the applicant is taken into consideration while sanctioning the loan, I had heard so. That is why I said it is like a lucky draw. I have nothing to lose, but much to gain. The prime need is Rs 3.5 crore for property deal and its expenses. The rest can come later. It was just one week since the SBI opened its local Head Office in Thiruvananthapuram. With the recommendation letter along with the application myself and our Registrar Prof.A.K.Kesava Pillai reached Thiruvananthapuram the next day. Met the Senior Manager (Advances). On seeing me he got up and enquired why I was there. He was my student Mr.Nixon. Like Nambiar he also said that the bank could not sanction a loan instantly. And reminded me not to waste our time. I was not ready to relent and requested him to arrange an appointment with the Operations General Manager to try our luck. He arranged a meeting with the GM at 10.30. Prof.Kesava Pillai and I met the GM who was one Mr.V.S.G.Chnadrasekhar, a Hyderabad native. We explained to him our requirement and the urgency of the matter by showing him letters from the Government and AICTE. We handed over the file containing the recommendation letter to him. After hearing us, he elaborated in detail on why he cannot sanction the loan, punctuating excuses of shortage of staff and absence of Chief GM etc. When his rigmarole continued I was forced to interrupt and countered it and said I came here not to hear how he cannot give the loan. PA S S L I N E

I came to hear how he can give the loan. And I unleashed a diatribe on the non-cooperation of banks by not sanctioning loans to small time entrepreneurs. I had a feeling that he will not give the loan. So I decided to criticise the way banks were functioning. Said about their eagerness in granting loans to big guns and harassing small pies like SME sectors which enhances employment opportunities in the country. Banks say they are risk prone. Then why banks are not helping engineering colleges and other professional education institutions? There is no history of closing of any engineering colleges. Majority of loan defaults are from large industries and it amounted to nearly 70,000 crores at that time. The banks euphemistically called these non receivable loans as Non Performing Assets (NPA). It is ironical, I told him. `Here is an institution that has not defaulted or delayed by a single day for repayment of any of the loans taken by it for the last 14 years from this bank. Such a customer with genuine track record wants merely a small loan of Rs 3.5 crore for the development of his enterprises, and you are flaunting all kinds of excuses for not giving the loan? Is this banking? Is this the professionalism that you are always chanting? The banking sector is supposed to be the key factor in a nation’s development, a real catalyst and you are going to send back a customer with good track record. Is this good banking practice? I said gasping. ‘Say `no’ only after thinking a second time to a genuine customer. Whatever it be I want the decision today itself. Tomorrow documentation of the property has to be done to ensure we reach Bangalore in time to meet the dead line.

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After hearing everything very patiently, he rued over the absence of key staff in the office. For that my reply was not pleasing to him. He was not the GM of Federal Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank but GM of the largest bank in India and sure he will have the power to sanction this amount. If no power is there h e should have the ability to persuade the higher up to get ratification for his decision. Otherwise you are certainly not eligible to adorn the position, I told him. In conclusion I said I am not leaving now, but will wait outside for his positive decision. We came out of his cabin and sat on the steps as there were no chairs in the bank for visitors. The Bank was only in the process of organizing the office. It started just a week ago. At around 6.30 PM, the GM came near me and clutched my hands to lift me and say that the loan has been sanctioned and the fax message for the same has been sent to the branch. While thanking him I requested him to instruct the Manager not to wait for documentation but release the money tomorrow itself. He agreed and did the needful. When I came out after thanking him I was in the gait of having captured the world. He complied with my request and sent another fax accordingly. While returning I alerted the property owner Mr.Jose Paul, a resident of Bangalore, to reach Angamaly next day itself. The registration is fixed for the same day. Also called up Dr.Pradeep Thevannoor to have the documents ready and to make arrangements for registration next day by 3 PM. Around midnight we reached Kochi. The next day I went to the bank and by 1 pm collected a Demand Draft for Rs 2.5 crores. Balance one crore was received in cash to meet the title deed processing, documentation charges and other miscellaneous expenses. Bank manager was really astonished. ‘How did we achieve this?’ was the question he put forward to me. ‘No magic, I could convince the GM and he sanctioned the loan’, I said. ‘He is a great banker in the great State Bank tradition’, I added.The reason for sanctioning of the loan was not the result of my garrulous talk or expression. Sri Chandrasekhar

was an outstanding professional and he understood the genuineness of the request and the man behind the project. No banker will dare to take the risk he has taken. Money was released without any security. If I was a failure he might have lost his job, forsaken his pension, gratuity; may be charged with graft which may even result in his incarceration. It was such a great risk he has taken. I lived up to his expectations. Took several more crores and paid back every pie in time. His solemn decision was the reason for SCMS to have an engineering college and all the growth the Group has achieved later. In today’s market value the assets of the Group is placed at Rs.1500 crores. We owe everything to him. I don’t know why did he take such a risk. Maybe, the one and half hour war of words might have enlightened him about the personality of the client. Maybe by nature he was very bold and capable of doing whatever he felt is right. Now he is living in Hyderabad after retirement. Nonetheless, I appreciate his honesty and courage and thank him and bow my head before him in humility. After preparing all the documents by midnight Pradeep reached sub registrar office by 11 AM the next day and arranged everything to register documents as and when the property owner arrived. I reached home late night; put the draft into one of the drawers of the partition showcase in the drawing room. After lunch, Registrar Prof.Kesava Pillai, Vice Chairman Prof.N.C.George and myself were to go to Angamaly Registrar’s Office. But the draft was not there. We searched every nook and corner of the shelf which had six such drawers but only three were used by me. One hour’s desperate search was in vain. Finally Kesava Pillai opened one of the cutlery drawers. The draft was there. We rushed to Angamaly with the draft and registered the documents as planned. Though incurred some extra expenses the registration was done by 4 pm. Other papers from Village and Panchayath to be submitted along with the document to the AICTE were secured from them by 7 PM. This property deal of the SCMS was of the highest value registration ever done in terms of stamp duty in the Angamaly Registrar’s Office and it was highlighted in the media. (Dr.Nayar is Chairman of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions. He is also President of the Federation of Associations of Managements of Unaided Professional Educational Institutions in India).

LEARNING

Summer vacation courses needed Passline News Service

ike previous years, this year also witnessed lot of advertisements in the dailies for summer vacation courses, promising to develop the aptitude of our children. Mainly summer vacations are meant for the children to relax and rejoice to get rid of the usual hullabaloo of school days. Vacation courses are a thriving business now a days, especially towns and cities. Each and every parent want their ward has to become a complete citizen, naturally they will easily fall for this. School life has always been heavy with assignments, examinations and usual syllabus and there is no time for a student to explore his creative ability as he is always busy in dealing with school works and tuition classes. Many institutions in Kerala are handling summer vacation courses which include personality development, yoga classes, music, various sports items, language development, computer courses and this is the best time to become skilled at all these. Parents believe that vacation classes can be utilised to learn some key courses. Some use these vacation courses just for a time pass and others join these classes with clear cut aim in their mind. These vacation classes may be very much useful in shaping the young minds, providing them new gen and talent which they can use for their future. Children today are more self-assured and confident about their future than ever before. So that they must get a proper guidance. “Education itself is becoming a business, so we can’t say that the aim of soaring vacation courses and vacation camps in the city is to make money. It’s not like the bygone days when we used to play cricket in fields with our friends during the summer vacations, the situation has changed a lot. Now, mainly in Kochi, nuclear families are large in number and in most of the family both the parent have job. For

working parents, there will not be any time to spend with children during holidays; therefore it will be better to send their children to any vacation classes of their interest,” says Jayaraman, President of CHILD (Centre for Health, Intelligence, Learning and Development), a non-governmental, no profit organization which is registered under the Travancore –Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act. Dr Girija, Director of CHILD, says that “ most of the children are coming here with their own interest. Many of them don’t know how to interact with people or how to deal with a problem. We here counsel such children and we have noticed a big difference in them, this is something which you didn’t get from schools. To improve the presentation skills and to remove their shyness, we are conducting ‘Learner’s Forum’ on every Tuesday, where one person will make a presentation on one of the books recently read or the topic of general interest and the group will have a detailed discussion. Also we organise short journeys to make children understand and love nature. We have already organised trips to Iringole, Siruvani, Idukki, Kodanad, Thattekkad for Batches of 30-40 children”. “The ‘Project Educare’ which was started in 2008, with an objective to provide personal and academic skill up gradation through various trainings, counselling and family inclusive interaction. 20 to 30 students of Government schools, studying in class ninth were selected based on their academic and social status with the help of PTA and school authorities. The selected girls were weak in academics, were shy and diffident. The programme has brought a studious change in these children, and they later had shown good academic results. The camp has given them a positive energy and also infused

in them a confidence to study, face examinations, and most essentially to head their future,” says Jayaraman. Shyama, a student who got a chance to attend Project Educare, says that “ it was really an amazing experience and has brought many changes in my life”. Now she had learnt to dream big and also shown good academic result. Vacation camps can give you what schools can’t. Before attending the camp she was too shy and also had a problem to speak confidently in public, the training, counselling, tour camps and courses in the camp has encouraged her a lot and today she has stopped gazing at the floor while walking. Rajeev, a parent whose daughter is attending courses at CHILD, says that “ towering vacation courses in the city is a sign of a big change, because there is a strict

competition and all companies are hiring and hunting people with young and creative minds. Vacation courses can deliver more to a student than what a school can. My daughter, who is going to ninth standard, says that she came to know about her talents in different activities like drawing, music, discussions etc., and also performed well in academic. Personality development is the main advantage with these camps, students will learn to communicate with the public, how to curb tough situations in life and also these camps are just a foundation step of their future building”. For a socially and economically robust nation, there is a need of such camps which can plant a seed of maturity and creativity in these small minds and that can alter our nation to a tangible one.

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20 INSTITUTION Highlights

FISATemerging

education destination in the south

. Won ten university ranks including five first ranks in an academic year. These include two first ranks and three second ranks in BTech, two first ranks and two third ranks in MTech and first rank in MCA. • Five-star rating by IIT-Bombay for Centre for Continuing Education. • Developed and contributed 25 projects to IIT-Bombay for bettering the performance of Aakash Tablets. • Accredited by TCS for placement and project activities. • Online courses and certification of IITs for FISATians by NPTEL • Bagged 272 job offers in different companies like TCS, Accenture, UST Global, Godrej, IBS, Syntel, Poornam, Wipro etc. • Tie-up with IIT-Bombay and IIT-Kharagpur for ‘Ekalavya’ Project, an initiative of MHRD, Government of India. • Resource Centre of IIT-Bombay for ‘Spoken Tutorial Project’, an initiative of NMEICT.

ederal Institute of Science And Technology, popularly known as FISAT, has emerged as one of the most-sought-after engineering colleges in South India. The brand name FISAT has had high acceptability in the professional educational sector and among corporates within a decade of its existence. After the completion of final allotments of engineering seats under Government quota in 2013-14, the cream of students with top ranks in entrance examinations opted for FISAT for admission. In management quota admissions too, many students with top marks have joined FISAT. The institute has attracted students from all over the state as well as from the other parts of the country and abroad. Quality education: In a competitive world, students are looking for quality educational institutions. FISAT has been envisaged and developed to become a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in professional education. From its first batch in 2006 onwards, FISAT has had a glittering academic performance by producing top-ranking students in M G University and outstanding results. This year, FISATians have achieved a landmark by bagging ten top ranks in university examinations. They have won two first ranks and three second ranks in BTech, two first ranks and two third ranks in MTech and the first rank in MCA. FISATians have also brought laurels by setting new records in placements. Many major multinational companies and commercial banks visited the campus for recruitments and 272 job PA S S L I N E

offers were received through these placement drives. The Placement and Training Centre grooms students through a series of skill enhancement programmes to be the best with the right knowledge, skills and winning attitude. FISAT library is contributing much to the quality of the education. The library has 235 print periodicals and 40 publications from IEEE, Springer, J-Gate etc. The fully automated library has more than 52,000 volumes of textbooks and reference books in over 12,000 titles. The library provides online databases which gives peer-reviewed articles and course pages for students and can also be reached by phone and e-mail. Research: Research and development activities are considered to be an essential component of higher education because of their role in creating new knowledge and insight and imparting excitement and dynamism to the educational processes, as well as making them need-based in view of the national requirements. The management aims to develop FISAT as a Centre for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Research in the near future. Research activities on the campus are taking wings in this direction. The ECE and CSE departments have already received funding from AICTE under the Research Promotion Scheme for strengthening their research activities. FISAT Science & Technology Park and Research Centre is an ambitious project launched for promoting research. FISAT is the only self-financing engineering college in Kerala having

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a supercomputing system developed in-house. The research team CHPC has partnered with Tata Elxsi to successfully complete a project under the Industry Institute Partnership programme. They have recently developed and contributed 25 projects for IITBombay for bettering the performance of Aakash Tablets.

• AICTE-funded research projects and research centres like CHPC, IRACC and CRISP. • Only engineering college in Kerala to have its own Super Computer developed in-house. • On-line examination centre for GATE, MAT, JEE, VIT, TCS, TOI, IBPS-CWE etc. • Regular international and national conferences, tech fests, seminars etc. • Consecutively won national awards for the Best CSI Student Chapter in 2009, 2010 and in 2011. • National- and State-level achievements in arts and sports. • Social outreach programmes to instil social commitment.

Constructed 10 homes for homeless families.

• AICTE Tuition Waiver Scheme benefits for economically backward meritorious students.

Realizing the grow• Freeships / Scholarships for meritorious stuing importance dents. of automation in process industries, IRACC is established under the Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engg for promoting research in process instrumentation. Signal processing techniques play a significant role in fostering engineering and technology and therefore CRISP is established for promoting research in signal processing with particular emphasis on digital signal processing. FISAT could become a proud fivestar partner of the ‘Ekalavya’ Project by IIT-Bombay, a programme funded by the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India. The Centre for Continuing Education (CCE) established in this connection has hosted ISTE workshops for teachers on research methodologies, Aakash

Paul Mundadan—organizer, orator Paul Mundadan is the Chairman, Governing Body of Federal Institute of Science And Technology. Mundadan has been a leader in the Bank Officers’ Trade Union movement for more than a decade. He is presently the General Secretary of Federal Bank Officers’ Association as well as the Secretary of Federal Bank Officers’ Association Educational Society. He is also the Senior Vice-President of All India Bank Officers Confederation which is having a membership of 2.5 lakh bank officers in SBI, nationalized banks and private sector banks. Also, he is the General Secretary of All India Private Sector Bank Officers’ Federation. He has officiated in various other posts in numerous organizations. These include his designations as All IndiaVice-President and acting President of AICUF, Asian Council Member of IMCS and National General Secretary of United Nations Youth Organization (UNYO- India). A good organizer and great orator, Mundadan is also an articulate writer and has published several articles innational journals. He has been a member of several learned bodies. He had won several prizes and awards in the past. Mundadan is a native of Angamaly and is settled at Ernakulam. He is married to Mary and blessed with two sons—Jithin and Joyal. and thermodynamics. The classes were ‘online’ and were handled by professors from IIT-Bombay and IIT-Madras. Forthcoming workshops scheduled on this project are one

on Research Methods in Educational Technology, another on Embedded System and the third on Object-oriented Programming. FISAT has been selected by IIT-Kharagpur also as their Remote Centre for implementing the project ‘Eklavya’. FISAT is an approved RESOURCE Centre of IIT-B for carrying out Spoken Tutorial project, an initiative of NMEICT.

ISTE Student Chapter and IEEE Student Chapter were selected for Best Student Chapter Awards in the past on the basis of their excellent performances. FISAT is now an online examination centre for GATE, MAT, CMAT, VIT, AIEEE, TCS, TOI etc.

National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is a joint initiative of the IITs and IISc. Through this initiative, FISAT offers online courses and certification in Programming, Data Structures & Algorithms. Online course is free for all, which is funded by MHRD (Ministry for Human Resource Department) and powered by NASCOM and Google. The learner is assumed to have no prior experience of programming, but is expected to be at the level of a second year undergraduate college student in engineering. The course will run over ten weeks with about 2-3 hours of lectures per week. At the end of each week, the learner is expected to write some programmes and submit them for grading. The curriculum of the present course is developed after consultations with NASCOM so that employability potential is very high for successful students.

Social outreach programmes: For every student, the commitment to the nation’s development is essential. The college has been carrying out outreach activities with students’ participation that enhances the quality of life. Society for Communication and Overall Personal Enhancement (SCOPE) aims to carry out community development programmes. ‘Kazhcha’ is a charity programme of SCOPE. Befitting its social commitment, the students have constructed ten homes for the homeless families around Angamaly as the first phase of the project ‘Homes for Homeless’ launched during the decennial celebrations. The keys were handed over to its owners by P K Jayalekshmi, Youth Affairs Minister of Kerala, at an august function held in the college.

Value-added programmes: The campus vibrates with top-class curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular activities like national and international conferences, technical fests, workshops and cultural and sports events. Students of the college have won laurels to their credit in many inter-college and inter-university competitions. Professional student bodies like ISTE, IEEE, ISA and CSI and technical forums like Thyra, Echo, Electra, Idea, Matrix, Forum, MCA Association and FFSC are very active in the college.

FISAT Out-

CSI Student Chapter,

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reach Centre for Uplifting Science in Society (FOCUSS) aims at envisioning science in society. The nature club SWAN aims at creating a new generation of youth, which can appreciate the importance of preserving nature and create eco-friendly and green solutions as engineers. A high-tech Green House farming project with Central and State subsidies is implemented on the campus to inculcate and propagate modern pollution- and chemical-free agriculture in society. A massive IT literacy programme to train 10,000

students. Further the management offers full fee concession to top rankers up to the entrance rank 2000. Over 150 students in FISAT are studying under various scholarships in the college. Managed by a trade union on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis, FISAT has an unwavering commitment to serve society with a focus on excellence. Federal Institute of Science And Technology was established in 2002 under the aegis of Federal Bank Officers’ Association Educational Society, an initiative of Federal Bank

Dr K S M Panicker Officers’ Association. Situated in youth and women in rural areas is Hormis Nagar, Mookkannoor near being implemented with the supAngamaly, the 40 acres of green port of MAS Club, Mookkannoor. lush campus is a class apart with A campaign to make Mookkannoor magnificent infrastructure and has an addiction-free panchayat is also in an ambience that kindles creativity the pipeline. and encourages innovation. A team FISAT is the first engineering colof eminently qualified faculty with lege to implement AICTE tuition rich experience and high exposure fee waiver scheme in the State for is the backbone of the college. The economically backward meritorious faculty has been the finest and picked PA S S L I N E

May 31 - June 30, 2014

from the best based on merit and experience. The Principal, Dr K S M Panicker, is heading the academic administration. The management team is truly visionary and inspirational.

Superb guidance and support by the team led by Paul Mundadan, Chairman, P Anitha, Vice-Chairperson, and other office-bearers help FISAT achieve its goals.

tourism

New schemes gain momentum in tourism Passline News Service

he government has envisioned certain plans to spearhead the realization of its various projects that have already been rolled out in a time-bound manner. These projects are crucial for providing a marked difference in the growth and development of Kerala in the coming years. As the government is nearing the completion of its third year in power, it has 676 days in its kitty to implement the projects and pro-

Oommen Chandy grammes. These days are meticulously devoted for the successful completion of the projects and programmes that are in the pipeline. “These remaining days are literally clubbed to be called “Mission 676”. Mission 676 is for the speedy implementation of major infrastructure and social schemes to make the state a better place to live in and tour in” said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. He has also reiterated to Passline, his intention to speed up infrastructure development and roll out new services in the tourism sector over the coming months as the ‘Mission 676’ picks up momentum.`` Most of these projects are in the various stages, while some are new ones which include a new law on ‘Right to Hearing’. Once this is

implemented, any person who gives a complaint to the government will have to be heard,” Chandy said. “The Rajasthan government has a similar law now,” he added. Among the major infrastructure projects that are already on are the Kochi Metro rail project, in which the first train would run on December 31, 2015. The Kochi Smart City project’s first phase would open on March 25, 2015. The Chief Minister averred that tourism as a key focus sector would get all support from the government to step up work on existing projects and revive others, including the seaplane service. According to Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar, the over-all response to the state’s tourism industry has been encouraging. The lean season offers lot of advantages to tourists who visit the state. The players in the sector are offering discounts on their hospitality services. The discountrate scheme, which is on from April until the end of September, is poised to provide a new phase of experience for visitors. For the domestic traveller, the charges will be lower by around 30%. The state government has a novel scheme - ‘Dream Deals’ for wooing visitors, especially from upcountry, during the off-season. ‘Dream Deals’ is a bid to leverage the potential during what is traditionally dubbed ‘off-season’. It unveils a special tourism package from April to September, gets you some exciting tour packages like Backwater Houseboat Cruises, Hill Station Holidays, Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Packages, Monsoon Tours, and many more from Kerala’s tour operators at never-before prices. `Dream Deals’, details of which can be accessed from the Kerala tourism website, have been published on a microsite (www.keralatourism.org/dreamdeals) for the user or wannabe visitor to create one’s preferred itinerary.

Anil Kumar said facilities including water taxis and hop-on and hop-off boats would be rolled out in the next couple of months. “The State Tourism Awards for 2011-12 were presented only four months ago. The process of identifying and honouring the winners for 2012-13 was completed in just four months, The awards themselves are a testimony to the fact that things are moving at a much faster pace than before, The award winners were chosen by a high-level committee chaired by the Tourism Secretary from a preliminary list prepared by a panel of experts constituted by the tourism department,” he said.

A P Anil Kumar

Award winners Kochi-based Lotus Destination Pvt Ltd was named the Best Inbound Tour Operator for 2012-13 and Riya Holidays Pvt Ltd, of Kochi, the Best Outbound Tour Operator. Vivanta by Taj-Malabar won the award for the Best 5-star Deluxe Hotel; Udaya Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel in Kovalam the Best 4-star Hotel; Marari Beach Resort in Alappuzha the Best 3-star Hotel and Coconut Lagoon in Kumarakom the Best Heritage Hotel. The award for the Best Ayurveda Centre went to the Somatheeram Ayurveda Beach Resort in Kovalam and that for the best Homestay to Thiruvananthapuram-based Graceful Homestay. Alappuzha Rainbow Cruises was named the Best Houseboat Operator. The Best Hotel Manager award went to P Subramanian of Alappuzha Marari Beach. Dr K C Krishnakumar, Chief Subeditor at Mathrubhumi (Yathra, Kozhikode), won the award for the Best Tourism Reporting and B Muralikrishnan, Mathrubhumi Chief News Photographer and Kochi-based Ajosh Parakkan for the Best Tourism Photography. The ‘Naalumanikkattu’ project initiated by the Kottayam M E B Residents Association and the Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences has been named the Most Innovative Project in the Tourism Sector. The Somatheeram Ayurveda Group also won the award for the Best Use of IT in the Tourism Sector. Wonderla, Kochi, has bagged the award for the Best tourism Destination.

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24 REVIEW

New dawn likely in stock market V Raghavan

he 10-year United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led government’s rule is over and a new government led by Narendra Modi has taken over the reins of power. The main advantages of the 16th parliamentary elections are that a single party, BJP, got majority in the Lok Sabha after three decades without any alliance of small parties. So it helps the new PM and new ministers to take decisions independently without any boycott or demand from various small parties/groups and their vested interests. This gives more power to the PM and the government. On the other side, in the Upper House, the Rajya

Sabha, BJP or NDA is not having the required majority to pass major bills on its own and needs support from UPA and other regional parties. This void restricts the government to take hard and unfavourable decisions to hurt the sentiments of any group in the PA S S L I N E

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House. Before going to the new government’s policies and programmes we may check the last government’s contributions and demerits. The Manmohan Sigh-led UPA government I and II did not have enough majority in Parliament. It was a cluster of small parties. Hence every single plan or bill needed the nod of the small parties, regional parties and individuals within the coalition. That was the state of the UPA government that ruled India for two terms, when the entire world economy was passing through its biggest crisis. Nevertheless, the government was almost able to meet the challenges and led the country without many hassles. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was successful in building global investor confidence leading to high FII inflow in this period and that helped our economy survive the turbulent time. Unfortunately scams like 2G spectrum, coal, Delhi Asiad, various defence deals etc spoiled the reputation and government confidence to take decisions independently. Decisions like increasing the diesel, petrol and gas prices, restriction in subsidies of cooking gas, reducing the number of LPG cylinders for families, reduction of subsidy on fertilizers, increase in railway freight charges etc led to staggering inflation and mounting cost of living. Aadhaar implementation created a negative impact on the public. Failure in decision-making

and delay in project execution and clearance caused our growth rate to scale down. Disinvestment exercises carried out from time to time to curtail the burgeoning budget deficit had not come to the anticipated level. It derailed the growth of public sector companies and also the growth of LIC, which is the major investor in government-owned companies. Hence NDA, through vigorous Modi campaigns, exploited the UPA government’s lethargy and corruption charges to give hope and aspirations to people of a bright future. The frustrated young India saw a strong leader in Modi. Through his three-term rule in Gujarat as Chief Minister, Modi had proved himself a good administrator and emerged as a strong contender for the Prime Minister’s post within the party. He showcased Gujarat as the most investment-friendly state of India. All major business houses in India took Modi into confidence and the state’s GDP moved to 12% while the nation’s GDP was dragging below 5%. After BJP announced Modi as PM candidate, about Rs 88,000 crore of FII inflow was guaranteed to India, during January to May the inflow standing at around Rs 44,000 crore. This shows what other countries and foreign investors are expecting from a strong leader and the Indian economy. But these types of great expectations are the challenges to the new government in a way. Everybody expects sudden changes and instant growth. We must ascertain at this point whether the economy is ready for growth considering the macroeconomic factors prevailing in the country as well as outside. The answer depends on many factors. Since India is considered an agrarian economy, we are totally dependent on the monsoon. According to meteorological predictions, this year it may keep a low profile with

25 an average rainfall of 90%-95%, a difficult proposition. Lower rainfall and higher fertilizer costs will break the neck of rural Indian farmers. If the agricultural output plummets, GDP will remain low and inflation will rise. The next challenge is oil import which makes a major dent in public coffers. High global oil prices will pave the way for petrol/diesel price increases. This will cause highly subsidized public transport systems like the railways, state transport buses etc to run at losses. Also the gas price increase has throttled small family budgets too. Freight increase due to the fluctuation in the oil price is the main reason for rise in food prices and inflation. High Interest rates are the next challenge, which affects the profitability of new projects. Nobody can run a business depending on banks and financial institutions which charge 18% to 36% interest. Offtake of housing, auto and agricultural loans has come down, curtailing economic growth. The prevailing fiscal deficit and current account deficit are other major challenges to the new government along with the ability to boost the GDP and control the inflation. These are rated as the parameters of the new government’s performance. Now the government spends large amounts of income on disbursement of salaries, pensions and various social projects and subsidies. This curbs the government’s capacity to fund for productive projects and plans. There is an urgent need to improve exports and cut imports. But despite the possession of natural products like iron, coal, aluminium, silver, copper, natural gas, crude oil etc with us, without our using them ourselves or exporting them, we still import these items which is a paradox. A right step in this direction can save a lot of imports. This will boost our power projects and control fuel price increases. A lot of infrastructure projects are either active or only partially completed thanks to delays in clearances from different government departments. If all this quagmire is cleared we can improve our growth. Measures like tax relaxations, new smart city projects, clearance of new big projects, interest rate reduction, fuel price and fertilizer subsidy etc raise minimum demand from the common man. Exit poll results pegged the index of NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex at new highs. As a result the stock market kept on moving up. Only small corrections are done these days. Till the budget days this bullish rally will continue. If the budget is favourable to business growth we can expect more

new high indices; otherwise there may be corrections in the market. Sectorwise, power, infra, construction, public sector banks, PSU and oil marketing companies and capital goods and the mining sector are good. IT, pharma and FMCG are still good to hold. Textiles and the auto sector depend on budget proposals. If the budget offers sops the prices will go up. There is chance of the rupee becoming strong at 55/$. In that case, the export sector will slump. Sector-wise expectations and good companies for investments Mining: India is blessed with a lot of natural minerals. Coal, iron ore, aluminium, zinc, copper etc are inevitable for development. The recent ban on mining, delay in allotment of fields and environmental clearance etc help to increase the production once the clearance and sanctions are granted. Also crude oil, natural gas etc drilled from our own land are not properly used to their full capacity due to higher production costs and lower selling prices. If these issues are tackled we can save a lot of import cost and free flow of our own products to our power plants and factories.

holding in PSU banks, merging of PSU banks into one entity etc will strengthen PSU banks to come out of heavy bad debts. SBI, PNB, Orient Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda etc. PSU companies: The large amount of subsidy for fertilizers helps PSU fertilizer companies to attain new growth. Clearance of the mining ban and environmental clearance will help PSU mining companies. The impending FDI in the defence sector will help indigenous defence equipment manufacturing companies. Fair price of oil, gas etc helps oil production and marketing companies. Coal India, NMDC, BHEL, BEML, ONGC, IOC, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, IGL etc Tailpiece: If we get abundant rain, coupled with reduction in global fuel prices, the government may get an opportunity to control inflation. This will result in RBI’s policy by reducing the interest rates which in turn will boost GDP/IIP growth. Stock markets will also find new heights. Recently RBI had forecast that within a year our GDP growth will hover

between 6% and 7%. To augment this, RBI has reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and the system is now flushed with Rs 39,000 crore. Stock market experts expect that this will provide a fillip to the market. In July, we can expect a budget rally in the stock market. During this time Nifty may move up to the 8,200 and Sensex to the 27,500 marks, respectively. Though there will be chances of a correction, the market will spiral up. Nifty may move to 9,200 and Sensex 31,000 by the year end. Investors need not wait; there is an opportunity for them to invest in mid and small caps. Due to fall in 2012-2013, most of the mid/ small caps are still at very low rates. Considering the future growth of the economy, FII Inflow, FDI implementation etc Indian stock markets are still undervalued and will perform well in the coming 10 years. So it is better to opt for small savings in equity-linked mutual funds or shares. Keep every fall as an opportunity to buy and hold good company shares for a long time to book maximum profit. (Raghavan is Regional Head-Kerala, Nirmal Bang)

NMDC, Coal India, SSLT, Hind Zinc, Reliance, ONGC etc. Power: India is a power-starving country. Last time the Vajpayee-led NDA government approved many new projects, most of which have now been completed, some in the completion stage and a few not working in full capacity due to lack of fuels like coal and gas. The Modi government is expected to give the necessary clearance to coal mining projects and gas supply issues. NTPC, NHPC, SJVN, Rel Power, Adani Power, Tata Power, JP Power, GVKPIL etc Infrastructure and construction: A lot of road, rail and airport projects are there in the pipeline. But funds shortage and delays in land acquisition etc have forced them to remain at a standstill. If the government extends some support and clears the obstacles, these sectors can accommodate thousands of our educated unemployed youth. If the Modi government is bold enough to privatize and open up the railway sector, it can attract huge FDI to the country. Softening of housing loans, especially in the affordable housing sector, will give a fillip to finance companies and developers. GMR Infra, IVRCL, Gayatri Projects, L&T, BEML etc PSU banks: More capital has to be infused to face the challenges in the sector. Dilution of government May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

26 WATER MANAGEMENT

ndia, China and Brazil all have plans to divert river water to drought-prone regions. The projects are controversial however. Not only are they extremely expensive, they could also have unpredictable environmental consequences, and they could give rise to human-rights infringements.

Government. Among the consequences of water transfer projects, moreover, are considerable environmental risks. If the volume of water that reaches the lower course of a river is severely depleted, flora and fauna change. Global warning adds to the uncertainty: if the sea-level rises while less water flows down into the estuaries, more salty seawater

cannot expect other regions to return large volumes of water to them any time soon. In June 2003, the government of Kerala issued a precautionary announcement that it would not agree to the transfer of water to neighbouring states.

water transfer scheme. In 2012, the Central Government announced the launch of a large-scale project that will create a 9,000-kilometre network of canals connecting more than 30 rivers. The cost can only be roughly estimated at present. Critics believe it will be considerably more than India’s gross national product in one year.

Diverting water

Diverting water from flood zones

India’s plans are also fraught with foreign-policy challenges. Some of the envisaged reservoirs extend into

Good idea, but complex process By Frank Kurschner-Pelkmann

to drought areas sounds like a good idea. Visions and actual plans for large-scale water transfer schemes exist in various parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. But implementing them normally proves extremely complex. India, China and Brazil are all working on water transfer projects. They have the capital and credit they need to fund the new infrastructure, and they have sufficient territory to implement large-scale schemes almost entirely within their borders. Nonetheless, problems loom so large that many of the projects have sparked heated public debate. Since the early 1970s, India has been discussing the creation of a network of canals to connect more than 30 major rivers. The idea is to allow surplus water from heavy rainfall to be used elsewhere to alleviate drought. But extreme weather events rarely occur simultaneously, so large reservoirs are needed to store the water until it is required. Supporters of the “river-linking” plans argue that the reservoirs and dams could also be used to generate urgently needed electric power. Critics point out, however, that reservoir construction would necessitate the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people. As experience has shown that they will be worse off as a result, there is strong local opposition to new dams, around 80 of which are planned by the Central PA S S L I N E

River- linking plans are political dynamite. The states in India that have plenty of water are not going to agree happily to pumping the precious liquid to other parts of the country. After all, they might need the water to stave off drought at home at some point, and certainly cannot expect other regions to return large volumes of water to them any time soon. In June 2003, the government of Kerala issued a precautionary announcement that it would not agree to the transfer of water to neighbouring states. India’s plans are also fraught with foreign-policy challenges. Some of the envisaged reservoirs extend into neighbouring countries Nepal and Bhutan. Whether those nations will agree to giving up valleys is doubtful. Bangladesh has already declared its opposition to getting less water in the future. will invade fertile areas. Critics stress that “rivers are not pipelines”. The volume of water they carry cannot be varied at will. River- linking plans are political dynamite. The states in India that have plenty of water are not going to agree happily to pumping the precious liquid to other parts of the country. After all, they might need the water to stave off drought at home at some point, and certainly

May 31 - June 30, 2014

neighbouring countries Nepal and Bhutan. Whether those nations will agree to giving up valleys is doubtful. Bangladesh has already declared its opposition to getting less water in the future. Despite the predictable negative impacts of the river-linking plans, the India’s Central Government set up a National Water Development Authority in 1982. Its job is to draft detailed plans for a nationwide

Gargantuan project in China China has massive water-supply problems too. The idea of directing water from the wet south of the country to the drier, drought-prone north goes back decades. In 2002, work commenced on three systems of canals and conduits – each of them hundreds of kilometres long. The scheme is designed to pump water from the Yangtze basin to the Yellow River and Beijing in order to supply northern cities, agriculture and industry with 45 billion cubic metres of water a year. This is the biggest water-transfer project in human history and will cost around $80 billion. The eastern route has been completed. It starts on the lower Yangtze and uses long sections of the previously existing Grand Canal to Beijing. Using the Canal obviously lowered the project costs, but it also presents problems. Due to cargo shipping and effluent discharge, the Canal’s water is polluted. Unless it is treated first, it cannot be used as drinking water. Work continues apace on the middle and western routes. No doubt, China will bring the project to a technical conclusion. As in India, however, mass resettlements will be required to make way for water reservoirs and canals. The Chinese government estimates that around 400,000 people will be affected. These people have reason to fear that at least some of the prom-

27 ised compensations will be siphoned off through the murky channels of the government bureaucracy. Chinese environmentalists doubt the wisdom of the huge investment. They want water-shortage problems to be solved in other ways. They see the need to protect water quality and to make more effective and efficient use of water resources. Furthermore, lengthy periods of drought in southwest China in recent years suggest that climate change might be reducing water resources. Environmental experts criticise China for increasingly relying on megaprojects instead of tackling problems immediately where they arise. Water for agribusiness The Sertao in north-eastern Brazil is a drought-prone region the size of Germany and France put together. Deforestation and sugarcane monocultures have made drought even worse. The Brazilian government wants to channel water to the dry northeast by creating a 700-kilometre system of canals, tunnels and aqueducts to tap the 3,000-kilometre-long Sao Francisco River. Which is the longest river running entirely within Brazilian territory? Launched in 2009, the project was initiated by former President Lula da Silva. It does not enjoy unanimous support. Criticism is expressed particularly along the lower course of the Sao Francisco River, where people fear that water diversion will mean that less and less water is available downstream. The governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response is that only 1.4% of the riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water will be diverted. Opponents point out, however, that the river is shrinking anyway. Since the middle of the 20th century, its volume of water has decreased by a third. Ultimately, the conflict is about how Brazil can solve its water and poverty problems. The government argues that the megaproject will improve water supply for 12 million people in the northwest, a particularly poor region. Opponents, however, argue that the water will mostly end up on sprawling fields of large-scale farms

that grow sugarcane for bio-fuel production, so ultimately, even more small farmers would be displaced by large agribusinesses. Those who are against the water transfer scheme reckon that the investment money would be better used to fund many small-scale water schemes in Brazilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s northwest. They argue that rainwater harvesting and smart small-scale irrigation are the right approaches for supporting small holder farmers. Tellingly, the World Bank has refused to co-finance the project in Brazil. The Bank is not convinced by the rationale for the project and particularly doubts its usefulness in reducing poverty. The experiences made in India. China and Brazil show that largescale water diversion projects not only require huge investments, but also engender lots of conflicts. Environmentalists in all three coun-

tries insist that there is considerable scope for making more efficient use of water at the local level. Moreover, they want scarce resources to be distributed in a way that poor sections of the population can benefit from-Third World Network Features. (Frank KurschnerPelkmann is a freelance journalist and consultant who specialises in international water topics and environmental issues.)

28 28 CELEBRITY DRIVE

‘Drishyam’ hints

Audi is his car

Jeethu Joseph

By A Special Correspondent

eethu Joseph, the man behind the all-time blockbuster Drishyam, is now a household name not only in Kerala but the whole country. So stupendous has been the film’s success (it is still running to packed houses in Kerala) that it is reportedly being remade in several other languages. As a real showman, Jeethu has grown from small beginnings. From childhood he dreamed of driving his father’s car through the village roads. He loves to narrate not only interesting film stories but is also fond of talking about vehicles in which he had travelled since childhood. The younger son of former MLA V V Joseph, Jeethu began his film life as assistant director of Jayaraj’s Bheebhatsam. The rise in his career graph to the list of mainstream filmmakers of Malayalam was fast and seems familiar to the readers. PA S S L I N E

Jeethu’s car memories are shaped by Standard Herald and Ambassador. His childhood days too were bloomed with a wish to drive the Ambassador car which his politicianfather had owned. While envisioning the old images of cars, the cute and classic Premier Padmini pitches an unforgettable place in Jeethu’s mind. “It was the car which I used to drive for the first time”, Jeethu says. The ‘first’ driving met with a messy end, but the story was so simple and the flashback lights are on for now. It was the time when Jeethu was a tenth standard student. The extreme driving passion had inspired the teenager to hold Padmini’s steering wheel. The D-day came and young Jeethu started the car. Alas! The petrol engine was risen up and made the car bumped towards the front yard. With the help of farm workers, Padmini was then rolled back and parked to the former

May 31 - June 30, 2014

comfortable state. Later, it became the days of Jeethu’s father. But, the punishment and warning never dimmed a teenager’s enthusiasm. After years, this car was sold and a new Premier Padmini reached home. Jeethu says he cannot forget the number and the car which his father had bought later. It was a white Ambassador with the registration number KCL 5000. The thrill of cars which he capped in the initial stage uncapped before long and pushed him again and again to the fore. Hence Jeethu decided to restart the driving lessons in the same Ambi. The diesel Ambassador never jumped like the petrol Padmini. With the support of theoretical studies, including about the clutch, brake functions and gear changing, Jeethu managed

to drive the Ambi from the shed for three to four kilometres getting no loss of control and without anybody’s help. “It was my first successful driving. But when I returned home with the car, I tried my best to park it in the exact, reverse direction in which my father had parked it before. The attempt turned futile and the car lay in the opposite direction. Father didn’t punish me that day,” says Jeethu. He says he did not go to any driving schools for further training, but became a good chauffer. One of his elder brothers was a TVS dealer in the 1990s. “Welcoming his suggestion, I bought a new TVS Supra bike in 1992 when I was a graduate student of Muvattupuzha Nirmala College. It was the first vehicle owned by me.” After his marriage to Linta, Jeethu realized the need for a car in a middle-

Linta

class family. In 1996, a Tata Sierra came home along with the bride. Jeethu’s father was using a Maruti 800 then and Jeethu also bought a new Maruti Esteem as a replacement for the Sierra. But, after father’s passing away, mom disagreed to sell the 800 because of its emotional bond with the family. Sustaining father’s memory and considering mom’s wish Jeethu struck a deal and sold his own Esteem to switch on to father’s car as his own vehicle. After his entry into films, Jeethu used his brother’s green Hyundai Santro. Becoming an independent director through Detective, he changed the car and bought a new Honda City in 2008 for more space and better facilities. “City was my car while working for my second film Mummy & Me. After the next film My Boss, I bought

an Audi A4 and now feel really comfortable with the cosy inner and glossy outer.” Jeethu is not at all interested in luxury cars. But the two daughters, Catherine and Katrina, are fond of premium brands like Audi and BMWs. Succumbing to their strong persuasion, Jeethu became an Audi owner. As a reason, Jeethu says that it was the right time to fulfil their wishes because the daughters would not stay with their parents after a specific time period. Interestingly, Jeethu talks about his two guesses which were turned to false thoughts. Guess No.1—automatic vehicles cannot have mileage compared to manual ones. Guess No.2—an automatic vehicle does not give you any driving thrill compared to a manual one. After a test drive of

A4, the forgone conclusions became false and the star car came home as a gift to the daughters by sorting out the confusion between A4 and Q3. After getting more and more practice with automatic drive modes, Jeethu bought a Nissan Micra Automatic for Linta, his wife and the costume designer of his films. “However, sometimes, our thoughts and mind may diverge from the roads while driving. Automatic vehicles are easier to everyone who quit driving classes for the reason of not beingfamiliar with correct gear shifts,” Jeethu says. “I love cars. But, I’m not a born petrol head. A car will only attract me when its features or qualities satisfy me. It is unfair to buy a brand new vehicle without any knowledge from an owner experience.” Again Jeethu

points out that if you were a proud owner of the fastest and expensive Bugatti Veyron, the impression would only last for utmost 10 days.” Long journeys are common with the family to pilgrimage sites including Velankanni church. In spite of his busy schedules Jeethu desires to undertake an all-India trip by map charter with wife and children in their own car in a way for each spot, each day. The plan remains a dream now. After a month, Jeethu will start the production work of his new film, the Tamil remake of his collection grosser Drishyam. He is a pure village man and here he never tried to wear the cloak of a mega-hit filmmaker. Nowadays, down-to-earth personalities like him are too rare to meet.

May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

ON THE ROAD

Datsun Go—the

resurrection By Maneesh TM

remature death and rebirth are usual happenings in the automobile industry. But the rebirth of a manufacturer achieving top public assent seems unusual. Datsun was started in 1931 as a sub-brand of Nissan with the brandslogan, ‘Mobility for All’. At the beginning, the company name was DAT, and the name was derived from the first words of the inventors’ names. Through the efficient budget cars like 510, Fair Lady and commercial vehicles which include the 720, Datsun played a vital role in the auto industry. But later, the counter blast in sales and the confusion made by Nissan and Datsun brands in the US market hitched the golden period of the budget maker.At first, Nissan had closed 1,100 Datsun dealerships and spent $500 million to rebrand it. From 1958 to 1986, Nissan models were sold in Datsun badge. By investing $50 million more, it advertised and clarified the obituary of Datsun to the world in 1986. The brand and car are resurrected today by the same safe hands of Nissan. The fact that for catching the sales of the entry-level hatchback segment, an international automaker like Nissan brings a new brand itself assures its importance. Here is the test drive report of Go, the first promise from Datsun which is preserved now. The all-new hatchback named Go is introduced mainly PA S S L I N E

for India. But the three nations— Russia, Africa and Indonesia—which follow the same market taste like India reminds one of the nobility of Go. Still, these lands glow well in the case of entry-level hatches more than any other segment. It is understood that Go costs below Rs 4 lakh and this made some people fade because of their false thought on the size. Go is not such a small one. The car which is 3,785 mm long, 1,635 mm wide and 1,485 mm high can go for a fight with cars which cost above Rs 5 lakh and those which come in the same price range of Go will perspire in front of it. The six-cornered grille and its chrome border seem more beautiful with the stylish headlamps. Strong body lines are used to give it a bit more muscular look. In front, on the top of the bonnet and the rear portion it is the perfect Nissan design. Rear-view mirrors are kept unpainted to reduce the price. Go is not a badge-engineered version of Nissan Micra, but the same 1.2- litre 3-cylinder petrol engine. There is a gap in the large wheel arch because it is the smaller 155/70-sized tyre that is fitted instead of the 155/80-sized one in Micra. The interior is designed without any luxury feel to keep up utility. The two seats in the front row are joined together and it is not meant for an additional passenger. In that space, you can keep small bags or the mobile phone. For the freedom of utilizing space, the gear

May 31 - June 30, 2014

lever and hand brake are repositioned to the dashboard area. The gear is in the central console and handbrake is fixed in between the steering and the central console. The plastic objects including the steering wheel have no premium effects but are not meant for just the fit and the finish feels good. Perfect AC takes sufficient time to cool the cabin. The leatherfeel grain dash gives a chunky feel in touch. Rather than the usual audio system, Go prefers a mobile docking station. Everything is in the smart phone. Just connect the phone by AUX. You can charge it with USB cable at the same time. Phone holder is also given and it is suitable to make phone calls and to use music and GPS navigation. For the cabin space, Go earns a lot more again than the rivals and the main gain is the 265-

litre boot capacity. Door pockets can hold bottles and magazines. The glove box on the dash board has no lid. The larger wheel base (2,450 mm) and the reduced thickness of the seats are the causes for the ample space inside. The top-end model also has got front power windows. The left side window cannot be accessed by the driver. ORVMs are not electrically adjustable. Just leave it. it’s for the price cut. Go resembles Micra in performance. But for the long ones, their elbow hits the seats because of the combined design. If the length of the gear lever would have been reduced, the problem could have been solved. Short-statured guys would feel that the position of the mirror could have been an inch lower. The engine is more powerful than the mills of the Suzuki Alto and Hyundai Eon. The 1,198 cc engine produces 68 ps @ 5000 rpm and a maximum torque of 104 nm @ 4000 rpm. In heavy traffic too, Go is a better driver-friendly hatchback than many other Rs 5-lakh cars. This stable car may make you feel a little shaky on the highway roads. The front seat passenger must wear the seatbelt for safety along with the driver because there is no handholder given in the roof. The mileage of 20.6 km is ARAI-certified. In city conditions, 14-15 km and in highways, 18 km is the average fuel efficiency which is effortlessly attainable from a car whch has the specified qualities above. Now, DAT is not the company name. It is the abbreviation of DurableAttractive and Trustworthy. Go is available in four attractive body colours— Sky, White, Silver and Ruby. Being an Indian with Indian components (more than Micra’s), service is needed only in each 10,000 km. So one can go ahead with Go. The price starts from Rs 3.18 lakh to Rs 3.77 lakh, ex-showroom, Kochi. (Vehicle provided by EVM Nissan, Maradu, Kochi. Ph: 09995066666). Another dealer is EVM Nissan, South Kalamassery, Kochi. (Ph: 09567096666)

INFRASTRUCTURE

“

The limited number of modules available at the Inkel Tower 1 presents a win-win deal for potential investors as the market value of the property is expected to appreciate manifold in the immediate future” T. Balakrishnan

nkel Ltd’s bid to woo non-polluting industries to the state has got a shot in the arm with a slew of eco-friendly companies queuing up to set up shop in its Tower I facility at Angamaly in Ernakulam district. Inkel Tower I campus is mainly meant for non-polluting industries such as logistics, IT and ITES. Five companies have already gone on stream on the brand new campus and more entrepreneurs are evincing keen interest in opening their shops in the unit. “We are getting very good response from homegrown entrepreneurs as well as business houses within and outside the country. We are very positive about Tower I running on full steam in the very near future”, T Balakrishnan, Managing Director, Inkel Ltd, says, adding “some of the companies that had already set up their units on the campus include CML Biotec, Cochin School of Languages, Mallelil Polymers, Sajo Industries, K P Paul and Lijan India. A few more modules are remaining to be given out and preference will be given to non-polluting establishments”, Balakrishnan says. Inkel Tower 1 is a 2,00,000-sq.ft plug-and-play industrial space which is available on long-term lease of 85 years or for monthly rentals, in modules of 5,000 sq ft of super-built-up area and above to the entrepreneurs/investors. “In addition to the dedicated power and water supply, we have ample parking space and advanced fire protection facility. The campus is available for non-polluting industries, businesses involved in logistics, services, IT/ITES etc”, Balakrishnan says. Inkel Tower 1 facility has tremendous location advantage thanks to its proximity to the Cochin International Airport and the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), Vallarpadam. The Inkel MD says that “the limited number of modules available at the Inkel Tower 1 presents a win-win deal for potential investors as the market value of the property is expected to appreciate manifold in the immediate future due to the fast-track growth of Kochi and emergence of the Kochi-Thrissur corridor as a major investment destination”. “The facility is offered at very economical rates which will be attractive to the investor. The infrastructure like water, power, connectivity, communication, material handling, parking etc will facili-

tate the immediate startup of any venture. Also the single-window facility ensures quick processing of all the permits and licences and Inkel will facilitate this. At present this is the only such ready-to-occupy industrial space available in Kerala”, Balakrishnan says.

May 31 - June 30, 2014

PA S S L I N E

32 NEWS

FEDERAL BANK SUPPORTS E-LITERACY IN SCHOOLS

Seen in the picture are Joy Sebastian (CM – Tvm Zonal Office), Nandakumar V (RH – EKM), Harikrishna Pisharady (RH – Aluva), Sunny NV (Zonal Head – Ekm), Thampy Kurian (GM – HR), Raju Hormis (CSR Cell – Head), Sripriya (Govt High School Kalavoor), Banumathy (Govt Higher Secondary School, Cherthala South), Aji Mathew (Govt Higher secondary school, Puthenthode), Francis (Government High School, Palissery), Jose Maveli (Founder - Jana Seva Sishu Bhavan

mega-initiative in the coming years. The project was launched on April 1 this year. “We believe that by enabling easy access to technology, the bank could reshape the destiny of lakhs of poor children hailing from backward areas. The project would also act as a guiding light for many institutions to launch similar projects. If our initiative inspires others to bring technology to the downtrodden, it can help build a nation, where disparity is minimal, where everyone has the equal opportunity to access quality education to develop and prosper in life. As mentioned, this is an ongoing CSR initiative destined to grow in spread, size and scope in future,” says Thampy Kurian, General Manager & Head (Human Resources & CSR).

South Indian Bank’s regional office in Pune was inaugurated by C P Gurnani, MD & CEO of Tech Mahindra, recently. Bank Chairman Amitabha Guha presided over the function. Managing Director & CEO V A Joseph delivered the keynote address. “With the opening of new branches in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, the bank has made its footing in the entire Northeast except Manipur. We have five branches in Pune now and four more will be opened soon at Wagholi, Viman Nagar, Bhosire and Wakad,” said Dr Joseph. G K Pillai, MD & CEO of Walchand Nagar Industries Ltd, was the guest of honour.

Rupay ATM from ITC ITC Bank (Irinjalakuda Town Coaim of becoming the first scheduled operative Bank) has introduced Ruurban bank in Kerala and also propay ATM debit card, first of its kind vides all basic amenities with most by a co-operative bank in Kerala. modern technologies for its customThe bank has started its operation ers,” said M P Jackson, ITC Bank as part of serving its customers in a Chairman. better way. The card was inaugurated P C Chacko, former MP, and T by Irinjalakuda Diocese Bishop Mar K Dileep Kumar, bank General Pauly Kannukadan. Manager, were also present on the “The ATM card can be used to occasion. withdraw money from any ATMs across India and also can be used for shopping. ITC Bank ranks first among the urban banks in Kerala with a total investment of Rs Bishop Mar Pauly Kannukadan inaugurating Rupay card 640 crore. The in the presence of M P Jackson, ITC Bank Chairman, P C Chacko, bank is workformer MP, and T K Dileep Kumar, bank General Manager. ing with the PA S S L I N E

May 31 - June 30, 2014

CAREER

SIB opens Pune regional office

YOUR starts here!

s part of its CSR initiative, Federal Bank plans to help lessprivileged schools to set up computer labs on their premises. The bank will donate a set of five pre-owned computers to schools after getting them refurbished. Presently banks have to dispose of computers every five years as part of system upgradation. The cost of setting up the facility as well as AMC (annual maintenance contract) for one year will be borne by the bank. It has earmarked Rs 4,500 per PC (Rs 22,500 per school) and a total of Rs 40 lakh this year for the CSR project. The bank intends to donate 1,000 computers this year to about 200 schools. The project will be initially rolled out in Kerala and plans are afoot to extend it to other parts of the country and enhance the outlay progressively making this a

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Technopark TBI partners with IBM

echnopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) has announced that it had partnered with global IT giant IBM to provide IBM Blue mix technology mentorship services to technology developers in its campus. IBM Blue Mix is a ‘Platform as a Service’ (PaaS) that helps developers and customers frame and launch an application in a manner that is easier

as compared to the raw resources of an “Infrastructure as a Service” cloud offering. More than 60 developers from various companies located in Technopark attended the technology mentorship programme and shared their interests in taking up the project. Radhesh Kanumury, Country Lead, Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP), IBM India Pvt Ltd handed over the letter of intent to Dr K C Chandrasekharan Nair, MD, T-TBI. Kanumury also made presentations and video demonstrations on IBM Blue Mix, after which he delivered a small talk on GEP and Technical Insights. The programme is conducted in association with Technopark, Kerala IT, TBIG, Technopark TBI, IBM, Blue Mix, G Tech and KelNet.

Women leadership meet in Kochi

he number of women rising to leadership positions is growing at a rapid pace across countries. Governments, corporates and organizations, irrespective of the sector they fall into, are largely realizing the added momentum they achieve by having women in leadership positions. By empowering women with the requisite powers, skills and freedom, firms find not only new channels for growth and development, but also a different approach to governance and management opening up before them. To highlight this view, the Indian Women Network (IWN), the women’s wing of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), would hold the Women Leadership Conclave on June 24, at Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi.IWN is organizing the conclave to understand how and why women are able to bring about

this significant difference and how these key elements that enable certain women to stand out from the rest can be passed on to a huge population of capable and aspiring women who wish to make a difference, not just in their own lives, but to the lives of the larger organizations and society that they are part of. This conclave will have women leaders from diverse fields including corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, artists and politicians who have made a mark for themselves in their respective fields speaking at this forum. Aruna Sundararajan, Additional Chief Secretary and Managing Director, KSIDC, Dr Anuradha Balaram, Member Secretary, State Planning Board, Piush Antony, social worker, Sreekumari, Secretary, Mahila Mandiram, and Rima Kallingal, film actor, will speak.

Stark wins awards at Goa fest

tark Communications has added more feathers to its cap by winning two prestigious ABBY awards in advertising at an impressive show at the just-concluded Goa fest, affirming its credentials as a frontranked ad agency of the country. ABBY awards are hailed as the biggest honour in India for the recognition of creative excellence in the field of advertising. Stark grabbed a total of two ABBYs -a silver and a bronze- out of the four shortlisted entries. Silver came in the copywriting

(above 100 words) category for a recruitment ad created for Stark. The bronze was for the creative done for Asianet news in the ‘best use of illustration’ category. Stark’s campaigns for Kerala Tourism were among the shortlisted entries. The company had also the singular distinction of being the only agency from Kerala to win at Goa. This year, the winners were chosen from a total of 2,700 entries with JWT’s 40-award haul topping the medal count. The awards were presented at a gala function spread over two days.

Technopark-Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) Mr Hrishikesh Nair (Right), Managing Director Dr K C Chandrasekharan Nair (L) and the T-TBI team receive the Special Commendation for the coveted Golden Peacock National Training Award 2014 from Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram The Technopark-TBI has won the prestigious award, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD), for the quality of the various training programmes it conducts for students professionals and entrepreneurs with the aim of improving IT education, skill development, innovation and entrepreneurship in Kerala.

Tempo brand sanitizers launched in Kerala

“Use Tempo hand sanitizers before eating and Tempo tissues after eating anytime, anywhere and maintain good hand hygiene”—this is the tagline of SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget), one of the leading global hygiene companies. After launching Tempo in Maharashtra and Goa, SCA, has now launched Tempo in Kerala keeping in mind the Indian eating habit preference to enjoy food with their hands rather than spoon, fork and knife. The launch also has seen the unveiling of the Tempo Smart Foodie Campaign by actress Aparna Gopinath.

“Promoting good hygiene in sync with the local Indian eating habits, SCA brings a smart way to enjoy food anytime and anywhere to the Kerala market,” says Cecilia Edebo, MD, SCA.

Navas Meeran new Chairman of CII Southern Region ``Our first priority will be to set up an entrepreneurs-grooming institute to leverage South India’s industrial growth to the next horizon. We will set up an organization to train first-generation businessmen/ women very soon. The organization will work along with them to make them successful in business,” said Navas Meeran, new Chairman of the Eastern Group of Companies, following his election as Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Southern Region. Meeran is the

second Kerala-based entrepreneur selected for the post in the last two decades. He said that the organization would soon set up startup villages for women entrepreneurs. The idea was to groom over 1,500 businesswomen. The CII, he said, would focus on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of Kerala-based companies, he said. Meeran is also a Director of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC), a member of the Kochi Metro Advisory Group and past Chairman of CII-Kerala Chapter.

May 31 - June 30, 2014

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‘She Taxi’ service in Kochi

ochi has become the second city in Kerala to have ‘She Taxis’ with the launching of the service by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy recently. Kerala’s She Taxi, India’s first 24x7 women-only cab service facilitated by the Government, has generated more than Rs 15 lakh in revenues in just five months of its launch, helped by an increase in women passengers looking for safe travel options within and outside cities. The womenowned, women-operated service introduced in Thiruvananthapuram in November last year with an initial fleet of five cars has now expanded to 20 cabs and has carried more

than 9,000 passengers so far. She Taxi is the first off-campus project initiated by Gender Park, established by Kerala’s Department of Social Justice to unify all activities aimed at attaining gender equity. Dr M K Muneer, Social Justice Minister, said She Taxis would soon be introduced in Kozhikode and in a phased manner in other locations. Urban bodies in Hyderabad and Bangalore had expressed interest in replicating the She Taxi model and were launching similar projects in these cities, he said. Film actor Manju Warrier, the goodwill ambassador of the project, was also present at the launching.

Advisory Committee reconstituted

he Advisory Committee of the Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax for Kerala has been reconstituted with T Vinay Kumar representing the advertisT Vinay Kumar ing sector being nominated to it by S Subramanian,

Chief Commissioner. The period of the committee is two years. Vinay Kumar has been in Kerala’s advertising fieldfor the last 35 years and is a partner of Guide Advertising. He is also the Secretary of the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) Kerala Chapter, President, Kerala Advertising Agencies Association (K3A) Cochin Zone and Secretary, Pepper Creative Awards Trust.

State IT firms at Israel innovation meet

ive IT companies from Kerala were part of the Indian delegation to the first Innovation Conference of Israel (MIXiii), an international event focusing on biomedical sciences and high technology. Calpine Group, Kreara Technologies, SFO Technologies, Software Associates and Zesty Beanz—firms based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode—attended the conference in Tel Aviv from May 20-22 with the support of the Kerala Government and the Indian Embassy in Israel. They were among 30 public and priPA S S L I N E

vate sector companies from India, which was the largest country participant in the international conference. Israel, which has been dubbed the ‘startup nation’, hosted the event to bring together thousands of the world’s biomed and hi-tech companies and create networking opportunities for new business cooperation. The visit to Israel to experience its renowned culture of innovation and entrepreneurship was a first for the participants from Kerala. They said the response to their products and services at MIXiii had been very positive. Deepak Sunny (Calpine), Manoj Dethan (Kreara), Hashim Abdul Khader (SFO), Duleep Sahadevan (Software Associates) and Lepeesh Parat (Zesty Beanz), who represented the Kerala IT firms, also visited Tel Aviv University, other business incubators and technology transfer centres in Israel.

May 31 - June 30, 2014

Infopark gesture on World Environment Day

nfopark in Kochi has observed world Environment Day by planting saplings on both sides of the walkway from Athulya to Vismaya of its premises to make its sprawling campus on 101 acres of land more environment-friendly. Moreover, Infopark has installed an incinerator to process waste generated in the campus. The incinerator does not require any fuel or power to operate and has a scrubber unit which makes it pollution free and 100% environment-friendly. The new incinerator facility would treat and dispose upto 30 metric tonnes of waste per month in an environmentfriendly manner on its own. “This initiative will mark the beginning of Infopark’s journey towards creating a clean and green environment for companies operating inside the campus,” Infopark Chief Executive Officer Hrishikesh Nair said. “Also, the incinerator will make us self-reliant in terms of waste treatment and disposal, which otherwise is a constant headache for large establishments,” he added

Piaggio India Pvt Ltd Executive Vice President Hardip Goindi unveiling the New ape’ City Compact Diesel autorickshaw

Symbols to select anniversary gifts By Antony Ooden

novelty

Symbols to select anniversary gifts By Antony Ooden

uman life is a torrent of anniversaries and celebrations. Every event or thing in the universe has anniversaries. Births, deaths, wars, pacts, postings, problems, marriages, mergers, disasters, departures, divorces etc etc have anniversaries, which people celebrate, observe or remember every year. Commemorations, condolences, felicitations and honours are acts that buttress them.

be either commemorated or, if possible, celebrated; a jubilee certainly because jubilees are correlated to longevity. On the wedding anniversary day, the usual practice, we find, is the exchange of greetings or presents of various types to life partners. Some easily find a memento to present to the partner. Some find it after long search and much consultation or discussion with somebody else.

What is the most prominent among these events? The answer is marriage. Not because a marriage takes place in heaven but is an auspicious occasion where one is coupled with another. Moreover, according to Christian practice, it is a sacrament. If the joined life gets longevity it is blessed. But in modern life we find that a lot of marriages end in divorces and see the emergence of family courts to deal with such cases. To gain momentum for this momentary life, the annual day of every wedded life is to

But it is easy to choose a gift if we are aware that each anniversary is named after a material. In some books and records the traditional anniversary symbols/names are the same. But some are missing. So, this is an attempt to name such missing anniversary symbols. The first anniversary is known as paper anniversary and the second cotton anniversary. The third is leather, fourth silk, fifth wood, sixth iron, seventh wool, eighth bronze, ninth copper, 10th tin, 11th steel,

12th linen, 13th lace, 14th ivory, 15th crystal, 16th glass, 17th turquoise, 18th lapis, 19th cream, 20th china/ porcelain. Then the list jumps to 25th, which is known as the Silver jubilee. After that, there is a gap of every five years. The 30th is the pearl anniversary and the 35th coral. Though the 40th is ruby jubilee, the 45th is sapphire anniversary and the 50th golden. The 55th is the emerald anniversary. 60th diamond jubilee, 65th blue sapphire anniversary. We may name 70th as platinum anniversary as 75th is platinum jubilee. The 80th is

oak anniversary, 85th rose, 90th teak and the 95th ghee. Of course, the 100th is century. If we count 10 continuous anniversaries in their order and add the anniversary symbols respectively we can get the symbols/names of all anniversaries. For example, a person who celebrates his 21st wedding anniversary may consider it as the first anniversary in the second decade. So it may be called the second paper anniversary. To make it clearer, if it is the 96th anniversary it is in the ninth decade and the sixth anniversary. Hence it may be called the ninth iron anniversary and so on.

May 31 - June 30, 2014

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May 31 - June 30, 2014