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PUNE, JUNE 28, 2014 | www.goldensparrow.com
CITY
Police chief wants force to be tech-savvy to control crime P3
SPORTS
COMMENT & ANALYSIS
Serena advances to third round of Wimbledon P 15
12 things to expect from Arun Jaitley’s July 10 budget P 10
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
A WORLD CLASS EVENT DESERVES WORLD CLASS SUPPORT
Sparrows on the return: ecologist
Famous city environmentalist Dr Erach Bharucha says that people have spotted the return of the bird in certain pockets of Pune. A survey could throw greater light on this ANJALI SHETTY
Pune’s most famous environmentalist Dr Erach Bharucha has some good news for us. Director of the Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environmental Education and Research, Dr Bharucha told The Golden Sparrow on Saturday in an exclusive interview that many people in the city have spotted the return of sparrows in certain pockets of the city. “What we now need to do is, conduct a survey and find out why these small birds have returned. This will help us find the reason for their disappearance,” said Dr Bharucha. Asked about the conspicuous disappearance of the sparrows from the city, he said, “Honestly, the reason is still to be found out and no one
See special report on P13
National Herald case
Summons to Rahul, Sonia weakens Cong further Close on the heels of the party’s humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections, this development has come as a shock to Congressmen BY SANJAY SINGH Metropolitan magistrate Gomati Manocha’s summons to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi — for them to be present in court on August 7 to defend themselves against charges of “cheating” and “misappropriation of property” in dubious takeover of the National Herald group — has been shocking to the Congress. It has come at a time when a humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections indicated that Congress’s first family was no longer revered by the people and its supposed charisma had completely diminished. Incidentally, they have to defend a land grab case since another member of the family, Robert Vadra, has been accused for his lust for land. In the National Herald case too, petitioner Subramanian Swamy has
accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and also some other confidantes of the Nehru-Gandhi family of taking over the company through fraudulent means to make a real estate acquisition worth over Rs 2000 crore. The publishing company for National Herald, Associated Journal, has huge assets in New Delhi, Lucknow, Panchkula, Indore and Mumbai.
The magistrate’s observations while issuing summons after examining Swamy’s petition for about a year is significant. “Complainant has established a prima facie case against the accused under Section 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property, 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) read
with Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC... Hence, let the accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Moti Lal Vohra, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda be summoned for August 7, 2014. Let the Young Indian be summoned through it’s authorised representative for the same date,” said the magistrate. Swamy has now written to finance minister Arun Jaitley seeking a probe into the National Herald case under the Income Tax Act. There has been no official response from the Finance minister’s office. But BJP sources said that the Finance Ministry will examine all angles as listed in Swamy’s letter. The matter could also be referred to company affairs to look into the technical-legal aspects of the said take over by Young Indian incorporated in November 2010, in which Rahul and Sonia together own 76 per cent shares. Contd on p 10
Amit Shah likely to become BJP president soon? NEW DELHI, June 26 (IANS): Amit Shah, a close aide of prime minister Narendra Modi, may be named the next BJP president soon, a party leader said. Shah, who has been credited with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls in
Complementary with this issue
Uttar Pradesh, will be stepping into the shoes of party leaders like Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Since Rajnath Singh took over as home minister, the party has to appoint a new president. However, even a month after the council of ministers took charge, the BJP has not announced its new president. “The government was just formed and there was a lot of work to do... so the selection of the party president was out for a while,” said a party leader. With assembly elections due in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, the party leader said Shah has emerged as the front-runner vis-a-vis colleagues such as JP Nadda and Om Prakash Mathur.
Shah played a key role in the party’s landslide victory in the Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh where it won 71 of the 80 seats. Known to be a sharp political strategist, the former Gujarat home minister remains Modi’s most trusted political aide and master strategist. Shah, who has a plastics and printing business, met Modi in the late 1980s. Currently BJP’s national general secretary, it was earlier said that Shah may contest from the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency. He was accused of involvement in the killing of college student Ishrat Jahan and others in an allegedly staged shootout in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 2004. However, he got a clean chit in the case. Indo-Asian News Service
can single out why we are missing our sparrows. Recently, many people spotted the return of sparrows in certain pockets of the city. What we now need to do is, conduct a survey and
find out why these small birds returned. This will help us find the reason for their disappearance.” The eminent environmentalist said that lack of old-style tiled roofs and the unacceptable levels of pesticides in grains are possible reasons for their disappearance.
However, efforts are on to restore their presence in the city. “Experts and bird lovers have put up nests and boxes to increase breeding in small birds. We should continue doing so and it may help getting them back to the numbers we had. Today they are in negligible numbers,” he said. Contd on p 10
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
Celebrating 50 golden yrs together and going strong P8
PUNE
“Because a human being is endowed with empathy, he violates the natural order if he does not reach out to those who need care.”
Pune’s odour-killing tube makes a mark in city, Delhi Metro P9
—Swami Dayananda Saraswati
This science park has attracted three lakh visitors in 15 months Pimpri Chinchwad Science Park built by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and spread over 7.5 acres, is the best in the Pune region
One of the first civic bodies in the country to start a regional science centre at Chinchwad on the PuneMumbai highway, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has also succeeded in making it popular. Around three lakh people have visited the centre in 15 months. The Pimpri Chinchwad Science Park’s (PCSP) Taramandal has generated over Rs one lakh revenue, one of the highest collections from any municipal facility in the country for the same period according to the civic officials. Taramandal, the inflatable and portable planetarium, is the prime attraction for visitors. The visitorfriendly and interactive facility is capable of simulating the night sky at any place on the Earth for any duration. One can also see various planets, stars, constellations, phases of the Moon, the polar night sky and its six-months duration for day and night, the rising and setting of the Sun, circumpolar sky on poles and many features and concepts of basic astronomy. A live show at Taramandal gives basic information about the science behind astronomy. PCMC education officer Saudagar Shinde said, “Even as we have deputed a private contractor for cleaning, security and garden maintenance of the centre, civic staff have been deputed to keep a close watch. Seven officials from the education department manage ‘Taramandal’ and 3D shows.
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL
The beginning The PCSP has been set up by the National Council of Science Museums, an autonomous society under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India with active support from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). The responsibility of independently running the centre lies with the PCMC and the park’s success is the testimony to the civic body’s effectiveness. With the objective that students can be taught the science through exhibitions and games, PCSP is the second such centre in Maharashtra after Nagpur. The project, funded by the Centre, was executed under the guidance of Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai. Two years ago, a company named Pimpri Chinchwad Science Park was registered for setting up and operating the centre. The company comprises of representatives of the PCMC and the National Council of Science Museums.
The Pimpri Chinchwad Science Park has a wonderful display of touch-and-feel models that explain scientific principles
Municipal teachers are handling the PCSP efficiently after they were provided initial training by us.” Praveen Vaishnav, a science teacher at PCSP, has organised around 500 shows at Taramandal in a year.
“We always try to involve students and participants and give information in Hindi, Marathi and English. The matter is taken from high school textbooks. I am taking up this kind of responsibility for the first time and
am really enjoying it. Students are eager and enthusiastic and ask many questions,” he said. The staff have to manage around 14 shows in a day during the summer vacations.
Shinde said that as live shows appeal the most to students, who belong to both municipal and international schools, and visitors, the authority has avoided a recorded version for the Taramandal show.
Angha Gunjal, a visitor at the park, said, “I was impressed when the staff did not stop or scold the children who were roughly handling the equipment at the fun gallery.” archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Inspiring others to run for Overcoming grief to give fun and well-being happiness to aged destitute ‘Anybody can run and everybody must run’ is the motto of punerunning.com
Priti has given shelter to 800 homeless elderly persons at her old age home launched in 2007
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL By becoming the ‘daughter’ of 800 abandoned old parents after losing her husband to cancer, Priti Vaidya, 39, chose to bring sunshine in the lives of these people in their sunset years. Kinara, the shelter home founded by her at Ajinkyatara Housing Society near New Dyandeep School in Rupinagar at Talwade in 2007, now houses abandoned, sick, homeless, mentally ill and destitute old people. Priti, who also has a 17-year-old son, cares and lives with these abandoned people.
Around 2,000 people take part in events organised by punerunning.com
BY ANJALI SHETTY Getting the most benefits out of running and taking it a step further by involving others, was the vision of entrepreneur Nikhil Shah, who founded punerunning.com in January 2010. Shah started the group after finding that running alone in the mornings had become monotonous. “When you know that your friends are waiting at the street corner, you automatically run and join them however early it is in the morning,” Shah said. He has encouraged others to take up running. “There was a time when we would urge a person walking in the mornings to run instead and surprisingly it worked. Unfortunately, we still do not have many who run regularly. Running works wonders for our body. It is a natural and healthy process that people have forgotten. Running is considered a luxury now because of bad roads and poor infrastructure,” Shah said. The group has organised events to encourage runners and non-runners. “When you ask someone to start running they do not take it seriously. But the moment you say join us for an event that has activities and running, they get excited,” said Arvind Bijwe, a core member of punerunning.com
The last Sunday of every month is when the group meets to conduct 3, 5, 10 and 21km runs. They have 15,000 people connected through their Facebook page and anywhere between 500 and 2,000 people are present for their events. Member and taekwondo expert Atul Aher said that running not only helped his wife recover from chemotherapy fast but also helped him stay fit to train better. If you can’t take part in their scheduled events or programmes, you have option of running in your neighbourhood too. “We have a list of volunteers running in different part of Pune. You can call them and find out when and where they are running and how to join them,” he said. Even if you are a first-time runner, you need not worry as the members help you with the dos and don’ts, warm-up exercises and diet to follow. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com REACH THEM AT: The group is open for all and free. www.facebook.com/PuneRunning For general questions email: friends@ punerunning.com; call: 9595344500, 9923794149, 8275203700
THE FIRST STEP The idea of opening an old age home took root when Priti used to visit NGOs in Pune during the course of her MA and LLB. Talking to old people and listening to stories of their sons and daughters abandoning them, kindled her desire to do something for them. She remembers an experience that was narrated by an old couple whose son works in a foreign country had put them in an old home, but did not visit them even once in three years. THE LOSS AND GAIN After ten years of married life, Priti lost her husband to cancer, in 2007. She used to give music tuitions to children to meet the medical expenses and manage the family. During this troubled times, she remembered an old and helpless couple who had asked her to be their ‘daughter’ and got an aim in life to reach out to all helpless, abandoned and bedridden people and serve them. “Selecting the path and walking on it are two different things. It is not a smooth journey. But my father, Vikas Pundlik Deshmukh and mother Rekha Vikas Deshmukh wholeheartedly supported me,” she said. Priti’s father quit his job at Kirloskar Oil Engines, to support her project. The parents pooled in their savings and built the shelter home at the small plot in Rupinagar that they had invested in. “Finally, in 2007, with limited funds and no support, we started the old age home with three members only,” she said.
The elderly people calling her their daughter is the blessing that gives Priti Vaidya the strength to move on
INITIAL STRUGGLE With no acknowledgement and support, their funds ran out and members increased in the initial five years. Priti availed of personal and other loans and mortgaged whatever she could to keep her mission going. Then, an unknown person donated three beds with pillows and bedsheets. “Kinara overcomes all hurdles with hope and patience. I get the strength to face the struggle when I looked into the eyes of these old people. They just want an association, somebody to talk to them during the last phase of their life’s journey. Kinara manages free accommodation and other facilities for those who have nobody to take care of them but those who can afford have to pay Rs7,000 per month. We have people above 80 years staying with us and some have passed away here,” she said. GETTING RECOGNITION The world came to know about Kinara on March 8, 2012 when the old age home received a phone call from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital. The hospital wanted an NGO to take care of their old and bedridden patient Vishwanath Shinde, who was unable
to find any refuge. Kinara adopted Shinde. He stayed at the home and later died after donating his eyes. “Shindeji used to tell me that the love and care that I do should actually have been done by his son. Kinare performed his last rites,” she said. After that, help poured in and various NGOs, sports bodies, teachers and ISKON offered support, including free meals. Students of local schools and colleges sold decorative materials during festive seasons to raise funds for Kinara. As the existing building at Rupinagar comes under the red zone and faces demolition, Vaidya started a new shelter at Kamshet. FUTURE PLANS “When you take a step towards any good deed and others join you, the journey becomes less difficult. There is a dire need of old age homes in the state and my vision is to provide shelter to each and every old and needy. We need support to establish the shelter at Kamshet. We have not sought any government aid. I have the blessings of these elders and will try to provide home to whoever comes on out doorsteps,” she said. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
Pune is among India’s foremost Japanese language training centres, and an increasing number of IT entrepreneurs from Pune are looking towards Japan for business opportunities
Signposts
My Priorities
Police chief wants force to be tech-savvy to control crime The changing profile of the city over the last two decades is bringing in new challenges, says Pune Police Commissioner Satish Mathur, in a conversation with Gitesh Shelke ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Lokmanya society opens 138th branch The 138th branch of Lokmanya multipurpose co-operative was inaugurated at Dhole Patil Road recently. Dr Raghunath Kuchik, chief cathlab technologist at Ruby Hall Clinic, Col (retd) Sambhaji Patil, Trishakti Foundation founder president of the co-operative society Kiran D Thakur, Baba Dhond, zonal manager Sushil Jadhav and Vikas Keshkamat were present. General secretary of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena Kuchik said, “This co-operative believes in social harmony and is very unique. It has established its identity in the city.”
Motivational talk show launched A talk show on an innovative topic “Think Prosperity” was recently launched by Dr Rahul Shiledar, a well known strategist in brand and business management. He is a renowned speaker on various platforms like management institutes, business associations and private business houses. Dr Shiledar in his speech emphasised holistic prosperity that takes people beyond materialistic gains. He threw light upon making lifestyle changes among people that would eventually create a positive impact in their careers as well as their personal lives. Organisations like educational institutes, business and social associations, private business houses and Ngo’s can benefit from this talk show. People can call on +917507776124 or write to nitn@rahulshiledar.com to book the show.
World Doctors’ Day on July 1
BRTS shoots up property prices P5
Citizens, wake up to your consumer rights P4
controlling street crimes since March after Mathur took over as the city police commissioner. The police commissioner admitted that while there were limitations on the use of manpower, technology could be used in a better way by the police force to reach out to people, especially the victims. “I want my men to use SMS services, WhatsApp, Facebook and FM radio bands to reach out to the people. These are alternative methods to reach out to the people instantly,” he added. The police commissioner also wants to develop a proper criminal intelligence system and database to nab criminals swiftly and keep a check on criminal activities in the city. “Various
software can help us to do so. Th is will help in police investigations and in crime prevention prevention,” he said. Another priority area for Mathur is improving the city’s traffic scenario. “The traffic situation can be improved by inculcating road discipline among the motorists and road users. If people follow traffic rules, the traffic situation will automatically improve,” he said. Mathur is keen to promote greater safety on the city roads by encouraging people to use helmets and seat belts while driving their vehicles. “I am even thinking of introducing a policy wherein use of helmets can be stressed in various ways,” he said. gitesh.shelke@goldensparrow.com
PUNE: The enormous growth in the population of the city in the last 20 years had brought forth new challenges for the Pune police, in terms of security and administrative issues, commissioner Satish Mathur said in an interview to this newspaper. “Our focus is on maintaining
security and vigil as the basic policing duties with an emphasis on crime prevention,” he said. The city police is trying hard to prevent incidents of chain-snatching and other street crimes by enhancing the presence of men in khaki. Success has been achieved to some extent in
Police Commissioner Mathur deeply regretted the murder of Muslim youth Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh at Hadapsar early this month. “This was an unfortunate incident in the city with a communal angle,” he said, adding that it occurred in spite of keeping “a strong bandobast in the entire city, including the Hadapsar area, where the murder took place after the Facebook and website issues cropped up in the city.” Mathur said that after that the city police immediately controlled the situation and normalcy returned in the area. The police also formed peace committee at all the police stations and chowkies, where members of both the communities were taken into the confidence, he said
Over the last 80 years, the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture has played a key role in developing Pune’s business potential nationally and internationally. Prachi Bari spoke to MCCIA’s director-general Anant Sardeshmukh for this overview of its activities and achievements Founded by late city industrialist A R Bhat in 1934, the MCCIA was conceived as an organisation for the industrial development of Pune region and specifically for the development of small and medium scale industry. The body today has a membership of over 2800, comprising large, medium and small industrial and business units across many sectors such as automotive, engineering, electronics and electricals, agriculture and food processing and Information Technology. The MCCIA has sought to promote the interests of all these
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) along with Inamdar Multispeciality Hospital (Fatimanagar) and Noble Hospital (Hadapsar) have organised a blood donation camp on the occasion of World Doctors’ Day on July 1. The IMA has appealed to the citizens to donate blood to save more lives, a noble cause. Citizens can donate blood at both the hospitals between 9 am and 3 pm.
sectors while functioning as a catalyst for economic development of Pune and to continuously striven to make the city a global business destination, Sardeshmukh said. Over the last eight decades, the MCCIA has earned the reputation of being a proactive, progressive, regional chamber of commerce representing not just Pune but also western Maharashtra. It has had a number of pioneering initiatives to its credit and has successfully worked closely with various senior government authorities serving as a link between the industry and the government. “We continue to lead in offering
nswers to the following 10 A questions are embedded in the stories featured in this edition. Send
us the correct answers at contest.tgs@ gmail.com and be one of the three lucky winners to receive gift coupons 1. How many shows are
held daily at the Pimpri
Chinchwad Science Park?
2. What national record certificate does travel
blogger Prakash Bang hold?
3. Which restaurant in Pune uses one of the two UV
technologies that destroy odour and improve air quality?
4. Who conceptualised the project ‘Mycopter’?
5. What is considered a luxury com founder, Nikhil Shah?
6. What should one avoid in their diet to prolong osteoporosis as per
dietician Anushree Shetty?
7. Which is the must-try
starter at Crazy Noodles?
8. In the In Focus
section, which cuisine
‘Growth of SMEs is our prime focus’ TGS NEWS SERVICE
No. 2
according to punerunning.
‘Communal incident was unfortunate’ Police Commissioner admitted to limitations on the use of manpower, technology
TGS Quiz Contest
proactive services for the benefit of the business community around Pune and towards making Pune the most preferred investment destination for foreign industry in India. We proudly state that our Chamber is one of the most active and a leading Chamber of Commerce in the country,” Sardeshmukh said. The MCCIA has a rich heritage of over 80 years of its existence with a number of stalwarts and prominent persons such as SL Kirloskar, NA Kalyani, Rahul Bajaj, PP Chhabria, Atul Kirloskar, Abhay Firodia, Arun Firodia, Prataprao Pawar, Ravi Pandit, Bahari Malhotra, Darias Forbes and Mukesh Malhotra having served as past presidents. The Chamber has instituted special awards for displaying industrial merit, developing of new products and services, taking green initiatives and showing excellence in corporate social responsibility. Special awards are given to motivate women entrepreneurs for innovation and sustainable technologies. A key role played by the MCCIA is to invite foreign delegations to Pune for strengthening business ties; taking Indian delegations abroad to explore potential business opportunities; inviting diplomats from foreign countries and undertaking energy audits for greater efficiency.
Achievements Important Initiatives Brownfield Electronic Clusters • Lean Manufacturing Clusters • MSME Excellence Centre • Food Clusters • MCCIAs Export Market & Product Identification Web Portal • International Industrial Exhibition Center Industry Support Institutions • Auto Cluster • NAFARI • Center for Electronic Testing Equipment • Pune Divisional Productivity Council Institution Promoted by MCCIA • Bank of Maharashtra • Pune Stock Exchange • Container Freight Station • Industrial Estates at Hadapsar, Pune-Satara Road and Ramtekadi Infrastructure Development • Initiatives for Koyna Dam • SL Kirloskar International Convention Centre •
should be tried out at Mahabaleshwar?
9. What does music composer Mithoon Sharma compare Bollywood to?
10. Which type of sari is trending lately?
Contest # 1 winners 1. Sunil Pansari 2. Leela Karki 3. Tushar Rathod 4. Purva Darole 5. Sujit Chinchkar 6. Poonam Ponde 7. Mandar Vaidya 8. Ajinkya Dalvi 9. Prashant Kamath 10. Jaya Nathpotani
Corrections and clarifications • In the page 1 report on June 21, ‘Hindustan Antibiotics revival mission can yield Rs 12,000 crore, and more’ the commercial value of land is Rs 10,000/sq.ft, development of which can yield more than Rs 12,000 crore, and not as stated. The error is regretted. • In the page 5 of TGS Life on June 21, the picture used with ‘It is enjoyable but cloyingly formulaic’, review of the film Chef was not of the film. The error is regretted.
Modi assures HA of rehabilitation package ARCHANA DAHIWAL The Union minister for chemicals and fertilizers Ananth Kumar assured that efforts will be made to approve the draft revival package of Rs 497 crore for the ailing first PSU Hindustan Antibiotics Limited. Briefing about the meeting with the chemical union ministry, Hindustan Antibiotic Mazdoor Sang (HAMS) general secretory Sunil Pataskar said, “The meeting was fruitful. The chemical minister assured as that he will make efforts to resolve the salary issues of workmen first and will discuss it with the union finance ministry.” He said that Anant Kumar has also apprised defence minister Arun Jaitley about the salary issue.
In an exclusive report, TGS on June 21 had the meeting,” he said. highlighted how India’s first public sector unit can HAMS committee member RL Jadhav said, be revived by the Modi Government leading to “Our hopes awaken after the positive meeting revenue generation of over Rs with the union chemical min12,000 crore, creation of jobs istry.” and business opportunities in Maharashtra BJP chief the biotech sector. Devendra Fadnavis has also Pune’s MP Anil Shirole sent a letter to union ministry took initiatives for organisfor immediate help for HA. ing the meeting at Delhi with HAL managing director union minister. HAMS comKV Varkey said, “If the apPART II mittee members, management proval for the revival package officials were present at the meeting, Pataskar said. comes in the next two months it will take the “The meeting with the union minister is a company just two years to revive. The workmen welcome relief for workers and officials as we were force are skilled and motivated and HA’s products trying hard for an appointment for the past several are well accepted in the market already.” months. We are thankful to Shirole for organising archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
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THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
Yo, Let’s go and visit yogoyo.com P6
Symbiosis, Bharati Vidyapeeth figure in top varsities survey P7
With the central theme ‘Information Technology for Development’, applications have been invited for the prestigious Manthan Award from innovative experimenters who are using mobile, Internet and social media to promote awareness of the use of this medium. June 30 is the last date to apply for the award. In its 11th year, this is the first time that 12 new awards have been announced in south western states of the country. The award presentation ceremony would be held at YASHADA on August 7, in the city. For more information applicants can contact chief organiser of the ceremony Ravi on 08600122333. One can also visit the website: www.manthanaward.org.
The movement is very powerful in western countries because the common man enforces` his right
Leelatai gets ‘Punyabhimaan 2014’ award Sudhakar Velankar
To fecilitate the medical services to warkaris during both the Palkhi processions, Krushnai Medical and Reasearch Foundation and Nationalist Congress’ Doctors Cell started a mobile hospital in memory of late Dr Dilip Ghule. The hospitals were inaugurated by Baramati MP Supriya Sule at Nisarg Mangal Karyalaya. Those were present on the occasion include Dr Smita Ghule, Sopanrao Ghule, Krushnai Ghule, Dr Rajendra Jagtap, Dr Narendra Kale, Dr Shivdeep Undre, corporator Dinesh Dhadve, Dr Sunil Jagtap, Dr Lala Gaikwad, Dr Prakash Kothawade, Dr Pramod Wadekar, Dr Shaligram, Dr Amit Nagre and others. The mbile hospitals will privde free medical services to warkaris on both the routes.
BY SUDHAKAR VELANKAR “I have spent the past fifteen years highlighting the cause of consumer interest, and am still working towards raising awareness that every act of every citizen is connected with consumer
rights. From the moment you buy goods and services (banks, insurance, buying a home, school/colleges etc.), you become a consumer and have the right to redressal. In western countries, the movement is very powerful and became so because the common man
enforced his right. As a consumer you have certain duties and responsibilities. When you buy anything you must confirm that the quality and quantity of your purchase is as promised by the trader. If it is not, you should get it replaced. It is also the consumer’s duty to demand bills for every transaction. As a citizen the trader has a responsibility and a liability to pay taxes. By foregoing a bill, you also forego your right as a consumer. Consumer courts in India have been functional since the ‘90s and thousands of cases are filed every year. But very few of them are class complaints, i.e. very few are filed by groups of people; most complaints are filed by individuals, for individual causes. Class complaints are essential to bring about changes in malpractices by traders that consumers take for granted. “Goods once sold will not be taken back” is a classic example of a trade practise that is contrary to the interest of a consumer. If the goods sold are defective, they have to be replaced! Similarly, the practice of palming
VAT payments on flats to the buyer or malpractice by educational institutions during admissions etc goes against the interest of the consumer. As it is happening in the case of Campa Cola society in Mumbai, the builder, the local civic body and utility providers are getting away while the consumer is getting trapped and punished. In a globalised world it has become essential that consumers take collective action. It is your duty as a citizen and consumer to demand why governmentrun schools have inadequate teachers and supplies because they use the taxpayer’s money to fund the schools. It is your duty to question inequity in water supply in your city and demand proper implementation of rainwater harvesting (which exists in rule books only). Through a class complaint/ action, consumers can demand the establishment of a process of verifying and certifying educational institutions, developers and all sorts of service providers, including local self-governing bodies like municipal corporations, gram panchayats etc. to ensure transparency.
Can you buy just one, Madamji!
Street children selling knick-knacks have an amazing entrepreneurial spirit. Maybe it’s time we encouraged it BY MEGHA CHOUDHARY It was a cold Saturday evening. My phone rang at sharp 6 pm. The mobile screen flashed the name Titiksha — my daughter. “Yes honey, I’m just winding up and will see you soon,” I said. But she refused to listen, “Mumma I want you now, daadi is not allowing me to have Maggie,” she complained. Oh God! The snack had become a daily demand and a headache, but what else could you expect from a four-yearold? “Please ask daadi to make Maggie for me,” she said. “OK honey, give the phone to daadi.” When my mother-in-law came on the phone, I said, “Mummyji, please Titiksha ko namkin sevaiya bana do woh Maggie samajkar khalegi (please prepare salty vermicelli and Titiksha will eat it thinking it is Maggie).” I don’t promote junk food though sometimes I do give in. It was such a relief when she stopped crying and hung up. We had promised to take her out too. I hoped she had forgotten. I was not in the mood for an outing after a hectic day in office. “Let’s postpone the evening out, please,” I pleaded with my husband over the phone. “It’s already 6
SWAPNIL SONAWANE
Mobile hospitals for warkaris inaugurated
Strength lies in differences, not in similarities, says Stephen R Covey
Citizens, wake up to your consumer rights
Entries invited for prestigious Manthan Award
Animal activist Leelatai Parulekar and four other eminent citizens have been conferred Rotaract Club of Pune Pashan’s ‘Punyabhimaan 2014’. The club presents the award to people for the excellence at national and international levels. Leelatai was awarded under the social service category. India’s only woman bodybuilder Dipika Chaudhary was presented the award in the sports category. Famous history scholar and academician Mohan Shetye (education), young entrepreneur Nachiket Joshi (entrepreneurship), Nipun Dharmadikari of ‘Nautanki Sala ‘fame (entertainment category) were the other recepients. Businessman Deepak Wani presented the awards.
pm and both of us are still in office.” He agreed like any good husband. Finally, I was done for the day. As I turn off my PC, I could see my little princess before my eyes, and I tried to reach home as quickly as I could with several thoughts running through my mind. It irked me that every signal I got was red! At one such stop a street child ran up to me with toys in her hand. “Madamji! Please buy one for your child, my brother is very hungry. I need to feed him,” she said. I looked at her brother. He must be about four-year-old. “How much?”
I asked casually. “Only Rs100,” she said. I was not ready to spend my hardearned money on that. Titiksha would break it in two days. “Rs100! You’re asking too much!” I bargained half-heartedly. “Okay Madamji, give Rs80,” she said. Her brother, standing next to her, was listening to our conversation intently. His eyes were so fiery that they seemed to pierce into my heart, making me restless. “Madamji, aap Fastrack ki ghadi pahente ho, hundred ka khilona nahi kharid sakte? (You can wear a Fastrack watch but can’t spend Rs 100
to buy a toy),” said the little boy taking charge of the situation. I had no words to deal with the situation. I was very surprised with his observation skills. His eyes sure were sharp. But why should I buy that silly toy? I justified to myself. There must be lakhs of street children in Pune, who try to sell their goods at traffic signals… it’s all a con job, I argued with myself. Suddenly, horns began beeping loudly from behind me. The signal had turned green and like all the others, I also joined the road race. “That toy was of no use to Titiksha. I would have only been wasting my money.” I was trying my best to justify my decision of not buying that toy to soothe myself. But I was still struggling to come to terms with what happened out there at the signal. Don’t we discourage begging and expect that street children take up some work to earn their livelihood or better still go to school and be off the streets? Don’t we expect them to have the spirit to get out of their circumstances? So then why do we too fail them by discouraging their budding entrepreneurial spirit? shahu.megha@gmail.com
Community Clubs
Teaching the science and art of stargazing
The mission of Amit Purandare’s Aastronomica Club is to spread the knowledge of astronomy and present facts based on academic yardstick BY ANJALI SHETTY Aastronomica Club, founded by Amit Purandare in the city in 2011, describes its work as ‘your language of the Cosmos’. A commerce graduate, Purandare was introduced to astronomy in standard V. “Space and celestial bodies always managed to gather my attention since a very young age. I took it up as a hobby but today it is what I do 24x7,” said Purandare, who grew up reading and watching the works of eminent scientist Dr Jayant Narlikar. He considers Dr Narlikar his inspiration and one of the main reasons to start the club. The idea is to generate awareness about astronomy and break the myth that it is related to astrology. “People often link astronomy to astrology and talk about the impact of planets in the lives. They are
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Amit Purandare interacting with Aastronomica Club members
enthusiastic about astrology but haven’t developed a keen interest for astronomy. This is where I intend to bring a change and develop a scientific approach,” he said.
At a recent lecture on ‘Observing majestic Saturn’, the audience raised similar queries and were eager to know the effect of planets in their lives and how to go about it. Purandare said,
“Astrology is not a proven science yet. We are here to put forth our knowledge on astronomy and not change mindsets. People have notions about celestial bodies and link it to their lives. We just try and portray the scientific and realistic view for the same through astrophotography and telescopes.” People also ask about UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and the Bermuda Triangle. The club conducts lecture series on different topics throughout the year to promote this science and create awareness. It also arranges programmes for schools wherein they answer queries which are not included in the curriculum. Stargazing and understanding the night sky are other sessions that are organised at the club. “Our motto is that each one should try backyard astronomy and
one does not need a degree to pursue it. There are two types of astronomy — theoretical and practical. You can choose what interests you more and pursue it accordingly. No previous knowledge or experience is needed to start understanding astronomy but one has to follow a few yardsticks to become a professional in this field,” Purandare said. anjali.shetty@goldensparrow.com
The spot Where: Jnana Prabodhini High School Terrace, Sadashiv Peth Membership: Individual Rs2,000 per year, Institutional Rs5,000 per year Online: Aastronomica Club/ facebook.com
There is also a dire need to have effective bodies working in the consumer movement. Consumer protection councils (established at the central, state and district levels for the purpose of spreading consumer awareness) have become dens of unemployed politicians. To stop this practice, consumers must demand that appointment at the councils be based on prior experience and retired government officers are made members of consumer courts, while the president is a retired judge. What is needed is to create a cadre in UPSC, giving incumbents the rank of a secretary eligible for promotions etc. to make it an attractive career option. This will strengthen the consumer movement in our country. It is the need of the hour that consumers devise class actions, complaints and suits at mohalla, city, state and national levels. The consumer movement gives the consumer the power to bargain and act as a corrective force in the establishment but it needs to function as a system for absolute effectiveness.” (As told to Ritu Goyal Harish)
Women to uplift community with education BY PRANTICK MAJUMDER How do you help your backward community living in remote, virtually inaccessible villages to progress if most of them are uneducated? Simpl. Finish your own studies, train as teachers and then use your knowledge to spread the cause in your home - as these nearly three dozen women are doing. The group of 35 young women from a cluster of villages in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district is perhaps the first in their families to go to school, and are now preparing to give something back to their communities by getting trained as primary and high school teachers. “My parents work as labourers and our family income is very less. I want to become a teacher and educate people from my community,” Prem Kumari, a Class 12 passout, told IANS in Jhadol, around 40km from Udaipur. Prem Kumari has cleared the Basic School Training Certificate (BSTC) examination and, if selected, she can apply for a teacher’s post in a primary school. “I also want to study for a bachelor’s degree, and later go for BEd (the degree required for teachers in higher education),” she said. As colleges in the only nearby city of Udaipur are far away, and because of problems in travelling, many of the young women prefer to study in the only two degree colleges in their area. A college in Phalasia village offers a bachelor’s degree in arts, while another in Jhadol also offers Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree. A scholarship project called “Udaan” (fl ight) supported by ChildFund Germany has recently been rolled out to support children, especially girls, in high school. The project offers life skills counselling, career guidance and information to enable them to choose a higher education programme meeting their aspirations. The project identified 66 girls from the Jhadol block and finally selected these 35 girls for the counselling programme as they had secured over 50 per cent marks in their Class 12 examinations. “We will facilitate the placement of girls in respective colleges and institutions in higher education courses of their choice,” Saroj Kumar Pattnaik of ChildFund India said. Shanta Kumari Padiyar, among these 35 women, is being ably supported in her aim to become a teacher by her husband Pratap Singh Chauhan. IANS
CITY
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
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The Poona Municipality was alleviated to the status of a Corporation on Feb 15, 1950
12 things to expect from Arun Jaitley’s July 10 budget P 10
Ravet-Kiwale
Civic body has taken road safety measures on NH4 Nigdi-Dapodi route
BRTS shoots up property prices
To avoid accidents on the proposed BRTS routes, the PCMC is ramping up safety measures on these bus-only lanes coming up under its limits. The civic body plans to have in place traffic wardens to man these dedicated corridors and implement suggestions of expert panels to make routes safe. Traffic wardens will be deployed on each bus shelters. The PCMC also plans to appoint wardens in night shifts.
113 housing projects in this area get clearance in one year BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL The newly-emerging Ravet-Kiwale locality under the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is emerging as one of the most upcoming residential locations for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad realtors after Aundh, Baner, Wakad, Pimple Nilakh and Pimple Saudagar. Home buyers are preferring these places for its better transport facility, comparatively low property rate and proximity to the Hinjewadi IT parks and Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt. The development of Sangvi-Kiwale bus rapid transit system (BRTS) project has brightened the property prospects of this region. Many big housing projects have come up in the area after the work on the road stretch began two years ago. Some of the upcoming major projects in these areas are Legacy Fortune by Legacy Group, Rohan Silver Palm Grove (Rohan Constructions), Arun Blue (Big Deal Properties India Pvt Ltd), Swaraj Avenue (Swaraj Group), Bhalchandra Nagri (Diamond Associates and Developers), Celestial City (Pharande Spaces and Rama Group) and Nano Homes (Rama Group)
The numbers released by the PCMC building permission department states that 65 housing projects in Ravet and 48 similar plans in Kiwale were cleared by the civic administration between April 1, 2013 and March 29, 2014. The figure for the previous year (April 1, 2012-March 31, 2013) stood at 42 in Ravet and 31 in Kiwale. Most parts of this region coming under the jurisdiction of Pimpri Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) have also added to the property’s value as the authority is known for proper road network. Another attraction is that the area is also the meeting point of the old NH4, Katraj-Dehu Road bypass and the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, besides being close to Aundh and Hinjewadi IT hub. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
Realty check The price of 1BHK is around Rs25-30 lakh, while 2BHK costs around Rs4550 lakh in Ravet. The rate per sq ft is Rs3,500-4,000 in these localities. ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Many high-end housing projects have come up along the BRTS stretch
WB pats PCMC for project success BY ARCHANA DAHIWAL The World Bank (WB) has lauded the progress of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) pilot Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project at a recent function in Washington. WB president Jim Yong Kim expressed hope that the project could become a role model for the country. This observation has inspired the civic officials to a greatr extent. The civic body has decided to carry forward the plan in a systematic way. The PCMC executive engineer Shrikant Savane said that every minute detail will be analysed before starting the BRTS plan on the road. The PCMC is developing four BRTS routes within its municipal limits under the first phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). These are Nigdi-Dapodi on PuneMumbai highway, AundhRavet Road, Kalewadi PhataDehu Alandi Road and Wakad-Nashik Phata. Nigdi-Kiwale BRTS route is proposed for the second phase. The process of developing dedicated lanes and constructing bus shelters on these two roads is underway. The PCMC has tied up with a Canada-based firm to generate awareness about BRTS among stakeholders. WB has sanctioned Rs 90 lakh for the promotion and outreach programme of BRTS. Explaining the reason for organising the awareness programme, the civic officials said that BRTS is a new concept for PimpriChinchwad citizens and carries many misapprehensions.
The routes: Nigdi-Dapodi BRTS: It is the first BRTS introduced by the PCMC. The civic body undertook the widening of the 13km Pune-Mumbai highway stretch from Nigdi to Dapodi from four to eight lanes around seven years ago. There are two-lane service roads on both sides of this concrete portion of the highway. One lane of the service road is for the BRTS buses while the other is for other vehicular traffic. Nineteen BRTS bus shelters have been constructed on this stretch. The work of dedicated lanes on this stretch is almost complete. Aundh-Ravet BRTS: The work order for the AundhRavet BRTS route was issued on September 9, 2008. The 14.4km Aundh-Ravet route from Rajiv Gandhi bridge across Mula river to Ravet falls within the PCMC limits. The plan was delayed for five years due to land acquisition. Nashik Phata-Wakad BRTS: The route is proposed from Nashik Phata flyover to Wakad (westerly bypass) and the project cost is estimated at Rs 107.9 crore. This stretch links the proposed flyover at Nashik Phata and the PuneMumbai highway to the westerly bypass. It will also offer good road connectivity to residents of Pimpale Gurav and nearby areas to the Software Technology Park (STP) in Hinjewadi. Kalewadi Phata-Dehu Alandi road: The Dehu-Alandi route will be nearly 14.77km in length. archana.dahiwal@goldensparrow.com
WB thinks project could become a role model for India
How About a Helicopter of One’s Own! P 11
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
The first search engine on the Internet was Archie. It was created in 1990 by three students at McGill University, Montreal.
Argentina, France avoid knockout meeting P 15
Oxford of the East? City varsities need to do better P 12
City Blogger Of The Week
Yo, Let’s go and visit yogoyo.com For avid travel blogger Prakash Bang, writing about his travelogues has become the second favourite pastime for him, says Barnalee Handique ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
I
am passionate about travelling and exploring new places. Travel is important to me because it allows my family and myself to broaden our horizons – to experience different cultures, enjoy a variety of experiences and have a lot of fun in the process,” explains city businessman Prakash R Bang. Bang is the managing director of WebSource Technologies Limited which designs, develops, and deploys Internet and e-commerce solutions for the travel and tourism industry. An avid traveller since 1984, Bang launched his travel blog yogoyo.com in 2009. The title fashioned out of American slang (Yo! Let’s Go!), struck him after a conversation with his young sons Ruchir and Anuj. He is
happy that around 700 people visit his site daily. Bang shares his experiences, stories and tips with fellow travellers. The Limca Book of Records awarded him with a national record certificate of having started a first-person blog/travelogue running for the longest duration. “As of June 30, 2013, he had covered 254 destinations within 34 countries, from Antartica to Slovakia. His blog on www. YoGoYo.com had 2,25,672 words and 7,932 images of the places he has visited,” the certificate states. The Bang’s first trip was to Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Hong Kong in 1984. Thereafter, he has been travelling every year. There was so much to explore, see and experience in these
destinations. Every place offered him something new. For instance, Hong Kong is a place for foodies, with a rich variety of street and gourmet cuisine. The ‘Symphony of Lights’ in Hong Kong was another lifetime experience for him. Every evening, at the stroke of 8, lights, music and commentary take over. Around 40 buildings are brightly lit up and some have lasers beaming out making various patterns and throwing light on the boats passing the bay. The show goes on for about 13 minutes. HIS BLOG What he loved most about Bali was
An excerpt from his blog… Bratislava, Slovakia: Small in size, big in culture Born in 1989, Slovakia is a young country. Though very young, its capital city, Bratislava, takes pride in maintaining the country’s heritage that date backs to 5th century and its rich culture that came along with it. On the other hand the city has embraced modern infrastructure and outlook. We were in Vienna, Austria for 3 days. One of the days
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we had kept aside to visit Bratislava which was only 60 kms away. Visitors have the option to hit the road, or take a train or the boat. Cruising River Danube was a good idea for us as it is for thousands of visitors. Good to know that Bratislava is the only Capital City of the world that’s so close to another Capital city. Bratislava and Vienna make a Capital pair…
the rich colours of the sea, forests, black volcanic ash, red fertile soil, fiery Balinese cuisine and the warm hearted people. In Thailand, what left an indelible mark on his mind was Kanchabari, just 130km from Bangkok, a land of waterfalls and home to majestic tigers. Not to forget the bridge on the river Kwae Yai, that later became the theme of an English movie. There are seven waterfalls in the area and tigers abound in the reserve. These tigers are chained and visitors can click pictures of them from a distance. As Bang loves capturing every moment in camera, he decided to write about his travels and share it with other travellers. Asked whether he is a backpacker, Bang said, “Earlier I used to be a backpacker, but my trips are well-planned now. Even now when I am on business trips and realise that there is ample time on hand, I go backpacking. For instance, on my business trips to Europe and Australia, I went backpacking to Mont Blanc once and to the Blue Mountains when I was visiting Sydney.” Before embarking on a journey, Bang does not do much of background research, because then the element of surprise is lost. Each place he visited was unique in its own way in terms of culture, people, food and traditions. Bang plans to travel to the North Pole soon. He will be travelling in a Russian warship for 14 days. Next will be Galapagos near Ecuador in December. In July 2015, he has plans to undertake a cruise from St Petersburg to Volga. Don’t go with expectations...enjoy each moment as it comes is Bang’s advice to travellers He is clear that his blog is not for commercial purposes. “If you check the travel sites and magazines, they always write in the third person. They always tend to paint a rosy picture, which is not the case. The various blogs on different destinations are my first impression as a genuine traveller and what I have experienced. The pictures which I have uploaded substantiate my account,” he said. barnalee.handique@ goldensparrow.com
Top 5 Food Websites Vahrevah.com is a popular, awardwinning Indian food website driven by its founder, Sanjay Thumma. This website began as an online recipes channel on Youtube in 2007 to popularise Indian food. Chef Thumma is immensely popular with the Indian expatriate community in the United States, Europe and many other places across the world. bbcgoodfood.com talks about all good food, whether it is quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy or mouth-watering delicacies that one usually gets at restaurants. So, if one is looking to replicate the restaurant-like experience at home then one can get the recipes of all these mouth-watering dishes at one place - the BBC Good Food website. indianfoodforever.com is an Indian website that aims at providing a truly unique, unforgettable culinary
experience. It combines the ancient with the modern and takes you down the path to losing yourself in the exotic flavours of India. SanjeevKapoor.com is a website comprising recipes and videos of delicious food, prepared by the celebrated chef himself. It is the quintessential one-stop halt for all those who are looking for variety in cuisines and recipes all in one place. And if one is not comfortable in English, there is a facility available in Hindi as well. bawarchi.com is the perfect platform for you, if you are a food aficionado and are looking to post your favourite recipe online. And what is best that people can read your recipe
and refer to it too. If your recipe is appreciated and liked, then you could also be the chef of the week. Apart from this, the website also gives one information regarding good restaurants in your city and various food festivals happening across the country.
Why do students find science terrifying? Google voice search is
ready with Indian diction
Child prodigy and inventor Angad Daryani presented a fascinating perspective on how our schools kill the spirit of scientific enquiry and curiosity among children. Ritu Goyal Harish presents a synopsis of a Tedx Gateway talk in Mumbai by Daryani TGS NEWS SERVICE This disturbing question by 15-year-old Angad Daryani, a Mumbai-based child prodigy and inventor, paved the way for a startlingly articulate Tedx Gateway talk held in Mumbai in December 2013, where he spoke about the challenges faced by children like himself who want to be “Makers”. Daryani’s talk needs to be heard by every parent and educationist in India (https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=wSV YvUHg4UA) Daryani quit school in the ninth grade because, “I was sick of the fact that my curiosity was being killed. I wanted to be able to reason and answer questions by application,” he says. According to him, our schools don’t encourage the spirit of scientific curiosity. Schools “only aim for good grades,” he says and laments that the number of students pursuing research has been declining over the years. He points out that “all children have curiosity and imagination. Even as babies they want to know where babies come from. But the education atmosphere today diminishes curiosity and imagination.” Daryani focuses upon his
achievements as an inventor that includes the creation of a 3D printing commercial desktop model called Sharkbot that he had been researching since age 13. He also worked on a project under Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Labs, with three other people to create “The world’s fi rst e-reader for the blind” called the Virtual Brailler. According to him, there is the
Children have curiosity and imagination. Even as babies they want to know where babies come from. But the education atmosphere diminishes curiosity and imagination “Infinite potential of the blind that remains untapped due to limited resources”. A machine can be created, he says, that converts digital text from Roman to Braille in real time to give tactile Braille feedback to the tracked finger of a visually challenged person. He has created a revolutionary product that could make books
accessible to millions of blind people who currently depend on timeconsuming methods like getting Braille books printed or unintuitive methods like text-to-speech. We need more people who can create devices like these, he says. “Is science really that petrifying?” he asks and then answers it himself: “I believe that science is about application, it’s about realisation, it evokes a sense of contentment when one understands how or why things are
happening in his or her surroundings. Kids need to see science happen in front of them, they need to realise how human civilisation has progressed because of all the products developed by scientists and engineers.” He points out that even if one per cent of the 79 million children who go to school become passionate “makers”, one can imagine the “endless possibilities” that could follow from their inventiveness and pursuit of science. ritugoyalharish@gmail.com
WHAT ARE TED TALKS? TED is a global platform where people from different fields come together and speak for 18 minutes or less about their respective disciplines. It was started in 1984 by a non-profit organisation called Sapling Foundation, under the slogan--- Ideas worth sharing. Initially it organised conferences where matters related to technology, design and entertainment merged, but today it includes varied topics such as business, photography, art, science and the like.
NEW DELHI: Google said it has upgraded the technology under which voice search features become compatible with Indian diction. The company hosted an event called “Google Cafe” here showcasing the search experience for Indian users. “From asking Google where you can watch the latest movie to finding out cricket scores at the touch of a button, Google is there to help you get the answers you need,” said Sandeep Menon, head of marketing, Google India. “We are delighted to showcase the improvements we have made to Search for Indian users today. These features demonstrate Google’s commitment
to India and to continually improving Indian users’ search experience,” Menon said. The event also featured footballer Baichung Bhutia, singer and model Shibani Dandekar, and chef Kunal Kapur, who demonstrated the many ways Google can help users. “Voice has always been the most natural way to interact with a phone, as speaking is typically faster and easier than typing. Google hopes to make Search accessible to an even larger group of Indian users, to help them find the information they need at just the right moment,” Google said in a statement. IANS
FIFA 2014: Delhi HC bans over 400 websites NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has restrained over 400 websites from streaming online the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2014. Justice V Kameswar Rao asked that a copy of his order be sent to the department of telecommunication to issue direction to various Internet service providers for restricting websites from online streaming of ongoing matches. The court order came in response to a plea fi led by Sony Six, the authorised broadcaster of the 2014 World Cup,
alleging that several websites were interfering with its exclusive rights to stream matches of the international event on the Internet. Indian company Multi Screen Media (MSM) Satellite Pvt Ltd, which owns Sony Six, informed the court that it is the authorised broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the Indian subcontinent and holds exclusive rights for telecast as well as streaming the matches. IANS
ED UCATION
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
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CARE ER “Education is not filling the mind with a lot of facts. Perfecting the instrument and getting complete mastery of my own mind is the ideal of education.” — Swami Vivekananda
“Education should be imparted with a view to the type of society that we wish to build. We are working for a modern democracy built on the values of human dignity and equality.” — Dr S Radhakrishnan
Symbiosis, Bharati Vidyapeeth figure in top varsities survey
Delhi University has retained its top ranking for the fifth consecutive year in the latest India Today - Nielsen Best Universities Survey. While city’s premiere institutes, the Symbiosis International University and Bharati Vidyapeeth rank 30th and 34th
TOP INDIAN UNIVERSITIES North zone 1
University of Delhi, Delhi
2 Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 3. Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi 4. Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 5 Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi South zone 1. University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 2. Osmania University, Hyderabad 3 Mysore University, Mysore 4. Andhra University, Visakhapatnam
TGS NEWS SERVICE
5 Bangalore University, Bangalore
PUNE: The University of Delhi (DU) has once again outshone other educational institutes in the country and bagged the top ranking in the fifth India Today-Nielsen Best Universities Survey. Pune’s premiere educational institutes – the Symbiosis International University and the Bharati Vidyapeeth – managed to bag 30th and 34th ranking, respectively. In the survey, over 170 public and private varsities across the country, imparting education in science, commerce and arts, were assessed to identify the 45 best institutes. The Delhi University has been followed by the University of Calcutta, the Banaras Hindu University, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi), the University of Hyderabad, the Aligarh Muslim University, the Osmania University, the Jamia Milia Islamia (Delhi), the Mysore University and the Andhra University in the list. WHY INDIAN VARSITIES LAG BEHIND GLOBALLY The survey states that India has near about 694 universities and each year it churns out about five million graduates. However, when it comes to competing in the world scenario, very few universities, especially the old ones, are equipped enough to be rated as world class. In fact, it was only last year that IIT Guwahati found its place in the Times Higher Education Survey’s top 100 universities under 50 years old’s category. Speaking about the reasons behind this phenomenon, Sudhir Sopory, ViceChancellor, JNU, told India Today that global rankings placed a huge emphasis on research, especially inter-disciplinary, where Indian varsities are still trailing behind its overseas counterparts. He further added that in order to improve the scenario and make the Indian university culture more research oriented, which is the need of the hour, the country’s varsities require better funding, more active participation from the industrial sector, improved infrastructure and cooperation across departments. STEPS TAKEN TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS Indian universities today are doing everything they can to improve their international standing - be it
East zone 1. University of Calcutta 2. Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar 3. Burdwan University, Burdwan 4 Tripura University, Tripura West zone 1. M.S. University, Baroda 2 Goa University, Goa 3 SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai 4. Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj, Nagpur 5. Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati
Criteria of the survey
Jubilant students of the Symbiosis International University after their graduation ceremony. (Below) The Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University has improved its national ranking over last year
getting into MoUs with international institutions, improving funding (though it is in its nascent stage and is progressing slowly), upgrading the infrastructure, developing skill and entrepreneurship with new initiatives, improving placement facilities and the like. The survey showcased the altering nature of higher education as Indian varsities are adopting innovative ways and means to break away from the shackles of the age-old doctrines. Though, the public universities bagged the top ranking, the private varsities have emerged fast to fill the gap. The leading five private universities with respect to infrastructure, that have been included in the list as per the survey, are Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani), Christ University (Bangalore), Amity University (Noida), Banasthali Vidyapith (Jaipur) and Jain
Top 10 Public Universities 2014 2013 1
1
University of Delhi
2
2
University of Calcutta
3
4
Banaras Hindu University
4
3
Jawaharlal Nehru University
5
6
University of Hyderabad
6
8
Aligarh Muslim University
7
7
Osmania University
8
9
Jamia Milia Islamia
9
11
Mysore University
10 12
Andhra University
University (Bangalore). There are also some new entrants in the list such as the Tripura University, Mody University of Science and Technology (Sikar), Saurashtra
University, Deccan College (Pune), Dr Harisingh Gour University (Sagar) and Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. Compiled by Ishani Bose
Pursuing My Career
I want to specialise in Sports Law BY INDRAJEET HANDIQUE
I
nternships are a must for students of law, that’s what my professors at Indian Law Society’s Law College (ILS) told us regularly. Internship is pre-requisite to any graduation as it helps one gain knowledge of substantive areas of law and gives exposure to a real work environment. Sure, I was game for it and looking forward to a stint in one of the law firms. My seniors in college guided me and advised me that internship is where you need to apply more of practical knowledge. When I was in my second year, I applied for an intership to the chambers of the leading Supreme Court advocate Anish Dayal at Delhi. Dayal sir is an advocate in the Supreme Court of India and solicitor, Supreme Court of England and Wales. I chose to work in his law firm as I was interested in Sports law. Dayal sir is an expert in Constitutional Law, Sports Law and
policy-making. In fact, he is an outside counsel for one the IPL teams. He is also known for his adroitness in drawing legal contracts for sports persons. My application for internship was accepted and I was given the green signal. Accordingly, I landed in the Capital city armed with a black coat and my text books....just in case.... I needed to be prepared. In the first week I was asked to observe what the other lawyers were doing. It was basically assisting them in their cases by researching on various points of law. I had to go through the various commentaries and the various sections. It was an arduous task, but I gradually learnt to track it. I read many commentaries of various laws such as the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, The Code of Civil Procedure 1908. I also took the help of internet-based search engines such as manuparta.com and read Supreme Court cases online. It was an entirely new experience for me. Dayal sir was kind and very patient
Indrajeet Handique, student of BSL-III, ILS, Pune
with me. For every task I completed he rewarded me with a Cadbury chocolate. During my second and third weeks, I had the opportunity to observe the proceedings at the Supreme Court of India and the Lokayukta. I followed Dayal sir to the Lokayukta as he appeared as the ‘Amicus Curiae’ (friend of the court) in certain cases. I had the opportunity to observe Honourable Lokayukta Manmohan Sarin at his best. My job was to watch the proceedings of the court and make my own observations. Later on, I was supposed to submit a report to him with my own views and opinions. My internship lasted for three weeks. My internship enlightened me regarding different aspects of law which I was unaware of. I feel there is still a lot of brushing up for me to do and I have learnt that to get the proper grasp of any subject, internships are a must. I am looking forward to my second innings with Dayal sir soon.
In the fifth India Today-Nielsen Best Universities Survey, the top 45 universities were judged and ranked on the basis of their reputation, quality of academic input, student care, infrastructure, job prospects, faculty, research publications, innovation and governance, global exposure, security arrangements, admission procedure, perpetual and factual ranking. On the basis of these standards, Pune’s Symbiosis International University and Bharati Vidyapeeth were ranked 30 and 34, respectively. While Symbiosis is consistent in its position, Bharati Vidyapeeth has improved its ranking and managed to get 34th position compared to the last year’s 35th. With respect to infrastructure, quality of faculty members, innovation and governance as well as security arrangements, Symbiosis has performed better than Bharati Vidyapeeth.
Life’s Lesson
7 skills for professionals Every professional needs to possess these qualities to excel in his career Kathy Caprino, a specialist on careers, leadership and women in business wrote in Forbes magazine on the top seven skills that professionals need to master. What are these skills? Good Communication Skills Irrespective of whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, you need to be able to communicate “powerfully and effectively with confidence and clarity”. This will help you present your ideas convincingly. Building Relationships Success in an organisation is all about team work, “no matter how talented or gifted you are.” This needs to be done not in a manipulative way but in a genuine, sincere manner. Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People comes to mind. Leadership Leaders make all the difference in the life of a nation or an organisation. What do leaders do? They not only show courage but are also able to inspire, empower and motivate those who trust them.
Decision-Making As you grow in your career, you’ll be called upon to make difficult decisions. Learning how to take decisions correctly is therefore, an important skill. Power of Persuation As you rise to the top, big decisions get made by top managers who have the same power and influence as you. The only way is to suceed at persuading others to your point of view. Work-Life Balance As you rise in your profession, the pressures at home and at work will rise, almost exponentially. A stage then comes when stress builds sharply. Truly successful people are those who manage their personal life, family life and work life without any stress. The Laxman Rekha Caprino calls it “boundary enforcement”- knowing when and where to draw your limits. Money, power and influence can open up the possibilities to you. But you should be clear about the boundaries that you won’t cross.
RE LATIONSHIPS “Modern civilized ones without selfdevelopment are but intelligent savages living in spiritual slums.” — Swami Parthasarathy
JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
“In life’s journey, we all meet strange people and undergo many experiences that touch us and sometimes even change us.” — Sudha Murthy VIKRANT DATE
‘Forgive me, dad’
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY
While my dad was alive, I lived in India and he was in Europe and now when he’s no more, I kick myself for not spending quality time with him BY SUMIT PAUL I lost my father on April 23. Though I was never very close to him when he was alive, his departure left a void in my heart and mind. A deluge of nostalgic memories overwhelmed my whole being. Bringing me up single-handedly as I lost my mother when I was an infant, he sacrificed a lot to raise me. This got me thinking. Doesn’t the role of a father in a child’s life often go unnoticed and get eclipsed by a mother’s presence? Fathers are often viewed as rather unemotional beings who leave their offspring in the mother’s custody and conveniently shirk their parental responsibilities. This is a fallacious belief. Fathers, being men, often don’t wear their emotions on their sleeves. They don’t display their joy from the rooftops. I remember, when I stood
first in my BA exams with Persian as my major subject, my taciturn father just said, ‘Congratulations! Keep it up.’ I felt a tad let down and thought that if I had a mother, she’d have been in the seventh heaven and on cloud nine. But at this age and stage of my life with a little more maturity, I understand that his controlled reaction to my ‘grand’ success was in fact his own way to tell me that I mustn’t rest on my laurels and work harder to add more feathers to my cap. We fail to fathom a father’s love because it’s seldom ostentatious. Roman emperorphilosopher (a rare combination, indeed!) Marcus Aurelius observed two thousand years ago that a father’s disciplined affection was more important for a child’s perfect upbringing than a mother’s cloying love (for her child). It was
“A father gives a survival kit to his child to wade through the harsh
Shuddodhan (Gautam Buddha’s father) who could foresee that his son Siddharth would one day become an enlightened one. Siddharth became Buddha because of his father, who was pragmatic enough for not being in favour of Buddha getting married and having a family. That Siddharth eventually had to tie the knot is inconsequential. If a mother provides emotional anchorage, a father gives a survival kit to his child to wade through the harsh realities of life. Alas, most of us understand this in retrospect. While my dad was alive, I lived in India and he was in Europe and now when he’s no more, I kick myself for not spending quality time with him. This is life and this is hindsight wisdom, which’s always futile.
Share Dear Reader, Would you like to share a story or write for this page? Write to us at: relationships@goldensparrow.com
Celebrating 50 golden yrs together and going strong Australian Our grandparents lived extraordinary lives, full of valuable lessons for young couples today. Sneha Krishnan celebrates the 50th wedding anniversary of her grandparents and finds them leading a healthy and happy life
In this over-demanding life that we are engulfed in, how often do we hear of couples who have had successful marriages and those who are sure they are in it for a lifetime? I for sure can say that three out of the five marriages I attended recently ended within just a few months. Considering the obvious fact that today both men and women are focusing on career, travel and business and have an array of arrangements on their plate with endless deadlines, couples do find it hard to make it last. While you’re surrounded by so many failed relationships, you’re naturally looking for that one bright light you know you can follow, the one that brings out hope in you. For me, this bright light was the recent celebration of my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I doubt they would have made it this far if they had started a life together with their foundation based on conditions put forward by both families, which are gradually becoming a trend these days considering hefty pay checks and lavish lifestyle. I constantly hear stories from my aunts about how my grandparents started a life
Will they live 50 years together...
together with bare necessities and how they gradually moved out of the joint family setting to make sure that their children weren’t shadowed by older cousins and were brought up independently. My grandmother would always say that her early days as a new bride in the joint family were a journey of bittersweet memories. But even today, she feels that if she had not experienced the bickering and taunting from the older women in the house, she would have never known how not to treat her daughters and daughter-in-law. But now she would tell me that the current generation is unable to accept such situations, although they might be hard to deal with, they are all still learning experiences. Back then, things were not in the plenty as they are today. Resources were limited, technology barely existed, family time and education were top priority and outdoor games were the only respite from studies. But surely those would have been times that were nothing but satisfying to the soul unlike today when if someone else has more likes on their web page there is a sense of cold war arising. Similarly, starting a life together isn’t a knockout round of tennis where if you
lose a match your game is over. It’s about learning to live with a new person, making peace with likes and dislikes, adjusting to each other’s schedules and lots more, something our generation more or less takes for granted resulting in failed relationships. A few years back, my grandmother went to live with my uncle and his wife for a couple of months to help take care of their child; only she would know the pain she went through during those few months as she had to live away from her husband. Fifty years later, even today, she ensures that they live a happy and healthy life together. Where do we get to see this kind of attachment these days? According to me, these are subtle hints trying to wake us up from our bubble of comfort and overconfidence. With the change in lifestyle and the increasing work pressure of this day and age, we seem to have forgotten how to cherish family and how important certain milestones can be. We have plenty to learn from our grandparents, more than we could possible know. Cherishing family time and valuing the basic necessities of life is something only they have learnt to the fullest.
The Way Forward with compassion and hope
Follow the mantra of keeping your life simple Is a problem bothering you? Write in to us at wayforward@goldensparrow.com for advice from C Ravindranath ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
While we await your queries (which we will answer), let’s discuss something all of us face, that causes a lot of misery, heartburn, anger, melancholy and other negative sentiments. I’m referring to disappointment, a phenomenon all of us have experienced, none of us like and yet find ourselves at a loss on how to deal with it. The rule of thumb propounded by the pundits is: ‘Disappointment is always preceded by expectation’. How can disappointment arise if there is no expectation? However, we are all humans and as humans, we have desires and desires lead to expectations. Thus (if you will pardon the expression), expectation is to be expected. The million dollar question is, how do we deal with it? Logically, higher the expectation, greater the chances of disappointment. Can we therefore
Logically, higher the expectation, greater the chances of disappointment lower our expectations? Easier said than done, for expectations, though usually are from others, can also be from ourselves. I can excuse myself and find a thousand reasons for not meeting my own expectations but woe betide anyone who does not live up to my expectations! I will not spare even my spouse or children. When my son comes second in class, I’m not really happy, for I expected him to be first. I flog him (albeit verbally). He becomes sad and so am I. Can I accept facts
for facts and look at what I have instead of pining for what I don’t have? Can I accept that much as I wish, I cannot have a better past? In short, can I live in the ‘here and
now’ instead of languishing in the past or dreaming of the future? “Root out the forest of desire, O Bhikhu!” said the Buddha. Can we start by removing or
at least reducing a few? My friend, typically middle-class, is a surprisingly happy man. He does not need hot water to bathe, never complains about food and is content wearing shorts (and nothing else) at home. He is also very comfortable sleeping on the bare floor sans pillow or blanket. He is at peace with himself and the world around him. I asked him for his mantra to happiness. “Keep life simple. The more complex and cluttered your life, more head-aches and hassles.” I liked the mantra. It has worked for me, so I’m passing it on to you. To take it or not is your choice. One last word: did you like this piece? If not, what did you expect? (The writer is a multi-faceted personality who believes in responding with compassion and hope to the difficult situations in life.)
VIKRANT DATE
BY SNEHA KRISHNAN
study examines relationships
Women prefer men who have had a little experience in sentimental relationships, but not too much, according to a study published in Australia Tuesday. Men with one or two past relationships rather than none are more attractive, although women lose interest if they have been romantically involved more than five times over a period of four years, local channel ABC reported. “Our research suggests that females do not always take decisions about their partners regardless of others and it seems that a man is more attractive if he has been selected as a romantic partner previously,” according to the authors of the study published in Human Nature magazine. Ryan Anderson, head of the study and doctoral candidate at James Cook University in Australia, said that while this behaviour is deep rooted in the animal kingdom, it has not been deeply investigated in human beings. Men generally seek their partners according to their physical attributes such as symmetry, beauty and the hips, while the definition of females’s desires is less evident. “A man looking for a mate can get a lot of information he needs while observing his potential partner, but females are not visually oriented,” Anderson said in statements to ABC. The researcher said that women are not as shallow as men because they seek to find if their potential mates will be good parents and couples, or if they will be committed to a common life plan, among other aspects that cannot be evaluated visually. So, they look for a partner who has already been tested by other women and this serves as an indicator of him having met with those requirements, he said. For study purposes, the researchers show different photographs of men with silhouettes of a number of women with whom they have had romantic relationships in the last four years. Thus, it was determined that those who have been in one or two relationships were more attractive, but when it reached five they were undesirable. “Perhaps this shows that he is promiscuous or is a person who doesn’t love or is incapable of committing, or simply inspires distrust. Whatever may the reason be, this means the man cannot maintain a relationship and this is discouraging”, he said. The study also revealed that younger women tend to get attracted to men with previous relationships than their older counterparts, a tendency that was attributed to the likelihood that elder females have greater experience and are more confident in making their own decisions. IANS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” — Peter Drucker
Signposts Session on green practices The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Pune Chapter will be holding an interactive session on ‘Sustainable Best Practices – The Greener Way’. The event will be held at Conference Hall 6 and 7, 5 Floor, MCCIA Trade Tower, ICC Complex, Senapati Bapat Road on July 2 between 4.45 pm and 7 pm.
One of the reasons so many people don’t become entrepreneurs is because they’re afraid of failing. — Kishore Biyani
Pune’s odour-killing tube makes a mark in city, Delhi Metro Using odour-killing UV technology, city-based IITian Dr Avinash Kulkarni has developed light bulbs that help improve the air quality in various places. Namita Shibad reports on this technology deployed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and a number of establishments in Pune
Biz networking event MCCIA will organise the July 2014 edition of the business networking event — ‘After 6’ Business Mixer — where one can meet colleagues and potential customers while updating knowledge about global practices in the domain of quality. The programme will be held at Radisson Blu Hotel on Ahmednagar bypass road in Kharadi on July 2 between 6 pm and 8.30 pm. The event is by invitation only.
TGS NEWS SERVICE Imagine public toilets, Sulabh Shauchalayas without the stink! Can one think of Uruli Devachi garbage dump yard without any nasal offending odours? Or sewage treatment plants that spew offensive gases? Or commercial kitchen chimneys that often are the cause of spats in various societies because of sickening stench? Up until now, all this would have seemed like a dream but Dr Avinash Kulkarni, who has been in the business of lighting, has shown how it is possible for a light bulb to kill odour. Dr Kulkarni, an IITian with a PhD in metallurgy from the University of Pensylvania, says that lamps are synonymous with lighting for the common man, but for many years bulbs are used with different technologies to give out heat like in infra-red lamps used in body aches and industrial use. Ultraviolet (UV) lamps are commonly used to purify water. So using the knowledge that UV rays can be used in varied ways, he set
Lila Poonawalla founder, Lila Poonawalla Foundation
...citizens become more responsible. Each one of us needs to take responsibility of what we do. We have educated people who ignore traffic rules, ruin roads, throw rubbish in their vicinity and refuse to follow any regulation. We only know how to play the blame game and ask the other to follow rules. Do we question our acts or the way we behave? People should feel responsible for the city as a whole and not only think about themselves. We should work towards the goodness of the city.
about to develop the technology that was available only in abroad. Kulkarni’s AeroPure UV Systems Pvt Ltd is the only company in India that manufactures UV lamps used to improve air quality and remove stench. Currently Mainland China in Deccan Gymkhana, Persistent Systems, Hinjewadi companies’ STPs, Delhi Metro Rail and Inlaks & Budhrani Hospital are some of the clients using one of the two UV technologies that destroy odour and improve air quality. “UV rays are germicidal. They do not let organisms grow. We produce two types of lamps. One emits UV rays of 254 nanometre (nm) wavelength and
Hospitals have abundance of bacteria, viruses and need to put up these tubes the other 185 nm,” he said. Explaining the methodology of these lamps, Kulkarni said, “All odours are formed by volcanic organic compounds (VOC). In fact, so is perfume. A 185nm UV ray has high energy radiation that will split oxygen (O2) in the air. These ‘split’ oxygen atoms are unstable so they go and attach themselves to other oxygen compounds, which converts it into Ozone i.e. O3 or oxygen with one extra atom. This splitting of oxygen and attaching to other O2 atoms, and converting it into Ozone breaks the VOC, thereby destroying odour.” It is mandatory in Hinjewadi for all companies to have their own sewage treatment plants (STPs) as the
Biz ideas for Pune
A one-stop shop for the elderly RITU GOYAL HARISH The lack of adequate infrastructure in the city has left many senior citizens homebound as many hardly leave their homes unless it’s a trip to the doctor. “Owing to children of many such seniors having either migrated abroad or working there for long, the elderly find it tough to cope with day-to-day living,” observed Gurudutta Kundapurkar, a senior citizen and former vice president of the Schizophrenia Awareness Association. To add to their woes, the bed-ridden or ailing also face tremendous hurdles when it comes to finding solutions to lead a life of dignity and with a degree of independence. What Pune needs urgently and immediately is a one-stop shop for the needs of the elderly. Chennai has the Old is Gold (OIG) store which is an idea worth emulating. Perhaps, OIG itself could have a branch in Pune. Started by S Prithvirajan, his wife KP Jayashree and Sanjay Dattatri, OIG is a result of the quest of these individuals to look for solutions to make life easy for their elderly parents.
municipal corporation does not provide the facility. These individual STPs set up by various offices are torturous for employee. Most of these firms have made their workplace workable by using Kulkarni’s 185nm UV lamps known as Duct Zapper. Mainland China has found the Duct Zapper useful for its kitchen odours. These UV lamps can also purify the air. “These lamps can act as a powerful germicide when we increase the wavelength of UV rays to 254nm. The rays can penetrate into the cell walls of bacteria and destroy the DNA. In case of viruses, they have no cell wall and the UV rays kill them as well,” he said. The need to put up these lamps should be the top priority of hospitals as it has an abundance of bacteria and viruses floating in the air. “The UV lamp called WatMizer kills the swine flu virus. Persistent Systems found a 90 per cent reduction in microbe content in the air after installing WatMizer at their air conditioning ducts,” he said. The US in March 2003 mandated that all government buildings must have UV germicidal irradiation. But in India companies are using WatMizer for another advantage - reduced power consumption. The lamp reduces power consumption by 10-15 per cent and requires no maintenance. About 90 per cent of AeroPure’s sales come from WatMizer and only 10 per cent from Duct Zapper. “People are strange. They find the smell of Ozone offensive but not a public urinal. Maybe it’s because they are used to it,” says Kulkarni with a smile. Whatever be the reasons for use, lower power bills or odour reduction, Kulkarni is smiling all the way to the bank. shibadnamita@gmail.com
Startup Mentor
It is important to understand the stage of venture and funding rounds that are needed This feature is a collaboration between The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) – the world’s largest non profit network of entrepreneurs. For additional questions about your entrepreneurial challenges, write to mentoring@pune.tie.org Product Market Fit Business Model Fit
These elders are leading a happy life due to the sincere efforts of (bottom left) S Prithvirajan (sitting), his wife KP Jayashree and Sanjay Dattatri
“We have an emotional connect with the concept,” said Prithvirajan in a teleinterview from Chennai. Prithvirajan and Jayashree were seeking to make life comfortable for the former’s mother who had lost her eyesight. Issues of mobility and convenience were foremost concerns. Dattatri, a caregiver for his mother, said candidly, “Society has not provided for a life of dignity, safety and security for the entire sector of the elderly, whether they are active or infirm.” “Our homes are unfriendly to senior citizens. Bathrooms are constantly wet and we use marble flooring that is very slippery. So safety is a very big component of what we do,” he added. OIG offers a vast range of products, from walking sticks and walkers to comfortable clothing (called adaptive clothing), furniture to suit their needs, antiskid mats, toilet and orthopaedic aids, grab
bars to help them raise themselves out of bed without assistance and everyday convenience products like nail clippers with a magnifying glass etc. Said Jayashree, “We source products from all over the world and also adapt and innovate products to suit their needs like the lightweight tripod stool that can be carried to a temple where seating on the floor is challenging. Our prices are as low as possible.” “For Pune, this is the need of the hour,” said Dr Namdeorao Sawant, president of the Jyeshtha Nagarik Sangh, Vimannagar, one of Pune’s most active senior citizen clubs with 600 members. ritugoyalharish@gmail
OIG store in city OIG’s online store delivers only to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra because of high transport charges. They are open to enquiries from other cities and plans to open a store in Pune
Me and my friend Randhir quit our jobs after 8-9 years of working in different companies to start WizMatic. We offer niche service in the IT Infrastructure Management space and large service providers are making big business in this area. The customers are companies with 1000+ computers. We have spent our time trying to define the service offering and trying to become sub-contractors to these large service providers. However, the customers are not signed up yet and we are running out of funds. Should we raise angel investment round and how? — Sandeep Panat, WizMatic Most entrepreneurs need outside funds to propel their ventures. It is important to understand the stage of the venture and the funding rounds that are typically needed. Please see an indicative diagram: A brief explanation of this diagram is • The venture begins with founders’ own funds • As the founders start the venture, a seed round where friends and relatives invest
Series C
Series B Series A Bridge Angel Round* Seed Round Round 0
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When there is a better ‘Product Market Fit’ – Angel Investors come in • The Venture Capitalists invest in subsequent rounds to help scale the business and usually when the business model is established. Now let us examine the stage of your business in this context. It appears that your service is directed to very large customer organisations and it is provided by large service providers. You may want to check if these customer organisations are willing to work with a startup like yours. In general, large customers prefer to get services from large providers on
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account of several factors. So there may be a ‘product-market fitment’ challenge here. The fact that you have not been able to secure paying customer suggests that you are still away from this stage. Under the circumstances, it is advisable to try and raise funds through ‘Friends and Family’ and these investors know founders very well and are willing to bet on you as individuals. When you have tailored the offerings and begin to get early customers; it’s a good idea to look at ‘Angel Investors’. Vishwas Mahajan, president of TiE Pune Chapter answers real life questions of entrepreneurs
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
A world class event deserves world class support P 13
PUNE
“The decision to give reservation to Muslims makes a fool of the community because the country runs on a Constitution and that Constitution does not allow religion-based reservation.” —Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla
12 things to expect from Arun Jaitley’s July 10 budget IANS
BY R JAGANNATHAN When governments change, priorities change. However, Union budgets prepared immediately after a general election tend to be large on announcements about change rather than real changes in allocations and priorities. This is because there is very little time between election results and budget day to be able to comprehensively change the contours completely. This time, the election results came on 16 May, and the formation of the central government took another 10 days as this was the first time a sitting state Chief Minister was elected Prime Minister. The delays related to the need for Narendra Modi to hand over power in Gujarat smoothly before moving to Delhi. Moreover, when the political order changes, as in this general election, the new ministers would not have had the time to familiarise themselves with their own ministries before dealing with the finance ministry on the budget. The net result is the previous interim budget tends to be the guiding document, with the big changes being largely cosmetic in nature or about things to come in future. Will the 10 July budget be any different? Will it be more or less what P Chidambaram presented on 17 February (the interim budget), with only the medium-term policy goals being different, and the budget proposals largely remaining tweaked versions of the last UPA budget? These are what I would expect in the budget to be presented by Arun Jaitley on 10 July: #1: Marginal changes in the minimum tax-free bracket (Rs 2 lakh now) to reflect higher inflation. #2: Some changes and increases in the 80C savings limit to boost savings. #3: Special tax breaks for industry to start investing, including possible quicker depreciation. #4: Scrapping of some centrallysponsored schemes and transfer of the resources to states – which will be explained as a push to greater state autonomy. #5: A restatement of Chidambaram’s fiscal deficit numbers so that the burden of lowering it this year is eased.
The Jaitley budget will probably draw on Chidambaram’s underlying budget because he has had no time to overhaul it
#6: A higher disinvestment target than what Chidambaram proposed, thanks to a more buoyant market. #7: Very few changes to indirect taxes – both excise and customs. #8: A new deadline for the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), probably around mid-2015 or 1 April 2016. #9: Announcement of a new Direct Taxes Code effective from 1 April 2015 – with details to come later. #10: Higher allocations to education, skill-building, health, and urban schemes. All of Modi’s pet projects – toilets, rural housing, roads, special manufacturing zones - will find a mention in terms of intent, and there will be token allocations, but nothing major. The money and actual details will come later #11: Possible announcement of a changed, reduced, role for the Planning Commission, with the finance ministry itself being the nodal agency for dealing with state plan outlay. Maybe, even a scrapping of the 12th plan, with focus shifting to annual plans. The distinction between plan and non-plan outlays may be given up, and revenue and capital
spending being the only distinction. #12: NREGA and Land Bills will be tweaked to make them more progrowth, pro-infrastructure development. But the bottomline is not much money will be shown for all the pet NDA schemes. In short, the Jaitley budget will probably draw on Chidambaram’s underlying budget because he has had no time to overhaul it. Over the last 23 years, from 1991 to now, we have seen big changes in the political orientation of new governments in 1991, 1996, 1998, 2004 - and now. But barring 1991, when within a month after the elections Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh simply changed the entire direction of the Indian economy – with external bankruptcy concentrating minds wonderfully – no new government has really managed to do all that it wanted to in its very first budget. There is simply too little time. The hiking of railway fares and freight hikes last week – which was a UPA government proposal – further confirms to us that NDA’s first budget math will not be too different from that of the UPA.
In 2004, when UPA-1 replaced Vajpayee’s NDA, Chidambaram as finance minister paid lip-service to the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) agreed between the Congress, the Left and other alliance parties. But the budget made very few sweeping changes in its first attempt: the big changes related to just one or two areas, and not the whole budget. Chidambaram changed very little on direct taxes, and the key changes related to the introduction of securities transaction tax (STT) on stock exchange transactions and the abolition of longterm capital gains tax. An education cess of 2 per cent on all taxes was also introduced for the first time. Chidambaram explained why he was not making big changes in his budget speech of 8 July 2008: “The government has to shift gears; and even if we are able to do so quickly, it would leave us only about six months to achieve our objectives for this year. We have, therefore, decided to adopt an innovative approach. The Planning Commission has advised the ministries and departments to redefine their priorities and redraw their programmes in accordance with the NCMP. Besides, new programmes or schemes may have to be launched, and old ones restructured. Under the circumstances, it was considered optimal to allow the ongoing programmes to continue until the Planning Commission completes an exhaustive review and reorients the expenditure pattern to conform to the NCMP objectives.” Chidambaram’s “innovation” was simply to buy time. On direct taxes, he simply shifted the changes to the next budget. “I am a votary of tax reforms but it would be unwise on my part to attempt to do tax reform in a hurried or piece-meal manner. Seven months from now there will be another Budget, and there will be an occasion to visit the subject of tax reform.” So, given the short time available, Jaitley is more than likely to do what Chidambaram did in 2004. Make big announcements in directional change, but make only small changes in the actual budget numbers. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
Modi must have a drought focused budget if monsoon doesn’t arrive BY FIRSTBIZ Finally, the d-word is coming into the focus, pouring water over the grand plans of newly elected prime minister Narendra Modi. Various newspaper reports have warned that India may be facing one of the worst droughts in recent years as rainfall has been 37 per cent below normal until now from 1 June. And what is more shocking is that this is not the El Nino effect. It is just the monsoon deficiency. El Nino, a weather pattern that occurs every 2-7 years that brings drought, floods and crop damages with it, is likely only in August. According to a report in the Hindu BusinessLine, revival is unlikely this month. “There is a very small chance of the monsoon reviving in the next four-five days. The forecast is that rains will revive in the first week of July,” Shivanand Pai, head of the Long Range Forecasting Division at India Meteorological Department (IMD), has been quoted as saying in the report. Ideally, a deficit in the early stages of the monsoon isn’t unusual, a research report from HSBC had said recently. What matters is the pick-up in rainfall as the season progresses. This year, the monsoon was delayed by just five days, which is better compared with years shown in the graphic. However, it is the fourth week of June and there is no sign of the rains picking up pace yet. The poor rainfall has affected sowing patterns as well, a report in The Economic Times said. The paper also adds that it’s not just a poor monsoon that is a worry for the government. At the beginning of June, India’s biggest reservoirs had 33 per cent more water than last year, however the levels have now fallen to 2013 levels or
According to the HSBC report, if rainfall is deficient by 10 per cent, food inflation jumps by 2.8 percentage points
even lower in some cases. The Central Water Commission’s latest data, from 19 June, 2014, shows that the storage of 85 important reservoirs is nearly 103 per cent of last year’s storage. Fifty-five of the 85 reservoirs reported more than 80 percent normal storage and 30 reservoirs reported 80 per cent or below of normal storage. According to the HSBC report, if rainfall is deficient by 10 per cent, food inflation jumps by 2.8 percentage points, and headline WPI and CPI by 0.7 percentage points and 1.3 percentage points, respectively. Going by the current statistics, the decline in rainfall is going to be sharper this year and its impact on inflation is likely to be deeper. RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said that he will be focused on fighting inflation for the next few quarters. If, as expected, the monsoon does not revive next month, Modi’s first budget will probably have to be a drought-focused one. © Firstpost.com. Originally published on FirstBiz
NCP denies seeking CM’s removal, Sparrows on the Summons to Rahul, Sonia Pawar targets Centre on price rise return: ecologist weakens Cong further MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an ally of Congress in the state, said on Wednesday that it had not made any demand for the removal of the Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, indicating that the latter may in fact be saved the axe. “We have not made any demand for removal of Prithviraj Chavan as chief minister. Whether Congress wants to change the leadership in the state or not, it is their lookout and we have nothing do with that,” said Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior NCP leader and PWD minister. He was talking at the extended working committee meeting of the party in Mumbai on Wednesday morning. However, the junior ally did not lose the opportunity to take a potshot at the confusion and apparent lack of leadership in the Congress. “Why do you need Sharad Pawar to lead the Congress party which has a heavyweight leader like you (chief minister),” he taunted. Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, the NCP today also made organizational changes in the party and appointed the state Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare as president of the Maharashtra
IANS
BY VISHWAS WAGHMODE
Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, NCP has appointed the state water resources minister Sunil Tatkare (L) as the party’s Maharashtra unit president
unit of the party. Tatkare replaces Bhaskar Jadhav, who held the post since June 14, 2013. According to the sources, Jadhav is likely to replace Tatkare in the state cabinet in next few days. “We will formally demand more assembly seats from the Congress for the upcoming assembly elections in the state based on the seat sharing formula used in 2009,” said Tatkare. NCP president Sharad Pawar warned the new union government over rising prices and inflation. “BJP came to power by raising a voice against inflation. Having promised achhe din, if you trouble the masses,
we will not tolerate it,” said Pawar, adding that the anti-Congress wave created during the Lok sabha election affected its allies as well. “The state government should also address the issues of inflation and corruption on priority,” he added. Meanwhile, Pawar’s nephew and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar denied allegations about corruption in the irrigation department. “The opposition parties are unnecessarily defaming me and my party over this,” said Ajit Pawar. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
Contd from p 1 Ajit Ghule, director, Tree Public Foundation attributed the disappearance of the lovely birds to the absence of the right kind of trees for sparrows in the city. “Trees are the source of nutrition, food and shelter for them. People today are planting exotic trees that look good without realising that they do more damage to birds in the bargain. We have practically stopped drumstick and umbar trees in our backyards, which are great source of proteins and vitamins for birds. The fruits of these trees fall of and rot, resulting in worms which again are a food source for smaller birds,” he said. According to experts, trees like Tamarind work as a shelter for sparrows against scavenger birds as they are protected in the huge branches. Wildlife photographer, bird watcher, environmentalist and artist Vishwajeet Naik said one needs to just follow simple steps to ensure the conservation of these smaller birds. “Terracotta dishes which are not very deep are the best way to ensure our feathered friends are not dehydrated during the year. They like to stay clean and this bowl of water helps them bathe too. Also, one should water their garden trees or plants in a way that the leaves have a few drops of water on it. Smaller birds love having a bath on the leaves and preen themselves there too,” Vishwajeet said. These bird enthusiasts believe that summer is not the only time that the birds need a water bath or feeder. “They are on the lookout all year through. So continue keeping that bowl of water for them,” he said.
Contd from p 1 The BJP is elated over the developments. But since the party is in power, it does not want to be seen as overtly enthusiastic about the court’s summons to Sonia, Rahul and their other trusted leaders. It is thus not making any further noises than Swamy, now in their own party ranks, is making. A party leader said the possibility of other agencies putting their act together to find the truth should be the natural follow up. The Modi government can’t be accused be of vendetta, since the court has prima facie accepted wrong doing on the part of Sonia and Rahul. The charges listed against them indeed are very serious. Swamy has pointed that Rahul Gandhi’s office had responded to The Pioneer in an email to a query whether Young Indian was expected to relaunch a defunct National Herald. That e-mail from Rahul Gandhi’s office read, “Young Indian is a company registered and holding a licence granted under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. As a Section 25 company, Young Indian is a not-for-profit company and does not have commercial operations. The activities of the company are in the public domain. Anyone who chooses to can inspect the Objects of the Company. The company has no intention of starting
any newspaper.” The Congress vicepresident’s explicit response that he had no intentions to run the newspaper inadvertently has given credence to the charges of land grab at some of the most prime locations in the country. Though its incumbent upon the Modi government to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament during the Budget Session, the National Herald case will surely cast its shadow and the BJP will use the ready ammunition to further corner an already demoralised Congress. From the Congress’ perspective two important decisions are to be taken by the government and the Speaker when the Parliament opens budget session — election of Deputy Speaker, which has conventionally been decided by the main opposition party, and taking a call on Congress’s claim for designating its leader as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Congress does not have 1/10 members of the total strength of Lok Sabha to automatically become a deserving claimant and it is now left to the Speaker to decide on the issue. Ahead of assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, the BJP has got some ready made talking points to fire against the Congress. (By special arrangement with Firstpost.com)
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
—South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said Friday that North Korea has been trying to upgrade its large-caliber multiple rocket launch systems in recent years and that the weapons’ range has been slightly and gradually increased in each test-launch.
Get higher returns than your bank deposits P 14
How About a Helicopter of One’s Own! LIVERPOOL, England - You know what would be cool? If we had our own personal minihelicopters that were almost as easy to fly as cars are to drive, and we could take off from our backyards, soar over the traffic and peer down at the earthbound masses, trudging along below. That would be cool. As it turns out, the European Union is making plans for that very thing. Six research institutions across Europe are studying the feasibility of small commuter helicopters, helped along by a $4.7 million grant from the European government in a project dubbed “MyCopter.” The initial project is almost complete, and a second phase is being considered. Scientists and engineers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, and here, at the University of Liverpool’s engineering school, are among those leading the research. At a high-ceilinged laboratory at the university’s Center for Engineering Dynamics in downtown Liverpool, I recently strapped in for a test flight in an orb-shaped flight simulator. The university has long expertise in flight simulation, including a project that aims to develop flying buses that don’t need a runway. For MyCopter, researchers here are trying to figure out how to make personal helicopters easy to fly for ordinary people. They started by collaborating with former military test pilots, and have moved on to testing their flight systems with people who have no flying
ANDREW TESTA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
DANNY HAKIM
might work. Part of the challenge would be creating a way for masses of airborne cars to fly under airplanes, not to crash into one another, and not to require thousands of new air traffic controllers or physical infrastructure. The project was the brainchild of Dr. Heinrich H. Bülthoff, director of perception, cognition and action at the Max Planck Institute. “There’s a long-standing dream of flying cars, and there have been many proposals and attempts over the years, but there are still a lot of problems to solve before one can actually build such a flying car and get it to work,” Bülthoff said in a phone interview. Right now, the six institutions are dividing the research tasks. In addition to the University of Liverpool, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich are working on ways to automate the operation of the helicopters by conducting testing on drones. At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, researchers are studying how to avoid collisions. At the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis in Karlsruhe, Germany, researchers are surveying Europeans about what they might think about flying cars, to see how they would be accepted. Surveys in Zurich, for example, found that “people liked the idea of going to work and avoiding the morning and evening traffic jams, but they didn’t want
these flying cars all day,” Bülthoff said. “They wanted to be able to sit on their balconies and enjoy the view and not have to see a swarm of cars.” Finally, at the German Aerospace Center in Braunschweig, researchers will come together and try out the technologies developed at the various institutions in a real test helicopter. Cutting to the chase here: When will cars fly? The next phase of MyCopter, which officially ends this year, would be to collaborate with private companies on potential designs, but funding has not yet been approved. Some small companies are developing flying cars, like Pal-V of the Netherlands, which aims to bring a small car that can turn into a helicopter onto the market by 2016, priced around $300,000. Bülthoff said he believed small, light helicopters could be competitive because they would avoid sitting in traffic and travel more directly, though environmental groups might take some convincing. As for my own test flight, it went great. Landing isn’t a big deal, is it? Toward the end, I confused my hand on the throttle with the hand on the altitude lever, and seemed to go into some kind of stall. Bells started ringing, and White had to step in and momentarily take control. Suddenly, I felt 16 all over again. Next time, I’ll take the one with autopilot. © 2014 New York Times News Service
MyCopter is not about designing such a vehicle, but figuring out how it might work
Mark D. White, the laboratory manager, in the flight simulator at the University of Liverpool. Researchers are working on making a personal helicopter easy to fly for ordinary people, part of the MyCopter project funded by the European Union.
experience. People like me, that is. As I took my seat, a large video screen wrapped around past my peripheral vision on each side. The sky was blue, the grass was green. There was a throttle between my legs that controlled my speed and turns, and a lever to my left to control my altitude; these are similar to normal helicopter controls, though a variety of control types are being studied. I don’t know how to fly and I’m not even a very enthusiastic driver, but I took
off easily enough from what looked like a field surrounded by six houses in the English countryside. Then I followed a virtual aerial highway stretching out before me by flying through a series of purple squares spread across the simulated skyline. For a nonpilot, the biggest challenge was remembering not to confuse the throttle with the altitude lever. That was easy enough while we were cruising. After a few minutes of chugging along the airway, I could see the Mersey
NYT
BARCELONA, Spain - Carmen Balcells was never just a literary agent. Nicknamed La Mamá Grande, after a story by Gabriel García Márquez, she served as a confidante and coach, someone who paid her writers’ dentist bills and deftly resolved their domestic problems while promoting the greatest Latin American and Spanish authors across the globe, including García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and many more. During the boom in Latin American literature in the 1960s and 1970s, when political turmoil shook that region and Francisco Franco ruled in Madrid, Balcells became a crucial liaison connecting Spain and Latin America with the rest of the world and helped a generation of Spanish-language writers find audiences in English. Today the boom is over, but the backlist lives on. Facing the prospect of a waning empire and no clear successor (her son does not want to take over), Balcells, 83, announced in May that she had signed a letter of intent with the New York literary agent Andrew Wylie to form a new venture, the Balcells-Wylie agency, in which her writers would come under joint management with Wylie. “I want things clean and ironed,” Balcells said, switching into Catalan from Spanish in an often elliptical, multilingual conversation recently in her airy apartment on the elegant Avenida Diagonal here, the heart of Spain’s publishing industry. Still formidable, even in a wheelchair, she was wearing one of her trademark white dresses. In play is the literary estate of García Márquez - who died in April and who Wylie said was estimated to have sold more than 50 million books - as well as the fortunes of 300 or so other writers represented by Balcells, including Vargas Llosa, Isabel Allende, Javier Cercas and the estates of Carlos Fuentes and Pablo Neruda. If the deal goes through, the joint venture would give Wylie a far deeper reach into a lucrative and growing market as the center of gravity in Spanish-language publishing is moving away from Spain, hit hard by an economic crisis, to Latin America, where sales are on the rise. The joint venture also marks the end of an era. For years, Balcells spurned the advances of Wylie, one of the most powerful literary agents in the world. Wylie said he was pleased at the prospect. “She has clients of significant interest to me,” he said in a telephone interview. Over the years, Balcells changed the rules of
JOHN MARKOFF & CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
From driverless cars to delivery drones, a new generation of robots is about to revolutionize the way people work, drive and shop. But there is one area where robots are already entrenched and spreading fast: the industrial sector, especially manufacturing and storage. Robots have long toiled alongside workers in factories and warehouses, where they load boxes with items ordered online, drill and weld car parts, or move food from one conveyor belt to the next. Now many experts worry about the dangers that robots pose to the humans who work alongside them. Robots have caused at least 33 workplace deaths and injuries in the United States in the past 30 years, according to data from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That may not sound like many, but the number may well understate the perils ahead. Unlike today’s robots, which generally work in cages, the next generation will have much more autonomy and freedom to move on
“I am a remarkable woman.”
Spanish publishing. Before, writers would sign open-ended contracts with publishers, who gave meager advances and took near-total control of all rights. Balcells began negotiating better advances and fixed-term contracts, as well as complex licensing and rights arrangements. Today, she is fighting to get her writers better deals for electronic and film rights. “She invented the role of the literary agent,” said the Spanish literary critic Ignacio Echevarría. For a woman who went on to befriend members of the Spanish royal family and most prime ministers (after the Franco era, which ended in 1975), Balcells came from humble origins. She grew up in a small village in Catalonia in a home without heat or running water. She studied business, but has no university degree. She met García Márquez in Mexico in 1965 and sold the U.S. rights to his 1967 novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” which sold 1 million copies almost immediately. In a now-famous story, the novelist once asked Balcells if she loved him. “How can I answer that?” she told him. “You’re more than 30 percent of my business!” (Balcells said that was still the case today.) Asked what she considered her legacy, she paused. “The dream of my life was to start a literary agency and to have a writer like Gabo,” she said of García Márquez. And she achieved it. “I agree,” she said, her eyes lucid and mischievous. “I am a remarkable woman.” © 2014 New York Times News Service
Robots have caused at least 33 workplace deaths and injuries in the United States in the past 30 years, according to data from the U.S. their own. “In order for robots to work more productively, they must escape from their cages and be able to work alongside people,” said Kent Massey, the director of advanced programs at HDT Robotics. “To achieve this goal safely, robots must become more like people. They must have eyes and a sense of touch, as well as the intelligence to use those senses.” Until now, robots have largely been used in manufacturing, particularly in the auto industry. They have mostly been “dumb robots,” designed for repetitive tasks that are dirty, dangerous or dull. Regulations have required that the robots operate separately from humans, in cages or surrounded by light curtains that stop the machines when people approach. As a result, most of the injuries and deaths have happened
when humans who are maintaining the robots make an error or violate the safety barriers, such as by entering a cage. Along with the new, free-roaming robots come new safety concerns. People worry about what happens if a robot spins out of control, or the first time a driverless car kills someone. “It’s the fear of robots,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School who studies driverless cars. As a result, these robots require extra protective measures. The Google car has a padded front to soften any blow if the robot or a human causes an accident. The windshield is plastic, and the front of the car is rounded so it is less likely to hurt or trap pedestrians or cyclists. Here, from OSHA data, are nine serious industrial accidents involving robots. Many were a result of human error; others were caused by robots’ unexpected behavior. Bakery, August 2011 An employee was repairing a jammed conveyor belt in an oven when he became caught between a robotic arm and the belt. He was killed. Plastics factory, May 2007 An employee was troubleshooting a robotic arm used to remove CD jewel cases when the arm struck the employee in his head and ribs. He died two weeks later. Metal factory, July 2006 An employee was crushed between a robotic arm and the robot’s work station. He appeared to have been reaching to remove a scrap the robot had dropped or to push the reset button. The employee was killed.
Car factory, March 2006 A robot caught an employee on the back of her neck and pinned her head between itself and the part she was welding. She was killed. Car factory, December 2001 An employee was cleaning at the end of his shift and entered a robot’s unlocked cage. The robot grabbed his neck and pinned the employee under a wheel rim. He was asphyxiated. Metal factory, August 1999 A maintenance worker climbed a fence to repair a pin in a robot. It was still operating, and he became caught in the machine. He was killed. Meatpacking plant, June 1999 An employee accidentally activated a robot when he stepped on a conveyor belt where robots were moving boxes of meat. He became trapped. When his co-workers removed the robot, he fell to the floor. He was killed. Sporting goods manufacturer, November 1996 An employee was using a robot to weld and drill basketball backboards. When he noticed a half-done hole, he manually drilled it. The robot thought that meant the cycle was complete and unexpectedly turned, pinning the employee against the wall. He was hospitalized. Aluminum factory, February 1996 Three workers were watching a robot pour molten aluminum when the pouring unexpectedly stopped. One of them left to flip a switch to start the pouring again. The other two were still standing near the pouring operation, and when the robot restarted, its 68-kilogram ladle pinned one of them against the wall. He was killed. © 2014 New York Times News Service
NYT
Danger: Robots Working
After Years of Solitude, Spanish Literary Champion Takes U.S. Agent as a Partner RACHEL DONADIO
River was on my left, downtown Liverpool on the right, and its famous docks up ahead. MyCopter was proposed in response to a 2007 European Union report called “Out of the Box: Ideas About the Future of Air Transport,” which solicited ideas from researchers on radical changes to Europe’s existing transportation system, including ideas for a “personal air vehicle.” MyCopter is not about designing such a vehicle, but figuring out how it
TH E EDIT PAGE
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
Editor’s picks
“Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will.” - Jawaharlal Nehru
Oxford of the East? City varsities need to do better A city which does not hesitate to award itself the title ‘Oxford of the East’ needs to do better on the education front. Pune has had a brilliant past in the field of research, learning and scholarship and has nearly 10 universities now, one of them being the State-run University of Pune. It is, therefore, disappointing that none of these universities figure in the top 10 or even top 20 of the best universities in the country as assessed by the fifth India Today – Nielsen Best Universities Survey, 2014. A total of 170 universities from across the country in the arts, science and commerce streams were surveyed to identify 45 of the best universities in the country. Pune finds its place in the second half of the list with the Symbiosis International University at rank 30 and Bharati Vidyapeeth at rank 34. What is there in terms of academic excellence in the other cities of India, some of them smaller than Pune, that is missing in this city? Pune and its educational insti-
tutions do not lack in resources, connectivity or infrastructure. The quality of faculty is certainly an issue as was indicated by the survey in which Pune ranked at 31 and 36 out of 45 in terms of quality of faculty. The poor performance by Pune’s universities is a pointer to the absence of a serious academic culture that one finds at Hyderabad, Mysore and Bangalore, all of which host institutions that rank among the top 10 universities in the country. Among the best performing universities in western India were SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati, the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj University, Nagpur, Goa University and MS University, Baroda. The educationists of Pune must think at least twice before invoking the exalted refe rence to Oxford.
Giving world class support to the wari The few lakh pilgrims who pass through Pune as a part of the warkari tradition spanning 800 years are symbolic of a world class event. This is the annual pilgrimage of the palkhi of Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram, originating at Alandi-Dehu and culminating at Pandharpur amidst spiritual fervour. When the palkhi accompanied by its devotees passes through Pune, the city steps out to extend a warm-hearted welcome in various ways, as was seen last week. As noted by our journalists, special efforts are taken by the civic authorities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and the Pune Police to ensure that the palkhi procession proceeds smoothly after a day’s halt in the city. However, Pune, its citizens and NGOs can do a lot more to give the
palkhi the status of a world class event which is what it already is. The day of the palkhi is when the mass of personal vehicles need to be off the roads to avoid acute traffic jams and congestion. That can happen when citizens take a holiday voluntarily or persuade their organisations to declare a holiday as is done by some. Special efforts can be made to expose children to this event; viewing galleries can be erected for tourists, especially those from abroad and greater effort can be put to make the journey as comfortable as possible for the warkaris. Most of them are among the poorest of our farmers and deserve our generosity on this special occasion. Undoubtedly, this world class event deserves world class support from the people of this city.
Man’s search for meaning Viktor E Frankl I doubt whether a doctor can answer this question in general terms. For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters therefore is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. To put the question in general terms would be comparable to the question posed to a chess champion, ‘Tell me Master, what is the best move in the world?’ There is simply no such thing as the best or even a good move apart from a particular situation in a game and the particular personality of one’s opponent. The same holds for human existence. One should not search for an abstract meaning of life.
Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment which demands fulfilment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it. As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognise that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.
Vol-1* lssue No.: 2 Printed and Published by: Shrikant Honnavarkar on behalf of Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd, Plot No. EL-201, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai. Published at Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 1641, Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411 030, Tel: 020-2432 4332/33. Editor: Abhay Vaidya (Responsible for the selection of news under the PRB Act, 1867)
Indian theatre faring poorly: Mahesh Dattani Indian theatre is faring poorly in comparison with theatre across the world primarily due to the mediocrity of state-sponsored regional theatre, says acclaimed playwright Mahesh Dattani. “It’s faring very badly because the kind of state subsidised or state sponsored theatre that we have is very mediocre, because of the bureaucracy involved and a lot going on that is very unhealthy for artistic growth,” Dattani told IANS in an interview. An out-of-the-boxthinker, the Mumbaibased Gujarati has also donned the director’s hat for movie ventures such as the Shabana Azmistarrer “Morning Raga” and “Mango Souffle” (2002), tagged as the country’s first gay male film. He was in the city to conduct an intensive acting workshop organised by art and culture magazine Kindle, in association with the iLEAD educational institution and The Corner Courtyard, a newly opened boutique hotel. He is the first Indian playwright in English to receive a Sahitya Akademi award. And to pump fresh life into regional theatre, there’s a need for more money, more collaborations and at the heart of it, artistic integrity, he says.
“Collaborations are good...one can learn from marketing techniques...how they (international theatre) can sustain themselves in stiff competition. Acknowledging that films are “our bloodline”, he conceded that while Bollywood can be meaningful, its shallowness has influenced commercial Indian theatre. “Bollywood is inspired by shallow Hollywood and commercial Indian theatre is inspired by shallow Bollywood,” he said, pointing out the vicious circle. Moreover, the ace playwright highlighted the flip side of blindly aping western concepts in theatre, that is, adopting a textbased approach while traditionally it is a rich blend of text, dance, music and drama. International influences, he said, “are not necessary at all”. “In fact, sometimes I feel they are detrimental. I am not against cultural collaborations but what I am talking about is blind following of western concepts and systems, which is what modern Indian theatre does. Noting some encouraging trends in Indian theatre, such as its becoming more visually rich - in terms of
The ace playwright highlighted the flip side of blindly aping western concepts in theatre
intelligent use of space and spontaneity - and shifting away from verbosity, Dattani said the surge in numbers of international collaborations and experiments hasn’t yielded anything original. Known for exploring sensitive issues, he dubs recent instances of curbing creative freedom in India as an “unhealthy trend” but also a “backhanded compliment” to the might of art forms in bringing about change. “I think it is a very unhealthy trend and in a way it’s a backhanded compliment to theatre because people are saying that theatre is powerful enough to make a difference and that is why you are bringing in all these restrictions,” Dattani added. “With these restrictions the first freedom that goes is the freedom of expression and the rest follows,” said the man behind thought-provoking works like “Dance Like a Man”, “Thirty Days in September” and “Final Solutions”. In his tryst with theatre and films, the 55-year-old has delved into topics of gender bias, communal tensions and homosexuality among others. A staunch believer in theatre’s power to “reflect society”, Dattani said the medium should be channeled to showcase the current scenario of increasing violence against women as well as bring out the “much-ignored” lesbia n-gay-bise x ua l-t ra nsgender (LGBT) community.
Limericks of the week C Ravindranath
Love all
The big one or the smaller yellow ball, Each one of us must take our call Between football and tennis My choice of course is Tennis - because it starts with “love all!”
Swiss Bank deposits
This is serious - not a prank To improve our country’s rank The economy to soar Have enough and more Get back what’s in the Swiss bank!
Nation’s car
We can choose between many a car Small or big - but let’s not war The jury’s choice And the nations’ voice Is to travel by Modi sar - kar!
- Indo Asian News Service
Letters to the Editor
editor_tgs@goldensparrow.com
A mindset change can improve PMPML service The existing public transport system of our city which is run by the PMPML needs a mindset change to bring in much-needed efficiency. The persons who are supposed to manage the affair of PMPML should travel in the buses and see for themselves how bad their service is. There is total lack of motivation and hence no profit. I am a senior citizen using the PMPML frequently and based on my experience would like to make the following points: 1) The induction of 1100 new buses was a good move. 2) The Bus Day of November 1, 2012 was a grand success but nothing emerged in the long run. 3) Poor efficiency is the hallmark of PMPML. 4) Minibuses should be deployed for routes in congested areas. 5) Staff has no sense of duty either towards the PMPML or the public. Buses don’t halt at stops even when plenty of seats available. The staff lacks courtesy and the behaviour of conductors is disappointing. 6) Buses are poorly maintained and are extremely dirty inside. 7) Since Pune is fast becoming a cosmopolitan city the display boards and route numbers should be bilingual. 8) Destination boards should be clear and visible at night. The rear ones are invariably absent. 10) The senior officials of PMPML need to undertake random checks at important termini and depots to improve efficiency and keep an eye on the overall work ethic.
Volvo type buses should be 11) introduced for long distance routes with appropriate higher fares. This service is available in Bangalore city. - Shanmugam Mudaliar (Mudaliar gets the prize for best letter of the week)
Job well begun
Having read your first issue, I must record my appreciation for a job well begun. A weekly capturing the city’s ethos was a long-felt need. Apart from filling the lacuna, your intent seems noble which is a good sign. Wishing you a very bright future! - Prashant Kamath, Talegaon
Whiff of fresh air
Congratulations on bringing out a great weekly paper with a wonderful name. This comes as a whiff of fresh air and a welcome change from the mundane and routine daily news which are heavily commercialised. Please also include a section on environment which is so critical to our city and its citizens. As a professional environment scientist, I will be happy to contribute articles on Pune’s environment, ecology and natural history. Congratulations once again on a great paper. - Prakash Rao, PhD
A positive newspaper
I am a senior citizen aged 89. I read the first issue of The Golden Sparrow on Saturday and was happy to note that the weekly will focus on “positive, extraordinary, inspiring and insightful”
news and articles, quite different from what we usually see, reports of crime, rape, murder, suicide and the like in the dailies. This apart, I was very much impressed by the reasons for having this title The Golden Sparrow. I was transported to my school days in the then Madras Presidency in the 1930s. “Look Up Aim High” said the school motto. A competition was held to design a flag for the school depicting this motto. A student won the contest with a beautiful painting of a bird soaring high in the sky, which was adopted as the school flag. This is in sync with the title of your weekly newspaper, which again is a reflection of Chanakya’s “sone ki chidiya.” Dear editor, go ahead. Let the sparrow fly to great heights and give us positive tidings week after week. - VN Rama Rao
Welcome TGS!
Congratulations! Yes we Puneites warmly welcome “The Golden Sparrow”. After a long wait, finally a weekly newspaper has arrived! The newspaper has a history of almost 400 years and yet the physical reading of the newspaper in the morning, with a hot cup of tea, remains the most amazing and exhilarating experience of all. Your weekend newspaper fills the void for Puneites. It is quite unique, in the sense that it covers all subjects, devoid of the usual sprinkle of politics. Yes it has a fresh aroma of total dedication and sincerity. Keep it up! Please try to highlight the
saga of untold persons, who remain away from the highlight, treading all alone for the service of the society and nation. Wishing TGS a bright and prosperous future. - Anand Gopal
Fabulous content
Congratulation to your entire team at TGS! A very neat and excellently planned and executed issue with fabulous content. It gives the look of what I remember of an international design. After a very long time something readable can be seen, especially the positive and not sensational reportage on Hindustan Antibiotics. Even ‘Agenda for Modi’s government’ was very good. Kindly give some more space for sports news. Do keep up the good work. - Sameer Thakur
Write to Us Letters to the Editor may be emailed to editor_tgs@goldensparrow. com or mailed to Golden Sparrow Publishing Pvt Ltd, 1641 Madhav Heritage, Tilak Road, Pune-411030. The Best Letter of the Week will receive a special gift from Venus Traders, Pune’s finest stationery departmental.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
What more can be done to treat this pilgrimage as a world-class event? After all, this annual spiritual march by more than half-a-million people in an 800-year -old tradition is one of its kind in the world. Ishani Bose explores
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
A world class event deserves world class support
Dehu Akurdi Pune
Sant Dnaneshwar Samadhi Mandir, Alandi Lonikalbhor
Saswad
Yavat
Jejuri Lonand Varvand
250 Km over 20 days Phaltan
Route taken by Sant Tukaram’s Palkhi
Baramati
Route taken by Sant Dnyneshwar’s Palkhi
Natepute
Malashiras Indapur Akluj
Velapur
T
he chants of Dnyanoba Mauli Tukaram and Jai Hari Vitthala fill the air when lakhs of pilgrims (warkaris) from Maharashtra and Karnataka, mostly farmers, cover over 250km walk to Pandharpur in the monsoon months of June-July every year. They carry the palkhis (palanquins) of the two most prominent saints of the state --Sant Dnyaneshwar (from Alandi) and Sant Tukaram from Dehu Road) among others that join along the way. The pilgrimage that began 800 years ago and which is undertaken by countless people, speaks volumes about this one-of-its-kind event in the world. The quintessence of the warkari tradition is the humble reality that
all pilgrims are treated equally during the pilgrimage. Several centuries have gone by but this religious journey has witnessed little to no change with worshippers, both young and old, flocking in huge numbers filled with an infectious enthusiasm irrespective of the weather, be it scorching heat or heavy rains, during the pilgrimage. Beginning their journey from Alandi, the warkaris halt in Pune for two-three days, and the civic administration and the police are entrusted with the responsibility to ensure that the wari passes through the city smoothly without disrupting the daily life. Right from establishing an effective communication system, providing medical
aid and accommodation facility to making available proper sanitation and the like, the authorities have taken initiatives to improve the wari over the years. The warkari movement’s tradition of strict adherence to certain principles--abstinence from alchohol and tobacco, consumption of vegetarian food on certain days of the week and reading of holy scriptures has a lasting effect on every warkari. Technology has played a major role in spreading this spirit of the warkaris across the world. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and applications such as Whatsapp are flooded with pictures of the palkhis and the pilgrims, which now include foreigners too.
In 1988, German documentary film-makers, the late Gunther Sontheimer and Henning Stegmuller made a film on the wari titled: ‘Wari: An Indian Pilgrimage’, that showed how people back then began recognising the annual tradition on a global platform. The smooth organisation of this historic walk of faith that sees a sea of pilgrims from different walks of life journeying shoulder to shoulder as equals on foot shows the effectiveness on the part of authorities. However, it still calls for raising the level of handling such a grand gathering to greater heights for the world to stand up and acclaim its importance. ishani.bose@goldensparrow.com
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Ardent devotees of Vithoba on their annual journey to Pandharpur
BY ASHOK BHAT AND ARCHANA DAHIWAL The civic administrations of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad had made adequate arrangements to serve throngs of devotees of Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram palkhi that arrived and passed through the city in their pilgrimage towards Pandharpur. Proper planning, regular followups and co-ordination between the district, civic, municipal council, gram panchayat authorities as well as the local representatives and the temple trustees ensured the smooth passage of the palkhis and their stay in the city. Pune Mayor Chanchala Kodre
welcomed them at the entrance of the city. The departments of health, water supply, solid waste management, Fire Brigade, anti-encroachment and garden put in place all facilities for the warkaris’ stay in the city. Though it was a Sunday, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) workers served the devotees. Mobile dispensaries, additional containers for garbage, drinking water and other use, mobile toilets blocks were organised for them. Apart from the regular arrangements, 27 CCTV cameras were installed at both resting places of the palkhis— the palkhi of Sant Dnyaneshwar halted at Palkhi Vithoba Temple in Bhavani Peth while Sant
Pandharpur
The annual Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi pilgrimage from Alandi to Pandharpur is an
800
- year-old tradition
Pilgrims in this procession are known as warkaris who undertake the
250km
trek till Pandharpur in Solapur district.
5,00,000 people who participated in the wari this year. According to the Alandi Devasthan Trust about 6,00,000-7,00,000 people participated in the wari last year. This time the participation has been less due to poor rainfall. Farmers join the wari only after sowing operations.
Proper planning and adequate arrangements helped to serve the warkaris who halted in the city for two days Rajiv Jadhav and mayor Mohini Lande held meetings with the officials of various department almost five to six times in addition to regular follow-ups and reviews.” The civic body had imposed a ban on the use of plastic products.
Wakhari
There were 4,00,000 to
Civic bodies walk on efficiency to ensure smooth passage of palkhi procession Tukaram Maharaj palkhi at Nivdungya Vithoba Temple in Nana Peth. Deputy Commissioner (solid waste management) Suresh Jagtap said, “Th is year, 70 additional waste containers were kept at different areas and were cleaned every two hours. 350 worker were engaged in cleaning the roads and containers till both the palkhis left Pune. 280 mobile toilet blocks were placed and PMC workers cleaned the toilets, picked up the garbage at municipal schools where the devotees rested. About 122 rooms from 38 schools were allotted to the devotees. Apart from 24-hour water supply, 48 additional water connections were made available by the PMC exclusively for the devotees, said PMC water supply department head Vijay Kulkarni. The civic health department kept three mobile dispensaries along with a team of doctors, nurses and medicines at Sakhali Peer Talim, Kidwai School, Bhawani Peth and Badade dispensaries of PMC. Every year, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Alandi Municipal Council (AMC), Dehu and Alandi temple trustees, Dehu Gram Panchayat and the district collector’s office started their palkhi preparations almost a month in advance. PCMC spokesperson Anna Bansode said, “PCMC commissioner
Shegaon
“This year, 70 additional waste containers were kept at different areas and were cleaned every two hours” - PMC Deputy Commissioner, Suresh Jagtap
What can I do to make the wari better Leave my vehicle at home and not add to traffic congestion on the day of the palkhi procession Encourage my organisation to declare a holiday. Expose my children to the wari tradition. Invite one warkari family home for snacks, lunch or dinner. A majority of the warkaris are the poorest of our farmers. They are not beggars. If they ask for money, give some with a smile. ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
‘Persistent efforts helped manage traffic better ‘Wari is as important as Kumbh Mela’ Pune traffic police ensured that there were fewer road blocks this time GITESH SHELKE The continuous ‘trial-error-correction’ method adopted by the city police, especially the Pune traffic police, resulted in minimum traffic hassles during the passage of the palkhi processions through the city. Joint Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar surveyed the palkhi route twice before the warkaris arrived in the city for their two-night halt. Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Vishwas Pandhare said that the arrangements were put in place after assessing the results of the past three years. “It was a trial–error–correction method adopted by the police this year that resulted in smooth operation compared to last two years,” he said. Also, this year, the number of warkaris had dropped compared to last
year. Three years ago, the highway traffic and road diversions were not taken seriously. “Only the palkhi route was given prime focus then,” he said. The diversions within the city were strictly planned and road users were informed on priority about the traffic diversions and alternative routes this year. “Last year, we had studied the vehicular movement on JM Road, Karve Road, Bajirao Road and Kelkar Road before, during and after the palkhi procession. Hence, we made only the connecting roads available to the motorists this year. However, this year, many motorists got stuck in the bylanes of Laxmi Road and FC Road when the palkhis were passing from these roads but their issues were sorted
out within quick time,” he said. Last year, the PMPML buses were diverted but the state transport (ST) buses remained neglected. “This year, ST buses were diverted before they could reach their depots,” he said. Instead of just managing the multitude, this year the officials decided to do both things — man management and time management — simultaneously. Two days before the palkhis arrived in the city, local inspectors checked roads and reviewed them. The time taken by the palkhi procession was taken into consideration and walkie-talkies were used to exchange real time information, Pandhare said. “This helped to manage time of palkhis between COEP Chowk to Nana Peth and Bhavani Peth,” he said. gitesh.shelke@golden.sparrow.com
UoP professor Sadanand More speaks to Sonali Kothari on the significance of the pilgrimage “Historically speaking, the wari started as a rural phenomenon in the agricultural belt of Maharashtra. On the Ekadashi of the Sadanand months of Aashaad and More Kartik, the farmers would move to Pandharpur to pray to Lord Vitthala. Sometimes this movement would happen every four months or even every month. Of the two, the Aashaadi Ekadashi pilgrimage is considered more important. This annual trip is very symbolic of the cultural life of rural Maharashtra. Aashaad is the season when the farmers are relatively free, waiting for the rains, and they start their movement to Pandharpur to express their gratitude to the lord. It is indicative of the celebration of life and living because the supreme diety is full of love and
compassion. There is no question of renunciation from the worldly life. In contrast to the individualistic sadhana, the wari is a peoples’ movement, a collective celebration that overshadows the differences of caste creed or sect. It is symbolic of equality. The innumerable singers and dancers, through their renditions of the abhangas, songs and poetry prescribe a code of conduct that is beneficial for the society and to nature. On the last day of the pilgrimage, on Pournima, just before the warkaris starts on the return journey, The ‘Kirtan of Kala’ is performed. It is a reenactment of Krishna’s play, which is usually performed on the banks of the Yamuna. All the pilgrims mix their individual
food items in a large container, to make a ‘kala’ (khichadi) which is then distributed to all. This ritual is looked upon as a symbol of unification – unification of the soul with the lord, unification of the greater common purpose of all the devotees. Undertaking the wari is a voluntary discipline. There is no question of rights. The number of people accepting the warkari faith and participating in the wari is increasing with every year and that poses practical difficulties in accommodation, sanitation and a huge burden on the management. The wari is an identity of the Marathi culture. It needs to be given as much importance as the Kumbh Mela of Nashik.”
The wari is an identity of Marathi culture
MONEY MATT ER S Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1. — Warren Buffett
Signposts SEBI to scan Mangalore Chem bids Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sought clarifications from two rival bidders who have made offers for acquisition of additional stakes in Vijay Mallya-led UB Group’s Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (MCFL). The clarifications have been sought through merchant bankers of the two rival bidders -- Deepak Fertilisers and Zuari Fertilisers, among which the latter has been joined by the existing promoters of MCFL as ‘persons acting in concert’. According to latest data made public by SEBI, the clarifications were sought from JM Financial (merchant banker for Deepak Fertiliser group) on 20th June. Prior to that, SEBI sought additional details on June 17th, from ICICI Securities and Ambit Corporate Finance, who are acting as merchant bankers for Zuari in their proposed open offer for MCFL. SEBI was still awaiting replies from the merchant bankers for both the open offers, says the latest update on ‘processing status of draft offer documents’ filed with the capital markets regulator as on 20th June. It could not be ascertained whether there have been any developments since then and the next update would be provided by SEBI next week. An open offer for acquisition of additional stake in a listed company can move forward only after issuance of ‘observations’ by SEBI.
©MoneyLife.in
Nikhara Bharath barred from raising money Nikhara Bharath Construction and its directors were found collecting money illegally from investors under its grow tree and tree booking schemes, SEBI said. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Nikhara Bharath Construction Co and its directors from raising fresh money from investors from its collective investment scheme (CIS). SEBI found that Nikhara was engaged in fund mobilising activity from the public, by floating ‘collective investment schemes’ - CIS without obtaining certificate of registration from the regulator. The regulator received a complaint in April last year alleging illegal mobilisation of funds from public by the company under its ‘Grow Tree Scheme’/ ‘Tree Booking Scheme’. In an order, SEBI has directed “Nikhara and its directors - Kodandarama Pilliah Bharathi Balakrishna Murthy and Sreedevi Balakrishnamurthy - not to collect any money from investors from its existing ‘scheme’or to launch any new ‘scheme’.” It also asked the company “to immediately submit the full inventory of the assets owned by Nikhara out of the amounts collected from the “customers”/ investors under its existing scheme.” ©MoneyLife.in
Kruti Kumar Jain director, Kumar Builders Kul
...... once the metro starts running. After the DP is approved, key infrastructure points will automatically be implemented on priority, including the international airport. What needs to further develop are IT, auto and manufacturing industries. We are losing out to Hyderabad and Bangalore because of poor infrastructure. The growth matrix of IT industry has been three million sq ft year on year. Sadly, the number hasn’t grown. This growth has been possible because of the private push. Public sector support will take the growth to greater heights.
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
India must take strong political steps to free up resources for investment — Raghuram Rajan
Get higher returns than your bank deposits Liquid and Ultra-Short-Term mutual fund schemes may deliver better returns than savings bank accounts and bank FDs for tenures longer than a year, thanks to the tax benefits that come with investments in these instruments BY RAJ PRADHAN Indians love bank deposits. Thousands of crores are being routinely kept with banks as deposits—in savings accounts and as fi xed deposits—every year in pursuit of safety of capital and consistency of returns, even though yield, especially post-tax yield, is low. There are better options. One such option is liquid schemes of mutual funds, in which savvy people invest now. But there is another category of mutual funds called ultra-short-term (UST) schemes which are equally attractive. Liquid as well as UST schemes have fetched average returns of over 9%, and highest return of nearly 10%, in FY13-14. They have outperformed all other debt scheme options and, hence, offer an exciting option for investors. Should you go for them? This article analyses all aspects of these schemes, to help you take a decision. With stubbornly high inflation for much of the financial year and increase in repo rate by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) coupled with tight liquidity, liquid and UST schemes were winners in FY13-14. The bank fi xed deposit (FD) rates were high for short tenures in 2013-14. In some cases, it was higher than, or equal to, the rates offered for longer tenure FDs—of one to three years. It was an indication that liquid and UST schemes were poised to give
decent returns. The 10-year benchmark government securities (G-Secs) yield, which sets the tone of the fi xed-income market, declined from 8.83% (election results day—16th May) to end at 8.52% on 6th June. The rupee has rallied to 11-month highs since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got a clear mandate. With a new government in place, there are concerns of higher borrowing in the new Budget. BJP’s fiscal policies will be clear from the first Budget of the
new government expected in mid-July. There is little hope that the liquidity crunch will disappear overnight and market rates could soften. In the circumstances, liquid and UST schemes will continue to do well. Indeed, when it comes to choosing debt funds, the choice narrows down to liquid and UST schemes. Most investors dislike volatility and know nothing about interest rate cycles. They would be bewildered by the volatility of income or long-term gilt schemes
Market view: Herd instinct
A bull market is never a straight run to the top. If every rally awakens the contrarian in you, it may not be the best course right now. Sometimes, the herd is right BY DEBASHIS BASU Over the past fortnight, the market has hardly moved. The Sensex was 25,400 on 6th June and it is at 25,100 on 20th June, a small downward move. Markets are consolidating, as happens after a big move. However, views are floating about that the market is not cheap and stocks have run ahead of reality. One analyst has pointed out that the marketcapitalisation to GDP growth is too high. Either the market-cap is too high or the GDP growth has to catch up quickly. The same analysis also points out that earlier bull markets (of 1998 and 2003) started at a very low PE ratio. This means that future gains will be hard to come by. We are also witnessing a return of mutual fund investors. They have invested Rs2,022 crore last month, the highest in three years, after years of being sellers. Usually, robust mutual fund investment is a contrarian signal. After all, retail investors come in almost at the fag end of the rally. Finally, there is almost an across-the-board consensus that Indian companies will enjoy better days ahead and the bull market is at the threshold. Could all this mean that savvy investors should do exactly the opposite? Go against the herd and be a seller or, at least, stay away from buying? Well, there is a time to be a contrarian and there is a time to follow the trend. After all, you would
have missed out on the major moves of 2004-2007, if you went against the consensus. Gains in stocks are never smooth. Stocks have a habit of running up sharply, retracing, moving sideways and so on. The Sensex has shot up from 21,100 at the end of February to over 25,100 in June—a rally of almost 19% in less than four months. When the index moves up in this manner, shortterm cooling off is inevitable. While a lot of buying and selling is going on in individual stocks, this would not be reflected in the indices. The largest companies will not act as the bellwether for the market, but the underlying tone remains bullish. Investments will move into undervalued
stocks, especially of smaller companies. Interestingly, in June, after a long time, despite the relentless buying by foreign institutional investors, domestic institutional investors are reported to be sellers—if one can believe the reported numbers. FIIs have invested as much as Rs11,268 crore in stocks and Rs15,539 crore in the debt market in June. This comes on top equally robust investment in May—a combined investment of more than Rs37,000 crore. I believe, we are back to a situation where buying and holding good-quality stocks will pay off. Buy the dips in a bull market, they say. We are in one. ©MoneyLife.in
when interest rates turn volatile, as happened last year. They would do well to stick with liquid and UST Schemes. Even short-term schemes have fetched negative returns sometimes on portfolio durations of one to three years. Liquid and UST schemes are the ultimate answer to the investor who is happy with getting returns in line with short-term market interest rates and is looking for a better option than bank FDs. KITNA DETI HAI? Based on our analysis of five-year rolling returns of liquid and UST schemes, you can expect nearly 8%pa returns. Today, investors may get 9%; tomorrow it may be 8% or even 10%. There is a very low probability of negative returns over three-six months. Clearly, these schemes can help earn rates higher than what savings accounts offer (4% to 6%) without taking undue risk of capital erosion. Investors in the tax bracket of 20% or more should make efforts to invest in liquid or UST schemes instead of leaving surpluses in savings accounts earning 4% to 6%pa. Investors in bank fi xed deposits also need to take a hard look at liquid or UST schemes due to tax efficiency, if they stay invested for more than one year. Many short-term FD investors keep rolling the FD after maturity and, hence, easily complete more than one year. If you had kept the funds in liquid or UST schemes, you would have got better returns due to indexation feature available for ‘growth’ option, after completing one year. Those in the tax bracket of upto 10% should continue with bank FD, as
there is not much benefit in shifting to debt funds. Liquid and UST schemes invest in commercial paper (CP), certificates of deposit (CD), treasury bills, short-term debentures, fi xed deposits (FDs) and other allied instruments. Most liquid schemes invest in instruments with a maximum residual maturity of 91 days; UST instruments have maturity of one month to one year. But, investors can remain invested in liquid and UST schemes for any duration even though experts say that one should invest in liquid or UST schemes for short-term purposes. There is no exit-load (in most liquid schemes) and, hence, no minimum waiting period to remain invested. Moreover, you can get access to your cash fairly quickly. Withdrawals from liquid schemes are processed within 24 hours on business days. The cut-off time on withdrawal is generally 2pm on business days. It means that if you place a redemption request by 2pm on a business day, the redeemed amount will be credited to your bank savings account on the next business day by 10am. Retail folios of debt schemes are continuously rising but a large number of people in the 20%-30% tax bracket are unaware of this. Debt schemes added 0.291 million retail folios between October 2013 and March 2014, the highest since September 2012. Debt schemes added 0.179 million folios in the first six months of FY13-14. During FY13-14, assets of liquid schemes spiked by over 94%, to reach Rs 2.59 lakh crore, at a time when income schemes had hefty outflows. ©MoneyLife.in
Reliance Jio to launch 4G services next year MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM Reliance Jio, in which RIL had invested over Rs 70,000 crore, would start expanded field trials of its 4G services in August 2014 and will launch it in a phased manner next year, Mukesh Ambani said Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), said the company would commence expanded field trials of its fourth generation (4G) broadband initiative, Reliance Jio, across multiple cities in India in August this year. He also said the company, India’s largest private sector entity, would invest Rs1.8 lakh crore over the next three years across business segments, including oil and gas, telecom and retail. He was speaking at the company’s 40th annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai. He said, limited field trials of its unit Reliance Jio’s 4G services are already underway and commercial services will be launched in a phased manner in 2015 after completing expanded field trials. RIL had invested Rs70,000 crore in this venture and would see the ‘fruits of the tremendous value created’, he added. Over the past 37 years, we invested
Rs2.40 lakh crore and over the next three years’ investment cycle, we will be investing over Rs1.80 lakh crore. We are now making a very deep commitment to India’s growth by investing in our integrated energy chain and Indiacentric consumer businesses,” Ambani said. He also announced his wife Nita Ambani’s induction into the company’s Board. Reliance Retail, the company’s retail unit, is India’s largest retailer in terms of revenue and added 367 new stores in FY14, Ambani said. He said that RIL’s focus in FY15 and FY16 will be on retail, petrochemical and telecom investments. Talking about oil and gas, RIL’s bread and butter, the company chief said, along with its partners BP and NIKO they have initiated arbitration process seeking implementation of the domestic natural gas pricing guidelines 2014. “We have an ongoing arbitration with (Indian) government on the issue of disallowance of cost recovery. We will endeavour to work with the Government for both the arbitrations to achieve prompt and efficient resolution on the matter,” Ambani said. ©MoneyLife.in
RIL would commence expanded field trials of 4G across cities in Aug 2014
MCA proposes relaxing Companies Act provisions for pvt firms MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM The MCA has proposed as many as 13 relaxations for private companies, from various provisions of the Companies Act, including acceptance of public deposits, share capital, voting rights, further issuance of shares, appointment of auditor and directors, among others To ease the regulatory burden for private companies including smaller firms, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on Tuesday proposed relaxing certain provisions of the new Companies Act for such entities. The proposed relaxations include certain provisions relating to prohibition
on acceptance of public deposits, share capital, voting rights, further issuance of shares, appointment of auditor and director, restriction on board powers, loans to directors, related party transactions, as also appointment of top management personnel. Through a draft notification, the MCA has proposed 13 relaxations for private firms from the various provisions of the Act which came into effect at the beginning of the current fiscal. While the draft notification would be placed before each house of the Parliament, suggestions and comments are invited from the public till 1st July, the Ministry said in a circular.
In India, stock exchange listed firms constitute only a miniscule 0.6% of total The statistics from MCA for 2011, put the number of companies registered in India at 11.63 lakh. About 24,682 or 2.12% out of these have paid up capital between Rs2-Rs5 crore and 23,589 or 2.02% have capital exceeding Rs5 crore, leaving a whopping 95.84% of the
companies with capital below Rs5 crore or $1 million; this is far below global standards. In India, stock exchange listed companies constitute only a miniscule 0.6% of the total, leaving 99.4% to be individuals or private companies running businesses essentially with their own capital or borrowings. It has been proposed that a private company be exempted from having a share capital of either equity share capital or preference share capital. The other exemption includes the requirement of every shareholder of a company being given a right to vote on every resolution placed before the company, and this voting right being in
proportion to the shareholding. With regard to issue of shares to employees under an ESOP plan, it has been proposed that the same can be done through a ‘special resolution’ in case of private companies, as against a special resolution for others. Also, the provisions for meeting of shareholders with regard to notice, statement to be annexed with such a notice, quorum, appointment of chairman, proxies, voting restriction, voting by show of hands and demand for poll would not apply to a private company if its ‘article of association’ provides otherwise. ©MoneyLife.in
SPORTS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JUNE 28, 2014
PUNE
“Surely Suarez didn’t bite someone again? I’m genuinely gutted. I love watching him play more than any other player but he obviously can’t control himself.”
“In Brazil, the European teams are struggling during the afternoon match. You can see whenever there is a fall, 10 players are rushing for a drinks break.”
- Michael Owen
- Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia
A historic World Cup progress for Algeria For the first time in the 51-year history, the team has qualified for the knockouts; Belgium tops the group with 1-0 win over South Korea
Signposts Advani gets top billing SHARM-EL-SHEIKH: Pankaj Advani who finished the league phase Tuesday with an all-win record and without dropping a frame in his four matches, was named top seed in the knock-out round of the IBSF 6 Reds World snooker championship in progress here. Along with Advani, Kamal Chawla and Dharmender Lilly also joined six other Indians in the knock-out phase that commences Thursday. In the team championship, all the five Indian men’s pairings qualified for the knock-out stage as did two other combinations of Syed Saleem and Nadeem Ahmed, and Rafath Habib and Nadeem Azeez in the Masters section.
Bopanna, Qureshi in second round LONDON: India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi moved into the second round of the men’s doubles of Wimbledon here Thursday. The Indo-Pak Express, seeded eighth, won 7-6(9), 7-6(8), 6-3 in an exciting battle against Czech Frantisek Cermak and Russian Mikhail Elgin. In the mixed doubles, India’s Divij Sharan and his Japanese partner Shuko Aoyama made a first round exit. The Indo-Japanese pair went down 4-6, 4-6 to Tomasz Bednarek of Poland and his American partner Vania King.
IANS
CURITIBA: With a 1-1 draw with Russia in Curitiba Thursday, Algeria collected four points in three group matches, enough for them to be listed second after Belgium to reach the last 16, reports Xinhua. Despite a header from Russian forward Kokorin in the sixth minute, the ‘Fennec Foxes’ came back through a strong header from Islam Slimani. His second-period score was enough to send the African side through to a meeting with Germany. Slimani was elected ‘Man of the Match’. Russia had a perfect start. In the sixth minute, Russia’s counter-attack saw a wide open Dmitry Kombarov. The defender curled a beautiful pass into the box. Alexander Kokorin received the ball and knocked it down with a powerful header. The Algerians almost got one score in the 29th minute, when Islam Slimani’s strong header was rejected by Igor Akinfeev. Russia’s counter-attack remained effective in the second half. Kokorin missed another two chances to beat Mbolhi. In the 60th minute, Algeria got a free-kicking chance. Akinfeev tried to reach the ball but he completely missed it. Slimani powered home a towering header at the far post, and levelled the score. The final wistle saw great applauses and noises from the Algerian fans, and Russia had to head back home with two draws and one loss in Group H. Belgium sails through to last-16 Ten-man Belgium marched into the knockout stage, topping Group H after a 1-0 victory over South Korea, their third consecutive win, and set up a round of 16 showdown with the USA. Defender Jan Vertonghen scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute at the Arena Corinthians here. Belgium once again showed that they are capable of grinding out important results as they fought with ten men for over half the game. Belgium, though, suffered a setback when Steven Defour was sent off for a straight red card offence in the 44th minute. The FC Porto midfielder stepped on the shin of South Korea forward Kim Shinwook following a hard tackle. IANS
Group Standings GROUP A Team Brazil Mexico Croatia Cameroon
M 3 3 3 3
W 2 2 1 0
D 1 1 0 0
L 0 0 2 3
GF 7 4 6 1
GA 2 1 6 9
PT 7 7 3 0
GF 10 5 4 3
GA 3 3 7 9
PT 9 6 3 0
GF 9 2 4 2
GA 2 4 5 6
PT 9 4 3 1
GF 4 4 2 2
GA 1 4 3 4
PT 7 6 3 1
GF 8 7 3 1
GA 2 6 3 8
PT 6 3 3 0
GF 6 3 4 1
GA 3 3 4 4
PT 9 4 3 1
GF 7 4 4 4
GA 2 4 7 6
PT 7 4 4 1
GF 4 6 2 3
GA 1 5 3 6
PT 9 4 2 1
GROUP B Team M Netherlands3 Chile 3 Spain 3 Australia 3
W 3 2 1 0
D 0 0 0 0
L 0 1 2 3
GROUP C Team M Colombia 3 Greece 3 Cote d’Ivoire3 Japan 3
W 3 1 1 0
D 0 1 0 1
L 0 1 2 2
GROUP D Team Costa Rica Uruguay Italy England
M 3 3 3 3
Team France Switzerland Ecuador Honduras
M 3 3 3 3
Team Argentina Nigeria Bosnia Iran
M 3 3 3 3
Team Germany USA Portugal Ghana
M 3 3 3 3
Team Belgium Algeria Russia S Korea
M 3 3 3 3
W 2 2 1 0
D 1 0 0 1
L 0 1 2 2
GROUP E W 2 2 1 0
D 1 0 1 0
L 0 1 1 3
GROUP F
FIFA bans Suarez for four months FIFA acted in a swift and decisive manner in handing down a four-month ban to the Uruguay forward Luis Suarez on Thursday. Suarez’s nine-game international ban is the most severe in World Cup history. The previous longest was an eight-game suspension handed to Italy’s Mauro Tassotti in 1994 for breaking the nose of Spain’s Luis Enrique with an elbow. Suarez has twice before been banned for biting. He served a seven-match ban for sinking his teeth into PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal in 2010 and was last year suspended for 10 matches for the same infraction against Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Algeria’s Carl Medjani (No 12) vies with Russia’s Alexander Samedov during a Group H match on Friday
LEADING SCORERS
4 — Neymar (Brazil), Messi (Arg), Mueller (Ger) 3 — Persie, Robben ( Ned), Benzema (Fra), Mueller (Ger), Rodriguez (Col), E Valencia (Ecu), Shaqiri (Swi)
2 — Mandzukic, Perisic (both Cro), A Ayew, A Gyan (both Gha), Bony, Gervinho ( both Cote d’Ivoire), Cahill (Aus), Dempsey (USA), Depay (Ned), Martinez (Col), Suarez (Uru), Slimani (Alg)
ROUND-16 FIXTURES
June 28: Brazil vs Chile — 9.30pm June 29: Colombia vs Uruguay —1.30am June 29: Netherlands vs Mexico — 9.30pm June 30: Costa Rica vs Greece —1.30am
June 30: France vs Nigeria — 9.30pm July 01: Germany vs Algeria — 1.30am July 01: Argentina vs Switzerland — 9.30pm July 02: Belgium vs USA — 1.30am
New ICC chairman Srinivasan vows to popularise cricket MELBOURNE: N Srinivasan, who has been suspended by India’s Supreme Court after being named in the IPL spot-fi xing investigation, was confirmed as the first International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman after its full council approved constitutional changes during a two-day annual conference that ended here Thursday. Srinivasan was confirmed after the 52-member full council approved amendments to the ICC’s memorandum and articles of association here. Srinivasan has been nominated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the top position and will assume charge following the conclusion of the ICC Annual Conference week. The approval of the constitutional changes, which flowed from an ICC Board resolution taken in Singapore in February and finalised in April, also means that a new executive committee was formed, which will report to the ICC Board. The initial Chair of the executive committee will be Cricket Australia’s Chairman, Wally Edwards, while the chair of the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) will continue to be England and Wales Cricket Board’s Chairman, Giles Clarke. Srinivasan said it was an honour to become ICC Chairman and promised that the ICC will continue to play a leading role in the promotion and development of the global game. “It is an honour to be confirmed as the chairman of the International Cricket Council,” said Srinivasan.
Haunting Past
Srinivasan is among 13 people named in the report of a court-conducted inquiry into spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Justice Mukul Mudgal headed the committee that inquired into corrupt practices in the sixth edition of the IPL last year. Srinivasan has been suspended by the Indian Supreme Court as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and senior board vice-president Shivlal Yadav is looking after day-today cricket administration while India’s legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar was made in charge of the IPL.
“I will leave no stone unturned in trying to strengthen the pillars and foundations of our sport, both on and off the field. I want to ensure that cricket retains and grows its popularity, and that the ICC plays a leading role in this global growth,” he said. Srinivasan said that he would like to see more strong teams in international cricket. “I want to see more strong teams in international cricket. For this to be achieved, we all need to work hard to develop local talent in our countries. Naturally, there will be more support to those who first show they can help themselves. “The ICC is a members’ organisation and the pathway is now there for any Member to play Test cricket or in the major ICC events if it performs well enough over a sustained period of time,” he said.
Srinivasan congratulated outgoing ICC president Alan Isaac for his contribution. Isaac was replaced by Bangladesh’s Mustafa Kamal, who became the 11th president of the ICC. “Isaac has been an inspirational President of the ICC. He provided guidance to everyone during his twoyear term and all three international formats remain incredibly popular. The game is unquestionably stronger than it was at the start of his term,” said Srinivasan. Kamal said it was a memorable and historic day for Bangladesh cricket. “On this day 14 years ago, Bangladesh became the 10th Test playing country. Today, a Bangladeshi becomes the president of the ICC. I look forward to working with the ICC, and will be delighted to contribute in any way I can.” IANS
W 3 1 1 0
D 0 1 0 1
L 0 1 2 2
GROUP G W 2 1 1 0
D 1 1 1 1
L 0 1 1 2
GROUP H W 3 1 0 0
D 0 1 2 1
L 0 1 1 2
Serena, Sharapova advance to third round Rafael Nadal gets his revenge over Lukas Rosol; makes a comeback from a set and 2-4 down LONDON: Five-time champion Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round at the Wimbledon championships on Thursday after comfortable victories over their opponents. Williams, the top seed, used just 49 minutes to defeat Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 6-1, 6-1, while 5 seed Sharapova cruised past Timea Bacsinszky in exactly an hour, reports Xinhua. On her first outing since a shock French Open exit to Garbine Muguruza, Williams impressed during a quick-fire win over Anna Tatishvili in the first round at the All England Club. When facing her next opponent, Scheepers, the American was again in complete control throughout, breaking twice to take the first set. After that Williams never looked back. “I’ve been coming here for over decade and the crowd is always great and it’s so great to see all my fans here. I love it,” Williams acknowledged afterwards. In the third round, Williams takes on Alize Cornet, who won a hardfought battle with Petra Cetkovska at 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Nadal, Federer advance Rafael Nadal made a strong comeback to beat Lukas Rosol in a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 6-4 win over the Czech. Top-ranked Nadal dropped the
first set and then was trailing 2-4 in the second. But, he saved a set point in the tie-breaker and went on to avenge his defeat. While Nadal was struggling to get into the next round, seven-time champion Roger Federer scripted a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Paolo Lorenzi, an Italian with a career 0-13 record in Grand Slam matches. IANS
SPORTS “My dream is to achieve success in this attempt, hold the Guiness Book of World Records and make my parents, my wife and most importantly my crew members proud” - cyclist Prasad Erande
ANIRUDDHA RAJANDEKAR
Pune District Table Tennis Association is striving to regain the glory of 1980s, writes Ashish Phadnis
PUNE
Divya all set to regain her lost berth
Pune’s table tennis sensation Divya starts the season with a win. In a tête-à-tête with Ashish Phadnis, the 12th ranked Indian paddler shares her thoughts about the future TGS NEWS SERVICE
A practice session at Deccan Gymkhana’s table tennis hall
“To produce national champions, we need a wider base of players, dedicated coaches, mental and physical trainers and corporate support. Though sport infrastructure has improved in the last 24 years, it is insufficient. Compared to tennis or basketball, table tennis costs a lot, including setting up a large hall, quality tables and lighting,” he added. As with all major sports in the city, TT was mainly concentrated in the Deccan Gymkhana area during the initial period. Later, Sharda Centre and Symbiosis held camps and contests. “We lacked in quality coaches and could not get at par with Thane and Mumbai, the cities that had most of the facilities. But now the situation is changing. Many players like Bhushan Thakur, Ajay Sidhaye and Deepti Chaphekar have taken up the task of training and guiding new talents. Also, new academies have come up across the
city. Last week, five clubs from Pune — Vibrant Club in Baner, Creative Foundation in Narayan Peth, Sanmitra Sangh in Kothrud, PYC and AIMS in Aranyeshwar — got temporary affi liation from TT Association. All these clubs are managed by playersturned-coaches. These clubs will make a huge difference in the number of good players, especially in the cadet and subjunior categories,” said Bhalchandra. “This is just the beginning. We want to produce players, who will excel at the national and the international levels. Winning is important, but maintaining a place in the top 10 for a long period is also a big achievement. I hope to see city players regain the past glory in next 2-3 years,” said Bhalchandra. LOOKING AHEAD About future plans, Bhalchandra said, “With the basic infrastructure ready, we aim at making a major mark
Podium finish for Takale
City’s rally driver keeps championship hopes alive in the Production Cup
TGS NEWS SERVICE PUNE: The Pune rally driver Sanjay Takale weathered vagaries of the new engine that gave less than the expected power to take the podium in the Production Cup Class and finished sixth overall at the International Rally of Queensland, the third leg of the Asia-Pacific Rally over the weekend. The defending Production Cup champion had been struggling to cope with his new car, which suffered suspension failure in the Rally of New Caledonia last month, but finishing in Australia was a must to keep his championship ambitions alive. With determination that has been his hallmark, the Pune rally driver waded through the tricky outback of New Caloundra on the stages and earned crucial points both in the overall category and the Production Cup class. “After the engine failure in New Caledonia, we flew in new engine from Japan to Australia, but it had not done enough running to be rally ready,” said the Cusco Racing driver.
Erande to attempt world record
HALF IS HAPPENING OFF % UPTO
TGS NEWS SERVICE PUNE: Prasad Erande, a caterer from Wai is attempting to write his name in the Guinness Book of World Records by becoming the first person to travel 15000kms in two months on a bicycle. Erande had participated in the Race Across the World, but was robbed three times in Africa and was forced to return to India. He is now attempting the title of ‘Most miles travelled by a bicycle in any one country’.
JUNE 28, 2014
“The partnership between the English Premier League and the Indian Super League is a good beginning. We will try to extend it to I-League too.” - AIFF president, Praful Patel
City paddlers eye national stage with good clubs, better coaches TGS NEWS SERVICE PUNE: In Pune’s history of table tennis, the 1980s was the golden era. City’s great paddlers like Sujay Ghorpade, Sunil Babras, Kishor Ghorpade and Jayant Thatte excelled on the national and the international table tennis circuits. Sujata Babras was the top-ranked player in India in the women’s category. Even the second string of players like Rajesh Shellar, Bhushan Singh Thakur and Rohit Choudhary had impressive results. During that period, the city’s TT infrastructure was below par. Players had just one table for practice and hardly had any support. It was their dedication, commitment and hard work that brought accolades to them and the city. Improving the infrastructure, increasing the number of tourneys and providing scholarships for budding players to create an atmosphere ideal for grooming champions. However, these ‘externals’ failed to produce any TT sensation. Though young players like Ashlesha Bodas, Aniket Koparkar, Sanmay Paranjape and Martand Biniwale gave it their best shot at the national level, they failed to bag top rankings except for Divya Deshpande, who remained in the women’s top 5 for a long time. Secretary of Pune District Table Tennis Association (PDTTA) Uday Bhalchandra said, “Players like Sujay, Sunil and Kishor were extraordinary. They never bothered about infrastructure and displayed dedication, high-level of fitness and killer instincts, the important qualities that are rare to find nowadays.”
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at the national level. We are holding rigorous camps for district teams before the state championships. Organising camps and competitions throughout the year and taking the game to the talukas like Baramati and Indapur are also in the pipeline.” “Another target area is fitness of players. With paddlers overlooking this aspect, we have defined and laid parameters to be followed by players. Maharashtra’s Surendra Deshpande, who is currently training India’s junior team, is one of the best coaches. It is the responsibility of our coaches to train their wards so well that they qualify to be the students of Deshpande,” he said. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com
You have started the season with a win in the state ranking. How motivational was this win for you? A win always plays a motivational part. Though it was a state ranking win, the way I played and implemented my strategies was more important. This will definitely help me get into the rhythm for the coming season. You slipped to 12th place from 7 in the national ranking. What is your analysis about your overall performance? It wasn’t a poor performance. I was playing good, but sometimes I took unnecessary pressure while sometimes it was sheer luck factor that went against me. I agree that I committed some technical mistakes and currently, I am working on that. Fortunately, the national tournaments are starting late due to Commonwealth Games. So I will get enough time to play maximum state and district matches. How will the district level tournaments help you for the nationals? I feel the exposure to match atmosphere, temperament and attitude is more important. I need to play maximum number of matches. So I can implement my strategies. It creates a comfort zone. Moreover, this year I will be playing for Mumbai district. Unlike Pune, here I get an opportunity to play against some strong players. Your decision indicates that the level of Pune’s table tennis needs to be
improved? Do you agree? It’s true that Pune’s table tennis is experiencing a downfall. Good players are preferring academics. There are not enough national level coaches, no coaching camps and even prize money is not enough. But on the other hand, infrastructure is quite good compared to Mumbai. So basically, few steps are needed to be taken like coaching camps, focus on junior and sub-junior players and most importantly, encouragement. Tell us more about your plans at the international level? Unfortunately due to my lower ranking, I won’t get to play much international tournaments this season. But, I was a member of the Indian squad that won the gold medal in Iran. I also won bronze medals in singles and doubles. So, if I can improve my national ranking, I might get a few opportunities and I am determined to make the most of it.