Indian Republic Day Supplement by Ravi Nair

Publication

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011

YOUNG INDIA

Message from Indian Ambassador

Untold story of vim, vigour & vitality AJIT KUMAR JHA EDITOR, QATAR TRIBUNE

T 62, an individual may be heading towards retirement and possibly old age but a nation is still considered young. India is an ancient civilization but a young country by that yardstick. The idea of India existed for thousands of years but mostly as a notion, a cultural imagery, rarely in its history as a political entity. It became a modern nation, a sovereign unit, only when it achieved independence in 1947. Furthermore, it became a modern republic on 26th January 1950, when it adopted a written democratic constitution with secularism and social justice as its ideals. For the next four decades the country survived as a democracy at a modest economic pace unnoticed by the world. The rate of growth was so sluggish that often foreign commentators ridiculed it. Facing an acute foreign exchange crisis in 1991, India liberalised its markets introducing unparalleled economic reforms. The last two decades have been a story of

HE Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa

ndia is celebrating its 62nd Republic Day on 26 January 2011. It is a day which commemorates the historic adoption of the Indian Constitution which declared the choice of the people to live in a democracy, guaranteeing equal rights to all and bound the vast heterogeneity of India in a united nation. In the past six decades and some, India has emerged as an important player in the management of global polity and determinant of the world economy. This rise of India which stands for pluralism, tolerance and justice has been welcomed in a world where strife driven by narrow interpretations of identity and interests threatens peace and prosperity. The recognition of India’s emergence as a positive factor in international relations has won it plaudits and attention, as was evident from the calendar of international engagements. In the last year, India has had the honour to host leaders from all the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, and has also won itself a 2 year term on the Security Council with a thumping endorsement. India has also played a visible and constructive role in for a where the future course of the world is debated and negotiated, such as the G-20. On the economic front, despite global uncertainties, India’s record of growth has been extremely robust and is expected to be around 8.5 – 9%. At the same time the government has set about to ensure the success of ambitious social development programmes, make education a fundamental right and to create employment opportunities in order that the growing prosperity of India is shared among its people in an equitable manner and no one is left behind. India’s relation with the GCC has continued to grow even as the region emerged as one of its largest trade partners, and engagement with individual countries strengthened and diversiﬁed into new ﬁelds, giving the relationship ever increasing salience. India’s ties with Qatar, which are bound by civilizational links, common regional security interests and economic complementarity, continue to remain strong. A vital element of our relations is the large Indian expatriate community who contribute not only their hard work, skills and entrepreneurial talent, but also proved their genuine affection and loyalty to their generous host state, by cheering themselves hoarse when the 2022 FIFA World Cup was awarded to Qatar! I take this opportunity to congratulate the people and Government of the State of Qatar on their winning bid for the 2022 World Cup, and wish them success, peace and prosperity.

See exclusive interview of Indian Ambassador to Qatar HE Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa with Qatar Tribune’s Editor Ajit Kumar Jha on pages 3 & 4

The Indian boom began in 1991, likely to soar from 2013, and may last for a quarter century. prosperity, mostly driven by beneﬁts of globalisation. Today the economic growth rate is almost touching 9 per cent (right behind China, its biggest competitor) and is surging at a rate when it is estimated to go beyond China by 2013. What is the story behind the Indian economic miracle? If the answer lies in one phrase, it is the vim, vigour and vitality of youth. Today the young nation India is youthful in more ways than one. First take a look at demography. It is India’s youth that constitute its greatest strength today. More than half its population is under the age of 25 and more than 65 per cent hovers below the age of 35. By 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan. It is much higher for Western Europe and the developed countries of the West. India’s median age is one of the lowest in the world. The majority of India’s population is the offspring of the Midnight’s Children generation (the generation born at the stroke of midnight when India got independence). “China’s workforce will shortly start ageing; in a few years time

The Emir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in Doha, in 2008. it will start shrinking. That’s because of its one-child policy— an oppressive measure that no Indian government can get away with…” concludes The Economist in its recent cover story, How India’s growth will

outpace China’s. According to a Morgan Stanley estimate, the proportion of Indians aged under 15, or over 64 (non working age) has declined from 69 per cent in the year 1995 to 56 per cent in 2010. Based on

future estimates, India’s working age population will increase by 136 million by 2020 whereas China’s will grow by a mere 23 million. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Young India: Untold story of vim, vigour & vitality CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Previous Asian economic booms, including that of China, have been powered by a surge in working age population. Given the massive swell in working age population in India, almost six times that of China, now it is India’s turn to boom at the number one position. According to some estimates such an Indian boom will last at least for a quarter century and maybe longer. China’s advantages over India are well known and commented about. China’s economy is four times that of India, its export sector is several times bigger, its manufacturing sector much more dynamic, its per capita income almost triple that of India. Whereas the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi last year did not win favourable reviews, by contrast China’s hosting of the Olympics in 2008 and Asian Games in 2010 were almost ﬂawless. What are India’s advantages over China? India is a democracy, China is not. Indians can change governments without a revolution, Chinese protesters either face Tiananmen Square style repression or the Tibet type. China suffered a massive famine in which millions died, India never had one after independence, according to Nobel laureate and Harvard economist Amartya

Sen. China has state directed capitalism, India has a market directed one, with private property enshrined in the Constitution, thus producing millions of private entrepreneurs. India has a free media, China does not. Indians are proﬁcient in the English language, Chinese are not. As a result, India has a massive advantage in the Information and Technology sector. The Silicon Valley boom in California is not only scripted mainly by Indians, the IT industries according to The Economist “love India but shun China.” Let us take a look at the consequences of the Indian miracle. The best part of being young is that you live with hope: there are boundless opportunities and limitless possibilities in the future. The youth of India is simply gushing with hope. Consider the results of January 17, 2011 Mood of the Nation Poll conducted by India’s leading English magazine, India Today: 50 per cent of the respondents believe that the Indian economy will become larger than China’s in the next decade, only 24 per cent are skeptical. This is directly consonant with the Morgan Stanley research ﬁndings. Respondents in the 18-24 category are the most optimistic. A majority, i.e., 56 per cent believe that India is ready to host the Olympics, only 16 per cent say no. Almost 50 per cent

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

While bridging the Himalayan gap between the two Indias, the youth of India must remember Mahatma Gandhi’s message enunciated in 1925 in Young India. Otherwise there will be no story of the future Indian economic miracle.

boast that India is emerging as the next super power in education, 55 per cent ﬁrmly believe that another Indian can win the Nobel prize in the next decade (only half a dozen Indians have won it in the past including three who had switched to American citizenship). India is a young nation, so are the majority Indians. Therefore, they dream big and are full of hope and optimism. In consonance with its youthful vim and vigour, the remarkable achievements of Indian society are also in sectors that are relatively young: the Information Technology industry and telecom sector, particularly software and cell phones, the Business Process

remarkable ones are relatively recent ones. A word of caution: Is there a reverse side to this Indian miracle? Yes. About 18 per cent of the urban Indian population defecates in public. Almost 35 per cent of the population, ie, about 400 million live below the global poverty line of $ 1.25 a day. Over one- third of the entire population can neither read nor write. Over half the children under ﬁve are still malnourished. Six and a half decades after independence from colonial rule (62 years after becoming a Republic) the nation is still split into two India’s, one that is shining, surging ahead, forward looking, and makes

Outsourcing industry (the call centres of India’s globalised workforce), the bio-technology sector and others. The IT sector accounts for 5.19 per cent of the country’s GDP and export earnings as of 2009, the BPO sector over one per cent of GDP. In the following pages of this supplement we tell you several such stories, the big plans of rebuilding India’s infrastructure, educational institutions, the telecom sector, the story of the second green revolution, the country’s defence preparedness, its strategic goals, the Bollywood story and the miracles of sports. The past has witnessed some big achievements but the

every Indian proud; the other depressing, retreating behind, backward looking, every Indian’s nightmare. Two decades after the government ofﬁcially launched liberalisation, the two nations within one country are almost polar opposites yet co-existing with one another. One India of millionaire’s, the other of slumdogs. There are millions of millionaires, there are also millions of mutinies. It is these two India’s that constitute the classic structural paradox of this most diverse nation of the world. In the past, this structural paradox has been explained as Bharat versus India, as the rural urban gap. Bridging the gap between these two Indias is perhaps the greatest challenge facing the country today. In the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi edited a newspaper Young India. In the pages of Young India he enunciated the seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacriﬁce. While bridging the Himalayan gap between the two Indias, the youth of India must remember the Mahatma’s message of avoiding the seven sins. Otherwise there will be no story of the future Indian economic miracle.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

TIME TO RAMP UP QATAR-INDIA BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS TIES: ENVOY India bought 4 mn tonnes of oil in 2010 & has sought an additional 15 mn tonnes of LNG annually from Qatar AJIT KUMAR JHA EDITOR, QATAR TRIBUNE

MBASSADORS usually dazzle you with their brilliance or impress you with their diplomatic ﬁnesse, and Indian Ambassador to Qatar HE Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa does both. Draped in a silk sari, the charming envoy does both. Suave, subtle and sincere, she combines in herself encyclopaedic knowledge of world affairs with an enormous moral integrity. Her wide-ranging experience tells you why. She is as ﬂuent in Mandarin as in Malayalam, Hindi and English. She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1979 and has served twice in Beijing (1983-1987 and 1992-1994). She worked on the Pakistan Desk in the Ministry of External Affairs in the late 1980s. HE Wadhwa has extensive

work experience of multilateral affairs, and has covered issues such as human rights, disarmament, environment and social issues in the UN. She has also worked for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as head of their International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), in New Delhi, in 2001. HE Wadhwa has also done diplomatic stints in Hong Kong (1981-83), Geneva (1989-92), and The Hague (1994-98). She served as the Head of the UN Division of the Ministry of External Affairs from 2002 to 2005 and thereafter was appointed Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia where she served until January 2009. She assumed charge as Ambassador to the State of Qatar in March 2009. She is married to HE Anil Wadhwa, who is also from the Indian foreign service and is currently Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman. In an exclusive interview with the Editor of Qatar Tribune, Ajit Kumar Jha, the Indian Ambassador to Qatar discussed the deepening and widening links between Qatar and India in various

QT Interview

sought after workforce in the world including the Gulf region. In Qatar, they are especially welcome because of their skills, high productivity, their apolitical nature and because they are amenable to discipline.

Indian Ambassador to Qatar HE Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa and Qatar Tribune’s Editor Ajit Kumar Jha during an interview, in Doha. sectors, especially business, economics, trade and politics. Excerpts: Q: How has your experience been as India’s Ambassador to Qatar? A: I arrived in Doha at a very opportune moment soon after the Indian

Prime Minister had visited Qatar during November 2008. I arrived here a couple of months later. In many ways, the ground had already been prepared for improvement in relations between Qatar and India. There are four main elements deﬁning Qatar’s relations with India:

the long historical relationship, very good political liaison, growing economic and business links and deepening cultural ties. Moreover, the increasing migration of Indian expatriates to Qatar as a preferred workplace has only strengthened the bonds. Indians are one of the most

Tell us about the political relationship between Qatar and India? The political relationship has been very good and very close. The Emir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani has visited India twice, most recently in 2005. Subsequently, Her Highness Sheikha Moza visited India in 2006. The Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh visited Qatar in 2008. Since then there has been a lot of to-and-fro activities from both sides at very senior levels. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has emerged as the largest trading partner of India, with Qatar and Oman having closest links to India compared to all other Gulf countries. In terms of volume of trade, India might have more important links with the UAE and Saudi Arabia but in terms of political relationship, Qatar and Oman are closest to India. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Time to ramp up Qatar-India business-to-business ties: Envoy the rank of a Minister of State, representing the Indian side. Why is India represented in the HLMM directly by the Prime Minister’s Ofﬁce (PMO), the point person being the principal secretary to the Prime Minister? This shows the great importance we are according to such a relationship. The Indian Prime Minister’s Ofﬁce is directly involved. The coordination is located within the PMO. Also, there are point persons on both sides dis-

cussing both political and business and trade links. What was the agenda on the table at the HLMM meeting in Delhi on January 14? The two sides discussed wideranging cooperation in the area of banking supervision and exchange of information to combat money laundering and funding of terror. India reaffirmed its commitment to security of demand for Qatar’s LNG exports and formally put forward an additional demand for 15 million tonnes of LNG. In the past, the HLMM had met twice, the first time in February 2009 and again in November 2009. The New Delhi gathering was the third high-level meeting. I was present at all the three meetings. The two sides agreed that the fourth meeting of the HLMM would take place in Doha in the first quarter of 2012. Also, since India is a country with one of the largest agricultural sectors and, therefore, the leading market for fertilisers, and Qatar being a major producer of fertilisers, there is ample business opportunity for both sides in the fertiliser sector. A Joint Working Group on Fertiliser discussed long-term cooperation in this sector

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What are some of the longterm consequences of the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Qatar, the ﬁrst by an Indian Prime Minister? The Indian Prime Minister’s visit and his meetings with HH the Emir and the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani added depth to the friendship between the two countries besides widening it in terms of extension to newer areas. A defence agree-

ment signed between the two countries is a case in point. An agreement on security and law enforcement was also signed which deals with the issues of how to tackle terrorism and other security threats. An India-Qatar High Level Monitoring Mechanism (HLMM) was set up between Qatar and India. This is co-chaired by Minister of State for International Cooperation, HE Khalid bin Mohammed al Attiyah on the Qatari side and Principal Secretary to the Indian Prime Minister T K A Nair, who has

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between Qatar and India. The Memorandum of Intent was signed for cooperation in the fertiliser sector in February 2010 and at the Delhi meeting the two sides began serious discussions. Cooperation in the power sector was also discussed by the two sides. What kind of economic and business links have Qatar and India forged? The big story is the massive growth in LNG export from Qatar to India. Qatar began exporting LNG to India early on. Today, India is the single largest importer of LNG from Qatar. We currently import 7.5 million tonnes of LNG per year. Qatar now produces 77 million tonnes of LNG a year. India has asked for an additional 15 million tonnes of LNG annually from Qatar. India has also bought 4 million barrels of oil from Qatar in 2010. India is a very large natural market in close proximity to Qatar. India offers opportunities for two-way investment: Qatari investment in India is mainly in the infrastructure sector and private Indian companies are looking for investment in Qatar. Moreover, with Qatar becoming the host for 2022 World Cup and massive investment in infrastructure, Indian companies with a glob-

al profile are planning to secure lucrative deals in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction management contracts (EPCs). Is India a larger market than the Chinese market in terms of import of LNG? As far as I think, yes. The Chinese have just committed to 5 million tonnes and asked for more. But, then, Chinese have access to Central Asia and to Russia. I also think that energy security is a very important part of the relationship between Qatar and India. What about cooperation in finance between Qatar and India? Almost 12 per cent of Qatar’s GDP now comes from finance which is the second largest sector after the hydrocarbon sector. The largest Indian bank, the State Bank of India is all set to open an office in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) in Doha by March. There are several other areas where cooperation is being planned between the two countries. What is the total size of the Qatari investment in India? Both Qatar and India have signed in November 2009 an

MoU on investment which talked of the possibility of about $ 5 billion as Qatari investment in India. The main agency for investment is the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). India has to show them different projects or areas of investment. Since India is surging in different sectors and so is Qatar, such links will be a winwin situation for both sides. What are some of the other areas where we will see cooperation between the two countries in the future? Education, infrastructure sector, the Information Technology sector, the Business Process Outsourcing sector, health, power, solar energy and culture. India has a comparative advantage in most of these areas. In fertiliser, power, banking and ﬁnance and in other areas several projects are about to begin. I am also hoping to bring a couple of serious high-level business delegations in the ﬁrst half of this year. Time is ripe for ramping up business-to-business (B-2B) collaboration between Qatari and Indian businesses. I was surprised and a bit disappointed to know that there is no joint forum of Qatari and Indian business groups. I think it is time one is set up.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

INDO-US TIES

DEFINED BY VALUES, DRAWN BY INTERESTS ASHOK K SINGH

HEN US President Barack Obama called the relationship between India and the United States “the defining partnership of the 21st century” during his November 2010 visit to India, he endorsed India’s ambition to rise as a global power. India is not “simply emerging, it has emerged,” he said warming the cockles of the Indians as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looked on. India may take its own time to truly emerge as a world power but the rapidly changing defence and strategic cooperation between the two countries is one of the most stunning developments defining the Indo-US relations. The dramatic change in India’s relations with the US has come about after a paradigm shift in the country’s foreign policy. The US has also undergone a similar paradigmatic shift after the emergence of China as a major power. Though the shift has come gradually, with occasional and sometimes major hiccups, over the period of a decade-and-a-half, the dynamics of the evolving relations has taken the world by surprise. The scope and dimension of relations and cooperation, when it fully unfolds, might be breathtaking though the nuts and bolts of it remain a matter of speculation for the world’s defence and strategic community. In February, a trade mission headed by US secretary of commerce Gary Locke will be travelling to India to talk high technology defence sales. On the agenda is a $10 billion deal for 126 fighter jets India is to buy to replace its aging fleet of Russian MiG- 21 aircrafts. Boeing with its F/A-18 Super Hornets and Lockheed-Martin with F-16s are major US contenders pitching for the tender. “The US government views high technology defence sales as a cornerstone of the US-India strategic partnership”, Locke said in Washington recently. The Indian Air Force is going to buy 10 Boeing C-17 airlift aircraft worth over $2.4 billion with a view to replacing Russian ageing IL-76 fleet that now acts as its primary transport aircraft. In 2009, India acquired P-81 long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft for $2.1 billion. Earlier, India had purchased 12 Thales-Raytheon system artillery radars; USS Trenton renamed Jalashwa — the second largest ship capable of carrying aircraft and helicopters after INS Virat, besides other purchases. Perhaps, the most important

DEFENCE DOSSIER

India’s 2010 defence budget - $29.46 billion (Rs11,08,749 crore) India likely to spend $30 billion on arms procurement in the next few years India’s arms purchase bill may total $80 billion by 2020 First Indo-US MoU on defence cooperation signed in 1995 India and the US signed ‘New Framework of Defence Relations’ pact in 2005 The landmark Indo-US Nuclear Deal signed in 2005 Indo-US Framework for Maritime Security Cooperation signed in 2006 Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) in the pipeline

aspect of the emerging defence and strategic partnership is the growing cooperation between the two countries involving maritime security in the Indian Ocean. India with its 7,517 kilometer coastline is obliged to develop blue water capability to protect its trade, energy and security interests. The Indian Ocean is turning out to be an extremely volatile area with increasing cases of piracy, terrorism and some of the littoral states falling victim to internal and external strife. Between 60-70 percent of the total trafﬁc of petroleum products passes through the Indian Ocean on its way from the Middle East to the Paciﬁc which goes through the two busiest chokepoints- the straits of Hormuz

and Malacca. The 805 km-strip, Strait of Malacca, has the narrowest sea lanes between Malaysia and Sumatra and is strategically most important for both India and China. Any possibility of the closure or disruption of these two chokepoints is fraught with nightmarish security scenarios. With a view to securing common interests of the two countries President George W Bush and Manmohan Singh in 2006 signed an agreement on “Indo-US Framework for Maritime Security Cooperation.” The US described the agreement as “building the foundation of a durable relationship that will support our common strategic and security interests well into the 21st century.”

Even before the maritime pact was signed, India had declared its readiness to soldier responsibility in the Indian Ocean by escorting US highvalue cargoes through the Strait of Malacca. The two navies have been engaging in numerous joint exercises, counterinsurgency and anti-terrorism operations, training and sharing of information and communication with regard to maritime security, thereby laying the foundation of an invaluable security and strategic partnership. India’s defence shopping list is huge. According to some estimates, India is likely to spend as much as $30 billion in the next couple of years and $80 billion in a decade on procurement and modernisation of its defence. The US is eyeing this market and is well poised to beneﬁt from it while India is keen to have the advantage to shop from the world’s most technologically advanced weapons market. Decks were cleared for the IndoUS defence and military cooperation in 1995 with a MoU signed between the two countries. It was barely a couple of years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, marking the end of almost half a century of estrangement with the US. A decade later in 2005, India and the US signed a ‘New Framework for Defence Relation’ agreement which laid the ground rules for increased cooperation. From thereon, the Indo-US defence and military cooperation has

gone from strength to strength. The defence and strategic interests of India and the US were so divergent until the Soviet Union collapsed that it took a long time for the two democracies to understand each other’s core concerns and to appreciate each other’s cultural sensitivities. The relations were prisoners of the geopolitical compulsions of the Cold War and even more importantly of the peculiar circumstances in which the leaders of the Indian Republic set out to complete the task of nation building after independence in 1947. After India’s defeat at the hands of China in 1962 and the split in the Communist International in 1964, India’s strategic interests were aligned with the Soviet Union. In the course of time, India got sucked into the Soviet Union’s industrial military complex. But the collapse of the Soviet bloc raised almost an existential question for India in so far as defence matters were concerned. India needed to adjust to the new world order. The adjustment came as much as a result of internal compulsion as external pressure. In July 1991 India, teetering on the brink of external default, set out on a course of structural adjustments. The country’s development, its economy and security slowly had to align with the new world order headed by the lone superpower, the US. Of course, India and the US took their own time ironing out the creases that had developed over decades of misunderstandings and miscommunications. Currently, India is dragging its feet on signing the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) despite US pushing it as a sensitive technology-enabler for P-8I and other arms procurements. The rapidly growing Indo-US defence cooperation, however, does not mean that India is going to be procuring the bulk of its arms from the US in the near future. As much as 70 percent of Indian military hardware and equipment are Russian in origin. India is keen to gradually replace them as after sales and service of the Russian equipments has of late become a major irritant for the India army. The basic platform used by the Indian armed forces is likely to remain Russian for a long time to come. However, the evolving world order, with multiple polarities, and given the common geo-strategic interests of the two largest democracies and the ideals of shared world outlook ensures that Indo-US defence and strategic relations become a deﬁning partnership of the 21st century.

Changing form to add substance The transformation of IndoUS relationship is indeed paradoxical. India’s nuclear tests in 1998 led former US President Bill Clinton to impose sanctions on India. Later, as a consequence of India’s tests combined with other strategic compulsions, President Clinton changed the very template of the Indo-US relations. India, that was during the ﬁrst Clinton term merely a blip on the US strategic radar, given the prism of Cold War became a “natural ally” of the US during the administration of George W Bush. Later, the Bush administration raised the Indo-US relations to a status of “strategic partnership”. The compulsions of the post 9/11 world and the unprecedented rise of China brought the two estranged partners, as it were, closer. After the Clinton administration’s deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot and India’s foreign minister Jaswant Singh had carried on a series of ‘strategic dialogue’, President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal in 2005. Attempts have been made to understand the nuclear deal from two narrow and blinkered perspectives. The narrow perspective is that India signed on the dotted line to meet its burgeoning energy needs. The other blinkered perspective is that the Indo-US deal was aimed at checkmating a rising China. Both are partly true, not in entirety. India had virtually been declared a pariah state after it conducted the nuclear tests. The US too had few options given the rigid anti-proliferation laws. By not signing the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by 1968 on the ground that the treaty was discriminatory, India had missed the bus in joining the elite nuclear club. Having a nuclear weapons programme outside the NPT framework was just not on. The Indo-US nuclear deal ended India’s pariah status sidestepping the NPT. This was truly astounding and as some critics carp ‘discriminatory’. The deal opened the way for India to beneﬁt from a host of modern, sophisticated technologies, the most important being the high-end dual-use technologies. The Indo-US deal provides a perfect framework to understand the future of emerging IndoUS relations in its entirety.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Healthcare

PRESENT TENSE BUT FUTURE PERFECT RAKESH PANDEY

HE $40 billion healthcare industry has emerged as one of the most promising sectors in India. A mélange of factors like the growing population, increased life expectancy and hence a larger ageing population, higher burden of chronic/lifestyle diseases and greater awareness are giving a big push to the health sector that is expected to become a $280 billion industry by 2020. Taking into consideration its rapid growth, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Indian healthcare industry is on the brink of a revolution, which is just waiting to happen. Opportunity, entrepreneurship and facilitative environment combined with a number of innovative and indigenous healthcare delivery models being witnessed these days are a sure recipe for transforming the healthcare scenario. But before going into the future, let’s take a look at the current situation. With 16 percent of the world population, 21 per cent of the global diseases and the largest burden of communicable diseases in the world, India have only six percent of the world’s hospital beds. Number of hospital beds per 1000 population in India is less than 50 per cent of that in developing countries like Brazil and China, and less than 35 per cent of the world average. Even the infrastructure that exists is highly fragmented and disproportionately distributed. It is dominated by public healthcare facilities having 62 per cent of the beds while private players account for the rest. A skew is also seen between urban and rural areas with the former having eight times more concentration of beds per 1000 population than that in rural areas. An astounding 64 per cent of the total health expenditure in India (which amounts to 90 per cent of the non-government expenditure) is out-of-pocket. This is mainly because health insurance in India does not have adequate penetration with only 12 per cent of the population being covered. Majority of the people have no option but to go for private healthcare facility despite its exorbitant cost. Moreover, the existing supply is very heavily in favour of the metros and big cities, while small towns and rural India face a huge shortage. They have to rely almost entirely on the creaky and woefully inadequate government healthcare infrastructure. The present looks daunting, but in the problem lies the solution. Growing population, increasing affordability, comparative cheaper treatment costs as opposed to the West, medical tourism, increased health insurance penetration, greater patient awareness, out-ofthe-box thinking by the healthcare players for better operations, government opening up to public-private-partnership (PPP) and even providing tax holidays can be the panacea to all the ills of Indian healthcare. With the public spending likely to increase beyond 20 percent, there is room for everyone in the organised private healthcare sector. Those players in the healthcare industry, who have noted this advantage, such as Apollo, Fortis and others, are already reaping a rich harvest and preparing for

more. India’s deficiency in bed capacity, which is approximately 3 million as per the WHO recommendation of four beds per 1000 population, offers an excellent opportunity for the healthcare players. Considering even a 250-bedded hospital on an average, the country would need 12,000 hospitals in the near future. As much as almost 80 percent of this would be fulfilled by the private sector. The recent spurt in PPP projects and thrust on quality by the government sector and its demand on National Board of Accreditation for Hospitals (NABH) and ISO, a lot of consultancy business is on offer with projects galore in the accreditation and Quality Management System field. India to its credit already has one government hospital NABH accredited, and several more are in the pipeline. Almost 60 percent of India’s 1.33 billion projected populations in the next 10 years will be in the 15-64 year age group that will drive the healthcare insurance industry. The penetration of health insurance in India, which is currently only 12 percent of the population, is expected to rise to almost 20 percent in the next five years. With good government health schemes coming up, excellent examples being the Aryogyshree, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, National Rural Health Mission and others, the better care of the poor and needy is also not far off.

Medical tourism is one ﬁeld where the healthcare sector can look for major gains. As per recent studies, almost ﬁve million foreigners availed treatment in Indian healthcare setups by 2008. With surgical cost almost one tenth of what it is in the West, the estimated $15 billion medical tourism industry will only grow further. This has helped in creation of health cities and medical tourism hubs. Focused on medical tourism, health cities are audaciously being designed and executed and hospitals with bed strengths of 1500-2000 are now being setup.

OUT-OF-BOX THINKING The coming years will see a greater out-of-the-box thinking by the strategists in the ﬁeld of healthcare, beginning with the way it is delivered. To begin with, a rise in retail clinics, single speciality, secondary and tertiary care centres are likely to come to the fore, including the recent examples of NOVA Daycare, BEAMS & Apollo clinics. Operations and management contracts are being handed over to outsourced partners and the recent example of Fortis managing SL Raheja is the best one can cite. The recent trend also s h o w s how the

VITAL STATISTICS Population: 16 percent of the world Diseases: 21 percent of the world Beds: 6 percent of the world Beds under public sector: 62 percent Beds under private sector: 38 percent Insurance cover: 12 percent of the population Projected public spending: 20 percent Number of 250-bed hospitals needed: 12,000 hospitals have become quality conscious. Reputed hospitals like Wadia and Masina in central and south Mumbai and others across the country have hired a reputed healthcare consultancy ﬁrm to do a quality gap analysis and help them streamline operations and management and suggest ways to bring about better sustainability. The tier 2/3 cities have suddenly become attractive to the healthcare players, especially because of the tax sops, increasing disposable incomes among Indian families across the country and dearth of quality healthcare infrastructure in these locations. A rising trend is also being seen in religious centric hospital trusts with world-class infrastructure like PAKH, Saibaba Trust, Shankar Nethralaya, among others. This enables the trusts to keep their commitment to target society and mankind at large and also brings in higher sustainability due to continued patronage of the members of the society and devotees.

PRIVATE SECTOR BIAS According to recent IDFC study, there is a clear bias within skilled professionals, including doc-

tors, towards the private sector. Even then the private sector finds difficulty in bridging the deficit of manpower. There is a huge shortage of 1.5 million skilled professionals, including doctors, nurses and administrators. The main reason is the lack of adequate medical education centres. With recent opening of numerous hospital management colleges, the gap to provide able administrators is likely to be bridged and more such institutes will flourish in the times to come. To bridge the wide human resource gap, especially in the clinical and professional side, the central government has mooted the idea of corporatising medical education, and it is just a matter of time when private run non-trust based medical education on commercial lines will be seen across the country. The growing demand for quality healthcare has also attracted a

lot of foreign players to venture into the industry and are handholding the existing Indian players in creating a chain of healthcare units, not just in India but at foreign locations too. Technology will play a major role in bringing quality in healthcare, be it better nursing communication systems, patient monitoring devices or telemedicine to provide low cost diagnosis to remote patients etc. With companies like HCL, HP and Microsoft already investing heavily in healthcare technology and Google trying to ambitiously woo the consumers for a centralised healthcare database, the future healthcare industry offers unlimited opportunities. Another healthcare delivery model which is like to gain currency in the future is a low cost, nofrills hospital for the middle-middle and lower-middle classes. These hospitals would be based in Tier II and III cities and towns where the cost of resources is lower. A brainchild of Dr Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya, low cost hospitals has been planned in Mysore, Siliguri and Bhubaneshwar. In this chain of hospitals, heart surgeries would be conducted for $1100, which is almost one-third to one-fourth of the costs in a large tertiary care hospital. With the focus shifting from sick-care to prevention, the future of the wellness industry looks promising. Rising income levels and awareness of the beneﬁts of wellness as a preventive measure has prompted many organised players to enter the wellness space. This space is now being occupied by Ayurveda treatment centres, alternative medicine, medi-spas, cosmetology and cosmetic dentistry clinics, dietary counselling and even wellness- based products retail. Apollo Wellness Clinic, Manipal Cure and Care, Evolve Medspa and Reliance Wellness are some examples. Given this impending transformation, the future of healthcare in India holds promise and we expect its growth rate will be in the range of 16 per cent to 20 per cent soon, around 1.5 to two times the country’s GDP growth rate.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Education

INDIA POISED FOR FULL LITERACY BY 2015 SHAKEEL AHMAD

n the 62nd anniversary of India’s Republic Day, the country stands poised as the surprise powerhouse of cutting-edge science and technology-competing with developed countries in everything— from space research to cheap life-saving drugs and vaccines. India’s present success story has been scripted by the knowledge society that the country’s solid base in education and learning has helped to evolve. India has a long history of organised education. The ‘gurukul’ system of education flourishing in ancient India was one of the oldest on earth.’ Gurukuls’ were traditional residential schools of learning, generally the teacher’s house or a monastery where education was free. University education on almost modern lines existed in India as early as the 7th century BC or even earlier. The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at Nalanda, Taxila and Vikramshila universities. Nalanda was the biggest centre which handled all branches of knowledge and housed up to 10,000 students while at its peak. What is remarkable about India’s rich intellectual and educational tradition is its unbroken continuity through the ages, and right into the modern times. British records show that indigenous education was widespread in the 18th century with a school each for every temple, mosque and village in most regions of the country. When the British came, they introduced modern education, and Indians were quick not only to adopt it but also excel in it. After independence, the highly educated Indian political leaders, the product of modern education, could hardly fail to recognize the role of education in a fast modernising world where it alone could unlock people’s full potential and help them to improve the quality of life, to participate fully in the democratic processes and to make sound and informed judgments. Soon after independence, the first Prime Minister of free India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, set about establishing world class modern educational institutions which he called ‘temples of learning’. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and other such institutions have over the years achieved global renown and their graduates are in high demand abroad. They have made immense contribution to Silicon Valley, the hub of IT in the US, while many of them are coolly ensconced in multinational conglomerates as their CEOs. The skilled manpower advantage underpins India’s recent economic advances. Successive Indian governments have tried to address the challenge of improving not only access to education but also its quality as a crucial part of the development agenda. In this context, the approval of ‘Right To Education Bill envisaging free compulsory education for all under 6-14 years of age is a defin-

NOBEL LAUREATES CITIZENS OF INDIA AND INDIAN ORIGIN Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) In 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was the first person of non-Western heritage to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Tagore holds the unique distinction of being the composer of the national anthems of two different countries, India and Bangladesh. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888–1970) He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the year 1930 for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him. His nephew, the astrophysicist Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 as a citizen of the United States of America. Amartya Sen (born 1933) He is the first Indian to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, awarded to him in 1998 for his work on welfare economics. He has made several key contributions to research in this field, such as to the axiomatic theory of social choice; the definitions of welfare and poverty indexes; and the empirical studies of famine.

INDIAN CITIZEN OF FOREIGN ORIGIN Ronald Ross Born in Almora in 1857, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on malaria. He received many honours in addition to the Nobel Prize, and was given Honorary Membership of learned societies of most countries of Europe, and of many other continents

CAMPUS CAPERS Total number of colleges in 1953- 563. Number of universities in 1953- 25 Number of colleges in 2010 - 16000 Number of universities in 2010- 311 Total number of graduates every year- 2.5million Mass literacy has increased from around 62% at the turn of the century to around 72% Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) provides 192 million children access to primary education. SSA & mid day meal scheme to help India achieve total literacy by 2015 ing development that will surely help India build a knowledge society competing with developed nations for its share in the world economic pie. The last two decades have seen a remarkable progress in mass education with special stress on gender parity. In this period, the number of children in schools has increased sharply, and there are more girls enrolled in primary schools than ever before. The average net enrolment ratio has continued to increase, and there has been significant spread of mass literacy which has increased from around 62 percent at the turn of the century to around 72 percent by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the southern State of Kerala achieving almost hundred percent literacy. To replicate Kerala in other states of the country, India has initiated several special plans. ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ (education for all campaign) and midday meal scheme stand out prominently among other programmes. Launched in November 2000, Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) aimed to ensure five years of primary education for all children in the age group of 6-14 years by 2007 and eight years of schooling by 2010.The programme’s success lies in giving 192 million children access to primary education. One special feature of the SSA programme is emphasis on girl education, children from marginalised communities and children with special needs. The SSA centres are mainly functioning in those areas which do not have schools or where schools are far off and far

and few between. The other success story is the ‘mid-day meal’ scheme which has ensured large attendance in primary schools by attracting children mainly from poorer sections of society with the offer of mid-day meal. These programmes have helped India move closer to its goal of full literacy by 2015. The increase in enrolment for primary education has led to a very positive development— enhanced demand for secondary and higher education. But building more brick and mortar institutions to cope with the enhanced demand is not a viable option for most countries. They need alternative approaches. In the last 10 years, distance education and open schooling have emerged as important supplements and serious alternatives to the formal system by addressing the challenges of increased demand and reaching out to diverse groups of learners with quality secondary education that offer both academic as well as technical and vocational options. For example, India has one national open school with an annual enrolment of 300,000 pupils and 14 State open schools that cater to over two million learners. Moreover, the growing awareness among the masses that education opens the door to great opportunities is motivating even poorer sections of the population to send their sons and daughters to schools and colleges. This is leading to great demands for higher education. Since the government-run institutions of higher studies are failing to cope with this trend, private players

have stepped in a big way. The last two decades or so have seen proliferation of private engineering and medical colleges, besides a large number of technical and professional institutions offering quality education and training. In fact, private institutions have been more responsive to the demands of a developing economy and the industry. The IT-based success of southern states owes much to the concentration of such institutions in the South and the greater pool of professional graduates churned out by them. Yet another private effort helping to transform India into a knowledge economy comes from coaching institutes engaged in preparing students to crack very tough tests for admission to premier engineering, management and medical colleges. Leave alone big cities and centres of education, such institutes have sprouted even in remote district towns across the country. Kota, a Rajasthan district town’s only claim to fame is being home to a large number of coaching institutes. The government efforts towards expansion of tertiary and professional education, however, cannot be underplayed. The number of colleges and universities across the country has risen from 565 and 25 in 1953 to the present 15,600 and 311 respectively. India produces over 2.5 million university graduates per year. To redistribute availability of world class professional and technical education across the country, the Central government is going about setting up IITs in poor and backward states like Bihar, Assam, Orissa, and so on, which are also doing their bit to catch up with the developed states in the ﬁeld of education. There is a move to revive the glory of the Nalanda University in Bihar with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen roped in to oversee the revival of this ancient seat of learning. Though education in India has come a long way since the country gained independence in 1947, much ground remains to be covered—perhaps not the time yet to open the champagne!

Rudyard Kipling Born in Mumbai in 1865 (then Bombay in British India), he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907. He remains the youngest-ever recipient of the Literature Nobel Prize and the ﬁrst English-language writer to receive the Prize. Mother Teresa (1910–1997) Born in Skopje, then a city in Ottoman Empire, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for humanitarian work. Toiling for years in the slums of Kolkata (Calcutta), her work centred on caring for the poor and suffering.

FOREIGN CITIZENS OF INDIAN ORIGIN Hargobind Khorana A person of Indian origin born in 1922, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on genes. He had left India in 1945 and became a naturalised US citizen in the 1970s. He continues to head a laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995) Born in Lahore (now in Pakistan), he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars.

Venkatraman ‘Venki’ Ramakrishnan Born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, he shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. He is now a US citizen. In a January 2010 lecture at the Indian Institute of Science, he revealed that he failed to get admitted at any of the IIT, or Christian Medical College, Vellore. VS Naipaul Born on August 17, 1932 in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works. He is a Trinidadian-British writer.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

In tune with changing times AMIT NEWTON

HERE ARE three major trends that have helped shape Bollywood music in the last two decades: Technology (the media boom, the Internet and mobile phones), Hollywood and other western influences (Tata Young crooning and grooving to Dhoom Dhoom in Dhoom), and a revival of sorts of indigenous music (sufi, ghazals). As an offshoot of all-pervasive influence of technology, Hindi film music has spawned phenomena such as item numbers and Hinglish: a mish-mash of Hindi-English lyrics. Interestingly, even the trend of Hindi-English lyrics dictating the agenda finds its roots in the technological

Malaika Arora Khan in the film Dabangg. revolution. The trend gained prominence with the music group Bombay Vikings, which was started by Neeraj Shridhar in Sweden. Bombay Vikings caused a sensation both in India as well as overseas among the Indian music community due to its unusual combination of classical Bollywood style with a dash of English lyrics. Meanwhile, good old Rock music has also had its day to telling effect on Bollywood music. Proponents that come to mind are the musiccomposer trio of Shankar-EhsanLoy (of Rock On fame) and P r i t a m Chakraborty (Life in a Metro).

Katrina Kaif in the film Tees Maar Khan.

Both composers have put soulful ballads and headbanging rhythms to tune with equal ease. Tuned into the times as they are, music directors are not afraid to experiment with genres popular the world over. Thus, it is not uncommon to find generous vibes of house, club, rap and hip-hop in Bollywood songs of the 2000s. Sufi mysticism too caught the imagination of the Indian audiences and held them enthralled. The credit for popularising Sufi songs in India goes to Kailash Kher. Singing Allah ke bande (You man of God) from the film, Waisa Bhi Hota Hai (It happens like that too) in his Springsteenish timbre, he entered many a heart and has stayed there. Regularly he throws up a number that one must listen, appreciate and absorb. One such number is Teri Diwaani (Mad about you) from his album Kailasa. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani great late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s nephew, is another singer who has capitalised immensely on the foothold he got into Bollywood. With a style similar to his more celebrated uncle but the quality of voice richer, he has all it takes to make an impression. One only needs to listen to Tu na jaane aas-paas hai khuda (You don’t know but God is here) to concur. When 24-hour music channels beamed down explicit videos into family drawing rooms, also came in a certain permissiveness in perceptions, one that only continues to grow. That open-mindedness generated the trend of item numbers, featuring a new avatar of the vamp in revealing clothes (remember Helen?) pouting to titilating rhythms, if you will. What the media boom did then, was to give a licence to be even more

scantily dressed, and to gyrate even more suggestively or so thought music directors and choreographers. One would distinctly remember the rage of the age, Choli ke peeche kya hai from the film Khalnayak. After that almost every film carried an item number and it was not just the wannabies that these songs were filmed on. There is a bevy of Bollywood beauties who have performed item numbers. The rage continues and today it is the turn of the two lasses from the Hindi heartland: Munni and Sheila. Malaika Arora Khan in Dabangg as Munni and Katrina Kaif as Sheila in Tees Maar Khan, collectively hold the imagination of an entire people and its Diaspora to ransom. With the Hinglish trend setting in, lyricists understood, or were made to understand the new trend and so, came up songs like Emotional Atyachaar’ (Emotional torture) from the film Dev D and Humka peeni hai (I want to drink) from Dabangg. If popularity is a measure of success, the songs were right up there with the audiences. Then there was no less than Australian superstar Kylie Minogue crooning I wanna jiggy-wiggy with you, boy in the film Blue. Drawing inspiration and borrowing ideas from outside cannot be scoffed at in music and arts. In Bollywood, however, the West is wildly aped, while the richness of our own cultural heritage is pushed back. Isn’t it why the few experiments with fusion music have largely gone unnoticed or have failed? The need of the hour is a proper marriage of the two and better marketing strategies, to further the interests of Indian music. The horizon ahead is lit by creative talent but the onus for a better day lies on two factors: the lyricist and the music director. In Gulzaar (Jai ho) and Javed Akhtar (Baawre) we have the two best lyricists in Bollywood. While they might not be ready to pass on the torch yet, fresh blood like Neelesh Mishra (Once Upon a time in Mumbai) is infusing vigour into lyrics. With music makers like AR Rahman (Jai ho), Pritam Chakraborty (Pee loon from Once upon a time in Mumbai), Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani (Jab mila tu from the film I hate luv storys), good music is sure to keep coming our way.

STORY GOES FOR A TOSS IN BOLLYWOOD GLOSS From left: Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan.

Hindi cinema, the Khan way FALAK KABIR

Deepika Padukone

Amitabh Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai RAJESH MISHRA

ENOWNED Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar had once said that a good story was a must for a good film and had regretted its absence in an average Bollywood movie. However, his comment failed to move filmmakers of that time as a majority of them believed that a film’s success depended more on the star cast than on the story. The less imaginative filmmakers ignored films like Mother India, Ganga Jamuna, Pakeezah and Guide, which were commercially successful and yet left an indelible mark on viewers’ minds. This popular belief led to churning out of scores of substandard movies year after year. Many of them despite being successful at the box office are hardly remembered today because of their triviality. Most of the big names in Bollywood including superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan and even the selective Aamir Khan have acted in many such movies, which failed to leave an imprint on viewers’ minds. Amitabh Bachchan’s Coolie or Mard; Shah Rukh Khan’s Anjaam and Aamir Khan’s Mela fall precisely into this category of films. The films are full of melodramatic details and project larger than life images of the protagonists. Such movies had stories, but were too simplistic. The stories were on predictable lines like separated twins, who are united after a final showdown with villains or the

F all goes well, Bollywood’s super Khans could leave a lasting imprint on the US and the European markets this winter. And guess who is leading the charge? None other than the Don himself! The Indian film industry is heavily banking on Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra One and Don 2 to infiltrate into Hollywood territory. The other super Khan, Aamir, has already unleashed his Mumbai Diaries or Dhobi Ghat this month. As reports suggest, Shah Rukh’s Don 2 is slated for a simultaneous release with Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible 4 and now it remains to be seen whether King Khan’s daredevilry will turnout as ‘mission success or suicidal’. It’s true that Bollywood has made efforts to get noticed in Hollywood earlier, in fits and starts. But, never before in its existence has the Indian film industry been so close to throw a challenge to Hollywood. A lot rests on one of the prominent success pillars of Bollywood— the Khans - Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman. The scripts and directors they decide to associate with in the future will be the key.

Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centres of film production in the world. However, quality has gone a backstage here with filmmakers compromising on storyline struggle of lovers from two warring families. However, even when the drought of good storybased films was at its peak in the ’70s and ’80s, there was one band of filmmakers led by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee, who made meaningful movies with beautiful storyline. These filmmakers made light of the situation surrounding a common man. Films like Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi or Basu Chatterjee’s Rajni Gandha are classic examples of such movies. Parallel cinema as an alternative to mainstream commercial cinema emerged in the late ’70s and was spearheaded by filmmakers like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihlani and Gautam Ghosh. Parallel cinema can be credited with not creating stars but great actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor, Smita Patil and Shabana Azami.

The parallel cinemas are known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times. However, it goes without saying that such films were only appreciated by the classes and not the masses. Filmmakers of late have realised the importance of stories in films, though the hard way. Today mere presence of a superstar cannot ensure the success of a film unless there is a strong story to back it. The failure of much-hyped Farah Khan’s big budget Tees Maar Khan bears testimony to this. The film crashed despite the presence of stars like Akshay Kumar, Akshay Khanna and Katrina Kaif. There are exceptions as well. Swadesh of Shah Rukh Khan, which despite having all the ingredients of a good movie did not fare well at the box office and Salman Khan’s Dabangg, which despite having nothing but plenty of farcical humour, was a bumper hit. However, critics would not disagree that Shah Rukh Khan gave one of his best performances in the film. The film presented him realistically, sans his King Khan glamour, in a rural atmosphere reminding us of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s healthy household movies such as Golmal or Bawarchi.

On the contrary, the memory of Dabangg, despite being so recent, has already started to fade. Same is the case with Amitabh Bachchan, who gave one of his best acting performances as a jaggery seller in Saudagar or Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Namak Haram than in many of his mega hits such as Suhag or Mahan. And Aamir Khan is simply fascinating in Taare Zameen Par in which he portrays an innovative teacher. Aamir Khan’s contribution to the making of healthy movies in recent times is remarkable. His recent films Peepli Live and Dhobi Ghat reassert that a film does not need to have magnificent sets, handsome and imposing heroes and beautiful heroines for its success. The success of his low-budget films like Peepli Live and Dhobi Ghat reiterate the importance of story in a film. Similarly, Raj Kumar Hirani’s contribution to the making of issue-based healthy movies is really commendable. His films Munna Bhai MBBS or Three Idiots convey a strong message. The genuine attempts made by some mainstream cinema makers to work on good stories show us light at end of tunnel and signal the arrival of more serious filmmakers on the scene in future.

characters, ‘Prem’, ‘Raj’, ‘Munna’, ‘Rahul’, ‘Bhuvan’ and the recent ‘Chulbul Pandey’, has boosted their image beyond the Indian subcontinent. The industry, without doubt, is currently flooded with pools of talents and superstars, but the three Khans have indeed added the same kind of colour to the Indian big screen which probably the troika of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or George Clooney has done to Hollywood. The three superstars, through sheer hard work, talent and energy, not only boast of being the power centres of Bollywood today but have also given enough reason for fans and their friends in the industry to love them. Talks of American and British filmmakers doing movies with Shah Rukh and Aamir are all over the industry every now and then. After years of dominance at the box office, the Khan supremacy remains unabated. If 2009 belonged to Aamir for 3 Idiots, 2010 belonged to SRK and Salman for My Name Is Khan and Dabangg respectively. And 2011 would probably be no different. With major releases like Ra One, Don 2, Ready and My Love Story on offer and over US$800 million riding on their shoulders, the Khan trilogy is only getting bigger and the expansion of their ‘kingdom’ more global. How and when Bollywood will threaten to rise to Hollywood heights, and how much impact the three Khans can make in this expansive endeavour are the open-ended questions. As the Khans are trying to grab Hollywood territory, musician AR Rahman, also known as ‘the Mozart of Madras’, has already put his imprint on Hollywood with his music for Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. But one thing is patently clear, this will only be the beginning, as SRK himself puts it aptly in one of his films, “The real picture is still a long way off my friends!”

The Khans have been the undisputed sultans of Bollywood. Will they enact a similar script in Hollywood?

KHAN-O-METER The credit must go to the Khans for their 20 years of longevity in the filmdom. Over the years the larger than life troika of Khans has accumulated enough firepower, picking up flamboyant titles on their way. Shah Rukh (SRK) is called the King Khan for his media savvy and indomitable image. Aamir is known as the perfectionist for his meticulous take on films and immaculate record at the box office. Salman or ‘Sallu Bhai’ is called the big ‘bad boy’ and ‘sexy Khan’ for his rebellious and glamorous looks. Also, the real-like contribution of reel-like

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

In tune with changing times AMIT NEWTON

Katrina Kaif in the film Tees Maar Khan.

STORY GOES FOR A TOSS IN BOLLYWOOD GLOSS From left: Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan.

Hindi cinema, the Khan way FALAK KABIR

Deepika Padukone

Amitabh Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai RAJESH MISHRA

The Khans have been the undisputed sultans of Bollywood. Will they enact a similar script in Hollywood?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Little Big Card

AADHAAR – A NEW BASE FOR AN EFFECTIVE DEMOCRACY What is Aadhaar and what it is not? 1. Aadhaar (the UID number) is not mandatory. People can choose not to be a part of the exercise. 2. It is not restricted to Indian citizens only and is meant for residents of India, irrespective of their citizenship. An Aadhaar card does not establish citizenship of India, it is meant for identification. 3. Even people without proper identification documents can apply for Aadhaar. Authorised individuals, who already have an Aadhaar, can introduce residents who don’t possess any documents to establish their identity to enable them to receive their Aadhaar. 4. Aadhar will not replace other identification documents such as ration card or passport. 5. The UIDAI will collect only biometric and demographic information about an individual and will not ask for info on caste, religion or language. 6. Date of Birth is optional (for people who don’t remember/know their date of birth) and approximate age will suffice. 7. Transgenders have been included in the options under gender and they need not classify themselves as male or female. 8. Residents of India have an option to link their UID number to their bank accounts. 9. To get an UID number residents will have to go to the nearest Aadhaar enrollment camp, details of which will be published in the local media. Residents will have to carry along certain documents, mentioned in the advertisement. Residents will also be photographed and have their fingerprints and iris scanned. The Aadhaar numbers will be issued within 20-30 days. 10. The draft National Identification Authority of India bill has provisions against impersonation, providing false information and for protection of personal information collected by the UIDAI. Violations can attract penalties in the form of fines of up to Rs 1 crore and imprisonment extending up to a life term.

AMITABH JHA

hen Prime Minister Manmohan Singh handed over to Ranjana Sonawane her 12-digit Unique Identification (UID) card on September 29 last year, hardly could the 40 year old have realised what it meant for India. Singh had just launched a programme that could, if successful, prove to be a paradigm shift in the delivery of the state’s welfare measures and schemes to those who really need it. Singh said, “This scheme for the common man is a symbol of new and modern India. Now you will get the benefit (of government schemes) that you didn’t get so far.” That day nine other members of the tribal community got similar cards. Thus was India’s Unique Identification (UID) programme, or Aadhaar, launched at a function in little-known Tembhli village in North Maharashtra. . Tembhli falls in Nandurbar district which has a literacy rate of less than 50 percent, per capita income of Rs11,789 (lowest in Maharashtra) and 75.43 percent of its families living below the poverty line. That some scepticism greeted the launch of the world’s biggest identity project was not surprising. But for the likes of Anil Thakre (12), a Class VI student, it was a harbinger of new hope. “I look forward to opening a bank account now that I have an Aadhaar,” the boy said. Aadhaar is the name given to the UID card. So what is so great about this card? How is it expected to help streamline delivery to the poorest and most vulnerable sections of India their rightful share of national goods and services? Thereby hangs the tale of India’s IT prowess being harnessed to the benefit of the last man in the queue that Mahatma Gandhi had talked about and successive leaders of governments as well as the society at large seemed to have forgotten. Not that the state never tried. Only the actors entrusted with the task of reaching out the benefits to the target masses had other ideas. Take the case of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (MNREGA) implementation. An

The UID should be able to replace 19 documents that are variously accepted as proof of identity today, but incredibly hard to obtain, ranging from a ration card to passport to the income tax department’s permanent account number card.

estimated 30 percent of funds or three rupees out of every 10 do not reach their intended beneficiaries, according to a CLSA Asia Pacific markets report. While that is the figure for Rajasthan where corruption is low, in states such as Jharkhand, 92 percent of the work exists only on paper, according to former bureaucrat and Planning Commission member NC Saxena. Proving identity is an insurmountable task for millions of Indians, particularly migrants, poor farmers and landless labour, who comprise most of the 400 million people who live below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. These are the people who often lose their identity the moment they step out of their villages, cut adrift from the extensive social security schemes on which India spent Rs1.18 lakh crore last year. A fourth to half that amount never reaches its beneficiaries. To begin with, the UID should be able

Nandan Nilekani

to replace 19 documents that are variously accepted as proof of identity today — but incredibly hard to obtain — ranging from a ration card to passport to the income tax department’s permanent account number (PAN) card. With so much depending on the little card, naturally, every thing about the card had to be top notch. The government’s intentions were clear with the choice of the man to head the UID Authority. Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and former CEO of Infosys, one of shining icons of India’s new economy, who drives around in an Ambassador and whose only regret on leaving Infosys was that he would have to change the e-mail ID he had been using for three decades. Once the man was in charge, things started to fall in place. Nilekani created an organisation taking professionals and staff from diverse backgrounds. Having the team in place, Aadhaar began its

main job, which according to Nilekani is, “to generate a 16-digit identification number for every Indian”. But that is rather an understatement. Aadhaar will eventually also handle projects as diverse as a national-highway toll-collection system, a technology backbone for the forthcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reform of the vast public distribution system (PDS) for subsidised food. According to Nilekani, the project would help in delivery of government’s welfare schemes, boost financial inclusion beside enabling other service providers like banks, insurance, to tap on the UID for authentication purposes. The UID could also help in setting up of micro ATMs as part of the government’s objective of bringing in financial inclusion. Through the UID a grocery store in a village could help a beneficiary of welfare scheme to withdraw cash by simply

providing the UID number. The store could authenticate the beneficiary through the UID number. “This way we could have micro ATMs everywhere”, he said. “It could give acknowledged existence to those currently out of the system”, he said referring to thousands of homeless people or those without birth certification or other identification proof. He also enlisted the other ways the UID number could help in terms of banking, public distribution system, employment schemes, healthcare and education. The UID would be transformational. The UID number could eliminate bogus beneficiaries, he said. There are the concerns about the benefits and efficiency of UID and technology in general as a solution for poverty alleviation. One such concern is that a lot of India’s poor- from tribals in the forests to urban slum dwellers- survive by keeping out of the way of the state. So how will the UID reach them, it is asked. Other critics, taking a cue from some western initiatives and their fate, have opposed the UID project as being invasive of the individual’s privacy. Member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) and economist Jean Dreze described it as “a national security project in the garb of a social policy initiative”. Those of his ilk point out that given India’s dodgy track record on civil liberties, this is a legitimate concern. However, as UID chairman has pointed out time and again, the UID system has an inbuilt security and privacy component that ensured that the data from the bank would be safe. “The UID data base could not be read except for authentication and could not be accessed easily,” he said. India Development Foundation chairman and economist Vijay Kelkar has been speaking for years in favour of a national ID system, and “how it can be a powerful means to bring better access for the poor. It is a foundational infrastructure that - like the social security number in the US and the welfare number in Europe - can make both governments and markets function better.” When complete, the UID, by ensuring a new deal for the country’s poor, may prove to be another prop of the Indian state like its vibrant democracy, fearless press and independent judiciary.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Telecom tale

THE RING OF SUCCESS AT HOME AND ABROAD JAI NARAIN PANDEY

elecommunications has come a long way in India since Sam Pitroda heralded a revolution of sorts in the sector back in 1984. And, despite the recent brouhaha over the 2G scam, the Indian telecommunications industry remains an outperformer. From a mere 3.3 crore in March 2004, India’s telecom subscriber base has climbed to around 75 crore in 2010 taking the tele-density to 65 percent. The growth story continues with 1.5 to 2 crore new subscribers being added each month, making India one of the leading mobile markets in the world. The growth is not limited to urban India only. Rural telephone connections have gone up from 3.6 million in 1999 to 12.3 million in March 2004 and further to 200.77 million in March 2010. The number of rural subscribers has gone up to 243.04 million at the end of October 2010. The government plans to connect all revenue villages in India either through landline, mobile or WLL by February 2011. “We have already connected about 96 per cent of the revenue villages. The remaining 25,000 villages will be connected by February end,” Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said. The government, under Bharat Nirman II Programme, plans to provide broadband coverage to all 250,000 village panchayats by 2012. The deployment of 3G services is expected to further boost growth. According to ‘Indian 3G Mobile Forecast to 2012’, the number of 3G mobile subscribers in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 80 percent this year and the next. “Indeed, access to affordable telecom services is the most important development that has happened in the rural areas of our country after the Green Revolution,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said

at the launch of mobile number portability in New Delhi last week. The year 2010 saw major investments in the booming domestic telecom market. According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the telecommunications sector attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$1,062 million during April-October 2010. The cumulative ﬂow of FDI into the sector between April 2000 and October 2010 is reported to be US$9,993 million. While foreign players are seeking a pie of the Indian telecom pie, Indian ﬁrms are looking abroad to script new growth stories. Indian companies were involved in overseas mergers and acquisitions worth US$ 16.60 billion in the April-December 2010 period. This represents 28.26 per cent of the total value of outward bound deals across all the sectors during the period, an industry report said. Bharti Airtel’s US$10.7 billion acquisition of Zain’s mobile services operations in 15 African countries was the biggest of them all and catapulted the Indian player into the top ten global players. Bharti also acquired 100 per cent stake in Telecom Seychelles Ltd for $62 million. Reliance Industries acquired 95 per cent stake in Infotel Broadband for $1,032.26 million while India’s Tulip Telecom and Global Holding bought 26 per cent stake in US-based mobile chipmaker Qualcomm’s Indian arm for $57.72 million. GTL Infrastructure purchased 17,500 telecom towers of Aircel Limited for $1,702.95 million. According to a KPMG report ‘India Telecom 2010’, released in December, the mobile value added services (VAS) market is worth between $2.45 billion and $2.67 billion, which is around 10 per cent of the total revenue of the wireless industry. The share of VAS in wireless revenue is likely to increase to 12-13 per cent by 2011. The growth is not limited to the telecom service sector. According to the Ministry of

A peep into telecom history

1850: The first Experimental Electric Telegraph Line was started between Calcutta and Diomond Harbour 1854: The first Telegraph Act enacted 1875: The first private telephone line supplied by the Telegraph Department December 31, 1984: Postal, telegraph and telephone services were managed by the Posts and Telegraphs Department till this date. January 1985: Two separate Departments for the Posts and the Telecommunications were created. 1989: The Telecom Commission was constituted. 1994: Telephone density was 0.8 per hundred persons as against the world average of 10 per hundred persons. August 1995: GSM entered India; historic first cell phone-call was made by MobileNet-joint venture between Telstra (Australia) & B K Modigroup; mobile revolution began in Kolkata; handset cost Rs40,000 & call tariff was Rs17/min. January 1997: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) formed. 1999: National Telecom Policy framed to provide an effective regulatory framework and adequate safeguards to ensure fair competition and protection of con sumer interests. October 1, 2000: The department created BSNL, a new entity to operate services in different parts of the country as a public sector unit.

Communications & Information Technology, the production of telecom equipment in value terms is expected to increase from $10.87 billion during 200809 to $11.87 billion in 2010-2011. A Gartner report places India fourth in manufacturing telecom equipment in the Asia-Paciﬁc (Apac). The telecom industry also broke into new areas of innovation like tele-medi-

cine. A few telecom operators and value-added service developers are planning to use mobile phones for diagnostic and treatment support, remote disease monitoring, health awareness and communication.

Positive Spin

Automobile industry in top gear SATYENDRA PATHAK

he automobile industry in India has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. The sector owes much of its phenomenal growth to improved purchasing power and living standards of India’s burgeoning middle class. Car sales in India climbed to 1.87 million in 2010 from 1.43 million 2009 according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Total local vehicle sales in 2010 rose 31 percent to 14.82 million from 11.32 million. New models and a robust economy drove more customers to showrooms to buy vehicles from Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motors, Tata Motors and other auto makers. Sales also beneﬁted from low interest rates as well as several model launches, mostly in the small-car segment, from Ford, GM, Maruti, Toyota and Tata, among others. Alive to the growing market, auto giants from US, Japan, Korea and Europe are all in a scramble for a pie of the Indian automobile mass market through fully-owned subsidiaries or joint ventures. Besides the prospects of a promising future, the stagnation in Europe and US has led global players like Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan to expand their presence in the country. “Despite this robust performance, vehicle penetration remains among the lowest in the world at only 14

vehicles per 1,000 people—nearly half the level prevailing in all of Africa,” Carlos Gomes, an analyst at Scotiabank, said in a recent report. According to the SIAM, annual car sales are projected to rise up to 5 million vehicles by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. By 2050, the country is expected to top the world in car volumes with approximately 611 million vehicles. Gomes also pointed out that global auto majors are ﬂocking to India as half of the country’s 1.2 billion population is less than 25 years old. The ﬁgure represents 610 million potential future car buyers, which

is twice the size of the entire US population and nearly two-thirds of the current global vehicle fleet of 965 million cars and trucks. It is not only car sales, which has been rising at a phenomenal pace, sales of two-wheelers and commercial vehicles have also registered a significant rise in their sales. Motorcycle sales rose 27 percent to 8.66 million, scooters jumped 51 percent to 1.96 million commercial vehicles grew 45 percent to 652,692 in 2010. In tandem with rising auto sales in the country, India’s automobile exports have also grown consistently and reached $4.5 billion in 2009, with United Kingdom being India’s largest export market followed by Italy, Germany, Netherlands and South Africa. That was also the year India surpassed China as Asia’s fourth largest exporter of cars after Japan, Korea and Thailand. The reasons are not far to seek. India allows foreign carmakers 100 percent ownership of factories in India, which China does not. India’s strong engineering base and expertise in the manufacturing low-cost, fuel-efficient cars have resulted in the expansion of manufacturing facilities of several automobile companies like Hyundai Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki. No wonder, automobile exports are expected to cross the $12 billion value mark by 2014.

Chennai, the Detroit of India hennai seems well on way to becoming the ‘Detroit of India’ with most car makers preferring to set up their manufacturing units around there. Ford has a manufacturing plant in Chennai which produces about 60,000 vehicles annually. BMW India has an assembly unit there. And of course, there is the Hyundai unit with an annual capacity of 250,000 cars. More are in the pipeline. Mahindra & Mahindra, Renault, and Nissan plan a Rs 4,000 crore manufacturing unit at Oragadam in Chennai. Volkswagen will also set up a manufacturing plant at Sriperumbudur or Oragadam. Naza, which owns the KIA brand, is considering establishing a plant in Chennai at an initial cost of US$ 150 million. What makes Chennai such a sought after destination for auto makers of all hues is the efﬁciency of the Tamil Nadu administration. Other factors encouraging the growth of the automobile sector in Chennai are its competitive automotive and component sector, high literacy standards, excellent infrastructure, and the proximity to ports. An added advantage is the availability of investors willing to set up ancillary units in Chennai. The development and upgradation of NH 45 has also helped. Moreover, the newer players ﬂock to the place attracted by the infrastructure already set up for the earlier units. These factors make the automobile market in Chennai look poised for a bright future ahead. (SP)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Sports

Saina Nehwal: Shining glory

Saina Nehwal

Hyderabadi girl Saina called ‘the pocket bomb’ became the first Indian to reach the world No 2 spot in December last

O woman sportsperson from India has created so much international buzz through her heroics as shuttler Saina Nehwal. Rising through the ranks, the 20-year-old acquired even the world No 2 position in world badminton rankings and held it for quite some time. After successfully treating her ligament injury, she is planning her comeback to the court soon.

After making it to the quarter-ﬁnals of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Hyderabadi girl called Saina ‘the pocket bomb’ became the ﬁrst Indian to win a Super Series event two years ago. And a year later, she added three more Super Series titles and became the world No 2 in December last. In between, Saina also claimed the Commonwealth Games gold medal in

October. She was weighed down by the heavy weight of expectations when the Asian Games came around in November. The Indian star could not ﬁnd the rhythm and sharpness she is known for and eventually lost the quarterﬁnal to Hong Kong’s Yip Pui in three games, causing one of the biggest heart-break to Indian fans. Saina is, however, deter-

mined to compensate for the Asian Games setback in the London Olympics next year. Having scalped the best of the world in different tournaments, she knows the tricks of the trade well. In another year’s time, she would be more matured to handle the pressure and rivals. Maybe, she will make her dream to win the Olympic gold come true! (RT)

GUANGZHOU SHOW RAISES HOPES FOR GAMES OTHER THAN CRICKET India had finished second in the inaugural Asiad in 1951 and third in Jakarta 11 years later. In subsequent years, the best overall performance fetched India only the fifth spot (four times).

RAAJIV TRIPATHI

RICKET has been dominating other games since India won the World Cup in 1983. But the year 2010 raised hopes for other sports in the country after India finished the Guangzhou Asian Games at sixth spot in overall standings, its best performance in 24 years. The Indian contingent returned home with its richest haul of 64 medals, which included 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze medals. India had finished second in the inaugural Asiad in 1951 and third in Jakarta 11 years later. In subsequent years, the best overall performance fetched India only fifth spot (four times). After managing the fifth place in two successive Asian Games (at New Delhi in 1982 and at Seoul in 1986), India was on the downslide and could not arrest the slump. So, after poor performance in games after games, the Guangzhou show deserved commendation, especially in the field of gymnastics with Ashish Kumar winning the first Asiad medal (bronze) in the floor exercise. Virdhawal Khade became the first Indian in 24 years to win a medal (bronze) in swimming after Khazan Singh’s silver in the Seoul Asian Games. There were eight disciplines — athletics, boxing, tennis, kabaddi, rowing, archery, wushu and squash — in which Indians got more medals than in the 2006 Doha Asian Games. During the Guangzhou Games, there were rib-tickling feelings that India might end up rising to the fourth or fifth place. But, Iran and Kazakhstan edged forward, finally. Boxers, led by Vijender Singh, put up the most gallant display and clinched nine medals, including two gold and three silvers. In the previous Asiad, India had won only two bronze medals. In terms of gold medals, athletes also turned in an improved show and earned five gold medals as against one in the Doha Games. In four sports, India managed to finish at par. Hockey was one of them. For India, it was a golden chance to grab gold medal with holder South Korea falling to Pakistan in the semi-finals. But India spilled the opportunity as it also floundered against Malaysia, who was beaten by Pakistan for the gold medal. Cue sports, golf and sailing were other three in which India maintained its number of medals. But the shooters let India down badly. They were gunning for more medals

Virdhawal Khade than the Doha Asiad but flopped and could win one gold through Ronjan Sodhi. In 2006, India had shot 14 medals, including three gold and five silver medals. Jaspal Rana had turned out to be an unexpected shooting star with a golden double. Though India started with a bang and bagged two silvers through celebrated trio of Abhinav Bindra (Olympic champion), former world record holder Gagan Narang and Sanjeev Rajput, in the men’s 10m air rifle event, other Indian star shooters faded in the face of stiff competition from the Chinese. Wrestlers and chess players also disappointed and could not even repeat their display of the Doha Asian Games. As a result, India suffered badly and could not overtake Iran and Kazakhstan in the medals tally, which once looked a strong possibility. The Indian cricket board took a weird decision of not sending the team to the Twenty20 contest through which cricket made its debut in the Asian Games. Had an Indian team participated, at least a silver medal would have been added to the tally, if not gold.

Ashish Kumar

In gymnastics Ashish Kumar won the first Asiad medal (bronze) in the floor exercise. Virdhawal Khade became the first Indian in 24 years to win a medal (bronze) in swimming after Khazan Singh’s silver in the Seoul Asian Games. We must lavish praise on the multiple medallists for setting new benchmarks and showing that there were games beyond cricket pitches too. Somdev Devvarman (two gold and one bronze), Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji (two gold), Preeja Sreedharan (one gold and one silver), Ranjan Sodhi (one gold and one bronze) and Sanam Singh (one gold and one bronze) won the bulk of medals. Narang, Anil Kumar, Saji Thomas, Ranjit Singh, Jenil Krishnan, Manjeet Singh, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, and Lokesh Kumar were the athletes with two silvers each to their credit. Sania Mirza (one silver and one bronze), Vishnu Varshan (one silver and one bronze), Aditya Mehta (one silver and one bronze), Kavita Raut (one silver and one bronze), Vijay Kumar (two bronze medals), Saurav Ghosal (two bronzes) and Anup Kumar Yama (two bronzes) were the other notable multimedal winners. The Guangzhou Games may prove a turning point in Indian sports history and this new-found inspiration may empower India to become a strong sporting nation. We don’t have to rest on our laurels. Rather, we need to ﬁnd ways about how to improve our showing and reach the next level of excellence. Earlier in the year, the Commonwealth Games, which might have hit the headlines for all wrong reasons, also provided a sound springboard for athletes to raise their levels.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Cricket

GEARING UP FOR ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP SATYENDRA PATHAK

he cricket-crazy country is not only ready to cohost the 10th edition of the cricket World Cup but it is also gearing up to repeat 1983 when India won the prized cup for the first and only time in its history. Being organised jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, this will be the third time and after a span of 15 years that the Indian subcontinent is to host the cricketing extravaganza. India and Pakistan had hosted the event in 1987, which was the first World Cup played outside England. It was also for the first time that number of overs was reduced from 60 to 50 in an innings. The Australians had won the tournament defeating England by 7 runs in the final. The Indian subcontinent once again became the host of World Cup in 1996, when the

Blessed with an enviable line-up that boasts of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and captain MS Dhoni, the Indian team is considered favourite this time. matches were played in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The ﬁnal match was played in Lahore and Sri Lanka had emerged the winner, defeating Australia by seven wickets. Blessed with an enviable line-up that boasts of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and captain MS Dhoni, the Indian team is considered favourite this time. Comprising a good mix of experience and youth, India looks to have the potential to go one better than 2003 when it had reached the ﬁnal. It has several game-changers in the form Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli who are capable of turning the match in their team’s favour. The fact that most of India’s matches will be played on home pitches gives the side advantage in front of the home crowd.

Though there is no specialist allrounder in the team, the likes of Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Raina and Yuvraj can all double up as useful bowlers. The core bowling attack has been picked keeping in mind local conditions and deep batting line-up of the team. Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan can handsomely contribute with their bats. Making India’s chances to repeat the performance of 1983 is Dhoni’s captaincy. As the No.1 Test team in the world and the No 2 ODI side, a World Cup win will really vindicate Dhoni’s boys the best Indian squad in history.

Hogging the limelight will be the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. For him, this tournament will most probably be the last throw of the dice to attain World Cup glory. Even the other members of the team want to win this world cup for him. With many world cup records to his credit, India will again rely heavily on the little champion to repeat the performance of 2003 world cup in which he had scored the maximum runs and taken the team to the ﬁnal.

2010: A year of achievements for Team India 2010 will be remembered as the year of achievements for the Indian cricket team. And making that special was none other than Sachin Tendulkar himself. Here are some of India’s major achievements in 2010: Sachin became the first player to hit a double century in a one-day international match. The Master Blaster achieved this milestone by scoring unbeaten 200 runs against South Africa in the second ODI at Gwalior. One-day international cricket had to wait for nearly four decades to see a batsman scoring 200 since its inception in 1971. Sachin became the first batsman to hit 50th Test century. It was also against South Africa on the 4th day of the Test match at Super Sport Park on December 19. With Tendulkar hitting one more century in the third Test against South Africa, the little master has now 97 centuries in international cricket. Sachin became the highest Test playing cricketer when he played his 169th Test match in August, passing the record of former Australia captain Steve Waugh. Sachin also crossed 14,000 Test runs in October, a feat no other batsman in the world has ever achieved. The year also saw India winning the Asia Cup after 15 years, defeating Sri Lanka by 81 runs. It was the fifth Asia Cup trophy for India and the fourth win in seven tournament finals under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. India finished the year as No 1 team in world Test rankings, winning three series – against Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand and drawing the other two against South Africa and Sri Lanka. The Indian team hasn’t been conquered in the nine consecutive series, which is also a record. Seven of those nine series, including in New Zealand, India won. (SP)

DE GHUMA KE

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the

tenth edition. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will jointly host the tournament from February 19 to April 2. The opening ceremony will be held in Dhaka on February 17, 2011, two days before the start of the tournament. Fourteen national teams are scheduled to play. India and Bangladesh will play the first match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, on February 19. Twenty-nine out of 49 matches will be played in India, including one quarter-final, semi-final and the final. Sri Lanka will host 12 matches, including one quarter-final and a semi-final. Eight matches, including two quarter-finals will be played in Bangladesh. ‘De Ghuma Ke’ to be the official theme song of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Bollywood’s trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has com posed the official theme song. The song captures the fierce sense of competition and the desire to win. It has been composed in three different versions - Hindi, Bangla and Sinhalese.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Infra-barrier

BREAKING THE BOTTLENECK TO UNLEASH THE GENIE PRAKASH JHA

ndia will be the second largest economy by 2050 according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. One of the fastest growing economies in the world, the country has already gained increased prominence on the global stage. However, PricewaterhouseCoopers has also called for massive spending on infrastructure, lack of which can bust the country’s growth pattern. Says John Hawksworth, author of the ﬁrm’s recent India report and chief economist, “India has the potential to be one of the three great economies of the 21st century with China and the USA,” provided signiﬁcant investment is made in the core sector — the backbone of any economy. India’s economic momentum may be impressive, but it is achieving this development in spite of its infrastructure, not because of it. Forget rural infrastructure, even in urban areas, a substantial chunk of population has no access to good transport, quality and uninterrupted power supply, clean drinking water and sanitation facilities. According to a recent comparative study on infrastructure facilities in India and China 18 per cent of

India’s urban population defecates in the open against 6 per cent in China. Infrastructure deficit could prevent India from achieving the prosperity that finally seems to be within its grasp. Without reliable power and water and a modern transportation network, the chasm between India’s rich and its 800 million poor will continue to widen, potentially destabilising the country. Stressing the need of good infrastructure, Jagdish N Bhagwati, a professor at Columbia University, recently said “the gross domestic product growth would run two percentage points higher if the country had decent roads, railways, and power.” Of late, the political leadership has woken up to the magnitude of the infrastructure crisis after decades of inertia and underinvestment. Capital spend to GDP ratio for the nine identified sectors of infrastructure including power, rail, roads, ports and civil aviation, has almost doubled from 6 per cent in 2004-05 to 11.6 per cent in 2008-09. The government is considering an infrastructure debt fund to finance part of the $1.5 trillion estimated expenditure to revamp the creaky infrastructure by 2017. Another $500 billion is to be financed privately.

MILESTONES Capital spend to GDP ratio for

the nine identiﬁed sectors of infrastructure has almost doubled from 6 per cent in 2004-05 to 11.6 per cent in 2008-09. Billions of rupees are being spent on improving road connectivity across the country through plans like the $12 billion Golden Quadrilateral scheme. The government had set a target of building 20 kilometres of roads per day and increased the capital spending for the sector in the budget for 2010-11 by 22 percent to about Rs 222 billion.

The government estimates that public and private organisations will chip in with $330 billion to $500 billion over the next five years for highways, power plants, ports and airports. Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

The Planning Commission has already proposed a $11billion infrastructure debt fund to be set up in 2011. The fund will tap sovereign and insurance funds to finance roads, utilities and other infrastructure. Approval for funds raised by non-banking financial companies abroad for infrastructure lending has been made automatic subject to full hedging of currency risk and other prescribed norms. Major power generation, transmission and distribution projects have been announced. Billions of rupees are being spent on improving road connectivity across the country through plans like the $12 billion Golden Quadrilateral scheme. The rail network modernisation is in full swing. Civil aviation has received a solid boost with opening of a new international terminal in New Delhi and clearance to several other airport projects. Port facilities are also being upgraded to achieve better efficiency. The telecommunication and mining sectors continue to widen their reach. Infrastructure financing is also growing by leaps and bounds due to improved policy framework. These have created a positive sentiment about the country’s growth prospects. As these projects require huge financial and technical resources, new ways are being explored to overcome the shortages. The civil nuclear treaty with the USA, development of new policies and financial products are among the steps taken to meet the challenge. To overcome the shortage of funds, successive governments have taken steps to create conducive environment for greater private participation in the projects. The private sector is now offered larger participation and bigger returns. The entry of private players has already taken some burden off the exchequer and simultaneously broken the bottleneck blocking infrastructure development across the country. But still, there is a long way to go. Underlining the need to sustain the infrastructure push and the government’s commitment to it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in Mumbai recently, “We have to improve the quality of our infrastructure. It is a priority of our government.” The prime minister, in fact, is promising a Marshall Planscale effort. The government estimates that public and private organisations will chip in with $330 billion to $500 billion over the next five years for highways, power plants, ports and airports. The government had set a target of building 20 kilometres of roads per day and increased the capital spending for the sector in the budget for 2010-11 by 22 percent to about Rs 222 billion. The roller is out on the road. The bumps will go.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Agriculture

NEED TO INVEST IN FARM SECTOR FOR DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH W PANKAJ K SHARMA

hen the developed world was reeling under the global recession, India though not unaffected by the financial crisis managed to register a respectable growth of over 6 percent. Driving the Indian economic powerhouse was domestic consumption fuelled by the agriculture sector. Though the share of farm sector in the GDP has steadily declined over the last few years, by virtue of being the single largest contributor to the economy, agriculture plays a vital role in the overall development of the country. Two-thirds of the workforce earns livelihood from agriculture which accounted for 14.6 percent of the nation’s GDP in 2009-2010 and 10.23 percent of India’s total exports. Spread over an area of 328.7 million hectares, the country’s gross cropped area is 193.7 million hectares. From a nation dependent on food imports, India today is not only sufficient in food grain production but also has substantial reserves. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy figures, Kharif and Rabi output in India were 114 million tonnes and 116.6 million tonnes respectively in 2010. Self-sufficiency in food is India’s greatest success story. Ranked second in global farm output, India is the largest producer of coriander, spices, millets, safflower and safflower seeds, pulses, guavas and mangoes etc in the world, and the second largest producer of wheat, rice tea, groundnuts, coconuts and vegetables etc. However, this was not the case when India achieved independence. Till the early 1960s, India was dependent on imports and suffered chronic food shortages. Selfsufficiency in food production was the key to political stability and security of the country. GREEN REVOLUTION’S SUCCESS With a view to attaining selfsufficiency, the government launched Green Revolution in the 1960s which truly revolutionised the farm sector. World famous agricultural scientist Dr Norman Borlaug was one of the chief architects of Green Revolution. India’s M S Swaminathan’s contribution, too, played a major role in making the Green Revolution a success. The scheme involved bringing additional area under cultivation, extension of irrigation facilities, use of improved high-yielding varieties of seeds, evolution of better techniques through agricultural research, judicious use of water and fertilisers, modern equipment, pesticides and advance cropping practices. It led to a quantum jump in the production of wheat and rice. Unfortunately, the Green

Moreover, there is an urgent need for second green revolution to take farm sector to a higher trajectory of 4 per cent annual growth. To achieve this, peasants should be given credit at lower rates and provided better irrigation facilities. Crop insurance and giving debt relief to indebted farmers requires urgent attention. Suicide by farmers for their failure to repay debts is the most painful development in the farm sector. However, there is little doubt that if the government takes measures to ensure public and private sector investments in the agriculture sector, India can attain and sustain the double-digit growth rate the country aspires to achieve.

Though the share of farm sector in the GDP has steadily declined over the last few years, by virtue of being the single largest contributor to the economy, agriculture plays a vital role in the overall development of the country.

Revolution has remained conﬁned to a few pockets of India, such as Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. It has created islands of riches in the vast sea of poverty. A National Pulse Development Programme covering 13 states and a technology mission on oilseeds

were launched in 1986 to increase production of pulse and oilseeds. A new seeds policy was adopted to provide high quality hybrid seeds and plants for vegetables, fruits, ﬂowers oilseeds and pulses. A separate ministry of food processing industries was set up in 1988 to help the faming com-

FARM FILE $19 billion allocation during

munity realise better returns from agricultural produce. VAGARIES OF MONSOON Even after 64 years of independence, Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the vagaries of monsoon. Besides, the inherent weaknesses of the farming sector are reﬂected in the low investment,

exhaustion of the yield potential of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice seeds, unbalanced fertiliser use, exhaustion of soil fertility and lack of incentive. Also, with farmers shifting to cash crops such as ﬂowers, vegetables and fruits, there has been a steady decline in areas cultivated under rice,

wheat, pulses and sugarcane. This has led to steep hike in prices of basic commodities. The government, therefore, should ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their product. At the same time, while diversifying into cash crops, the government should not ignore production of cereals and other crops.

the 11th ﬁve-year plan 14.6% of GDP in 2009-2010 10.23% of total exports. 328.7 million hectares of total area under farming sector 193.7 million hectares gross cropped area Total Kharif yield 114 million tonnes Total Rabi output 116.6 million tonnes Father of Green Revolution Dr Norman Borlaug

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Music

REMIX IS TRANSITORY,

CLASSICAL IS FOREVER PRADEEP MATHUR

NDIAN classical music, despite the onslaught of Bollywood, has not only managed to expand its base of loyal connoisseurs, but also its niche market. Bollywood music may have become the face of Indian music because of its popularity among the masses, but it is still the classical form of Indian music that is popular among music enthusiasts both in India and abroad. The origin of Indian classical music that can be traced to Vedas, the oldest Hindu scriptures, has not only withstood the vagaries of time but has emerged stronger by assimilating folk and Persian music. Such is its popularity worldwide that it is now the most expanding and powerful empire we can boast of. Thanks to an overﬂowing talent pool and growing exposure, there is no dearth of young artistes. More and more young practitioners of classical music are taking it up as career despite it being a less lucrative option than Bollywood music. For, they ﬁnd it not only more expressive, introspective, and

Singer Shubha Mudgal.

Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. meditative but also offering a sureshot route to name and fame. The country will miss Pandit Bhimsen Joshi whose baritone voice regaled classical music lovers for decades. While stalwarts like Ravi Shankar (sitar), Pandit Jasraj (vocalist), Kishori Amonkar (vocal-

Sarod player Ayaan Ali Bangash. ist), Amjad Ali Khan (sarod), Girija Devi (vocalist), Hari Prasad Chaurasia (ﬂute), Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor), Zakir Hussain (tabla) and Ram Narayan (sarangi) are still enthralling music lovers all over India and abroad, a new crop of young, hip and incredibly talented artistes have arrived on

the scene. Ajoy Chakraborty, Rashid Khan, Shubha Mudgal, Anushka Shankar, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash, Sarwar Hussain, Lokesh Anand, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Arun Bhaduri, Rahul Deshpande and Vineet Pawaiya are just a few. Thus, as new voices are coming

up, there is more competitive music reaching the music lovers through new albums hitting the market more frequently than ever before. All India Radio and Doordarshan, the public broadcasters of India, have also played a proactive role in taking the purest form of Indian music to the masses. Both these institutions continue to play a major role in preserving and popularising classical music. Indian classical music is also lucky to have some devout fans. These fans, though not practitioners of music, understand the nuances of music and are ready to take any pains to preserve and promote it. One such devout is Dr Kiran Seth, a professor with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He ﬂoated SPIC MACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Classic Music and Culture Amongst Youth) for promoting classical music and other aspects of Indian culture amongst the youth. Seth’s movement, which began in 1977, has today 250 chapters, organising music fests in schools and colleges across the country.

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