'Don’t dig up football field to lay cricket pitch’

KOCHI: A campaign demanding the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) shift the venue of the India-West Indies ODI in November from the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, and thereby avoid damaging the new grass turf, gained considerable steam on social media on Monday.The playing surface was renovated as part of the Rs 25-crore worth of refurbishment at the stadium ahead of the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. However, if the KCA decides to host the ODI there, the turf will have to be dug up to lay the cricket pitch. 

Footballers, including Kerala Blasters' Iain Hume and Vineeth C K, as well as celebrities like Shashi Tharoor MP and writer N S Madhavan reacted to the development after fans of the Kochi-based ISL club started the social media campaign using the hashtag #SaveKochiTurf. Hume posted on Instagram: "I was here for ISL 1 when they had 6-8 weeks to transform our field from a cricket to a football ground. They made great strides in doing so, but it was still some way off from being a field for top level football. The amount of time and money that has been spent since then to get the pitch to the standard it is now for the U-17 World Cup and ISL, it would be a travesty to tear it up for a one off cricket match." 

Hume, as well as Blasters fans, wondered why the KCA were resolute in hosting the ODI in Kochi when the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which had hosted the India-New Zealand T20I last November, was available. "There's a ground in Trivandrum that is cricket specific. So why for the sake of one match rip up a pitch that has taken years to get to the standard as one of the best in the country?" the Canadian questioned.

India international Vineeth also blasted the move. "I believe that for sports to co-exist, it is important that they do not stop each other from growing. A lot of time, effort and money have gone into the football pitch at the JN Stadium. The stadium is one of only six in India that are approved by FIFA, a certification that will take immense effort and countless permissions to obtain again," Vineeth posted."When India has always been known for being a 'cricket crazy' nation, is it really necessary to dig up a football pitch to play a cricket match?" he wrote.

"Give the match to Trivandrum or get drop-in pitches, if viable. Stop vandalism," tweeted N S Madhavan.
Meanwhile, Tharoor took up the matter with the BCCI Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai. "Spoke to CoA Chief Vinod Rai to denounce KCA's bizarre decision to transfer the India-WI ODI from a match-ready Trivandrum to Kochi whose ground was last used for the U-17 Football World Cup. He has promised to review the matter. KCA motives highly suspect," Tharoor tweeted

-New Indian Express

PM Narendra Modi’s 10 million jobs challenge may be his biggest re-election risk

India will have the world's biggest labour force by 2027 and the millennial generation is crucial to anchor one of the fastest paces of economic growth.

With job creation seen as his government’s biggest failing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi replaced both ministers in charge of employment. Their successors face an uphill task.

India will have the world’s biggest labor force by 2027 and the millennial generation is crucial to anchor one of the fastest paces of economic growth. However fresh employment opportunities are scarce and the administration has lagged in training workers to help them survive the threat of automation.

Questions are increasing about Modi’s ability to fulfill his 10-million-jobs-a-year campaign pledge with less than two years to go before he faces re-election. Few were surprised when he overhauled his cabinet on Sunday, replacing Skill Development Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy with Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Labor Minister Bandaru Dattatreya with Junior finance minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar. Pradhan has successfully implemented Modi’s pet projects, including offering clean cooking gas to the poor.


“There’s been a complete failure when it comes to jobs creation and skilling,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst and author of a biography on Modi. “The reshuffle is a clear indicator that Mr. Modi is aware of the political risks this can create in 2019.”


To be sure, there’s demand for the skilled. India’s government estimates the country will need an extra 110 million workers across 24 sectors of the economy by 2022, compared with the 105 million who will enter the workforce.

What’s missing though is that only 5 percent of the current workforce possesses the required skills and it’s a race against the clock to train them all. Lack of funding and shortage of qualified trainers are among the reasons cited for the lag.

Bridging the Gap

India working age (15-59 years) 62 per cent of population Possess formal skills 5 per cent in India; UK 68 per cent; Germany 75 per cent; U.S. 52 per cent; Japan 80 per cent Average age of population by 2020 India 29 years; US 40; Europe 46 India existing workers to be skilled or re-skilled 298 million India new jobseekers needing skilling (2015-2022) 105 million India total skilling target by 2022 400 million.


-Indian Express



Only 7 per cent engineering graduates employable: What's wrong with India's engineers?


A New Delhi-based employment solutions company, Aspiring Minds, conducted an employability-focused study based on 150,000 engineering students and found barely 7 per cent suitable for core engineering jobs. India Today spoke to Siddarth Bharwani, Vice President at Jetking Infotrain Limited, to shed more light on the issue.


A New Delhi-based employment solutions company, Aspiring Minds, conducted an employability-focused study based on 150,000 engineering students who graduated in 2013. The findings were rather shocking.


As many as 97 per cent of graduating engineers want jobs either in software engineering or core engineering. However, only 3 per cent have suitable skills to be employed in software or product market, and only 7 per cent can handle core engineering tasks.


According to the HRD ministry, India has 6,214 engineering and technology institutions which are enrolling 2.9 million students. Around 1.5 million engineers are released into the job market every year. But the dismal state of higher education in India ensures that they simply do not have adequate skills to be employed.


So, what can happen when such a large population of youth do not get jobs? Experts say that this may cause serious instability in the economic and social conditions in the country, along with wide scale dissatisfaction and disillusionment.


Though the quantity of universities, colleges and programmes are going on increasing in the country, the lack of quality education persists. Profit-hungry managements, lack of skill education, resplendent corruption, focus on rote-learning methods, and shortage of faculty (both in quantity and quality) are the major issues plaguing higher education. Graduates are collecting their degrees despite not being skilled enough to be a productive part of the Indian economy.


India Today got together with Siddarth Bharwani, Vice President at Jetking Infotrain Limited, an IT and IMS training institute, to know more about the issues contributing to such a dismal picture.

Factors working behind an engineer's employability:


According to Bharwani, the following factors decide whether an engineer is employable:


"The ability to apply the concepts learnt to constantly develop innovative things and find solutions to complex problems are main factors working behind the employability of an engineer."


"The state of the economy also plays a major role for employment generation. Industry insiders say that in a strained economic condition, companies do not want to spend much on training and would prefer candidates with some skill sets who can be made billable soon."


Location factor: According to the Aspiring Minds report, in Tier-1 cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, 18.26 per cent of software engineers are job ready, while in Tier-2 cities such as Pune, Nagpur and Surat, 14.17 per cent are employable.

This shows that the candidates from lower tier cities are not getting the same opportunities as those hailing from Tier-1 cities, even if they are equally qualified and skilled. The chances of finding a job for such a person is 24 per cent lower and the earning per-year salary would also be Rs 66,000 lesser.

"Basically the Tier 3 cities are the one with the lowest employability rate. This is because of the insufficient infrastructure for developing skilled specific knowledge," says Bharwani


"Problems with English language along with issues in computer programming make these students ineligible for employment. The difference in English and cognitive skill modules may only be a function of the input quality of the students. There is a consistent trend that the maximum gap is in computer programming, followed by cognitive skills and English and least in other domain skills."


Major problems with engineering education in India:



Syllabus not updated regularly:


The course contents do not focus on areas which will actually help in the job industry after employment. There is a big gap between what the market needs and what Indian education equips its future employees with. Despite exponential changes in science and technology round the world, the syllabus is hardly ever updated.


"For instance, while mobile computing is proving to be the next growth driver for the industry, the curriculum does not reflect it," says Bharwani.

Even when new branches of engineering are added, the structure remains traditional-this simply does not work anymore!

"The traditional education sector in India has not evolved at the same pace as the industry. The expectations that the companies have from their candidates and the skills that engineering graduates bring in, do not match," he adds.


Lack of quality teachers:


There are more than 33,023 colleges in India granting degrees. There are not enough quality teachers for all of these educational institutes.


After multinational companies, the IT big shots of India, and the smaller engineering companies have had their pick, many from the remaining engineering graduates go on to get a PhD and join as faculty at engineering institutes. Thus, unlike other parts of the world, the Indian faculty is not comprised of the very best of the industries who have the skills to create brilliant students.


Most educated engineers join teaching as a profession not because of passion, but because they have to earn a livelihood. The few good professors prefer administrative positions because of lower intellectual demands coupled with higher pay packages.


Lack of innovation and research:

Students need to be motivated enough to innovate or think for themselves. As the new HRD minister Prakash Javadekar recently said, "Why do we lack innovation in India? Because, we don't allow questioning. We don't promote inquisitiveness. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness, children should ask questions."



Students must be given the space and scope to think and innovate, to question and come up with solutions. This applies to both school education and higher education.



Such are Indian students trained right from their primary education that they never learn to question or innovate. Rote learning instils in students a sort of complacency for more than 12 years of education and they are unable to make the shift from un-questioning learners to innovators in the job market.



Faulty education system:


Semester systems and the process of continuous evaluation are not fulfilling their desired roles as the students are not interested in continuous learning-they only want good grades. Unless the specific purpose of such initiatives is properly understood by faculty and students alike, these methods likely would not work.


Lack of skill-based education:


Skill-based education is another immediate need. Engineering students need to have hands-on training on the basis of the problems they are likely to encounter in the real world.

"One of the major problems facing the fresh graduates is their insufficient understanding of basic concepts. The lack of in-depth understanding of technical information, lack of client-handling skills and insufficient knowledge across domains are the major skill gaps in the area," says Bharwani.


While the vast numbers of engineering students in the country study their textbooks, give their exams and collect their degrees, it is only when they encounter the real world problems do they realise their shortfall. By then, they have to take extra time in order to skill themselves or suffer unemployment.


"Initiatives like the Start-up India and Make in India are positive efforts taken by the government in this direction to boost employment opportunities for engineers," he adds, however.


Importance of college name:

According to the Aspiring Minds report, companies are prone to visiting only top colleges to recruit potential employees. Thus, resumes from relatively unknown colleges do not get shortlisted.

This not only creates a lack in equal opportunities, but also causes a deficiency of quality employees as this process ignores a huge number of meritorious students who do not study in top tier colleges.

Ease of permission from state governments:

A major cause of mushrooming engineering colleges is the ease with which state governments grant permission to little-known barely-trained educational trusts and organisations to set up the same.

Karnataka's Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) oversees as many as 200 engineering colleges, while in all the 50 US states combined, there are about 1,000 accredited engineering colleges.


The IT 'employability':


The Aspiring Minds report says that despite the fact that the IT sector carries out the highest number of recruitments from the pool of engineers, only 18.43 per cent engineers are skilled enough to work there, while, for IT product roles, the numbers are as low as 3.21 per cent.


Due to comparatively higher employment in the IT sector, students even from other disciplines take up IT-related courses. Thus, the end result of this inadequate education creates engineering graduates who are not well-versed in their core subjects, nor in IT.

Lack of proper English skills:

The study attributes the lack of English communicative skills, which they found in 73.63 per cent of candidates, and low analytical and quantitative skills, which they discovered in 57.96 per cent of candidates to be other main reasons for unemployment.


Even the IT sector requires employers who are fluent and well versed in English, as within around two years of experience on the job, they would have to communicate with international customers. Thus, if the quality of engineering graduates do not improve, IT sector hiring will also go down.

Disregard of essential soft skills:


Soft skills have become very important in the present job industry, but they are routinely ignored in educational institutes.


"This is perhaps the trickiest issue," says Bharwani. "The lack of ability of the individual to deliver his views effectively at the interview leads to rejection of even the most brilliant candidate. This is because training institutes do not make an effort to ensure that the candidates develop their skills in a wholesome manner which can contribute towards client-handling and team communication skills."


The Government of India needs to sit up and take notice of the issues that are threatening the very future and stability of our country.




India Today



For ITI graduates, govt opens a new window of opportunity


Industrial Training Institutes graduates will now be considered equal to a Class XII pass-out; the move will benefit 1.5 million students every year


New Delhi: Most of the students graduating from Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in India will be considered Class XII pass, the Union government said on Tuesday, bringing a long-pending equivalence in the formal and vocational streams of education in the country.


With this, over 1.5 million ITI students will have the opportunity to move up the education ladder every year by pursuing higher education and improving their chances to land better jobs.


The decision was arrived after the human resource development ministry supported the proposal of the skills ministry, skill development minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.


But there is a caveat. If an ITI student has studied up to Class VIII before joining the ITI, he or she will get a Class X pass certificate. And if a student has passed Class X before joining the ITI, then he or she will be awarded a Class XII pass certificate.


Skills ministry officials said that their estimate says a majority of the ITI graduates will be considered Class XII pass.


“We have been talking about the equivalence, but this is the historic step that brings formal and vocational education on par. ITI graduates are considered key for promoting manufacturing will not be treated below par in education,” Rudy said.


For the past five years, skill development has became a catch phrase in India and successive governments have been talking about bringing equivalence between formal and vocational streams of education.


With industries crying for lack of quality manpower, skill training assumes significance as it produces job ready human resources. An efficient workforce is beneficial for the country’s economy and helps increase the nation’s competitiveness.

Rudy said his ministry is in talks with the HRD ministry to explore the possibility of the new decision being effective retrospectively.


The minister said that the ITI graduates will get Class XII and X pass certificates from the national board of open schooling just by giving an exam.


For the past six decades, millions of students have passed out of ITIs but there was no validity of the ITI certificate for further studies, Rudy said.


“What we have done will have a national mandate now,” the minister said.


“Some 63% of the ITI graduates land a job and the rest can now go higher up in studies and pursue a different career if they wish so. The point is all students should have equal opportunity,” the minister said, adding that his ministry is now coordinating with 21 ministries and departments to bring equality in the skill training space.


The skills ministry is set to establish a National Board for Skills Assessment and Certification (NBSAC) on the lines of Central Board of Secondary Education to ensure quality in assessment and certification.


Rudy said his ministry is preparing a draft legislation for the purpose and it is likely to be tabled in the next Parliament session expected to begin in July.


This board, once ready, will assess the ITI graduates before they are awarded the Class XII certification.


Rajiv Mathur, head of standards and quality at National Skill Development Corp., a public-private body, said that such a huge mobility of students between formal and vocational streams and what the government has decided will do good to the ITI students in two ways—the dignity of their education and more choice to them in education and employment space.

India has over 13,000 ITIs, producing over 1.5 million skilled people a year.

Started in the 1950s, ITIs were considered as producer of foot-soldiers for the manufacturing sector. In recent times, it has though faced criticism on quality grounds.


-Live mint

Gorakhpur tragedy: CM Yogi Adityanath faces questions MP Yogi asked 20 times in 12 years

Lok Sabha records scrutinised by The Indian Express show that Yogi Adityanath, in his capacity as local MP, has raised the issue of children dying in Gorakhpur at least 20 times between the years 2003 and 2014.

Caught in the crossfire of questions over the deaths of children in the state government-run BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath shouldn’t be surprised — or unprepared.
Lok Sabha records scrutinised by The Indian Express show that Yogi Adityanath, in his capacity as local MP, has raised the issue of children dying in Gorakhpur at least 20 times between the years 2003 and 2014. Indeed, some of the issues he raised — via questions or statements — echo the very issues that have come to the fore today after the tragic death of over 60 children.
These issues range from limitations of infrastructure at the BRD Medical College and Hospital to the need of an AIIMS there; the importance of timely vaccination and the lack of any concerted action by the state or the Centre in tackling the encephalitis epidemic.
While he asked questions on the issue at least eight times, Yogi Adityanath made a special mention of the issue leading to a debate in the Parliament on not less than 12 occasions. Parliament records show that in April 2003, when Yogi Adityanath first raised the encephalitis issue that led to a debate. He spoke on deaths caused due to brain fever in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and others parts of the country. He raised the issue again in December 2004 calling for attention of the Parliament on the spread of Encephalitis in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other parts of the country resulting in deaths.
Addressing the issue with the then Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ambumani Ramadoss in the Parliament, in August 2005, Adityanath called for an attention motion on the spread of encephalitis and steps taken by the government. Incidentally, Japanese Encephalitis led to 367 deaths across 12 states in 2004 and UP alone accounted for 228 such deaths. In 2005, the total number of deaths caused by encephalitis was 1,682, out of which 1,500 were in UP alone.
Addressing Parliament on July 13, 2009, Adityanath said that it was 1978 when Japanese Encephalitis spread in Eastern UP for the first time. “Japanese encephalitis is a kind of epidemic and starts to wreak havoc after rains after June 15 and continues till October November. During NDA period, for 4-5 years, this area was adopted for vaccination. It is sad this this year 98 deaths have already happened (till July 2009) and neither vaccination has been carried out nor any concrete steps have been taken for eradication of this disease…it has been 31 years and a large part of Eastern UP and Western Bihar are in the grip of a epidemic and every year thousands of children die because of this disease.”

He said that the number of deaths in BRD Medical College alone stood at: 937 in 2005; 431 in 2006; 516 in 2007; 410 in 2008 and 98 in 2009 until July.
In the same speech, he told Parliament that while the Central government provides resources to the state government, they are not utilised properly. He highlighted the inability of BRD Medical to cope with the healthcare burden of Eastern UP, Western Bihar and a large part of Nepal. “BRD Medical College has weak financial resources. The burden of healthcare of Eastern UP, Western Bihar and a large part of Nepal falls on BRD Medical College and it is not able to take that,” he had said.
He made similar speeches in Dec 2011 and November 2013 in which he updated the death numbers at BRD Medical College. He said that the number of deaths at BRD Medical College alone in 2009 was 784; in 2010 it was 514 and till November 2011 it was 618.
While in his 2009 speech, he said that he has been raising this issue every year over the last 13 years, the last time Adityanath called for a debate on spread of Encephalitis was in December 2014. He had called the attention of the Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda to the situation arising out of spread of Encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country and steps taken by the Government in this regard.
Over the last three years, the number of deaths have seen no decline. While the number of deaths as a result of encephalitis in UP was 661 in 2014, it was 521 in 2015 and 694 in 2016. This year till July 16, 2017 UP saw 88 deaths from encephalitis.
In 2012 and 2013, he raised questions about the setting up of new campuses of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. In 2016, ahead of the AIIMS foundation stone ceremony in Gorakhpur, he had underlined how the region was wracked by viral and water-borne diseases.
“The (Terai) region has only got B R D Medical College providing health facilities but even that is short on infrastructure and staff compared to the population it caters to,” the MP said. “An AIIMS in Gorakhpur will cater to nearly 7 crore population of eastern UP, northwest Bihar and even Nepal,” Adityanath had said.
Between 2004 and 2017, Japanese Encephalitis has resulted into 15,315 deaths of which UP alone has seen for 8,267 deaths or 54 per cent of the total.

-Indian Express

How to Be More: 70 defining moments in Indian history

Seventy moments that defined the journey of the world’s largest democracy.

In 1948, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination sent shock waves across newly independent India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was banned by Sardar Patel, the then Home Minister and a committed Gandhian, who called it a “cult of violence”.
India’s central banking institution, the Reserve Bank of India, was nationalised in 1949.In 1950, India became a republic upon the enactment of the Constitution and guaranteed universal adult suffrage to all its citizens.
The Planning Commission was set up on March 15, 1950, and the first Five Year Plan, the bedrock of how development was to be planned, pushed and executed in the country, got underway.
From 1951-59, the first Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Kharagpur, Chennai, Powai and Kanpur were set up. This enshrined the idea that technical education was not a luxury, but a necessity for a newly independent, even if poor country, like India.
India started work on what Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, called the “temples of modern India” — large hydro-electric projects such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam (completed in 1963), Hirakud Dam (completed in 1957) among others.
The first democratically elected Communist government in the world assumed office in Kerala in 1957. It was dismissed by the Centre in two years, but it made history, nonetheless.
K Asif’s magnum-opus Mughal-e-Azam released in August 1960. Asif, apparently, came upon the idea in 1944, after reading a play and had to wait for a long time to get financiers for the film.
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, became the first IIM to be set up on November 13, 1961. Like in the case of the IITs, the idea that the state could subsidise higher education was an audacious one.
The 1962 India-China War over Aksai-chin led to a defeat for India and had serious internal consequences. Nehru’s health took a beating, never to recover, and the non-Left Opposition in the country gained ground. Thousands of Communist members and supporters were arrested.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre was set up in 1963.
Another war with Pakistan a year after Nehru’s death in 1964 kept the country on tenterhooks. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minister, mindful of the food crisis as well as the mood of the country, coined the slogan, ‘Jai jawan jai kisan’.
1966 saw the then PM Indira Gandhi devalue the Indian rupee by one-third. The move came under heavy criticism, but it was done in the context of a very shaky balance of payments situation and food insufficiency. Droughts that year resulted in massive food shortage and India had to shop for food in the international world market. The move was criticised heavily, but the devaluation managed to reduce the astronomical fiscal deficit at the time.
Dr Reita Faria became the first Asian woman to win the Miss World pageant in 1966. It would be nearly three decades later that Sushmita Sen would win another beauty pageant in 1994.
The Green Revolution was ushered in in the early Sixties, with the introduction of high-yield variety of crops, eventually leading India to food self-sufficiency.
India won its first Test cricket series in New Zealand in 1968.
Banks were nationalised in 1969 by Indira Gandhi. This was a landmark moment in Indian economics and politics and earned Gandhi her spurs as a pro-poor Leader, which reaped results in the 1971 elections.
Dr V Kurien launched a cooperative milk revolution, the White Revolution, in Gujarat in 1970, enabling women to share the economic prosperity ushered in by their efforts. It was memorialised in the Shyam Benegal film, Manthan (1976). In 1988, the World Bank published an audit which “revealed that of the Rs 200 crore the World Bank invested in Operation Flood (Kurien’s project), the net return on India’s rural economy was a massive Rs 24,000 crore each year over a period of 10 years, to which no other dairy programme has ever matched.”
In 1970, the Department of Electronics (DoE) was set up to “promote the rapid growth of electronics and computers”. Between 1971 and 1978, a company called the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) was set up to lay emphasis on the indigenous design and development of computers, using primarily India-made components. ECIL made the TDC 312 and TDC 316 computers.
Bangladesh was carved out of East Pakistan after a civil war, in which India sided with the Mukti Bahinis of Bangladesh. The Simla Agreement was signed after the conclusion of the India-Pakistan war in 1971, laying the basis of peace with Pakistan for nearly three decades.
Project Tiger was launched in 1973. Its main objective was to ensure a viable population of tigers in India and to preserve areas of biological importance as a “natural heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people”.
The Kesavanand Bharati case was heard before the Supreme Court in 1973. It gave birth to the crucial “basic structure” doctrine of the Constitution. If it did not tamper with India’s “basic structure”, any law could be legislated and could pass muster.
Pokharan nuclear test in 1974 led to the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group internationally to try and restrict India after its show of strength.
Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, was launched in 1975. Built by ISRO, it was launched from Kapustin Yar in the then-USSR. RBI kept the image of Aryabhata on the reverse of the Rs 2 note from 1976 to 1997.
Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay was released in1975, a landmark multi-starrer that became the benchmark for decades to come. Four of the top stars — Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jaya Bhaduri and Hema Malini – went onto become Members of Parliament. The film launched Amjad Khan as the very impressive villain, Gabbar Singh.
The Constitution was amended very significantly in 1976 and the words “secular” and “socialist” added to the Preamble.
The first non-Congress government was formed at the Centre in 1977. Several parties came together as the Janata Party to fight Emergency. Jayaprakash Narayan was the central figure and leader of this anti-Congress formation. Morarji Desai was sworn in as Prime Minister after the electoral win.
Jyoti Basu became the chief minister of West Bengal in 1977 and helmed the longest-serving elected Communist government in the world.
On April 23, 1977, World Health Organisations’s International Smallpox Assessment Commission declared India to be free of small pox.
India won its last hockey gold at the Olympics in 1980.
In 1982, the concept of a low power transmitter (LPT) gained ground and television broadcast became possible to the remotest parts of India. Colour telecast and the reach of television became truly broad-based.
In 1983, India won the Cricket World Cup under Kapil Dev.
On April 2, 1984, Rakesh Sharma became the first and only Indian to travel in space aboard the Soyuz T-11. When asked by PM Indira Gandhi about what he thought of India from space, he famously replied, “Saare jahan se achha.”
India moved into Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, in 1984. This is a disputed glacier in Kashmir and while a ceasefire was declared in 2003, it remains a battleground to date.
Operation Blue Star, a campaign by the Indian Army against separatists demanding Khalistan under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, attacked the spiritual nerve of the Sikh community — the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984. The extensive damage caused to the shrine, shattered Sikhs, mostly not sympathetic to the Khalistan cause.
In July 1984, India’s first soap opera, Hum Log, scripted by well-known Hindi writer Manohar Shyam Joshi started being telecast on Doordarshan. This was said to have been inspired by a Mexican soap but its portrayals of a middle-class Indian family remain memorable.
Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her security guards in 1984, as revenge for Operation Blue Star. What was shameful for independent India was the organised anti-Sikh pogroms that followed. In 2005, then PM Manmohan Singh would apologise to the nation for the “the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution”.
In 1986, Harsha Chawda became the first Indian test-tube baby. She made Dr Indira Hinduja, an in-vitro fertilisation expert, a star at the time. Chawda, incidentally, became a mother last year.
In 1987, the Parliament enacted a special law to reverse a Supreme Court order around maintenance for a divorced Muslim woman, Shah Bano, to restore what was the primacy of Muslim Personal Law over the lives of Muslim citizens. This gave the Hindu right wing a loud campaign message.
After two decades of conflict between the Mizos and the Indian state, in June, 1986, the Mizoram Accord was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Laldenga. This had a very significant bearing on peace in the north-eastern states.
1989 saw Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses banned in India. It was the first country to do so, but several others followed suit. It eventually led to a fatwa by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini against Rushdie. This was a dark moment and an indication how plural democracies would not commit to freedom of expression.
In the early Nineties, the situation in Kashmir deteriorated with Kashmiri Pandits being forced to leave the Valley as murderous attacks on them made their stay impossible.
The Mandal Commission, arguing for the need for special quotas for Other Backward Classes in government jobs, was submitted to the government in 1980, but was gathering dust till VP Singh decided to implement it in August 1990. The move was to result in a huge tumult, especially in north India. First, anti-Mandal protests and then pro-Mandal protests erupted across the country. Leaders who made a mark in the anti-Mandal and pro-Mandal protests would go on to dominate Indian politics for the next three decades.
In Kerala, the total literacy movement was first initiated in Ernakulam district and Kottayam municipality in the late ’80s. On 4th of February 1990, the then Prime Minister Shri VP Singh declared Ernakulam as the first totally literate district in India.
Economic liberalisation was kicked off formally by then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in the first budget after the Congress returned to power in 1991. It was a move that transformed India’s economy, politics and society.
Former PM Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991, while on campaign in Sriperumbudur. It would go on to change the course of Indian politics.
Panchayat elections became mandatory in 1992, kicking off a silent revolution as elected leadership at local levels provided a basis for deepening democracy in the years to come.
Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was pulled down by a mob, mobilised over months in 1992. It opened up a communal fault line that continues to divide Indian politics.
Satyajit Ray, the legendary Bengali filmmaker, was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 1995, Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge was released both in India and internationally. It would establish Shah Rukh Khan as an enduring star.
After 1948, Leander Paes won the first individual medal for India in Olympics in 1996.
The cellphone came to India in 1996. West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu held the first mobile phone conversation in the country.
In 1999, following massive cross-border infiltration, India and Pakistan would face off at Kargil. Pakistan was led by General Pervez Musharraf, who went on to become President of Pakistan.
The hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane flying into Delhi from Kathmandu by the Taliban in 1999 remains one of India’s most dramatic stories of a negotiation gone wrong. Eventually, three terrorists in Indian jails had to be released in exchange for the safe passage of passengers aboard the ill-fated IC 814.
In the late Nineties, Cable TV connected India in a way few things have done. BBC, CNN were all bold and beautiful and put India, slowly but surely, on a path of irreversible information and media integration.
After the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, the biggest military build-up along the border with Pakistan took place, an “eyeball to eyeball” confrontation, as India held Pakistan repsonsible for the assault on the Parliament complex. This was termed Operation Parakram. It finally ended in 2004, with PM Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan in January and the start of a cross-LoC bus.
In 2002, RSS flew the tricolour for the first time at its headquarters in Nagpur. Till then, it had not recognised the national flag.
Nearly 2,000 people died in the 2002 Gujarat riots, triggered by the burning of a train in Godhra, killing kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya. Retaliatory anger and an administration, either unable to control the situation or complicit in it, watched as Muslims were killed in mob attacks.
India became free of leprosy in December 2005.
India’s space programme came of age as the first unmanned space mission Chandrayaan-1 reached the moon on November 8, 2008. It included a lunar orbiter and an impactor launched by a modified version of the PSLV on October 22, 2008.
The Right to Information Act and NREGA (now, MNREGA) were enacted in 2005 and 2006 respectively. MNREGA and RTI are among the world’s most progressive laws and are recognised by the United Nations as such. Right to Education became a universal right in 2010 and India became one of the 135 countries to adopt it.
India-US Nuclear Accord between Manmohan Singh and George Bush in 2006 broke the nuclear apartheid in place after Pokharan 2 and allowed (at least, in principle) access to crucial civilian and military technology. This came at a price in domestic politics as the Left parties withdrew support to UPA and led to series of unintended consequences politically.
In 2006, Maqbool Fida Husain, among the greatest painters in the world, was forced into exile until his death in London for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiment through his paintings. The Supreme Court though, in the end, defended artistic expression, in a much-discussed verdict.
In 2008, 10 gunmen travelled to Mumbai in a dinghy and killed nearly 200 persons across south Mumbai in one of the worst terror attacks on India.
India won its second cricket World Cup in 2011 under MS Dhoni.
India Against Corruption, a movement launched by a group of citizens, NGOs and other anti-Congress groups in 2011, was able to force issues with the elected government of the day and score vital political points.
On March 27, 2014, India was declared polio-free.
Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister in 2014 after the most expensive campaign in Indian political history. He became the first chief minister to directly campaign as a PM-candidate and make it.

-Indian Express

Is kerala like somalia? different actions and reactions

Action:This is the speech by Modi at an election campaign rally in Thiruvananthapuram on May 11th, 2016. 

“Yahan Keral ki janjaati, janta, ST Scheduled Tribe, usmey jo child death ratio hai, Somalia se bhi sthiti khatarnaak hai… Abhi kuchh din pehle… media mein dardnaak chitra dekhney ko mila…Jo Communist party ka qila maana jaata hai, jahaan voh hamesha jeet-ti hai, us Peravoor mein Scheduled Tribe ke baalak koode ke dher mein bhojan talaash kar rahe hain, yeh media mein prakaashit hua hai,” Modi said.

(“The situation with the child death ratio among Scheduled Tribes in Kerala is scarier than even Somalia. Recently, one came across a tragic picture in the media. In Peravoor, which is seen as a stronghold of the Communist party, where it has always won, there, Scheduled Tribe children were seen foraging for food in a garbage dump… it has appeared in the media.”)

Updated: May 13, 2016 8:15 am

-Indian express

Reaction: The reaction to which triggered the posts on twitter #PoMoneModi 

Action: Comprehensive probe into Attappadi issue a must: VS

Author: Express News Service

• Published Date: Jun 4, 2013 12:15 PM
• Last Updated: Jun 4, 2013 12:15 PM

The state government should conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the deaths of children in Attapadi owing to anaemia and malnutrition so that the reasons could be identified and those responsible for laxity are made accountable, said opposition leader V S Achuthanandan.
He was speaking to mediapersons after visiting Nellipathy, Jellippara and Kandiyoor oorus of Attapadi where over 30 children reportedly died of anaemia and malnutrition this year.
The UDF government, by its continued neglect of the pathetic condition of the Tribals of Attapadi, is turning the heartland into a Somalia type situation, he added.
The CPM leader said that the government needs to look into whether the land of the Adivasis is being encroached by outsiders. He said that the Adivasis are not interested in freebies. They should be given cultivable land so that they can work and eat their traditional food. “Though various packages have been announced for the Tribals in the wake of child deaths, it has failed to reach them. The promises are yet to be implemented properly. care should be taken so that the targeted groups benefit from the packages,” he said.
“The assistance from Central schemes for the Tribal people need to be monitored. It remains to be seen if the Chief Minister, on his visit to Attappadi, will only merely announce assistance or see to it in person that his promises will be implemented without fail,” he added.
Achuthanandan visited the Kottathara Tribal Speciality Hospital and interacted with the patients and doctors. Former MP N N Krishnadas, CITU district president A Prabhakaran and former Speaker Jose Baby were present.

-new indian express

Reaction: Attappady: Centre announces special package of Rs. 125 cr

Updated: June 6, 2013 19:22 IST  

The Central Government has stepped in to save the grave situation in Attappady tribal belt and announced Rs.125 crore special package here on Thursday.

The Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh addressing a press conference along with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his four Cabinet Colleges has announced a five-point special package and set up a Special Task Force headed by S.M. Vijayanand, Additional Secretary of the Union Ministry of Rural Development to implement it within a period of 18 months.

Mr. Ramesh has said that “the first and foremost starting point of the tragedy in Attappady is the alienation of over 10,000 acres of tribal land. Unless we solve this crucial issue with a political will no amount of development project will succeed.”

He said that to make the tribal land cultivable an amount of Rs.50 crore will be sanctioned under the Mahila Kisan Shakthikaran Paristhan (MKSP) by encouraging the tribal women.

He said that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will also be used to the development of agriculture in Attappady.

“This project will be implemented within a period of three years and the Special Task Force for Attappady will monitor it. Two professional will be assigned for the task,” the Union Minister said.

He said that an amount of Rs.50 crore will be spent to strengthen Kudumbasree projects in Attappady to empower tribal women.

“They will also be helped to fight against the menace of wide spread brewing and use of liquor among the tribal people in Attappady”, Mr. Ramesh said.

He said that another Rs.15 crore will be sanctioned for constructing 2,000 houses for tribal people.

“The Centre will provide Rs.75,000 for each houses and the rest will have to be provided by the State government and the local bodies,” the Union Minister said.

He said 30 kms long rural road under the Prime Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) will be constructed in Attappady to connect the tribal hamlets.

He said that a special health package for Attappady will be considered by the Central government. The State government should immediately submit a comprehensive health plan for Attappady.

A comprehensive water supply scheme for Attappady will also be considered by the Central government, Mr. Ramesh said.

He said that “a special programme will be launched to train 500 educated tribal youth and hunting them job outside Attappady. Out of 500 youths 250 will be girls.”

The Union Minister declared that “I will be the Ambassador for Attappady and co-ordinate with various Central government departments to help implement the special packages to solve the crisis in this tribal area where the people are undergoing serious problems.”

The Minister said that he has visited the Paloor and the Nallipathy tribal hamlets (where four infant each died of malnutrition recently) along with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his Cabinet colleagues on Thursday and came to understand the acute problems of malnutrition, unemployment, lack of health facilities etc. 

-The Hindu

More Reaction: Outlook

Kerala’s Shame

• Attapady is situated in Palakkad district, the “rice bowl of the state”
• With 90% literacy, Palakkad is famous for “cooks, crooks, clerks...and cartoonists”
• There are 170 hamlets in Attapady across 745 sq km (3,400 acres)
• The Irula, Muduga and Kurumba tribal communities make up 42% of population
• Kerala boasts India’s best infant mortality rate (IMR) with 16 deaths per 1,000 (national average 44 per 1,000)
• 35 deaths of tribal children reported in Attapady since Jan due to malnutrition; 53 deaths in the past year
• Betelnut, betel leaf farms left tribals landless, then came the ganja mafia
• Murmurs of land mafia eyeing the hills for renewable energy projects
• No transport, no electricity, no water supply, no drainage system in Attapady
• No medical dispensary, no doctors nearby, no toilets, no hygiene
• Children malnourished as they have only rice gruel to eat, no vegetables or lentils
• Many hamlets not accessible during rains due to lack of roads, transport

dated July 29,2013

 -Outlook 

 

Data shows why Modi got facts wrong in his Kerala-Somalia comparison

Infant mortality in the state is lowest in the country, almost 1/3rd of the national average; comparing that with Somalia, at 85 deaths, shows disconnect

Uttaresh Venkateshwaran  |  Mumbai  May 12, 2016 Last Updated at 09:02 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked up a storm ahead of the May 16 elections in Kerala with his comments comparing the state’s social indicator with that of Somalia. At a rally in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, Modi looked to thrash the ruling Congress-led government for its alleged ‘lost glory’ and said that Kerala’s infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribes was worse than that of Somalia. 

“The unemployment rate in Kerala is at least three times higher than the national average. Infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribe (ST) community in Kerala is worse than Somalia. The state can meet only 13% of their requirement of agricultural products. Even after 70 years of independence, Kerala depends on other states for 70% of its power requirements. Similarly, most of the youth in Kerala are forced to leave their home state in search of jobs. Only through overall development, the state could be brought back to its past glory,” Modi said at the rally. 

The comparison to Somalia has created a political row, with various parties asking him to withdraw his remark. Incumbent Chief Minister Oomen Chandy has written a strongly-worded letter asking him to have some political decency while making such remarks.  The controversy quickly spread to social media with #PoMoneModi (loosely translated as ‘Get a move on, son, Modi’) trending on Twitter. 

Kerala is considered to be one of the best states in the county in terms of human development indicators like literacy, infant mortality, among others. 

Spouting economic and social data at public rallies and platforms to make a point is not new. What stands out in Modi’s case is that the Prime Minister – in a country where PMs have historically not gotten actively involved in Assembly election campaigns – has been accused of using misleading data. What seems to have stung voters and rivals alike is the comparison of the state with a poverty-ridden nation which is known for its abysmal development numbers. However, it should also be noted here that not all that Modi said was wrong or misrepresented. Unemployment, for instance.  

Infant mortality 

The Prime Minister said that infant mortality rate among scheduled tribes (ST) is worse than that of Somalia. 

An infant mortality rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births. The number is a reflection of healthcare facilities in the state, in general, and pre- and post-natal care in particular. 

As per latest data available from the ministry of tribal affairs, infant mortality rate among scheduled tribes in Kerala was 60 deaths per 1,000 births. Compared to that, the overall infant mortality rate in the state is just at 12 deaths per 1,000 — the lowest in the country —, according to data stated in the Economic Survey 2015-16. The case for comparison, Somalia, has an infant mortality rate of 85, data from World Bank reveals. 

The comparison and the gap is not just incorrect, but it makes you question the motive behind such selective splicing of caste-based data, knowing full well that the general population figures are impressive. 

Gujarat, the home state of the Prime Minister, in fact has an IMR of 36, much closer to the national average of 40. 

Unemployment

Modi said that the unemployment rate in Kerala was three times than that of the national average. 

A quick mathematical calculation of the data on unemployment available would say that he is largely correct in quoting this figure. 

The unemployment rate per 1,000 persons for people aged 15 and above in Kerala is 99. The national average, however, is 38, data from Ministry of Labour and Employment reveals.

This can also be seen in context of Modi’s comment on most of the youth leaving Kerala in search of a job. While it is a fact that the rate of immigration from the state is one of the highest in the country, the state’s economy is also seeing big remittances from the Middle East and other regions of the world.

Reports state that from the entire chunk of remittances that come to India, almost 40% of it goes to Kerala.  These stood at Rs 1 lakh crore ($14.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2015-16.  

Power situation

The BJP leader said that power situation from Kerala was abysmal as the state has had to purchase almost 70% of the power from other states. 

While the number may be in question, it is well know that power has been a constant issue for the state, with the consumption going up exponentially. 

Power generation in the state has gone from 8,350 million units (MU) in 2011-12 to 7,343 MU in 2014-15, as per this report. Meanwhile, the consumption rose to 80 MU per day in April 2016, and is set to rise to 100 MU per day by 2018. The state’s power ministry had also cautioned regarding the need to buy more power from other states in order to meet the growing demand.

Meanwhile, as per this report in The New Indian Express, in March 2015, daily power imports averaged 42 million units (MU), accounting for more than 60% of the daily consumption. Compared to that, the generation within the state stood at 28.51 million units.

Apart from these, there are other social indicators that paint a very different picture than what Modi’s tone reflected at the rally. 

Literacy rate

The literacy rate of Kerala stood at an admirable 94%, data from Economic Survey of 2015-16 states. This is 21 percentage points higher than the national average of 73%. 

Human Development Index

This indicator largely talks about the quality of life of people. India’s HDI rank has been lower at 130, with a score of 0.6087 or 0.6089. Interestingly, if this is compared with the HDI score of states in India, Kerala zooms past India’s mark at 0.7117. 

 

By comparing a state that has one of the best development indicators with one of the worst in the world shows the new depths that the Prime Minister has fallen to. While it is true that politicians often use questionable data to make their point, the degree of error in this particular case is alarming.

 

-Business Standard

 

Kerala Power use may touch 100 mu by 2018

Consumption at all-time high of 80 million units

Power consumption in Kerala breached all records on Wednesday to touch 4,000 MW (80 million units), prompting experts to predict that the State may consume up to 100 million units a day in two years, given the soaring mercury level and pattern of electricity use.

Daily peak demand that swayed between 60 and 65 million units last year has gone up by about 15 million units this year and it is realistic to foresee the State requiring 100 million units during peak hours in two years, says a government official.

Figures from the Kerala State Electricity Board show that the peak-load demand climbed to 4,004 MW (80.33 million units) on Wednesday. “It is the first time that the 4,000-MW (80 million units) barrier is breached,” says an expert on Kerala power situation. He points out that the morning and evening peak demand levels have converged.

The massive rise in power demand has prompted experts to call on authorities to make it easier for people to tap solar power. Former Chief Electrical Inspector P.C. Rajan Babu feels around 40 per cent of Kerala’s power demand can be shifted to grid-linked solar power generation. But solar power generation has lagged in the State for various reasons and the government must encourage people to establish solar units, he says, adding the success of Cochin International Airport Ltd. has cleared the air of any doubt about the efficacy of solar power.

-Hindu 

KSEB Still Heavily Dependent on Power Imports

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The State Government may have avoided loadsheddings and power cuts so far this summer, but the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is riding hard on power imports to meet the daily demand with consumption at an all-time high.
 In March, daily power imports comprising Central share and purchases from traders averaged 42 million units (MU), accounting for more than 60 per cent of the daily consumption.
For example, on Saturday, the KSEB imported 41.26 MU to meet the demand which finally stood at 69.78 MU.
Power generation within the state stood at just 28.51 MU on Saturday, with hydropower contributing the lion’s share.
 From the beginning of this year, the KSEB had taken great pains to ensure sufficient water in the hydel reservoirs to meet the summer demand without depending too much on costly purchases from the liquid fuel plants within the state such as NTPC, Kayamkulam.
Peak power consumption period for the KSEB during the summer season is between March 15 and April 15.
Highest Consumption
Thrice in March consumption has crossed the 70 million unit (MU) mark, with the record for the highest consumption so far at 70.99 MU being set on March 26. Consumption stood at 70.10 MU on March 25 and at 70.41 MU on March 24.
 Hydel reserves are also being rapidly used up with the KSEB straining to meet the growing demand. At present, the reservoirs are 51 per cent full, with just enough water to generate 2096.9 MU. The Idukki reservoir is 51 per cent full. At the beginning of this month, all the reservoirs combined had been 62 per cent full.
‘Earth Hour’ Evokes Little Impact
Saturday’s ‘Earth Hour’ observance, despite the huge public participation, seems to have made little dent in the power consumption pattern. Going by consumption data from the load centres of the KSEB, the total consumption on Saturday went down by a mere 0.014 million units compared to Friday. Like every year, the KSEB had joined WWF-India’s ‘Earth Hour’ campaign and urged consumers to switch off unwanted lights between 8.30 pm and 9.30 pm The KSEB had also donated 5000 compact fluorescent lamps to WWF-India for free distribution to the public.

-New  Indian express

 

Sustainable development has origins in India, says RSS chief

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and Former Chairman of ISRO K Radhakrishna during the valedictory ceremony of RSS Akhil Bhartiya Shrung Ghosh Shibir”Swaranajali” at Yelhanka in Bengaluru on Sunday. (Source: PTI)

“The values of the world do not speak of a sustainable world. The word ‘sustainable’ has come from Indian culture. It has become a part of the global vocabulary out of necessity, " Bhagwat said.

The concept of sustainable development has origins in Indian culture and did not exist in the value system of the rest of the world, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said here on Sunday. He was speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the RSS brass band training camp.

“The values of the world do not speak of a sustainable world. The word ‘sustainable’ has come from Indian culture. It has become a part of the global vocabulary out of necessity…Now the world is hoping that India will set an example and show the way…’’ said the RSS chief.

Bhagwat addressed over 2,000 attendees at the four-day brass band camp, the RSS Shrung Ghosh Shibir — Swaranjali 2016.

At the camp, 2,185 RSS members fine-tuned their skills in playing four new instruments — the saxophone, the clarinet, the euphonium and the trumpet called naganga, swarad, gomuka and turya by the RSS, respectively.

The Indian names for the instruments, the RSS chief said, will gradually become a part of the music culture.

In the past, the instruments used by the RSS band were restricted to the side drums (anaka), bass drums (panava), bugle (shankha), flute (vamshi), triangle (tribhuja) and cymbals (jhallari).

In the four-day camp at Bengaluru this year, the RSS band developed compositions based on Carnatic and Hindustani ragas.

The RSS band played compositions like Shivaranjini, based on Shivaranjani raga, at the valedictory on Sunday using the newly inducted instruments.

One of the aims of the RSS in organising the brass band camp is “to enhance the quality of the band set, learn new instruments and compositions and understand the overall implementation of compositions.’’

The focus is also on using the large brass band set up “for inculcating qualities of a swayamsevak and strengthening shakhas,’’ the RSS said.

-Indian Express 

Ex-ISRO chiefs disagreed on many things — except RSS

On Sunday, Radhakrishnan, who served as ISRO chief from November 2009 to December 2014, was the chief guest at an RSS event, Swaranjali, in Bengaluru. 

Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief G Madhavan Nair and his successor K Radhakrishnan may have had public spats over the ISRO-Devas deal, but both seem to be on the same page when it comes to the RSS.

On Sunday, Radhakrishnan, who served as ISRO chief from November 2009 to December 2014, was the chief guest at an RSS event, Swaranjali, in Bengaluru. Earlier this month, Nair, a regular at RSS events for the last one year, was the chief guest at another RSS event, Vishwa Sangh Shivir, in Indore.

For both, the association with the RSS started post-retirement, and in times of trouble. In 2012, the UPA government had barred Nair, a Padma Vibhushan awardee, and a few other space scientists for their alleged role in the ISRO-Devas controversy.

That same ISRO-Devas case has now come to haunt Radhakrishnan. In October last year, he was questioned by the CBI, which began a probe in May last year, alleging wrongful gain of Rs 578 crore to the Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia which wanted to start satellite-based multimedia services in the country.

Devas had entered into an agreement with ISRO’s marketing arm, Antrix Corporation, in 2005 for lease of 90 per cent of transponder capacity on two satellites that ISRO was yet to launch. The agreement was cancelled by Antrix in 2011, citing security concerns. Devas had contested the decision and taken the matter to an arbitration panel which, in September last year, slapped a fine of about Rs 4,400 crore (USD 672 million) on Antrix for unilaterally terminating the contract. 

Nair is also likely to be questioned by the CBI at a later stage. He was the ISRO chairman when the agreement was finalised, while Radhakrishnan was at its helm when it was cancelled.

Once considered close — Nair is said to have handpicked and groomed Radhakrishnan to become his successor — the two scientists had a public falling out in the wake of the controversy. Radhakrishnan blamed the previous dispensation for getting into an agreement that seemed to favour a private company, while Nair accused Radhakrishnan of personal vendetta and misleading the government.

Last week, former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon told The Indian Express that action against Nair was “proportionate” to what had been found against him, and dismissed suggestions that subsequent inquiry committees had only found procedural lapses against him. “If you look at what was actually done, it was proportionate to what was found… (the lapses) were a bit more than procedural… I am glad that what we did at that time was to protect the (space) programme… I think we dealt with it well,” Menon said at the Idea Exchange programme.

Menon also said he did not see anything wrong with the CBI inquiry against celebrated scientists. “I think if there was wrongdoing, it deserves an inquiry. There is nothing wrong with it. They (the investigating agency) need to look into it,” Menon said.

On his association with the RSS, Nair said he appreciates the work the Sangh is doing in uniting the country and popularising ancient Indian science. “They are trying to make Indians proud of their past achievements. They are doing a lot of work in uniting the country. I get invited sometimes to speak at their functions. I particularly like to speak to children about science, spread awareness about what we have achieved in science — in ancient times as well as now,” he told The Indian Express. Nair also serves as a patron to Vijnana (read as Vigyan) Bharati, an RSS-backed body to promote science.

Radhakrishnan could not be reached for a comment.

Manmohan Vaidya, All India Prachar Pramukh of the RSS, said both Nair and Radhakrishnan had done great work for the country, and welcomed their association with the RSS. “Those who think of the country’s interest are connected with the RSS. A P J Abdul Kalam also attended RSS events,” Vaidya told The Indian Express.

Vaidya said neither Nair nor Radhakrishnan were swayamsevaks. “The Sampark Vibhag of RSS runs an outreach programme, Sajjan Shakti, in which swayamsevaks meet prominent personalities from various fields. Both these scientists have been invited to deliver lectures,” he said.

Though Radhakrishnan does not hold any position in Vijnana Bharati, its secretary general A Jayakumar said he was “part and parcel” of the organisation. “An ideology of Indianness is flowing through RSS philosophy in the scientific community,” Jayakumar said.

-Indian Express

In national interest, scrap quota in higher education institutions: Supreme Court

Emphasising what the apex court held 27 years ago, the bench said it is now “inclined” to convey the same message to the central and state governments over reservation in institutions of higher education.

A bench noted that despite several reminders to central and state governments to make merit the primary criteria for admissions into super-specialty courses, the ground reality remains that reservation often holds sway over merit.

Regretting that some “privilege remains unchanged” even after 68 years of independence, the Supreme Court held Tuesday that national interest requires doing away with all forms of reservation in institutions of higher education, and urged the Centre to take effective steps “objectively”.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and P C Pant noted that despite several reminders to the central and state governments to make merit the primary criteria for admissions into super-specialty courses, the ground reality remains that reservation often holds sway over merit.

“The fond hope has remained in the sphere of hope… The said privilege remains unchanged, as if (it is) to compete with eternity,” the bench remarked, adding that it concurs completely with what the Supreme Court had ruled in 1988 in two judgments.

In these two cases, while dealing with the issue of reservation in super-specialty courses in medical institutions, the top court had said “there should really be no reservation” since it is in the general interest of the country for improving the standard of higher education, and thereby improving the quality of available medical services to the people of India.

“We hope and trust that the Government of India and the state governments shall seriously consider this aspect of the matter without delay and appropriate guidelines shall be evolved…” these judgments stated.

Emphasising what the apex court held 27 years ago, the bench said it is now “inclined” to convey the same message to the central and state governments over reservation in institutions of higher education.

“Therefore, we echo the same feeling and reiterate the aspirations of others so that authorities can objectively assess and approach the situation so that the national interest can become paramount,” the court said.

It also referred to a body of judgments, asking government authorities to abstain from relaxing the eligibility criteria basing it on various kinds of reservation since it would defeat the very object of imparting the best possible training to selected meritorious candidates.

The bench made these observations as it delivered its judgment on a batch of petitions, which had challenged an eligibility criteria for admissions into certain super-specialty medical courses in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. They allowed only those having domicile in the three states to appear for the examination, thereby making the seats reserved only for such candidates, based on residence.

The bench said it cannot interfere with the admission process in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana since a Presidential Order has created an exception and the constitutionality of this Order had not been challenged. But it agreed to examine on November 4 whether Tamil Nadu could do the same and allow this form of reservation in a post-graduate programme.

Even as it expressed its inability to adjudicate the constitutionality of the special privilege granted to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana under Article 371-D of the Constitution and the Presidential Order, the bench observed that such privileges ought to be reconsidered by the governments and steps be taken.

-Indian Express

Emphasising what the apex court held 27 years ago, the bench said it is now “inclined” to convey the same message to the central and state governments over reservation in institutions of higher education. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/in-national-interest-scrap-quota-in-higher-education-institutions-supreme-court/#sthash.W5RMACmm.dpuf

Emphasising what the apex court held 27 years ago, the bench said it is now “inclined” to convey the same message to the central and state governments over reservation in institutions of higher education. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/in-national-interest-scrap-quota-in-higher-education-institutions-supreme-court/#sthash.W5RMACmm.dpuf

Andhra Pradesh: Today, birth of Amaravati, and a land model

Andhra Pradesh government provided incentives to the original owners of land by exempting them from capital gains tax and stamp duty on the first sale.

The more-or-less smooth acquisition of 32,000 acres of land from farmers by the N Chandrababu Naidu government to build Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh which will be inaugurated Thursday, has prompted the Centre to consider the state’s land-pooling mechanism as a model that can be adopted by other states and Central government agencies.

“Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Urban Development Minister M Venakaiah Naidu have shown a lot of interest in the process followed by the state for acquiring land. They have been seeking regular updates on the process,” said Y S Chowdary, Minister of State (Science & Technology), who was initially the chairman of a capital committee set up by Naidu.

Even as Union Cabinet ministers are studying Andhra’s land-pooling model, certain Central government infrastructure ministries are already exploring the feasibility of deploying it for projects such as power transmission, where large tracts of contiguous land are required. “Since private developers are struggling for land and there are obstacles posed by the UPA-legislated land acquisition statute, alternatives such as the Andhra model should be considered,” said a power ministry official present in a meeting called to address concerns of power generation and transmission developers.

Chowdary said his state’s land pooling method created a “win-win situation” for both farmers and project developers. He, however, admitted that the Andhra government stretched itself by handing over 25 per cent of developed land to original owners. The state had acquired 31,000 acres from about 18,000 farmers by committing an annuity of Rs 50,000 per acre for 10 years and simultaneously giving back 1,250 sq yards of residential plot and 200 sq yard of commercial plot in the new city for every acre.

According to Chowdary, the state need not have acquired so much land, but was left with little choice because it agreed to partake with the farmers a larger portion of developed land. Besides the 32,000 acres land acquired from farmers, the state itself has 22,000 acres. Sources in the state government said that except for a village where the YSR Congress was strong, farmers have willingly given the land. “About 3,000 acres is still to be acquired,” a source said.

The Andhra Pradesh government further provided incentives to the original owners of land by exempting them from capital gains tax and stamp duty on the first sale. “Since this was agricultural land and gains would not have been taxed on sale, the state decided to exempt it from capital gains tax after change in land use. Also, stamp duty has been waived to make it worthwhile for the farmers,” Chowdary said.

The land holdings of farmers vary from 40-50 acres to less than an acre. “While 50 per cent of the entire land acquired will be utilised for development of trunk infrastructure and social infrastructure, 25 per cent will be given back to original land owners and the balance 25 per cent will remain with the government for other uses,” said Chowdary.

-The Indian Express

Rethinking reservations and ‘development’

Across the country, unless adequate jobs are created for the large labour force, the frustration of the youth is not likely to be contained.

In Gujarat, the Patels or Patidars, who constitute about 15 per cent of the State’s population, are an economically and politically dominant upper caste. As successful farmers, as small and big industrialists, as traders as well as non-resident Gujaratis, spread practically all over the world, they should be the last to demand reservation. The Patel agitation at present, however, seems to be demanding precisely this. Or, if read carefully, the protesters are demanding the removal of caste-based reservation and its replacement with income-based reservation.

The Patel rallies for reservation have been widespread across the State and significantly large in many towns and cities. Though it appears to be an urban movement, rural areas are not totally excluded. The rallies have also spurred other caste rallies and resulted in inter-caste conflicts and tensions. Though there seem to be many weaknesses in the leadership of the agitation and lack of clarity in its objectives, the agitation needs to be taken seriously because it is a warning of the shape of things to come — not only in Gujarat but also other parts of the country.

The agitation has emerged out of the frustrations of the youth on two major counts. First, the existing reservation policy that has failed to assimilate lowest castes/tribes within the mainstream economy and society, has created a sense of dissatisfaction and injustice among those who are denied the benefits of reservation. And second, the much-discussed Gujarat model of development has failed miserably in creating adequate employment opportunities for the growing labour force in the State. This lacuna has particularly affected the educated youth who are unable to find suitable work in spite of the rapid growth of the economy.

The reservation policy which was initiated as a temporary provision (for 10 years) for Scheduled Castes(SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in our Constitution in 1950, has expanded its coverage and contents multifold over the past six to seven decades. It has now become an almost a permanent feature of the national policies. The reservation policy however, has been used in the State (as elsewhere) mainly in vote bank politics played around the castes and has failed in including the people at the bottom in the mainstream economy and society.

As the creamy layer of the lowest castes and tribes have cornered these benefits to a considerable extent, the policy has ended up as a tool that discriminates against the high caste youths in favour of the low caste youths, sometimes coming from the same economic background. Not only Hardik Patel, the leader of the movement, but large number of participants in the rallies complained of this unfair discrimination. Placards like “I could not get into an engineering college because of low marks though many OBC [other backward classes] students with lower marks got in” or “why should SC/ST/OBC get a job when with better marks and qualifications I cannot?” or “Do away with caste-based reservations” seen in the rallies reflect this frustration. This frustration of the youth, even if the statements in the placards are not accurate, is understandable because it is not the poorest but frequently the non-poor, middle income groups of SC/ST/OBC who are seen to be the beneficiaries of reservations. The tool of reservation has failed miserably in removing caste differences and has promoted the caste divide and caste conflicts.

Clearly, the time has come to rethink our reservation policies, that have ended up giving preference to more or less the same class of SC/ST/OBC in school/college admission, in jobs and in promotions as well as subsidies in innumerable programmes and schemes, leaving out the poorer sections among them at the bottom. Our recent study in Gujarat has shown that the SC, OBC and ST households at the bottom are still left out of the benefits of the rapid growth of the State.

Radical rethink

The radical rethinking on reservation should aim at (i) excluding the entire creamy layer from reservation; (ii) developing the capabilities of the deprived and excluded beyond offering them admission to higher education or jobs on a platter. The underlying principle should be that all the poorest at the bottom get support and all the poorest — excluded socially and economically — get a preference.

Secondly, the failure of development model in Gujarat (and for that matter India as a whole) to create massive, productive employment for the youth is another reason for frustration of the youth. The labour market in Gujarat has behaved in a peculiar manner in the recent decades. On the one hand, large-scale in-migration of unskilled and low-skilled workers is observed in a wide range of sectors such as agriculture, construction, brick kilns, power looms, small engineering, garments etc. At the other end, the posts of highly-skilled professionals in the fast-growing, technology sector have also been largely filled by professionals and high-skilled workers from outside the State. A significant number of the educated youth in the State does not find suitable employment in the State because i. the growth of the modern sector has been highly capital intensive, where jobs generated are relatively few and local youth frequently do not qualify and ii. other employment opportunities for the educated youth are fewer and not remunerative. As per the official data, the number of educated unemployed i.e. the number of educated job seekers above the Senior Secondary Certificate (SSC) level has increased from 6.7 lakhs in 1995 to about seven lakhs in 2014 while the number of graduate job seekers has increased from 12,184 to 40,781 in the same period— an increase of 3.6 times. Clearly the educated youth is left high and dry, and excluded from the benefits of the rapid growth of the State. The reservation policy in government jobs has added to this frustration.

The danger of the demographic dividend turning into a demographic disaster is looming over the State. And similarly across the country, unless adequate jobs are created for the large labour force , the frustration of the youth is not likely to be contained.

In short, the Gujarat protests should be treated as a warning against the reservation policy and the State’s growth model. It is also a warning to other States.

The best that the Gujarat government can do immediately is to hold meaningful discussions with the Patels to understand their concerns. For the medium and long term however, the State has no choice but to redesign its development model to create large scale productive employment for the youth with what the International Labour Organisation (ILO) calls “decent work conditions” and to radically revise the reservation policy.

(Indira Hirway is Director and Professor of Economics at the Centre For Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad.)

-The Hindu