Indian Glimpses

Indian Sculpture Exhibition In China: India has opened the largest-ever exhibition of ancient Buddhist bronze sculptures in Xi’an city in north-west China to enhance understanding between the two neighbouring countries. About 80 ancient Indian bronze sculptures and relics went on show on Friday in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province. The exhibition, named ‘Soul of India: Bronze Sculture,’ is the largest of its kind ever held in China. The ancient Indian art works will also be displayed in the Chinese capital, Beijing and the north Chinese city of Tianjin.

Woman Appointed Air Vice-Marshal: A lady officer, P. Bandopadhyay, has become the first ever woman to be promoted to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal in the Indian Air Force (IAF). An aviation medical specialist, she has been appointed as the Additional Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services.

Power From Vegetable Waste: The Tamil Nadu government plans to set up a 15 MW power plant with vegetable wastes as fuel at Chennai. The Rs. 50 million plant, a first for India, will be a pilot project and it would be free from air pollution. It is likely to be ready by 2004. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the promoter of the project and the India’s Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources will sponsor it from its own funds and the United Nations Development Programme. The biogas produced from the vegetable wastes (particularly from banana stems and tender coconut skins) will have 60-65 per cent methane and 35-40 percent carbon dioxide. The biogas will be used as fuel in gas engines to generate electricity.

Water Treatment Technology For Singapore: A water filter technology developed by an Indian government laboratory in Hyderabad will play a significant part in Singapore’s efforts to supply clean water to its three million people. Singapore uses 300 million gallons of water daily and it depends on Malaysia for almost half of this requirement. It needs to reduce this dependence by recycling wastewater and desalinating seawater. A stainless steel water filter, developed at the Advanced Research Centre International (ARCI) in Hyderabad, may be the answer. ACRI, run by India’s Department of Science & Technology, has transferred its technology to Singapore based Hyflux – a company that is already offering products and services in raw water treatment, purification, wastewater treatment and water recycling to industries in Singapore and China.

All India Radio’s Archives: All India Radio (AIR) wants to evolve a commercial strategy to preserve its priceless, archival heritage. Poor maintenance threatens its historic collection of 47,000 tapes. The tapes at its central archive in Delhi go back to the days when radio was the only broadcast media. Preserving the tapes requires costly archival techniques. To raise funds, AIR is offering private companies the right to market copies of the tapes. But the response from music companies has not been very encouraging. Under a programme begun about a year ago, the tapes are being digitalised and about 12,000 tapes have been converted. It will take almost three years to digitalise the entire archive. With United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) know-how, a refurbishing unit has been set up for cleaning the old tapes to improve their sound quality. The AIR regional centres’ collections add up to an equally large number of tapes. The amount allocated for the conversion programme is merely Rs. 15 million, which is clearly inadequate.

Travel Forex Limit Doubled: With over $65 billion in foreign exchange reserves, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday has gone ahead with another dose of exchange control liberalisation. It has doubled the foreign exchange available under the basic travel quota (BTQ) to resident individuals from $5,000 to $10,000, or its equivalent. The $10,000 limit will be applicable per person in a single calendar year for one or more personal visits abroad, except to Nepal and Bhutan. The existing limit of $25,000 or its equivalent per trip for business travel remains unchanged.

Octogenarian’s Guinness Record: T.B. Swaminatha Iyer of Thrissur is 84 years old and has found his way into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest person to receive an M.Phil degree.

The Medical ‘Business’: lndia’s healthcare ‘industry’ has stumbled into a new goldmine, the lucrative ‘market’ for trained English-speaking nurses. It seems there is an estimated shortfall of 20,000 nurses annually in the UK and 200,000 in the USA, and the ‘demand’ has still not peaked. On an average, most reputed hospitals lose 20-25 per cent of their nurses to hospitals abroad. A Mckinsey (who else?) study indicates that nearly Rs. 1000,000 million will be pumped into this sector over the next 10 years. The present ratio of one bed per 1,300 patients will come down to one bed per 500 patients. An increase of 75,000 beds is predicted all over the country. Medical tourism is likely to double in the next few years. Quality care at one-tenth the cost is the attraction for foreigners. Although most of the traffic is from West Asia, South East Asia and Africa, hospitals have now started looking west too.

Redesigning The Rosogolla: Jadavpur University at Kolkata, helped by the West Bengal government, is experimenting with new ways of preparing the rosogolla so that this typically Bengali delicacy becomes more acceptable to markets outside the state. The aim is to compete with chocolate bars and toffees. The university’s Department of Food Technology & Bio-Chemical Engineering hopes to roll out the reincarnated rosogollas within six months, and they will be more nutritious, more durable and may even taste different. But would all this have pleased Mr. Nabin Chandra Das, the man who is supposed to have invented Bengal’s favourite sweet in 1868? Imagine a choco-rosogolla! Will the jalebi be next?

Lijjat Papads: Did you know that the Rs. 3150-million Lijjat Papad ‘group’ was started in 1959 by just seven Mumbai housewives? In 1996 the group was formally recognised and Shri Mahila Griha Udyog came into being, registered under the Public Trust Act and Societies Registration Act. Only women can become members and all members are also owners. The 1959 sales turnover was Rs. 6,196. Mahila Griha Udyog today has 62 branches and 40 divisions across India, with 40,000 women employed who are co-owners of the organisation. Its export turnover is Rs. 120 million. In additions to papads it also makes khakhras, appalams, spices, wheat flour, bakery products, rotis and detergents.

Bajaj Products For USA: India’s three-wheeler autorickshaw (also found in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, etc.) may possibly be seen soon in California and some other US states. San Francisco’s Maurice Kanbar, a Bajaj family friend, says he has secured permission from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for three-wheelers on California’s roads. Two wheelers from Bajaj stable. Bajaj’s two-wheelers – Sapphire, Chetak and Legend – will also be exported by Mr. Kanbar. The autorickshaws will not be used to carry passengers, but to ferry goods over short distances.

Coffee Gutka, The Healthier Option: Following the ban on tobacco based gutka in many states, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and India’s Coffee Board began to explore the idea of a coffee based gutka with caffeine as the stimulant. Initial tests suggest that the taste profile and stimulating characteristics are similar to gutka, and the advantage is that it is not tobacco based. GCMMF is planning to patent the product. Coffee does have good fibre quality. If the product is successful, there could be a significant market. India’s mouth freshener industry has an annual turnover of Rs. 400,000 million, of which Rs. 200,000 million is from branded pan-masala products. The Coffee Board is interested because it is worried over the low domestic consumption of coffee, which has remained stagnant over the last decade at around 60,000 tonnes. Over 80 % of India’s coffee used to be exported, but globally there is an oversupply situation.

100 Years Of Recorded Music: India’s first recording was made on November 11, 1902, the day that the voice of Gauhar Jaan, the celebrated singer of that age, was recorded in Calcutta by Gramophone & Typewriter. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has declared November 11, 2002 to November 10, 2003 as the centenary year of recorded music in India. DD has begun producing 26-part commemorative series, ‘Century of Recorded Music – A Retrospective’, and it has appealed to all people who feel they have something of value to contribute to this labour of love to come forward and contact the DD website http://www.ddindia.com

Karnataka’s ‘Palace-On-Wheels’: Indian Railways may give the final green signal to Karnataka’s ‘palace-on-wheels’ proposal by December 202. Rajasthan was the first state to introduce this concept and it was followed by Gujarat, though not as successfully. The Karnataka tourism department will showcase the best of the state, including Hampi and Mysore. The exact circuits will be worked out after the trial runs. The exercise is expected to cost around Rs. 30 million, with the Railways contributing over 30 %. Private participation will also be actively encouraged.

Non-Brahmins Can Be Temple Priests: In a recent judgement of far-reaching consequence, the Indian Supreme Court has ruled that Brahmins do not have a monopoly over performing puja in a temple and said that a non-Brahmin, properly trained and well-versed with the rituals, can also be appointed as a pujari. The ruling was given while upholding the appointment of a non-Brahmin as pujari in Kongoopilly Neerikode Siva temple at Alangad village in Ernakulam, Kerala.

Farmers Rediscover Organic Farming: Every year thousands of Indian farmers are rejecting modern agricultural methods to revert to nature’s own way of growing grain and horticulture produce. Whether it is natural farming, organic or biodynamic farming, a more advanced form of organic farming, the shift is perceptible. In Maharashtra alone over 200,000 farmers have turned to organic farming. And so have many in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Orissa and Ladakh are other places where farmers have taken up organic farming after training by NGOs. Vermiculture, mulching of bio-waste, compost and biodynamic preparations are some of the nutrients used by farmers beside multi-cropping patterns for a more sustainable and higher yield. Refuting the contention that chemical farming leads to higher yields, NGOs say that once the soil has been nursed back to health the yield goes up substantially with organic farming. Except in cases like sugarcane, very little manure is required annually. Farmers who have shifted back to organic farming in the last few years claim organically produced wheat, pulses and other produce have a longer shelf live. Farmers not using organic methods have to dry their yield daily because it cannot be stored for long due to the high water content which in fact makes for the higher volume and weight. Many organic farmers had in their possession stocks of wheat and dal that have not got discoloured or infested in the last 14 years, unlike modern agriculture produce that start degenerating within a year. Organic farming is not spoiling water, destroying soil fertility or wiping out biodiversity. It is saving farmers’ livelihoods, while ensuring healthy food. Research data suggests that organically produced food is more nutritious and therefore has higher nutrients per acre, which is what we should be looking at and not volumes that rot in no time.

World’s Largest Solar Cooking System: The largest in the world, that’s the claim for the solar cooking system installed at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in Andhra Pradesh. Installed recently at TTD’s canteen, it was developed by a Valsad-based Gadhia Solar Energy Systems (GSES). It employs German technology to harness solar energy to prepare 30,000 meals per day. The new system helps TTD to save around 475 litres of diesel per day, which in turn prevents pollution as every kg of fuel burnt releases 1.2 kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. GSES runs an NGO, ICNEER (International Centre for Networking, Ecology, Education and Re-integration), which seeks to promote sustainable energy development.

Survey Of Food Habits: Among urban populace, more households in Southern India are non-vegetarian than those in the North, and the Easterners are the toppers. Two out of every three Indians – 71 % – are non-vegetarians. These are the findings of the National Food Survey (NFS) recently conducted by the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB). The survey, conducted in 101 cities and towns, shows that 94 % of the households in the East are non- vegetarians, followed by 84 % in the South, 58 % in the West and 53 % in the North. The NFS is representative of all towns with a population of over 100,000 and covers two-thirds (approximately 32.8 million) urban Indian households. A total sample of 19,812 housewives, in the age group of 18 to 54, were interviewed. Throughout the country, fish is more often cooked (46 %) than mutton (25 %) or chicken (21 %). In foodgrains, rice reigns supreme: in the whole country, 51 % eat rice while 41 % opt for wheat. More than 63 % of Indians still use unrefined oil as a cooking medium, and 79 % of these still buy loose oil. Also, 78 % Indians prefer to have their meals sitting on the floor and in only 40 % of the cases are purchasing decisions made by housewives.

Dina Pathak Passes Away: Gujarati and Hindi stage and film actress Dina Pathak, 82, passed away in Mumbai on 11th October. She began her film career in 1948 and acted in over 50 movies, many of which are milestones in Indian cinema: Koshish, Mausam, Chitchor, Golmaal, Khubsoorat, Bhavni Bhavai, Mirch Masala, Umrao Jaan, Gharonda, Arth, etc.

Anthonybhai, John, Jaani, Janardhan: When he turned 60, Amitabh Bachchan was headline material on the front pages of newspapers across India, confidently edging out more ‘important’ and ‘newsy’ news. What more can you write about him that you don’t already know? And yet he is written about, and read about, endlessly. Which must be why he is called the Big B, larger than life, larger than a comprehensible reality. He is out there in the big league, along with the other Indian dreams and superstars – Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, may be a 100 others who we love to love unconditionally. Incidentally, how many adult Indians would there be who have not heard of Mr. Bachchan?

Now, The Real Aandhi: Director Gulzar’s and scriptwriter Kamleshwar’s 1975 hit film ‘Aandhi’ did not intend to portray Indira Gandhi, and if audiences imagined some resemblance between the role played by Suchitra Sen and the real person they were dismissed as being purely coincidental. Now, almost 20 years after her assassination, Kamleshwar says he is working on a film project about the real Indira Gandhi. Besides Aandhi, he has also written the scripts for Mausam, Amanush, Badnam Basti, etc.

Plastic Currency Notes: India is planning to introduce plastic currency notes next year, beginning with the 1000-rupee note. The purpose is to make the notes more durable and also prevent the printing of fakes. Initially, the PVC film for the notes will be imported, like the special paper on which Indian rupees are printed. Printing may be done outside India. Australia and New Zealand are among the very few countries that use plastic currency. The US dollar is printed on special paper.

Inheritance By NRIs Repatriable Abroad: FEMA Regulations now permit foreign remittances of up to $100,000 per calendar year in the case of an NRI or person of Indian origin out of the assets in India acquired by him by way of inheritance or legacy on production of documentary evidence in support of the claims and a tax clearance or no objection certificate from his concerned Income Tax Authority for such remittance. The Reserve Bank of India has instructed authorised dealers (banks entitled to deal in foreign exchange) to effect such remittances without approval from the RBI.

Under the new FEMA Regulations, an individual resident in India is eligible to borrow up to $250,000 or its equivalent in foreign exchange from an NRI who is a close relative with the benefit of repatriation of such loan subject to the following conditions: the loan is free of interest; the minimum maturity period of the loan is one year; the amount of loan is received by inward remittance in free foreign exchange through normal banking channels or by debit to the NRE/FCNR of the non-resident lender; the loan is utilised for the borrower’s personal purposes or for carrying on his normal business activities, but not for carrying on agricultural/plantation activities, purchase of immovable property or shares/debentures/bonds issued by companies in India or for re-lending. You will be required to take the formal approval of the RBI, Mumbai.

Zee Punjabi In UK: Punjabi has become the second most spoken language in England, next only to English. With UK’s large Punjabi community as the target audience, Zee Television Network has announced the launch of ‘Alpha Punjabi’ – an exclusively Punjabi channel. It plans to feature prayers exclusively broadcast from the Golden Temple in Amritsar every morning from 4 a.m., besides a mix of entertainment, cultural programmes, music, comedy and films.

Unique Scheme For Ragpickers: Pune generates about 1,000 tonnes of trash everyday. Of this, the city’s ragpickers pick up 250 tonnes. The Pune Municipal Corporation, appreciating the contribution of its 3,650 registered ragpickers, has drawn up an innovative plan to extend medical insurance to them. The ragpickers may get an annual cover of Rs. 5,000 per head and the civic body may pay the premiums. The landmark move was prompted by an International Labour Organisation (ILO) study and a unique advocacy programme by the ragpickers. The ILO study identified the ragpickers – who earn just Rs. 30 daily – as a high-risk group prone to a variety of health hazards. The ILO study, conducted by staff of the SNDT College Department of Adult Education, covered 252 scrap collectors and 72 scrap traders.

‘Santoshi Mata’ Lyric’s Copyright: The immensely popular ‘Jai Jai Santoshi Mata’ bhajan was the Kavi Pradeep theme track for ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’ – the film that was released in August 1975 on the same day as ‘Sholay’ and went on to become a major box-office success. Its copyright has become a subject for dispute between poet Pradeep’s daughter, Mittul Pradeep, and TV production company Creative Eye. According to Mittul Pradeep, Creative Eye has used the song in one of its tele-serials without the permission of the poet’s family.

Just 3.4 Mistakes In 1 Million Tasks: Gangaram Talekar and Raghunath Medge, secretary and president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers, made a presentation recently to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The tiffinwallahs have achieved Six Sigma, a global efficiency standard – only 3.4 mistakes in one million tasks. The 120-year-old tiffin supplying system in Mumbai daily delivers 200,000 tiffin boxes and takes them back with the help of 5,000 men on bicycles who also use the city’s local trains. They do their work between 9.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m., with no technology backup. The organisation now accepts sponsorships from Star Plus, P&G (Colgate) and Hindustan Lever (Surf) by way of advertising on the dabbas. The cost: donations to the trust.

Economic Power Of Patels: According to a study carried out by Takashi Shinoda, a professor in the International Relations Faculty of Japan’s Daito Bunka University at Tokyo, Gujarat’s Patidar (Patel) community is overtaking the economic power of the Banias, who were traditionally strong in both trade and manufacturing. Shinoda is presently studying entrepreneurial development since the founding of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) in 1949. Based on data at the GCCI and Gujarat’s Industrial Extension Bureau, he concludes that over the last 50 years the share of the Banias in trade and commerce has declined from 62 % to 33 % while the share of the Patels has increased from 21 % to 41 %. Excerpts of the study have been published in ‘Dynamics of Development in Gujarat’, a book brought out by the Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad. Shinoda is now in the process of examining the latest GCCI directory, taking surnames as the basis of his analysis. He says, "The change began in the 1980s. Till then, the Banias and the Brahmins dominated the manufacturing sector, mainly cotton textile. But with the change in the state’s industrial structure, collapse of textile mills, and the rise of chemical, plastic and rubber sectors, the Patidars became more important."

An Exemplary Performance By Karnataka: Karnataka’s ‘Bhoomi’ programme is now serving as a model for other Indian states and the World Bank has shown interest in emulating it across developing countries. The ‘Bhoomi’ programme is a pioneering scheme to computerise a centuries-old system of hand-written rural land records and it has turned into a money-spinner. Rajeev Chawla, additional secretary in the state’s revenue department, says that over 700,000 people a month were paying Rs.15 for a certified printout that proves they own land and helps them secure bank loans. Karnataka’s seven million farmers can access 20 million land records at 177 rural kiosks, and it has now legally abolished all hand-written records after shifting them to computer networks backed by digital fingerprints for security. This month, Bhoomi was one of the six award winners among 150 global entries in a competition on innovation in governance that was instituted by the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management. When the scheme was launched two years ago, it faced criticism from many of the 9,000 accountants who lorded over the records for 65 million people and 30,000 villages. Critics said that rural folks would have to travel far and that printouts would by unaffordable. When the project started only Rs. 20 million in annual revenues were expected. However, it has already raked in Rs. 75 million and the government now estimates annual revenues of Rs. 120 million.

Indians Love Butter: Indians gobble up almost half of the world’s butter. This is a statistic from the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The FAO definition of butter includes variants such as ghee. India consumed 2.3 million tonnes of butter in the fiscal ended April 2002, which is 41 % of the global total global of 5.5 million tonnes. North India accounts for 52 % of the total, West India for 18 %, East India for 21 % and South India for 10 %. The world is by and large switching to alternatives such as margarine. Some of the reasons for the increase in India: the consumption has increased significantly in smaller towns because increases in income levels has created a whole new class of butter consumers; proliferation of refrigerators at home; improvement in the availability of cold chains; as households climb up the income ladder there is a reallocation of expenditure towards milk and milk products.

India’s Trusted Brands: In the Economic Times 2002 Brand Equity Survey of India’s Most Trusted Brands, Dettol takes the top spot. The top brand in each region is different: Tata Salt in the north, Parle in the West, Dettol in the East and Horlicks in the South. With young adult males, Coca-Cola is no. 1, but with young adult females it’s Ponds. Tata Salt is top for both housewives and chief wage earners. The survey, conducted by ORG-MARG, covered a sample of 4,540 consumers across 12 centres covering metros and Class 1 and Class 2 towns.

The Top 10
2002	Products	2001	2002	Products	2001
1	Dettol	5	6	Coca-Cola	8
2	Britannia	13	7	Pepsodent	12
3	Colgate	2	8	Pond’s	11
4	Tata Salt	-	9	Pepsi	9
5	Lux	1	10	Thums Up	4

Air-India’s Concessions For Senior Citizens. Air-India has introduced an attractive package from September 15 for senior citizens – men above 65 and women above 60 – travelling on the UK and USA routes. The concessional rates are applicable only on return tickets. The purchase can be made by senior citizens of any country, the condition being that the onward flight should originate from India. The ticket has to be purchased in Indian Rupees. The scheme, valid till December 16, is the first of its kind for Air-India.

Approximate Rates For Return Tickets:
On USA route (six-month validity): Rs. 40,500 (against Rs. 54,000 now).
On USA route (four-month validity): Rs. 37,000 (against Rs. 49,500 now).
On UK route (six-month validity): Rs. 29,200 (Rs. 10,000 less than the market rate).
On UK route (four-month validity): Rs. 26,000.

Senior citizens constitute 12 to 15 % of the passengers travelling abroad annually

USA’s Indian Immigrants: Roughly 1.06 million people legally migrated to the USA during the last fiscal year, of which 70,290 were from India, making it the second highest source of migrants. The highest number (206,426) during the September 2001-August 2002 period was accounted for by Mexico. China (56,426) was third, Philippines (53,154) was fourth and Vietnam (35,531) was fifth. These five countries accounted for 40 % of the legal immigrants.

Middle-Class Tax Rate: India’s tax rate of over 30 % (30.6 % with the surcharge) on incomes between Rs. 150,000 and Rs. 200,000 is among the highest in the world. Individuals earning less (after adjusting for purchasing power parity and exchange rates) in other emerging nations are taxed at lower rates and also given many concessions.

Amul’s Laxative Ice-Cream: After its success with its weight-watching fat-free ice-cream (Slim Scoop) Amul now plans to launch an ice-cream based on Isabgol or psyllium seed husk. Believed to lower the risk of heart diseases, Isabgol also works as a fibre laxative. Gujarat is among the largest exporters of Isabgol.

The India-Pakistan Post System: With the cutting of rail, road and direct air links, Indians and Pakistanis can only communicate with each other through mail, and this is a fairly complex system. Letters and parcels are delivered via Dubai and also through manual exchange at Wagah. Air mail is sent from Mumbai via Dubai but surface mail is sent by road to Wagah and carried physically up to the line demarcating the international border. There, a representative of Pakistan Post takes charge, handing over mail bound for India. The Pakistanis send more mail than they receive from India. According to international norms, a country which sends more mail than it receives has to pay for delivery of the excess mail.

Air India Tops At Chicago’s O’Hare Airport: Air India had the highest average passenger load on flights arriving and departing from Chicago’s O’Hare airport during January to December 2001. The average number of passengers disembarking from Air India at the airport was 329 (El Al with 299 and Lufthansa with 243 were number two and three) while the number of those embarking was 308 (followed by Lufthansa with 233 and KLM with 218). O’Hare is ranked the busiest airport in the world with a flight taking off every minute. Air India made a profit of over $ 6 million in the last financial year, making it one of only six airlines worldwide to make a profit.

TIN Follows PAN: After the Permanent Account Number (PAN), the Indian government is moving ahead with the Trade Identification Number (TIN), a unique 10-digit code for traders which will be made a mandatory reference for trading transactions all over the country. By making traders quote the TIN in all transaction documents, the government plans to check evasion and simplifying management. TIN will be for traders what PAN is for income-tax payers.

Gaekwad Seeks Railways’ Eviction From Baroda House: Mr. Ranjitsinh Gaekwad, scion of the erstwhile ruling family of Baroda, has moved the Delhi High Court seeking government eviction from the Baroda House palace housing the Northern Railway headquarters at New Delhi, pleading that the government is in wrongful possession of the property belonging to him.

Compulsory Territorial Army Stint: All new entrants to India’s Central government may have to undergo a compulsory stint in the Territorial Army for two months every year for a period up to five years. This proposal has been made by the K.P. Singh Deo committee, which also recommended that the strength of the Territorial Army be raised to 100,000 by the year 2007. The present authorised strength is 40,085. The Territorial Army, commonly know as the Citizens Army, is composed of 31 infantry battalions and 19 departmental TA units such as railways, engineers, oil sector, ecological, signals and general hospital units. The force currently carries out operational tasks, internal security duties and aid to civil authorities besides support to the regular army.

English English Absorbs Indian English: Bollywood, along with over 600 words of Indian origin, has found place in the latest edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD). Some of the common Indian words included in the new COD are achkan, akasha, alap, amrit, bustee, chawl, gherao, godown, gymkhana, yantra, zakat, zilla. English has moved from being the Queen’s language to a truly international language.

Mobiles For Postmen: India’s postman is set to don a new role from December. Along with the post bag, he will carry a mobile phone with a metering facility and pocket 25 per cent of the revenues generated out of calls made from it. India’s mobile telephone base was set to cross 8 million by 31st August 31.

13,000-Km Highway Development Project: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is implementing an ambitious 13,146-km National Highways Development Project (NHDP): a Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) linking Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai; a north-south corridor from Srinagar to Kanyakumari; an east-west corridor from Silchar (Assam) to Porbandar (Gujarat). The GQ’s total length is 5,846 km, the north-south corridor’s 4,000 km and the east-west corridor’s 3,300 km. The target date is December 2003. A World Bank study has estimated benefits of Rs. 80,000 million per year on account of the GQ alone. There will be an estimated annual consumption of 2.5 to 4 million metric tonnes of cement and 250,000 to 350,000 metric tonnes of steel during 2001-04 for just the GQ. It will also provide employment to 40 persons per km per day, which works out to 180 million man-days. In addition, employment of 9 million man-days will be created for the supervisory staff of consultants and contractors.

India’s Teledensity: With 35 million fixed lines for a country of 1 billion people and a teledensity of just 0.6 per cent, India is eight years behind the world teledensity average of 15. The technology in India is at par with that in the USA, but the Americans have a teledensity of 50. India will need three years to equal China’s teledensity of seven. The telecom sector plans to have telephone-on-demand service by 2002 and Internet access in all state capitals. The condition in India’s villages is worse; 284,000 villages do not have a single telephone connection and as of 1999 out of approximately 607,000 villages only 340,000 had a public telephone booth. The number of cellular connections in 1999 were about 1.2 million, but after three years the number jumped to 6.5 million.

The Rule Of Law: It is heartening that the Israeli Supreme Court has courageously upheld the Rule of Law. The court recognised that ‘Israel is in the midst of difficult combat against a raging wave of terrorism and is acting according to its right to self defense’. Yet, in the memorable words of the distinguished Chief Justice Barak, ‘even when the cannons roar, the military commander must uphold the law. The strength of society to withstand its enemies is based on its recognition that it is fighting for values worthy of defense. The rule of law is one of those values’. … From an article by Soli J. Sorabjee in The Times of India.

All India Radio Turns 75
All India Radio (AIR) celebrates its platinum jubilee on Tuesday, July 23, 2002.

AIR’s home service is in 24 languages and 146 dialects; its external service includes 26 languages, 16 national and 10 foreign.

‘Pravasi Divas’ For NRIs & PIOs: Following the recommendations of the Diaspora Committee, India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) have jointly organised a three-day conference to celebrate Pravasi Bhartiya Divas from January 9 to 11, 2003. This will be the first time that India will officially engage with its 20-million strong diaspora in 110 countries. January 9, which will be annually celebrated as the Pravasi Divas, was the day that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915.

Reduction In STD Codes: India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering a reduction in the number of STD codes from 2,700 to 350, essentially by making the district code applicable to all towns and villages within the district. There are presently 2,700 STD codes for only 37 million telephone subscribers in the country. The US has only 400 codes for 200 million subscribers.

Gutkha Banned In Maharashtra: In a far-reaching move aimed at deterring students and youngsters from falling prey to tobacco addictives, the Maharashtra government has banned ‘gutkha’ and pan masala in the state. The ban has been imposed under section 7(4) of Food and Drug Adulteration (Prevention) Act, 1954. The prohibition includes manufacturing of ‘gutkha’ and pan masala (with or without tobacco), its storage, advertising and sale. The ban, to be enforced for a period of five years, will cost the state exchequer Rs. 250 million annually. Maharashtra now joins other states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Gujarat in banning tobacco addictives.

Tendulkar’s Restaurant: Sachin Tendulkar has linked up with Mumbai-based Mars Restaurants to set up an international chain of fine-dining restaurants called Tendulkar’s. The flagship sports-bar-cum-specialty-restaurant of the joint venture, Gourmet Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., is scheduled to open near Regal Cinema in Mumbai on October 2. Branches are planned all over the country, and later in Australia and England.

What Reliance Represents: What did Dhirubhai Ambani add up to in business terms? A brief report card:

Rajendra – The Radar System: India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has come up with a ‘phased array radar system’ that can target multiple aircraft formations attacking across the international border. Only two other countries in the world have this technology. India was shopping around for a similar system but it was denied to the country, thus prodding the scientists to develop the technology at home. The radar has been named ‘Rajendra’, after one of the project’s directors.

Simputer Delayed: The Simputer, a low-cost handheld computer developed by Indian scientists, was introduced in April 2001 but serious production has not taken place for want of investors. Even a charity-funded Simputer production programme has been delayed. The Simputer (Simple, Inexpensive, Multilingual Computer) needs to sell in large numbers to enable a price of $200. Picopeta Simputers and Enore Software are the two companies licensed to make the device. The Paris-based charity, South Asian Foundation, has promised to fund the project but it has been delayed for four months. The Simputer was developed on the Open General License system to reduce its cost. Under the system, the applications in the Simputer are not copyrighted, allowing users to modify them for their own use.

A Bridge To Sri Lanka: The governments of Sri Lanka and India may sign agreements to conduct feasibility and seismic studies for the construction of Adam’s Bridge, connecting the two countries through the Palk Straits. The bridge may be link Danushkodi in India and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka. The cost: approximately $880 million. The two places are separated by about 23 km of water, and the bridge itself may span 29 km. The water depth does not exceed seven metres at any point. The project will involve a six-lane combination of bridges and causeways with a railway track in between facilitating both rail and road traffic. Canada, Singapore and Sweden have already expressed interest to fund, build and maintain the bridge. The longest (23 km) bridge in the world at present is between Sweden and Denmark. If Adam’s Bridge becomes a reality, it will beat the existing record.

Varsity Status For Ambani Institute: The Gujarat cabinet has approved a proposal to give the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute for Information & Communication Technology (DAIICT) at Gandhinagar the status of a university. Such a move will benefit the 600 students studying at the institute; it would enable them to get graduate degrees instead of diplomas. The institute was set up at a cost of Rs. 750 million. It will get university status under the UGC Act, but will work independently both financially and administratively.

Bank Credit For Women Entrepreneurs: To encourage women entreprenuership, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the Union Finance Ministry, is working on a proposal to make it mandatory for commercial banks to earmark a minimum of two percent of their bank credit exclusively for women. The RBI also has plans to increase the quantum of credit from two per cent to five per cent in future. The banks have already been directed by RBI to set up specialised ‘women branches’ to serve women entrepreneurs more effectively.

Gujarat Assembly Website: The proceedings of the Gujarat state assembly will be available online from July 15 on the newly created website www.gujaratassembly.gov.in. The details of the important rulings as well as data related to the Assembly proceedings since 1960 will be made readily available for reference. The website will provide information in English and Gujarati.

Times of India Is World’s No.1: With a certified circulation of 2,144,842 copies, The Times of India can now claim to be the world’s largest circulated English broadsheet daily. Launched in 1838, the paper today has editions in the north (Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh), south (Bangalore, Hyderabad), east (Kolkata, Patna) and west (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune).

The Times of India	2,144,842
USA Today	2,120,357
The Wall Street Journal	1,820,525
The New York Times	1,194,491
Los Angeles Times	1,011,732
The Daily Telegraph	1,004,749
Hindustan Times	969,558
The Hindu	904,654
The Washington Post	811,925
Daily News, New York	733,099
The Times, London	710,302

Ready-To-Eat Foods: The Indian food processing industry is seeing a lot of activity in the ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat and snack foods as well as beverages and neutraceutical foods. The biggest changes are in the ready-to-eat segment. The reasons: the changing socio-economic scenario with over 10 million households having an income of over Rs. 100,000, women wanting to spend more time out of the kitchen, more working bachelors staying away from home, the growing population of NRIs, etc. The ready-to-eat segment is a small but growing part of the estimated $20 billion food industry. Some hurdles: the foods need to be stable without a cold chain because the infrastructure is still weak, and the Indian customer is price sensitive. Since the technology and packaging costs are high, companies need to look at greater market penetration, not only in the metros but also in towns with over one million population in order to bring down the prices.

India’s Poultry Industry: India’s poultry industry has an annual turnover of about Rs.120,000 million. The per capita consumption of eggs is 42 and the industry produces 37,000 million eggs, which put India at the third position, just behind China and the USA. The per capita chicken consumption is 1 kg, and the industry produces 1,000 million broilers annually. The poultry industry generates employment for 2 million people, and an increase in the per capita consumption by just one egg . (or by just 50 gm of poultry meat) will create employment opportunities for another 26,000 persons.

Seized Liquor To Be Destroyed: The Gujarat government will continue with the practice of destroying the stock of liquor seized by the prohibition department. Liquor worth Rs. 420 million seized by the police during the raids at various places in the state will be destroyed and not sold. In Gujarat, only 25 star hotels are licensed to sell liquor to those holding permits. In all, 22,000 permits have been issued, of which 13,000 are to ex-servicemen settled in the state.

Tax Collection In Gujarat: Increasing by 148,000 in 2002 the number of income tax payers in Gujarat has crossed the 2-million mark, but tax collections have dipped by 4 % (or Rs. 870 million). The salaried class continues to be the biggest contributor, paying Rs 17,250 million as tax this year ending while corporate tax is Rs. 8,970 million. About 90,000 people joined the taxpayers’ club under the 1-by-6 scheme this year, 40 % of them because of new telephone connections.

International Phone Calls: The USA accounts for the highest number of overseas incoming telephone call to India, but for outgoing calls Saudi Arabia tops the list. Indians made outgoing calls of 473 million minutes in 2001, roughly 39 million minutes per month and 1.3 million minutes per day. Nearly 70 % of India’s international telephony traffic consists of incoming calls, of which the USA is the largest originating market. In 2001-02, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) handled 3 billion minutes of traffic, of which 500 million minutes were from outgoing traffic. Saudi Arabia had the highest percentage of outgoing calls as the traffic rates for both incoming and outgoing calls are at par at Rs. 40 per minute. While the cost of making a call from the USA to India is Rs. 7 per minute, a call from India to the USA costs Rs. 40 per minute. After the entry of internet telephony in April this year, a PC-to phone call to the USA now costs Rs. 5 per minute, and here the USA already attracts the highest number of outgoing calls. Internet telephony worldwide accounts for only 5 % of the international telephony traffic.

Mahabodhi Temple: The famous 1500-year-old Mahabodhi Temple (the shrine which marks the spot where the Buddha attained enlightenment 2500 years ago) at Bodh Gaya, 110 km south of Patna in Bihar, has become the 23rd Indian site to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The shrine has been recognised by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee for its “outstanding universal value”. The last Indian site to be included in the World Heritage list was the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 1999. With the declaration of the Mahabodhi Temple as a World Heritage Site, the entire Buddhist route can be mapped – from Lumbini in Nepal to Mahabodhi, Sarnath, Kushinagar and Takshila in Pakistan.

Insurance Company	Claims	Amount (Rs. in millions)
United India Insurance	749	271.2
New India Assurance	622	263.8
Oriental Insurance	460	190.0
National Insurance	300	237.1

Gloomy News For State Tourism: Gujarat does not attract too many tourists (70,000 to 100,000 foreign tourists and 200,000 non-resident Indians every year) and the negative publicity in the international media surrounding the disturbed conditions may depress the statistics still further. The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. (TCGL) has seen large-scale cancellations for its properties across the state. Bookings for the Royal Orient Train have fallen. Hotel bookings are dismally low. Since the 1969 riots, Gujarat has experienced 8 major riots and 15 minor ones, leaving aside the scarcity, cyclone and earthquake.

Many Gujarat Children Undernourished: The National Family Health Survey - 2 (NHFS-2) report is just out. NFHS-1 was conducted in 1992-93. The International Institute of Population Sciences in Mumbai served as the nodal agency for the survey. It is a comprehensive survey on population, health and nutrition among women and children. It is funded by USAID and UNICEF. The Population Research Centre (PRC) of MS University is the agency which collaborated for the Gujarat survey. Over 90,000 women across India were a part of the survey; 3,845 women were from Gujarat. The highlights pertaining to Gujarat:

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