Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Killer roads take a toll

Experts attribute road accidents to overspeeding

Some twenty-five passengers were injured when a bus collided with a truck on the NH 31 at Pathsala in Barpeta district on the night of May 16.

Nearly fifteen schoolchildren were injured when a school bus (AS 15-1616) fell into a ditch on May 22 at Burah in Darrang district.

Local dailies in Assam unfailingly reports about such road accidents. According to government statistics, during the past one decade road accident cases have doubled in the state. In 2000, some 2,429 road accident cases were reported. But the figure increased to 4,869 in 2009. Accidental deaths in 2009 were 1,991 as against 1,032 in 2000. In comparison to all India level, Assam shares 44 per cent of accidental deaths.

In Guwahati city, some 626 motor accident cases took place in 2007; 626 in 2007; 641 in 2008 and 508 in 2008. Among districts Sonitpur registered a maximum 363 accidental cases in 2009. Lower Assam’s Dhubri district and Barak valley’s Cachar district stood second and third with 346 and 306 accidental cases. Out of 4,686 accidents taking place in the state in 2008, as many as 2,683 accidents took place on national highways; 849 were on state highways and the remaining 1,151 on other roads of the state.

City Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Bibekananda Das told TSI that the traffic branch of city police is compiling last five years’ data of road accidents to study them. Only after completion of the process, decision could be taken to prevent accidents, the newly appointed SP (traffic) said. Traffic experts attribute road accidents to overspeeding and even increasing cars on the roads. “Untrained drivers, fake licence holders and absence of civic sense among people are also responsible for increasing number of accidents,” Violet Baruah, SP (CID) told TSI. The problem is further compounded when some drivers don’t obey traffic rules, she said.

According to the rule, mobile phones should not be used during driving and seat belts should be fastened, but only a few people obey them. Drunk driving is also responsible for several road accidents in the state.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Fighting floods, inviting funds

B S Yeddyurappa, the first BJP chief minister in south India, will complete two years in the office on May 30. busy organising the much hyped Global Investors’ Meet to be held in June, he claims it would throw open new avenues of development in the state. Some would agree, others not. B S NarayanaSwamy grills the CM on issues political and social exclusively for TSI

You’ve been in office for two years. Are you satisfied with the work done by your government so far?

A person should not be satisfied with the results at any point. Because once you are satisfied, you are likely to stop working hard. We have done a lot of work in the last two years, but a lot more remains to be done in the coming years.

Your government is going to spend hundreds of crores of rupees on the two-day Global Investors Meet (GIM) next month in Bangalore. How feasible is the move to invite huge investments when the state is facing a severe power crunch?

Some brainless people are spreading the rumour that we are spending Rs 1000 crore on GIM. Actually, the expenditure is not even Rs 100 crore. As for the power crisis, I would like to inform you that the government is not going to provide power to every new industry. Many industries would generate power for themselves and would perhaps give the surplus to us. There’s no need to worry.

I am sure that in terms of the overall development of the state, the GIM will become a milestone. We are expecting to attract huge investments—about four lakh crore rupees, to be precise—in a number of areas such as infrastructure, micro and small enterprises, tourism, education, power and health. We are focussing on development in both rural and industrial sectors and simultaneously to generate employment. Many global industrial giants are participating in the event.

It’s being said that the government is more interested in global investment than in rehabilitating lakhs of people displaced by last year’s massive flood?

During the last two-three decades, more than 350 villages have been repeatedly ravaged by floods. But previous governments did not care to make any arrangements for the rehabilitation of those affected. Last year’s flood was of unprecedented magnitude. Now they (the Opposition) are accusing us of not paying attention to this matter. But the fact is that my government is keen to rehabilitate flood-affected people, and we have already done a lot for them. We have distributed the compensation money and have allotted dwelling units to the affected. We are planning to allot around 10,000 more houses this month. It was delayed due to the model code of conduct for the gram panchayat elections. We have acquired around 5000 acres of land to build more dwelling units for the affected. The process for laying power lines and providing drinking water is on. Why, even union home minister Mr. P. Chidambaram appreciated our efforts and speedy work towards rehabilitation.

According to a recent study jointly conducted by FICCI and KAF (Konrad Adenauer Foundation), 42 per cent of the investors are not happy with conditions in the state. They say starting a business here is difficult…

As compared to the neighbouring states, Karnataka has far better conditions and infrastructure for investment. Perhaps the only difficulty is the power supply. But we have already taken steps to generate sufficient power. I hope Karnataka would be self-sufficient in the power sector very soon.


The Opposition says that the power crisis is not as much about production as it is about distribution? Is it true?

They make these accusations to hide their own mistakes committed during their rule. The power leakage during distribution has come down by 25 per cent in our regime.

Your government has repeatedly been accused of trying to protect some tainted ministers. The Opposition has been demanding their dismissal but you have not yielded so far?

It’s not the Opposition’s job to advise as to who should be in the cabinet and who should be thrown out. It’s the people, and not the Opposition, who decide who is tainted and who’s not. And the people have given their mandate to us. There is no tainted minister in my cabinet. The Opposition keeps levelling such accusation just for the sake of it.

What do you think of the Governor’s show-cause notice to your tourism minister G. Janardhana Reddy, seeking explanation on his alleged involvement in some illegal activities?

I don’t want to comment on this.

Experts have opined that the recently inaugurated Mysore airport has failed to meet international standards…

I have already made it clear that we will extend full support to the agencies concerned for putting in place the safety mechanisms in Mysore airport and the other proposed airports in Shimoga and Gulbarga. We have instructed that passenger safety should be given priority in the construction of these two airports.

Why has your promise of granting more power to the Lokayukta not materialised yet?

The issue will be discussed in the coming Legislative Assembly session. We will take a decision soon.

What’s your opinion on the UPA government’s proposed amendments to the RTI Act?

The central government should not take any decision in this regard in a hurry. It should allow for a national debate on the issue and then consider all shades of opinion before taking a final decision on the amendment to the RTI Act.

Which department in the state has been the best performer in your view?

I would not like to mention any particular department. All the departments are development-oriented though some departments need to initiate more reforms. I am glad to mention that in the rural development area, we are the number one state in the country. Also, Mysore is rated as the second best city in Indian in terms of sanitation and overall cleanliness.

Your government has seen many controversies during the two years of your rule. How do you feel regarding these imbroglios?

We have passed through many agni pareekshas (trials by fire) successfully in the last two years of my regime. We are confident that we will complete the remaining three years just as successfully.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Iconic sari gets recognition

It is all the rage in Kerala and other places, including Delhi

Balaramapuram village is at the centre of attraction after Kerala’s iconic “Balaramapuram Sari’’ has received Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection through Geographical Indications Act (GI Act).

The village is extremely popular in the state for producing such a wonderful sari. Thousands of weavers make the traditional Kerala Kasavu Sari for women and Kasavu Mundu for men in off-white with golden borders in this six square kilometres textile land — near Thiruvananthapuram. They are designed to be worn specially on propitious occasions. According to industry sources, about 27,000 handlooms operate in the village to produce these saris. The weavers — shaliyar community — use traditional throw-shuttle pit looms, fly shuttle looms and make cotton fabrics with pure zeri (kasav) or coloured yarn.

Hundreds of families, including women, are fully involved in weaving these saris. More than 200 cooperative societies are active in this area. They are fully involved in the production and distribution of the products. The Balaramapuram textiles are sold throughout Kerala through Hantex, and the exclusive shops of zeri textiles like Kasavu Kada and Karal Kada. “We never depend on mechanised systems like dobby, jacquard and jala. The imagination of the weavers and the excellence in silver covering and the gold plating of the silk make Balaramapuram matchless. We have no professional designers and fashion consultants. Our clothes are pure eco-friendly and survive for long,’’ says B.AnilKumar, a weaver at Balaramapuram.

Balarampuram sari is famous for its varieties. One can select saris from the price range of Rs 500 to 40,000. The weavers say that the North Indians, especially Delhiites, are fond of these costly saris. The gold, silver content of the zari is the significant factor which adds the brand value of the Balaramapuram clothes. “The present protection under the IPR confirms its uniqueness,’’ says Anilkumar, a trader.

But most of the weavers are apprehensive about the special protection. Besides, they fear that the traditional art may die as youngsters are not joining the profession. Of late their biggest worry has been the arrival of mechanically produced Kasavu sari that is available in the market for only Rs 100. Since then, the Balaramapuram sari has been facing a stiff competition.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Mamata gives Left Front a lifeline

Trinamool chief severs all ties with the Congress in West Bengal as seat sharing talks for election to 81 civic bodies fail, Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee writes

The ensuing municipal elections in West Bengal may provide a much-needed breather to the ruling Left Front dispensation, courtesy the fresh feud between the Trinamool Congress and the Indian National Congress in the state. TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee announced severing of all ties with the Congress in the state, adding that the party will go it alone for control of all the 81 civic bodies. In fact, during the seat-sharing parleys, both parties were sticking to their guns by not sparing seats for the other in their respective areas of dominance. This has come as a silver lining for the Left Front (read CPM) and rendered people advocating ‘change’ shattered.

The elections to the 81 civic bodies, slated on May 30, have seen the State Election Commission facing severe criticism for announcing the date of polls nearly a month before the date of notification without enforcing the Model Code of Conduct. This allowed the Left Front to dole out election lollies in the shape of new programmes. Ministers continued with inauguration or stone-laying ceremonies, distribution of flats, announcing sops for hawkers, etc. None objected, not even the Trinamool Congress. The last date for submitting nomination was fixed on May 3 but the commission suo moto extended it by a day on the pretext of Bharat Bandh on April 27 and May Day, which is unprecedented. Despite the fact that the commission in West Bengal obeys what the bosses at CPM headquarters on Alimuddin Street dictate, the CPM state secretary, Biman Bose, criticised the commission. Observers think this act of the Left Front chairman is nothing but a mere eye-wash. The Left Front government pulled the commission’s sanctity to zero when the commission announced that only the police would be used to guard polling booths. It got the wildest response from the home department. The department, which is headed by the chief minister himself, declared that home guards (mostly party cardres) will also be posted to maintain law and order in polling booths. The commission, obviously, has not reacted to this ever since.

Having received a serious jolt in the Lok Sabha elections last year, the CPM appeared to be in serious crisis this time as the Mayor of Kolkata Corporation and the chairman of Salt Lake Municipality were both dropped. Both came out in the open and said they could not do much due to resistance from party bosses. The Salt Lake Municipality chairman refused to contest from another ward leaving his own for someone else. The chairpersons of Arambagh and Rishra (both CPM-held) both got re-nominations only after declaring revolt against the party. Inter-party feud between Left Front partners have been reported from all over the state.

People were hopeful of change but their aspirations got shattered after TMC unilaterally announced a list of 115 candidates out of 141 councillor seats for Kolkata. Mamata was not ready to allow the Congress to contest more than 25 seats while the Congress had bagged 21 seats in last municipal poll and stood second in more than 30 seats. On the other hand, TMC, which won 47 seats in last election, now wants to contest 116 seats. Mamata says, “As the Congress is not sharing seats with us in Murshidabad, Malda and Jalpaiguri, we have no responsibility to share more seats in Kolkata.” She even refused to call the Congress a ‘friend’ and accused the century-old party of hobnobbing with BJP to help the CPM. While announcing the revised and final list of 141 candidates for Kolkata Municipal Corporation, she thundered, “Even the combined support of the Congress and the BJP will not help CPM in defeating TMC.”

The fact is that, Congress leaders like Keshav Rao and Ahmed Patel tried their level best to keep the alliance intact and requested Mamata to share just 41 seats. Later they dropped their demand to only 35 seats. Their effort went in vain. Being ignored by the partner, Congress activists twice vandalised the Pradesh Congress office and broke its window panes. As all parleys failed and the deadline for nomination drew close, the PCC announced a list of 88 candidates for Kolkata Municipal Corporation with a call to renegotiate the whole thing afresh. But, Mamata’s final decision to sever all ties, not only in Kolkata but the whole state, forced the Congress leaders to declare candidates for 100 seats. Interestingly, while she snapped all ties with the Congress in the state, she declared that she and her colleagues will remain in the UPA.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

‘Do not put all eggs in Russian basket’

Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, Additional Director, Centre for Air Power Studies talks to TSI

How do you see the future of IAF?

We need to retrospect what kind of air force we want. Unless we work on the concept, we won’t grow. India is one of the few countries whose political future is bright. Asia has changed a lot. It is a lot more powerful, thanks to the emergence of India and China.

What is your analysis of the Indian Air Force of today?

If we look at hardware, IAF has huge weakness in terms of numbers of combat platforms and numbers are important. I agree that we have platforms like Su 30 MKI which is a powerful machine. But so do our likely adversaries who are growing and not compromising on technology and numbers. So why should India compromise? The fact that the number of combat squadrons has dropped down from the sanctioned 39.5 to below 30 should worry every Indian. But we have great strength of leadership at multiple levels in terms of our men and officers. The Indian Air Force is not the best paymaster but thanks to its rigorous training and motivation, it has done excellently well. It will get back to 39 but it will take some years. With changing times, air power and maritime power have become crucial for national security. IAF has always favoured an Indian-built aircraft rather than imported ones. IAF is extremely sensitive to genuine indigenous technology. IAF has paid a huge price for delayed replacement of MiG 21. The LCA Tejas was supposed to be inducted by 1995 and today after 15 years we are finally doing it. The Indian Air Force should be linked to the process of energising the aerospace and defence industry. We can have a good mix of Tejas and Fifth generation fighter aircraft. In terms of reach, we have to ensure our interests are safeguarded and our Diaspora is protected.

Do you think the procurement process is timely?

The Parliament Consultative Committees and Parliament Standing Committees have been taking long and our procurements are getting delayed. A national decision is made that we will get the LCA and it takes fifteen years. A decision is made to get multi-role aircraft and it takes years because our decision making process is unprofessionally structured. The Kargil Group of Ministers had recommended that we should have multiple teams of decision making with finance, commercial, technological, defence teams arriving at parallel decisions to save crucial time. One a need is confirmed, why can’t there be one window where all the concerned decision makers are present together? There is no integration which is the biggest problem. We need a fast track process. The decision-making system is archaic. Nowhere in the world, it takes so long.

What is your evaluation about the six contenders for MMRCA contract?

The Air HQ prepares a thorough projection of the capability an aircraft is required to have. It is important to understand that all platforms will meet the requirements. It is a complex question and has an equally complex answer. Once the capability evaluation is done, they are put through stringent tests. There are teams sitting in Air HQ going bonkers since last one and half years and the evaluation is going to be foolproof in technical operational terms. The key point is going to be smooth transfer of the technical knowhow. This is going to clinch the deal.

What is your assessment?

I will like to talk as a strategic thinker and would settle for the company which would like to settle as a technology partner. But I would like to put on record that India should not put all its eggs in one basket. And also, it is not right for India to be dependent on one nation for 60 to 70 per cent of its defence requirements. You know which country I am talking about, it’s Russia. No matter how robust our relations are, it’s not strategically advisable. Technologically, the American aircraft is a true AESA technology platforms, others are derived from it. This programme is very important. We should not see it a contract of 10 billion dollars or in the terms of double engine or single engine power. It’s going to shape future technology. At the end of the day, what do we get? What’s the political gain? If I get your aircraft, what do I gain? May be we will get a better position in Afghanistan, who knows? I don’t know. After all, the policies of many countries have changed with such prospects. So we have to leverage this buying power to our positive gain in other areas.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Monday, June 14, 2010

Lindsay the loser…

The “Mean Girls” actress, Lindsay Lohan, isn’t being too kind to herself these days. A veteran at the rehab, Linday still can’t get a grip on her life. She’s been photographed stumbling out of night clubs and her excessive drinking has gotten her thrown out from a movie called “The Other Side”, where she had to play a graduate student working in a deserted island. With no films and friends, recently, after calling her father a “pathological liar” on Twitter, the damsel has now even gotten her family out of her life.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, June 11, 2010

HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE

From a no-cost hospital to a super-specialty medical facility for the poor – retrenched workers of a sick steel company in West Bengal have masterminded the impossible, writes Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee
It is a low-cost hospital where humanity breathes in all its glory. At the helm of affairs are a bunch of workers who lost their jobs when the sick Indo Japan Steel Company in Belur, West Bengal, downed its shutters for good.

Swami Vivekananda’s famed Belur Math is just a few meters away and those who run the Shramajeevi Hospital are clearly inspired by the great man’s words: “Who serves people serves God”.

The Shramajeevi Hospital has had a deep impact. Ask truck driver Umashankar. He was in danger of losing both his legs after a speeding car hit him in Durgapur in the early 1990s. At the NRS Hospital in Kolkata he was told that his legs, which had six cracks, would have to be amputated. But in Shramajeevi he was treated for two months and his legs were back to normal. His total bill was Rs 8,000. Umashankar is back at the wheels.

Mohammad Mehyor, 14, had his oesophagus severely damaged after he consumed hazardous acid while working in a factory. Wheeled into the hospital a few days later, his life was in danger. Doctors replaced his oesophagus with a piece of his large intestine. He is 21 today and leading a normal life.

A bypass surgery at this hospital costs no more than Rs 25,000 while private hospitals in Kolkata and elsewhere charge at least Rs 1 lakh. “The heart operation unit started about four years back and has already performed 300 bypass surgeries. At least 20 of these operations have been done completely free of cost,” said Dr Anil Saha, secretary of the Belur Shramajeevi Swasthya Prakalpa Samiti.

he Samiti now plans to build a 500-bed super-speciality hospital at Belu Milki village near Singur to serve lakhs of poor and working people. The new project is being envisaged as something more than just a hospital.

In the process of building the existing hospital, the workers were led by the sole union. It had no political affiliation. In the early 1980s, the secondary steel factory was in the throes of a crisis and went through a cycle of closures and re-openings. “Our neighbours helped us a lot during that period. But once the factory reopened, we would forget their good deeds, said Phani Gopal Bhattacharjee, the mentor of the hospital.

It was to repay the kindness of the neighbours that the workers of the factory came up with the idea of a free weekly medical check-up for the poor. The exercise began in 1982 in a Hindi primary school. “We soon expanded the scope of the operation to include eye surgery camps and minor surgeries,” said Bhattacharjee.

Junior doctors, who were agitating at that point against the authorities not for better wages but improved medical services in government hospitals, stepped forward to help the workers realise their dream of providing affordable healthcare to the poor.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Ranbir’s no Tweeting Tom!

In the rat race to reign over Bollywood, almost all the hunks and hotties are using Twitter these days. In fact, it is even serving as a platform to mend relationships for many (Abhi saved Sallu from a journalist’s remarks!). But the young Ranbir Kapoor isn’t joining the bandwagon, for he finds the craze for this social networking site amusing and absurd. Disinterested in sharing with his fans the boring details of his life like ‘I am eating’ or ‘I am going to bathroom’, he aims to connect instead through better movies. Well, as long as this blue-eyed boy continues to make his presence felt, we’re not complaining!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Spill threatens Olive ridleys

Locals accused of burying dead turtles to avoid media glare

Oil spill from an Indonesian ship at the Gopalpur port located on the Orissa coast has endangered the lives of Olive Ridley turtles. Besides, it has contaminated the sea water, threatening lakhs of these rare species and more than 1.5 crore hatchlings that are yet to start their seaward journey from the sea beach near Rushikulya River mouth. Thousands of turtles converge on the coast for nesting and laying of eggs.

The spill was spotted by the locals, who informed the authorities. More than 7,000 litres of diesel have been immersed into the sea from the Essar-owned vessel MV Malavika on April 12. Sources say it was carrying some 32,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia. Rabindra Sahu of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee is deeply concerned with the development. He said many turtles died from the oil spill. However, the officials, including Forest department and Pollution Control Board, have rubbished it. Moreover, people in the Gopalpur port are burying the dead turtles in order to hide the fact and not to attract media attention, alleged Rabindra.

Notably, the rare species of turtles prefer this river mouth along the beach instead of the famous site Gahirmatha due to the tidal wave, beach erosion and activities by the defense establishment at the ‘wheeler island’. Since 1994, the rare species of turtles had been sighted nesting here at the sea and laying lakhs of eggs along the beach near Rushikulya River mouth in Ganjam. Suratha Pahan, the chairman of Ganjam, said the oil spill is jeopardising the livelihood of thousands of fishermen living along the coast as they have been asked not to venture for fishing. Ashish Fernandes of the Green Peace said: “We are playing with fire by permitting ports in such eco-critical areas.” This has led to the gradual disappearance of these amazing creatures from the Orissa coast, added Ashish.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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Monday, June 07, 2010

Perfect Ban for perfect Truth

Supreme Court ruling heralds a new era of investigation in India

Recently, the Supreme Court of India in a landmark judgment, banned the use of narco analysis, polygraph, and brain mapping tests on unwilling accused or suspects — a move that is being applauded by lawyers and activists across the country. A bench comprising of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice R.V. Ravendran and J.M. Panchal ruled that forcibly conducting these tests was “an unwarranted intrusion into the personal liberty” that grossly violates Article 20(3) of the Constitution that states the right against self incrimination of the accused. Consequently, any guilt confessed by the indicted during these tests cannot be treated as evidence in the trial courts, which can be a new lease of life to many. The most distinguished among them would be the infamous Ramalinga Raju of the Rs. 7,800 crore Satyam scam, and his co-accused V. Srinivasan. The CBI had used narco tests on them, given the intricate nature of the crime and the charges that they are accused of.

Cops like D.G. Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandiyan and Dinesh M.N., who were charged in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case must also be relieved to know that narco analysis test would no longer be conducted on them as previously planned. Interestingly, a Rajasthan court has granted an application by the Anti Terror Squad (ATS) to conduct a narco test on Devender Gupta, the key person accused in the Ajmer blast that had left three dead and 30 injured, just two days before the SC judgment. After the arrest of Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy, the police was eager to use narco tests to discover more about Naxal operations, but was challenged in Delhi High Court after which the conducting of the tests were stopped. Now, of course, after the judgment, police will have to use different techniques to unravel the secrets of the accused .

Even though the verdict upheld human dignity and human rights, it is certainly a major jolt to investigators, as these tests often led to breakthroughs and have fetched major leads for arrests. Despite this, there are serious doubts regarding reliability of these tests, as many experts feel that nacro analysis falls short of being called a scientific method at all! Dr P. Chandra Sekharan, former Director of the Forensic Sciences Department of Tamil Nadu has called it “an unscientific third degree method of investigation”.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Friday, June 04, 2010

Is CPM on its way to yet another term in west bengal?

Is CPM on the way to yet another term in West Bengal?

Lack of development, apathy towards the poor, scientifically implemented mass rigging, muscle power, murders, guns and goons... These have been the things that made the Leftist people of Bengal angry and furious, and made them think seriously of an alternative after decades. These are the things that made the people to come out and vote against CPM in the elections that have been happening of late, including the Parliamentary elections last year. Of course, that can’t take away the credit from Mamata Banerjee, who has been fearlessly taking the CPM head on! She felt the pulse of Bengal, had the courage and gave the alternative that Bengal was looking for. And it was only after the setback that the otherwise arrogant CPM leaders of Bengal received due to their loss in the general elections last year, that they really started taking her threat seriously and introspecting within.

Initially, with every passing day, Mamata’s popularity only seemed to surge and it seemed that in the upcoming state elections, the results would be a sure victory for the Trinamool Congress – unless she herself did something suicidal like showing her temper and breaking off her relations with the Congress, something that The Sunday Indian had cautioned about earlier too. TSI had also said that the CPM had enough means and relations to influence the Congress to break up with Trinamool and it would require great diplomacy on Mamata’s part to maintain her relations with the Congress. After all, CPM had only got five lakh votes less in the last elections. At the same time, the Congress has its own committed vote bank; and without them, Mamata’s possibility of winning is very less, given that there still remains an unshakeable mass which will vote only for CPM (even though there’s no doubt that CPM's vote bank has shrunk).
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Yearning for home, scrambling for food

As the NSCN (I-M) leader Thuigaleng Muivah’s homecoming issue gathers storm amid the Naga Students Union’s month-long economic blockade, the crisis deepens in Manipur. Food and fuel is hard to find even at five times the actual cost, reports Brown Nongmaithem

Manipur has been in the throes of misery ever since the All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) imposed economic blockade on NH-39 and NH-53 in April this year in protest against the holding of Autonomous District Council (ADC) elections in the five hill districts of Manipur. The ADC elections have not been conducted for more than 20 years.

The blockade, which has the support of the United Naga Council, was intensified after two students died and many were injured in the police crackdown on Thuigaleng Muivah’s supporters at Mao Gate on May 6—the day the NSCN (I-M) leader had planned to enter Manipur. The Ibobi Singh government does not want Muivah to enter Manipur because the Naga rebel leader wants parts of the state to be included in greater Nagaland.

Although Muivah says he just wants to visit his birthplace, Somdal, the Manipur government is not buying his argument fearing disturbing consequences the rebel leader’s visit may have. In a development, the Imphal bench of the Gauhati High Court has instructed the state police to arrest the leaders of the troubling student organisations. But the government does not look in a mood to use force.“We are trying to reopen the Imphal-Jiribam highway. Talks are on with people residing along the route. We don’t want to use force. There are things we do not want to disclose at this moment but we are confident that the highway will reopen and the crisis will be resolved very soon,” Manipur government spokesperson Biren Singh told reporters.

The month-long economic blockade has thrown life out of gear in Manipur. While essential food commodities are becoming scarce by the day, hospitals are running out of oxygen, fuel and life saving drugs. Fuel scarcity brought the functioning of Imphal bench of Gauhati High Court to a complete halt on Monday. According to people’s accounts, they have been getting petrol and kerosene for Rs 150-200 and Rs 60-70 per litre respectively. Cooking gas is selling for Rs 1000 per cylinder in the black market. Even the black markets have run out of supplies. Furious over the home department’s failure to provide mobile security escort for transportation of goods, state consumer affairs, food and public distribution minister Y.Erabot said that the matter would be taken up with the union home minister and relevant authorities at the centre. Even as the state cabinet took a decision to send trucks along NH-53 with security escort for ferrying essential commodities including petroleum product on May 10, 12 and 14, the plans were aborted without giving any reasons after all arrangements were made. Seven loaded truck have been burnt down by unknown armed persons in the wake of the unrest arising out of Muivah’s visit near Kohima in the Nagaland capital and many other important offices of government have been set ablaze in Manipur.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Is China tuning into your cellphone?

Anil Pandey investigates how import of chinese SIMs can compromise national security and he finds the DoT not ignorant but wilfully negligent

The technical terms used by Rajesh Kumar (name changed) were coming like bouncers. He read my mind and brought out two mobile handsets. He handed one to me and asked me to call my wife. After I finished talking to her, Rajesh asked me to call her once more. But this time, the voice on the other side was not that of my wife. It was Rajesh. Rajesh smiled and said, “Why don’t you send her a message?” After I sent it, Rajesh brought his handset forward and showed me. I was dumbfounded. How could the message land in his phone? Rajesh soon clarified, “We have put a spyware on the mobile. Not only we can eavesdrop on your conversations (by diverting your calls using SIM) but we can read your messages and send messages from your number. We can trace your location and we can block your phone.” The risk of spyware always exists in SIM (operating system or application) if the SIM is not produced in a secure environment under control. SIM is the most critical equipment in mobile telephony. It is not only instrumental in authenticating against the mobile network but also the unique identity of the subscriber. Rajesh is a technical expert of communication instruments.

I wondered if in my place, this spyware would be in the phone of a scientist at Indian Space Research Organisation or a senior Army officer or an officer of the ministry of finance or ministry of home? All important information could reach the enemy. That my thoughts were not fanciful was corroborated by the apprehensions expressed by the ministry of home (MHA) and various Intelligence agencies. The MHA has already communicated to the ministry concerned about the possibility of Chinese companies embedding spywares into instruments and software being sold to the Indian cellular operators which might be used to acquire important information. Even then, lakhs of SIM cards are reaching India every week. The Smart card Forum of India reveals that between January and March, 2010, 4.5 crore cards have reached India.


The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) of the ministry of communication and IT issued a circular to cellular operators on December 3, 2009. According to this circular, any operator buying any software or equipment will have to get a security clearance. It was on this basis that the government did not permit several cellular operators to use instruments of Huawei and other such Chinese companies. The circular says, “The Licensee shall apply to the Licensor for security clearance, along with the details of the equipment as well as detail of equipment suppliers and manufacturers including original equipment manufacturers (OEM), before placement of the final purchase order of procurement/ up gradation of equipment/ software for provisioning of telecommunications service under the licence.” It is clear that no cellular operator can buy any equipment without the government’s permission. But before we reveal that how officials at the ministry have their own interpretation of the circular, thereby jeopardizing the security of the nation, you should know that SIM cards made in China are security hazards. In the past, terrorists had used Chinese mobile handsets without IMEI numbers, prompting the government to ban those.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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