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April 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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IT sheds its sheen Bihar bleeds Thank you, Bill |
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Globalisation, WTO style When nation goes on a holiday
System collapse: ominous trends WHEN Harshad Mehta was rampaging the stock market, the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh had diagnosed it as a systemic failure. In those euphoric days the share market was sought to be made as the newly freed regime's financial parliament which should guide and regulate investment and health of the industry. Sadly, since then it has been a story of systematic subversion of the perceived economic democracy by its own gentlemen guardians.
Who is responsible for accidents in
IAF?
Edinburgh to hold world’s biggest ghost hunt
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IT sheds its sheen ACROSS the globe the ongoing US economic slowdown is causing nervousness. It is expected to pick up steam later signalling in a period of hardship for all but the most industrialised regions. Indian exports will take a hit but what will be worrisome is the likely fall in the demand for computer software and skilled workforce. It is already happening and many engineers who had gone to the dollar kingdom on very temporary visas (H1B) are coming back since the sponsorship has ended leading to the cancellation of the visa. They get just 10 days to hunt for a new sponsor or return home. There is a grey area in this. Visas are issued for a fixed duration but sponsorship is open-ended. Strictly speaking they cannot be coterminus but without a sponsor and income, many cannot stay in a country with dwindling demand for software men. They are all advised to return home since even an absolutely meagre saving of $ 2000 will enable them to live comfortably for a year. The impending crisis shows in the decision of Satyam Infosystem to sack the vice-president and about 40 employees of its US subsidiary, Vision Compass, to slash expenditure by 70 per cent. In dollar terms the loss is $21 million, bringing down the overall profit of the mother concern. Infosys of Bangalore is expected to show a growth in profit but that will hide the fact that all its senior executives have accepted a 50 per cent cut in salaries to keep it going. If it sustains its earning capacity, it will mean more to the share market than to the employees and its real profit-making potential. The recent stock market crash which brought prices down by between 70 and 90 per cent has wiped out thousands of prospective millionaires who were the beneficiaries of the employees stock option plan (ESOP). It came with a lock-in period, usually three years, and the dazzling rise in share prices and the dismaying fall have happened within this period. The situation caused by the declining demand for software by US companies is so serious that the National Advisory Committee on Information Technology is meeting later this month to study the problem and suggest to the central government the ways to fight it. One likely suggestion is to ask the Centre to set up a Rs 500 crore relief fund for the IT sector. Subsidy for the IT sector? That sums up the developing scenario. |
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Bihar bleeds OF late, only bad news has been emanating from Bihar. If it is not dreary details of one scandal or the other, then one gets to hear about gruesome killings. It is the latter that has been hogging the headlines as a precursor to the panchayat elections in the state, the first phase of which begins on April 11. Already as many as 40 "mukhiya" candidates have been done to death, as highlighted by The Tribune. That is not the end of the gory story. The state intelligence agencies have warned that before the exercise is over, the toll may be as high as 1,000. That is shocking, even by Bihar standards. The endless bloodletting proves two things. One, there is an irretrievable criminalisation of politics. And two, the writ of the government hardly runs beyond the large cities. In fact, mafia gangs dominate even the state capital. There is a dangerous shrivelling of authority of the various arms of the state. The way Bihar is having to borrow guns from the neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh shows how critical the situation is. On the other hand, the criminals are well armed with the latest AK-47s and other automatic weapons. The situation has emboldened them to display these weapons with impunity. They get a free supply of arms and ammunition from across the porous Nepal border. The rest are supplied by the local illegal manufacturing units. The police is hamstrung not only by the paucity of weapons and equipment, but also by the constant interference of political bosses. It is common knowledge that many legislators are either associated with various criminal gangs or are active themselves. Panchayat elections are not being contested on party lines. But the polarisation is complete and every party is doing the best it can to ensure the victory of its own candidates. Extremists have called for a poll boycott and their shadow also looms large on the elections. The scenario is particularly alarming because of the fact that the enemies of the nation can exploit the situation to their advantage. One shudders to think how inexpensive it is to purchase the services of hired killers. Supposing international forces start recruiting agents in the hinterland of Bihar, they can wreak havoc not only in that state, but all over the country. Even more disturbing is the fact that this degeneration has not evoked as much outrage as it should have. |
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Thank you, Bill AS President of the United States of America whatever Mr William Jefferson Clinton did had an element of drama. The White House occupancy played only a marginal role in building his charisma. Perhaps, the world's most powerful address got more out him than the other way round. India has two valid reasons now for according a special place of respect and honour to him. The first reason, for the special treatment, is the upswing in Indo-US ties after his official visit last March. As India's most important State guest in recent memory he virtually won every heart. He caused the elected representatives to behave like school children when he addressed the joint session of Parliament . It was the hangover of the Clinton visit which saw External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh being allowed an unscheduled meeting with President George W. Bush during his recent visit to Washington. Anyone placing a bet on Mr Bush coming to India stands a fair chance of becoming a crorepati. Mr Clinton's visit placed India on a pedestal and most future US Presidents may find themselves inadvertently showing more than routine interest in the country. Of course, India is also one of the most happening places in the world. The second reason for according Mr Clinton a special place in Indian society was provided by him when he returned to India as the most powerful ambassador of goodwill ever sent by the USA to India. The visit revealed that private citizen Bill Clinton has more charisma than what was on display during his stay in White House. But the people of India would remain eternally grateful to him for visiting parts of the quake ravaged Gujarat for launching rehabilitation projects for the survivors. He agreed to visit Gujarat not because he had to kill time, but because of his genuine concern for the victims of the devastating earthquake. Mr Clinton is a very handsome man. But what sets him apart from other handsome persons is his equally beautiful soul. His is American by birth, but his concerns transcend physical and social barriers. There is a lesson in his Gujarat visit for India's large army of former Prime Ministers. How many of them have found time to make even a ritual visit to the devastated region? Of course, in India politicians never retire. And in their world there is no confusion about giving priority to politicking over actually serving the people. |
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Globalisation, WTO style ON April 1, as dark clouds of uncertainty gathered over its economy, India took a major step towards trade globalisation by lifting quantitative restrictions (QRs) on the import of the remaining batch of 715 items, of a total of over 10,000 entities. This has been celebrated by “free trade” votaries as burial of the final “vestiges” of the “Licence Permit Raj”, and India’s entry into the great “Global Bazaar”, and hence into unprecedented prosperity. It was also hyped up as a decisive moment in history as India wakes to “life and freedom, and to Kraft cheese, Tyson’s chicken wings, Johnnie Walker whisky, Armani suits, Gucci shoes, Davidoff cigars, Rolex chronometers... and second-hand cars” — i.e. a consumer paradise (The Economic Times). This, we are told, is India’s “Tryst with Destiny” all over again. However, just the opposite may be true. The Indian economy is likely to lose much more than it stands to gain by joining the “free trade” regime. More important, some of its poorest and most underprivileged people — marginal peasants, landless dalits and labourers in small enterprises — are liable to be badly hit. The cost of wholesale destruction of livelihoods is far too frightening to contemplate, leave alone compensate through marginally increased competition. One does not have to be a swadeshi nationalist or even a protectionist to say this. Indeed, the new trade regime is also protectionist — perversely, of the wrong things. The new regime will allow unlimited imports, without licence or special permit, of a wide range of goods, from pencils to cars, garments to cosmetics, liquor to lingerie, rice and wheat to milk products, fruits and vegetables to furnishings and electronic appliances — all that the Indian elite drools over. It will do nothing to cheapen inputs for India’s crisis-ridden agriculture or small industry. By generating an unprecedented bonanza for the top 5 per cent of the rich, it will put India in the league of Third and Fourth World states (e.g. much of Africa or Latin America) which long ago stopped making a fuss about rich-poor disparities and created tiny enclaves for the affluent. To start with, the government is being duplicitous about the QRs. From one corner of the mouth, it says there was no alternative to lifting them, given the rejection of its plea for more time by the WTO Disputes Settlement Body in the light of our $40 billion foreign reserves. From the other corner, it says its decision was purely voluntary and guided by the national interest, independently of the WTO. The first argument is false. The government had one more year in which to lift the remaining QRs. It advanced the date because of a bilateral deal not with the WTO, but with the USA—three months before, and as the price for, Mr Clinton’s last visit to India. Even if the first argument were right, the government had a number of WTO-compatible options. It could have put some of the 715 items on a “prohibited” list (which now has 520 entries). It could have shifted many to a “special” list for imports only by designated enterprises. Or it could have announced flexible tariffs on “sensitive” agricultural items. However, so unconcerned was the government to explore the available options that it went headlong into QR lifting without safeguards or proper preparation. It wants to double exports in four years, but has devised no strategy, barring barren, shop-worn “special economic zones”, which have failed in India. It wants to send agricultural produce to far-away lands. But it has done nothing to remedy today’s domestic trade situation where Punjab and UP farmers can’t sell in Orissa or Haryana. This suggests not discriminating calculation but prejudgement in favour of “free” imports. Our policy-makers couldn’t have been taken in by the WTO’s rhetoric which in 1995 promised the Third World a $500 billion trade bonanza. This never materialised. The WTO agreement is heavily biased towards the rich countries. The new policy is unbalanced in other ways too. It shows a shameless bias in favour of three sleazy industries: liquor; cigarettes and automobiles. These are the only large-industry groups that make it to the pompously termed “War Room” set up to monitor 300 “sensitive” items like rice, wheat, tea, coffee, jowar, bajra, maize, etc. Worse, these “luxury” items will enjoy much greater protection than essential commodities. The duty on cars will be a prohibitive 180 per cent, as opposed to a lax 45 to 80 per cent for most food items! On liquor, the basic duty will be 150 per cent, plus the highest-rate countervailing duty. That’s not all. Importable cars must be less than three years old, right-hand drive and with a speedometer in ‘kilometres. They must conform to strict emission norms. They can only be brought in through Mumbai. This means that only Britain (which makes among the world’s costliest cars) or far-away Japan can be an automobile source. A two-year-old car will cost 75 per cent more than a spanking new vehicle! There couldn’t be more blatant protection for the “domestic” car industry — itself heavily dominated by multinational corporations. By contrast, many indigenous industries which face serious threats or unfair competition from dumping, such as synthetic textiles, dry-cell batteries, toys and watches, do not make it to the “sensitive” list. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the lobbies at work in the corridors of Udyog Bhavan or the PMO. However, even this bias pales in comparison to the threat to Indian agriculture from liberalised imports. Already, imported palmolein and soyabean oil have spelled ruin for our oilseed-growers. Many farmers have abandoned mustard. The phenomenon is now affecting pulses, our biggest protein source. Farmers last year compelled the government to raise the duty on palmolein to 80 per cent. But India has a one-sided agreement with the USA on a “binding” rate of just 45 per cent on soyabean oil. Its imports are swelling! Imported oils now account for nearly 40 per cent of consumption — double the level two years ago. This phenomenon could spread to other crops, especially basic cereals. The world market in grain always fluctuates. There is no reason to believe that cheap imports of, say, rice or maize won’t hurt Indian growers. Indeed, price fluctuations in a single year could wipe them out altogether. To be ruinous, such downward price movements don’t have to endure long. Even one season is enough. Farmers have no staying power. Such imports can also be manipulated. Indian businessmen are adept at this. Their machinations, and possible failures of the “War Room,” will cause havoc. After the Tehelka tapes, stockmarket scams, MMTC- and STC-centred scandals, and raids on tax officials (from the same Indian Revenue Service that will monitor “sensitive” items), the public can have little confidence in the “War Room”. After all, we have only recently had wheat, sugar and urea import scams too! The QRs are being lifted in the name of the “consumer” — as if s/he were different from flesh-and-blood human beings, i.e. farmers, workers, artisans and clerks... the people. But indiscriminate imports could quickly erode our foreign reserves and harm the economy. The potential for an increase in luxury imports is as high as 15 per cent. It is far from clear if exports can makeup the slack unless the infrastructure improves and the capital goods industry looks up. Today, the manufacturing sector is plumbing the depths with a growth rate as low as 2.9 per cent. The capital goods industry is turning sick. Non-oil imports have decreased 8 per cent because of the poor state of Indian industry. India’s export composition remains classically “colonial”, with primary commodities, garments, diamonds, etc., still making up the bulk. However, the government wants India to continue along this same disastrously colonial track. Mr Murasoli Maran’s emphasis is on a five-fold increase in agricultural exports, including basic cereals, etc. But this is not one-tenth as easy at it appears. Non-foodgrain exports, e.g. flowers, herbs, or fruit, are hard to promote. Their markets are highly monopolistic. Many cut-flower growers have gone out of business because the Dutch auction process excludes them unless they willingly undersell to compete with cut-rate producers from Guatemala or Mozambique. Maharashtra’s strawberry and grape producers are hard put to cater to a market that demands uniformity of look, evenness, long shelf-life, etc. and low prices. Any diversion of land to non-food crops could undermine what’s left of our food security. This is unacceptable. An even greater no-no is export of foodgrains. It is obscenely immoral to export foodgrains when the Indian people do not have enough to eat. Nutritionists say minimum foodgrains availability should be 300 kg per capita per annum. China meets this standard, as do most middle-level human development countries. India’s annual food availability is only 200 kg. It is shameful that the government should even think of exporting grain before feeding the people. But that is the cruel logic of “free trade”. We must resist it before it devours us, and turns our elite into compulsive consumers of chemicalised packaged foods and exclusive brands of cosmetics, while starving and impoverishing the millions. |
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When nation goes on a holiday IT’S party time folks. Put it down to mid-summer madness, but the nation is on holiday. A country which has come a full circle from the Nehruvian dictum
aaram haraam hai to today’s maxim
kaam haraam hai. What else can one say about a country where work is a dirty four letter word which has been erased from our collective psyche. All one needs is an excuse and before one can blink, a holiday is yours for the asking. It comes in various forms: national, restricted, religious, regional, births, deaths et al. Perhaps, it has something to do with our laid back attitude dictated by a
chalta hai and
ki pharak painda hai thinking. The moot point is: can a poor cash-strapped nation afford this luxury? Can one live life kingsize while fighting for survival? Don’t holidays eat into our national productivity and sap economic strength? Play havoc with the timetables of schools and colleges? What about the crores lost in trading when banks and markets shut down? Yet another day off means a slow-down in policy implementation. Each of these nibble away at legislative, educational, economic and executive fabric of the nation. Tragically, no one seems to care a damn. If the powers-that-be did, we wouldn’t be working less than half a year. Out of 365 days, the governments works a five-day week. This translates into 104-weekend holidays. Earned leave 30 days, medical leave 56, casual leave 12, gazetted 17 and restricted another 30. A grand total of 249 days of relaxation or recuperation, leaving just 116 working days! For women there is an additional 90 days of maternity leave. Consider the first half of this month. The government was practically shut down for nine days. The holiday spell actually began on Saturday March 31; Monday April 2 was Ramnavami, Tuesday and Wednesday were officially working days. It’s another matter that the babudom had more or less taken casual leave en bloc. Thursday was Moharram, Friday Mahavir Jayanti and another Saturday-Sunday weekend off. This week too there is going to be a three-day weekend, Friday being a holiday: Good Friday. Different regions have still more holidays — the South, for example, shuts down for Pongal and Onam, Bengal closes five days for Durga Puja and Maharashtra for Ganesh Chaturthi. Asserted a senior official: “This is a bonanza. The Gods themselves seem to have joined hands to give us this break.” So, should we simply shrug our secular shoulders and pin it down to an occupational hazard of a multicultural heritage? Certainly not. The culprit is none other than our bankrupt politicians who in a burst of competitive populism announce holidays to pander to their vote-banks. Remember, V.P. Singh as the Prime Minister declared prophet Mohammed’s birthday a holiday. Never mind that in no Muslim country is it listed as a holiday. What to say of Prime Minister Vajpayee. To prove his Constitutional credentials, he declared a national holiday on Ambedkar’s birth centenary on April 14 last year. Not only that. When national leaders die, the Government promptly turns these grave occasions into farces by declaring a holiday. People gladly take off. Work is suspended and gaiety takes over. Not for them the fact that in times like these sombre reflections would be more appropriate. And considering the surfeit of so-called national leaders, this has become a rule, rather than an exception. The death of Devi Lal on Friday last led his son, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, to declare an instant holiday and State mourning for seven days. Undoubtedly, Devi Lal was Haryana’s tallest leader and his contribution to the kisan cause was great. But wouldn’t a more fitting legacy be prospering farmers? True, none can fault the desire to break free from the rough and tumble of contemporary existence. However, as the saying goes there are no free lunches in life. Every holiday costs India in the region of more than Rs 30 crore by way of loss of production and business transactions. Why is it that nobody seems to think about this problem and come up with a solution? Why, for instance, can’t the government and banks adopt the principle most private companies follow, of instituting sectional holidays or allowing compensatory offs? Simply because work comes at the bottom of the priority list. Many efforts have been made in the past but all came to naught. In fact, the Fifth Pay Commission suggested just two holidays against the list of 17 gazetted and two restricted holidays. However, its recommendations were rubbished. The same treatment was meted out to the recommendations made by the Administrative Reform Commission in 1971. The Commission had recommended deleting Independence Day from the list of holidays. Its observation? “It appears to be unnecessary to declare holidays on both Republic Day and Independence Day. Since both of them have more or less similar significance, an extra holiday means an extra outlay of the order of Rs 11 crore for the purpose of maintaining the level of output.” The ARC was shocked to note that the system of two restricted holidays in a year to suit the convenience of small religious groups had been converted into two extra holidays for all. A distressed ARC noted: “We must not forget that the factors that build up motivation in a social system as a whole are also the same that build up motivation in a small sub-system of that social system such as a government department or a business firm. A sub-system cannot escape the influence of the larger social system.” INFA |
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System collapse: ominous trends WHEN Harshad Mehta was rampaging the stock market, the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh had diagnosed it as a systemic failure. In those euphoric days the share market was sought to be made as the newly freed regime's financial parliament which should guide and regulate investment and health of the industry. Sadly, since then it has been a story of systematic subversion of the perceived economic democracy by its own gentlemen guardians. It is not a SEBI or the RBI alone. Every institution and body which was to look after the new free regime in place of the old licence raj was subverted from within. Mr Yashwant Sinha has used every tool in his Budget to induce the small depositors to switch from the banks and safe schemes to corporate investment. The stocks scam from Koltata to Mumbai and Ahmedabad has even dashed these hopes. Now we are told that the very watchdogs set up to put down the speculators and money launderers had deliberately winked at the daylight loot of the investors' money. The RBI, the body that was once known for its integrity and authority, knew about the wild price rigging of the Global Trust Bank as early as February end. Instead of taking prompt action, it only routinely informed the
SEBI. The latter, for reasons best known to it, quietly allowed the scam, leading to suicides and miseries to thousands of honest investors. Now the Income Tax Department has begun a probe into the huge swindling, SEBI the GTB price rigging and the CBI the Madhopura Cooperative Bank loot. All this will go on and on until more such scams break out. The real question is how did the RBI and SEBI fail? When the institutions flounder one after another, Mr Yashwant Sinha, as guardian of the financial sector, cannot absolve himself of the responsibility. A Finance Minister's job is much more than attending the CII and chambers meetings. Watch the array of calamities right under his North Block — M.S. Shoes affair, CRB collapse, price rigging in firms like Sterlite, Videocon, plantation schemes etc. The root cause of all this has been the failures at the top which embolden the crooks to loot freely without the fear of detection. The erosion of authority is worst reflected in the case of the customs scam. For the first time in India's history, an official of the rank of Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs had to be arrested for running a swindling racket for so long. Every other watchdog agency under the Vajpayee Government pretended ignorance until a chance arrest led to the exposure. Led by B.P. Verma and his son, searches were conducted at the residences and premises of over 48 officers of the CBEC. The vast network involved unscrupulous businessmen, middlemen and hidden political hands. The response of the establishment has been still curious. When an entire crucial Revenue Department went on a cheating spree, the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister took it as a case of routine aberration. The Central Vigilance Commissioner had at least thrice brought B.P. Verma's corrupt background to the government's notice. Sinha had appointed him despite a written warning by the CVC. Every rouge knows that with the right kind of political pull, one can get away with any crime. It is such behaviour of the political leadership that has led to the corrosion of the system. A whole range of financial bodies which are supposed to take over as ‘‘state withdraws’’, have come under cloud — the stocks, UTI, commercial banks and now the humble cooperative banks. Clearly, we are heading for the worst kind of crisis involving the erosion of constitutional, executive and academic institutions built over a period of time. It encompasses the party system, Parliament, Cabinet, the criminal justice system, defence, film and sports. Perhaps the one institution which still remains unscathed is the Election Commission. Underworld links have tarnished the matinee idols and cricket heroes, hitherto highly respected. Now it is the turn of the film awards. Every premier cultural, historic, foreign relations, research and academic institution and body has suffered ignominy due to mindless politicisation and saffronisation. Some have been dragged to court. With wanton interference, they have lost their integrity and academic respectability. Even a person like Mr M.L. Sondhi, an old parivar man and Chairman of the ICSSR, has now written to Mr Vajpayee alleging interference by the ruling party politicians. Vulnerability and failures of the criminal justice system do not need elaboration. Politicisation of the CBI has been legion. Courts have repeatedly assailed the CBI's dubious role. In the Priyadarshini Matto case, the CBI was found to have destroyed evidence. In defence, kickbacks of purchases may be an old story. But Mr George Fernandes' intrusive activism has done irreparable harm to age-old traditions and the command system in the armed forces. He has introduced the disruptive practice of ministerial interference even in routine matters in barracks and the field. He unabashedly sacked senior personnel and chose chiefs on his whims. His frequent visits to field formations and the on-the-spot disposal of justice have damaged the respect for command, so crucial in defence. The media hailed him for his instant assurance of special clothes and facilities to the forces in Siachin, where some counted, he had made as many as 60 trips. This made him a hero among the jawans but eroded the institutional respect. Officers went to him directly and got their senior's decision reversed. Though aware of the damage, Mr Vajpayee is apparently scared to dissuade the NDA's chief firefighter. Erosion of Parliament as a debating and deciding forum has been a gradual process for which the media should also share
blame. Most often well argued debates get lost amidst celebrity-based coverage. Final approval of a
Bill, the Minister's reply and noisy scenes take most of the coverage. This prompts even those who otherwise do considerable home work, to resort to gimmicks. This is a common complaint by veteran parliamentarians. The practice of giving one sentence to each speaker has become old fashioned. Thus the tendency of making Parliament as a voting machine instead of a forum of enlightened debate has been the major reason for its qualitative decline. The collapse of the party system is more frightening. Party bosses plead helplessness in checking the cross-votings in Rajya Sabha elections. Electoral alliances have become purely a bargain for seats which itself is marred by protests and walkouts by the local leaders. No one has any qualm to break a seat accord if another more attractive offer comes. Mamata did it to the BJP and Mahanta to the Left. Almost overnight. After the elections, the siege of the party system is going to worsen with more floor-crossings to grab power. Corrosion of institutions is a sure sign of the weakening political authority. As the executive becomes fragile and the establishment turn weak, its individuals who become bolder. Even a mediocre CBI chief had once briefly tried to depict himself as a crusader. Some others do it by indulging in endless cheating. Either way the established institutions get eroded. |
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Who is responsible for accidents in
IAF? THE ever so often occurring accidents in the Indian Air Force (IAF) are a shocking experience. Their recurring nature is agonising and distressful. Every loss of life obliterates a bright spot somewhere. The morale of the force gets a beating and the fair name of the IAF gets tarnished. The Air Force feels destitute, for it has little control over its destiny. It can only ask for what it needs; it depends on others who decide what it needs. For our busy politicians and bureaucrats, even flight safety is a mundane affair. Seeped deep in power and corruption, the loss of an aircraft or an unknown life far away somewhere is a non-event for them. After all, hundreds die in this country every day. How does it matter to them if another MIG crashes? Here is a sample of the tragedy: As many as 20 aircraft were lost and 10 pilots were killed between April and December, 2000. No air force nay, no country, can afford to lose a squadron plus aircraft and so many pilots in such a short period. Life is dear and irreplaceable. It costs anything up to Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore to train a fighter pilot. The aircraft can be replaced but it too costs hundreds of crores per piece. India is too poor a country to bear this recurring burden. What is disconcerting is that it is the Russian fleet that is taking the toll of the IAF. Almost 75 per cent of the category I fighter accidents pertain to the Russian MIGs (MIG-21s, 23s, 27s and 29s), of which the MIG-21 Bis alone accounts for about 40 per cent of the accidents. And we have gone in for the upgradation of this very aircraft. In contrast, the performance of the western fleet (Mirage 2000 and Jaguar) is good. What stands out is that the Russian aircraft are not only old but also belong to a genre of lower technology. Spares are in short supply and are often acquired from devious sources with doubtful quality assurance. Canabalisation, an acknowledged technical malpractice, though not encouraged, is frequently authorised for want of spares. The problem also lies at the doors of the HAL. Against all principles of accountability, HAL combines in itself the functions of aircraft production as also of quality assurance. The IAF’s attempt to take away the quality control functions as the user service has not been successful. The shortage of spares, frequent canabalisation, ageing aircraft and poor technical supervision, all lead to accidents due to human error (technical). It has been seen that almost one-third of the total category I accidents pertain to this group. A much higher level of maintenance and technical supervision is the need of the hour in order to offset the disadvantage of poor quality control, shortage of quality spares and the ageing factor. Pilot oriented accidents are still a greater cause for concern. The reasons are not far to seek. From subsonic Kiran to the supersonic MIG-21 is a big leap forward. Young and inexperienced pilots find it hard to cope with this quantum jump. And somewhere down the line, the pilot succumbs to this vulnerability. The MIG-21 is not only old and technologically obsolete but one of the most difficult fighter aircraft to handle in the air. That is why accidents due to pilot error account for almost 40 per cent to 50 per cent of all category I accidents. Both the pilot and the technician have little control over the prevalent circumstances in the service. Yet the pilot pays the price with his life. For want of a better option, the IAF is compelled to go in for the upgradation of its existing inventory. A total of 125 MIG-21 Bis aircraft are being upgraded. While the avionics and the weapon system of the aircraft is to be upgraded it will remain by and large the same systemswise and structurally. The LCA which was to enter service in the early 90s, will not be available till 2005 at least. The IAF, however, does not expect it before 2015. On the other hand, the AJT still continues to be negotiated. The negotiations began only in August, 2000, after the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the procurement. Just imagine, the tenders for the aircraft were first invited as far back as the late 80s. The IAF shortlisted the British Hawk and the French Alpha jet more than a decade ago and left the final option to the government. After long years of indecision, the Hawk-100 (66 aircraft) are now being negotiated “ on single vendor basis”. The writer is a retired Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force |
Farewell to L. Ram Sahae
Lala Ram Sahae, BA, BT, Head Master G.S.A.S. High School, was entertained to a number of parties on the occasion of his transfer, as a Principal of the DAV School Karachi. On the evening of the 26th March, dinner party was given by the Arya Samaj, College Section. On the 27th March the public of Harizabad gave a very successful dinner. On the 28th the old boys of the Schools entertained him at a Tea Party, and presented an address in English and a piece of Khaddar to popularise which he did so much. |
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Edinburgh to hold world’s biggest ghost hunt A team of international scientists is set to carry out the world’s biggest ghost investigation. The nine researchers will study prison cells at Edinburgh Castle and the city’s underground passages. They will also ask over 200 people if they feel strange when they are in supposedly haunted places. Edinburgh is reputed to be one of Europe’s most haunted cities. The investigation is part of the Edinburgh Science Festival that runs from April 6 to 17. The investigators will also stay overnight in Mary King’s Close, a disused underground street off the Royal Mile, said to be haunted by plague victims. Dr Richard Wiseman, a psychologist of the paranormal at Hertfordshire University, is leading the study. He’s joined by US psychologist Dr Jim Houran, a leading authority on ghosts. Dr Wiseman studied ghostly activity at Hampton Court Palace in London last year. He says this year’s experiment is more important. “We will scientifically examine the ‘ghostly’ phenomena (and) we will be using more equipment during this investigation than when I was at Hampton Court Palace,” he says. The researchers will be using a range of devices, including a £ 30,000 Oriel thermal imager, usually used by police officers to detect people in undergrowth. Geomagnetic sensors will also monitor changes in magnetic fields - a possible indication of the presence of ghosts.
Edinburgh Evening News NEW HOME ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS 1. PORTABLE PROJECTOR FROM PANASONIC: Panasonic hopes that the next time you deliver a PowerPoint presentation you’ll leave your PC at home. It has just begun to ship the PT-L701SDE ($ 6,000), a portable (3.9Kg) XGA projector which is the first model in its range to feature a slot for an SD (Secure Digital) memory card. Using the projector’s accompanying software and adapter, presenters can convert TIFF images and Microsoft PowerPoint slides into JPEG images which are then archived on to an SD card. Once the card is slotted into the projector it can then replay the images. The projector also features a capture function that saves images from a PC or a VCR on to an SD card. Another key feature is Image Window which freezes an image from the card on the left of the screen while the presentation continues on the right hand side. It’s on sale now. 2. SHARP’S NEW CAMCORDER: Sharp is targeting budding movie-makers with its new flagship digital video camcorder — the VL-ME100H ($ 1,850). Due in British stores next month, it rates as one of the most highly specified consumer camcorders on sale. Similar to last year’s Sharp models, the VL-ME100H boasts a detachable 3.5inch LCD monitor with touch-screen facilities. This enables wannabe Spielbergs to control the camera at a distance, or even shoot images round a corner or over the top of a wall. Other key facilities that are back for another year include an innovative zoom microphone and an option called Super Cats Eye that enables users to shoot black and white images in total darkness. Potentially the most useful of the new facilities for PC owners is a DV-in socket. When used in conjunction with its DV-output, this enables PC users to download footage from the camera to their computer, edit it and then transfer it back to the camcorder. The VL-ME100H is also the first Sharp camcorder that can store still images on either a Multimedia or an SD (Secure Digital) storage card. Video image quality has also been enhanced with the introduction of a new 1.3 megapixel CCD. A second Digital Video model, the VL-ME10H, boasts the SD/Multimedia card slot and the zoom microphone, but takes lower resolution still images and has a fixed LCD monitor, is set to reach the stores in June. No news on prices for that model. 3. CREDIT CARD SIZE DIGITAL CAMERA: A digital camera so tiny that it can hide behind your credit card is likely to be on sale in the UK by the end of the year. The wallet-friendly SMaL Ultra-pocket is 865x54mm long and tall and just 6mm wide, yet somehow manages to find room for a supplied Multimedia card slot and a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Resolution is limited to VGAsmall at 640x480. It is fine for sending images as emails and posting them on the web but not much else. There’s no flash either, although the maker believes that the camera’s Autobrite technology (which lightens the dark details of a shot), would make it superfluous anyway. The camera is accompanied by a USB connector and is compatible with Windows. It comes with an 8MB Multimedia card, which can store around 40 images. The camera goes on sale in the US in late summer for $ 129. According to the manufacturer, a European version will go on sale at the same time.
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SPIRITUAL NUGGETS I resort to Mahakali, who has 10 faces, 10 legs and holds in her hands the sword, disc, mace, arrows, bow, club, spear, missile, human head, and conch, who is three-eyed, adorned with ornaments on all her limbs, and luminous like a blue jewel, and whom Brahma extolled in order to destroy Madhu and Kaitabha, when Vishnu was in mystic sleep. —Meditation of Mahakali ***** By you this universe is borne, by you this world is created. By you it is protected, O Devi and you always consume it at the end. O you who are (always) of the form of the whole world, at the time of creation you are of the form of the creative force, at the time of sustentation, you are of the form of the protective power, and at the time of the dissolution of the world, you are of the form of the destructive power. You are the supreme knowledge as well as the great nescience, the great intellect and contemplation, as also the great delusion, the great devi as also the great asuri. **** You are the primordial cause of everything, bringing into force the three qualities. You are the dark night of periodic dissolution. You are the great night of final dissolution, and the terrible night of delusion. You are the goddess of good fortune, the ruler, modesty, intelligence, characterised by knowledge, bashfulness, nourishment, contentment, tranquility and forbearance. Armed with sword, spear, club, discs, conch, bow arrows, slings and iron mace. —From the Devi-Mahatmyam (Shri Durga Saptashati), 75-81 ***** Mother, I am the yantra (the instrument). Thou art the yantri (the mover) I am the room, Thou art the tenant; I am the sheath, Thou art the sword; I am the chariot. Thou art the charioteer. I do as Thou makest me do. I speak as Thou makest me speak; I behave as Thou within me behavest; Not “I”, Not “I” but Thou. —From Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna, 994 |
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