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| Wednesday, September 27, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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A coy tokenism Populism unlimited Red tape and cable TV |
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PUTIN AS RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Petroleum crisis: why get caught in a trap?
Unknown Indore doctor now top US surgeon
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GOVERNMENTS are the biggest organised spendthrifts and the one at the Centre is no exception. Occasionally it feels alarmed at its own splurging, very much like a glutton or a drunkard does, and swears to improve itself. But utterly untutored in frugal ways, it either comes out with an elaborate tokenism or makes very tall promises only to relapse to the bad old habits within days. The central government went through this well-drilled contortion on Monday, promising to slash all non-salary and non-plan expenditure by 10 per cent. Funnily, it did not disclose the expected savings it was eyeing, and the reason is simple. It wants to create an illusion that the proposed cut is the answer to the uncontrollable financial crunch it is facing. Sadly, the truth is the opposite. The maximum amount by which the total expenditure will come down is a measly Rs 1300 crore, a mere Rs 100 crore more than what it will spend by way of additional dearness allowance (Rs 1200 crore) to its employees announced just a few days earlier. Or about the same amount it is forgoing every month by not increasing the prices of petroleum products. Even this nominal spending cut is problematic. Going by experience, ad hoc decisions and general instructions do not evoke a sincere response. Most of the time bureaucrats tap their enormous ingenuity to defeat the purpose. For instance, pruning petrol allowance by 10 per cent will be met by seeking transport help from public sector undertakings. That is what is happening to the Haryana government ambitious plan to permanently park luxury vehicles in garages and travel only in modest and old Ambassadors. Reports say that Ministers and senior officers still move about in plush limousines. Freeze on recruitment and abolition of unfilled posts will bring in only nominal relief to the Finance Minister or will be ignored; what is needed is to shrink the workforce to the computer and reforms age standards, and of that there is very little visible effort. The government’s finances are in a precarious state. The fiscal deficit is soaring despite the annual ritual of fixing a lower target (this year 5.1 per cent). Interest payment on past loans comes to well over Rs 1,00,000 crore and government has to borrow Rs 1,17,000 crore this year. In contrast, the latest proposal aims at pruning two allocations: travelling allowance of Rs 1,117 crore and other allowances Rs 11,945 crore. The maximum the government can save by reducing them by one-tenth is about Rs 1,300 crore. In contrast bad loans by nationalised banks total close to Rs 60,000 crore and income tax arrears about the same amount. Some of these amounts are irrecoverable but still the loss by way of interest alone is about Rs 15,000 crore every year. More than the money, what this reveals is the lethargic attitude and that affects spending cuts too. For years now successive Railway Ministers have talked of commercially exploiting the vast tracts of prime land under their control. Nothing has come out of it. The dismal story of disinvestment stems from the same mindset. No investigative journalist has gone into the entertainment expenses of individual Ministers and bureaucrats. In fact the entire budget in this regard can be scrapped without forcing anyone to go hungry. This suggestion will have no takers and for obvious reasons. Asking the men and women who matter to deny themselves a few litres of petrol is too laughable a strategy to rein the burgeoning expenditure. |
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ON Monday both Himachal Pradesh and Haryana announced schemes packed with social contents. Had the experience of the past 50 years been a happy one, the two state governments would have earned deserved praise for their commitment to promoting socially relevant projects. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal launched a special insurance scheme for women from families below the poverty line. Haryana Chief Minister announced the launching of an equally grand scheme for the welfare of senior citizens. Mr Dhumal kick-started the women welfare scheme by presenting a cheque for Rs 48.78 lakh to the General Manager of the National Insurance Company. However, in the case of Haryana the announcement of the decision to set up senior citizens' homes in all the 6, 745 villages was meant to be a birthday gift from the Chief Minister to his father, Mr Devi Lal, who at the ripe age of 87 has been bestowed the status of Tau. Both schemes are essentially public expressions of political populism under the garb of promoting the welfare of the most vulnerable sections of society. The project which seeks to provide insurance cover to below-the-poverty-line women in Himachal suffers from a major flaw. It overlooks the fact that in most rural societies in India the male continues to play the traditional role of the bread-winner. In the Himachal scheme permanent disability would entitle a woman to a one-time compensation of Rs 25,000. Nothing wrong with
the concept, except that the amount is insignificant and will not see her through beyond one year. In the event of her death the amount of Rs 25,000 would go to her family. Pray why? Greedy male members may be tempted to kill her for claiming the insurance money. Even the permanent disability clause can be abused by unscrupulous elements. The only positive feature of the scheme is that she would be entitled to an equal amount as compensation in the event of the death of the male member of the family. The amount for permanent disability should be raised to a more realistic level as also the compensation she would be entitled to in the event of her husband's death. What Mr Chautala has proposed for the senior citizens of Haryana is a scheme which has the word “impossible” (and impractical) inscribed all over it. Senior citizens are being rendered shelterless at an alarming pace in urban centres. Rural India has still not imbibed the urban value of neglecting the senior members of the family. A family may find the task of making both ends meet back-breaking. But the thought of discarding the elder members of the family, like used garments, would never ever cross anyone's mind. Mr Chautala is welcome to set up old age homes (a politically incorrect expression) in every village in Haryana, but this may lead to the end of a tradition which has earned India global respect. The setting up of such homes may tempt the villagers to break the tradition of looking after their elders. It is not difficult to understand the plight of senior citizens encouraged to be neglected by their families and totally at the mercy of an insensitive official machinery. The fear is not exaggerated. Can Mr Chautala show a single women's home, a children's home or a senior citizens' home anywhere in the country from where complaints have never been received about the exploitation of women and children and the neglect of senior citizens? Before wasting public money on building old age homes in every village the Haryana Chief Minister should review the implementation of the pension scheme launched by his father in 1987 with great fanfare. Every month countless senior citizens barter their self-respect for a measly amount of Rs 200. Haryana should first remove the flaws in the pension scheme before going ahead with setting up old people’s homes in every village. If Mr Chautala would care to get down from the high horse of populism, he would realise that setting up well-run homes in urban centres would be more than adequate for meeting the basic needs of the senior citizens deserted by their upwardly mobile children. He would be guilty of committing a crime against senior citizens if he were to take the concept to the villages of Haryana. |
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Red tape and cable TV THE
public of Delhi will be inconvenienced to a great extent by the strike by cable operators but the extreme form of protest is not exactly unjustified. The government has amended the Cable Networks Act in such a way that the cable operators will be held responsible for the content being relayed by Indian and foreign satellite broadcasters. That is draconian all the way. Supposing a programme beamed by a foreign channel has a bit of nudity, which a policewallah finds offensive. It is the neighbourhood cable operator who will be hauled over coals for this “offence”. Nobody has cared to explain how he can keep a 24-hour watch on what a channel shows. Even if he can, why should he be made to do it? The operators are right in demanding that each of the channels - whether encrypted or free-to-air - which beams programmes into India should be made to give an undertaking that all its contents would adhere to a code of programme and advertising laid down by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. But then, bringing about such draconian laws is nothing new for the government. The newspaper industry continues to be governed by laws passed during British times under which if anything that is considered undesirable by the government is published, not only the Editor and the publisher of the paper but even the poor hawker can be punished. The cable law only provides yet another stick to the policemen to beat the cable operators with or to use it as yet another income avenue. However, as far as the amendments concerning the elimination of video piracy are concerned, they are welcome. It has been observed that many cable operators infringe copyright laws and show feature films on their channels with impunity. This piracy is killing the film industry. The new law will make sure that effective steps can be taken to curb the menace. The government has also done well to put a blanket ban on the airing of advertisements featuring liquor, cigarettes and milk food for children. Yet, the same cannot be said about the red signal shown to the beaming of adult programmes even between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Society is now mature enough to decide for itself what is right for it and what is not. Government interference in this regard ought to be minimal, only because it has a history of taking thing to ridiculous limits. Just look at what the Shiv Sena moral police is doing in Maharashtra. Even the track record of the Film Censor Board has been scandalous. If scissors can be applied on “Schindler’s List” just because it showed bare torsos of emaciated Jews being taken to gas chambers, it is futile to expect anything better from a police commissioner who is allowed to sit in judgement over the suitability of a programme shown on the cable TV. What the country needs is an independent regulatory authority on the lines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to oversee the functioning of cable networks and satellite channels. |
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PUTIN AS
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT ON March 26 of this year Mr Vladimir Putin was elected President of the Russian Federation. A little more than 100 days have passed since his elevation. What are the achievements and failures of this former KGB officer and obscure Kremlin official during this period? From the very beginning of his high political career, which in reality started in August last year when he took charge from another security officer, General Stepashin, as Prime Minister, he has been emphasising the need to bring discipline and order, to set things right, to fight corruption, to bring back Russia’s lost prestige and dignity, make it a strong and powerful country by improving its political structure and economy. He has been quite conscious of the impact and influence of the oligarchs and the media owned or controlled by them, the autocratic regional governors and heads of the autonomous republics, behaving like lords since Mr Yeltsin’s ill-advised declaration a few years ago that they can have “as much sovereignty as they can swallow”. Some of them did not care at all for the federal or central authority, did not pay their due part of the federal taxes and passed laws in their regional legislatures which were contrary or contradictory to the federal constitution. So, he started by strengthening the central authority. He divided Russian territory into seven big parts of districts and appointed his own trusted persons, mostly military Generals, in each part to supervise regional affairs. They are like Governor-Generals, who will assert their control and have sobering influence on the regional heads. In this connection, Mr Putin took another important and decisive step. The Federation Council or the Upper House of the Russian parliament consists of regional governors, heads of the autonomous republics, mayors of big cities like Moscow and St Petersburg, etc. As envisaged in the Russian constitution, a number of important decisions and appointments can be implemented only after the approval of the Federation Council. Thus, the Federation Council has powerful levers to influence the state functioning. With the support and backing of the State Duma — the Lower House of Parliament — Mr Putin got a law passed according to which the Federation Council in its present form will cease to exist by the year 2001. As a compensation for the loss of their seats in the Federation Council, Mr Putin has formed a State Council in which all the 89 regional heads will be given representation, but the State Council will be only an advisory body headed by the President himself. It will not have any real power or legal status at least in its present form. So, the regional leaders are being cut to their size. Mr Putin has further weakened their position by axing their portion of tax collections. The regional leaders will have to pay more tax money to the federal government in future than they did so far. Some autonomous republics like Tatarstan and Boshkorstan were virtually not paying any taxes to the federal government. These measures will also help in controlling the separatist tendencies and chances of further disintegration of Russia. Highly influential and financially powerful oligarchs presented another serious challenge to Mr Putin. In Mr Yeltsin’s time, some of them like Mr Boris Berezovsky had become essential and integral part of the Kremlin’s inner circle, the so-called “family”. These oligarchs played very important, even decisive role in forming the government, its policies and appointments of ministers and prime ministers. Tycoons like Mr Berezovsky had helped in getting Mr Yeltsin elected as President and later reaped financial benefits and political weight. They had helped Mr Putin also in his election as President. The “Unity” political movement, which played the decisive role in Mr Putin’s election campaign, was backed by some of the oligarchs and they were hoping to get rewarded for their role. But Mr Putin is quite conscious of the bad name and public criticism brought by the Kremlin’s inner circle and its close association to Mr Yeltsin and his daughter Tatyana Dyatchenko. He, therefore, has to keep them at a distance from himself. At the same time, Mr Putin cannot ignore their role in the economic and financial fields. Thus, he is trying to deal with them tactfully. At the end of July, he held a meeting with 18 oligarchs in Kremlin. Some oligarchs like Mr Berezovsky, Mr Gusinsky and Mr Abramovich were not invited to this meeting and probably ignored consciously. Mr Putin told them that both sides — the government and the oligarchs—have to follow the fair rules of the game. He assured them that his government had no intention of reversing the privatisation of the state enterprises or property or the policy of the market economy, and the business community could function as it did in the last few years. But he expects them to work more honestly, pay their taxes properly and regularly, keep themselves away from politics and concentrate on economic activities only. Most of the oligarchs have welcomed Mr Putin’s assurance of not changing the privatisation policy in general. The problem of media control is also of immense importance and directly connected with tycoons like Mr Berezovsky and Mr Gusinsky. Mr Berezovsky owns 49 per cent shares of the first television channel known as ORT or Public Television and as number of influential dailies and journals. Similarly, Mr Gusinsky owns the fourth television channel known as NTV or Independent Television — a highly popular and professionally prestigious channel. Mr Gusinsky’s Media-Most Company owns a number of respected dailies and journals also, besides Independent Television. Tycoon Berezovsky backed Mr Putin in his presidential election campaign, whereas Mr Gusinsky’s Media-Most was quite critical of Mr Putin and his supporting political movement “Unity”. Media-Most continued its critical approach of Mr Putin’s Chechnya policy and some other aspects such as keeping most of the officials of Mr Yeltsin’s administration intact. In the beginning of July, Media-Most came under attack on the pretext that its secret department recorded secret government matters, conversation of ministers, high officials, etc. The owner of Media-Most, Mr Gusinsky, was imprisoned and its offices were searched by commandos. At that time sections of the Russian media had protested against such action and behaviour of the government and President Putin. Later on, Mr Gusinsky was released and cases against Media-Most were withdrawn. Tycoon Berezovsky, who had backed and helped Mr Putin to come to power had probably hoped to be rewarded in the form of remaining close to the Kremlin, but it appears that Mr Putin has disappointed him. During the last few days he openly spoke against Mr Putin and accused him of concentrating all the power in his hands. He told the French media in Paris on September 5 that the Russian authorities were forcing him to sell his 49 per cent shares of Public Television or ORT to the government, but he will not do so and give them to the Russian intelligentsia representatives. Mr Berezovsky is generally not liked by the Russian public and politicians (partly because he is a Jew), considered as a dark horse and master of cunning and destructive political intrigues, but his fear of authoritarian, even dictatorial tendencies of Mr Putin’s regime are shared by many. Reforming the army is another tough task. Mr Putin has repeatedly said that he wants to have a very competent, efficient and modernised army and other security services. Recently he fired six senior Generals, considered at the root of the conflict between the Defence Minister and the Chief of the Army Staff. He has been working hard with the members of his Security Council to chalk out a realistic plan of reducing the army. A few days back it was announced by the Defence Minister that by the year 2003 the army strength would be reduced by 3,50,000 men. This will release funds for the improvement of the efficiency of the army. In the economic field, his programme of development and bold tax reform (a flat rate of 13 per cent) has been favourably received by Western experts also. Mr Putin is trying to reform the chaotic customs laws and improve the banking and legal systems of the country. Without such reforms the flight of capital cannot be checked and investment of foreign and indigenous capital in the productive efforts cannot be ensured. Some of the recent successes in the economic field are partly the results of high international oil and gas prices, and Russia as a big exporter of these items has benefited considerably. In the field of international affairs, Mr Putin has succeeded in building his image of a sober, balanced, predictable, strong, sometimes quite tough but reasonable leader. He is trying to balance Russia’s relations with the East and the West. Young and energetic, Mr Putin has succeeded in showing his power, determination and strong will to bring discipline and set things right. As a result of this, his popularity and opinion-poll ratings have increased considerably. But the continuation of the Chechnya war, widespread corruption, acts of terrorism, his failure to take immediate action and the lack of his personal interest in the tragedy of “Kursk” submarine have brought disappointment to many, and his rating has suffered to some extent though Russians still pin high hopes on him. One of the most important questions being raised is related to Mr Putin’s ability to ensure discipline and order with freedom and democratic values and implement the reform programmes. But if he reverts to autocratic and authoritarian rule, then it will be disastrous for Russia. The country’s history is a testimony to this. |
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Petroleum crisis: why get caught in a trap? SO much has been and continues to be written on the existing international oil crisis with a mix of frightening facts and figures that it may be best to avoid "sums" and concentrate on "substance". Sums have, in any case, ceased to matter, thanks to the steady, intermittent and unending depreciation of the Indian rupee. A zero more, or a zero less. Who bothers? The "substance" of the matter is that now, as in the past oil importing countries have remained, and will continue to remain, at the mercy of oil exporting nations in general, and on unforeseeable international events such as the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. In turn, oil exporters have learnt their lessons. Things have, in fact, come to the present stage with the active help of two powerful non-OPEC oil producing and exporting countries — Norway and Mexico. One would suspect, and not without good reason, that some support has also come from the oil majors as well, now regrouped into "four" from the original "seven sisters". After all, with the prices touching their rock bottom, the oil majors were losing profits and were having to divert capital from exploration and developmental activities to devising measures for reducing production costs, to keep oil flowing from their fields. In the North Sea alone, the production costs per barrel have halved in the last decade. That Indian oil producers have not derived even near-comparable cost reduction benefits, is another matter, and not the part of this presentation. With more than a three-fold increase in oil prices added to this reduction in production costs, the extent of the profitability of the oil majors can easily be imagined. But it is best to ignore the ‘‘sums’’ and to concentrate on the ‘‘substance’’. The second matter of ‘‘substance’’ is as to what India did during this long period of falling oil prices? Our foreign exchange reserves took away all incentives for "energy conservation" and for making determined efforts to increase our domestic production of crude oil. Howsoever sad the conclusion may seem, we are solely to blame for our plight. Why blame OPEC? It is not a charitable organisation being run for the benefit of oil wasting nations. It is in fact happy that wastage continues, not only in the largest economy of the world, the USA, but also in the largest democracy, India. On the issue of "energy conservation, it may probably not be correct to put the blame entirely on the falling oil prices. We have, at best, given lip sympathy to this very important factor. The concept of ‘‘energy conservation’’, without any impact on GDP growth, always made good economic sense and was given official recognition by the Indian Government as far back as the early seventies, when OPEC first assumed the role of fixing oil export prices. Unfortunately, it was never taken seriously thereafter. That putting up slogans on big boards at petrol pumps, or organising oil conservation weeks, or issuing big advertisements in the media is totally ineffective, should have been clear even to the least imaginative of the bureaucrats or politicians. To make matters worse, energy conservation cells have generally been manned by either unwanted staff, or those who had to be favoured with a posting, for whatever reason, to avoid a transfer or to avoid retirement. Even where such cells produced good ideas, they received insufficient recognition. Little wonder that while in rich countries, notably Japan, the number of energy units consumed per unit of the GDP (the energy coefficient) fell steadily and sharply, India concentrated on the mistaken philosophy of pumping in more products so that GDP growth did not slow down. It was not for want of knowledge. Technical and economic journals were full of details of how the "energy coefficient" has steadily improved in rich countries. Case studies abound. Their GDP grew steadily, and there never was any question of "energy conservation" having in any way an impact on GDP growth. In fact, it improved profitability. The ‘‘energy coefficient’’ improved by up to 40 per cent in Japan. The figures for other developed countries are not so high, but still impressive. And all this happened prior to the arrival of the electronics revolution and the computer age. Is there any taker on the Indian energy scenario, starting from politicians, bureaucrats, public sector bosses, right up to the various energy institutions, would put a penny on India achieving an ‘‘energy coefficient’’ of say 20 per cent (not impossible), or even 10 per cent? Taking a little help from the "sums" which we decided to shun at the outset, even a meagre 5 per cent improvement would save over 4 million tonnes of oil products. But, please, no more task forces, or commissions with Chairmen of the status of Ministers of State. Just start a determined drive to get the results, and give the task the importance it deserves. The results will speak for themselves if the right people are chosen to deliver the results, or at least to set an example, and are given due backing. This measure will be more effective than all the tax incentives, and curb inflationary forces. The other matter of ‘‘substance’’ is the increased production of crude oil in the short term and the medium term. At moments of crisis, like the present one, and these would recur when we are least prepared for them, while the long term should not be lost sight of, a result-oriented action plan has to be drawn up on measures, if any, that can be availed of, to increase the production levels in the short term of say three months to a year. Such measures are certainly in the know of the ONGC. Our red tape and our systems will ensure that it takes years even to grasp the significance of these measures, and thus make the unpopular task of increasing consumer prices inescapable. It is estimated that some of the known measures can assist in increasing the current level of crude oil production by anything between three and five million tonnes per year, without in any way impacting on the reservoir's potential for recovery. Even in rich countries the increasing oil prices are worrying governments in power. Mature democracies like the USA and those in Europe are having to bow down to the pressure of public opinion, to avoid unpopularity to the extent of being voted out of power at any next election. The Indian Government should not get caught in the trap of deja vu on the two suggestions made here. Both are achievable. And if only to end this presentation, with a little help from the "sums", even a meagre saving of three million tonnes by way of "oil conservation" (less than 4 per cent of the current consumption) and of two million tonnes by increased production of crude oil (much more should be feasible) should save the country’s imports worth over Rs 4,500 crore in a year at a price of only $25 a barrel. The current price is much higher. Is it beyond our government's organisational capability? Or do we not have the talent left to accept the challenge? If nothing is done, probably the answer is both. |
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Unknown Indore doctor now top US surgeon “WELCOME to the Centre for Total Joint Replacement” reads the sign board as a patient with hip or knee problem arrives at Lenxon Hill Hospital, 100 East 77th street, New York, NY 10021. A first-timer is instructed to take the elevator to the 11th floor and told “When you arrive for the first time, you will be seen by our world-class joint replacement specialist, Dr Chitranjan Ranawat or Dr Jose A. Rodriguez”. An American girl warmly greets the patient at the reception and directs to a room where the medical history, current ailment and X-Ray films of the patient are meticulously recorded and examined. Then another sign flashes: “Dr Ranawat is ready to see you”. The Indore-born and Indore-educated Doctor goes through the reports, measures the hip or the knee and decides if the patient needs a replacement. One such patient last week was Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and he was examined by the Indian Doctor in a foreign land. With this, hitherto unknown Dr Ranawat’s fame and reputation rose like a meteor and he became a house-hold name in his native country. Lenox Hill Hospital has a long history of its achievements. Founded on May 28, 1857 as a dispensary, it was first to install one of the first X-Ray machines in America and treated in 1931 the future Prime Minister of Britain, Mr Winston Churchill, for serious injuries suffered when he was hit by a car. During the Second World War, Lenox Hospital staff members rendered valuable services to the wounded and disabled soldiers. Much later in 1994 another Indian Doctor, Dr V.A. Subramanian pioneered invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery at Leonox hills. Almost at the same time Dr Ranawat established the centre for total joint replacement. It has now been medically proved that knee replacement surgery is a very effective procedure for patients who have arthritic pain and the success rate is reported to be very high — over 95 per cent. Its durability lasts many years and in normal circumstances should last a life-time. One such case often quoted is of an ice hockey coach whose left knee was replaced and the surgery was performed by Dr Ranawat. Orthopaedic Surgeons opined after the surgery that there was no reason why the 64-year-old coach, Scotty Bowman, could not return to his job after knee replacement. His VVIP patients include former US Defence Secretary, Dick Cheney. Thirtyseven years back when Dr Ranawat landed in America. He had only eight dollars in his pocket. He had left India rather reluctantly having failed to get a job of his choice even though he was a good student; cleared MBBS with distinction and obtained MS degree. His alma mater was Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, Indore, and his ambition was to become a lecturer in general surgery and not an orthopaedic surgeon but for whatsoever reason — may be nepotism — he was rejected for both the posts. To cheer him up, Dr Ranawat’s father, a state police officer, offered to help his son set up private practice in Ratlam town but sheer money making was not to the young doctor’s liking. With his morale sagging, Dr Ranawat looked for opportunities abroad and appeared in the test for the Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates; he qualified. Call it a coincidence or quirk of destiny within a short span of landing in America, he got a residency offer from USA’s Cornell University City Hospital. The assignment paved the way for further opportunities and before long he was offered a prestigious consultant’s job in the state-of-the-art Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Years of hard work at the HSS enabled him to establish himself as a top man in knee surgery and Lenox Hill Hospital invited him to head the orthopaedics unit. Dr Ranawat is known to be the world’s best knee replacement surgeon and performs about 500 operations every year. He is on President Clinton’s panel of medical advisers and has developed the Ranawat-Burstein Total Hip System along with Dr Albert Burstein. The system offers a wide range of components to meet the diverse needs of the modern orthopaedic surgeon. So much so that the Philadelphia-based Eastern Orthopaedics Association has instituted Ranawat Award in his honour. Though Dr Ranawat has been living in America for 37 years he has not forgotten his native country. He visits India every year, participates in seminars,delivers lectures and even performs operations. In 1988 he established the Ranawat foundation in Mumbai. The organisation caters to the patients needing joint surgery and he has donated one million dollars worth of artificial hips to three institutes in Pune, Mumbai and Indore. Also the foundation offers three scholarships every year to train the young Indian doctors in New York. When Dr Ranawat arrives in India in October to replace the knee of Prime Minister Vajpayee, he will be a well-known person; has done his country proud. Chances of the Prime Minister’s recovery are almost cent per cent and as Dr Ranawat has himself been quoted as saying chances of restoration of normal functioning of any patient after knee and hip surgery are as high as 90 per cent. |
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Choose work that is in harmony with your values. *** Commit yourself to constant self improvement. *** Take your dog to obedience school. you will both learn a lot. *** Be a good loser. *** Be willing to lose a battle in order to win the war. *** Seek out the good in people. *** Respect tradition. *** Learn to show cheerfulness, even when you do not feel like it. *** Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born. *** Do not gossip. *** Lie on your back and look up at the stars. *** Remember that overnight success usually takes about fifteen years. *** Leave everything a little better than you found it. *** Never underestimate your power to change yourself. *** Never overestimate your power to change others. *** Do not expect money to bring you happiness. *** Find some other way of proving your manhood than by shooting defenceless animals and birds. *** Do not burn bridges. You will be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. — H. Jackson Brown Jr. Life’s Little Instruction Book. 206, 210, 211, 215, 235, 237, 241, 250, 253, 262, 267, 273, 274, 284, 285, 290, 292. |
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