The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Fresh signals from Kashmir

THE apparently planned killing of six Sikhs in Srinagar's Mahjoornagar locality on Saturday makes one believe that the enemies of the cause of peace in Kashmir are hyper-active again. After the failure in provoking the security forces by selectively targetting their men and officers for some time, those opposed to any peace move appear to be working on a new strategy: nothing should be left to chance to widen the gulf between the majority community and the minorities in the valley. The interests of the destructive forces are safe in letting the Kashmir fire burning. It hardly matters who claims the responsibility for the gruesome act. Whether it is Al-Qasim or the Hizbul Mujahideen, or Jaish-e-Mohammad, they have their umbilical cord with Pakistan, a nursery of terrorism in this part of the world. Actions of these creations of the notorious ISI and other rabidly anti-India elements show that those influencing or controlling the levers of power in Pakistan have failed to realise the true import of the peace process set in motion by New Delhi. Besides the ISI, the Pakistan armed forces, the bureaucracy and the fundamentalist organisations fear an erosion of their position in the establishment and society at large once there is an atmosphere of peace or a genuine search for it from Islamabad. Of course, there are any number of people on that side of the border who yearn for such a development, but their feelings do not mean much for those who matter in any discussion on peace. We in India should not do anything to get caught in the cobwebs of the anti-peace forces. Owing to the crisis caused by the Gujarat earthquake New Delhi at the moment is not in a position to fully concentrate on the Kashmir question. But it cannot afford to lower its guard on the front of normalising the situation in the valley. It has to keep telling the people of Kashmir as also the world at large that if killings continue unchecked, the main casualty will be the peace process.

The problem, however, is that the world community has so far failed to put enough pressure on the military regime in Pakistan to respond to India's peace initiative with transparent sincerity. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr Abdus Sattar, says that the militancy factor can be handled effectively by opening up the political route. But he fails to realise that the route he is talking about remains blocked because of the doings of his own country. Why are there no efforts to rein in the militant outfits operating from Pakistan? Forget the question for the moment. The latest proof of Pakistan's irresponsible behaviour is the highly offensive language employed by Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf in expressing his "full moral, diplomatic and political support" to the people of Kashmir in their fight for "self-determination" on the eve of "Kashmir's Solidarity Day". The harsh postures adopted by General Musharraf expose his insincerity about improving the atmosphere in the subcontinent. His gesture of sharing the grief of India in the wake of the crippling earthquake amounted to shedding crocodile tears.

VRS catches on

PUBLIC sector banks are trying to cope with the massive response of employees, both senior and junior officers and assistants, to the VRS (voluntary retirement scheme). More than a dozen banks have offered generous packages under a plan devised by the Indian Banks Association. Initially many scoffed at the idea, expecting resistance of, if not rejection by, staff members. But the SBI, the biggest of them all, joined the race only to find the reaction amazing. As many as 33,000 employees have sought early retirement and the bank is thinking of exercising its option to reject the offer of those who are the best and the brightest. Some banks have to close down a few branches and organise staff relocation in the wake of the exodus. Several factors have contributed to this. One, a carefully planted rumour had it that the retirement age might come down to 58, prompting all those above 55 years of age to opt out. The VRS gives them more money than what they would normally receive. Two, the decision to shed the government equity above 33 per cent, gripped the ageing to grab the opportunity before mergers take place, which will cost a lot of jobs. Three, the experienced hope to get employment in private banks where the salary is attractive. But the most important is the changed perception of the VRS. Until a few years ago, it was looked down upon as a trap but not any more. The term downsizing has an undesirable connotation which VRS does not have. That has made all the difference. Having successfully sold the idea, the banks face a formidable problem of finding funds and selecting the right people to leave, striking a balance between regions and branches. The next step has to be to goad various banks to cut down the number of branches and reduce the needless presence of all banks at all places.

There is a clamour for the VRS in the RBI too. But there is stiff resistance on two counts. RBI insiders point out that there is an acute shortage of staff with the recruitment frozen about a decade ago and work having multiplied. Also, officers and others do specialised work and fully one-third have been trained abroad. To oppose VRS at this time one must have strong grounds which means that the RBI will remain an exception. Many profit-making public sector units have sought the government’s nod to announce their own schemes. No doubt, they are buoyed by the runaway success of banks. The Finance Ministry is non-committal, fearing a huge expenditure at a time when it is finding it difficult to contain the fiscal deficit. It has always laid emphasis on thinning out the overstaffed establishments and surrendering posts has become a trademark of Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. In fact, he should adopt his own version of the VRS to make the government lean and effective.

Dhanbad tragedy

DHANBAD did not attract the attention it deserved because of the unfolding tragedy of mind-boggling dimension in Gujarat. However, a comparison of the two incidents would reveal that the science for predicting earthquakes is still imperfect. It can be said without fear of contradiction that earthquakes cannot be prevented, but an efficient advance warning system can help reduce the scale of damage to life and property. But coal mine disasters are the result of human greed and indifference to the basic safety norms. They are wholly preventable. The Dhanbad incident has once again exposed the indifference of the authorities to following the prescribed norms for mining. It is not difficult to identify the reason why little or no attention is paid to improving mine safety standards. Those engaged in the back-breaking task of extracting minerals from the womb of the earth are invariably from the most deprived section of society, whose worth is literally more exploited than recognised, and that too during elections. Thereafter the well entrenched coal mafia is given a free hand to do whatever it wants to for optimising profits. The coal mafia provides funds to politicians in return for the favour of exploiting the miners without any let or hindrance. In its book since replacements for injured or dead miners are easily available there is no need to invest in improving their working conditions. The people of Delhi have not let the country forget the Uphaar tragedy because most of those whose relatives and friends were killed in the cinema hall fire have enough clout for keeping the administration on its toes. But coal mine disasters are a recurring theme which attract only routine attention from the authorities.

The coal industry is largely responsible for perpetuating the contradiction of the activity of mining making the poor workers even poorer and the rich owners even more rich. Dhanbad is the first tragedy to visit the new state called Jharkhand. But as part of Bihar the same coal belt has been privy to similar disasters on countless number of occasions. Over-mining is one of the primary reason for the kind of accident which befell the miners in Dhanbad on Friday. Navy divers have brought back the news that most workers trapped inside the flooded mines may still be alive. However, if the state and Central authorities do not take the issue of enforcing the mine safety norms strictly, the possibility of another Chasnala-type of tragedy visiting the coal-rich belt of the new Jharkhand state cannot be ruled out.

Scenario after new insurance policy
Challenges and opportunities for companies
by Satya Prakash Singh

THE globalisation — liberalisation — privatisation wave supported by the information and communications revolution has impacted the insurance sector in India also. After a lot of hullabaloo, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Act came into effect about six months back. And the Indian insurance sector was opened to the private sector and foreign investment. What is the kind of the market scene that is evolving in the insurance sector? What are the broad parameters that should shape an optimal strategy of an insurance company in the kind of market structure that is anticipated? It is pertinent to reflect on these questions.

Experts had anticipated that the new policy would amount to opening floodgates. However, that has not happened. Not many players have entered the arena. There has been caution on the side of investors, both domestic and foreign, and on the side of the Indian Government as well.

The government is cautious, particularly in view of the problems created by undesirable practices of some unscrupulous private insurance companies that had led to the nationalisation of life insurance in 1956 and general insurance in 1972. Only six companies have been given the licence so far. These are ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd, HDFC Standard Insurance Co. Ltd, Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd, Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd., IFFCO-Tokio Marine Co. Ltd., and Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd. There are strong anti-privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation forces within the National Democratic Alliance as well as among the Opposition parties. The government does not really want to be that liberal. Foreign equity participation is limited to a maximum of 26 per cent. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority provides a rigorous regulatory system.

Foreign companies and the private sector are hesitant. Besides the feeling that the new environment is not liberated enough, there is a kind of confusion regarding the role of the government in future. Will the government be stable? There exists a tenuous equilibrium at the Centre under the leadership of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee amidst the interplay of a multitude of countervailing forces. Things are in a flux in so many states. Even if there is political stability, will it continue to translate into a stable economic policy? Will the reform process continue? Or, will there be a reversal? If the process continues, will the speed be maintained? Or, will it slow down? Will there be a let-up in the criminalisation of various sections of society?

There are certain economic reasons for the slow response of the players as well; for example, the requirement of a large organisation and investment, and the risk-return tradeoff. There may be a kind of feeling among foreign investors that 26 per cent equity participation is too low to make a profitable proposition. Will the need for the insurance of a large population get transformed into an effective demand at a reasonable cost plus price? Etc.

Looking at the present scene, one can visualise that some more insurance companies, both in life and non-life sectors, will get licences in the near future. A kind of economic mutation and selection dynamics will ensue in the insurance arena of competition. The market, in all likelihood, should settle down to an oligopoly structure with, say, about 15 or so, players, in the long run. They will have intense rivalry. There will be collusion and splits, mergers and acquisitions, takeovers and diversification. The LIC and the GIC (with its four constituent companies functioning separately), albeit after a substantial restructuring, may remain dominant leaders in the market for quite some time.

Market itself is a great regulator. Adam Smith’s invisible hand is indeed powerful. The insurance sector will operate under the dual control of the market and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). The rules of the game for the players in the industry will evolve through a mix of cooperation and tussle between the IRDA and market mechanism. The two will cooperate because both will be interested in the growth of insurance activity in the economy. There will be tussle between the two because the market mechanism will pull the system more in the direction of efficiency and survival of the fittest while the IRDA will focus more on broader social objectives, including, the interests of policy holders and the public at large.

It is a legal requirement that foreign companies can enter the Indian insurance sector only in collaboration with an Indian company. There will be pressure for allowing wholly-owned foreign companies. But there is an economic rationale for the emerging collaborations. It is the complementary strength of foreign and national companies. Indian companies understand the domestic market better. They can have a better recruitment and selection system, as they understand the socio-cultural-economic milieu of the people in India. On the other hand, foreign companies will have stronger financial base and superior technology. The synergy will yield more efficient organisations.

The standard of competition is expected to rise in view of foreign participation. The quality and range of service will improve. We expect greater professionalism. But it is doubtful whether the elite professional companies in the private sector will be able to reach the lower middle and poor classes of the Indian society. The LIC and the GIC with their already established comprehensive distribution channels and an outlook of serving society at large would have a definite competitive advantage in this segment. Carefully formulated and efficiently implemented, the services meant for this segment may also earn profits for the LIC and the GIC even if they remain public sector organisations.

The need for safety is instinctual. It is ever unsatiated. It is infinite. It is certain. Thus, the need for insurance service will be infinitely large and certain. The insurance companies will only vie with one another for converting the need into an effective demand. Customer value will be the prime concept. The companies will compete among themselves for creating, delivering and communicating customer value to their target market. The performance of a company in achieving its objectives — market share, shareholder value, etc — will depend on how well it creates, delivers and communicates that value vis-a-vis the rivals.

The standard principles of economics will not be useful as such. However, the theory of oligopoly under uncertainty may guide as regards the best course of action for the competing players and also to the IRDA. The principles of marketing management, which largely presume an oligopoly or to some extent monopolistic competition in the market place, will indeed be very relevant not only for the companies seeking wider market penetration but also for the IRDA to devise optimum regulatory and development norms and directives.

While the insurance companies will systematically engage themselves in determining the insurance needs, wants and interests of the target markets and delivering the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than their competitors, they will also need to build social and ethical considerations into their business practices. They will balance and juggle the often-conflicting criteria of company profits, consumer want satisfaction, and public interests. The future business philosophy of an insurance company must, for gaining sustained competitive edge, be derived from such a societal business concept.

For example, the premium for insurance may be higher for those activities — like manufacturing plastic bags or plastic containers — that may be polluting the environment, or there may be a concession for environment-friendly activities like tree plantation. The humanistic dimension of societal marketing is indeed relevant. For example, a company insures a couple against accidents if that adopts an orphan girl-child without charging any premium. Or, a company insures one woman of a family below the poverty line against maternity risks of her first baby, on the recommendation of a policyholder at a nominal charge from him/her. A company can get an edge over its rivals through advertisements on “how to remain healthy”, “how not to run into an accident while driving”, etc, or, by organising workshops on risk minimisation, stress management, etc.

In the past, the relationship between insurance companies and their customers was thought to be almost a zero-sum game. Thus the insurance companies would generally doubt the claim of a customer in the case of an accident. They would try to pay as less an amount as possible. The cases were often settled in courts. That is not good business concept. The new business concept would say, “trust your customer and be liberal”. For example, suppose a death has occurred due to an accident. Suppose the insurance company pays a reasonable amount as soon as it comes to know about the same without going into the details of whether the customer had proper licence, or whose fault was responsible for the accident. It will attract many customers in future to its fold and make profit out of the increased market share. “Yogakshemam Vahamyaham” is not a mere slogan. It is a mission statement meant for market penetration.

This should not be construed as an advocacy for an insurance company to become a totally philanthropic organisation. It must remain a business organisation with its own organisational goals such as increasing shareholder value, market share, profits, etc. It must be underlined that the societal business concept is a business concept, not an inverse alternative to it. The hope is that the societal business concept will only facilitate market penetration. An optimal strategy would require a company to be ready to play new-game strategies as the rules of the game unfold through time, and to build long-term relationships with customers and, more important, with a social cause. The companies in future will compete on the basis of “discover and produce solutions the customers did not ask for but to which they enthusiastically respond.”

There is a feeling in some quarters that the competition that will ensue after the opening up of the insurance sector might lead to unethical practices. But one should not be too much worried about the negative consequences of competition to hinder it. In the third millennium, the accepted norm is going to be “competition is virtue”. The experience of years gained around the middle of the twentieth century, when many problems arose because of a large number of insurance companies in the private sector and unbecoming competition among them resulting into nationalisation of life insurance in 1956 and general insurance in 1972, may not be relevant today. Those were the times of nationalisation phobia. Nationalisation was thought to be the panacea for all ills those days. Alternative solutions were really not tried. Further, and it is more important, the customer of the third millennium will be more alert and informed as compared to his counterpart 50 years ago.

The recent experience of the investment companies that tried to take investors for a ride is a relevant reminder to unscrupulous elements. The customer of the third millennium cannot be exploited the way his predecessor was 50 years back. And, above all, while insurance companies will vie with one another to attract the customer, the watchful eyes of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority will hopefully be overseeing what they are doing!

The writer is Professor, University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Understanding Himachal Health Vision-2020
by Shriniwas Joshi

Himachal Pradesh is ranked first among the other states of India by committing itself to Himachal Health Vision-2020. The political and administrative commitment to see that the contents of Health Vision turn into a reality was given by the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, at the time of releasing the vision document.

The pyramid of Health Vision has been raised on the foundations of the current state of health in the state. There are 3804 government health institutions, including the ayurvedic and homoeopathic dispensaries, in the state covering an estimated population of 6.7 million today. This means that one health institution in the public sector, at present, is catering to about 1761 people. This coverage can be termed as one of the best, if not the best, in the whole of India. The vision idea has, therefore, rightly not laid emphasis on the opening of new health institutions in the public sector in the coming 20 years but has stressed upon quality care. It reflects the problems that may arise with the changing contours and structure of the population in 2020 and lays down strategies to remove the possible cobwebs.

The demographic scenario indicates that the population in the state will be 9.4 million in 2020. The population structure then will have a constricted base, expanding the middle and slightly widening the top, which means that the numbers in the age group 0-14, 15-59 and 60 plus will be around 27, 61 and 12 per cent. Also, slightly less than 9 per cent of urban population today will increase to 15 per cent by 2020.

This scenario unfolds the following problems to be faced by the health managers of the state:

* The Reproductive Child Health Programme being implemented by the department shall result in a declining population growth but not to the extent expected. The growth rate, which is 1.48 per cent today, will take 20 years to come down to less than 1 per cent which will push the population of the state to almost double by 2050 from that of today. The vision document rightly lays emphasis on the reduction of the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is as high as 64 per 1000 today, to 15 by 2020. The IMR indirectly checks the population growth because the parents feel that even if they have one child or two children, they will survive. It shall be achieved by providing improved medical and obstetric care, which entails raising the level of institutional deliveries from 29 to 80 per cent in the coming 20 years and giving extensive training to traditional birth attendants in the villages for safe home delivery. The provision of safe drinking water, and nutritious food to mothers and children has also been emphasised upon in the document.

* The vision document brings out black spots here, and those are that 81 per cent children suffer from mild to moderate and 4 per cent from a severe degree of malnutrition in HP today. The problem of malnutrition gets compounded by the practices of delayed weaning in more than 85 per cent children and as low as 36 per cent of exclusive breast feeding to the newly born. Nearly 40 per cent women and 67 per cent children in the state suffer from anaemia. These are the areas that need to be tackled by intra-sectoral coordinated efforts.

* The expanding teenage group plus the advancing technology will give rise to socio-economic problems like premarital sex, unwed mothers, XX rated Internet surfing, undesired telephonic, increasing incidence of STD/HIV/AIDS, etc. This will require a strong network of adolescent counselling.

* The problem of alcoholism, smoking, drug-taking both among the adolescents and adults will be another problem that shall have to be tackled by increasing the reach and spread of the Information Education and Communication Wing of the Health Department. Strengthening the hands of voluntary organisations, providing telephone counselling, making use of the electronic media and, above all, galvanising the folk media could be the additional tools for reducing the number of the inebriated.

* The increase in the number of older persons in the population structure to 12 per cent as against 9 per cent today will require not only old age homes but also a modern geriatric care system which is totally lacking in the state. Life expectancy at birth will go up to 78 in 2020 from that of 65 today.

* Population shifting to urban areas will result in congestion in towns; water, air and sound pollution; loss of greenery and an inadequate sanitation facility. Appropriate and timely action through the coordinated efforts of the departments concerned is the answer to these problems.

* The vision document also forewarns that unless hospital waste and domestic waste management is not taken up in right earnest from today, environmental health problems will have choking consequences.

Health is defined as the physical, mental and social well-being of a person. The task of carrying Health Vision to its finality, therefore, is not only of the Health and Family Welfare Department. It has to be the joint effort of all those associated with the Education, Social Welfare, Tourism, Irrigation and Public Health Departments as well as the district administration, the private sector the NGOs, panchayati raj institutions, etc.

Seldom a government document gets converted into a plan of action in which something is done and people reap the benefits. This vision idea can be set into motion if four task forces are formed comprising the secretaries concerned and the heads of the departments.

A half-hearted or luke-warm response will lead to nowhere, as David Lloyd George said, “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small steps.”

The writer is a retired IAS officer.

Book on Rajan Pillai to open Pandora’s box
From Sanu George in Thiruvananthapuram

THE controversy over the death of business magnate Rajan Pillai in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in July, 1996, is back in the news with a new book that looks at his life, his rise and the furore over his death.

“A Wasted Death”, written by his younger brother, J. Raj Mohan Pillai, in association with veteran journalist K. Govindan Kutty is claimed to be an explosive book that reveals the names of those responsible for Pillai’s untimely death.

Pillai, who was in India at the time, was found guilty on April 10 in 1996 by a court in Singapore of large-scale embezzlement, cheating and forgery. He faced a sentence of 14 years in Singapore’s dreaded Changi Jail. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 3 and was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He died on July 7 of liver cirrhosis.

“His death was more striking than his life,” said Kutty in an exclusive interview.” ‘A Wasted Death’ examines the last few days of Rajan Pillai’s life and the role played by many occupying the high seats of power in New Delhi.”

“Those who had denied him his right to live were supposed to be shocked. Those who made themselves scarce were at pains to tell us how they failed to trace us. The response to his death, I felt was irritating,” writes his brother.

But Raj Mohan Pillai is keeping his fingers crossed on the newly ordered CBI inquiry. His book makes references to controversial god-man Chandraswami, the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, industrialist Nusli Wadia, and politicians K. Karunakaran and Farooq Abdullah, all of whom had rubbed shoulders with Pillai.

Raj Mohan Pillai said: “I wanted this book to come out as I want the world to know that ‘Rajannan’ (as he refers to his brother) was not a fly-by night operator, but a megabusinessman, before bad times fell upon him.”

“The world should also know that he was the son of a rich father and even before he became the undisputed king of the biscuit industry, he had experienced the best luxury, which not many could imagine,” added Pillai.

The book describes the biscuit king’s luxurious lifestyle. “That was what equally won him ridicule more often than not from those who took his whisky or accepted a gift with a profusion of thanks,” writes his brother.

The book goes into intricate details of his lifestyle, his designer shirts, Rolex watches, chartered flights and favourite drink — the most expensive wine, Dom Perignon. Whenever in Singapore he dined at the luxury Shangri-La Hotel and if one were to calculate his bills, it was good enough to buy up the hotel, the book says.

The biggest revelation is that the lifestyle of the Pillais was more extravagant than the lifestyle of the royal family in Kensington Palace in London. The monthly expenditure of Rajan Pillai at his Holland Park residence in London was close to a million dollars, double than what was spent at the Palace.

“Many people wanted to malign him, but unlike in most cases, death was never a leveller for him,” said Kutty, who has authored books on former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran and former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan, both of which did very well.

“We’ll wait and see, what is going to unfold,” said Raj Mohan Pillai, who is determined to bring out the skeletons in the cupboard of those responsible for the death of his elder brother, with his book.

— India Abroad News Service

Royal India’s jewellery taken out of country
From Shyam Bhatia in London

INDIA’S most spectacular royal jewels are believed to have been taken out of the country after Independence from the British and disposed of in foreign capitals, according to the authors of a newly published book “Maharaja’s Jewels.”

Some prized items, such as the pigeon-sized, cream-colored pearls of the then ruler of Baroda remain within the country but a varied collection of Burmese rubies, Brazilian emeralds, South African diamonds and Kashmiri sapphires belonging to other royal houses, were taken out of India by the rulers and reset by prestigious jewellers in Rome, Paris and London.

One of the stories told in the book concerns a beautiful divorcee who married the ruler of Baroda and filled her homes in London and Paris with the jewels he showered on her.

Among the treasures gifted to Sita Devi, who was known in her time as the Wallis Simpson of India, were a pair of anklets featuring cabochon emeralds and rose cut diamonds that were sold by her to the New York jeweller Harry Winston. He refashioned the stones into a necklace that was then sold to the duchess of Windsor.

But the duchess returned the necklace to Winston after Sita Devi was heard to remark in public that the jewels had looked very nice on her own feet. The necklace was eventually sold to a collector in Texas.

As for Sita Devi, she died a lonely death in France. Her only son, Princie, committed suicide shortly before his mother’s death and what happened to her magnificent collection has never been established. Authors and Cambridge historians John Adamson and Katherine Prior also write about other Indian royals, such as Tukoji Rao lll Holkar, the ruler of Indore, who inherited $ 750,000 worth of jewellery from his ancestors in 1911. He was forced to abdicate in 1926, but before leaving for a life of exile in Paris he took an estimated $450,000 worth of state jewels with him.

Another royal who also features in the book is Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala (1872 to 1949) who asked Cartier to design him a tiara that featured a hexagonal emerald of 177.40 carats. The tiara was worn at the coronation of George Vl in 1937 and was “among the legendary jewels of India.”

— India Abroad News Service

“We have to grow more from less land”

WITH the population growing steeply in the developing countries, scientists estimate that world food production would have to increase by 50 per cent in the next 25 years to sustain the growing numbers. This has to be achieved from less land, pesticides, labour and water, observes Gurdev S Khush, principal plant breeder and head, Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biochemistry Division, International Rice Research Institute, Manila.

Born in Punjab, Dr Khush, 65, graduated from Panjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, and did his Ph.D (genetics) from the University of California. After working in the USA for about a decade, he joined the IRRI in 1967 and has been closely associated with agriculture research in India. Recipient of several national and international awards including the World Food Prize, Dr Khush is member of major professional societies and fellow of scientific academies. He has written three books, apart from presenting 147 papers in prestigious journals. Laying stress on increasing crop productivity for meeting future food requirements, Dr Khush talks to PRASHANT SOOD about food security, IRRI research and the rice genome project.

Excerpts from the interview.

Q. Would India be able to provide food security to the growing population in the years to come?

A. Increase in crop productivity is essential to feed the world in the next century. Two strategies to meet this challenge are development of crop varieties with higher yield potential and closing the gap between the potential yields and the actual ones obtained by farmers.

The present world population of 6.1 billion is likely to reach 7 billion by 2010 and 8 billion in 2025. Most of this increase will occur in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Per capita food intake will increase due to improved living standards. It is estimated that we will have to produce 50 per cent more food by 2025. Foodgrain production in Africa will have to increase by almost 400 per cent, Latin America 200 per cent and Asia 50 per cent. In the past, food production increased as a result of increased yield potential of new crop varieties as well as increases in cropped area. In future, major increases in cropped area are unlikely. In fact, in most Asian countries cultivated area is declining due to pressures of urbanisation and industrialisation. Pesticide use is going down due to concerns about their harmful effects on the environment and health. Increasing industrial base is competing with agriculture for water and labour. Thus we will have to produce more food from less land, with less pesticides, less labour, and less water.

Q. What is the significance of the International Rice Project?

A. The project aims at identifying all 50,000 genes in the rice genome in the next 10 years. Once the genes are identified, it would not only help in producing disease-resistant and nutrient-rich varieties of rice but would also be beneficial for wheat and rice. The work on the structural aspects of genes is scheduled to be completed by 2005. Identifying their correct functions may take another five years.

Q. What is India’s role in the research project?

A. India is among the 12 countries involved in the genome project. The rice genome has 12 chromosomes and scientists here are working on chromosome number 11 which has wide applications.

Q. Tell us something about rice varieties being developed by the IRRI for use in India.

A. The rice institute has developed nearly 320 varieties so far of which about 35 have been introduced in India. IR 64 is the most popular here specially in the southern states. IR 36 and IR 72 have also been popular. The IRRI is currently working on super rice variety which is likely to be available in all parts of the world in the next two years. The super rice variety would result in 20 per cent more production and have more vitamin A and iron content. A new strain of basmati is also being developed which will double the yield of varieties grown at present that give about 2.5 tonnes per hectare. The new plants would be tested in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP. It retains characteristics of the traditional basmati variety since 95 per cent plant is the same as the old variety. As the strain is being developed by public-funded research, there would not be patents and no steep hike in prices.

Q. There have been reports of declining soil productivity in Punjab and Haryana.

A. Farmers should get out of the rice-wheat cycle and modify the cropping pattern. They should go for legume and other crops through which health of soil can be improved.

Q. Why does India fare poorly in terms of average yield which is nearly half of China?

A. In India, which produces 135 million tonnes of the total world paddy production of 600 million tonnes, only 50 per cent of the area is irrigated. The rest 50 per cent is rainfed. The production in the irrigated areas compares favourably with that of China at 6 tonnes per hectare and Japan and Korea at 6.5 to 7 million tonnes per hectare.

Q. What strategies do you suggest for increasing the yield?

A. The yield potential of crop varieties has been improved through conventional breeding methods. It has been estimated that on an average about 1 per cent increase has occurred per year in the yield potential of major food crops. There is no reason why further increases cannot be attained if there is enough investment in crop breeding. Modification of plant architecture has resulted in major improvements in harvest index (grain-straw ratio) of crops like wheat and rice and doubling of yield potential. Further modifications of plant types are being sought to increase the yield potential of cereals. Yield improvement in maize, sorghum and several other crops has been associated with hybrid development. Hybrid rice has been widely adopted in China. Major research efforts are underway to exploit this technology in other Asian countries. Rice hybrids have about 15 per cent higher yield.

Crop gene pools can be widened through hybridising crop varieties with wild species and weedy races. Oat varieties with 29 per cent higher yield were developed through wide hybridisation. Some of the lines are derived from the crosses of cultivated rice and wild species. Oryza Rufipogon outyields the best elite varieties by 10 per cent. In addition, several biotechnology approaches to increase the yield potential are being investigated.

Q. How about bridging the yield gap?

A. Several strategies can be employed to achieve this. The genetic yield potential of rice is about 10 tons\ha in the tropics. However, farmers obtain only about 5 tons per hectare on an average. This yield gap is due to the losses caused by diseases and insects, abiotic stresses and use of sub-optimum management practices. The yield gap can be closed through developing crop varieties with durable resistance to diseases and insects, tolerance to abiotic stresses and use of optimum management practices. Plant breeders have used diverse source of resistance in breeding programmes. Large member of genes for resistance have been identified. Through molecular aided selection, it is now possible to pyramid several genes into the same variety thus increasing the durability of resistance.

Techniques of genetic engineering permit the introduction of novel genes for resistance from unrelated sources. A series of abiotic stresses such as drought, excess water, mineral toxicities and deficiencies in soils and unfavourable temperature affect crop productivity. For example rainfed rice is planted in about 40 million hectares worldwide. Vast areas suffer from drought at some stage of the crop cycle. In some areas crop suffers from floods. If submerged for more than 3-4 days, rice crop gets killed. Genetic engineering techniques hold great promise in developing crop varieties with higher level of tolerance to abiotic stresses. For example, rice genotypes have been developed through genetic engineering which can survive submergence for up to 10 days.

To achieve sustainable increases in crop productivity, it is important to improve the efficiency of all production inputs such as water and nutrients, minimise the losses caused by pests through integrated pest management. Precision farming based to geographical information system would lead to higher crop yields.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Service of others brings solace to one's mind;

One experiences flow of pure love within - soothing and intense.

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Learn from trees how they truly serve;

in pure selflessness they provide shade

and fruit to others.

One who serves others

with his body, mind and wealth,

will be steadfast on the

path of righteousness,

says Mangat.

— Mahatma Mangat Ram ji Maharaj, Samata Prakash

Remember: God exists in all, at all times and everywhere. But wherever there is poverty, misery, privation, anguish, disease, deflection from the path of virtue, fear, dejection and helplessness, it seems as if God expects you in those forms and under those circumstances to serve him according to the merits of each cause with His own purpose, bestowing on you the proud position of a donor and a generous soul....

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Remember: Whatever you have in the shape of wealth and property, living beings and inanimate objects, body and health, energy and power, ability and utility, all belongs to God and is meant for His service alone. Their utility lies only in their being devoted to His service....

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Remember: True service is neither advertise nor made a commodity of. Service constitutes the innate disposition of a servant. Service implies the consciousness that whatever resources in the shape of one's body and money, learning and intelligence, and whatever capacity one has are all intended for service....

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Remember: A servant should have the following seven characteristics

1) faith in service 2) purity of service 3) esteem for service 6) love for service 7) modesty

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Remember: A true servant claims service as his only possession; his sole ambition is the see his capacity to serve increased, his egotism is transformed into humility and he looks upon his object of service as God Himself and considers his own self as His perpetual servant.

— Hanumanprasad Poddar, How to Attain Happiness, Chapter 50-52