17.3.10
India 2018
India will overtake China to become world’s fastest growing economy by 2018, says the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of London-based Economist magazine. A higher percentage of working population gives India a demographic edge over China and this will ensure that India’s growth rate will continue to remain on the higher side, said Anjalika Bardalai, senior analyst at EIU. At present, China is the fastest growing economy in the world. Bardalai said considering strong fundamentals, “our long-range forecast suggests that India will sustain an average annual growth rate of 6.4% to 2030.’’ India will take the lead not because its growth rate is likely to attain doubledigit level, but due to the fact that China’s growth rate will moderate with development of its economy, she added. However, for the current financial year, Bardalai said Indian economy would only grow at 6.8%. But this is not comparable with the figure of 7.2% projected by the government as EIU has adopted a different methodology to calculate the rate. “Our projection is based on expenditure in the economy and is not on factor cost as done by the Indian government,’’ she explained. She said growth will pick up to 7.7% in 2010-11 and 8% in 2011-12. “Continued strong domestic consumption, spurred by rising income and a growing middle class, will be the primary drivers behind India’s growth. At the same time, high savings and investments will also help India achieve the higher growth rate.’’
PDS in shambles
The sale of foodgrains through the public distribution system (PDS) to poor families throughout the country at highly subsidised prices is stinking of corruption, hoarding and black marketing, the Supreme Court-appointed central vigilance committee said in its damning reports. After touring various states and scrutinising the operation of PDS system through fair price shops, the committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice D P Wadhwa used the following terminology for different states:
PDS in the state has collapsed (Rajasthan)
PDS system is glaring example of what the system ought not to be (Jharkhand)
Beneficiaries get ration of a month after a delay of 3-4 months (Bihar)
Fair price shop owners admitted they bribe officials concerned even to get FPS licence and pay monthly bribe (Gujarat)
Appointment of grain storage agents susceptible to political influence (Orissa)
Enforcement lax, collusion between officials, investigating agencies, dealers, wholesalers and other vested interests (Karnataka)
Foodgrain sold at excessive prices at the fair price shops (Uttarakhand)
But the most damning comments were reserved for Delhi, the national capital. Apart from terming the PDS as inefficient and corrupt, the committee said in its report to the apex court that “there is largescale diversion and black marketing of PDS foodgrain’’. “Subsidised PDS foodgrain does not reach the poor who desperately need the same. These poor people never get PDS foodgrain in proper quantity and quality. The fair price shop owner is aware of bogus/fake ration cards and uses these for black marketing of PDS foodgrain,’’ it said. It slammed officials of Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation and said there was rampant corruption in it. “Can anyone believe that the department is unaware of such gross malpractices and illegalities? The only explanation is all round complicity of fair price shop owners, transporters and corrupt officials of the department/ DSCSC,’’ said the reports, a compilation of which was handed over to a bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and K S Radhakrishnan by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves. Citing several first-hand instances of malfunctioning and corruption in the system, the committee said, “There is a thriving nexus between transporters, fair price shops and officials of the department including anti-hoarding cell and DSCSC.’’ Having read the report, the bench asked Gonsalves to suggest whether there could be an alternative to the existing PDS system or if it could be made efficient through corrective measures.
PDS in the state has collapsed (Rajasthan)
PDS system is glaring example of what the system ought not to be (Jharkhand)
Beneficiaries get ration of a month after a delay of 3-4 months (Bihar)
Fair price shop owners admitted they bribe officials concerned even to get FPS licence and pay monthly bribe (Gujarat)
Appointment of grain storage agents susceptible to political influence (Orissa)
Enforcement lax, collusion between officials, investigating agencies, dealers, wholesalers and other vested interests (Karnataka)
Foodgrain sold at excessive prices at the fair price shops (Uttarakhand)
But the most damning comments were reserved for Delhi, the national capital. Apart from terming the PDS as inefficient and corrupt, the committee said in its report to the apex court that “there is largescale diversion and black marketing of PDS foodgrain’’. “Subsidised PDS foodgrain does not reach the poor who desperately need the same. These poor people never get PDS foodgrain in proper quantity and quality. The fair price shop owner is aware of bogus/fake ration cards and uses these for black marketing of PDS foodgrain,’’ it said. It slammed officials of Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation and said there was rampant corruption in it. “Can anyone believe that the department is unaware of such gross malpractices and illegalities? The only explanation is all round complicity of fair price shop owners, transporters and corrupt officials of the department/ DSCSC,’’ said the reports, a compilation of which was handed over to a bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and K S Radhakrishnan by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves. Citing several first-hand instances of malfunctioning and corruption in the system, the committee said, “There is a thriving nexus between transporters, fair price shops and officials of the department including anti-hoarding cell and DSCSC.’’ Having read the report, the bench asked Gonsalves to suggest whether there could be an alternative to the existing PDS system or if it could be made efficient through corrective measures.
16.3.10
Facebook to setup shop in Hyderabad
In what is a major thumbs up for Brand Hyderabad’s image as a global IT destination, social networking site Facebook has announced plans to set up a centre in the city. Facebook, which at last count had more than 400 million active users globally including over 8 million in India, said it was setting up shop in Hyderabad in a bid to support the growing number of its users, advertisers and developers in India and across the globe. The Hyderabad centre, which incidentally will be Facebook’s first presence in Asia, will house online advertising and developer support teams and provide round-the-clock, multi-lingual support to the social networking sites users and advertisers globally, the company said. Though Facebook did not specify its India investment, hiring figures or the location of its office in Hyderabad, buzz has it that the company is set to log into a swanky address in the Hi-Tec City area that houses global IT giants like Google, Oracle, Dell and Computer Associates. On the other hand, the city’s Gachibowli area is home to biggies like Microsoft as well as homegrown IT biggies like Wipro and Infosys. However, the company said recruitments had already begun for a director of operations and other key positions in Hyderabad, which would supplement its operations in California, Dublin in Ireland as well as the recently announced location at Austin in Texas. Facebook’s global online operations director Don Faul said in a statement: “We expect our new office in Hyderabad to tap into the region’s strong pool of talented people who understand operations and technology and help us more effectively serve the needs of our users, advertisers and developers around the world.” Meanwhile, in his blog about Facebook’s India foray Faul wrote: “We are proud to call India’s ‘City of Pearls’ home. The new offices (Hyderabad and Austin) come at a significant time in our international growth. Seventy per cent of the people using Facebook are outside the US and are accessing the service from more than 70 languages. By having multiple support centres in a variety of time zones we can provide better round-theclock, multi-lingual support.” “In India alone, we’ve seen rapid growth and now have more than 8 million people there actively connecting on Facebook with their friends, family and other people they know, both within India and around the globe,” he blogged. Started in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg along with college roommates Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Huges and Eduardo Saverin from their dorm room in Harvard University, Facebook is currently headquartered out of Palo Alto, California and employs over 1,000 people. Apart from various US cities, Facebook also has centres in Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Sydney and Toronto. Incidentally, Microsoft had picked up a 1.6% stake in Facebook for $240 million in October 2007.
It's Gudi Padva, Ugadi, Cheti Chand....
Perched high on a long bamboo stick, with a shining inverted copper pot decorated with a ‘swastik’ in vermilion, adorned with garlands of ‘gaathi’ (sugar crystals), mango and ‘neem’ leaves, silk cloth, the modest ‘gudi’ will herald the beginning of the Hindu New Year on Tuesday. The auspicious day of ‘Gudi Padwa’ gives much reason for families to come together and celebrate. People, young and old, set up the ‘gudi’ before sunrise, symbolising the beginning of the Hindu New Year,” says Dhruv Apte, a student, who makes it a point to attend the rituals related to ‘Gudi Padwa.’ “My family puts up the ‘gudi’ before sunrise. A prayer and ‘prasad’ follow. A feast of ‘shrikhand’ and ‘puri’ mark the gastronomic delights. Finally, the ‘gudi’ is taken off before sunset,” says Dhruv. Celebrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, among other states, ‘Gudi Padwa’ also marks the end of one harvest season and the beginning of a new one. It’s a common sight to see people buying sweets, ‘gudis’ and other paraphernalia to deck up their homes for the big day. And out come powdered colours to decorate the doorsteps with beautiful ‘rangoli’. “There’s no hard-and-fast rule related to ‘Gudi Padwa’ that my family follows. We get ‘neem’ and mango leaves from our neighbours. Each year, we hang a new saree my mother buys for the occasion. We also invest in some fixed asset every year, on this special day,” says Amruta Patwardhan, a resident of Kothrud. The ‘neem’ tree holds special importance because of its myriad medicinal properties. “It’s often advised to plant a ‘neem’ tree in one’s garden, as it a very good disinfectant and drives away pests,” says a resident of Sadashiv Peth. What Gudi Means
The long stick: Inspires you to think big, aim for the best
Silk cloth: Uphold values, keep reputation clean
Gathi: Talk sweet without ego hassles
Neem twig: Blend sweetness in speech with apt tartness
Flowers: Spread the essence of your integrity
Inverted vessel: Think wise, think logically
Nisha Chilaka remembers tying mango leaves and putting them up as well as making jaggery from sugarcane for Ugadi. “I grew up in Kolhapur in Maharashtra, and since both Marathi new year, Gudi Padwa, and Telugu new year, Ugadi, fall on the same day we celebrated both at home,” says the senior manager with Kailash Shipping Services. Today, after years of living in Chennai, Ugadi is no longer a melange of cultures. “I just go to the supermarket and buy the jaggery and other ingredients off the shelf,” she says. Though they may be away from home, Telugus and Kannadigas make sure they follow the customs, whether its greeting each other in a particular way or making traditional dishes. Both Telugus and Kannadigas prepare a sweet and sour mixture — bevu bella in Kannada and pachhadi in Telugu — which is the first thing they eat. “We greet each other, wishing that we only speak and act well during the rest of the year, and then eat the bevu bella made of neem and jaggery,” says Shubha Anand, a teacher from Mysore. The Telugu pachhadi is more elaborate, with neem flowers, jaggery, raw mango, banana, tamarind, salt and green chilli. “These different tastes signify the various emotions we will experience in the coming year,” says Jansirani, a housewife, who grew up in Vijayawada and has been living in Chennai for 33 years. This is followed by a huge lunch — for Kannadigas it includes a masala rice made with raw mango called mavinkaya chitranna, while Telugus have pulihora (tamarind rice), bobatlu (sweet poli), gaarul (jaggery vada) and attukulu payasam (rice flakes payasam). The panchagam or horoscope for the new year is read after the pooja and lunch. “This gives the forecast for the zodiac signs and the entire country,” says Nirmala Suri, who lives in Hyderabad but is in Chennai for Ugadi. “It’s a family festival but a really jolly one,” says Jansirani.
The long stick: Inspires you to think big, aim for the best
Silk cloth: Uphold values, keep reputation clean
Gathi: Talk sweet without ego hassles
Neem twig: Blend sweetness in speech with apt tartness
Flowers: Spread the essence of your integrity
Inverted vessel: Think wise, think logically
Nisha Chilaka remembers tying mango leaves and putting them up as well as making jaggery from sugarcane for Ugadi. “I grew up in Kolhapur in Maharashtra, and since both Marathi new year, Gudi Padwa, and Telugu new year, Ugadi, fall on the same day we celebrated both at home,” says the senior manager with Kailash Shipping Services. Today, after years of living in Chennai, Ugadi is no longer a melange of cultures. “I just go to the supermarket and buy the jaggery and other ingredients off the shelf,” she says. Though they may be away from home, Telugus and Kannadigas make sure they follow the customs, whether its greeting each other in a particular way or making traditional dishes. Both Telugus and Kannadigas prepare a sweet and sour mixture — bevu bella in Kannada and pachhadi in Telugu — which is the first thing they eat. “We greet each other, wishing that we only speak and act well during the rest of the year, and then eat the bevu bella made of neem and jaggery,” says Shubha Anand, a teacher from Mysore. The Telugu pachhadi is more elaborate, with neem flowers, jaggery, raw mango, banana, tamarind, salt and green chilli. “These different tastes signify the various emotions we will experience in the coming year,” says Jansirani, a housewife, who grew up in Vijayawada and has been living in Chennai for 33 years. This is followed by a huge lunch — for Kannadigas it includes a masala rice made with raw mango called mavinkaya chitranna, while Telugus have pulihora (tamarind rice), bobatlu (sweet poli), gaarul (jaggery vada) and attukulu payasam (rice flakes payasam). The panchagam or horoscope for the new year is read after the pooja and lunch. “This gives the forecast for the zodiac signs and the entire country,” says Nirmala Suri, who lives in Hyderabad but is in Chennai for Ugadi. “It’s a family festival but a really jolly one,” says Jansirani.
Cheti Chand or Chetti Chand is the Sindhi New Year Day celebrated on the second day of Cheti month (Chaitra month). Cheti Chand 2010 date is March 16, 2010. In 2010. This festival is similar to other Hindu New Year festivals like Ugadi (Telugu New Year and Kannada New Year) celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and Gudi Padwa (Marathi New Year) celebrated in Maharashtra. Cheti Chand is celebrated as a commemoration of birthday of Sindhi patron saint Jhulelal. On Cheti Chand Sindhi people celebrate their special rituals with utmost pomp and gaiety. Sindhi devotees carry Jhulelal devta to nearby lake or river along with Baharana Sahib (consists of Jyot, Mishri, Phota, Fruits, and Akha). On Cheti Chand day, when you want to wish a Sindhi a Happy New Year, then say ‘Cheti Chand jyon Lakh Lakh Wadayun Athav’, which means lacs of wishes for Cheti Chand.When he wants to reply, he says ‘Tohan khe bhi Cheti Chand jyon Lakh Lakh Wadayun Athav’, which means I wish you the same.
Somewhere in Haridwar....
Twenty-eight lakh people — including pilgrims and sadhus — took a holy dip in river Ganga in Haridwar on the occasion of ‘Somvati Amavasya’ during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela. The sadhus belonging to Niranjani Akhara reached Har-Ki-Pauri, the main bathing ghat in a procession and took a holy dip in the river followed by sadhus of Joona Akhara.
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