Welcome To The World Of IIPM: January 2010

Monday, January 25, 2010

“Differential lending will facilitate food security...”

Farm credit industry has seen transformation, but changes are on the way

Currently, farm credit is being delivered, besides informal money-lenders, by institutional agencies viz. commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks and Co-operatives. The money-lenders supply a little less than half of the total borrowings of farmers mostly for consumption purposes including conspicuous consumption. The share of private local area banks is yet to assume significant proportion in farm credit. There are also recently entered micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and their numbers have been proliferating. The high rate of interest ranging from 15-50 % charged by the MFIs generally make them unsuitable for farm credit as the average rate of return on investment in agriculture may be around 15-20 %. More recently, the emergence of corporate finance, primarily in financing agri-machinery has been observed. Of all sources, institutional credit, is still the predominant source of credit.

By virtue of a central government mandate, the credit flow to agriculture more than doubled from Rs.869.8 thousand crore in 2003-04 to Rs.2.29 lakh crore in 2006-07. This reflected the view that farm credit is indeed productive. But in 2008, the same government announced a Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme writing off loans worth Rs.73 thousand crore. This implied ex-post sterility of farm credit.

The biggest challenge before farm credit from institutional sources has always been the increase in outreach, i.e. timely availability of farm credit in adequate amount to a large section of disadvantaged farmers. Right from the time of independence, institutionalisation of farm credit has been the prime objective and yet in practice there is a tardy process lingering on the exclusion of a large number of small, marginal and sub-marginal farmers. Credit also has a strong tendency to perch on where it is relatively safe and shy away from the risky rainfed regions that constitute around 60% of the total cultivated area. Since most of the farmers currently borrowing from financial institutions are located in irrigated areas, the challenge before institutional credit is to increase its outreach in the rainfed and dry regions in keeping with the technological leverage in these areas.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Lost in the jungle

The Forest Rights Act has been in place for three years, but its implementation continues to be stuck in a haze of conflicting signals. A TSI exclusive

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act, came into force in the winter of 2006. Three years on, its implementation is still embroiled in seemingly intractable differences in perception among those whose rights the Act is designed to protect – tribal and other forest dwellers – and the government and industry.

Last week, a senior official of the Madhya Pradesh forests department – this official is in line to take over as state chief secretary – sent a proposal to the Union environment ministry suggesting that multinational companies be granted a 90-year lease on forest land and be made accountable for their upkeep. His argument is that MP is fast losing its forest cover and needs to do something drastic to reverse the process.

Even as Union minister for environment Jairam Ramesh is set to place the proposal before the Union Cabinet for the latter’s approval, influential sections of the MP Congress leadership is opposing the move. MP Congress Committee spokesman Pramod Kumar Tandon has pointed out that the forest land proposed to be leased to the MNCs is worth Rs 2000 crore and surrendering the rights would amount to a sell-out.

In Kolkata, Jnanpith Award-winning writer Mahasweta Devi described the proposal as “a calculated and dangerous move”. She told TSI: “It seems to be in line with the demands of the global capital lobby to grab the natural resources in India. We have to move immediately against the sinister design of the multinationals. I would exhort the tribals to fight any such move.”

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

Read these article :-

Friday, January 22, 2010

Obama needs to be cautious and should let Sana'a deal with al-Qaeda on Yemeni soil

On the other hand, its regime is following the Al Capone maxim of “Gun and nice words” with the home grown version of al-Qaeda. It has acknowledged an open confrontation against al-Qaeda, which has been emerging powerfully since January 2009 when the Yemeni limb fused with the Saudi to form the so-called ‘al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’ (AQAP). The US and the UK is teaming up to facilitate Yemen, which is faced with an armed uprising in the north and greater-than-ever separatist attitudes in the south. And, it has started showing results. “The latest strike that killed several al-Qaeda members was in coordination between Yemen, US and other Arab nations. It has left them confused and has deterred tribesmen, who were gradually been enticed by them,” said Obaid al-Jamhi, a Sana’a-based expert on terror tactics, while talking to TSI.

However, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh has also sent clear signals that he is willing to talk to al-Qaida members who have laid their arms and suggested that he might offer them the same kind of clemency as he has done with other militants in the past. This cautious approach of Yemen is justified amid worries over a probable backlash in a nation where antagonism against the US is common.

It is to avoid the West-trained Yemeni Special Forces troops that were posted in the eastern sectors where most of the operators are holed-up and are trying to provoke the most traditionalist tribes against America and “the traitor Yemeni regime”, who have launched a “Crusade” against them. Also, thousands of Yemenis are battle-hardened veterans of previous “Jihads” in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq, and although they are busy with their lives right now, it won’t come as surprise if they join ranks with al-Qaeda in response to attacks.

Experts suggest that if the West involves itself directly, then the present strength of al-Qaeda will increase to millions from the current 400-odd operatives. It is not for nothing that they say in Yemen, “Ya Gharib Kun Adib”. That means "A foreigner should be well-behaved."

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

Read these article :-

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

OmiGod, it’s Chatur!

With two nominations for the Screen Awards already, Indian-American actor Omi Vaidya reminisces the chamatkar experience in India…

Working in the first Bollywood film...

The crew was welcoming. In Hollywood, it is just so different. Very impersonal – here’s your contract, sign it; that’s your vanity van, stay in it; here's your scene, shoot it. There is complete separation between the big stars and the small actors. But here it felt like a family. Now I’m just worried about how I will go back to my old work setting.

Working with the stars of Bollywood…

Directors can be so tense and get so worked up, but Raju is an absolute delight – relaxed and open to suggestions. He encouraged the crew to stay together to feel comfortable and confident at work.

I have seen Aamir’s “Dil” and “Lagaan”. I knew he is a big star but being born and brought up in the USA, I was not a part of the frenzy. This also helped me in my acting where I was just Chatur and he was just Rancho.

Getting into the character’s skin...

I was told to immediately stop learning Hindi, to stop watching Hindi movies and to start gaining weight. To be like Chatur, I had to constantly keep reminding myself about what the character was – one who desired success and was brash about it.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

Read these article :-

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Tale of irrevocable faith

Despite dire warnings to the contrary, Hyderabad's Owaisi family continues to command the support of the Old City, writes Naresh Nunna

In the recent Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, voters of the old city reposed faith in the All- India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen (MiM). Of the 150 municipal divisions, the Congress, despite the YSR sympathy wave, won 52. TDP, at 45, performed surprisingly well. But MiM won 43 divisions, belying projections. It has reached an understanding with the Congress to share the mayoral post in the last two years of the stipulated five-year term. In the previous civic poll held in 2002, of the 100 divisions, MiM had 36 corporators and Congress 21. The TDP had 22 corporators and the BJP 15. This time analysts had predicted an erosion in MiM's old city vote bank.

MiM is synonymous with the Owaisis. When the government of the newly-formed Hyderabad state, after police action in Nizam’s province, wanted to abolish the ‘bankrupt’ Majlis Party Moulana Abdul Wahed Owaisi, father of Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, took over the reins. He was jailed for ten months. So Salahuddin stepped into politics at an early age. Owaisi emerged as “Salar-e-Millat” (commander of the community). His political ‘mission’ spanned for more than four decades till he passed the mantle to his elder son, Asaduddin Owaisi, in 2004.

Salahuddin was MLA from 1962 to 1984 and also briefly the Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. He represented Hyderabad LS constituency for six consecutive terms from 1984 to 2004. Asaduddin, a barrister, was an MLA from the old city for ten years before becoming an MP in 2004. Asad’s younger brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi, is also an MLA for the last 10 years from the Chandrayanagutta constituency of the old city.

During the 1996 general elections, Mohamed Amanullah Khan of the MiM rebelled against Salahuddin, threatening to cut the Owaisis down to size. Khan lost his deposit. Salahuddin defeated senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu by a margin of 74,000 votes. But, post-2004, there was a spurt in criticism of the MiM, owing to its ‘elitism’.

“The Owaisi family, that had an autocratic grip over the MiM and over the flow of power and resources, began to be conceived as leaders of rich Hyderabadi Muslims. The MiM is said to have contributed hugely towards creating a class divide within the Muslims of Old City. Some poor Muslims did not get medical treatment or school admissions in their community institutions because powerful community leaders served the interests of upper class Muslims,” a local CPI(M) leader told TSI, while seeking to explain the reasons for the penetration of the Communists into the lanes and by-lanes of the Old City to serve the poor Muslims, ‘orphaned’ by the MiM.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

Read these article :-
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better
IIPM fights meltdown
IIPM News
1 LAKH COPY SOLD in less than ten days of Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's new book Discover The Diamond In You

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

9/11 terrorist attack

Supporters of the American worldview call it an attack on the free world. America’s detractors label it as “chicken come to roost”. Whatever, the incident changed global polity forever. As planes crashed into the twin towers and the Pentagon headquarters, people all over the world watched in horror and scattered applause. While Uncle Sam marched on to punish whoever he thought ‘God’ held responsible, the common man of the world’s greatest power understood that they too were vulnerable. Neo-cons and born- again patriots started formulating strategy to up their ante; on the other hand, the liberal segment started serious retrospection on the American foreign policy that brought war to their doors. And as US took on al-Qaeda, the domino effect was seen in every possible corner of the world.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

Monday, January 11, 2010

Gay blood, bad blood?

After the fight for acceptance, homosexuals embark on a new fight...

Raghav (named changed) was a regular blood donor since his college days, and had once also donated blood to help his dad recover from a critical health situation. But one day his application form for blood donation was rejected because it had a tick marked on the question which asked if the donor has had sexual relations with a person of the same sex after 1977. Disappointed on being refused on grounds of being gay, Raghu decided not to donate blood anymore.

After legalising homosexual relationships in India, the various other laws attached to it are in a state of flux, and one of it is the ban on bisexuals or gay men from donating their blood. This prohibition was first introduced in 1977 by the Food and Drug Association, USA, to combat the HIV pandemic, which was rampant at that time. The first signs of AIDS were observed in gay men in the early 1980s, which led to researches that concluded that unprotected anal sex was a major factor intensifying this epidemic. This had led the FDA to impose a ban on homosexuals from donating blood.

Addressing this issue in context to the Indian scenario, Dr. Anju of Rotary Blood Bank says, “Till now, we have been following the rules that exist in most countries. We have a clause according to which we can’t take blood from those involved with multiple partners, that includes both homosexuals and heterosexuals.” On questioning if people in India reveal such intimate details, she said, “Well, we haven’t encountered many such cases and I’m sure that there are many who don’t reveal such details while donating blood. So, all we can do is take as much precaution as we can from our end. But we do not take blood from homosexuals because the probability of them carrying HIV and being involved with multiple partners is much more. So that’s a precautionary measure we follow.”

While this tussle between the law-makers and the affected party has existed since years, the revoking of Article 377 has brought forth this issue in India. “I would absolutely want the government to re-consider this clause, but till now we see no signs of any such thing happening. It took years for us to get breathing space in the society, so the possibility of gays being allowed to donate blood looks bleak”, mentioned Charlie, a homosexual.

Common sense dictates that laws ought to be formulated according to the needs of a country rather than to blindly follow an existing rule. If the debate is that homosexuals are more likely to be carriers of HIV because of engaging in unprotected anal sex, then isn’t there an equal chance of being infected with HIV due to unprotected peno-vaginal sex? And if the answer to that is a yes, then why should there exist a discrimination on the basis of gender preference for a generous gesture like donating blood? Being the most powerful and advanced country in the world, the guidelines given by the US were considered sacrosanct by all, but in the recent past, countries like Tasmania and Australia have challenged the laws on gay blood donation.

Such a ban, however necessary, is discriminatory and would perhaps cause dissonance. To avoid such a predicament, it’s imperative to develop laws and rules that support the progress of a society and take it forward. But, perhaps for now, all we can do is hope!

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

Friday, January 8, 2010

Bio-waste menace is back

Illegal recycling units resurface, public health in peril

The centre of the outbreak of one of the biggest epidemics, Hepatitis B (February-March 2009), was Modasa in north Gujarat. Within a few weeks, nearly 240 people were reported to have been affected by the viral and over 100 succumbed to the disease. The National Institute of Virology, Pune, had identified the disease to be due to a virulent mutant. Statements issued by the health department pointed towards the use of recycled and unsterilised syringes and needles as the mode of transmission of the deadly infection.

The trail of the disease led investigators to a major recycling racket in different parts of the state, including Ahmedabad. It was concluded that the epidemic had been caused by recycled syringes and needles. At that time, the police and health department had raided illegal factories that indulged in recycling of bio-waste. They had seized tonnes of syringes, needles, IV sets and vials. Usually, this type of waste is carefully segregated and destroyed in an incinerator. But the huge quantity of waste found in the godown was being probably repackaged and sold.

Now, eight months later, these bio-waste recycling units are back in business and the health department is doing little to clamp down on them. If immediate action is not taken, the Hepatitis B epidemic is bound to strike again. It is also a well-known fact that many areas, including Ghoda camp, Dariyapur, Ambapur, Naroda and Bhat village, are involved in recycling and selling of hazardous bio-medical waste. These units purchase bio-medical waste at a very low price from the hospitals and then re-sell it in the market.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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