Technology, Cardiac Monitors and Agile Labs

After the Nano comes another great news for Indian technology. An IIT professor has created the world's smalled cardiac monitor.

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/IIT_Develops_Smallest_Cardiac_Monitor/551-86089-615.html

Now that is really worth cheering. Indians are finally getting there. This will make it easier for doctors to keep track of their patients cardiac history enabling them to diagnise the problem better and of course, treat them better.

We are looking forward with great expectations at one of our clients, Agile Labs, making history soon with their technology.

Agile Labs has alrady patented a process engine that is making people save tons of money when it comes to desiging their enterprise applications. And these includes applications for CRM, SCM, etc.

Watch out for more on this company!

The news was good this week. Indians went euphoric over the cricket test victory over Australia. The last frontier, according to one electronic channel, Australia is the big gun of the cricketing world and beating them perhaps deserves some celebration. For those who do not understand the nuances of the game or have a lackadaisical interest in the game, it may seem no big issue, bur for the fans, it is. And when the team comes back, whether they lose the series, the one day internationals and T20s, the nice part is, they will remember this victory.

The Indian political and bureaucratic circles are going around in circles. The visit of the French presdient with his girlfriend in tow is putting everybody into a tizzy. How does protocol handle a girlfriend - especially when the president is slated as a chief guest at the Republic parade. It is embarrassing. How are our puritan brothers across various communties, be it Hindus, Muslims or Christians, take it. After all live-in relationships are still not the in thing, never mind if the supreme court is supposed to have legalised the relationship by making the live-in partners share assets. Isn't that marriage in a way?

The Other Salman

Few writers of Indian origin have achieved as much success or notoriety as has Salman Rushdie. A news channel managed to do a scoop by getting him in front of the camera last night.

The media however has a penchant for controversies and seems to dwell on those issues that are irrelevant. For one, Rusdhie is in the news - or rather Parmeshwar Godrej was, for hosting a dinner for the former. And it is taking an ugly turn now. A Muslim faction is asking for a ban on Godrej products!!!

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Muslim_groups_divided_over_Godrej_ban_call/articleshow/2712618.cms

The truth of the matter. Rushdie was in Mumbai on a project of the Bill Gates Foundation to which even Parmeshwar Godrej is associated with. Rushdie was in India to do stories on HIV Aids across the country in the company of a dozen or more other well known writers, including Kiran Desai. Why doesn't the media highlight these facts so that people understand that it was not just a social happening. It happened for a reason and that reason is good! If this is the future, it will be futile to expect corporates or those related to the big brands - to participate in good causes.

The media should have publicised the good work that the Gates Foundation is doing and commended Rushdie for being part of this project which will help portray Aids in the country in the right manner. Rushdie incidentally is going to do a story on the Hijra community of Mumbai.

The interview itself covered myriad areas, all of which seemed interested enough. Rushdie was cool enough to talk about Padma, from whom he is now divorced. His next book, "The Enchantress of Florence" is going to be far from controversies, claims Rushdie. It is a book that might show me in new light, says he. (To be release in June 2008 by Random House.) As for the criticisms he gets from Indian writers - Pankaj Mishra gets a mention from the interviwer - he says, "These one and a half book novelists are of no importance. I guess we should look out for some fireworks from these writers!

Salman Rushdie is the author of 8 previous novels — Grimus, Midnight’s Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the “Booker of Bookers”), Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Fury — and one collection of short stories, East, West. He has also published 5 works of non-fiction: The Jaguar Smiles, Imaginary Homelands, The Wizard of Oz, Mirrorwork and Step Across This Line.

The NDTV Indian of the Year Awards

Yesterday NDTV gave out the much hyped Indian of the Year awards.

It was and will become the most coveted awards in the days to come.

Imagine the winners: Dr Manmohan Singh, Rajnikanth, Mukesh Ambani, Vishwanathan Anand, A R Rehman...

Now imagine the audience - Virtually the who's who of India stretching from politicians from all factions, government heads - oh yes, Dr Manmohan Singh was there and so was Chidambaram and many others. There was Shah Rukh Khan and too many other biggies to count.

Well - Congratulations are due to NDTV for a fantastic offering. There must have been much hard work to come up with such an event and concept.

It was nice to see an awards ceremony shorn of the usual rifraf.

But one wonders - do those who have won so much accolades and honour, who have literally touched the citadal of succes - very much acknowledged and eulogised, imitated and followed, reverred and worshipped by the masses and their own select audiences - do they need these awards?

Why is is that winning an award makes the richest and the most powerful feel so proud and nice?

What made Nita Ambani gush with so much pride and joy when her husband, the richest man in India, stood there beside Chidambaram, the finance minister and spoke about how he wishes to be known as the man who transformed rural india in the coming year...?

One guesses that ultimately neither money, fame or power actually makes any person totally happy. True accomplishment is perhaps measured by the accolades and the recognition awarded to inviduals by their peers and the world at large.

So awards are the really measure of success?

Well, we dont know about that, but it sure works wonderfully for getting good PR out of it!

Man and Human

Man set afire for stopping eve-teasing of widow Hindustan Times, 17 Jan 2007

Two women molested in Mumbai on New Year dayHindu, India - 2 Jan 2008

There are many more stories of the second kind. According to stats, there are 18 women being harrassed in India every hour, every day.

In Mumbai, the arrested new year's 'eve' molestors have now donned the guise of rescuers. Some of them indeed must have been warding off the evil ones. So the guilty will escape with the innocent. Lets see where it heads.

In Rajastan, in Goa, across the country, Indian women and foreign women continue to be molested and sometimes, raped with impunity.

That is a sad stament of affairs in India. The sexual hunger within a large majority of men is a matter of concern. And there is so much ado about sex education in school.

Yesterday, one Indian paid a price for his chivalry is trying to protect a widow's honour. He was burnt to death.

That is even more sadder.

But is is heartening to know that there are heroes still alive and kicking.

Akshaya Patra's 'Zero to Billion' Conclave

There are many reasons for humanity to survive. One of them is the inherent kindness and streak of empathy that good folk have for their less fortunate brethren. Some are good enough to start a a legacy that becomes an institution. The Bangalore-based Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such institution which has been founded on an idea to feed all hungry children in India and ensure that nobody misses out on school. And it is very comforting to know that they are soon reaching a figure of one million meals a day. This means they serve over 300 million meals in a year!

Today they run the world’s largest NGO-run school meal program reaching out to over 8,38,000 children.

Of course, a mammoth operation such as these cannot be but because of public and private partnership. The Government lends support in a big way and many private enterprises also do their bit. All in all , making it possible for Akshaya Patra to feed the eight lakh plus children everyday.

However, to reach out to more children and to sustain the numbers it is imperative that Akshaya Patra coninues to get support from the various governments and many more private corporations.

It is for the purpose of celbrating its success in this short period of time and to discuss te future prospects that the foundation is hosting a national conclave titled ‘Zero to Billion’, on February 01, 2008. Eminent CEOs and leaders from diverse sectors such as corporates, social institutions, philanthropy, art and culture, media and politics will congregate to celebrate the foundation’s success and adiscuss issues that will help in hunger eradication and enhance child education and attendance in schools. will host a The conclave will be held on February 1, 2008 at Hotel Chancery Pavilion, Bangalore.

The aim of the event is to celebrate the pioneering efforts and dramatic results accomplished by Akshaya Patra in a short span of time, since its inception in 2000. Akshaya Patra would also deliberate a solution to address the social evil of widespread hunger and malnutrition affecting 57 million children in India, and the debilitating effects of lack of schooling and resulting illiteracy.

Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor and Chairman, Infosys will deliver the keynote address.Mr T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chief Financial officer, Infosys,and Gururaj Desh Deshpande,Chairman,Sycamore Networks are the Co-Chairpersons of the Host committee.

The theme of the conference, ‘Zero to Billion’, reflects the need for communities, corporates and institutions to be equal partners in mutual cooperation and collaborate efforts for the development of Child Education. The conference will offer an opportunity for all participants to meet, discuss and share challenges, ideas, resources, and experiences. The goal of the foundation is a national goal, and there-in this conclave gathers immense importance as it looks forward to an India where no child will ever go hungry or miss out on education because of an empty stomach.

Sri Madhu Pandit Das, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation says, “Zero to Billion,” will give us an opportunity to bring leaders together towards thought – sharing for the noble cause of eradicating hunger from India. With Akshaya Patra’s track record of reaching out to needy children across India through school meal program, we are confident that this platform would result in path-breaking ideas for development in child education and increasing the magnitude of our reach.”

More about
AKSHAYA PATRA FOUNDATION: A Meal Today, A Life Tomorrow.
(NATIONAL LEVEL SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMME)

According to a UNESCO report, around 13.5 million children in the age group of 6-13 years are out of school in India. Despite the trillion-dollar economic growth, a large chunk of India’s younger generation, does not have access to schools because of poverty and malnutrition.

To facilitate the education of needy children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, provides unlimited noon meals in schools in partnership with the Central and respective state governments of India. Currently the program is feeding 8,38,000 children in over 4,500 government, government aided schools and anganwadis (day care centers) in 11 locations across India on any given day.

They are Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Bellary, Mangalore and Mysore in Karnataka, Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh, Jaipur, Nathdwara and Baran in Rajasthan, Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and Puri in Orissa. This is the largest NGO run food program in the world.

What makes Akshaya Patra unique?
1. The Akshaya Patra program uses centralized, automated kitchens for cooking food which is then distributed to schools through special purpose vehicles.
2. Akshaya Patra’s kitchens can cook about 100,000 meals in less than five hours with least human intervention and sustained quality.
3. A three item menu is served to children as per the recommendations of qualified nutritionists.
4. Due to extensive mechanization of the kitchen, the program is able to offer children standardized, high quality, hygienic meals.
5. The program also offers education and health interventions for holistic child development.
6. Akshaya Patra is a secular, not-for-profit program implemented only in government schools where there is no discrimination whatsoever.
7. The program is independently governed by a Board of Trustees & audited by KPMG.
8. A study in the year 2006 by AC Nielsen Org Marg Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, has vouchsafed for the efficacy of the program in increasing attendance in schools, improving nutritional status of these children, enhancing their learning abilities and reducing drop out rates.
9. Akshaya Patra program is run with part subsidies from the government, besides financial support from corporates and individual philanthropists.
10. All contributions to The Akshaya Patra Foundation are eligible for 100% tax deduction under section 35AC/80GGA(bb) of the Income Tax Act 1961 in India.
With a vision to ensure that no child in India is deprived of education because of hunger, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is striving to end hunger and create a human resources pool that will propel India into the league of developed nations.

Bharat Ratna, Jallikattu and Others

It was and continues to be an interesting week. A virtual feast for the media.

The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is expected to come home with some positive results, though expecting the boundary issues to be settled would be asking for utopia. But for trade and business, the relationship between the two countries might see a upswing and that is good for us. Though a different set of lobby will try to curtail Chinese cheap imports.

Mahasankranthi came with its controversies. The Courts banned Jallikattu - a highly popular traditional bull fight - though in some places it is actually a race -- only to reverse the order a day before the festival and in Tamil Nadu many celebrated the event with gusto. There was blood and gore and injuries and the bulls had their fun and ...oh well, what's a few broken bones in the face of over all fun! Somewhere else the kites - oh yes, it is also a festival when kite flying marks the day - the long thin threads managed to kill and maim many pigeons and doves. So next year, we might see a ban on kite flying? No, it may not be so. In the pursuit of happiness - the comfort and pleasure of mankind makes a harsh demand on the environment and its co-existents on this planet. Good sense has to prevail upon the humans...

The Bharat Ratna is being shorn of its dignity and decorum. Political parties should stop using it as a price.

It's nice to be in power and celebrate your Birthday. Mayawati, the CM of UP has done it again. She celebrated her birthday where literally everybody was invited. The media really can do all it wants but it cannot curtail popular leaders, elected by popular mandate and revered so highly by the common folk and their activities. One has to give due credit Mayawati for what she has achieved and a small brithday party is not to be held against her. Many more to you Madam

A great Year for IPOs?

It is interesting to see the Reliance Power hoardings all across the city. Most people in Bangalore were asking - "Wow, is reliance getting into power too?" Some others who know that Reliance Power already is on full force in Mumbai and other parts of the country were wondering whether Reliance was entering Karnataka. It took a few days (in the initial period) when it dawned that the the company was planning a IPO. The public offer will open on January 15 and close on January 18. Shares will be sold in a price band of Rs 405-450. Rediff reports that Billionaire Anil Ambani has revealed that Reliance Power Ltd is likely to list on the bourses by early next month. "We are expecting to list in the first week of February," Ambani told reporters in Mumbai, while announcing the IPO plans for his group company Reliance Power Ltd.

The market capitalisation of Reliance ADAG group, which is over Rs 3,25,000 crore (Rs 3, 250 billion) would surge significantly after the listing of Reliance Power. Think about it.

Meanwhile there are other biggies too planning IPOs and that includes the SBI, Air India, ICICI Bank and many others. So it may be a good year for IPOs as 2007 was.

Meanhwile there is an interesting article in the International Herald Tribune on Iraqi war veterans in the US. Titled "Iraq veterans leave a trail of death and heartbreak in U.S."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/13/america/vets.php?page=2, the story has been researched by 7 journalists.

It is an interesting study of how these war veterans, not all but a few of them - but large enough to warrant a serious look into - have ended up committing homicide and some suicide. In some cases the attack was against muggers and the like.

One wonders what happens to our troops who have been in such places or nearer home, in Kashmir and the North East?

The Nano and the Media

The one lakh car is finally here and wow! What a PR juggernut that was and continues to be.

The Nano is everything that the PR machinery is managing to get through. It deserves every bit of square centimetres publicity that it is getting and that, to say the least is, phenomenal. Very few negative articles or comments have come out on the Nano. What is being voiced though is the unmentioned, unstated or unquoted criticism of flooding the Indian market with a cheap car that will only make our roads more congested, and the environment more threatened.

The Nano deserves all the praise because it is indeed an epoch making product. It definitely is India's answer to the T-Ford, as one journalist pointed out.

The best article or column so far has been the one by Swaminathan S Ankleshwar Aiyar in the Sunday Times of India, January 13, 2007 titled " Attacking Polluting Policies, not the Nano."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/Attack_polluting_policies_not_the_Nano/articleshow/2695666.cms


It is a perfect piece that should make our policy makers think seriously about policies that limit innovation.


OFF THE CUFF: In karnataka, the Nano is more likely to be a Nanoo. (Meaning "Myself," or also , "Me too.") which conveys the idea of the Nano very well. Of course, the name Nano is great. Kudos to the guys who came up with such an apt name.