writingonblog uncensored: India should re-engineer its economy: expert

writingonblog uncensored: India should re-engineer its economy: expert: Chennai: India should reengineer its economy and should not ape the Western economies, according to founder of Isha Foundation Sadhgur...

India should re-engineer its economy: expert

Chennai:

India should reengineer its economy and should not ape the Western economies, according to founder of Isha Foundation Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Speaking during the TiECON 2012 conference here on Tuesday where entrepreneurship was blended with spiritualism, Vasudev during a chat with co-founder and chairman Mindtree Subroto Bagchi said India is a world by itself and why should not it be free from the world.

“We are a subcontinent and we should engineer ou economy properly,” he said.

Vasudev said that 250 years ago India followed a different economic growth model which was free from consumption. “Now we have an education process imported from the West and what is more Indians have changed their lifestyle aping the West. There is a need for the country to re-engineer itself,” he said.

Hitting out at consumerism, he said entrepreneurs are trying to follow the American model and if we live like that we need nearly four-and-a-half planets, he said.

He said that leadership comes with three qualities which include integrity, inspiration and insight.

Earlier, chairman of GMR group G M Rao gave insights about the growth of his company and how his group which started with an initial investment of rs 3 lakh rose to Rs 65,000 crore empire.

He highlighted how from a humble villager started his jute mill in 1978 and then moved on to infrastructure by creating world class airports in India.

He said during the bidding for Delhi airport he had 16 consultants and spent Rs 34 crore. He also highlighted how he formulated a family constitution taking expert opinion from world renowned consultants. This is now a legal document with all immediate family members including spouses as signatories, said Rao.

“The constitution also talks about the qualification required for your grandchildren to succeed. It was difficult to implement it initially. But I believe in change and so I embraced the change,” said Rao.

On the row with Maldives government over $511 million contract in the island nation, he said that it was an experience. We participated as it was a transparent bidding. We learnt a lesson as every stage in life is a learning process and provides us immunity, Rao added.

The conference also brought to light that entreprenuers focus has changed as they have long term goals and want to create a legacy. Ajay Bagga, head, private wealth management, Deutsche Bank said that Indian entrepreneur is now more focusing on running a marathon than a sprint. His views also found an echo with with Murugavel Janakiraman stating that entreprenuers need to look beyond instead of focusing on short term gains.

writingonblog uncensored: INS Adyar likely to relocate

writingonblog uncensored: INS Adyar likely to relocate: Chennai: The Indian Navy is strengthening its Eastern Naval Command with additional force multipliers and has proposal to relocate i...

INS Adyar likely to relocate

Chennai:

The Indian Navy is strengthening its Eastern Naval Command with additional force multipliers and has proposal to relocate its naval base INS Adyar, according to Naval officer-in-charge Commodore Amar K Mahadevan.

Addressing reporters after delivering the Navy Day message here on Monday, Commodore Mahadevan refused to give any further details on where the naval base, which came into being during the Raj era and was re-commissioned on February 19, 1954 as the Base Support Ship to support units under naval officer in charge at Chennai, will be relocated.

Commodore Mahadevan also said that the Eastern Naval Command will be home to additional force multipliers such as P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft, MIG 29K Fighter aircraft, advanced jet trainer and ASW Corvettes in consonance with India’s ‘Look East Policy’.

The naval officer said that P8I aircraft as well as other aircraft would be stationed at INS Rajali, a naval base at Arakonnam, near Chennai. He said the stationing of the aircraft is part of Indian Navy’s expansion in Eastern command.

He said the induction of the aircraft at INS Rajali will start by next year and would go on till 2014.

On the arrest of 37 fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, he said they would have probably strayed into Lankan waters. “There has been no FIR that they were harassed. We are conducting regular meeting with Lankan Navy on this issue,” he added.

He also highlighted the Indian Navy’s role to contain piracy in the area and highlighted how Indian Navy came to the rescue of a Chinese ship. “In 2010, piracy had spread to Arabian sea and Indian Navy took stringent action against them and arrested 100 pirates. After that there has been no incidents of piracy in Indian coast,” said Commodore Mahadevan.

INS Adyar factfile:

The Navy Office at Chennai came into existence in early 1940s with Capt RA Malhuish Royal Indian Navy as its first Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC).

The Local Defence Flotilla was formed in the same year followed by Local Naval Defence Reserve

In 1942, a separate naval barracks were built. INS Adyar was subsequently commissioned after the river Adyar which runs through the southern part of the city

On April, 1, 1946, the strength was reduced to bare minimum and Naval officer in Charge was re-designated as Resident Naval Officer

INS Adyar was re-commissioned on 19 Feb 1954

On Jun 6, 1968, the resident naval officer was re-designated as NOIC (Madras) under the control of Flag Officer commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.

The unit shifted to its present location on October 30, 1981

On July 1, 1997, NOIC (Madras) was re-designated as NOIC (Tamilnadu and Puducherry).

On July 3, 1997 the charter of NOIC (Tuticorin), which were earlier delegated to INS Kattabomman, were also placed under the jurisdiction of Naval Officer-in-Charge (Tamilnadu and Puducherry).

Central Water Commission to be restructured to link river basins

Chennai:

Central Water Commission said a mechanism has been evolved to expand and restructure it to adopt river basins as the fundamental block for integrated planning, development and management of water resources in the country.

Delivering the 29^th Dr M Visvesvaraya Memorial Lecture here on Monday, Central Water Commission chairman Rajesh Kumar said the Union government is actively considering the proposal for preparation of basin wise integrated water resources development and management plans.

He said the mechanism is to start from the political level to executive level and plan is to have an additional secretary appointed by the Union government as in-charge of the state. He said the state government will be on the board and will also implement the projects.

He said there would be optimum use of water if one follows the basin wise approach. He said inter basin integration will augment water by converting surplus flood water into utilizable water.

On the interlinking of river, he said 16 links have been proposed under peninsular component and 14 links under Himalayan component. He also said the Central Water Commission is also planning to review its National Water Policy. “It was reviewed on 1987 and 2002 and it is time to review it again,” said Kumar.

Kumar also said the draft of National Water Policy, which was prepared after intensive consultation process with policy makers, academia, experts and professional, non government organizations, industries and panchayats, is yet to be adopted by the National Water Resources Council. “The earlier meeting was cancelled and we are planning to put it again in front of NWRC,” he said, adding that once it is cleared it will be circulated among the state governments.

He also stressed on the need to implement guidelines for different uses of water for eg irrigation, drinking, industrial etc particularly in context of basin wise situations. He said CWC has prepared ‘Handbook for computing the Water Use Efficiency (WUE) for Irrigation Projects – 2010’ for guidance to the states.

Kumar said that CWC is also encouraging states to set up Water Resources Regulatory Authorities for equitable water distribution and rationalization of water charges. Only Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have set up such a body so far, he added.

writingonblog uncensored: Union govt gives clearance to North Chennai Power ...

writingonblog uncensored: Union govt gives clearance to North Chennai Power ...: Chennai: Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan on Saturday said that her government has given clearance to Rs 5,800...

Union govt gives clearance to North Chennai Power Station

Chennai:

Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan on Saturday said that her government has given clearance to Rs 5,800 crore North Chennai Thermal Power project by treating it as a special case.

Her statement comes in the wake of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa writing a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week over the delay in getting the clearance.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the Animal Quarantine Centre in Velachery, the minister said, “As soon as we came to know about it, we gave the permission in one day. There were some technical issues regarding the environment clearance but we treated it as a special case.”
Natrajan said the clearance was given on November 27, 2012.
One unit of the 2x600 MW of North Chennai Power Station is expected to generate power by this month and the other unit is expected to generate power by March or June.