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15/03/2013

* Beans means bonanza as oil frackers turn demand for guar into gold rush | The Times

The Times: “Just as America’s booming shale gas industry has helped to wean the country off an unhealthy dependence on imported Middle Eastern oil, a new national addiction is emerging — to the Indian guar gum on which the industry depends.

A merchant paints numbers on sacks of guar as a laborer loads them onto a truck at a grain market in Jodhpur, India

Soaring demand for guar from US oil companies — whose apparently insatiable appetite stems from its use in making the drilling fluids used in the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for shale gas — triggered a 374 per cent surge in Indian exports between January 2011 and January 2012.

With 80 per cent of global production of guar — which means cow feed in Hindi — India has a near monopoly on the bean, a fact that has led to a bonanza for Indian farmers who witnessed a ninefold increase in prices during 2012. “The price increase has been just astronomical,” says Naveen Mathur, commodities analyst at Angel Broking in Mumbai.

For decades, apart from cow feed, powdered guar has been used as a thickener in toothpaste, pet food and ice cream, but global demand has mushroomed in recent years because oil companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger have required huge quantities for use as a thickening agent in the fluid needed to squeeze shale gas out of rock formations deep underground.

Almost overnight, guar has become India’s biggest agricultural export, shipments of which were worth $4.9 billion between April and January 2012, roughly double the value of the country’s exports of basmati rice and cotton combined.

Like the Texan oil booms of the 19th century, the guar rush is having a similar effect on the desert state of Rajasthan, where most of it is grown and where some farmers have earned more in a single season than the previous ten put together.

Guar beans, which are milled and powdered to produce gum that is eight times more viscous than cornstarch, grows only in rare climatic conditions — arid areas watered by intermittent but heavy monsoon rains.

But the huge surge in prices and exports has prompted some to ask whether the boom can last.

As Indian farmers frantically plant new areas to meet demand, US oil scientists in Houston are desperately trying to come up with synthetic alternatives, such as carbon methyl cellulose, which could rival guar on both price as well as efficacy.

Others are trying to develop new strains of guar that can be grown in different climatic conditions.

So far, they have not managed to do so — and India’s guar boom looks set to continue.

via Beans means bonanza as oil frackers turn demand for guar into gold rush | The Times.

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13/03/2013

* Rains or Not, India Is Falling Short on Drinkable Water

NY Times: “CHERRAPUNJI, India — Almost no place on Earth gets more rain than this small hill town. Nearly 40 feet falls every year — more than 12 times what Seattle gets. Storms often drop more than a foot a day. The monsoon is epic.

Water containers are lined up at a community tap in Cherrapunji. Some people must walk long distances to get water.

But during the dry season from November through March, many in this corner of India struggle to find water. Some are forced to walk long distances to fill jugs in springs or streams. Taps in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya State, spout water for just a few hours a day. And when it arrives, the water is often not drinkable.

That people in one of the rainiest places on the planet struggle to get potable water is emblematic of the profound water challenges that India faces. Every year, about 600,000 Indian children die because of diarrhea or pneumonia, often caused by toxic water and poor hygiene, according to Unicef.

Half of the water supply in rural areas, where 70 percent of India’s population lives, is routinely contaminated with toxic bacteria. Employment in manufacturing in India has declined in recent years, and a prime reason may be the difficulty companies face getting water.

And India’s water problems are likely to worsen. A report that McKinsey & Company helped to write predicted that India would need to double its water-generation capacity by the year 2030 to meet the demands of its surging population.

A separate analysis concluded that groundwater supplies in many of India’s cities — including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai — are declining at such a rapid rate that they may run dry within a few years.

The water situation in Gurgaon, the new mega-city south of Delhi, became so acute last year that a judge ordered a halt to new construction until projects could prove they were using recycled water instead of groundwater.

On Feb. 28, India’s finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, proposed providing $2.8 billion to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in the coming fiscal year, a 17 percent increase.

But water experts describe this as very little in a country where more than 100 million people scrounge for water from unimproved sources.

Some water problems stem from India’s difficult geography. Vast parts of the country are arid, and India has just 4 percent of the world’s fresh water shared among 16 percent of its people.

But the country’s struggle to provide water security to the 2.6 million residents of Meghalaya, blessed with more rain than almost any place, shows that the problems are not all environmental.”

via Rains or Not, India Is Falling Short on Drinkable Water – NYTimes.com.

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09/03/2013

* Work-Life Balance a Challenge for Indian Women

WSJ: “Yes, the number of women opting for MBAs in India is increasing. And yes, India Inc. is consistently working to hire more women, who are young, ambitious and increasingly qualified.

But can these women strike a good work-life balance?

Even though India Inc. has been encouraging a greater number of women in the workplace, that number is still low. A new study by Grant Thornton, a global accounting and advisory firm, shows that on average, women make up only 15% of the workforce in Indian companies. Globally, this figure stood at 35%. Today, only 1.8% of CEOs in India are women.

How to enhance the role of women in India Inc. was a question addressed by many of the businesswomen who gathered in New Delhi’s Habitat Center on Women’s Day, Friday.

Sunita Cherian, vice president of human resources at Wipro, speaking on the sidelines of the event, said that her company tries to meet the changing priorities of their women employees depending on their stages of life.

For instance, the company is more flexible on working hours for women after they get married, says Ms. Cherian. Wipro Ltd. is also determined to persuade women to stay in their job, even if they may be tempted to quit and rely on their partners’ incomes instead.

“This is the stage where a woman might feel that a dual-income is not a necessity,” she says.

Ms. Cherian, who has spent 17 years working at Wipro Ltd., believes that her “ambition was fuelled” by the fact that she stepped into the right organization and the right family after marriage.

Srimati Shivashankar, who is in charge of promoting greater gender diversity at HCL Technologies, says she had to work harder than others as she was climbing the corporate ladder. Cracking stereotypes like “think director, think male” was not easy, says Ms. Shivashankar.

Striking a good work-life balance is much more important for women than for men. A new global research by Accenture, a consulting firm, found that around 70% of female respondents in India said that work-life balance was key to their definition of “success” in their career, while only 40% of men felt that.

The study also found that the difficulty of balancing life and work is a key reason why women in India leave their jobs. While 24% of Indian men surveyed said they quit their jobs because of long or inflexible working hours, for women that figure was 48%.

via Work-Life Balance a Challenge for Indian Women – India Real Time – WSJ.

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Posted in Economics, employment, Gender imbalance, Gender issues, higher education, India alert, Politics, Technology, Women's rights | 3 Comments »

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07/03/2013

* Rahul slips into Sonia’s shoes

The Hindu: “The transition of power in the Congress is taking place gradually as its less than two-month-old vice-president has begun to take regular meetings with the organisation’s functionaries and MPs, presiding over meetings that the party president — and his mother — Sonia Gandhi held till recently.

Learning the ropes? A file photo of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi at a party meet. File Photo: AP

Streamline the party organisation and put in place a system that will bridge the communication and coordination deficit, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi told central office-bearers here on Wednesday evening.

In the next fortnight, he added, he intended bringing together PCC chiefs, CLP leaders, and central general secretaries and secretaries in charge of States for a discussion, even as some senior functionaries suggested holding conventions in States where the Congress is in power to publicise the UPA government’s flagship programmes and dharnas in the Opposition-ruled States.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Gandhi met party MPs from Madhya Pradesh as part of a series of discussions he is holding daily with parliamentarians from different States. The focus at this meeting was on the party working concertedly to oust the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh in the Assembly elections later this year and ensuring that the Congress received the credit for Centrally sponsored welfare schemes being implemented in the State.

The transition of power in the Congress is taking place gradually as its less than two-month-old vice-president has begun to take regular meetings with the organisation’s functionaries and MPs, presiding over meetings that the party president — and his mother — Sonia Gandhi held till recently.

But the paradox is that while Mr. Gandhi is seen to be leading from the front in a bid to strengthen, energise and democratise the Congress, on Tuesday, he told MPs and journalists that becoming Prime Minister was not his priority as he believed in “long-term politics” — he wanted to empower everyone. He said he wanted to focus on strengthening his party ahead of next year’s general elections.”

via Rahul slips into Sonia’s shoes – The Hindu.

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05/03/2013

* Power should be with more people, not just handful: Rahul

the Hindu: ““Asking me whether you want to be Prime Minister is a wrong question,” Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

The Congress Vice President made this suo motu remark while interacting with party MPs amid growing clamour in Congress for projecting him as its Prime Ministerial face before the next Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Gandhi also gave signals that he was against the “high command culture”, saying that he wants to empower more and more people than a handful, who call the shots.

The 42-year-old leader told the MPs in no uncertain terms that the organisation was his priority and he was preparing for a long haul.

“Today I see how MPs feel without power and it is the same story in all the parties, be it Congress or BJP. I want to empower the 720-odd MPs in Parliament.

“I want to give voice to the middle tier…empower the middle-level leaders. There are some parties in India which are run by one leader (BSP), two leaders (SP), five to six leaders (BJP) and 15 to 20 leaders (Congress). My priority is that I want to empower the MPs as also the 5,000-odd legislators in various states,” he said.

via Power should be with more people, not just handful: Rahul – The Hindu.

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03/03/2013

* We will defeat Maoists design through development: Jairam Ramesh

Times of India: “The Centre would “fight” Naxals through welfare and empowerment schemes and protect tribals from being used as shields by the ultras, union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said.

Cropped from image of Jairam Ramesh the Indian...

Jairam Ramesh the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“In the name of forest dwellers, Maoists have created an atmosphere of fear (in the society). Our fight against Maoists is continuing. Through schemes for tribal welfare and women empowerment, with a strong political willpower, we will defeat their design,” he told a meeting of Adivasi Adhikar Samavesa at Narla in Odisha’s Kalahandi district.

Stating that Maoists were using tribals as shields, Ramesh said the Naxal issue can be tackled by strengthening Gram Sabhas and accelerating political processes and greater participation among forest dwellers.

As promised, the UPA government had undertaken several developmental schemes for uplift of tribals and many more were in the offing, Ramesh said.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo, who also attended the function, said tribals remained deprived as benefits of developmental schemes failed to percolate to them and they should be brought into the social mainstream.

A large number of tribal representatives from different parts of Kalahandi and adjoining districts drew the attention of the two union ministers to various problems, including the issue of fake caste certificates.

In a major step to empower forest dwellers, Jamguda in tribal dominated Kalahandi became the first village in Odisha and second in the country to exercise its community right to harvest bamboo under the Forest Rights Act.

With transit passes given to gram sabha, residents of Jamguda are now free to harvest and sell bamboo and not wait wait for the government’s special permission.”

via We will defeat Maoists design through development: Jairam Ramesh – The Times of India.

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01/03/2013

* Pinaka rockets successfully test-fired for second day

Times of India: “Indigenously developed ‘Pinaka‘ rockets were successfully test-fired, on the second consecutive day on Friday, from a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) by an armament establishment from a base in Odisha.

English: Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher ...

English: Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the DRDO for the Indian Army. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Three rounds of Pinaka rockets were successfully tested today from the base at Chandipur, about 15 km from here, while three rounds had been fired yesterday,” defence sources said.

On January 30 and 31, this year, seven rounds of ‘Pinaka’ rockets were tested from the same base.

‘Pinaka’, which has undergone several tough tests since 1995, has already been inducted into the armed forces.

The trial was conducted by personnel from Armament Research and Development Establishment ( ARDE), Pune unit at Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) firing point-2 at Chandipur, the sources said.

“The MBRL, capable of acting as a force-multiplier, has been developed to supplement artillery guns,” a defence official said.

‘Pinaka’ is an area weapon system with a range of 40 km. The quick reaction time and high rate of fire of the system gives an edge to the army during a low-intensity conflict situation, he said.

The unguided rocket system is meant to neutralise large areas with rapid salvos. ‘Pinaka’ system can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds, the sources said, adding that the battery of six launchers can neutralise at a time a target area of 3.9 sq km.

The system’s capability to incorporate several types of warheads makes it deadly for the enemy as it can even destroy solid structures and bunkers.”

via Pinaka rockets successfully test-fired for second day – The Times of India.

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27/02/2013

* Apple Acts to Crack India Market for iPhone

WSJ: “Apple Inc.  is overhauling its iPhone operations in the crucial Indian market, attempting to chip away at Samsung Electronics Co.’s  dominance by adjusting to the country’s retailing rules and convoluted distribution process.

image

But the Cupertino, Calif., company still has a long way to go.

That’s no small matter as Apple’s growth slows in the U.S. and other mature markets. India is poised to become the world’s third-largest smartphone market this year, behind China and the U.S., according to Strategy Analytics.

Apple doesn’t have any of its own retail outlets in India and relies on distributors and resellers, such as this Croma store in Mumbai.

Apple is sidestepping wireless carriers to seize greater control over marketing in India and offering no-interest loans to lure lower-income consumers. The company has also boosted staff in India by 30% to 170 employees in the past six months. And it is ramping up the introduction of other products, with the Apple TV video-streaming gadget expected to reach stores in coming weeks, people familiar with the matter say.

The result is that Apple shipped more than 252,000 iPhones to India in the quarter through December, more than triple the number in the previous three months, according to research firm Canalys.

Yet Apple accounts for just 5% smartphone shipments to India, compared with 40% for market leader Samsung. The South Korean company surged ahead by making India a high-priority market earlier than Apple did and offering a range of phones based on Google Inc.’s  Android software that start at just over $100. An older generation iPhone sells for around $500 while the latest model starts at nearly $850.”

via Apple Acts to Crack India Market for iPhone – WSJ.com.

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24/02/2013

* I am here to share your pain, PM tells Hyderabad blast victims

Times of India: “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday visited the Thursday’s blast sites and hospitals where the injured are being treated to express “solidarity” with the people of the city and appealed for peace and calm.

[image]

He lauded the people of the city for refusing to be provoked by the “nefarious” act.

Singh visited the twin blast sites and Omni and Yashoda hospitals where he met some of the injured and their families, assuring them of all help.

“I have come to share the grief of people of Hyderabad. I express condolence for the families of the bereaved and wish speedy recovery for the injured,” Singh said after meeting the blast victims at the hospitals.

He also said the state government has assured all medical help for them.

“The state government has assured all help will be given for treatment,” Singh, who flew in here from Delhi by a special IAF plane, said.

Making an appeal for peace, he said, “I call upon the people to maintain calm in this hour of grief. I am happy that people of Hyderabad have refused to be provoked by this nefarious incident.”

Singh had on Saturday strongly condemned the blasts, saying those responsible for the “dastardly” act would not go unpunished.”

via I am here to share your pain, PM tells Hyderabad blast victims – The Times of India.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/political-factors/indian-tensions/

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18/02/2013

* Outsourcers turn to China to plug India’s skills gap

The Times: “India is running out of the skilled engineers needed to man its giant software industry, forcing companies to hire staff overseas, especially from China, one of the industry’s pioneers has warned.

An Indian employee at a call centre provides service support to international customers

Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder and executive chairman of Infosys, said that the outsourcing sector was facing a manpower shortage. India, he said, was not producing enough properly trained engineering graduates to meet expanding global demand for its services.

The country may have a population of more than 1.2 billion people, but the dearth of trained graduates is driving up salaries in its IT industry by 15 per cent a year. That, in turn, is eroding the sub-continent’s global competitiveness and forcing companies such as Infosys, Tata Consulting Services and Wipro to invest in finding foreign workers.

“A lot of the tertiary education in India is done by private colleges and there are significant quality issues there,” Mr Gopalakrishnan said.

India produces about 700,000 engineering graduates every year, but of these only about 25 per cent are sufficiently well trained to be considered for a job in IT, Mr Gopalakrishnan said.

Infosys — whose customers include BP, GlaxoSmithKline and Tesco — was planning to treble its workforce in China from 3,500 to more than 10,000 to help cope with constraints at home, where most of its 155,000 staff work.

“Apart from China, there are not many countries in the world where we can recruit large enough numbers,” Mr Gopalakrishnan added. Infosys, which generated revenues of $7 billion last year, already operates large software development and outsourcing operations in Shanghai, Dalian, Beijing, Hangzhou and Jiaxing. The wages in China are higher than in India but are rising at a more modest pace of about 10 per cent annually.

Infosys has also been expanding its overseas presence in other low-cost countries, such as the Philippines, and has explored opportunities in Egypt.

In expanding fields such as data analytics, there are only about 50,000 engineers in India with the right programming skills. Demand is at least five times that number, according to Heidrick & Struggles, a recruitment company.

India’s software and outsourcing industry employs about three million people directly, an increase of 188,000 from a year ago. It generated $75.8 billion in exports in 2012-13, making it India’s largest single export industry, and is continuing to grow at more than 10 per cent a year even as India’s overall rate of economic growth has nearly halved over the past three years, to just over 5 per cent.

Mr Gopalakrishnan said that as well as hiring overseas, Infosys was trying to improve the quality of education in India by funding teacher training programmes at 350 engineering colleges. The group has also built a private campus in the southern city of Mysore capable of training 14,000 students.

“We will have to continue to invest heavily in education and training,” he said.”

via Outsourcers turn to China to plug India’s skills gap | The Times.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/economic-factors/information-technology/

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