Urging the audience not to romanticise the Maoists, Dr. Ramachandra Guha remarked that Operation Greenhunt will only escalate violence in the tribal areas of Chattisgarh. Dr. Guha, emminent sociologist and historian, was addressing a jam packed Satish Dhawan auditorium on the convention “The war within: the Maoists, the tribals and the State”, organised by Concern on November 7, 2009. Himanshu Kumar, a Gandhian activist and Sudeep Chakravarti, author of ‘Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country’ were the other speakers of the convention. Prof. Sanjay Biswas, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, IISc moderated the discussion.
Himanshu Kumar, who had set up the Vanavasi Chetna Ashram in 1992, spoke about how the fight between Maoists and Salwa Judum (a state sponsored civilian armed movement against naxalites) are affecting the livelihood of the tribals in the Bastar region. He spoke about Dr. Manmohan Singh's comment on the need for taking action against Maoists in Bastar as it was affecting the inflow of investments in the country. But, according to him, the main aim of the Government is to clear the villages for the MNCs (Bastar is a mineral rich area). He mainly spoke about the alleged attrocities that Salwa Judum commits against the tribals in the region. After the creation of the Salwa Judum, there has been more than 30% increase in Maoists voilence and more than 20% increase in the Maoist population. Himanshu Kumar claimed, where there is injustice, there cannot be peace. The need is sustainable development with some equality in the distribution of wealth.
Sudeep Chakravarti, writer cum journalist, remarked that Mao is just another 'ism' and not the real deal. In the modern world, where Mao Zedong gets reduced to the status of a commercial icon even in the China, Sudeep feels that naxalism is the corrupt way of capturing power. Out of the 28 states in India, 14 are Naxal affected. Sudip, who has travelled extensively in the maoist affected areas including Lalgarh, felt that we are living in a state of denial. We should realise the way we are ill treating our own people (tribals and local population in the insurgency prone north-east).
Dr. Ramachandra Guha, also an ex-faculty at the institute, felt that the tribals are just the “sacrificial goats” in the fight between politicians (“thugs and murderes”) and the maoists. There is a middle path between the views of Gurcharan Das (pro-globalisation) and Arundhati Roy (anti-globalisation). There should be equality of opportunity. The solution to this problem involves dialogue between the State and Maoists. In Orissa, it is the fight for the souls of the tribals by three parties – Maoists (who have guns), RSS (who have political backing) and the church groups (who have neither). Dr. Guha concluded his talk by saying that it is now too late to accomodate the interests of the tribals and that 100-150 years from now, when Indian history is written, it will be similar to how the Americans and Australians silenced their aborgines.
Concern also screened two documentaries before the begining of the convention. The first one was an interview of Dr. K. Balagopal, human right activist, who passed away recently. The second one was a footage by some IISc students of their visit to Vanavasi Chetna Ashram and the devastation witnessed during the demolition of the ashram (For reasons behind the demolition of the Vanavasi Chetna Ashram, read Prathamesh's At Vanavasi Chetna Ashram which appeared in the June 2009 issue of Voices).
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are
While delivering the IISc vision 2030 inaugural speech, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam shared with the audience, “three great minds having unique traits”.
Value to science
Dr.Kalam, while occupying the highest office of the republic, once came across a record on Sir C.V. Raman. In 1954, Sir C.V. Raman was to be awarded the Bharat Ratna. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President, invited Raman to be his personal guest when he was to come for the awards ceremony. Sir C.V. Raman politely declined the invitation. Raman explained to the President that his student was due to submit his thesis by the end of January and that he wanted to be with his student supporting him in his endeavour. While praising Raman's sincerity, Dr. Kalam remarked “it is this unique trait of giving value to science that builds science”.
Birth of Creativity in a difficult situation
Mario Capecchi's is a story of a boy who had to fight against all odds to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine. When World War II broke out, Capecchi, got separated from his mother, almost died of malnutrition, and had to lead a life of a street urchin. He finally got re-united with his mother after six years, and sailed with her to the US within weeks. He started his education afresh and later his research work potentially provided cure for Alzheimer’s disease and even cancer. Stating this inspirational story, the former President exclaimed “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are”.
Scientific Magnanimity
Dr. Kalam was conferring the 2005 M.S. Swaminathan award to Nobel Prize winning agricultural scientist Prof. Norman E Borlaug. Prof. Borlaug, while speaking, turned to the third, fifth and eighth rows in the audience and identified Dr. Raja Ram, Dr S.K.Vasal and Dr. B.R.Barwale respectively. He introduced them to the audience as the pioneers of the nation's agricultural science, made them stand and ensured that they are applauded. Dr. Kalam called this as scientific magnanimity which is essential for motivating the scientific community and nurturing team spirit.
[This story appeared in the Voices Centenary Conference Bulletin on 16/12/2008]
Friday, February 02, 2007
A tale of two cities
Freedoms are not only the primary ends of development, they are also among its principal means. In addition to acknowledging, foundationally, the evaluative importance of freedom, we also have to understand the remarkable empirical connection that links freedoms of different kinds with one another. Political Freedoms (in the form of free speech and elections) help to promote economic security. Social Opportunities (in the form of education and health facilities) facilitate economic participation. Economic facilities (in the form of opportunities for participation in trade and production) can help to generate personal abundance as well as public resources for social facilities. Freedoms of different kinds can strengthen one another.
- Amartya Sen in Development as Freedom
Two of the critically acclaimed books of recent times - The World is Flat (by three time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman) and Making Globalisation Work (by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz) begin with the positive effect of Globalisation on Bangalore. The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s followed by the IT boom has indeed placed Bangalore on the global map. But even with the presence of Bangalore, the shining example of India’s economic prowess, can we call Karnataka socially developed?
Malayalis are rightly proud of their social development as the human development indices in Kerala are similar to that of the developed west. Thiruvananthapuram, the political capital of Kerala, is always busy with political activity with the active participation from the local population. But can Kerala be called a developed society without achieving economic prosperity?
‘Kerala model’: Problems and Prospects
Kerala model refers to the economic practices that were undertaken in the state that saw the state improve its human development indicators but failed in industrial development. Kerala boasts of life expectancy (73.5) which is comparable to that of Hungary and literacy rate (90.92%) comparable to that of Norway. In Kerala, unlike rest of India, it is common to watch even porters and head load workers reading newspapers. Infant mortality rate is as low as 11 per 1000 live births.
But Kerala also boasts of highest suicide rates in the country. Even though this cannot be placed as a blot on Kerala’s human development record, it is utmost important that the reasons for this be studied.
Kerala economy survives on foreign remittances. The incidence of Poverty in the state has been reduced considerably mainly because of the Gulf boom of the 1970s and not because of governmental action. But even as the per capita income of the Keralites has increased over the period, the State has witnessed slow domestic growth leading to an increase in educated unemployment. A main reason for the high amount of suicide rates can be the existence of this educated unemployed.
Why does it matter to have economic development if there is social development? The answer lies in the fact that social development cannot sustain without economic development. If Kerala’s life expectancy rate is on par with Hungary, the same cannot be said of Kerala’s expenditure on Health. Lower investment on education has resulted in deterioration in the quality of education in the state. The famed ‘Kerala model’ can’t survive until and unless the state invests heavily on health and education.
Growth and development
With a Net District Income of Rs 260,259 crores (2002-03) and a per capita income of Rs 2.9 lakhs, Bangalore is the fourth largest and fastest growing market in India. The economic prosperity of Bangalore has even gifted the English language a new word – Bangalored (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalored).
Bangalore has certainly made Karnataka proud. But economic growth does not represent social development. Karnataka with a literacy rate of 67.4%, life expectancy rate of 64 years and infant mortality rate of 58/1000, has not performed as far as social development is considered.
The Indian Institute of Science, the premier research institute in the country, is the pride of Bangalore. But if child labour exists in that very institute, then it is high time that the system be reviewed and restructured. The biggest challenge for IISc is to rehabilitate the children doing manual labour, for any action without planning will drive them to poverty.
Stiglitz has pointed out correctly that development is about transforming lives, not just economies. Economic development without social advancement can lead to social unrest. In the long run, social unrest can have an adverse effect on the economic environment of the society.
A society can be said to be developed only if it is able to produce sustainable improvement in percapita income as well as human development indices like education, health etc. Social freedom should be complemented by economic freedom and vice – versa. It is hard to disagree with Amartya Sen’s argument that – Economic unfreedom can breed social unfreedom, just as social or political unfreedom can also foster economic unfreedom.
(Comments will be much appreciated)
- Amartya Sen in Development as Freedom
Two of the critically acclaimed books of recent times - The World is Flat (by three time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman) and Making Globalisation Work (by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz) begin with the positive effect of Globalisation on Bangalore. The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s followed by the IT boom has indeed placed Bangalore on the global map. But even with the presence of Bangalore, the shining example of India’s economic prowess, can we call Karnataka socially developed?
Malayalis are rightly proud of their social development as the human development indices in Kerala are similar to that of the developed west. Thiruvananthapuram, the political capital of Kerala, is always busy with political activity with the active participation from the local population. But can Kerala be called a developed society without achieving economic prosperity?
‘Kerala model’: Problems and Prospects
Kerala model refers to the economic practices that were undertaken in the state that saw the state improve its human development indicators but failed in industrial development. Kerala boasts of life expectancy (73.5) which is comparable to that of Hungary and literacy rate (90.92%) comparable to that of Norway. In Kerala, unlike rest of India, it is common to watch even porters and head load workers reading newspapers. Infant mortality rate is as low as 11 per 1000 live births.
But Kerala also boasts of highest suicide rates in the country. Even though this cannot be placed as a blot on Kerala’s human development record, it is utmost important that the reasons for this be studied.
Kerala economy survives on foreign remittances. The incidence of Poverty in the state has been reduced considerably mainly because of the Gulf boom of the 1970s and not because of governmental action. But even as the per capita income of the Keralites has increased over the period, the State has witnessed slow domestic growth leading to an increase in educated unemployment. A main reason for the high amount of suicide rates can be the existence of this educated unemployed.
Why does it matter to have economic development if there is social development? The answer lies in the fact that social development cannot sustain without economic development. If Kerala’s life expectancy rate is on par with Hungary, the same cannot be said of Kerala’s expenditure on Health. Lower investment on education has resulted in deterioration in the quality of education in the state. The famed ‘Kerala model’ can’t survive until and unless the state invests heavily on health and education.
Growth and development
With a Net District Income of Rs 260,259 crores (2002-03) and a per capita income of Rs 2.9 lakhs, Bangalore is the fourth largest and fastest growing market in India. The economic prosperity of Bangalore has even gifted the English language a new word – Bangalored (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalored).
Bangalore has certainly made Karnataka proud. But economic growth does not represent social development. Karnataka with a literacy rate of 67.4%, life expectancy rate of 64 years and infant mortality rate of 58/1000, has not performed as far as social development is considered.
The Indian Institute of Science, the premier research institute in the country, is the pride of Bangalore. But if child labour exists in that very institute, then it is high time that the system be reviewed and restructured. The biggest challenge for IISc is to rehabilitate the children doing manual labour, for any action without planning will drive them to poverty.
Stiglitz has pointed out correctly that development is about transforming lives, not just economies. Economic development without social advancement can lead to social unrest. In the long run, social unrest can have an adverse effect on the economic environment of the society.
A society can be said to be developed only if it is able to produce sustainable improvement in percapita income as well as human development indices like education, health etc. Social freedom should be complemented by economic freedom and vice – versa. It is hard to disagree with Amartya Sen’s argument that – Economic unfreedom can breed social unfreedom, just as social or political unfreedom can also foster economic unfreedom.
(Comments will be much appreciated)
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Stiglitz is spot on
The legendary J.R.D. Tata never wanted India to become an economic super power, but a nation full of happy people. But does the quarterly growth rate of 9.2% and the recent economic performance of the country sufficient to make India a country full of happy people?
In Yesterday's THE HINDU (Jan 4, 2007), there is a news story on Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz's lecture on Making Globalisation work organised by THE HINDU. The crux of the story is very much clear from the headline in which Stiglitz is quoted as saying Development is about transforming lives, not just economies.
The extent of state intervention in the economic activity of the country has always been debated. The country followed Nehrunomics till the begining of 1990s and later shifting to LPG in the begining of 1990s. Does the shift from the Hindu growth rate to the current double digit growth rate (approximately) suggest that India is developing? It should also be remembered that the HDI rank of India is 126 out of 177 countries.
With the GDP around three-fourth of one trillion US dollars, India cannot be called a poor country. But with the population of 1.2 billion, the Percapita income falls yo $738, hardly making her a rich country.
Uncontrolled Liberalisation wont take us forward. Globalisation is indeed inevitable. But as Stiglitz mentions, globalisation needs to be democratised so that the fruits of globalisation is enjoyed by society as a whole. The state should continue to engage in education, health and rural development programmes.
Only a healthy country can be wealthy. India can be a proud and happy state only when poverty is completely eradicated.
Comments/Criticisms welcome
Note: It is the absence of definite right and wrong that makes the study of Economics interesting. You can debate all day for/against state intervention and still feel both are correct in their own way.
In Yesterday's THE HINDU (Jan 4, 2007), there is a news story on Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz's lecture on Making Globalisation work organised by THE HINDU. The crux of the story is very much clear from the headline in which Stiglitz is quoted as saying Development is about transforming lives, not just economies.
The extent of state intervention in the economic activity of the country has always been debated. The country followed Nehrunomics till the begining of 1990s and later shifting to LPG in the begining of 1990s. Does the shift from the Hindu growth rate to the current double digit growth rate (approximately) suggest that India is developing? It should also be remembered that the HDI rank of India is 126 out of 177 countries.
With the GDP around three-fourth of one trillion US dollars, India cannot be called a poor country. But with the population of 1.2 billion, the Percapita income falls yo $738, hardly making her a rich country.
Uncontrolled Liberalisation wont take us forward. Globalisation is indeed inevitable. But as Stiglitz mentions, globalisation needs to be democratised so that the fruits of globalisation is enjoyed by society as a whole. The state should continue to engage in education, health and rural development programmes.
Only a healthy country can be wealthy. India can be a proud and happy state only when poverty is completely eradicated.
Comments/Criticisms welcome
Note: It is the absence of definite right and wrong that makes the study of Economics interesting. You can debate all day for/against state intervention and still feel both are correct in their own way.
Monday, August 28, 2006
HONEY, THE WORLD IS FLAT
"...the confounding of globalisation with Westernisation is not only ahistorical; it also distracts attention from the many potential benefits of global integration. Globalisation is a historical process that has offered an abundance of opportunities and rewards in the past and continues to do so today. The central issue of contention is (and should be) not globalisation itself, nor is it the use of the market as an institution, but the inequity in the overall balance of institutional arrangements -which produces very unequal sharing of the benefits of globalisation. The question is not just whether the poor too gain something from globalisation, but whether they get a fair share and a fair opportunity....Globalisation deserves a reasoned defence, but it also needs reform." Amartya Sen
In 1991, the debate was finally settled. State cannot exist without market. For nearly 75 years, the Soviets were trying to prove the world that it can. Socialist beliefs like equality of income distribution have been rejected and replaced by libertarian ideas like equality of opportunity, the opportunity to compete and capture the market.
Thomas L. Friedman in the second chapter The Ten Days that Flattened the World of his latest book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century elaborates ten events that has leveled the degree of competition in the Globalised world. He says that the major event that instigated the process of flattening the earth happened on 11/9(1989), the day when the Berlin Wall was brought down signaling the beginning of the end of the Communist movement. The fall of the Berlin Wall created a ripple effect all around the world (including India) paving way for the spread of the globalisation and democracy.
The 1990s saw the unprecedented growth of capitalist ideas. The world, interconnected by Internet, was rapidly shrinking into a global village. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and South Africa could make economic progress as a result of globalisation. But the world was alarmed when the Asian Tigers (Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea) went through the infamous Asian crisis.
The rise of WTO made globalisation and free trade inevitable. But it was widely felt that the West was reaping the success of globalisation at the expense of the third world. “Globalisation today is not working… for many of the world’s poor… for much of the environment… for the stability of the global economy” remarked Joseph Stiglitz, the former Chief Economist at the World Bank and winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, 2001. Stiglitz, without taking a pro- or anti-globalisation stance, argues that the West has seriously mismanaged the process of privatisation, liberalisation and stabilisation, and by following its advice the Third World is worse off now than was ever before.
The new wave of Financial Protectionism (a new form of economic patriotism), spreading all over Old Europe, mainly Italy and France, i.e. hostility against acquisitions of companies by foreign groups considered of "strategic" value for the economy of the country, by foreign groups (mainly substantiates West’s double standards towards globalisation. The Mittal – Arcelor controversy, the controversy regarding blocking the sale of American oil company Unocal to Chinese Cnooc etc are the best examples of Financial Protectionism.
If Friedman’s book mentions ten events that have flattened the world, then an eleventh event has occurred recently creating another flattening effect which is to shape the way future business will be conducted. Mittal Steel and Arcelor will be merging to form Arcelor – Mittal, the largest Steel manufacturer in the world controlling about 10% of the global Steel market.
On January 27, when Lakshmi Niwas Mittal announced his bid to take over Arcelor, the Arcelor management along with the politicians from France and Luxembourg was enraged. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker had publicly vowed to fight Mittal. Mittal also had to bear racial taunts from Arcelor CEO Guy Dolle like Mittal would fund the takeover with ‘monkey money’. In July 2006, when the Old Europe bowed before share holder pressure and approved the merger, Mittal’s perseverance finally paid off. It was not only a victory to Mittal, but also a victory to Globalisation.
The general perception that globalisation is a western monster has finally been broken. Not even Old Europe could practice Protectionism. The ripple effect of the Arcelor – Mittal merger will now spread all around the world as in the case of what happened in 11/9. The Asian corporate giants will now have the confidence that they can challenge and compete in the Western market and even be the market leader by purchasing western assets.
Mittal will happily agree with Friedman when he says, “Honey, the World is flat”.
In 1991, the debate was finally settled. State cannot exist without market. For nearly 75 years, the Soviets were trying to prove the world that it can. Socialist beliefs like equality of income distribution have been rejected and replaced by libertarian ideas like equality of opportunity, the opportunity to compete and capture the market.
Thomas L. Friedman in the second chapter The Ten Days that Flattened the World of his latest book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century elaborates ten events that has leveled the degree of competition in the Globalised world. He says that the major event that instigated the process of flattening the earth happened on 11/9(1989), the day when the Berlin Wall was brought down signaling the beginning of the end of the Communist movement. The fall of the Berlin Wall created a ripple effect all around the world (including India) paving way for the spread of the globalisation and democracy.
The 1990s saw the unprecedented growth of capitalist ideas. The world, interconnected by Internet, was rapidly shrinking into a global village. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and South Africa could make economic progress as a result of globalisation. But the world was alarmed when the Asian Tigers (Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea) went through the infamous Asian crisis.
The rise of WTO made globalisation and free trade inevitable. But it was widely felt that the West was reaping the success of globalisation at the expense of the third world. “Globalisation today is not working… for many of the world’s poor… for much of the environment… for the stability of the global economy” remarked Joseph Stiglitz, the former Chief Economist at the World Bank and winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, 2001. Stiglitz, without taking a pro- or anti-globalisation stance, argues that the West has seriously mismanaged the process of privatisation, liberalisation and stabilisation, and by following its advice the Third World is worse off now than was ever before.
The new wave of Financial Protectionism (a new form of economic patriotism), spreading all over Old Europe, mainly Italy and France, i.e. hostility against acquisitions of companies by foreign groups considered of "strategic" value for the economy of the country, by foreign groups (mainly substantiates West’s double standards towards globalisation. The Mittal – Arcelor controversy, the controversy regarding blocking the sale of American oil company Unocal to Chinese Cnooc etc are the best examples of Financial Protectionism.
If Friedman’s book mentions ten events that have flattened the world, then an eleventh event has occurred recently creating another flattening effect which is to shape the way future business will be conducted. Mittal Steel and Arcelor will be merging to form Arcelor – Mittal, the largest Steel manufacturer in the world controlling about 10% of the global Steel market.
On January 27, when Lakshmi Niwas Mittal announced his bid to take over Arcelor, the Arcelor management along with the politicians from France and Luxembourg was enraged. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker had publicly vowed to fight Mittal. Mittal also had to bear racial taunts from Arcelor CEO Guy Dolle like Mittal would fund the takeover with ‘monkey money’. In July 2006, when the Old Europe bowed before share holder pressure and approved the merger, Mittal’s perseverance finally paid off. It was not only a victory to Mittal, but also a victory to Globalisation.
The general perception that globalisation is a western monster has finally been broken. Not even Old Europe could practice Protectionism. The ripple effect of the Arcelor – Mittal merger will now spread all around the world as in the case of what happened in 11/9. The Asian corporate giants will now have the confidence that they can challenge and compete in the Western market and even be the market leader by purchasing western assets.
Mittal will happily agree with Friedman when he says, “Honey, the World is flat”.
Friday, July 28, 2006
The GlobaliZation Effect
Globalisation and the resultant surge in technology have surely improved the living condition all around the world. The impact of globalisation on languages is something that has been seriously underestimated. English has been a language that has gained tremendously from Globalisation. It is estimated that one – third of the humanity has basic proficiency in the English language. One of the reasons for this is the ability of the language to adapt itself and incorporate changes so that communication becomes easy.
The essay tries to comment on the evolution of the word, Bangalored, in the English language as a result of changes in the global socio – economic climate and also the Americanisation of the English language as the result of the emergence of the Microsoft Empire.
Bangalored
Wikipedia comes out with the following reference to Bangalored:
Bangalored is a neologism and used as a verb. Bangalored is used to indicate a layoff, often systemic, and usually due to corporate outsourcing of the business function to lower wage economies. The word is derived from Bangalore, India, which houses outsourcing centers for Western economies.
It refers to people who have been laid off from a multinational company because their job has been moved to India (outsourced — a business practice designed to save money that is arousing passions in some countries, especially Britain and the United States). Bangalore is cited in particular because of its reputation in the USA as a high-tech city, and widely regarded as the Silicon Valley of India that has benefited significantly from such outsourcing.
There is a big possibility that in a decade, Bangalore need not be the hub of outsourcing as it is now. But the word Bangalored will not die. The day is not far away when an American loses his job to a trained labourer in an emerging market other than India, the American will feel Bangalored.
The Rise of the Microsoft Empire
The popularity gained by the introduction of the Microsoft Office Programme has not only revolutionised the way business has been conducted, but also the way English has been written and spoken all around the world. The MS – OFFICE software has been programmed in American English. As a result, most of the words typed in the Queen’s English get automatically corrected to the American English as a result of the auto – correct option programmed in the software. For Example, type the world ‘stabilise’ and the auto-correct option of MS-OFFICE automatically corrects it to ‘stabilize’. The same applies to words like globalisation, westernisation etc.
Supposing that the auto-correct option doesn’t work, the word will be shown as incorrect and the option of spell check will direct the user to the American word. Spellings of words like programme, colour etc will soon get changed to program, color because of the tremendous influence of the software.
In this age of competition, effective communication is the key to success. Language will continue to evolve in order to suit the modern business techniques. This Americanisation of the language is not due to any American propaganda, but due to the simple fact that business in the modern world is done through Internet and the US is the world leader in Technology. Therefore the programmes developed by the Americans will be coded in their language, the American English.
The essay tries to comment on the evolution of the word, Bangalored, in the English language as a result of changes in the global socio – economic climate and also the Americanisation of the English language as the result of the emergence of the Microsoft Empire.
Bangalored
Wikipedia comes out with the following reference to Bangalored:
Bangalored is a neologism and used as a verb. Bangalored is used to indicate a layoff, often systemic, and usually due to corporate outsourcing of the business function to lower wage economies. The word is derived from Bangalore, India, which houses outsourcing centers for Western economies.
It refers to people who have been laid off from a multinational company because their job has been moved to India (outsourced — a business practice designed to save money that is arousing passions in some countries, especially Britain and the United States). Bangalore is cited in particular because of its reputation in the USA as a high-tech city, and widely regarded as the Silicon Valley of India that has benefited significantly from such outsourcing.
There is a big possibility that in a decade, Bangalore need not be the hub of outsourcing as it is now. But the word Bangalored will not die. The day is not far away when an American loses his job to a trained labourer in an emerging market other than India, the American will feel Bangalored.
The Rise of the Microsoft Empire
The popularity gained by the introduction of the Microsoft Office Programme has not only revolutionised the way business has been conducted, but also the way English has been written and spoken all around the world. The MS – OFFICE software has been programmed in American English. As a result, most of the words typed in the Queen’s English get automatically corrected to the American English as a result of the auto – correct option programmed in the software. For Example, type the world ‘stabilise’ and the auto-correct option of MS-OFFICE automatically corrects it to ‘stabilize’. The same applies to words like globalisation, westernisation etc.
Supposing that the auto-correct option doesn’t work, the word will be shown as incorrect and the option of spell check will direct the user to the American word. Spellings of words like programme, colour etc will soon get changed to program, color because of the tremendous influence of the software.
In this age of competition, effective communication is the key to success. Language will continue to evolve in order to suit the modern business techniques. This Americanisation of the language is not due to any American propaganda, but due to the simple fact that business in the modern world is done through Internet and the US is the world leader in Technology. Therefore the programmes developed by the Americans will be coded in their language, the American English.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Milking the Cash Cow
It is no longer a game alone. It is an industry. An industry which grows so rapidly that the GDP of Germany increased by nine to ten billion euros from 2004 to 2006, purely as a result of this world cup.
The global outreach of the tournament is so large that the world body governing football thrives financially, only because of the money generated from the tournament. The exclusive rights for all commercial activities of the tournament like broadcasting rights, sponsorship rights, hospitality rights and licensing rights are held exclusively by FIFA though it does share a lot of it with local organizing committee.
Independent observers say that from the total revenue generated, 53% comes from selling broadcasting rights, 35% from broadcasting deals, 8% from ticket sales and the remaining 4% from merchandising/licensing rights.
Between 1998 and 2006, the marketing and television rights have increased from 175 million euros to 1.9 billion euros. If everything works out according to the plan, the European television rights for world cup 2010 alone will fetch FIFA, a staggering one billion euros. FIFA has signed a deal worth US$ 425 million with ABC/ESPN (English) and Univision (Spanish) for the US television rights to all FIFA competitions from 2007 to 2014, making it the biggest ever television deal that has been signed by FIFA in a single country.
FIFA is also expected to get a bigger sponsorship deals for the 2010 and 2014 world cups. If the sponsors had to pay FIFA $50 million each for the sponsorship rights, the sum involved for the future two tournaments is expected to touch $150 million from each of the sponsors.
With the revenue, expenses have also increased substantially. The total cost incurred by both FIFA and the German organizing Committee is estimated at a staggering one billion euros. The 215 million euros that FIFA paid for the 32 participation nations as preparation costs alone is an all time record.
The grant given to the local organizing committee by FIFA will come to around 170 million euros. In addition to the FIFA grant, the LOC is expected to rake in at least 200 million euros from the sale of three million tickets.
FIFA pumps back around 370 million euros for developing the game at the grass root level. Similarly, FIFA pays around 270 million euros as financial assistance to confederations and fellow associations.
Germans have gained enormously from the world cup as far as income generation is concerned. Germany generated three billion euros from tourism alone. The cities of Munich and Dortmund are expecting additional revenue of 44 million euros and 36 million euros respectively.
Along with automatic qualification, the prospects of generating huge revenue has made the race for hosting the world cup a highly competitive one.
The global outreach of the tournament is so large that the world body governing football thrives financially, only because of the money generated from the tournament. The exclusive rights for all commercial activities of the tournament like broadcasting rights, sponsorship rights, hospitality rights and licensing rights are held exclusively by FIFA though it does share a lot of it with local organizing committee.
Independent observers say that from the total revenue generated, 53% comes from selling broadcasting rights, 35% from broadcasting deals, 8% from ticket sales and the remaining 4% from merchandising/licensing rights.
Between 1998 and 2006, the marketing and television rights have increased from 175 million euros to 1.9 billion euros. If everything works out according to the plan, the European television rights for world cup 2010 alone will fetch FIFA, a staggering one billion euros. FIFA has signed a deal worth US$ 425 million with ABC/ESPN (English) and Univision (Spanish) for the US television rights to all FIFA competitions from 2007 to 2014, making it the biggest ever television deal that has been signed by FIFA in a single country.
FIFA is also expected to get a bigger sponsorship deals for the 2010 and 2014 world cups. If the sponsors had to pay FIFA $50 million each for the sponsorship rights, the sum involved for the future two tournaments is expected to touch $150 million from each of the sponsors.
With the revenue, expenses have also increased substantially. The total cost incurred by both FIFA and the German organizing Committee is estimated at a staggering one billion euros. The 215 million euros that FIFA paid for the 32 participation nations as preparation costs alone is an all time record.
The grant given to the local organizing committee by FIFA will come to around 170 million euros. In addition to the FIFA grant, the LOC is expected to rake in at least 200 million euros from the sale of three million tickets.
FIFA pumps back around 370 million euros for developing the game at the grass root level. Similarly, FIFA pays around 270 million euros as financial assistance to confederations and fellow associations.
Germans have gained enormously from the world cup as far as income generation is concerned. Germany generated three billion euros from tourism alone. The cities of Munich and Dortmund are expecting additional revenue of 44 million euros and 36 million euros respectively.
Along with automatic qualification, the prospects of generating huge revenue has made the race for hosting the world cup a highly competitive one.
Azzurris conquer the world
Fabio Grosso, the 29-year-old Palermo defender looked at the spot and took the penalty confidently. His powerful left footed shot crashed into the right hand corner of the goal and the world cup is over. Italy is crowned as the champion for the fourth time.
Italy won 5 – 3 on penalties, as the game was tied one goal apiece even after 30 minutes of extra time. In a match that was billed as the perfect farewell game for Zidane, the wizard got himself red carded for head butting Materazzi. Earlier on Zidane scored from a penalty kick awarded for a foul on Malouda while Materazzi equalized for the champions.
In the fully packed Berlin's Olympiastadion, both the teams fielded the same line – up as in the semifinal. Right from kick – off it proved to be an incident filled encounter. France got an early scare when Henry accidentally collided with Cannavaro and it appeared that the star striker suffered from concussion. But to the relief of his fans, he was back to his lethal best after getting some medical attention.
The Final witnessed its first goal within the first seven minutes itself. French winger Florent Malouda was bought down by a Materazzi foul and the referee pointed towards the spot kick. But television replays clearly revealed that the defender had made no contact with Malouda.
Zidane took an audacious penalty with the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar and barely crossing the goal line. Zidane celebrated the goal by raising his arm like the way he has done through out the tournament. With the goal, Zidane joined an elite group involving Pele, Vava and Paul Breitner as the only players to score in two World Cup finals.
Italy began to surge forward after Zidane’s goal. Italy found the equalizer in the 19th minute through Materazzi. Pirlo’s curling corner found Materazzi’s head on way to the goal.
Both the teams fought for midfield dominance and the Zidane – Pirlo battle was enthralling. Both the players were keen not to give freedom to the other one to perform.
Both the teams were excellent defensively. Any attempts to attack were met by strong defending from both Thuram and Cannavaro. Italy was looking threatening on set pieces. In the 28th minute Thuram blocked another Materazzi header. Similarly another header by Luca Toni hits the cross bar.
In the second half, Italy was pushed back to their own half by the French attacking display. The match was an intensively fought physical encounter. Vieira pulled his hamstring in the 56th minute and was substituted by Alou Diarra. France had started to lose control of the game from this moment.
When the match was entering the final half hour of normal time, Italian coach Marcello Lippi decides to introduce fresh pair of legs by replacing Perrotta and Totti with Iaquinta and De Rossi respectively. At the 86th minute, Lippi made his final substitution bringing in Del Piero for Camoranesi.
As the first half of extra time was coming to an end, Raymond Domenech replaced Ribery with Trezeguet. The only scoring opportunity in the extra time came in the 103rd minute when Sagnol presented Zidane with a cross. But Zidane’s header was brilliantly parried away by Buffon. As the match was moving towards tie – breaker, Domenech surprised everyone by substituting Henry with Wiltord.
Zidane could not provide the fairy tale ending which everyone expected. When he head butted Materazzi and got himself sent off, it marked the end of a glorious career. Along with this sent off, France’s chances were also fading.
When the winners had to be decided through a tie – breaker, France had limited experience in penalty shooters. Pirlo, Materazzi, de Rossi, del Piero and Grosso connected for Italy; while Wiltord, Abidal and Sagnol connected for France. It was Trezequet’s miss that decided the tie.
It has been a long wait of 24 years for the Azzurris to realise their dream of winning the gold. The win erased the heartbreak of the 1994 world cup finals where they lost to Brazil in the tie – breaker. Under Lippi’s guidance and Fabio Cannavaro’s inspirational leadership, Italy played outstanding football. Contrary to their traditional defensive style, Lippi made them play a mixture of offensive and defensive football. No one deserved the title more than the Azzurris.
Italy won 5 – 3 on penalties, as the game was tied one goal apiece even after 30 minutes of extra time. In a match that was billed as the perfect farewell game for Zidane, the wizard got himself red carded for head butting Materazzi. Earlier on Zidane scored from a penalty kick awarded for a foul on Malouda while Materazzi equalized for the champions.
In the fully packed Berlin's Olympiastadion, both the teams fielded the same line – up as in the semifinal. Right from kick – off it proved to be an incident filled encounter. France got an early scare when Henry accidentally collided with Cannavaro and it appeared that the star striker suffered from concussion. But to the relief of his fans, he was back to his lethal best after getting some medical attention.
The Final witnessed its first goal within the first seven minutes itself. French winger Florent Malouda was bought down by a Materazzi foul and the referee pointed towards the spot kick. But television replays clearly revealed that the defender had made no contact with Malouda.
Zidane took an audacious penalty with the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar and barely crossing the goal line. Zidane celebrated the goal by raising his arm like the way he has done through out the tournament. With the goal, Zidane joined an elite group involving Pele, Vava and Paul Breitner as the only players to score in two World Cup finals.
Italy began to surge forward after Zidane’s goal. Italy found the equalizer in the 19th minute through Materazzi. Pirlo’s curling corner found Materazzi’s head on way to the goal.
Both the teams fought for midfield dominance and the Zidane – Pirlo battle was enthralling. Both the players were keen not to give freedom to the other one to perform.
Both the teams were excellent defensively. Any attempts to attack were met by strong defending from both Thuram and Cannavaro. Italy was looking threatening on set pieces. In the 28th minute Thuram blocked another Materazzi header. Similarly another header by Luca Toni hits the cross bar.
In the second half, Italy was pushed back to their own half by the French attacking display. The match was an intensively fought physical encounter. Vieira pulled his hamstring in the 56th minute and was substituted by Alou Diarra. France had started to lose control of the game from this moment.
When the match was entering the final half hour of normal time, Italian coach Marcello Lippi decides to introduce fresh pair of legs by replacing Perrotta and Totti with Iaquinta and De Rossi respectively. At the 86th minute, Lippi made his final substitution bringing in Del Piero for Camoranesi.
As the first half of extra time was coming to an end, Raymond Domenech replaced Ribery with Trezeguet. The only scoring opportunity in the extra time came in the 103rd minute when Sagnol presented Zidane with a cross. But Zidane’s header was brilliantly parried away by Buffon. As the match was moving towards tie – breaker, Domenech surprised everyone by substituting Henry with Wiltord.
Zidane could not provide the fairy tale ending which everyone expected. When he head butted Materazzi and got himself sent off, it marked the end of a glorious career. Along with this sent off, France’s chances were also fading.
When the winners had to be decided through a tie – breaker, France had limited experience in penalty shooters. Pirlo, Materazzi, de Rossi, del Piero and Grosso connected for Italy; while Wiltord, Abidal and Sagnol connected for France. It was Trezequet’s miss that decided the tie.
It has been a long wait of 24 years for the Azzurris to realise their dream of winning the gold. The win erased the heartbreak of the 1994 world cup finals where they lost to Brazil in the tie – breaker. Under Lippi’s guidance and Fabio Cannavaro’s inspirational leadership, Italy played outstanding football. Contrary to their traditional defensive style, Lippi made them play a mixture of offensive and defensive football. No one deserved the title more than the Azzurris.
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