Building India 2.0

Government’s Digital India plan is ambitious. To be successful, it must address concerns about privacy and data protection 

The Narendra Modi government’s Digital India claim and programme — following on the heels of Make in India and Skill India — is three-pronged. One, it aims to build infrastructure and provide the internet as a utility to every citizen. Two, it promises to improve service delivery by making services available online. And three, it seeks to enable people to access the internet by building digital literacy. This is an unexceptionable set of goals, welcome in its breadth of ambition. It looks to both expand the physical broadband network and universalise access to mobile internet, which has been the prime driver of growth in internet penetration in the last decade. Among the new initiatives aimed at reducing paperwork is the Digital Locker, which allows users to upload and store documents that can be shared with government agencies to expedite official applications for, say, marriage licences or LPG connections. Aadhaar card holders will be able to authenticate documents using eSign, a digital signature application. Another portal is eHospital, which will let citizens avail health services online, also issuing a unique health identification number piggybacked to Aadhaar. As a utility, the internet has tangible value. It could reduce leakages in welfare schemes and provide huge economic benefits by enabling better decision-making with improved access to information and markets. Yet, there are several challenges, not least of them is bringing the digitally unempowered majority online. Despite years of plans and schemes, attempts to connect remote rural areas to the internet have faltered. Today, only 9 per cent of those who live in rural areas have access to the internet, compared to 64 per cent of those who live in cities. The UPA’s 2006 National Optical Fibre Network project to connect more than two lakh gram panchayats was sluggish from the start, and lagged five years behind schedule by 2013. The project has been subsumed under Digital India but the government is laying only 500 km of fibre optic cable a month — way behind the stated goal of 30,000 km every month. Then there is the lack of a legal framework to address concerns over privacy and data protection. Much of what passes for internet governance is a function of crisis management, where legal and political systems struggle to respond to the gaps that innovative uses of technology have laid bare. India is in the unenviable position of being extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks — which does not inspire confidence in individuals or corporations that the government will be able to protect sensitive data. Without this assurance, take-up of government apps and services is sure to underwhelm. India also lacks a privacy law, without which initiatives like Digital Locker and eHospital are open to flagrant 

The digging-holes myth

The view of MGNREGA as a makeshift work programme is far off the mark.

Written by Jean Dreze | Published on:July 1, 2015 2:56 am 

Few social programmes in India are more resented by the corporate sector than the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This is easy to understand, considering that one of the primary aims of the MGNREGA is to empower workers and reduce their dependence on private employers. Naturally, employers see this as a threat to the availability of cheap and docile labour. This resentment tends to generate a steady stream of criticism. Going by these reports, one would think that public works initiated under the MGNREGA are wholly useless. As a recent editorial put it, “…in most places across the country, this [MGNREGA] meant digging up trenches for no purpose whatsoever and then filling them up”. No evidence was provided for this sweeping statement. During the last few years, I have seen hundreds of MGNREGA works, and I do not remember a single case that resembled digging trenches and filling them up. Sure, I have seen some useless MGNREGA works (like a pond being built at the top of a hill in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh), but I have also seen many useful ones. Given the lack of careful studies on the productive value of MGNREGA works, the larger picture is not very clear. But some recent studies suggest that the view of MGNREGA as a makeshift work programme is far off the mark. Among them is a pioneering study by Sudha Narayanan and her colleagues at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, who examined 4,100 MGNREGA assets scattered over 100 villages of Maharashtra. Among the sample works, 87 per cent were functional and 75 per cent contributed directly or indirectly to better agriculture. An overwhelming majority (90 per cent) of the users of these MGNREGA works considered them “very useful” or “somewhat useful”. As the principal author notes, MGNREGA workers in Maharashtra have “replaced scrublands with forests, built earthen structures for impounding water and preventing soil erosion, cleared lands and levelled them to make them cultivable”, among other activities (available at arcg.is/1QYdt8y). This is hardly “playing with mud”, to quote another colourful description of MGNREGA work from the mainstream media. While the Maharashtra study focuses mainly on people’s perceptions, another recent study (by Anjor Bhaskar and Pankaj Yadav at the Institute for Human Development) looks at the objective measures of economic returns on MGNREGA works in Jharkhand. This study inspected nearly 1,000 randomly selected dug wells constructed under the MGNREGA in the last few years. Interestingly, the proportion of completed wells in the sample (70 to 80 per cent depending on whether one insists on the construction of a parapet) was not too different from official - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-digging-holes-myth-2/#sthash.1efWFcuX.dpuf

China’s ‘moral code’

hat the Communist Party of China has abandoned much of Deng’s advice is evident in two very different approaches in Chinese foreign and security policies

In 2006, Chinese television broadcast a documentary series titled ‘The Rise of the Great Powers’ (Daguo jueqi). Produced by a group of eminent Chinese historians, the series took the country by storm with its bold, impartial look at the reasons behind the rise and fall of nine world powers in the modern era.

The broadcast, in hindsight, might have been the beginning of China’s move away from Deng Xiaoping’s 24-character strategy that enjoined it to “…hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.” The decades of economic reforms were beginning to show results. By the time the global financial crisis had wrought its damage in the West, the Communist Party of China (CPC) had abandoned much of Deng’s advice. Today, this is evident in two very different approaches in Chinese foreign and security policies.

Territorial disputes

First, China has been assertive in territorial disputes. In the case of the maritime disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with a host of ASEAN nations in the South China Sea, incursions into territorial waters of other countries has graduated to clashes at sea with foreign vessels, and to permanent occupation of and construction on disputed features. This assertion is the result of the availability of vast economic resources and rapid military modernisation.

It is also a deliberate challenge to commonly understood interpretations of international maritime law in practice, but also in official pronouncements by China and through writings by its scholars in international publications. China has also attempted to adopt practices of other powers such as the air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

It is neither important that the arguments that Chinese officials and scholars are making parrot national propaganda nor that China might currently be unable to enforce ADIZ. The point is that it has set itself up as a challenger to be taken seriously by setting precedents in matters of international law. Meanwhile, any external challenges to China’s actions only serve to justify continued nationalism at home as well as increased military spending.

Beijing’s recent announcement that some of its land reclamation work in the South China Sea would be completed soon should not lull anyone into thinking that Beijing is backing off from further provocation. It only means that China continues to follow the opening part of Deng’s dictum: ‘[o]bserve calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly…’.

Indeed, it is illogical to expect a nation that has blatantly violated the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties with ASEAN to change its spots. Military-related developments will continue given how they are seen as intrinsic to sovereignty, and all activity will continue to be termed as ‘legitimate, justified and reasonable’. Frequent statements will also be thrown in on how these allow China to better perform its international responsibilities and obligations, such as maritime search and rescue.

And yet, the telecast of Daguo jueqi also suggests that China is a power capable of self-reflection and willing to learn from others. So, are China’s actions now the result of those lessons, and does it believe it can avoid the pitfalls that led to the decline of the other major powers? These questions are complicated by the fact that the U.S. remains the world’s sole superpower and China remains deeply insecure on multiple fronts.

This brings us to China’s second approach.

China wishes to present an alternative ideology and model of development from that of the West. Indeed, one could argue that for all rising powers it is not enough to possess economic and military power, but also necessary to gain respect for a moral code that originates with oneself. This Chinese ‘moral code’ in simple terms is about every country having the right to choose its own political and economic systems.

As with all national moral codes, it is also founded on a sense of national exceptionalism. In the case of China, it is unable or unwilling to see how it can possibly be at fault in its territorial claims. Having shown ‘respect’ for other countries’ political regimes, China presumes they must in turn respect the CPC’s rule over China. However, since the CPC’s foundational premise today is about helping the Chinese people ‘stand up’ and overcome the ‘century of humiliation’, there cannot be respect for the CPC’s rule without also respecting whatever sovereignty claims it makes on China’s behalf.

Thus, it is easy for China to justify bullying its smaller neighbours who ‘disrespect’ it by contesting its territorial claims. Part of the power play is this assertion of the legitimacy of the CPC in the face of the American espousal of democracy as a global virtue. This ‘anti-Americanism’ is what gives Chinese assertions of ‘Asia for Asians’ and objections to American alliances in the region an added edge.

And yet, the CPC’s China is also savvy enough to realise that its position of relative weakness vis-à-vis the U.S. and immediate inability to enforce its will in all cases means that it has to consider other options to break foreign distrust. Thus, under its ‘one belt, one road’ initiative China is offering economic largesse in the form of aid and loans to finance sorely needed infrastructure construction in Asia and elsewhere. Thus, China’s excess capital and infrastructure overcapacity are now offered as carrots that help divide ASEAN and weaken opposition within individual countries, even as the stick remains visible in the South China Sea.

(Jabin T. Jacob is Assistant Director and Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi.)

Keywords: Communist Party of China, ASEAN nations, South China Sea, Chinese foreign policies

A doctor and his love for a neighbourhood

In Chintadripet, he is known as the physician who provides free consultation to poor patients.

One afternoon, a group of men met Dr. M.Venugopal at his Sundaram Clinic on Mangapathy Street, Chintadripet, requesting him to attend to a patient, who was too ill to visit the clinic. The men explained that the patient was bleeding and was at his house on Swamy Naicken Street, not too far away from the clinic.

The doctor hesitated, but changed his mind and went with the men.

The patient’s body had gone cold indicating that he might have died at least an hour ago.

Once Dr. Venugopal declared him dead, the gang demanded that he give a death certificate on the spot. Some of the gang members waved bundles of currency notes in front of him, while the others threatened him with knives.

Dr. Venugopal did not give in to their demand and when they realised that no degree of threat would make the man change his mind, the gang let him go.

Later, he learnt from the police that the deceased was a retired chief superintendent of the Madras Zoo and that it was not a natural death. The former government official had been ruthlessly stabbed, as many as 16 times. A property dispute had caused the murderous attack.

This was in 1972, and 43 years later, sitting in the same clinic, Dr. Venugopal recounts various other unforgettable events and incidents that had taken place at the clinic. The clinic, which recently celebrated 50 years, also has unforgettable memories for many poor residents of the neighbourhood. Over the years, the doctor has maintained a ‘no-charge policy’ while attending to poor patients. If the treatment went beyond consultation and basic treatment, he would refer the patient to government hospitals. Dr. Venugopal’s forefathers settled in the locality in the 18th century as textile merchants and were zamindars during the colonial era. They had rows of handlooms shops at Chitadripet, where a group of weavers made cotton clothes for the British.

In fact, the Mangapathy Street, where the clinic is located was named after his grandfather, Goday. A. Mangapathy. “Though he has shifted to Anna Nagar, his heart still is Chintadripet and he continues to practise at the clinic,” says S. Vivekanda, a resident of Chintadripet.

Though from a business family, Dr. Venugopal had to struggle in the initial days as his father had suffered losses in business. Scholarships saw him through school and college: he studied at Pachaiyappa’s Higher Secondary School and qualified in MBBS from MMC.

After completing medicine, he joined the Chennai Corporation as chief medical officer in 1967 and served the civic body till 1978.

Later, he worked as chief health officer at the Government Boys High School in Chindatripet for five years. Simultaneously, he started the Sundaram clinic (in memory of his mother Sundara Rajamma) in 1965.

“I was keen on having my own clinic as it would help the locals get timely treatment. As I have my own house here, I converted a portion of it into a clinic,” says Dr. Venugopal.

He supplemented his income by working as consultant for various hospitals. Around 50 patients visit the clinic in Chintadripet every day.

Patients come from as far as Ambur, Vellore, Walajabhad, Tirupathi, Sulurpet near Gummudipoondi, Thiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram.

For patients who can afford a fee, Dr. Venugopal charges Rs. 100 for a consultation, but for the poor residents of Chintadripet, the tradition of free treatment continues.

Keywords: Dr. M.Venugopal, Sundaram Clinic

Vedanta - Mind as Minefield

MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI





Without deep, unconditional love, selfless actions cannot be performed. In the initial stages of our awakening, the actions we perform in the name of selflessness are not selfless, because the love we feel for ourselves is present in everything we do and say .In fact, at the beginning of our journey , our self-love becomes the driving force for each of our actions, even if we choose to call them selfless. Love for the ego, or oneself, is the predominant feeling in every human being. Unless this feeling withers away , real selflessness will not emerge.
Alertness is necessary to prevent the ego from interfering.It is easier to be in love with the ego than feel truly inspir ed by the ideal of selflessness. Generally, the selflessness we speak of is actually selfish, because everything stems from the ego. It is the ego, and not our inner Self, that is the source of our so-called love and our actions.
Nothing can be selfless unless it springs directly from the heart, from our true Self.That is why great saints and sages have said you should know your own Self before you can love and serve others selflessly . Selflessness can be the driving force in all your actions. Learn to be thankful to everyone, to all of creation, even to your enemy , and to those who insult you and get angry with you, because they help you grow.
Whatever we do is reflected in the Whole, in the one universal mind, and it returns with the same intensity . Whenever you perform a good or bad action, it is reflected in the Universal Consciousness. Therefore, learn to be selfless.

Father of SMS passes away

London: PTI





Matti Makkonen, known as the father of SMS after developing the idea of sending messages via mobile networks, has died. Makkonen, a Finnish national, passed away on Friday at the age of 63 following serious illness, Finnish language daily Ilkka reported.Despite being known as the father of SMS, Makkonen was often quick to point out that he did not invent the technology single-handedly . In 2012, he told BBC News -in an SMS interview -that he believed texting in some form would be around “forever“.
Speaking on the 20th anniversary of the first text message, Makkonen said he considered the development of SMS a joint effort and that it was Nokia who helped to popularise the service. “The real launch of the service, as I see it, was when Nokia introduced the first phone that enabled easy writing of messages (No kia 2010 in 1994),“ he had said.He said he did not use “txt spk“ himself, though he pointed out that texting could be thought of as having had an impact on the development of language.
Jarmo Matilainen, managing director of Finnish telecoms group Finnet Association, described Makkonen as a“grand old man of the mobile industry“. “It's very sad. He was just going to retire and he should have had many years ahead,“ he said. PTI





the speaking tree - Awakening To The Rainy Season's Rhythms

Maya Tiwari





The season of the blessed rains is commemorated throughout the world. Native American Hopis show reverence and gratitude to nature at the end of the Kachina dances.Kachinas are supernatural beings that help to safeguard and protect tribes.Young men who are considered to be pure of heart perform these dances in order to bring rain and healing energies to the whole community . And in Celtic tradition the Lammas, the first loaf of bread to be baked from the harvest, is placed on the altar as an offering of gratitude to Mother Nature.Aligning with the rhythms of the rainy season will help you achieve inner cleansing and physical and emotional realignment. Use the reforming energy heralded by this season to go indoors and reorganise not only your thoughts but also your physical living and working space.Clean out your files and closets, catch up on neglected paperwork, reorganise your home, especially the kitchen and office areas, and as you do, re-evaluate the choices you've made since the last rainy season, redirecting them as necessary. This is a great opportunity to reinvoke your intention to live a life of inner harmony and ahimsa. Since the entire universe is experiencing this vibration of reform, it helps your mind immensely to attune to be and be in balance with the greater energies of the cosmos.
During the rainy season the earth releases more gases into the atmosphere, and this tends to aggravate vata, the bodily air humour. Further aggravation is created by the dampness of the rains and the higher acidity in the water at this time. The rainy t season comes at a time when the body is at its point of lowest spe vitality. Even though the rainy tr season marks the beginning of a period of strengthening, the body becomes vulnerable, and its resistance to the onslaught of the rains diminishes. Vata-nourishing foods and activities are the magic balm to relieve typical rainy season symptoms such as anxiety , arthritis, constipation, distension, emaciation, fearfulness, insomnia, memory loss and nervous disorders. Vata may be nourished at this time by light, warm, sweet and semi-unctuous foods. Brown rice, wheat and barley are excellent grains for this season ... Pitta, the body's fire humour, and ka pha, the body's water humour, are also moderately affected by excessive wetness. To remedy this lessen your intake of fluids but drink warm stimulating teas such as mint, licorice, vetiver and ginger.e Seasonal vegetables such as king beets, carrots, fresh corn, daikon and squashes should be e well cooked. Eat sautéed greens in moderation and reduce the consumption of beans during this season.
The rainy season brings with it pelting down rains that force us indoors. Sitting inside listening to the hypnotic rhythm of the raindrop naturally cajoles the mind inwards and can promote a spirit of comfort when we engage in the appropriate activities.Organising your living and working spaces helps you gently transition into a calm and sheltered space within yourself where you can experience Living Ahimsa, the profound power of peace.
When you apply yourself to clearing out the accumulated glut of old files, drawers, cabinets and closets ­ and catching up on neglected paperwork ­ you will be surprised to feel an abundance of vital energy surging from within.
This vital energy helps you create the mental and emotional inner space to re-evaluate your choices and redirect them as necessary; a great opportunity to make a solid investment in your future inner harmony . Your retooling activities at this time will garner potent harmonic support from the cosmos.(`Living Ahimsa Diet', New Age Books.) Follow Maya Tiwari at speakingtree.in