India Culture, Business, Sports and Food. Get all the buzz in India now

INDIAN FOLK THEATER

After the decline of Sanskrit drama, folk theatre developed in various regional languages from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Some conventions and stock characters of classical drama (stage preliminaries, the opening prayer song, the sutradhara and the viduasaka) were adopted into folk theatre, which lavishly employs music, dance, drumming, exaggerated makeup, mask and signing chorus.

Thematically, it deals with mythological heroes, medieval romances and social and political events, and it is a rich store of customs, beliefs, legands and rituals. It is a “total theatre”, invading all the senses of the spectators.

Krishna Leela: A Krishna drama that evolved in the 15th-16th century is known as Krishna Leela. This drama is very popular in Vraja region of UP. Boys used to dress as girls and act and sing in praise of Lord Krishna. The style is semi-narrative and semi-dramatic.

Ras Leela: From Krishna Leela developed Ras Leela in the region. Mahabharata, Bhagavata and Puranas, and folk lore provided themes for Ras Leela. The songs composed by the medieval poets on the divine pranks of Krishna in Vraja dialect, stuffed here and there with prose form the basis of Ras plays. The round stage on which the Leela is performed is known as Ras Mandal.

As the play concerns the childhood of Krishna, the main actors of the play are children. Again, the boys perform the part of girls. The troupe director is called Swami. The play is divided into two parts: Ras and Leela. Ras is the opening part in which Krishna and Radha perform dance sequences. Leela starts after Ras and is the dramatization of some episodes from Krishna’s life. The tradition of dramatizing Krishna’s pranks is performed in many regions.

Ram Leela: Tulsidas, the composer of Ramcharitamanasa, started the tradition of performing Rama plays at Kashi. Episodes from Rama’s life are enacted at different places in Kashi during the period of Dassera festival. Rama Leela of Ramnagar is quite famous. At Janakpurdham the marriage of Rama and Sita is celebrated in the form of a festival. In Kerala, Krishna Attam and Rama Attam emerged during the same time. From Rama Attam evolved the famous dance-drama of Kerala-Kathakali.

Mudiyettu: it is a ferocious ritualistic dance-drama of great antiquity which is annually performed at Kali temples in Kerala.
 
Theyyam:  This is a ritualistic dance in Kerala representing ancestor worship. The dancers also represent local gods and goddesses.

Kutiyattam:  It is a unique style of staging Sanskrit dramas in Kerala. The traditional actors are known as Chakyar and the actresses are known as Nambyar. The dramas of Bhasa, Harsha, Mahendravikrama, Kulas-hekhara varma and others are played in temple theatres known as Kuttampalam.

Yakshagana (Karnataka): The themes are derived from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. The actors wear very colourful makeup and costumes. The chief narrator is called Bhagavata.  He is accompanied by an orchestra and chorus singers. Only men participate in this dance drama. There is jester too. He is called Konnagi .traditionally; it is an open air performance.
 
Therukoothu (Tamil Nadu): Staging is done at the Draupadi Amman temples from March to July every year. The source is Indian mythology. The narrator conductor is called KATTIAKKARAN.The jester is called Komali. All the roles are played by men only. It is similar to Yakshagana of Karnataka.

Oja-pali (Assam): Manas cult used to perform this semi-dramatic narrative style of play. The chief narrator is called Oja. Palis are his associates forming a chorus playing on the drum and cymbals.

Ankia Nat (Assam): It is a one act drama created by Sankaradeva. Themes are taken from Vaishnava core, the epics and Puranas. Krishna is the most favourite theme.

Jatra (Bengal): It is a popular form of entertainment. The themes are varied- Krishna Yatra, Vidya Sundar Jatra (one of the many secular themes), themes based on myths, Swadeshi Yatra (patriotic theme).  From musical theatre based on prose dialogues. Western instruments too have been adopted.

Maha Rasa (Manipur): it is a grand affair depicting the dance of love, Krishna performing with the beautiful cowherd girls led by Radha. The dances are performed in the dancing halls of the temples.

Tamasha (Maharashtra): it is the most interesting entertaining folk drama form of Maharashtra. Traditionally it is an open air performance. Prayer songs in praise of Lord Ganesha, Gaulanis (songs of cowherd girls) are enacted. The jester Songadya ensures laughter from the audience, singing of Lavanis – these are erotic and enchanting, enactment, enactment of skits, farces and playlets. This part is called Vag.

Nautanki: the dialogues are mostly in verse forms which are sung in high pitch on the beats of a percussion instrument called nagara. Dance of female is provocative. Themes include love, romance and valour, and also social issues, historical romances and mythological dramas. Laila Majnu, Heer Ranja, Amar Sing Rathore and Shyah Posh are popular Nautanki plays.

Macha (M.P.): Macha means stage. It originated in Ujjain. This musical dance-drama used to be enacted during harvest season during Holi to entertain farmers of Malwa. It is an open-air theatre performed in front of Bhairava temples. Bhairava is the presiding deity of Macha art. Themes are taken from mythological stories, folk-tales of romance and valour and historical episodes. The jester is called as Bedhaba or Shermarkha. Pustakaji or the prompter who moves behind the actors and prompts when they forget their dialogue in full view of the audience is ever present on the stage, besides the Yestor. Music is very important in macha plays.

Bhavai (Gujarat): It is folk-theatre form full of dancing, singing and humour. The small Bhavai farces known as Veshas are in fact social satire. The jester called Rangalo adds humour. Men act the female roles also. Rajasthan has also its own Bhavai tradition similar to Gujarat.

Kariyala: A folk drama of Himachal Pradesh, it is also known for its humour and social criticism. Sutradhar is called Kariyattu. Prose dialogues are interspersed with verses. H

STOLEN GODS OF HIMALAYAS

Up in the Greater Himalayas, more than 10,000 feet above sea level, lies one of the oldest monasteries of Lahaul valley, the Guru Ghantal. Founded by legendary Buddhist mystic Padmasambhava, this eighth century gompa has recently added another item to its treasure-house - a lock. Like priests of other ancient temples scattered all over Himachal Pradesh, the monks at Guru Ghantal know that the gods are no longer safe is the state - not as long: as smugglers of antique idols continue to operate in the region. So, they have placed the white marble head of the Guru Ghantal, installed centuries ago by Padmasambhava himself, under lock and key.

Their fears are not misplaced. On record, around 20 idols have been stolen from various temples in the state since 1990. The locals say the number is much more. In the last 20 years, over 200 idols and antique objects have been stolen from Himachal. Their value would run into billions.

Temples in Kinnaur, Chamba, Bharmaur and Lahaul-Spiti are particularly vulnerable, officials of the Himachal government say. Some of these places of religious and historical significance date back to the 5th or the 6th century and house idols that cost s crores, they add. While the locals are not aware of the value of these antiques, they have vital information that can make the smugglers’ job easier. The masterminds, who are often from outside the state, exploit this information and with the connivance of the locals, manage to steal the antiques.

IDOL TALES

Officials in the government allege that valuable idols had been disappearing from the state for years now, sometimes with the knowledge of and at other times with the active involvement of police and administrative officials. But these rampant thefts hit the officials in the face when the idol of the Chungraj deity disappeared from Kamru Temple in the tribal Kinnaur district in 1993.

Amid outraged protests from locals, it was learnt that the idol, believed to cost several crores in the illegal international market, had been shipped off to Italy. The Italian then accused of smuggling the idol out of the country denied it in a letter to the Himachal authorities. His Delhi-based partner later gave an assurance that the idol would be brought back from Italy and on a given date and time, left in the lawns of Himachal Bhawan in Delhi.

 

On the set date, when the officials searched the lawns, lo behold, they found the idol. No witnesses, no questions. A quick k check and the antique sculpture was reinstalled at the temple. And the preposterous story was accepted.

But not all are satisfied. There are still questions on whether this really is the genuine idol or a fake. How the idol disappeared in the first place, how it was shipped out of and then brought back to the country with such ease is also anybody’s guess. The matter has since been raised in the Himachal assembly twice. Meanwhile, one person was declared a proclaimed offender, and another was convicted in the case. The local court, however, acquitted seven other accused, including the Italian resident. The government has filed an appeal in the state high court.

Despite the apparent pressures to crack a whip against such smugglers, thefts continue. Earlier this year in May, the police recovered three precious-metal idols of the area’s ruling deity, Mahasu, from the nearby forests of Dunnu village in Solan. The 250-year-old idol is worth crores of rupees.

Last February, a 1,100-year-old Ganesha idol was stolen from the courtyard of the Hatkoti temple, about 100 km from Shimla. A police official said the professional manner in which the eight-armed, two-feet high, 22kg stone idol was stolen appeared to the handiwork of international smugglers.

Last year, also in February, 11 antique ashtdhatu idols were stolen from the temple of Chohag deity in Madhok village. The same year in October, the Himachal police and the Delhi Police Special Cell busted an international gang of antique smugglers and recovered two idols of the Kunzum goddess. The idols were stolen from the 15,500-foot-high Kunzum Pass in Lahaul-Spiti The gang was operating through a chain of middlemen.

Up in the remote areas of the hills, almost every village has an ancient temple, often unguarded. Most of these villages are now accessible to tourists and thus, exposed to thefts. Today, there is no telling how many of these places have already been targeted and are now housing fakes instead of a originals.

Though the Himachal government has registered about 200 ancient temples and some 300 antique idols, this is only a small portion of the state’s antique treasure.

The guardians of the temples and gompas have now become wary. Temple premises sealed after darshan and the keeper of the key is chosen with care.

INDIAN DANCES: Classical Dances

Indian classical dances have their origin in Bharat’s Natyashastra. They are based on three basic concepts ‘nritta, nrittya and natya’. Nritta follows the tala beat in an eloquent expression of pure rhythmic movements. In Nrittaya, abhinaya is the main element which is full of suggestions and expresses rasa and bhava, flavour or mood. Natya is dance as used in drama. Each of these three has the soft and the vigorous aspects, the ‘laya’ or ‘tandava’. The folk or tribal dances do not follow any particular rule. Its nature and forms vary according to the culture and norms of each region of India.

Bharatnatyam: developed in South India particularly in Tamil Nadu in its present form about two hundred years ago. It is a famous classical dance of India. While its poses are reminiscent of sculpture of the 10th century onwards, the thematic and musical content was given to it by musicians of the Tanjore courts of the 18th-19th centuries. It is essentially a solo dance and has close affinities with the traditional dance-drama form called Bhagvata Mela performed only by women; nonetheless, its chiselled sophistication and stylization make it a unique form of art-dance. Noted Artists: Rukmini Devi, Bala Saraswathi, Shanta Rao, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Yamini Krishnamurthy, Kamala, Vaijyantimala, Sonal Man Singh, Samyukta Panigrahi etc.

 

Kathakali: Originated in the state of Kerala, Kathakali is a musical dance drama. Unlike the others, it is dramatic rather than narrative in character Different roles are taken by different actors; the dancers are all men or were so, till recently. It makes epic mythological themes as its content and portrays them through an elaborate dramatic spectacle which is characterized by another-worldly quality, a supernatural grandeur, a stylized large-size costume to give the impression of enlarging human proportions and a mask like make up on the face which is governed by a complex symbolism of color, line design. Noted Artists: Ragini Devi, Shanta Rao, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Rita Ganguly, Krishna Nair, and Gopinathan.

Mohiniattam: is one of the distinctive dance styles of India. It originated in Kerala. This form had almost become extinct when it was revived by poet Vallathol Naranyan Menon early this century. Since then dancers have striven to reclaim the lost repertoire of Mohiniattam. The main features of Mohiniattam are its exquisite feminine charm and its graceful swaying movements. It is a solo dance performed by women only. In technique, Mohiniattam somewhere between Kathakali and Bharatnatyam. The technical structure of Mohiniattam is fairly similar to that of Bharatnatyam, but its gesture language is fusion of elements from both Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. And again, like Bharatnatyam, Mohiniattam too has items of NRITTA, pure dance, as well as nrittya, expressional dance.  Mohiniattam is mainly a LASSY dance performed strictly according to the rule laid down in the Natya Sashtra. Noted Artists: Bharati Shivaji, Vaijyantimala, Shanta Rao, Kanak Rele etc.

           
Kathak: from north India, is an urban, sophisticated style full of virtuosity and intricate craftsmanship. Commonly, identified with the court traditions of the later Nawabs of northern India, it is really an amalgam of several folk traditions, the traditional dance-drama forms prevalent in the temples of Mathura and Brindavan known as the Krishna and Radha Leelas, and the sophistication of the court tradition.
 Its origins are old, its present format new, attributed to the genious of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the hereditary musician dancer, Pandit Thakur Prasadji. In technique, Kathak is two-dimensional, always following a vertical line, with no breaks and deflecting the footwork is the most important part of the dancer’s training, where she or he is taught innumerable rhythmic patterns with varying emphasis so that the 100 odd ankle bells can produce a fantastic range of sound and rhythm. Noted Artists: Birju Maharaj, Uma Sharma, Gopi Krishan, Kurnudini Lakhia, Damayanti Joshi, Durgalal and Devilal, Saswati Sen etc.

 

Manipuriis a lyrical dance form from the eastern region of India. Although many forms of ritual, magical, community and religious dances were known to Manipur before the advent of Vaishnava faith in the 18th century, the dances known as the Rasa dances evolved only as a result of the interaction of the Vaishnava faith in the 18th century, and the several highly developed forms of ritual and religious dances which were prevalent in the area.
The origin of the Rasa dances is attributed to the vision of a king. Be that as it may, five different types of ballets, with a well-conceived structuring of Corps de ballet, solo pas de deux revolving round the theme of Radha-Krishna and the Gopis (milkmaids) comprise the large part of the classical repertoire. The second group of the classical dances is known as the Sankirtanas, performed generally by men with typical Manipur drums called pung or cymbals (Kartals) or clapping. At large variety of intricate rhythmic patterns is played on the drum and the cymbals. The Nata Sankirtana often precedes the Rasa. Like Bharatnatyam and Odissi, Manipuri can also be broken into pure dance pattern sections and mime. The latter is also lyrical, subtle and, unlike Bharatnatyam and Odissi, there is no dramatic extrovert expression. Noted Artists: Jhaveri Sisters, Charu Malhar, and Bipin Singh.

Odissi is a close parallel of Bharatnatyam. It developed from the musical play (Sangita, Nagaka) and the dances of gymnasiums known as the akharas. Sculptural evidence relating to the dance goes to the second century B.C. A 12th century poetic work called Gita Govinda has dominated the poetic and musical conent of the dance styles. The dance was performed by women called maharis in the temple of Jagannath, later, men dressed as women, called gotipuras, performed these dances in the courtyard of the temple. The present Odissi as a solo form evolved out of all the above. It has been revived during the last two decades. Its technique is built round a basic motif in which the human body takes the thrice deflected (tribhanga) position of Indian sculpture. The lower limbs are in a demiplie, the upper torso is broken into two units of the lower waist and upper chest, which move in counter opposition. The repertoire comprises numbers which are built on pure dance (nritta) design recalling sculptural poses of the Orissan temples : the poses are strung together within several metrical cycles (talas) and dances performed to poetry ranging from the invocations to  Ganesha to the verses of the Gita Govinda.
Noted Odissi Dancers: Sanjukta Panigrahi, Sonal Man Singh, Madhvi Mudgal, Kiran Sehgal, Rani Karan.  

Kuchipudi:A dance drama of Andhra Pradesh originated from Kuchipudi village. It combines lasya and tandana element and classical shades and strictly follows prescribed costumes and ornaments. Manduka shabdam (story of frog maidun), Balagopala Tarango (dancing with the feet on the edges of a brass plate) and Tala-Chitra- Nritya (in which dancers draw pictures on the floor with their dancing toes) are other remarkable features of this magnificent dance form. Noted Dancers: Jamini Krishnamurthi, Swapna Sundari, Shobha Naidu, Raja and Radha Reddy.

Folk Dances of India

For untold centuries India, with its vast variety of ethnic groups, races, and cultural groups, has been a veritable treasure house of dance and music. There is not a region, a valley or mountain, a sea coast, or a plain, which does not have its characteristic folk dances and songs.

Dances of the Plains: The richest amongst the dances of the plains are the dances of the Hos and the Oraons of Jharkhand, the Marias of Bastar in Chhattisgarh and the Santhals of Bengal and Jharkhand. Kaksar is a typical festival dance performed by the Abhujmaris before reaping a harvest. First, the deity is worshipped and then the dance is performed. The men appear fairly attired with a belt of bells around their waists, so do the women, in short brief saris, but richly be jeweled. The dance provides the occasion for choosing life partners. The marriage or marriages which so emerge are enthusiastically celebrated. The rhythms are complex, the chorographical patterns varied. The bell belts of the men dancers and the jewels of the women add to the variety of rhythmical patterns of the dance. The instruments used are dhol (cylindrical drum), timiki (bowl shaped percussion instruments) and bansuri (a kind of flute). Close to the lush marshland of Madhya Pradesh and yet very different, are the tribes of Jharkhand. Amongst these, the Hos and Oraons are rightly famous for their vigour and vivacity.

Himalayan Dances: From the northern Himalayas region, come many dances which belong to the village communities. Himachal and northern Uttar Pradesh are the home of many interesting and colourful dances.
Two popular favourites from Jaunsar Bawar in Uttar Pradesh. The musical instruments resemble those used by the dancers of Himachal Pradesh comprising narshingha (a large trumpet), brass bells, barrel shaped percussion instruments and bowl-shaped drums.

Bhangra of Punjab: In the Punjab, a virile agricultural dance called the Bhangra is popular and is closely linked with the ritual importance which is given to wheat. After the wheat crop is sown, the young men gather together in an open field under the light of the full moon in answer to the beat of the drum.

A skilled Bhangra dancer may even perform some highly complex acrobatic movement with the torso touching the floor, through a spinal back bend or another dancer stand on his shoulders, while he dances on his knees.

Since there are no rigorous rules of the Bhangra, it leaves an overwhelming impression of fresh spontaneous vigour and vitality. Its movements are nevertheless characteristics of the masculinity of the Punjabi and cannot be mistaken for anything else.

Rouf of Kashmir: Further north in Kashmir, the occasion of dance are many. Rouf is a typical dance of the women at spring time with across interlocked separate rows made, and each singing a different line of the song, almost as question and answer. The steps are light moving backwards and forwards with slight swings and sways.

INDIAN DANCES: FOLK DANCES OF STATES

• UP: Nautanki, Ras Lila, Kajri, Karan etc.
• Gujarat: Dandiya, Ganpathy, Raslila, Garba.
• Goa: Dhakto, Shigmo, Goll, Talagadi, Tongamel, Mussal Khel, Corridinbo etc.
• Daman: Gherba (during Diwali)
• Pondichery: Poorakkali, Kolkali, Mascarada etc.
• Tamil Nadu: Peacock dance, horse dance, Rope, Bamboo dance, Karagam, kavadi
• West Bengal: Kathi, Chhau, Baul, Kirlan etc.
• Karnataka: Suggi Kunita, Kola, Yakshagana.
• Maharashtra: Dahikala, Tanassa, Dasaratar, Lezim, Dandanlya, Gala, Kathakeertan, Lovani etc.
• Bihar: Jata Jatin, Gadur, Chhau, Kathaputli, Bakho, Ghijhiya, Samochakwa, Karma, Natna etc.
• Orissa: Ghumara Sanchar, Chadya, Dandanata.
• Andhra Pradesh: Ghanta Mardala, Veedhi Natakam, Burrakatha.
• Himachal Pradesh: Nati, Gurkhali, Bhangra and Ras Leela.
• Punjab: Bhangra, Giddha, Jhummer, Ludi Sami
• Haryana: Phag, Loor, Dhamal, Jhoomer, Daph.
• Rajasthan: Dhumer, Rai, Babajee, Garba, Ger, Lari, Dhokri, Gorba, Talwar, Natch, Shankaria.
• Chhattisgarh: Panthi, Danda, Sarhul, Raul, Suaa, Karma.
• Uttranchal: Jagar, Chaufulla, Jhumaila, Jhoda.
• Jharkhand: Karma, Jhumri, Panwaria, Jogida.

EDUCATION IN INDIA: WHAT IS DONE TILL DATE?

Education is an important institution in any modern or modernising society. During the 18th and 19th century, the modern education was introduced by British in India. After the recommendation of Maculae in 1835, the entire educational policy, the main aim of which to make clerks available for offices, was implemented. The three-tier system namely primary, secondary and higher education was also introduced by them.

 

Lord Macaulay

In making English the medium of instruction, the British rulers adopted a policy of concentrating on a small section of the population and left the task of educating the masses in native languages. This policy was described as the “Downward Filtration Theory”.

The Constitutional Amendment of 1976, which included education in the Concurrent list. The substantive, financial and administrative implications required a new sharing of responsibility between the Union Government and the States. While the role and responsibility of the States in regard to education remain unchanged, the Union Government accepts a larger responsibility to reinforce the national and integrative character of education, to maintain quality and standards.

The Central Government continues to play the lead role in the evolution and monitoring of education policies and programmes, the most notable of which are the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action (POA), 1986 as updated in 1992. The modified policy envisages a National System of Education to bring about uniformity in education, making adult education programmes a mass movement, providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education, special emphasis on education of girls, establishment of Navodaya Vidyalayas in each district, vocationalisation of secondary education, starting more Open Universities in States, strengthening Technical Education, encouraging sports, physical education and Yoga and adoption of an effective evaluation methods, etc.

The National Policy on Education (1986) provides a broad policy framework for eradication of illiteracy and sets a goal of expenditure on education at 6 per cent of the GDP. As against the goal of 6 per cent, the total expenditure on education by both Central and State government was only 3 per cent of GDP in 2002-03.

Primary education was given an overriding priority in order to realize the goal of Universalisation of elementary education. The ‘Operation Blackboard’ scheme had been formulated with a view to bring about substantial improvement in primary school run by government, local bodies and recognized aided institutions.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (lGNOU) established by all Act of Parliament in September 1985, is responsible for the introduction and promotion of open universities and distance education systems in the educational pattern of the country and for the coordination and determination of standard in such systems. The major objectives of the University include widening access to higher education to larger segments of the population, organizing programmes of continuing education and initiating special programmes of higher education for specific target groups like women, people living in backward regions, hilly areas, etc.  At present there are ten other open universities in the country. There are 104 correspondence course institutions, imparting education through the distance mode in the conventional system.

Technical Education: The Central Government on December 27, 2003 launched an ambitious Rs. 1,550 crores programme to improve the quality of technical education through better infrastructure and improved access to international scientific and technical journals. The programme will also include the new generation web-based education technologies. The programme would cover both government and private institutions. In order to improve the quality of technical education being imparted in 17 Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) and to grade them to the level of IITs, these institutions have been made fully-funded institutions under the Central Government from April 1, 2003. These RECs were rechristened as National Institutes of Technology with Deemed-to-be University Status and professional management structure. It would be totally a national programme run by the Centre in collaboration with the States.

Minority Education: The National Policy on Education, 1986, updated in 1992 envisages paying great attention to the education of the educationally backward minorities in the interest of equity and social justice.

The revised Programme of Action (POA) 1992, two new centrally-sponsored schemes consists of (I) Scheme of Area Intensive programme for Educationally Backward Minorities and (II) Scheme of Financial Assistance for Modenisation of Madarsa Education were lunched in 1993-94. Under the first category cent percent assistance is given for establishment of building and educational infrastructure and opening of multi stream residential higher secondary school for girls belonging to educationally backward minorities. The financial assistance has been provided to those Madaras and Maktabas who introduce Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Hindi and English in their curriculum.

University Grants Commission: UGC was established in 1956 under an Act of Parliament to take measures for motion and coordination of university education and for the determination and maintenance of standards in teaching, examination and research in universities. To fulfill its objectives, the Commission can enquire among other-things into financial needs of universities; allocate and disburse grants to them; establish and maintain common services and facilities; recommend measures for improvement of university education and give advice on allocation of grants, and establishment of new universities. It has its Regional Offices at Hyderabad, Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata, Guwahati and Bangalore. UGC Head-Office located at New Delhi.

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT): It was established in 1961 in New Delhi. It assists and advises the Central and State government on academic matters related to school education. It is fully funded by the Central Government. The Council aids, promotes and coordinates as also conducts research school education and teacher education, develops and experiments with improved educational techniques, assist the States/UTs in developing and implementing programmes for qualitative improvement of school education.

National Bal Bhawan: It was established in 1956 to enhance creativity amongst children in the age group 5-16 years, especially from the weaker sections of the society. It aims at all round growth of a child in free and happy atmosphere and helps the child develop scientific temper.

National Population Education Project: It was lunched in April 1980 with a view to institutionalize population education in the school education system. It is fully funded by United Nations Population Fund. It is also being implemented in Higher and Adult Education Sector. The project is executed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and implemented by NCERT.

Navodaya Vidyalayas: The National Policy of Education, 1986 envisaged setting up of model schools, one in each district of the Country, which was started on the experimental basis in 1985-86, with two schools. Now, it has grown to 491 schools covering as many districts in 34 States/UTs, with over 1.43 lakh stud rolls. The talented, bright and gifted predominantly from rural areas are i and given priority.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan: It was came into existence as an autonomous body in 1965 with the primary objective of setting up and monitoring Kendriya Vidyalayas to cater to the education needs of the children of transferable Central Government Employees including Defence Personnel by providing programme of education. At present are 899 Kendriya Vidyalayas out of one each is in Kathmandu and Mascow.

National Literacy Mission: The National Literacy Mission, launched on May 5, 1988 as a Technology Mission to impart functional Literacy literates in the country in the age group of 15-35 years the National Education Policy 1986, as modified in 1992, also recognized the National Literacy Mission as one of the three instruments to eradicate illiteracy from the country, the other two being Universalisation of Elementary education and non-formal education, the mission objective is to attain a sustainable threshold literacy rate of 75% by 2007. It is implemented in 561 districts in the country.

Drug Abuse

Drug abuse in India is varied, complex and widespread, right from the lower level to the upper social strata cutting across the gender divide. Drug abuse is common both in rural and urban India.

The Report points out alcohol, cannabis, opium and heroin as the major drugs of abuse. The number of persons requiring treatment is large. Indictable Drug Users (IDUs) have been reported from among both men and women. A large number of drug users also indulge in unsafe sex practices and many other high-risk behaviours were common.The survey was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

In the area of prevention, the Report suggests the shifting of focus from total abstinence-oriented programmes to those which delay the onset of drug use among young people. It says instead of developing a broad approach towards large sections of the society, specific programmes targeting various at-risk groups need to be evolved. Preventive programmes based on information dissemination are rarely successful, especially if the approach depicts exaggerated risks associated with drug use in order to frighten people into abstinence. Propagating the hazards of drug abuse is not useful enough.

 

As a result, the message often loses its impact. Sometimes it is even counterproductive. Research in this area has shown that a less sensational approach can be better. Modern preventive programmes should present accurate information and discuss the broad risk factors associated with drug abuse. Prevention of substance abuse may thus be embedded within the large framework of crime prevention as also safe and healthy life styles.

The data from the current survey do not enlist factors promoting or preventing drug abuse. The information obtained from users, compared with non-users, showed that the current users of various substances were largely illiterate, came from nuclear families and were unmarried by and large.

The data from the other components showed that many drug users had close family members who were also drug users. According to the Report an innovative approach involving improved problem-solving capacity may be useful to prevent the early onset of drug use. This can be done through an interactive or communicative approach with the drug users. A number of countries have incorporated these into their normal school curriculum. The Report also recommends that preventive programmes be carried out for non-student youth and in workplaces.

The term ‘treatment’ refers to a variety of activities and processes which aim at helping individuals with drug-related problems. These include self-recognition of substance-related problems. According to the Report outreach programmes, case management and motivational interaction may help in early treatment. The people by and large have also to be fully involved in this endeavour.

The programmes initiated to prevent drug abuse need to be monitored. Periodic evaluations are also necessary. Data collection on the treatment centres needs to be given priority.

The survey enlists multiple indicators, methods and information obtained from different places to provide a holistic picture of the extent, pattern and trends of drug abuse in the country. It says we must strive to remove the stigma attached to the drug abusers for their rehabilitation.

 

 

National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotic Substances is based on the Directive Principles, Article 47, of Indian Constitution. The government’s policy on the subject is guided by international conventions. India is signatory to Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 (amended by 1972 Protocol); Conventions on Psychotropic Substances,

1971; UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.

CELL IS HELL

The cell phone. The soft-contoured gizmo’s also become the most powerful. So powerful, it’s gate-crashed into all our spaces - the boardroom, the bedroom; the operation theatre; courtrooms, temples. Suddenly ring tones rise all around, tirelessly. Signboards and soft requests to ‘please switch off your cell’ are getting crushed under the din. People are celled in’ unrepentantly… Or not?

‘Nuisance? No’, assert those for whom life is so much easier because of this gizmo, something like a Blackberry that offers a web browser to help you stay connected and make the most of a busy work-day.

This tool (Blackberry) has facilitated work; makes you more efficient & productive when on the move. It’s so easy to work even while not being physically there in office. It enables you to work on Word, Excel, Power and change & re-send corrected files.

It offers immediate Internet access & one device can handle four-five accounts — office, personal, etc. And it doesn’t cost extra when traveling in India. Even when abroad, it costs nominal. Cell phones have facilitated life of the deaf and dumb too. They can communicate better. Though cells aren’t allowed in school.

Yes, communication is faster than ever. But are we connected with our immediate family? Sadly, if long distance gaps are being bridged, they are being created at a closer level.  You’re busy communicating with all the aira-gairas & your family & friends suffer. So often, at restaurants, we see couples or family members nibbling on food, each busy on his/her cell talking or SMSing to someone else than family. Where went ‘conversation?

Access to Internet 24 hours means you work whenever awake. In-between meals, if it rings, you leave food to check if it’s urgent. And if it’s urgent, you have to reply back

You are relaxing at home & suddenly, your cell starts buzzing. Now, that’s an irritant. Sometimes, people (mis)use cell phones to conceal facts. A person may be at home, yet he tells you he’s outside and not available. But then let’s admit it, we love our cell phones when away from family, we’re desperate to connect.

Cell keeps you connected with clients. The bug is - the entire staffs’ cell phones are always beeping & ringing.

If a cell makes you easily traceable, in times of need, others too are as accessible. Pros outweigh the cons. We’ve a ‘power button’ we can switch on or off, choice is ours.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT AKSHAY KUMAR 

He’s good looking. He can do action. He can do comedy. He dances like a dream. Akshay Kumar has emerged as one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars. Ask Akshay Kumar (RAJEEV HARI OM BHATIA-his actual name) if he ever dreamt he would become a Hindi film hero and he shakes his head to say a big “No”

Almost from the beginning, Akshay was slotted as an action hero. That probably had something to do with the fact that since he was a boy, he was fascinated by wrestling and martial arts. His father, who was in the Army, had a passionate interest in wrestling and taught the young Akshay plenty of wrestling tricks like chit, Kama, uthana, patakna. On hot summer afternoons in Delhi (where he was born and spent the first few years of his life and all his school and college vacations after his father moved to Mumbai), Akshay would take off to Rajghat where he would exercise and practice martial arts. 

Occasionally, his father would come by and watch him, sometimes even give him a rub down with raee ka tel. Akshay would then cool off under a tap close by once his routine was done. Later; he even taught martial arts; and when he was in Bangkok, working as a waiter, he would participate in Thai boxing bouts. It was the Khiladi films (he acted in seven of them, of which only one was a comedy - Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi) that really established him as a tough action star who did his stunts himself. In fact, the most dangerous stunt he ever did was in Khiladi 420. He stood on a plane (when the plane was about 2000 feet above the ground, not stationary at a runway) and jumped down from it in a hot air balloon.

Now that he’s married to former actress-turned-interior designer Twinkle Khanna and has a five-year, old son Araav, Akshay says he’s cut down on his stunts. But that’s not entirely true. Akshay’s current passion is yamakasi, an urban sport that started out in France and has become popular worldwide. It involves smooth, continuous movement: you keep running while surmounting obstacles (you jump from roof to roof, for instance).

You can see the Akshay and yamakasi combination in his latest Thums Up ad.  

He’s worked as a waiter in Bangkok, not even in a proper restaurant; he was in one of those caravan-type things, and at a hotel called Purbasi in Dhaka, among other places.

How on earth did he get into films at all? He was in Bombay, teaching martial arts when someone asked him if he’d like to do some modeling. He agreed. He got Rs 21,000 for standing in an AC room with a beautiful girl. And gradually while doing all this one day he got a break in films. 
 
After establishing himself as an action star, Akshay did ‘quite a few of what the film trade calls ‘emotional’ and romantic roles. Movies like Dhadkan, for instance, and later- Ek Rishtaa - The Bond of Love. But it was only when he started doing comedy that Akshay proved his versatility to the film industry. The turning point was Hera Pheri. Priyadarshan, the director and Firoz Naidadwala, the producer decided Akshay would be good for the film.  

After the success of Hera pheri, Akshay did a series of comedies - the sequel of Hera pheri, Garam Masala, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Bhagam Bhag. In a heavy starcast film like Khakhee too, Akshay stood out in a superb performance as a corrupt cop. Two of his forthcoming films Mera Naam Chin Chin Chao and Singh Is King - are action films. But Akshay is at pains to point out that he’s talking about action, not violence.

Experience has taught him to act. Akshay had 15 or 16 flops in a row. Akshay has managed to find his place under the sun. On his part, whatever he has learnt was from maker Pramod Chakravorty, who gave him one of his first breaks in a film called Deedar. At the moment, according to industry insiders, Akshay earns about Rs. Six crore a film.

The advertisement Akshay is shooting, for instance, is yet another pointer to his success. Akshay is endorsing just three products - Thums Up (”It’s his baby, he has been with the brand for seven years”), Microsoft X Box 360 and Grasim (”It’s an Aditya Birla company, it’s a great brand”).

And in the last few years, his overseas market, especially in the UK, has really grown. In England, he’s bigger than even Hrithik Roshan or Salman Khan. Akshay is an all-rounder. He’s a great action star. Along with Govinda, he’s probably the best at comedy. And he dances like a dream. If there’s one drawback, it is Akshay’s weak voice which doesn’t match his tall, macho good looks. And perhaps the fact that till now, he has remained a hardcore commercial actor. But that might change, now that he’s signed a movie with off beat film maker Nagesh Kukunoor. Neither however seems to have impeded his career.

BANKING AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE 

Banking is the backbone of modern economy. No business, trade or commerce can be conducted on large-scale without an efficient banking system. Banking in some form or the other has always been there from the ancient times. When Jesus Christ turned the tables of money-changers outside the temple of Jerusalem, he was only protesting against the malpractices of the then existing banking system. 

When Prophet Mohammed forbade usuary to his followers, he was only condemning the cruelty of bankers of those days, who used to suck the blood of their helpless victims in the form of exorbitant interest. 

Before the nationalisation of banks in July 1969, the commercial banks of India had an urban and selective group outlook, responding mostly to the credit requirements of a few big industrialists and affluent businessmen. But the post-nationalisation era witnessed a radical change in banking policy. They have been vested with new social obligations, besides mobilising savings and credits with a view to gear up for a social and economic change in the country. Instead of becoming the banks of a ‘particular section’, they have become the banks of the ‘general public’. 

The new banking policy aims at ruralisation of banks. As a result there has been a phenomenal growth of bank branches. There has also been an astronomical rise in the number of employees. Further an ordinance called the Rural Banks Ordinance promulgated by the President on September 26, 1975, gave a momentum to the task of ruralising banks. As a consequence, the banking services are now available to the masses at their door-step, and the banking industry has entered the hinterlands and economically backward areas. 

Fourteen major commercial banks were nationalised in July 1969.It was a new feather in the cap of the banking industry. The industry got a further impetus with the nationalisation of six more banks in 1980. The public sector banks account for about 90 per cent the total banking system in the country. 

Before nationalisation banks were catering to the needs of only a small section of people belonging to the upper strata of society. That elitist approach of banks has since given way to an egalitarian one in the post-nationalisation period. The profit motive has been replaced by welfare motive. Before nationalisation, there was lack of banking facilities in rural areas. But after nationalisation, most of the branch expansion took place in rural areas. The proportion of rural branches has gone up many-fold.

Before nationalisation, banks were financing large and medium scale industries while the priority sector namely agriculture, small-scale industries and exports was being neglected. After nationalisation this sector received greater attention. By March 1985, about 40 per cent of total credit was provided to priority sector.

The DIR (Different Rate of Interest) scheme was introduced in 1972 by the public sector banks for the upliftment of weaker sections of society. Under this scheme, banks are required to lend up to one % of their lending at a rate of 4% interest to specially disadvantaged classes. Landless labourers, small land-owners, rural artisans and members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are to benefit under this scheme. With a view to augment banking facility in rural areas, the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) were established on October 2, 1975 on the recommendations of the working group set up by the Government of India. The Regional Rural Banks have played a vital role in the development of rural economy by financing small farmers and petty entrepreneurs in villages. 

The harassment caused to the people by the greedy and cruel money-lenders has now ended. Banks are offering loans to people on easy terms and with a low rate of interest. However, granting of such loans often results in non-repayment by the borrowers. Non-repayment adversely affects the profitability and viability of banks. Sometimes, such loans are written off on political considerations. The politics of loan melas and writing off of bank-loans have given a set-back to Indian Banking. So has the bank scams. 

There is no wonder: that there are allegations of misuse of public money for political purposes through loan melas and the like. All the same, the Union Government has initiated SEPUP (Self-Employment Programme for Urban Poor) to bring down the number of people living below the poverty line in urban areas. This scheme is’ being implemented by the banks. Of late, banking habit has also taken roots among the lower middle class people and this has resulted in an increase in savings. Increased saving is a positive feature in the economy of a country. 

Banking is a major instrument for socio-economic transformation aiming at minimum rich-poor disparity. Our nationalised banks are, no doubt, playing their part effectively and they have helped a lot in the overall development of our country. However, nationalisation by itself cannot be a panacea for all the problems afflicting the banking system in the country. Much depends upon how these institutions are run and managed. If our nationalised banks are able to render more prompt and efficient service to masses, they would be able to make significant contribution to the country’s economic development.

DISINVESTMENTS IN INDIA: 

The process of disinvestment started with selling of minority shares in Public sector enterprises (PSEs) in 1991-92. The motive behind the process of deregulation was to increase competition and to allow new firms to enter existing markets that were formerly dominated by the PSEs.  This led to the opening up of markets to Indian entrepreneurs and Industrialists along with a simplification of the norms for entry of foreign capital.

The Disinvestment policy as proclaimed by the Government led by Late Sri. Chandra Shekhar was to divest up to 20% of the government equity in selected PSEs in favour of public sector institutional investors.

The common minimum program of the UPA committed the government to a strong public sector  and announced that in general profit making public sector companies will not be privatized also all NAVRATHNA companies would continue to be part of the public sector but would be allowed to raise resources from the capital market. 

There are at present 262 Public Sector Undertakings of Government of India. The multiplicity of these undertakings is the outcome of nationalisation of commercial banks and setting up of huge development financial institutions. Of these 262 enterprises, data on investment, profit and loss are available for 239 units. Of these, 130 are running in profit and 109 are incurring losses. The position of the 239 enterprises is briefly given below. 
 

	Context	Billion Rupees
1	Paid up capital	591.5
2	Net worth	1046.0
3	Capital employed	1738.7
4	Pre- tax profit	140.6
5	Profit after tax	98.6
6	Gross margin to capital employed	23.3%
7	Gross profit to capital employed	16.1%
8	Pre-tax Profit to capital employed	6.0%

 

While contemplating the scope of public sector undertakings it was very clearly stated that among the main objectives, they are to generate more surpluses for investment and increase exports so as to reduce the strain on the balance of payments. Self-reliance was to be promoted to ensure reduction in imports or substitution for imports for strengthening the foundations of the country. The Government and the policy makers, however, failed to insist on the efficient management of the public sector units. This was the result of non-professional management and lack of autonomy in pricing investment and employment policies notwithstanding cry of researchers and experts for the need of allowing the public sector undertakings to function as commercial enterprises. While they were built for a higher capacity in several cases, its full utilisation did not figure in the management agenda mostly due to absence of accountability.

The mechanism of management must have received serious thought but administered price mechanism took away all initiatives and efforts from the managers. With no accountability, a mindless budget support was provided to meet the losses of these undertakings. A complacent attitude ruled. Productivity of both capital and labour employed were ignored. It is estimated that at present total accumulated losses of the public sector enterprises are Rs. 37,000 crores. 

Another fundamental mistake made is that over employment has taken place in these enterprises and 20 lakh workers have been employed on an average monthly remuneration of excess of Rs. 8,000/-, while 10 lakh would suffice. 

The twin mistakes of not insisting on commercial functioning and over-manning of the enterprises has added to the losses and has prevented the infusion of further capital and adoption of new technology to keep pace with what was happening in other parts of the world. 

Of necessity, corrective measures which should have been applied in 1960s and 1970s have now become imperative. Naturally, public sector enterprises have to undergo quick and appropriate restructuring for their survival, avoiding bankruptcy. On two fronts, restructuring becomes imperative. One is induction of fresh capital and the other, infusion of new technology. Both of them were beyond the reach of the public undertakings as well as the budget in their pre-revised status. An easy solution appeared more in the form of proposal to downsizing of labour. But in India with population growth at a high rate and unemployment with restlessness in society would not allow any retrenchment. One of the methods thought of was disinvestment: That a part of the Government shareholdings in the public sector enterprises be sold to private sector. Originally it was thought that the Government would start with a disinvestment of 20% of its shares in the public sector enterprises and by and by 40% of the shares would be sold to the private sector and the money received through disinvestment would be utilised as additional capital which would facilitate modernisation. Later, the Government appointed Rangarajan Committee which suggested that case of each public sector unit should be examined on merits and the disinvestment could be anywhere between 26 to 74%. The Government while accepting the recommendations of Rangarajan Committee appointed a Disinvestment Commission which would recommend to the Government the specific enterprises in which disinvestment should be introduced, the extent of disinvestment and the manner of disinvestment.

 
 

About 50 public sector units were referred to the Disinvestment Commission. Out of them seven public sector units were withdrawn by the Government. Such a hasty decision does no good to the Government. Before any public sector unit is referred to the Disinvestment Commission the matter should be fully examined. The Disinvestment Commission after a very detailed analysis of the structure, finances, manpower, technology and the application of public purpose test recommended that 9 public sector units should be continued to be in public sector; there can be partial disinvestment in 9 public sector units; there should be substantial disinvestment in 16 units and in the case of 9 units there should either be a strategic sale or closure. In the absence of proper machinery for acting on the recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission, the whole matter was put on the back-burner. 

If resource mobilisation for making public sector enterprises viable and more competitive in order to support a high growth rate of the economy is the objective, disinvestment can provide the correct answer. 

However, one important element in any programme of restructuring is surplus labour. Twenty lakh total employments in 262 enterprises excludes temporary labour employed by these undertakings. In several cases it was reported that is was a substitute for indifference of the permanent labour. On a broader assessment it appears that one-half is surplus which implies that nearly 10 lakh workers out of the 20 lakh are to be laid off in the ultimate analysis. In its fourth report, the Disinvestment Commission considered the matter seriously regarding the employment of excess labour. Unfortunately even the serious thinking had no effect on Government. Perhaps this was due to the political atmosphere in the country and any step reducing the employment of labour affecting the stability of the Government. There are some lessons which we can very well learn from what is happening in a country like China which is undergoing more or less similar restructuring process. With a very large number of State-owned enterprises, out of a total of more than 4 lakh, employing more than 10 crore workers, turning red following the reforms and opening up. There has been an alarming rise in such units laying off surplus workers leading to massive unemployment and social tensions in China. In fact unemployment, rather than inflation, has turned out to be the thorniest issue in China after a successful soft landing of its economy. According to available statistics there are about 17 million surplus workers in China accounting for 16.5% of China’s workforce. The reluctance of the Government in India to downsize the employment in the public sector is perhaps explained by what has happened in China. Disinvestment Commission since now been dissolved. 

OUTSOURCING AND EXODUS OF IT JOBS FROM USA TO INDIA

 In the United States, India could soon become the next political whipping boy for its trade and currency policies because it has been snaring U.S. hi-tech jobs. Unemployed computer professionals, labour unions and politicians have become alarmed that U.S. companies are moving growing numbers of information-technology jobs to India. 

Technology workers staged a protest at a San Francisco conference promoting offshore outsourcing of service jobs to countries like India. The protesters were backed by a unit of one of America’s most powerful unions, the Communications Workers of America. The unit, called the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers or WashTech, was set up to fight the exodus of jobs overseas.

A new group of unemployed computer specialists calling itself The Organization for the Rights of American Workers or Toraw, protested at a similar job outsourcing conference in New York.

These sentiments were bolstered when Intel Chairman warned that a huge number of IT jobs could move from America to countries like India and China in the next decade. The hi-tech pioneer added that his California-based semiconductor manufacturing firm had “no choice” but to continue sending work offshore because of rising costs and the pressure, to increase productivity.

It would be one thing if the protests and dire warnings stayed confined to angst-ridden words, but now American legislators are getting involved. Many smell a populist, potentially vote attracting issue. On October 20, 2004 theHouse of Representatives small business committee held a hearing on the exodus of white-collar jobs.

Only a few years ago, American technology companies were accused of stealing some of the best and brightest engineering and scientific minds from India to meet a severe talent shortage. But now that the global economy has struggled for many months, technology unemployment in the U.S. is high and the jobs are moving to India.

Some industry insiders blame at least part of the unemployment problem on the U.S. Programme of granting temporary work visas to hi-tech workers from India. Many of those who come to the U.S. under this visa scheme go home to set up or work for companies that compete with American companies. 

This concern has prompted legislators in at least nine states to join the fight to slow job migration. New Jersey took the lead in drafting legislation after lawmakers learned that a company hired to help welfare recipients had moved its help-centre jobs to Mumbai. Legislation requiring state government contractors to use U.S.-based employees is still stuck in various committees. But the threat of the new law was enough to persuade the welfare-help contractor, funds Corp., to move the jobs back to New Jersey. 

A flurry of comparable bills in several states has prompted India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies, an umbrella grouping of some 850 companies, to hire high-powered lobbying firm Hill & Knowlton.

So far, none of the state-level bills have become law. If they did, however, purely on a business plane, it would not matter at all since the bulk of India’s outsourcing comes from private-sector customers, not from government contracts. 

CHEAP, TECH-SAVVY WORKERS 

Seeking to cut costs, U.S. multinationals such as General Electric, Honeywell and Citigroup have for years moved jobs to India, seeking to capitalize on the country’s inexpensive but technology-savvy, English speaking workforce. Nasscom estimates that job outsourcing to India saved U.S. companies $10 billion-II billion in 2001 and was accompanied by a $3 billion increase in American exports to India that year. This has increase by manifold now.

The migration of these jobs was not a big issue when the U.S. economy was roaring and companies had a hard time filling job openings. But that attitude changed abruptly with the dotcom bust in 2000 and subsequent recession in the industry. Today, despite a tentative recovery, u.s.technology jobs remain scarce. 

The exact number of jobs that have moved to India is not known. The Communications Workers of America estimates that 400,000 white-collar jobs have already been lost, particularly to India, and projects that a good proportion of 3 million mere are expected to migrate offshore by 2012 will go to India as well. 

Harris Miller, who heads the Information Technology Association of America that includes America’s leading multinationals, argues that the best way to protect U.S. jobs is to promote free trade. He believes that there are steps the U.S. government could take to bolster job growth, including such measures as establishing a tax credit for companies that engage in research and development. Miller also says that the current surplus of hi-tech workers in the U.S. will dissipate as the baby-boomer generation retires.

Others add that sending work offshore leads to important benefits to the U.S. When the US spends $1 in India and China, 65 cents comes back in the form of orders for hi-tech equipment.

Still, the new breed of hi -tech activists can boast of at least one recent success. They helped persuade a majority in the U.S. Congress to let lapse on September 30 a measure that had temporarily tripled the number of foreign professional workers, many from India, admitted to work in the U.S. to 195,000 a year up from the usual 65,000. 

Any moves to expand the number of visas for foreign hi-tech workers will likely be opposed by groups such as Toraw.

FOREIGN BANKS IN INDIA

Foreign Banks operating in India are banks of other countries having their branches in India. At present, there are about 50 foreign banks having a total of more than 250 branches in most of the big cities of the country. These foreign banks have a flourishing business and earn large profits.

Indian banks also have their branches in other countries and they too are doing well. .

Some economists are of the view that foreign banks should not be allowed to operate in the country. But permission to such banks to operate in the country is unavoidable on the basis of reciprocity. This is certainly the view of the Reserve Bank of India, and it is justified by the success of Indian banks operating in foreign countries.

 

Foreign Banks were established in India quite early during the British rule and have been around for over a century now. As a result of globalisation of Indian economy, the number of foreign banks is likely to increase in the coming years. The foreign banks are also called foreign exchange banks, as they also finance the foreign trade of India.

Of late, a sort of competition has developed between various foreign banks and Indian commercial banks because the foreign banks, which previously dealt only in big money, have now also started performing the day-to-day banking functions, which were previously performed only by the Indian commercial banks. These day-to-day banking functions include acceptance of deposits, creation of credit by fixing lending rate in accordance with the RBI policies, etc. ANZ Grindlay Bank has its presence in a number of Indian cities with as many as 56 branches in the country. The Standard and Chartered Banks has 24 branches while Hong Kong Bank has 21 branches in various Indian cities. One peculiar feature of these foreign banks is that they concentrate on the corporate clientele and have specialised in areas of international banking.

There is no denying the fact that the foreign banks are playing a pivotal role in Indian economy. They help the economy by financing the import and export trade of the country. They also receive deposits from the public as fixed deposits and current account deposits. They also give roans and advances to the traders and businessmen. They also issue bank drafts, TTs cheques and Mail Transfers to the customers.

Further, they also help in internal trade, by giving credit facilities to their customers for the procurement of raw materials for transporting goods between manufacturing and trade centres in the country. In this way, they are offering a stiff competition to the Indian commercial banks.

Foreign banks have opened up several options for the developing countries to attain economic growth. The achievement of this objective has been made possible partly by foreign exchanges transactions. Like every other facility, the foreign banks also create both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the foreign banks help finance exports and imports under letter of credit, the medium of D.A. Bills and D.P. Bills, and by promoting internal trade. In this way they help in earning foreign exchange. As the foreign banks have branches in almost all the other countries of the world, they are able to maintain business links with all those countries for various purposes. Thus, through these banks, Indian businessmen are also able to maintain their contacts with their counterparts in other countries. So far as standard of performance is concerned foreign banks are considered to be more efficient and more competent than their Indian counterparts. However, one great disadvantage of foreign banks is that their attitude towards Indian businessmen is discriminatory. These banks have more or less monopolized the financing of India’s external trade through which they earn large sums of money as commission or brokerage, etc. They also extend preferential treatment to foreign institutions in the matter of grant of loans and advances. They also charge excessive commission for the currencies of those countries which do not have their own bank branches in India. The Indian capital invested in these banks is misused in the sense that their capital, instead of being utilised for the benefit of Indian business, is used for the purchase of shares and bonds from road, thus diminishing the profit share of India. Foreign banks are required to obtain license from the Reserve Bank of India but the RBI has failed to exercise an effective control over these banks, with the result that these banks have acquired large amounts of money in the London money market, thus rendering the Indian money market ineffective.

Under the provisions of Banking Companies Act of 1949, foreign banks are required to keep in India as least 75 per cent of their Demand and Time Deposits in such assets as eligible Bills or Promissory Notes. However, the problem for us is how to regulate the functioning of these banks so as to make them function more effectively in the interest of the development needs of the country. There is urgent need to make both structural as well as functional adjustments so as to fulfill the needs of the dynamic Indian economy. The guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank in this behalf lay down that all banks should be required to have a reasonable minimum reserve in the form of cash or deposits; the number of financial institutions should be kept as small as possible, effective control should be maintained over the foreign banks; foreign banks should be compelled to sell their shares in India and the like. In terms of efficiency, proficiency, profitability, productivity, etc., the top nine banks in the country are the foreign banks. These banks may be having a small number of branches, but they enjoy a sizeable presence in the non-fund business and are earning huge profits. In the days to come, the presence of foreign banks and new private banks in the country is sure to increase. During 1995-96, the deposits with the foreign banks increased by 10.2 per cent and their aggregate profit increased from Rs. 632 crore in 1994-95 to Rs. 757 crore in 1995-96 and it has increase by around 200% in 2005-06. Thus foreign banks also playa significant role in the economic growth of the country. Capital formation is the foremost requirement of economic growth and foreign banks promote capital formation by encouraging savings and investments. They help the entrepreneurs to increase their productive capacity.

It will thus be seen that the foreign banks have played a significant role in the growth of Indian economy during the post-Independence period. But at the same time, it is also a fact that in conditions of political and financial instability, especially in developing countries including India, foreign banks, with their vast resources and political influence abroad, can hold the national currencies and economies to ransom. The banking scams of the Harshad Mehta fame could not have been made possible without the manipulation of foreign banks operating within the country. The Indian commercial banks have neither the resources nor the freehand to finance such gigantic and scandalous transactions and deals. In the East-Asian countries also, when the foreign banks found the national economies in a state of confusion, they played havoc with the economies of the host countries by suddenly withdrawing huge amounts of money from the national economies thereby engineering economic disasters in those countries.

Foreign banks are very helpful in the development of India. It is necessary and desirable for us to maintain and encourage foreign banks in India to promote investments and finance international trade. But we should utilize their loans properly in the productive way as after economic development we have to repay their loans in time. It is equally important to exercise strict vigilance and control over their activities lest they should create another Indonesia or Thailand in India.

J.R.D. TATA 
 

The life of JRD (1904-93) spanned almost the whole of the twentieth century. He was born in Paris and he died in Geneva. In between, he spent over seventy years of his working life in India. 

During that period, he brought to India the gift of civil aviation in 1932 and later, in 1948, helped the country spread her wings abroad by launching Air-India International. Thirty years later, when he was removed as Chairman of Air-India, the Daily Telegraph of London, among others, credited him with making Air India one of the world’s most successful airlines. Had he achieved nothing else his place in India’s hall of fame would still have been securer, but he did far more.

For fifty-two years he was Chairman of the largest industrial group in IndiaTata-which produced everything from steel and electric power to chemicals and automobiles. Apart from Air-India (which was nationalized), Tata Chemicals and TELCO, both started under his Chairmanship, became two of India’s top ten companies in both sales and assets. 

On the social scene, he was the first national voice to call for family planning. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed with him and said that the country’s strength was its people. Undeterred, for forty years he pursued a campaign to promote family planning, especially through the agency he founded-the Family Planning Association of India.  

Belated recognition came to him for this effort: the last of the many international awards he received was the UN Population Award. Two national institutions-the Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)-were started because of his support and vision. A third, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, was inaugurated by him two years before he died. 

For thirty years, JRD raised his voice against the misguided policies of a controlled economy that stunted the country’s industrial growth and destroyed his own dreams for India’s industrial future.

His joy lay not only in what he personally achieved, but also in the achievement of the other individuals whom he had groomed and who worked for him. When he stepped down after fifty-two years as Chairman of Tata Sons, the press noted that he was the only eminent industrialist in the country who had nurtured, within his own organization, people who had grown into corporate giants in their own right. 

JRD’s joy of achievement extended beyond the ambit of business to the institutions he helped create. Significant among them was the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), where he stood beside Dr Homi Bhabha as Bhabha shaped the cradle of India’s atomic energy programme.

JRD was also the first leading industrialist to recognize the responsibilities of business towards rural uplift. 

To put JRD’s ideas into action, the Articles of Association of leading Tata Companies were amended and social obligations beyond the welfare of their own employees were accepted as part of the objectives of the companies in question. 

Clearly JRD was interested in other people rather than in his own self. For those he didn’t know, he had a smile. 

His mother tongue was French; he loved the language and was good at it. 

When he settled in India in his early twenties, he decided that he would master the English language, and this he did. And he never relaxed in this endeavour. Until the very end, he took endless trouble to select the exact words he needed to express his thoughts. When he took to flying, he read almost all the books he could get hold of on aviation in the 1920s. When he began to play golf, he read books on golf. 

He recalls that at Independence, when he was forty-three, he was much enthused. ‘I had tremendous dreams and expectations of cooperation between the private sector and the Government.’ But his dreams did not come true, except with Air-India International in 1948. 

J.R.D. Tata was a product of two continents. His father, R.D. (Ratanji Dadabhoy) Tata, was a cousin and colleague of Jamsetji Tata, the man who brought the industrial revolution to India, giving it steel, hydroelectric power and high-level technological education. His mother, who he was devoted to, was French. 

Born in Paris in 1904, JRD schooled in Paris, Bombay and Yokohama. Till the end of his life the fact that he was not sent to Cambridge (where a seat was reserved for him) and recalled by his father to India rattled JRD. He said it gave him ‘an inferiority complex’.

The father must have had a premonition for he died nine months later and JRD stepped in as Director of Tata Sons at the age of twenty-two. 

JRD was to have a few other adventures. In the early 1930s, Tata Airlines was launched as a division of Tata Sons.

JRD sought satisfaction in many other ways. All his life he was keen on physical fitness and he took the trouble to exercise until 1987. He played tennis and especially golf till his mid-seventies.  

Among other concerns, he felt deeply about the condition of women in India and a couple of years before he died he established a Trust of his own called the J.R.D. and Thelma J. Tata Trust to ameliorate the condition of women, Rewards, decorations and other forms of recognition were not something he craved for, yet his work in every field he involved himself in was so exemplary that the honours poured in.

He was the recipient of the Daniel Guggenheim Award and some of the highest awards in aviation. The Bharat Ratna, his country’s highest civilian decoration, was bestowed upon him in 1992.

When the BBC announced his death in Geneva on 29 November 1993, it called JRD ‘the legendary Indian industrialist’, Yet, for all his worldly power and glory, to those who knew him he was a warm-hearted, caring human being, ‘I want to be remembered,’ he had said, ‘as an honest man who did his duty.’

INDIAN FILMS: THE HIT AND MISS

Although ‘hit film’ and ’successful film’ are terms that are used very lightly in the film industry, there is a marked difference between the two.

A hit film is one in which a distributor doubles his investment. If a distributor acquires a film for Rs 1 crore (including print and publicity cost), and it does a business of Rs 2 crore, it is termed a hit. However, if the film does not reach the Rs 2 crore mark, it is termed a successful film but NOT a hit.

For instance, if the film in question does a business of Rs 1.25 crore, it will be termed a commission earner (20 per cent of Rs 1.25 crore or, in other words, Rs 25 lakh is the commission). If the film does a business of more than Rs 1.25 crore but less than Rs 2 crore, it is termed an overflow film. In other words, a commission earner or an overflow film is termed a successful film.

HOUSE FULL:

In filmi (film related) parlance ‘opening’ is a term used to describe the first show and, to an extent, the first day’s collections. In the good old days, a fantastic opening denoted house-full shows everywhere. But full houses are a thing of the past now. With the number of cinemas in which a film is released increasing manifold and with multiplexes not restricting the shows of a new release to three or four a day, there is easy availability of tickets for every new film, even on the Friday of its release.

So a fantastic opening today may not necessarily mean full houses. What it does mean is “lots of money on the opening day because of the total attendance in all the shows put together at all the cinemas”. And so if you hear that a particular film has opened to bumper houses, don’t assume that tickets aren’t available at a cinema close to your house.

Tickets may be available openly in current booking and yet, it may be construed as an extraordinary opening or initial.

Now let’s have a look on the value of some of film stars.

AKSHAY KUMAR: Akshay Kumar can take solace in the fact that he was part of Namastey London but two things must’ve come in the way of his celebrations:

Firstly, Namastey London just about managed to scrape through and was not a patch on his line of recent hits including Phir Hera Pheri, Garam Masala and Waqt - The Race Against Time; and secondly; the real hero of the film was Katrina, not Akshay. But, this did not come in the way of Akshay demanding Rs 6 crore as his fee!

SALMAN KHAN: Salman Khan’s Partner had better partner success; otherwise his fans will feel let down. David Dhawan’s comic caper, a remake of the Hollywood hit, Hitch that stars the sexy Khan with Govinda, is due for release on July 20 and is carrying excellent under-production reports. Salaam-E-Ishq, Salman’s only release during the year so far, was hardly a film he could boast of, even if one were to overlook its box office performance.

SAIF ALI KHAN’s box-office standing didn’t take much of a drubbing only because his Ta Ra Rum· Pum managed to appeal to the audience in Bombay. He’d got more appreciation in Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste.

JOHN ABRAHAM and Bipasha Basu, of course, made more news for their off-screen, now-on-now-off romance than their onscreen histrionics. Even Deepa Mehta’s Water couldn’t do anything for John’s Hollywood career which refused to take off.

PREITY ZINTA was suddenly out of work. Yes, that’s the way it is for heroines. The bubbly Ms Zinta almost found her wings clipped - despite dating airline boss Ness Wadia. Her’ only release in 2007 so far is Jhoom Barabar Jhoom which, of course, didn’t add up to much. She’s had better luck in the past than she’s had this year. AISHWARYA RAI: followed up the super-success of Dhoom 2.1ate last year with Guru early this year. She didn’t have any release thereafter.

EMRAAN HASHMI‘S career may not be under threat of derailment but the debacle of The Train did not augur well for the kiss-happy actor who had no success to his credit but two misses (the other being Bhatt brothers’ Awarapan), besides, of course, lots of screen kisses. For TABU, the six-month period was quite eventful. After more than a year-long hiatus, she resurfaced in the very stale Sarhad Paar, followed by Mira Nair’s successful: The Namesake and the love story with a difference Cheeni Kum. Now, she may take an year off.

SANJAY DUTT: had the TADA court’s sword hanging on his head and, therefore, the industry was more bothered about the court verdict than the box office verdict of his starrers like Eklavya, Sarhad Paar and Shootout at Lokhandwala. AKSHAYE KHANNA and ANIL KAPOOR, who’ve become best pals after the former began working in the latter’s production venture, Gandhi My Father, suffered the same fate at the turnstiles because they had just one release - Salaam-E-Ishq! SHAHID KAPOOR could not follow up the success of Vivah with anything worthwhile. His only release in 2007 so far was Fool N Final.

For VIVEK, Fool N Final was bad news while Shootout At Lokhandwala at least salvaged his reputation. SUNNY DEOL, yet another hero of Fool N Final, tasted some success at the fag end of the six-month period when Apne hit the screens. . For BOBBY DEOL also, Apne was the only consolation after Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

The real culture of a people lies embedded in their customs, folk dances, folk lore, traditional beliefs, and the folk songs. No country of the world is an exception to it. We can easily compile a cultural history of a people of specified class after we study their customs, traditions, folklore, dances and songs. Invariably all the communities have this great wealth of their intangible culture, which does find expression at the time of their festivals or festivities. India being a vast country has a rich treasure of folk songs which obviously exhibit the culture of various communities inhabiting this vast land.

Indian folk songs are interwoven around some legends or traditional tales which are presumed and passed on to the next generation through the same. These folk songs may be laden with joy or sorrow or some historic event or legendary myths.

Folk songs of the Himachal Pradesh are distinct from those of the Punjab or Haryana. The love stories or traditions of Heer-Ranjha, Shirin-Farhad, Laila- Majnu can still be found on the lips of the people even in the remote countryside of the Punjab. These songs are accompanied with dance or music. 

The folk songs from Rajasthan are still inspiring and they speak of the valour shown by the Rajputs or their women folk in the face of heavy odds. Even a most cowardly person would be transformed into a courageous or brave person after listening to the folk songs of Rajasthan.

If one wishes to have the glimpses of Lord Krishna and his Radha and the Gopikas, one should visit the Uttar Pradesh where in the Brijbhumi these folk songs are still heard more frequently and especially at the time of certain festivals like Holi, Diwali, Dussehra and Raksha Bandhan.

If you go to deep South, there you shall come across the South Indian folk songs which, even if you do not follow, you would definitely enjoy, for their sweet and melodiously modulated voice. So is the case with songs from the interior of Assam and Nagaland besides Orissa and Bihar.

But one thing which speaks through all these folk songs from different parts of the country in Indian culture is so subtly embodied in them that only a man with keen insight can decode and decipher them. But one thing which every lay man can understand is that they are quite sweet and are almost identical in many ways.

Those who have witnessed the 26th January Republic Day Parades in New Delhi and in various State capitals can very well feel the richness of these folk songs. India is so rich in this field that she can definitely export this art to other countries. There have been many cultural exchanges among the countries of the world and India is one of them. Her cultural ambassadors can tell the world about the cultural treasure which India holds and which she can gladly share with the countries of the world for the purpose of spiritual uplift and recreational gain, because these folk songs, besides being recreational, are also instructional at the bottom. They delight while they instruct and instruct while they delight. It is keeping this in view that folk songs have been included in the cultural activities of the Indian youth to make their life enjoyable and livable.