Mr Sadanand Shetty......

Mr Sadanand Shetty......
Sadanand Shetty...Founder OIOP

Friday, October 5, 2012


Oct- 12 Issue

Top 10 Revolutions that transformed India

It needs a vision to bring about a paradigm change. And India has produced enough great visionaries, in every century, who shaped her destiny. Under their leadership, India has pioneered developments in agriculture, science, medicine, mathematics, commerce, trade…in every sphere to catapult into the big league and make a global impact. Two great revolutions in the 1970s – the green revolution and the white revolution, led by two iconic men, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan and the late Dr. Verghese Kurien respectively, helped India achieve self sufficiency in food and milk. Similarly revolutions in science-and-technology, space, drugs, telecommunications and information technology made India self reliant and brought her prestige. OIOP October 2012 issue looks at the Top 10 revolutions that transformed India.

In ‘Walking the green carpet’, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, known as the ‘Father of Green Revolution in India’, and currently a Member of the Rajya Sabha stresses the need for a synergy among technology, services, public policies and farmers’ enthusiasm to realise the dream of an evergreen revolution.

In ‘The amazing transformation of Hivre Bazar’, Dilip Chaware, veteran journalist, tells us the story of the unbelievable transformation of Hivre Bazar, a once poverty-stricken, perennially drought-hit village in Ahmednagar into a prosperous village. This transformation was led by the village sarpanch Popatrao Pawar. We certainly need more such people in this country.

In ‘Jahan doodh ki nadiyan bahe…’ Dr. Amrita Patel, Chairman of the National Dairy Development of India, writes about the White Revolution, initiated by the late Dr. Verghese Kurien. Operation Flood considered as the world’s largest rural employment generation programme of the time revolutionised the dairy industry in India, making it the largest producer of milk and milk products.

In ‘The cutting edge’, Dr. Ramesh A. Mashelkar, a FRS, National Research Professor, highlights some of the greatest achievements in the field of science in the last 50 years and tells us how India’s science-and-technology-led revolutions have been instrumental in the country emerging as one of the leaders amongst the knowledge and economic superpowers of the world.

In ‘Unleashing the atom power’, Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to GOI and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet,  talks about The Atomic Energy Revolution which had its genesis in the vision and courage of one man-Dr. Homi Bhabha. Dr. Chidambaram emphasises that India cannot become a ‘developed’ country unless its per capita electricity consumption increases six to eight times. This is not possible unless a large part of it comes from nuclear power. However, he cautions that we need stringent regulation to keep our nuclear reactors safe.

 ‘The sky is the limit’ gives an insight into India’s Space Revolution making it one of the few countries to innovatively apply the technology in several areas which are critical to national development. Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member (Science) in the Planning Commission, GOI, writes on India’s progress in space technology and says that space has an inexhaustible store of secrets and challenges and India’s quest in space has only just begun.

In ‘DRDO – the game changer in defence technology’, Dr. Vijay Saraswat, distinguished scientist and Director General of DRDO, the premier national organisation engaged in defence research writes how the Defence Revolution, transformed India. He traces the momentous journey of DRDO (The Defence Research & Development Organisation) from a fledgling inspection agency to a technology provider in areas as diverse as missile defence and life support systems. But new challenges loom, and the march to achieve total self-reliance in defence technologies continues, says Dr. Saraswat.

How the IT Revolution has impacted India is there for all of us to see. In ‘This is IT’, Kiran Karnik, a former President of India’s IT industry association, NASSCOM, now an independent policy and strategy analyst, says besides transforming India’s global image, the IT industry has significantly contributed to creating jobs, bring about social stability and inclusive development, and providing hope for a large number of Indians. Its impact on gender and economic equality in small towns are equally noteworthy.
  
The Telecom Revolution has been one of the successful stories of India. In ‘Hello, world’, Dr. Madhukar V. Pitke, who has been working in the field of computers and communications for several years, says that despite the enormous success in the field of telecom, there is still a vast market to be tapped. We will be able to realise this potential only when we develop our own technologies instead of being at the receiving end of those developed by other countries, he adds.

India has built several institutions of repute – the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the Department of Atomic Energy, etc., that have pioneered a number of scientific innovations. In ‘Insulated Institutions’, Dr. Itty Abraham who teaches international relations and science and technology studies at the National University of Singapore., says that the Department of Energy (DAE) undoubtedly gave rise to many institutional innovations but its functioning raises a few questions. According to Mr. Abraham, if the institution did not have the layers of insulation, the failings of nuclear power in India would have been visible long before and its existing shortcomings addressed by public policy and civil society much more thoroughly.

India is at the threshold of an Infrastructure Revolution. In ‘Scaling brick by brick’, Dilip Chaware, veteran journalist, writes that the infrastructure is a critical factor in a nation’s development and since this sector contributes substantially to the GDP of India, the government should remove bottlenecks for quicker implementation of projects in all areas—roads, power, railways, ports, coal, petroleum, steel, cement and fertilizers.

In ‘Face to Face’, Mr. Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group tells Anuradha Dhareshwar, Editor, OIOP, that it is time for a second drug revolution in India. He speaks about the evolution of India’s pharma industry, his latest acquisitions and the Group’s aspirations to be the first Indian company to launch its own novel drug in the global market.

In ‘Profiles of Dynamic Leadership’, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam spells out nine unique dimensions of creative leadership for good governance. 
Know India Better


This issue features two interesting articles in Know India Better.

In ‘A Birding Paradise…and how to make the most of it’, Jayanthi Mahalingam lures us into the magical world of bird watching, which she says is the best way to beat stress, as the winged marvels are a feast for the eyes and balm for the soul. India is one of the world’s coveted destinations for bird watchers. Even bustling metros like Mumbai and Delhi boast of a count of 150-200 species. Amol Bhave has captured stunning close ups of some of the rare birds.

Akul Tripathi, media professional and freelance writer, drives down the most exotic stretch of road in this country—the Leh-Manali highway in search of a snow leopard after hearing the exhilarating story about its spotting, straight from the horse’s mouth. Does Akul spot the elusive cat? Read ‘Shan – the ghost of the mountains’ to know...

In ‘Great Indians’ we feature three iconic men who have pioneered three of our greatest revolutions—the Space Revolution, the White Revolution and the IT Revolution that transformed India –

Vikram Sarabhai, Father of Indian Space Programme (1912-1971); 

Dr. Verghese Kurien, India’s amulya man (1921-2012);

 Mehta, A true champion of the Indian IT industry (1964-2001). 




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