Wrong priorities, wrong policies will cost dearly for India
B. B. Goel
Sunday, 16 August 2009 14:32 UTC
Today there is news that India has completed the design of Chandrayaan-2, its next mission to the moon this time in collaboration with Russia. I am a bit confused for spending such a huge budget in such missions. There are so many practical things India can do in space research, e.g having its own GPS navigation system which can generate its own money and hugely beneficial for common people and can meet many of our crucial security needs.
What India is going to get from such lunar missions? What did USA and Russia got from spending huge money from moon race and why did they discontinue such cold-war legacies? Why many other technically competent countries not undertaking such missions? Do Indian policy makers care to learn from history? They very well know that we do not have enough resources to implement “right to education”, “right to food”, “employment for 100 days” type of programs which is more important than sending machines or man to Moon.
Per capita food consumption in India has decreased from 186 kg per person annually in 1991 to 152 kg in 2001, despite government food subsidies costing billions of dollars
The (Indian) government had been arguing that education is one of its top priorities. It said the problem revolves around the lack of funds rather than a lack of commitment
Every year India gets 14 million new kids to provide food, education and health. I can do something does not and must not be the basis to do that. It must have a strong logic and tangible benefit, particularly for a country like India that does not have huge surplus budget to waste on such fancy projects.
Updated 16 August 2009 14:40 UTC
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Dear Goel, I have been reading your comments and thoughts on various topics. Thanks for your vigorous participation.
I’m not sure about Chandrayaan missions’ utility or the lack of it and whether the country should spend crores of rupees on these missions. We should certainly learn from History and from other people’s mistakes. Sadly, we have not learnt and have let the ‘development’ happen in a haphazard manner. Consequently, we have succeeded in creating huge urban slums and find it hard to clean them. These urban townships have attracted many rural-folk with a promise of quick money and displaced them. The so called mantra of ‘inclusive growth’ took a decade and a half to be part of the development policy after Dr. Manmohan Singh launched the economic liberalisation in the early nineties.
On the same note, we can question the expenditure on defence: India is a neutral pro-neighbour country. Why do we need to spend so much on expensive fighters and guns and battleships? Let Pakistan take Kashmir or the whole of India, if that is the solution for peaceful development in the sub-continent.
“The (Indian) government had been arguing that education is one of its top priorities. It said the problem revolves around the lack of funds rather than a lack of commitment…”
The above comment taken from the BBC report is indeed laughable. We have just celebrated the 63rd independence day! Independence from what? We are still following the obsolete legacy laws of the Colonial rulers. We are yet to find the meaning of Tagore’s " Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high…" poem.
He says, “Where knowledge is free…” in that poem. It took 62 years to pass a “right to education” bill? What’s wrong with us? When was education the government’s top priority? Even now the budget allocation for education is insignificant.
When I was in school in the sixties and seventies, school education was free and there were only two types of schools, government schools and government aided schools. Now the aided schools seem to have disappeared and instead we have the so called “Public Schools” which fleece the public for a semblance of “English” education.
And there are these hundreds of “deemed” unversities, half of which do not have competent teachers or infrastructure. Would the state and central education ministries care to ‘audit’ the entire education system and review the policies?
When are we going to make the whole country have a “uniform” school syllabi and examination system? What does ‘Unity in Diversity’ actually mean to our Country?
We need to address all the issues with an eye on ‘sustainable development’ and not destructive development as is the case now. We have systematically destroyed several eco-systems already. Is China our ‘role model?’ -
Thanks Bulusu.
Net cash flow for ISRO in Jan 2009 is -128319.08 lakhs rupees, -24.21% .
This shortfall seems to be paid from Indian tax payer’s money. Total revised budget for IRSO is 3499.04 crores rupees
Does anyone knows how much ISRO earns and how much is given from Indian exchequer? -
Right to education bill needs about 1.5 trillion (1,50,000 crore) rupees in five years to implement, as per Govt of India. But the fund is not allocated so far. Most probably GOI has no clue where such a huge amount will come from.
On the other hand GOI are hoping to make a cash inflow of about 10,000-15,000 crores rupees to the ever-sick national career, Air India (AI). Last fiscal, AI lost Rs 5,000 crore and is now losing Rs 15 crore daily. -
hi friends …i m agree with all of u…thanx for information…..
Teeth Whitening -
Anonymous
Making Jamia world class varsity a challenge, says new VC on day 1
On his first day in office, Jamia Millia Islamia’s new vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung today said there were huge “challenges” before him to make the university “one of the best in the world.”
Jung, a former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, took over as vice-chancellor from Mushirul Hasan, who was also on the panel of those shortlisted for the post.
Alam, who teaches in the Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, said, “Jung is pursuing his Phd in energy economics from Oxford University, and is well aware of the needs of the academic world. We are hopeful.”
Is it normal to read that a person who is pursuing PhD is now a VC? I have never heard about it in US/UK/Europe/Australia/Israel/Japan/Korea or any other country where some research is going on!! He may be an experienced IAS or a business men but to become VC of a university, Is he qualified enough? or in India PhD degree is not mandatory to tak up the highest job in an academic institute.
If it is acceptable then how about appointing some IAS officers or Ex IAS as VCs/Directors of IISc/TIFR/CCMB/IISERs/IITs/NISER/ICGEB and so on.
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Anonymous
This incident shows that appointment of VC is nothing but a joke today. There is a long standing debate if VCs should be appointed from administrative service cadre, as supporters of this theory argue that VC is more an administrative position than an academic one. But the problem is without having in-depth knowledge about academics and research a person can never become a decent VC. Moreover, prime minister of a country is also an administrative position. Why doesn’t any country appoint PM or chief of army staff or many such positions from administrative service? All the VCs and directors of national institutes are mainly appointed on the basis of political allegiance. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can be a VC in an Indian university. They will talk many ideological and catchy phrases (they learnt from abroad) but deliver nothing. After all nobody is holding him/her accountable for his/her performance as a VC, no academic mandate is there to achieve. So enjoy life. Student will realise the consequences after they pass out.
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Anonymous
I also want make a comment.
I just read in the news paper that in Calicut University (in Kerala) 8 teachers were dismissed by the syndicate because they do not have enough qualification and experience. They were appointed by the former syndicate and and now the current syndicate found (may be discovered) that they are not eligible. The people in the syndicate are mainly political people representing the ruling party. One among the dismissed is Dr.KV.Lazar in Dept.Zoology who has three grants from UGC as per the calicut university website (close to 66 lakhs or 6.6 million Indian money).He has a good publication record. The second notable person is Dr.P.Raveendran in Chemistry dept.He is a well known green chemistry scientist and his papers were highlighted in journalis like Science. He was holding a faculty appointment in one of the prestigous institute in Germany. He also dimissed because of lack of experience (?!!!). Is it a good develpoment? whether this will send a good message to the scientific community?
I am one among those who are now in pursuing career at post doc level and trying to get some job back in India. So to get a job in India do we need to approch to politician’s first?
I am just curious about the current system in India. I would like to hear from other members in this forum -
In India we have produced good scientists, like J.C.Bose, Satyen Bose, good academecians, good Vice Chancellors like Prof.Radhakrishnan in past. No political or burocratic connection was required that time. Now days without political connection it is not possible to reach at top level in any field of public life. We are waiting for the day when only and only merit will be considered for the higher positions of the Universities and Scientific organisations. We are waiting for the day when honest academecians will be appreciated in public so that young generation of India will feel proud to be poor, simple but honest in their life.
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Thank you Dr Mukherjee. Your dream to have a younger generation of Indians who will “be proud be be poor simple but will honest in their life” will not materialize in foreseeable future if the current trend of basic education and pathetic state of higher education is continued. Currently there is almost no grooming of students. Education has become a business and higher education is more like an industry. More we follow the American model of education and research, more we will forget the value of true education, its role in positive social evolution. There are many articles published in some reputed journals like Science and Nature that there is very less chance for this world to get another Darwin or Einstein in current situation of higher education and research. Highly influential US industry lobby is also very worried that the rate of innovation and invention is slowing down at a very fast rate. This is more true for basic research. Survey type research, screening type techniques, industry dictated curriculum is the reality of current higher education, globally. In this era of “publish or perish”, no future Darwin can afford to “waste” more than 16 years to write only one book.
US education and research agencies like NIH and NSF is now publicly admitting that “mentoring” is almost absent in US higher education and research. Majority of US faculties just exploit PhD and Postdocs for their personal scientific gain more, than grooming a future scientist. Published data indicate that Ivy League universities in US do not admit students on the basis of merit only and are over populated (more than 75%) by students from rich and powerful families. No wonder that majority of US (or from countries following US model of corporate education and research) trained Indian scientists are nothing more than glorified technicians (not even technocrats). We must not expect any great innovation or invention from that lot. Cut throat competition to publish, to get grants do the rest to throw out the remaining humanity, empathy, and desire to do something challenging, something good for younger generations. Monetary goal (and fame or institutional power)is more prevalent than to pursue knowledge. We all become more interested to seek only that “knowledge” that can give us money (and fame), a lot of it. We stopped doing what we love or what is right.You can check a blog I wrote sometime ago on education.
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Well, Indian space agency has been successfully launching satellites of other countries for a very competitive price and is one of the player in the market. So, developing and improvising ones own technology to reach other planets is good in many ways. After so many years of struggle, India has the capability to build and launch satellites and is one of the few in the rocket/missile technology. So, any investment in this area is not a waste. One failure does not define ones capability or utility. Regarding diverting this investment in education etc. is not going to have any impact as the problem in education is more of curruption rather than lack of resources. If curruption is reduced to at least 50% it would fund for the education of the entire uneducated in India.
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