Its amazing how fortunes change - having recd bonus for 2007 @ $18.8 billion pool - . The payouts average $600,000 for each of its near 30,000 staff worldwide. To being on the streets the next year.
Really sad to see these cream of finance industry on the street. Lehman was the top address you would want to land in - a dream job. with rising paypackets and lot of business that are more intangible as against tangible ( to be read as manufacturing) - guess the youth of today need to look at long term sustenance vs short term rewards.
in our industry ( shipping) which is low pay on entry level and you grow slowly - its been really tough to get new blood - who are happy to answer calls in a different accent, rather than rough it out and get their hands dirty. with the current recession, slow down in the IT industry, we read news of even large outfits keeping people in the bench, having weekly performance tests, campus interview recruitments being delayed even after having given them appointments- guess the youth of today need to make some hard rational decisions.
Your point on IT industry is on the dot. Students of 2008 pass out got recruited in 2007 summer itself. With an offer in hand from an MNC and their gross salary greater than the current salary of their parents, youngsters enter an imaginary world. But this is September end and many of them are yet to get joining date. As you rightly pointed out there are several elimination rounds after they get a date of joining.
But I do have a doubt, with the inflation soaring at 12. someting % / the house rents at their peak / the interest rates raising every day,
1. B.A / B.Sc / B.Com option is ruled out as they dont fetch you any job in the present market 2. What other profession gives the option of starting a decent life? So students jump for engineering and invariable land in an IT job (Software / BPO / ITES) 3. You may say that still there are people who are working in other sectors and are running their family in 4 digit salary. Agreed, but how long? You may to live like an saint if you have a small income. 4. We dont have a ration card in Chennai so no Re 1/- rice. Even if I can get rice for 1/- what to do with that when all other ingrideants are beyond my reach. 5. If I have a house to live in then fine. Else I dont get a decent house to live in at a resonable rent. 6. What are the options of going for self employment / Government jobs / Private concern in your home town where you can avoid the house rent (Assuming you have a house there) 7. Business small scale / large scale its a lobby and to penetrate into that is next to impossible. Two of my cousin started Provisions / Oil store - Small scale. The wholesale merchants didn't give my cousins the credit limit / Credit period which is normally offered to the small traders from their community. 8. Govermnet jobs I dont see many openings coming up - when compared to the number of graduates produces every year. 9. Assuming I am a son of an agriculturist can I follow my dad's foot step and do agriculture? What is the minimum support price the Government is offering for the Agri products? OR in the first place is Agriculture profitable? 10. What are the facilities available for doing agriculture? Do we have good water facility. Kosi was flowing over danger mark for more than 15 - 20 days and in Tamilnadu there is not much of rainfall to start agriculture. "Aadipattam thedi Vidhai" For the past how many years the "Paruva Mazhai" has failed. 11. Real estate / SEZ are gobbling the farm lands at a much faster rate after some time you will not have land for cultivation.
First thing in the morning I am reading all the PS group mails. Its 11 am and I am yet to start my work.
> 9. Assuming I am a son of an agriculturist can I follow my dad's foot > step and do agriculture? What is the minimum support price the Government is > offering for the Agri products? OR in the first place is Agriculture > profitable? > 10. What are the facilities available for doing agriculture? Do we have > good water facility. Kosi was flowing over danger mark for more than 15 - 20 > days and in Tamilnadu there is not much of rainfall to start agriculture. > "Aadipattam thedi Vidhai" For the past how many years the "Paruva Mazhai" > has failed. > 11. Real estate / SEZ are gobbling the farm lands at a much faster rate > after some time you will not have land for cultivation. >
Hi,
Before i moved to Singapore, i worked on converting a forest land into a mango plantation - its was 18 acres and gave me great pride to get it running. it was 65 kms fm chennai, yet the nearby village did not have electricty - we had to run from pillar to post and XXXXXXX ( you know what ) to get the power supply done. sadly the farmers next to us were working on some vegetables - and it was a sad state to see them not being able to even pluck the vegetables ( the market rate was lower than even the plucking cost ) - by market rate i mean what they can sell to the wholesaler - not the retailer from whom we buy.
There are diff types of crops that can be grown in diff areas incl arid and semi arid places - malaysia for one has been very successful in changing their plantations from rubber to palm - today you cannot see an inch of barren land anywhere - the govt procures at the door steps at the same price irrespective of where your plantation is - so an incentive to move farther away from towns.
with due respects to all new industries and new industry players, technology - giving all respects - cant feed you. it can buy you lot of money but then how much can a lot of money buy you now.
agree that it has to be a level playing field, but thats where governments and policy makers have to chip in with long term visions. this laissez affair attitude cannot sustain for long.
What i intended to say is, by being dependant on service industry and that too heavily laden on america and to a lesser extent europe - we have placed all our bets on one horse and after running its quota - looks like the horse is past its prime. comparing china for eg, which is steaming ahead on the manufacturing base as well, guess its high time some long term thought goes into core industry and agriculture - else you would be using a chinese rice counting machine to pay for rice which will be sold to you not in kilos but by the count - grain of rice for XXX rupees.
*"you would be using a chinese rice counting machine to pay for rice which will be sold to you not in kilos but by the count - grain of rice for XXX rupees."*
Dear Vijay,
I was reading the 10th five year plan reports with the intention of collecting information for my blog. But I am not able to collect all the data also what I understood about Tamilnadu state is also very shocking. I have given the summary here, have a look at it.
Here are the details of fund allotted for few departments
period (2002 to 2005)
Dept – Approved amt.- spent – Percentage
Agriculture - 393205.00 - 130807.16 - 33.27%
Energy - 802965.00* - *347080.26 - 43.22%
Education - 173425.00 - 73942.08 - 42.64%**
Irrigation & - 237500.00 - 103626.67 - 43.63%
Flood control
* *
In general at the end of three years the money spent shall be approximately 60% but there can be a difference of 5 to 10 %. But if you see in the above details particularly for the agricultural dept. only 33.27% was the expenditure at the completion of 3rd year. Why the reamining amount was not spent for any works? Is there a problem in the planing dept.? or the administration is lacking in utilising the money in planning & implementing the projects? Or the govt is not interested in development of the state?
In the details of irrigation projects Maharashtra is at the top - 138 projects, 2nd is Karnataka - 31 projects, 3rd Madhya pradesh – 27 projects, 4th Jharkand – 26 projects,
5th andhra – 24 projects but the tamilnadu name was not at all there. (AS per the report – Irrigation projects as on 18-09-2003, this is the latest available in govt. website)
Foreign supports for tamilnadu projects in the form of loan
Chembrambakkam Water Treatment Project 41.200 Million (FRF)31.03.2007
(IDP-162) Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project II Tamil Nadu 9818 million yen 31.3.2005 to 28.7.2015
While the other states are having many projects in the irrigation, highways, power production and transmission etc., in TN we have only two projects.
FYI the external assistance in the form of loan is around 19600 crores in which the interest alone is 4316 crore Rs.
The more pathetic information is we have entered into 11th five year plan but I could collect the data only upto 2005.
One exercise recommended for the elderly, who are likely to suffer from head spin and loss of balance is - walk in a straight line; put your feet closely along a narrow line, e.g. floor tile joint. This type of walking tunes your balancing mechanism.
If it is GM rice, one dozen may be sufficient. Arjuna, while doing tapas, initially ate three times a week, then once in a fortnight and then once in three months before Shiva appeared.
Sangitha Sriram articles on present situation of agri India are excellent as always: What a fame we had What a shame now we have Once there was no need of chemical fertilizer for our lands And slowly India established fertilizer and chem mfg giants but Presently Indian fertilizers producers are importing Urea due to high cost of mfg in India Also created a synthetic shortage all over. No proper storage facilities for our produced ones 10 to 20 percent agri produces going waste every year due to this We have self sufficient production of wheat and rice - yet wheat imports were ordered, probably to waste at godowns
Rice todays' export price is aroundRs.10/- per kg to Market leaders (20%broken) like ITC and Cargill Exports, as per the instruction of Government due to competition from Thai and Cambodia. Because arrival of foreign exchange is more important, government should subsidise. But the local people, like us, are paying more than Rs.25/ per kg. Here the important question is arising - what was the necessary for export and the reason only to gain FE?. No. There are more than FE here, and our tax paying money is simply being donated to Big firms, like how it was taken by earlier East India Co.
But the same rice is procured at around Rs.10/ from farmers (inclusive of all, means paddy, waste, etc.) means, this price also not enough for the farmer, when he calculates total expenditure he spent per kilo gram he sold. Minimum Support Price should be more in reality, which Government is not having any clear plan. Here too interest onloans, etc., to be calculated.. In AP and Maharashtra, the once high ranged, higher paid, highest income getting farmers are committing suicide - just because he had to maintain his fertile land, which gone beyond limits.
In my recent visit to Nellore, I enquired one retired rich farmer who has 12hec of fertile land at the side of Pennar riversaid that he is going to sellthe same if any good offer comes from real estate agents or SEZ operators. Reason: Heis old and his sons are settled in Madras doing Granite exports and more over, the main reason is every year, he is loosing a minimum of 5 lakh rupees on agricultural activities, which so far he withstood due to previous profits and also he was so rich but his sons started asking questions - why still?.
(I remember some old songs here: eer munaikku melinge ethuvume illai and 'enga eerottam ninnu ponaa, unga karottam ennavaakum?)
Soon, I fear, farming activity may go down.. The future seems to be negetive, if the trends continue.
Very true Divakar. I am no expert in this (ethula tan naan expert?? :) )
A couple of months back, i read an article, how big fertilizer giants and genetically engineered seed producers break the backbone of farming. they give free samples to farmers (unofficially) telling them to try it out in just a part of their field. Unsuspecting farmers, when they try it in just less than 10% of their land, find that the growth is much more compared to rest of the field. And this genetically engineered seed, pollinates through air and its more than enough to contaminate the rest of the field. So in less than a decade, the entire farm is contaminated and can survive only by their seed variety. Then the govt. will also do research and officially approve the new variety of the seed and ten the companies come into picture officially and sell their seeds at high price. This has happened in the US and now the firms are targeting India. (atleast this is the summary of what i understand from the article. maybe I am wrong).
Unless we go back to organic farming and the govt. doesnt do any good for the agricultural industry, our future is not guaranteed.
I have a small idea on improving the agriculturers....
Why cant we create a paid visit to the floral gardens like jasmine, roses etc in Tamil Nadu? If the farmers give an ad like this, many people and academic people can visit these gardens and have an idea on the flowers etc. this will give some monetory benefits to the farmers as well..
I have seen this kind of things in France. In india also i wish to see such things!
Please help me find people and let us join together to work it out.
> > I have a small idea on improving the agriculturers.... > > > > Why cant we create a paid visit to the floral gardens like jasmine, > roses etc in Tamil Nadu?
Hi great idea for a small state. but I wish you guys will come into the realm of reality. but total agricultre area in tamilnadu alone is 53,200 km². 80 percent of it cant be reached by a tar road. and who is interested in eeing a rice farm. the superimposition of european and american ideas wont work all the time. i saw in travel and living channel a competition on de staminating the saffron flower in spain. it was compered by padma lakshmi of course. all that is lovely to watch on tv. but the reality is grim . venketesh
If the farmers give an ad like this, many > people and academic people can visit these gardens and have an idea on > the flowers etc. this will give some monetory benefits to the farmers > as well.. > > > > I have seen this kind of things in France. In india also i wish to > see such things! > > > > Please help me find people and let us join together to work it out. > > > > Shri > > > > Yes Shriram. you are right. > > In US too, I came across 'Strawberry Picking', 'Apple picking' etc. > Public are allowed in the field with baskets to pick strawberry or > apple, without limits. and they have to pay for the weight of what > they have picked. Much cheaper than the shop and we get fresh goods. > The point is, they pick all the first quality stuff ahead of this, and > the remaining, which are sure to be wasted in transportation or not > worth for sales (like smaller in size and very ripe which might get > damaged) are allowed to the public. Both get benefited. Public get > fresh product for a cheaper rate (good stuff. Does a big or small > strawberry matters as long as its fresh and tastes good?) and the > farmers avoid their wastage (labour, damages, transportation etc). And > you can eat as much as you like in the field for free :) . > > Indirect benefit - public will know what farming is and how it looks > like. I was thinking why we dont do it in India. 'uzhavar sandhai' was > a good concept, but practically failed (even in US we have farmers > market, once a week in some areas). > > The urban life has deprived the new generation from the knowledge of > basics (I heard that in US, many do not know how we get milk. Because > they just pick it from the shop. In wisconsin, there is an annual > festival to show the public how cow is milked :) ). > > I think soon, India will need such things :) > > Regards, > Satish >
As someone who does research in the biotech field (GM crops), I must say that a lot of what seems to have been written in the paper is not true. THe population of the world is going to increase to 9 billion in another 40 years. We will have to generate as much food in a decade as was done in the previous 10,000 years put together. Add to that water shortages, global warming, drought conditions, pestilences and so on. Normal techniques are unfortunately not going to cut it. Even think about why "organic" foods are so expensive?
I can expound more on this if there is a general interest in debating this issue. If people have already made up their minds, then there is no point in discussing it :)
Yes, at earlier stage it is difficult. For example, in southern France, the Nice (nees) beach was dirty like anything in the early 1900s. But now you see... it is one of the best beaches!
We can start this idea with small groups. first for indians. then slowly people will be aware of this and we can educate them on this.
Please dont mistake me...The Europeans know how to make money out of everything.but in a honest way! But indians want money without work! (good people please dont get offensive).
Shriram; Good that you mentioned "good people please dont get offensive"! Because what you declared is quite an offensive statement. You probably know more about Europe but from my own experiences of dealing with Europeans for the past few years what you have declared is totally false. Europeans are more than happy to transfer work to us, Indians, than do it themselves. I dont want to change the subject of this thread. Im stopping here.
There has been lot of changes in our country in the past 15 to 20 years. For eg., * People who uses physical strength doesn't get much money * Oneside people in IT Sector, Engg' sector, Real estate are making more money
On seeing this the farmers mind is seriously disturbed, I have seen many farmers in Trichy and Thanjai areas sold their land (In main areas) to real estate people and enjoying the money. On seeing those former farmers the others also start thinking to sell their farming lands!! If this situation continues it will spread to the interior villages slowly then what will happen??
So the first thing we need is best returns for the farmers, once the Uzhavars get what they deserved only we can stop this conversion of farming land to concrete jungle.
You remember the uzhavar sandhai's, this was one of a good initiative but unfortunately failed...
Like shri said we need to market the products, but not for the individuals something should be developed...
This is the first time im hearing such a statement. It is usually Americans who do this! Since they have presence of their companies in Europe to, they check for people in other parts of the world.
Since i have lived in Europe and studied their language and culture, i have learnt many good things from them. especially French! they are more service oriented and know to enjoy life too...
I have visited a 'self-pick' farm, near Birmingham, UK, several times. You can pick vegetables - potatoes, beans, peas, cabbage and tomatoes, fruits - apple, strawberry - eat as much as you want and pay only for the produce picked. How much can one eat - 3 or 4 apples, 20-25 strawberries? and pay for about 5 kgs of each. The fellow at the till does a rough weighing and grunts - 10 pounds. It is a good day's outing; in fact the farm also sells cakes, sandwitches, soft drinks and ice cremes, at (you guessed it) higher prices. One has to drive 40 miles, 65 kms. to do all this. OK as a picnic, not viable financially for the 'picker'. Another zamana! Sampath
Yes. you are right. Everybody must have some beauty sense. But in india, our ancestors and our ancient people had a verygood esthetic sense. (their buildings are evidences for this).
Do everything in a tourism aspect. for example in the southern Belgium there is a place called Rochehaut (high rock). it is small village.. but they promote tourism like anything. Here we dont need money. just some innovative thoughts.
Everybody must have some beauty sense. But in india, our ancestors and our ancient people had a verygood esthetic sense. (their buildings are evidences for this)
Hi Shri,
The wars yielded wealth, so they were able to construct beatiful temples, palaces, etc.,
Arun: As in most issues, both groups are right and both are wrong if selective case studies are taken up for arguments.
1. Gujarat has considerably incresed the yield of bio cotton, and is in no. 1 position in India. 2. Many paddy growers have also reported increse in yield when the land virtually made infertile with chemical fertilisers is exposed to organic forming. 3. One 80 plus farmer in Gujarat, who was just eaking out a living with his 10 acre land all his life, has seen income grow in geometric proportion in the last 5 years; from a few thousand to about 10 crores. As he paid full tax, income tax officials visited his farm in the last two years to check. He switched to intensive farming of potatoes with the help of Mc Donald, and his total produce is bought by Mc Donald.
There are many such success stories and sob stories. We are in a flux, and we have to evolve our own model; copying western models will not work.
In one programme, she wandered through the kitchen of the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, stirring dal and throwing coriander in sambar - and in the next segment she was cooking and tasting fish; highly incongruous and inappropriate.
Satheesh: Again debatable; per acre yields are so low sometimes as low as one-fifth. With less area and less people, food requirements can be met. As in US, less than 1% of the population is in agriculture, but feed the entire nation - not only that, they need subsidy from the government to keep producing.
If gainful employment can be generated for farmers, social disruption will be less.
This is another complex topic; there cannot be a unipolar solution. Sampath
You are correct. But like industrialization, the govt should initiate agriculturalization. If it is more commercialised no subsidy is required for the farmers. There is a dept. available in india which is called agriculture dept., which should be improved, aanai katti poradikka vaendaam, but the govt. should buy the hi fi equipments to support the agriculture.
As you said again its debatable but should be addressed seriously.
Thanks for your expert comments. I understand your point. But again, not just the recent article I read, even years back, i read that genetically modified seeds have adverse effect on the land. Like, only if the same seed is sown, we will get crops, there wont be pollination etc. I think Mansanto (?) faced the protest for this reason.
these are really scary to read, only time has to address these issues :) But I strongly feel, anything against nature is not good for us.
Satheesh, That is a common fallacy. Genetically modified seeds don't affect land. For eg, for Bt cotton, it has been proven that you need less fertilizers and less spraying of insecticides etc.
The other fallacy is about the same seed being sold. This is not a problem with GM crops. this is a problem with Hybrid plants.. any hybrid plants. The reason is that there is a divergence of the trait.
If you think about your Mendelian genetics, let us say there are two pure varieties of plants with traits RR and SS; if you cross them you will get an RS trait. Let us assume this is the hybrid with the good features. If you now cross an RS plant with another RS plant, you can get four different types: RR, SS, RS, SR so you see there is dilution even at this stage. If you end up with an RR or SS crop unknowingly.. you lose the trait.. or the efficiency decreases. This is why companies selling hybrid seeds insist on buying new seeds every year. It is just science. Unfortunately most people don't understand this. The government of India comes out with Hybrid seeds too .. and this rule applies to that too.
Also, as Venketesh rightly pointed out, we have some of the most inefficient (in terms of yield per acre) agricultural practices in the world. For a burgeoning population, this is not enough. As for organic food, only the rich really eat them, the poor and the hungry millions can't really afford them.
"Anything against nature is not good for us".. So Satheesh, how about all the medicines we all take? Nature has both good and bad. So shall we stop fighting cancer, Aids etc since that is nature? Also, agriculture is against nature right? Man has been doing selective breeding of animals and crops since the dawn of civilization.. is that not against nature too?
Sampath, Sure.. but there have been large scale studies which show that Bt-cotton has really helped farmers.. (done by nonpartisan people like IIMs). Has led to a reduction in the use of pesticides etc. My opinion is that organic farming will remain a fad of the rich... you can't feed a burgeoning population on that!