Down memory lane!

Saw a news column in the NIE, today, that two students of a college in Coimbatore died due to drowning at the Walayar dam. Shanmughan and Tirupathi were doing BTech. What a sad end to two promising lives! Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Om Shanti! Sadgati.

Was taken back in time to Jul 1984 when I'd joined INS Agrani, at Coimbatore, as the management expert on completion of the LLMC (Long Logistics and Management Course) at INS Hamla. I was given a warm welcome and assigned the duties of the Officer-in-charge, MCPO Pre-promotion Course.

The Bureau of Sailors prepared the list, every year, of CPOs (Chief Petty Officers) who were cleared for the next rank - MCPO II (Master Chief Petty Officer Second Class) and sent them in batches every month - all through the year - to do the four-week course at INS Agrani and pass out as MCPOs, on completion. On the last day of the course each of them went up to the Commanding Officer on the 'Requestmen Table' and they were presented with a pair of stripes of the MCPO rank. The sailors celebrated their promotion by wearing the new pair of stripes and joining the training staff at a farewell lunch.

The stipulation that was passed on to us at the teaching faculty was that a guy could fail only once in the course wherein such a trainee went back to his ship but would return to do the course a second time, within that calendar year, and it was mandatory that he had to pass then. One of the first things that I did, with my Commanding Officer's consent, was to clear everyone and make it an all-pass course. I could achieve it by giving a 'retest' for the failed students and cleared all of them, eventually. This was to prevent unnecessary wastage of government money, in the form of TA, on the guys who had to return to do the course where they'd to be mandatorily passed. (This dichotomy was changed by the introduction of a CPO Management Course, wherein, Chief Petty Officers were sent to Agrani to do the course and those who could not pass would not be considered for further promotion). 

I was also made the Secretary of the CSA (Coimbatore Sailing Association). The Commanding Officer was the Commodore of the Sailing Club. Every Sunday morning we used to travel 35 km to Walayar Dam, where we had our sail boats and accessories along with the rescue boat, a powerful motor boat at the stowage accommodation. It was a great attraction, so much so, that the civilian members found it enthralling and joined us in droves.

On my first outing itself, I'd made it clear that while exploring every scope of enjoyment, the participants had to rig up their own boats and secure them, after sailing, with a strict stipulation that beer and lunch would only be rolled out after the completion of all sailing activities. 

We enjoyed the sailing activity at the picturesque Walayar Dam every Sunday and when I read about the mishap, I was saddened. It would have been due to negligence in taking care of the safety aspect, for sure!

An add on

The entire INS Agrani rejuvenation team - under then Captain THR Iyer - was in place by Jun '84 and its reputation as a tautly run establishment, spread all over the Indian Navy.

The other members of the rejuvenation team were as follows :-

         * Lt Cdr AC Jose                 Executive Officer

         * Lt Cdr Ravi Ponappa        Logistics Officer

         * Lt Cdr PK Banerjee          Training Officer

         * Lt Cdr L Radhakrishnan   Education Officer

         * LT (SDG) GS Deol            Syndicate Officer

         * Lt HS Sidhu                                   "

         * Lt K Rajeev Nair                           "

         * Lt DS Kannan                                "

         * Lt RBG Nair                                   "

         * Surg Lt G Vishwanath         Medical Officer

         * Lt (SDAE) SR Murthy         Oi/c A & EHU

Lt Col CT Somaiah, the CO of the 110 TA Battalion, nearby, stayed in the mess and he was an active member in all our activities.

Of the above, Cdr AC Jose, Lt DS Kannan, Lt Cdr (SDAE) SR Murthy and Lt Col CT Somaiah have passed into the mist of time. Tears and prayers for the departed souls!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a trifle before 6, the chores and Rajish's medical team had come by a half past 7 to draw my blood for the FBS and for the PPBS, after two hours.

Was ready by a half past 9.

The maid took a day off as her granddaughter had taken ill.  

A rethink on Civil services induction.

70% of recruits for civil services come from technical streams!

India is losing a good number of technocrats to civil services, adversely affecting such areas of specialisation, a parliamentary committee has said. The statistics given below say it all.

Year      Selected        Technocrats       Doctors

2011        1,001                   46                    142

2012        1,001                  408                   156

2013        1,228                  623                   168

2014        1,368                  699                   183

2015        1,164                  642                   160

2016        1,299                  717                   125

2017        1,056                  699                     59

2018           812                  509                     48

2019           922                  582                     56

2020           833                  541                     33

The situation, definitely, is alarming. The committee has recommended a serious rethink in the selection process into the civil services.

My take

It's an alarming situation because we need good youngsters in every walk of life! I'm sure the present skewed system will be quickly righted.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9.

A quiet Sunday.

Trade with Latin American countries.

India's trade with Latin American countries touch $50 billion.

Fast-tracking growth

* Exports to Latin American countries rise 19% to $22.41 billion in FY23 from FY22.

* India's exports to Brazil at $9.9 billion are higher than those to traditional partners such as Japan at $5.46 billion.

* Car exports to Latin America accounts for one-third of India's global car exports at $6.68 billion.

* Mexico is the second largest global market for Indian cars at $9.73 billion.

* Exports to Mexico at $5.2 billion are more than the exports to $3.15 billion to Russia.

* Exports of $273 million to remote Honduras are more than outbound shipments of $220 million to Cambodia.

Indian companies have played a significant role in this growth with a strong presence in sectors like agriculture, energy including renewables, information technology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and automobiles among others in the region. Indian companies have invested around $15 billion and also exports refined products to the region.

Other major markets are Chile, Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama and Guatemala. Motorcycle exports also constitute one-third of India's global exports and Colombia is the number one as a market for our motorcycles, our two wheelers.

Meanwhile, the Latin American region is a big source of gold, copper and other mineral concentrates and also wood. India's gold imports from the region was in excess of $6.5 billion mainly from Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico and Ecuador.

My take

We have a brisk trade going on with the countries of the Latin American region. May the volume increase further.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter past 10.

A quiet Saturday.   

Finally, some more action.....

The central government curbs import of laptops, tablets for security reasons. The new restrictions, implemented with immediate effect, are also intended to boost domestic manufacturing.

Importers will need special licence

The restrictions will also cover microcomputers, large or mainframe computers and certain data processing machines. Importers of these items would need government permission and licence for their inbound shipment. Government sources said the primary aim is to ensure the security of citizens as some of the listed hardware could compromise sensitive and personal data.

Reducing dependence on China

* A large chunk of the electronics items and machinery imports are from China and South Korea. The curbs are also meant to encourage domestic manufacturing and reduce dependence on foreign goods.

* No bar on the import of one unit of any of the restricted items, including those purchased from e-commerce portals or courier.

My take

It was high time that such restrictions were introduced to cease the dumping of Chinese goods into our markets.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. The maid was working today.

It was a quiet Friday with a heavy shower around 9 but after that, it was bright and sunny.

Lekha's treatment is going on with tangible results. Her doctor was given the feedback on the progress.   

  

Kerala's women farmers set to make their tryst with destiny.

At tractor wheel , Kerala's women farmers set to blaze trail.

For Ramya, who had never driven a vehicle in her life, sitting at the wheel of a farm tractor was a whole new experience. She was concerned  and confused at first but with her trainer egging her on, Ramya gained confidence. Her ten other batchmates have similar stories to tell.

"Driving a tractor through a farm is indeed not an easy task. We now know why only men used to do it but then we are no less than any man  and we will prove this by handling the tractor in the most effective manner possible".

                                                                                                         - Ramya.

Far from the days when driving a tractor was the sole preserve of men, the state's farms will now sport hundreds of women confidently handling them, thanks to the tractor training program organised as part of the central government's 'Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana' (MKSP) program.

One of the first training programs was held at Panthalayani block panchayat, where 11 women have started learning the basics of tractor driving.

- Courtesy Pooja Nair in the NIE

Tailpiece.

Got up at a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by 10.

Have put Lekha on my massage sessions, both in the mornings and in the evenings. Hope she gets her relief.

A quiet day otherwise. 

  

India's decade.

Given below are highlights of significant transformations over the last 10 years.

Mutual Fund Investments

2013       $100.73 billion

2023       $507.32 billion

Digital Transactions as % of GDP

2013        4.4%

2023      76.1% 

Foreign Direct Investment

2013        $22 billion

2023        $46 billion

Electrified Railways

2014        4,100 km

2023      28,100 km

Direct Benefit Transfer

2013        $897.32 million

2023        $32.07 billion

Corporate Tax Rate

2013        33.90%

2023        22%

RBI CPI Inflation

2013        10%

2023        4.7%

Highways

2014        25,700 km

2023        53,700 km

GST Collections

2018        $87.68 billion

2023        $219.51 billion

Corporate Debt as % of GDP

2015        62%

2023        50%

Real Estate Projects

2015        50,000

2023        75,000

The positive surge in all spheres is discernible!

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by 10. 

Lekha had gone to the Mammiyoor Siva kshetram around 8. The maid had come by for work.

Lekha took a tumble after her exercises on the bicycle, she'd fallen heavily on her left haunch. Gave her a massage and infra-red application. 

1st cargo-passenger coach in the offing.

The Rail Coach factory, Kapurthala has designed a double-decker coach for the Indian Railways on the lines of the belly freight concept which would be rolled out this month. The coach will have 46 seats on the executive upper deck which would have a pantry and toilets while the lower deck will be able to store up to six tons of cargo.

What is belly cargo concept?

Belly cargo is freight that is stored under the main deck of an airplane. Sometimes it can also refer to freight that is being shipped by a vessel that is stored in the holds of the ship.

When is shipping via belly freight a suitable option?

The nature of goods and the consignment's weight and measurements are key parameters. Tech preconditions of the aircraft are limitations for both - for eg. height of a passenger aircraft's lower deck limit the maximum height of cargo pieces.

Other limitations

Security standards and security checks in passenger aviation are higher than for cargo only aviation. That includes limitations as to which types of substances are allowed on the aircraft.

During the financial year 2022-'23, the railway freight revenue leapfrogged to 1.62 lakh crores, a growth of nearly 15% over the previous year.

These trains will be rolled out based on the concept of cargo-liners and will run regularly as scheduled service on a fixed route between designated points while carrying consignments of various commodities.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle before 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Earlier, Sajeesh had come by and given me a good haircut and massage.

Met Dr (Mrs) Sodhi to clear Lekha's discomfort. Saw her at a quarter past 10.

A quiet Tuesday.