Speech by the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee at the Presentation of the SCOPE Meritorious Awards

I am indeed happy to be amidst you on this occasion of the presentation of the SCOPE Meritorious Awards for the year 2012-13. 2. I would like to compliment the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) for organizing this event which provides recognition to the efforts being made by our CPSEs in a variety of areas such as Environmental Excellence & Sustainable Development; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility & Responsiveness; Research and Development and Technology Development & Innovation. 3. The Central Public Sector Enterprises were set up immediately after independence to occupy the commanding heights of the economy and to channelize investment in areas which were critical to our efforts at development and self-reliance. The total investment in our 277 CPSEs stood at more than Rs. 8.5 lakh crores as on 31stMarch, 2013. Operational CPSEs had a turnover of approximately Rs. 19.45 lakh crores, with the aggregate net profit of profit-making CPSEs amounting to Rs. 1.43 lakh crores during 2012-13. Market capitalization of 46 listed CPSEs stood at more than Rs. 11.16 lakh crores as on 31st March, 2013. These figures clearly demonstrate the pivotal role that the CPSEs play in our economy. As envisaged at the time of their creation, they have proved to be the backbone of our developmental effort and are rightly recognized as drivers of growth in infrastructure and other critical sectors of the economy. 4. The Government has taken a number of steps to improve the functioning of CPSEs. These include empowerment of Boards of Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna CPSEs, professionalization of Boards of CPSEs and strengthening of performance evaluation systems. These steps have contributed significantly in creating a positive and conducive policy framework for CPSEs. 5. Ladies and Gentlemen, India today stands at the cusp of a transformative phase which, I firmly believe, will successfully place us in the league of developed nations over the next two decades. In the last ten years itself, we have scripted a wonderful success story emerging as one of the leading economies of the world and the third largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. From 2004-05 to 2013-14, our economy grew at an average rate of 7.6 per cent per year. Due to the continuing global economic slowdown and other factors, our GDP growth rate was subdued at below five per cent during the last two years. I am, however, happy to share that the green shoots of recovery are already visible. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the Indian economy achieved a growth rate of 5.7 per cent. Various steps taken towards fiscal consolidation have shown positive results. Inflation has decelerated over the past three months and we hope to contain it below 5% through a judicious mix of policy measures. India now ranks second in the world in both wheat and rice production. A record food grains production last year helped the agriculture sector to register a growth of 4.7 per cent in 2013-14. A number of measures aimed at investment revival, strengthening macro-economic stability and ramping up infrastructure will certainly posit India back into the high growth trajectory of 7-8 per cent. 6. I must, in this context, make special mention to the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ campaign which has recently been launched by Government to transform India into a truly world-class, global manufacturing hub. I believe that our CPSEs have a vital role in making this a reality. They have, over the years, established excellent manufacturing facilities in various parts of the country. We have one of the largest markets in the world and there is no dearth of demand for competitively priced, quality products. We should aim not only at catering to our huge domestic demand but also towards high quality product development and greater access to foreign markets. This would not only create adequate employment opportunities for our youth but also raise standards of living across. 7. This expansion of operations to cater to both domestic and foreign markets can only come after making a realistic assessment of business potential and ensuring that our products conform to international standards. For this purpose, latest technology needs to be harnessed, both through suitable industry-academia linkages and by entering into strategic alliances with entities which possess these technologies. It is also imperative that attention is focused on vendor development and mandatory procurement through small and medium enterprises. This would not only develop local industry but also boost domestic manufacturing and usher in a culture of entrepreneurship in the country. 8. I would, in particular, draw your attention on the need to innovate while doing business. An ever changing and dynamic business scenario throws up newer and complex challenges which call for innovative solutions. Over the years our CPSEs have developed a certain way of doing business. In today’s scenario it is critical to re-examine, re-engineer and reinvent processes in order to continuously stay ahead of market requirements and expectations. I would, accordingly, advise all of you to critically re-appraise existing systems and procedures and develop newer, more efficient ways of doing business with a view to taking full advantage of the latent potentialities that exist, both on the material and human front, in your organisations. 9. The CPSEs have actively partnered Government in implementing its social and economic policies. I am confident they will continue to take the lead in the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign and other socially oriented schemes being launched by the Government. At the same time, I may point out that CPSEs are custodians of public wealth and, as such, they necessarily need to ensure continued compliance with the best standards of corporate governance and transparency. 10. The CPSEs have, over time, contributed greatly towards fulfilling their Corporate Social Responsibility obligations. I am sure they will continue with these activities, designed for the upliftment of needy sections of our society, in the future also as mandated under the Companies Act, 2013. 11. I once again compliment SCOPE for its initiative in instituting the SCOPE Meritorious Awards with the objective of identifying and recognizing outstanding performers in various segments of business activity. I am informed that a distinguished jury has selected the award winners this year after a rigorous exercise. I congratulate all the award winners and wish them the very best in their future endeavours. I also encourage others to emulate the example set by those who have won awards today.

The India-Russia Working Group on Culture and Tourism Meets

Both the Countries to Renew the Cultrual Exchange Programme

India and Russia have expressed their keenness for   cultural exchanges/cooperation in the fields of exhibitions, libraries, visits of crafts persons, visit of writers’ delegation, contemporary and visual arts, archives, theatre art, contemporary visual art etc. Both the countries will renew the Cultural Exchange Programme 2015-2018. This was decided in the 20th meeting of the India-Russia Working Group on Culture and Tourism of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation held here today.  The meeting was chaired by Joint Secretary Culture, Shri V. Srinivas. Apart from Ministry of Culture the other participants from the Indian side comprised of Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of I & B.  From the Russian side, Mrs. Elena Milovzorova, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation headed the five member delegation. The meeting is alternatively held in India and Russia every years as per the provisions laid down in the Russian-India Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical and Cultural Cooperation.  Both the side expressed satisfaction on the successful implementation of the Protocol of the 19th Meeting of the Programme of Cultural Exchange between the two Governments for the years 2013-15. Both the sides agreed to assist each other in sending information on forthcoming international book fairs in both countries and also for exchange of film related events, reciprocal participation in the International Film Festivals to be held in both countries in accordance with their respective  regulations.  The two sides agreed to hold the following activities and 2015: ·        To hold Festival of India in Russia in Russian Federation in 2015. ·        To renew the Cultural Exchange Programme 2015-2018 ·        To strengthen links with Roerich International Memorial Trust in the village of Naggar in Kullu Valley. ·        To provide assistance in the development of direct ties  and contacts between the Prasar Bharati and the All Russian State Television and Radio Company.

The bigger changes public banks need

Last fortnight, I asked whether the chowkidar Prime Minister Modi will focus on public-sector banks (PSBs), which are hotbeds of institutionalised corruption. On October 27, the government announced that it has decided to cancel the current selection process of chairmen and managing directors (CMDs), and executive directors (EDs) of PSBs. So eight posts of CMDs and 14 posts of EDs would require to be filled up afresh. Unfortunately, this will make little difference; a completely different approach is needed if PSBs are supposed to be more efficient.

To start with, the decision was a result of a report of a three-member committee - secretary (expenditure), the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and, surprisingly, secretary (school education). Note that there were no bankers in the committee. It is unclear what contribution came from the two eminent IAS officers, neither of who have any truck with running banks.

The RBI governor is aware of the rot and hopefully spoke his mind in the committee instead of being politically correct. Unfortunately, he was trying to argue a few months ago that bankers are scared stiff of the sword of vigilance inquiry hanging over their head and are, hence, unable to take decisions. He ignored the fact that no bank chairman has paid a price if banks are found to be horribly short of collateral - a cardinal sin in banking that happens routinely in our nationalised banks.

It appears that a new selection process will be developed and vacancies filled up quickly. The government has announced that the RBI Governor or his nominee of the rank of deputy governor should be a part of the selection process (the governor already is). We don't know yet what the new selection process would involve, but the existing one is a sham.

Bank CMDs and EDs are chosen by a selection board, which is headed by the RBI governor and includes officials from the finance ministry, external experts and sometimes bankers. The real decisions are made by politicians and bureaucrats, mainly those running the finance ministry.

This is why the eligibility criteria are kept vague and changed frequently for mysterious reasons, giving politicians the opportunity to push candidates who agree to ratify their dubious deals. In May 2011, the government suddenly announced that since PSBs were facing a shortage of talent, the criteria for selection of CMDs would be relaxed. In October 2013, the finance ministry relaxed the norms for CMDs yet again. EDs appointed a couple of months earlier were suddenly allowed to appear for interview for the CMD's job.

Most amazingly, even though many vacancies were not to occur before August 2014, well after the general elections, a highly proactive finance ministry under P Chidambaram decided to interview candidates in October-November 2013! What was the big hurry? Banking circles will tell you stories - of fixers and the going rate for appointments.

The interviews themselves are another farce. About 25-30 candidates are called in a single day. The selection panel interviews them for 10 to 15 minutes and asks very basic questions. The biggest travesty is that real banking experience does not count much. Multinational companies put their hotshot recruits from business schools, in the heat and dust of rural India. But bankers who have never worked in a branch have become CMDs of PSBs.

Will the new government be able to stop this mockery? If the Prime Minister's Office is vigilant, it may cut out the quid pro quo and corruption in the process. But that is just a start. The operations of many PSBs are so rotten that merely a clean process of selection (not necessarily a clean man) for the top job will not lead even to the minimal efficiency that PSBs must deliver. After all, PSBs control more than 70 per cent of vast Indian banking but are responsible for sapping tens of thousands of crores a year - either by not contributing by way of dividends or periodically getting capital injection from taxpayers' money.

If the Modi government really wants to play chowkidar it must impose accountability first. India's CEO-style prime minister may be shocked to know that the CMD of a PSB is neither judged by his leadership qualities nor by his profitability record. Have you ever heard any CMD being sacked by the bank board (which are anyway stuffed by political fixers) for poor performance?

Guess who evaluates the CMD currently? No one. Technically, the RBI is expected to do a performance analysis periodically and submit it to the finance ministry. But since the CMD's appointment itself is influenced by the finance ministry, the RBI does not bother.

But the bigger issue is this: is it even worthwhile for the Modi government to micromanage PSBs? PSBs, like other government-owned and -controlled firms, have been routinely abused by politicians at our expense. A well-meaning and super confident prime minister may feel that he can single-handedly make them more efficient, but that is not a policy reform. It would be dependent on the ability of one strongman. Surely, the prime minister cannot also repair the 200 plus other government companies, many government-funded "autonomous bodies" under various ministries and commissions that constitute the vast wasteland of a big state?

In fact, the prime minister had promised minimum government. If he is serious about this promise, he should set performance targets for PSBs, and seriously revamp bank boards, bringing in independent finance professionals. Having done this, he should make the top management, the board and the RBI fully accountable for performance. Through this hands-off approach, the PMO and the finance ministry will get much more out of PSBs, with much less effort.

Mine over matter

By all accounts, the coal Ordinance that the Narendra Modi government promulgated last week has paved the way for an eventual opening up of commercial coal mining by the private sector. This decision is bold as well as ambitious and the government is being justifiably complimented for its reformist zeal and initiatives.

But has the coal Ordinance succeeded in resolving the primary problem that arose out of the Supreme Court order cancelling the allocation of over 200 coal mines? Not really. Indeed, with the gradual ebbing away of the initial euphoria over the lightning speed at which the government acted on the matter, experts and even some civil servants in infrastructure ministries are coming round to the view that the Ordinance may not be able to address all the problems that arose out of the cancellation of the mines.

The central problem that the Ordinance was expected to tackle was to eliminate or substantially minimise the loss of coal production estimated at over 50 million tonnes in the wake of the cancellation order. Nobody is faulting the process of e-auctioning the cancelled coal mines as mandated by the Ordinance. The problem, however, stems from the acquisition of land and other infrastructure around the mines to be e-auctioned. Will these be allowed to be acquired without the long delays that are usually associated with such a process? As coal miners point out, the problem in mining is not with the actual process of excavation, but with the acquisition of land necessary for evacuation of the mined coal.

Two, how costly will it be for the existing owners of the cancelled mines to secure them through thee-auction process? If a company has a mine linked to a power plant or a cement project, its need to acquire that mine is paramount. In an open e-auction process, this situation can be easily exploited by rivals to make non-serious bids in an attempt to jack up the cost of acquisition. Such instances are not entirely unknown in the auctions that have so far been held in other areas. There is no reason one will not see the repeat of such attempts.

Three, will the e-auction process lead to an optimum utilisation of the country's vast coal assets? This is, of course, a larger question and strikes at the root of the policy on end-use based captive mining of coal blocks. Given the many varieties of coal found in this country - ranging from those with a high calorific value to those with high ash content and a low calorific value - the idea of linking a coal block to a pre-determined project does not always lead to optimum use of coal. It is possible that a coal block, linked to a power project, produces high-quality coal that should ideally be used for a steel plant to achieve optimum results. But with end-use restrictions in place, such diversion would not be permissible. In other words, top-grade coal would be used in a project that does not need that level of fuel quality and could well have met its needs with lower grade coal. The e-auction process may improve transparency in awarding mining blocks, but it will fail to address the basic problem of sub-optimal use of a valuable natural resource like coal.

Could the government have done something better? Some officials point out that the government could have acquired the mines and then e-auctioned them to firms whose primary job would be to mine coal under the supervision of an effective regulator that also should be set up simultaneously. Land acquisition delays would have been obviated in the process because the government would have taken far less time in acquiring them. And then the coal produced by such firms could either be sold or made available through linkages to projects depending on the quality of coal produced there. Even Coal India now tries to ramp up production by using private contractors to do the actual mining. The same principle could have been applied by the government and instead of relying on Coal India, there would have been many private contracting firms mining coal until such time the government chose to allow through a notification private commercial mining of coal.

But then such ideas cannot get discussed when decisions are taken without following a more broad-based consultative process. Quick decisions are welcome, but some more consultation with experts and even think tanks within and outside the government can certainly help.

The Narendra Modi government's coal Ordinance is a bold move, but it may not be able to tackle the central problem of minimising the loss of coal production

Cancer cell fingerprints in blood may speed up diagnosis

Scientists have identified cancer cell fingerprints in the blood that could one day help doctors diagnose a range of children’s cancers faster and more accurately.

Researchers, from the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, have found unique molecular fingerprints for 11 types of children’s tumours, which could be used to develop blood tests to diagnose the cancers.

This may eventually lead to a quicker, more accurate way to diagnose tumours, and could also reduce the need for children to undergo surgery to get a diagnosis one day.

The researchers uncovered the fingerprints left by the tumours by analysing blood samples from children when they were diagnosed with cancer.

They were looking for molecules that turn genes on and off, called microRNAs, to find common changes linked to different tumours.

In particular they found a very specific fingerprint which identifies different types of neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer which develops from a type of nerve cell.

Lead researchers Dr Matthew Murray and Professor Nicholas Coleman, both from the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital said the research suggested that different types of tumour could be identified using a blood test which recognises the unique fingerprints produced by tumours.

“We hope that this early research could eventually lead to the development of non-invasive tests which are faster, more accurate and gentler, transforming the way we make a cancer diagnosis in the future,” said Murray.

“Using a blood test instead of surgery to remove a tumour sample could improve diagnosis - such that results take a matter of hours rather than days or weeks.

“However, before such a test can be incorporated into clinical practice, it will now be important for these findings to be validated in other, larger independent studies,” Murray said

Indian researcher develops new device to track status of heart

An Indian researcher here has developed a wearable device that he claims can help one track the status of heart, both in medical and emotional terms.

“The Inner You (INYU) is a wearable device that helps the user to track and manage his or her physical as well as emotional health,” Srinivasan Murali, co-founder and CEO of the Switzerland-based SmartCardia told PTI.

The SmartCardia technology is based on several years of research from the Embedded Systems Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Frale de Lausanne (EPFL), he said.

“I hope the device will be highly beneficial for India. It can be used to track Electrocardiogram (ECG), breathing and key vital signs of users, so that they can get timely feedback from the doctor,” he said.

“The user can see the signals immediately on his or her mobile phone. It can also be used for managing a healthy lifestyle, as it tracks the emotional and physical health aspects, such as the stress level, body fat and physical activity,” Mr. Murali said.

The developer of the device intends to price it around Rs 9,000, so that tracking one’s complete health becomes affordable.

Explaining the working of the device, he said INYU obtains key physiological signals from the body like ECG, breathing, skin conductance and physical activity by a simple touch that give a complete picture of the body-mind health.

The combination of the biological signals is used to infer the overall physical and emotional state of the user.

“For example, the variation in time intervals between heartbeats is related to the stress level. The conductivity of the skin, reflecting the amount of sweat-induced moisture on the skin — is determined by the emotional intensity, while breathing is a good indicator of the activity of the autonomic nervous system,” Mr. Murali said.

By combining these indicators, he said the stress level, concentration level and mood are inferred by advanced machine learning algorithms on the device.

“This allows managing stress and quantifying yoga and meditation techniques. New breathing games can be implemented as well,” he said.

He said the INYU sends the signals in real-time to smartphone and other smart objects through Bluetooth 4.0.

“Mobile and computer games can become immersive. Imagine a user having to hold his breath when jumping into the water on the screen. Games can also be personalised for the user,” he said.

The INYU signals can also control smart lights, music and other smart objects. The breathing or emotion state can be used control the colour or intensity of lights or the music can change according to physical activity or mood, he said.

North elects more women MLAs

Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan have the highest proportion

When the results to the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections came out two weeks ago, the northern State had produced twice the proportion of women legislators as its western counterpart.

This isn’t an exception; States with poor records on gender equality are consistently producing more female MLAs.

Using Election Commission of India data, The Hindu found that as of today, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan have the highest proportion of women MLAs in the country (14 per cent) while Nagaland, Mizoram and Karnakata bring up the bottom (2 per cent and below). Using 50 years of State elections data until 2012, economists Mudit Kapoor and Shamika Ravi of the Indian School of Business found that women were far more likely to contest elections from constituencies with a sex ratio skewed against women, most of which were in the northern States. While fewer women contested elections in the southern and western States, however, they were more likely to win, they found.

Professors Kapoor and Ravi hypothesise that the greater propensity of women to contest from the northern States is a result of the skewed sex ratio: “[I]n places where the gender ratio is in favour of women, they do not have to incur the high cost of contesting an election to achieve their preferred policy outcomes. They achieve this through the simple act of voting…[I]n constituencies, where the gender ratio is unfavourable to women, woman candidates incur the costly strategy of contesting elections, not always with the objective of winning but to prevent those candidates whose policy preferences are farthest from their interest,” they wrote.

Another explanation sometimes put forward is that women politicians often tend to be “proxies” of male politicians who might be their relatives, and that this trend is likely to be stronger in the north.

Between Maharashtra and Haryana, however, the western State had a higher proportion of women MLAs who come from political families (55 per cent) than the northern State (38 per cent), The Hindufound.

In general, women politicians are more likely to come from political families. In its analysis of newly elected members of the 16th Lok Sabha, The Hindu found that women MPs were twice as likely to come from a political family as male MPs. Moreover, those female MPs who are “placeholders” – those who get ticket because of the inability of their husband or other male relative to contest that particular election – have worse parliamentary participation than other female MPs, Suraj Jacob, a political economist at the Azim Premji University, found.