Kc january 2015

1KERALA CALLINGJanuary 2015

2 KERALA CALLING January 2015


Not Charity

But EqualityDr BEELA G K

COCOCOCOCOVER STVER STVER STVER STVER STORORORORORYYYYY

3232323232 EntrepreneurialEcosystemKrishna Kumar S

42 Emotional IntelligenceDr S Resia Beegam

46 Value of RecordsAdministrative and ResearchD Dayanandan

18

FEAFEAFEAFEAFEATURETURETURETURETUREKerala’s economy is essentially a wageeconomy. Entrepreneurship is restricted totrade, transport and tourism, all of which arelow knowledge-intensive sectors. Recently, thegovernment has started playing an active rolein promoting entrepreneurial skills andinfrastructure for encouraging star-ups.

We are living in a world of technological products. One day if youforget to take your cell phone to your office, you feel disabled. Wecan all be equally able and disabled by technology and ourrelationships to it, and thus to the social world around us.


38 Ayurveda andTourismDr. Jubily Navapraba

8 NEWSCAN 26 PHOTO FEATURE 36 HORIZON

48 GARDENING 50 GOVERNMENT ORDERS

Speech of Chief MinisterOommen Chandyat the Conference ofChief Minister’s onPlanning Commission

Long Live CinemaC S Venkiteswaran

28 The legendary JusticeJustice K Sukumaran

The Central Government’s arbitrarydecision to dismantle the PlanningCommission, without convening ameeting of the NDC or consulting theStates undermines the federal structure.

FULL FULL FULL FULL FULL TEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXT

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IFFK 2014

22

TOURISM

As a lawyer, he worked without rest forthe suffering masses- the toiling folk inthe fields, rising with the lark andworking all time from sunrise to sunsetand beyond, regardless of the clime ortime, till homeward he plodded theweary way.

MEMOIR


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January 2015 | Volume 35 | Number 3

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mini Antony IAS Director, I&PRD

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2014-Year of Achievement

At the outset, we take this opportunity to wish a very happy andprosperous New Year to all our readers. Last year the state witnesseda series of programmes that fulfilled the Government's slogan of‘development and care’. Kerala which has achieved many firsts in thecountry in the past, yet again attained a remarkable feat by becomingthe first state to come out with a draft policy for Persons withDisabilities (PWDs). Under the Mission 676 programme announcedearlier this year, the government decided to bring Right to HearingAct, a legislation which entitles the citizen to a time bound legalremedy to their grievances concerning government services. Thisalong with Right to Service Act implemented by the governmenttwo years ago, promises to make governance more people friendly.

By bringing mega projects like Kochi Metro, Smart City,Vizhinjam port, Kannur Airport, National Waterways,Thiruvanthapuram and Kozhikode light metro and suburban railwayunder Navaratna projects. The Government has put these projectson the fast track. Another major initiative is E-governance which isalready on the fast forward mode. While more than 100 serviceshave already been brought under the on-line mechanism, the numberis expected to cross 400 by next three months. The state is also onthe way to become fully E literate in the next three years.

In the health sector, the year saw major developments includinglaunch of Sukartham - free cancer care programme, first of its kindin the country, which seeks to benefit 35 lakh people across the state.The state has already shortlisted locations for the setting up ofproposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Home for the homeless is another priority area of thegovernment. It plans to provide 25,000 houses to the poor in nextfive years with the help of programmes under the corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) donations from philanthropists and otheragencies. Serving the differently abled has been on top of thegovernment's agenda. Innovative schemes for providing moderntechnology like mobile applications and free laptops for the visuallyimpaired studying in colleges and universities will help them fulfiltheir dreams.

With the dawn of 2015, Kerala will be in the national limelight.The 35th National Games will kick off on 31st January and continuetill 14th February. With the state fortunate enough to get cricketlegend like Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador of the games,it’s certainly going to be a perfect celebration of sports. We hope thepositive energy drawn from National Games right in the beginningof the year will help the state grow by leaps and bounds in 2015.

Mini Antony IASEditor in Chief


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The Student Police Cadet(SPC)project is the latest addition tothe Kerala model of developmentand money will not be aconstraint for the most promisingproject of the state , said ChiefMinister Oommen Chandy. He

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Money Will Not be a Problem for SPC Projectwas speaking after inauguratingthe directorate of SPC project.“I am sure that there will be ahundredfold return for thesociety from the money investedin the project,’’ added the ChiefMinister.

Home Minister RameshChennithala said thegovernment had plans to up thecurrent five per cent grace markfor student police cadets. ‘’Theproject was emulated by severalstates. Recently, the Sri Lankan

Government approached thestate for help to implement theproject in that country. Theproposed Police University willgive special training for thecadets,’’ the Minister said.


Chief Minister Oommen Chandyvisited the KaryavattomGreenfield stadium to personallytake stock of the progress ofconstruction work at the site ofwhat would be Kerala’s firstinternational stadium suitable forboth football and cricket.Ministers ThiruvanchoorRadhakrishnan, V S Sivakumar,Abdu Rabb and MLAs M A Vahid

Chief Minister visits Greenfield Stadium

and V Sasi accompanied him.

The Chief Minister, who is alsohead of the National gamesOrganising Committee, alsoreviewed the status of the workfor the approach road, andpromised that immediate actionwill be taken to resolve theproblem.

The stadium, which is the venuefor the Games’ opening and

closing ceremonies, is likely tohost at least 50,000 spectatorsfor the prestigious functions thatwill signal the start and end ofthe Games.The Chief Ministeralso visited the Railway over-bridge construction site atKazhakuttom. The bridge is acrucial link from the NationalHighway to the Games Villageat Menankulam.

Adequatesupport forenterprisesensuredThe government will ensureadequate support forenterprises to promotes u s t a i n a b l eentrepreneurship, said ChiefMinister Oommen Chandywhile interacting with therepresentatives of IT industryat the GTech Leaders’ Meetin Technopark. Thegovernment would considerallocating a marketingcorpus of Rs 5 crore tosupport Small and MediumEnterprises (SMEs) forsustainable businessdevelopment activities. Suchmeasures would be a part ofthe government’s initiative topromote an entrepreneurial-friendly ecosystem in thestate. Group of TechnologyCompanies (GTech) soughtan outlay of at least Rs 1,200crore for IT industry in theforthcoming state budget,against around Rs 300 crorein the previous one, said theChief Minister.


‘Steps will soon be taken toinclude lessons in human rightsprotection in the school syllabus’said Minster for Law K M Mani.He was speaking afterinaugurating the Human RightsDay observance organised byKerala State Human RightsCommission. “A generation whoare aware of human rights isnecessary to avoid rightsviolations in society. At least thestudents till Class 10 should beimparted human rights lessons,’’the Minister said. State HumanRights Commission chairmanJustice J B Koshy presided overthe function.

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Global NRKMeet fromJan 16The Kerala government's Non-resident Keralite (NRK) Global Meet-2015 to be held Jan 16-17 at Kochiwould be inaugurated by Minister forExternal Affairs Sushma Swaraj, saidK C Joseph, Minister for Norka. Hewas speaking after launching of awebsite www.globalnrkmeet.com forthe benefit of the diaspora to registerfor the event.The delegate fee for thediaspora meet is Rs. 500 and forthose from within India it is Rs. 300.About 1000 people from variouscountries are expected to take partin the two-day event.

"Kerala was the first state to set upa separate department for thediaspora. This was replicated by thecentre, too. Over the years, thisdepartment has done a lot, and thebiggest challenge came recentlywhen we were able to repatriatenurses from Iraq and Libya. For thiswe got a huge support from theministry of external affairs," theMinister said.

He also pointed out that thedepartment took the lead inrehabilitating the nurses whoreturned from these countries. Withthe help of five leading hospitalgroups in the Middle East, thegovernment provided opportunities tothese nurses to get new jobs. "Sixhundred and twenty three nurseshave now been selected by thesegroups and many more would beselected in the coming months,"added the Minister.

'Human Rights to be Included in Syllabus'

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said theVigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB)has been given full operational freedom. “I neverinterfered in its functioning or allowed anyoneto do so,” said the Minister in a statement issuedin connection with the International Anti-Corruption Day. Corruption to the tune of Rs30,000 crore takes place in the state every year.The Minister said that he arrived at the figurefrom a Bangalore-based agency’s finding thatthe country witnessed corruption of around Rs6,30,000 crore every year.

VACB given full operational freedom“Massive corruption of this scale would leadto a situation in which the people lose faithin law and order. They would seek alternateillegal methods which would result inanarchy,” the Minister warned. The HomeMinister said that corruption deservedspecial attention among other crimesconsidering its serious social implications.“We should wipe off the menace - frompetty bribes in government offices to big-ticket corruptions,” the minister added.

SachinTendulkar, brandambassador of the 35th NationalGames to be held in Kerala inJanuary-February 2015, isexpected to participate in thegroup run titled 'Run Kerala Run'organised as part of the Games."Run Kerala Run" is to be heldin 7,000 centres across the stateand date of the event would befinalised after gettingconfirmation from Tendulkar. Thestate has proposed January 20, 21 and 22as the dates for the event, Minister for

Sachin to participate in Run Kerala RunSports ThiruvanchoorRadhakrishnan said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiwould inaugurate the NationalGames on January 31st andPresident Pranab Mukherjeewould attend the closingceremony on February 14th, hesaid. Chief Minister OommenChandy and Ministers, sportsand film personalities, political

leaders, students and people from businessestablishments would be part of therun, added the minister.


Govt. givesnod for 5thFinanceCommission

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Students Meet CM Before Lankan TripTen students from various governmentschools in the state, who emerged toppersin a quiz competition conducted by theHonorary Consulate of Sri Lanka inThiruvananthapuram, met Chief Minister

Oommen Chandy and Education MinsterP K Abdu Rabb before embarking on athree-day trip to the island nation. Thestudents interacted with the Chief Ministerand the Education Minister at the Legislative

Assembly complex. They congratulated thestudents and wished them all a very happyjourney. The team consists of four girls andsix boys, accompanied by 10 teachers fromthe respective schools.

“The State Cabinetdecided to constitute 5thState Finance Commissionto recommend ondevolution of State fundsto local self-governmentinstitutions” said ChiefMinister Oommen Chandyduring the Cabinetbriefing. Economist B.A.Prakash would head thecommission. PrincipalSecretary (Local Self-Government) JamesVarghese, and FinanceSecretary (Resources)Raveendra Kumar wouldbe members of thecommission. SpecialSecretary (Finance) E. K.Prakash would be theSecretary to thecommission.

The number of commercialestablishments in the state grew21.33% between 2005 and 2013,according to the sixth economiccensus report. The sixth survey,conducted in 2012-13, covered allestablishments engaged in variousagricultural and non-agriculturalactivities, excluding cropproduction, plantation, publicadministration, defence andcompulsory social securityservices.

The director of the economics andstatistics department, VRamachandran, handed over sixthcensus report to Minister for RuralDevelopment K C Joseph. For thefirst time, the census gave thestatus of handicrafts and handloomunits in the state. The field work of

More than 20% growth in commercial firms

the sixth census was conductedbetween May 1, 2013 and June30, 2013. As many as 9,500enumerators were involved inthe process supervised by 2,200

persons, drawn from theeconomics and statisticsdepartment and the statisticswings of other departments.

CM ReleasesTheme SongThe theme song of the 35thNational Games was released byChief Minister Oommen Chandy byhanding over the song CD to KeralaOlympic Association Secretary, PA Hamsa. A promotional videofeaturing the Games brandambassador Sachin Tendulkar wasalso released by Sports MinisterThiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.The song, by lyricist Javed Akhtar,calls out to the youth in the country.Composed by music directorHariharan, it has been sung by K

J Yesudas, Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal, ShwetaMohan and Akshay Hariharan. Hariharan, alongwith composer Salim Merchant, have also lentvoice to the piece.


From the Assembly'Eco-friendly DraftIndustrial Policy Ready'The industrial policy of the stateis in the process of being madeeco-friendly, Industries MinisterP K Kunhalikutty said in theAssembly. The draft policy wasready and it would be discussedby the Cabinet. “The state canhave only environment-friendlyindustries from now on. In fact,the government is notencouraging projects that arenot so. Changes have beenmade in the policy and they willbe discussed by the Cabinetsoon. In making the revisions,the government will also haveto keep a fine balance, he said.

Free Travel in KSRTC forSchool ChildrenSchoolchildren will be able totravel free on KSRTC busesfrom February 2015 onwards,said Minister for TransportThiruvanchoor Radhakrishnanin Assembly. “Students will beable to travel only two times aday. For this, schools willprovide them with specialcards,” said the Minister, whilereplying to a submission movedby V T Balram. The minister alsoadded that the income accruedafter the reduction in the fuelprices would help meet theexpenses.

Seaplane Project willtake offThe state government would goahead with the seaplane projectsaid Tourism Minister A P AnilKumar in the Assembly whilereplying to a question. “Thoughthe seaplane project wasinaugurated, it could not betaken forward because ofcertain issues. It was one of themajor projects that had come upin the Global Investor Meet atKochi and 55 persons hadexpressed interest in theproject. Sri Lanka and Maldiveshad introduced seaplanes aspart of promoting their tourism,and there were no issues inthese two countries” said theminister. To another question onwhether the state could followthe Lankan model in tourism,the Minister said that it was notpractical in Kerala.

LED to Light up Streets in68 MunicipalitiesThe state government will sooninstall energy-efficient LEDstreetlights in 68 municipal bodiesacross the state under theNagara Jyothi scheme, UrbanAffairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Aliannounced in the Assembly.Existing streetlights in urbanareas will also be soon convertedinto LED lamps under thescheme. The project is beingimplemented by EnergyEfficiency Services Limited, ajoint-venture of public sector units(PSUs) of the Ministry of Power,engaged in energy conservationinitiatives. The Central agency willcarry out five-year maintenanceof the LED lamp,” the Ministersaid.

Akkulam All Set to Get aMakeoverAkkulam tourist spot in the districtwill be brought back to its pastglory within six months, said A PAnil Kumar, Minister for Tourismin the Assembly while replying toa question. All efforts will be takento bring back Akkulam tourist spotwhich had being lying neglected,to its past glory in six months,’’Anil Kumar said.

An amount of Rs 5 crore has beenearmarked for the development ofAkkulam. 95 per cent of theworks have been completed.Once the road to Akkulam iscompleted, the place will becomeone of the favourite tourist spotsin the district, added the Minister.

‘Steps being taken for HTTransmission Line’Steps are being taken to speedup construction of a high-tension(HT) transmission line in thedistrict, which should have beencompleted four years ago,Minister for Power AryadanMohammed has said in a writtenreply to the Assembly.

The Power Department nowintended to complete work on thePothencode-Kattakkada HT linebefore March 2015. Right-of-waydisputes and related litigation,problems in transportingequipment and financial crunchfaced by the contractor had hitwork, added the Minister.

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Employability Centres toAid JobseekersTraining in tune with the times will be imparted to job seekersthrough the employability centres in the state, said LabourMinister Shibu Baby John, while inaugurating a meeting ofemployers.

Employment exchanges are being converted intoemployability centres with the objective of attractingunemployed youth and properly assessing them for theircurrent skills and aptitude. Unemployment was not an issuebut the problem was the unavailability of qualified people.The aim of the centres was to provide employability solutionsto all job-seekers assess and certify their skills and makethem more industry-relevant, the minister said.

In many countries, the industrial sector has a major role inconverting the youth into skilled persons. The industrialsector in the country should adopt this method. He releasedthe logo and website as part of ‘Niyukthi-2015’ trade fair.

A multi-lingualfilmmaker andveteran directorK. Balachander,84,passed away.He was knownas ‘IyakkunarSigaram’ (apeak amongdirectors),in theSouth Indian film circles.He is survived by his wife,son and daughter. He wasborn on 9th July, 1930 atNannilam in the thencomposite ThanjavurDistrict was a trendsetterin South Indian cinema.

He began his life as ateacher and then becamea superintendent in theAG's office here. Heentered Tamil filmdom bywriting dialogue for MGR'smovie 'Dheiva Thaai.'Balachander debuted withhis Tamil film 'Neerkumizhi'

OBITUARYK Balachander

in 1965.

His blockbustermovies include‘Aval OruThodarkathai’,(Tamil), 'EkDhuje Ke Liye'(Hindi), and'Thillu Mullu'. Heintroduced

several top stars includingRajinikanth ('AboorvaRagangal'), Kamal Haasan('Arangetram'), PrakashRaj ('Duet') and comedianVivek ('Manadhil UrudhiVendum').

He has received severalaccolades includingDadasaheb Phalke award(2010), Padma Shri (1987),Kalaimamani Award (TamilNadu) Nandi and GoldenNandi (Andhra Pradesh)besides many film awardslike Filmfare among others.


FULL TEXT

I thank the Prime Minister for having convened this

meeting of Chief Ministers to discuss the future ofplanning in India. At the outset, I must say that itwas unfortunate on the part of the Centralgovernment to do unilaterally away with the Planning

Commission that came into being in 1950, which had beenplaying a pivotal role in the development of the country.India is still a country where the fruits of development havenot reached all sections of its society. This is precisely whyplanning is essential. Over the years, the Planning

Commission has been quiteinstrumental in ensuring socialequality, promotion of decentralizedplanning and in the monitoring ofhuman development; especially thatof the socially and economicallybackward segments in the country'spopulation. The proposed move todistribute the planning functionsamongst the Ministry of Finance andSubject Matter Ministries will resultin loss of perspective and of long-term view. The differences inapproach between PlanningCommission and Ministry of Financewere always useful since it providedchecks and balances and no one wasable to impose its will withoutconvincing the other. TheCommission also held the States

Speech of Chief MinisterOommen Chandyat the Conference ofChief Minister’s onPlanning Commission

Hon’ble Prime Minister, my colleaguesfrom other States, Union Ministers andofficials of the Centre and the States,

12


accountable for theircommitments and Statesdemanded flexibility fromPlanning Commission to meettheir individual needs andcircumstances. It has played auseful role in ensuring that acertain proportion of resourcesare set apart for developmentpurposes through themechanism of GrossBudgetary support. In itsabsence the whole planningprocess of the Centre and thatof the States has come to astandstill.

The Central Government’sarbitrary decision to dismantlethe Planning Commission,without convening a meeting

of the NDC or consulting theStates undermines the federalstructure. The proposal toreplace it with a new body ishalf baked, unwarranted andignores the need of planneddevelopment of the country.By doing away with thePlanning Commission, it islikely to have an adverse effecton key areas like Monitoring ofHuman Development in theStates, Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan,Facilitating andMainstreaming Social SectorReform and Promotion ofDecentralized Planning.

I also believe that, onoccasions, the Planning

Commission has been unfairlycriticized for its failure toachieve targets in some areas.The truth is that there havebeen huge deviations from thePlan from time to time andfailures in implementation. Iam not convinced that thewholesale change of a time-tested institution is required,particularly so, when we havenot progressed even nowbeyond the conceptual stage ofdesigning an AlternativeMechanism. Yet, I am relievedto note that the Concept Notecirculated by the PlanningCommission emphasizes thecentral purpose ofdevelopment planning. The

The CentralGovernment’sarbitrary decisionto dismantle thePlanningCommission,withoutconvening ameeting of theNDC orconsulting theStatesundermines thefederal structure.



Prime Minister’s letter of 21stNovember to the ChiefMinisters emphasizing thecritical role of Centre – Statepartnership is also reassuring.

Transfer of funds to States

Repeatedly, at NDCmeetings, I have made thepoint, along with other chiefministers, that there has beenan increase in outflow ofresources to CentralGovernment at the expense ofState governments. In the FirstPlan period, the share of theCentre in total plan outlayswas 36% while the States had63.5%. But in the later years,the State share declinedgradually. The Union Cabinet,earlier this year, had decided totransfer funds under variousCentrally Sponsored Schemesto implementing agenciesthrough the State Plan andState Budget. As a result,transfers to Stategovernments increaseddramatically by Rs 2 lakh croresthrough a change inaccounting procedure withoutfundamental change instructure and with no realincrease inflow to Stategovernments.

We have been arguing forseveral years that a set patternof spending with rigidguidelines prevents optimalutilization of funds by theState governments. This hasbeen the nature of most of theCentrally Sponsored Schemes.In fact, Centrally SponsoredSchemes should be confined tofew very large and majorflagship programmes likeMGNREGA, PMGSY, NRHM,SSA etc. and there too,flexibility should be availableto State governments whileimplementing them. There arewide differences betweenStates and even betweenDistricts and Blocks withineach State, which need to betaken into account while

formulating schemesbeneficial to the people. Also,priorities would vary fromState to State, depending onthe needs of the people. Costswould be widely divergent; thecost of a house in a tribal arealocated far inland andunconnected by road or railwould obviously be verydifferent from the cost in well-populated urban areas or wellconnected rural areas. Theconcept of a Panchayat itselfwould undergo significantchange from State to State.What constitutes a Panchayatin several States wouldprobably correspond to a wardin a State like Kerala.

The Plan Process

In order to factor in suchvariations, the focus in publicspending should shift todecentralization andoutcomes. It is necessary forthe State and the Centre toagree on outcomes to beachieved in different sectorsover a five-year period or overa single year. The outcomesneed not be the same acrossthe board in all States. Keralamight focus on problems ofurbanization or oninfrastructure or on socialsecurity and health for all. Onthe other hand, there could beother States with otherpriorities. Relative prioritieswould also be different.Therefore, a mechanismshould be in place for agreeingon the priorities of differentStates in accordance with theneeds of the people asarticulated by electedgovernments in a democracy.There should also beagreement on outcomesrelating to these priorities. Theobjective should be tooptimally utilize Central andState resources, so as to servethe agreed priorities and toachieve the agreed outcomes.

The mechanism that is

presently in place is theplanning process monitoredby the Planning Commission.This has been serving twoimportant objectives:

a. Both in the Centre andthe States, there is pressureon the Ministry of Finance /Finance Department toensure that a certainproportion of the annualresources of Governments,

the amount available fordevelopment expenditurewould, over a period of time, bea residual amount aftermeeting the mounting non-developmental, revenueexpenditure.

At the same time, there areseveral deficiencies in thepresent system. The Plan itself,like the Budget, has come to bebased on the principle of


whether Central or State, issequestered for Planpurposes. There is in factnegotiation between thePlanning Commission andthe Ministry of Finance onthe size of Gross BudgetarySupport. Likewise, there isnegotiation betweenPlanning and Finance at theState level on the resourcesto be made available for Plan.

b. In the absence of amechanism to sequesterfunds for development, if theresponsibility is left entirelyto the Ministry of Finance atthe Centre or the Financedepartments in the States,

incrementalism. Assets can becreated under Plan butmaintenance of assets goesinto non-Plan with the resultthat we have many valuablegovernment properties thatare in a state of acute disrepair.Expenses on staff createdunder a Plan scheme duringone Plan period, passes intonon-Plan at the end of thatperiod. In many cases, assetsare procured under Plan butoperators have to be paid forunder non-Plan.

Therefore, there isconsiderable logical force in theview expressed by theRangarajan Committee that


“the process of planning andBudget formulation needs totake an integrated holistic viewof capital and currentexpenditure proposals, so thatthere is a logical consistencybetween Capital and Currentbudgets, and the current andinvestment spending decisionsare well balanced and mutuallysupportive of each other". Inthe example given by the

resources, that need to beearmarked for development,optimum balance betweenCentral and State schemes,flexibility in laying downpriorities according to needs ofdifferent States and differentregions and a clear focus onagreed outcomes at the Stateand Central level. Needless tosay, this would require amechanism for interface

Constitution. I urge thatperiodicity of meetings of thisbody should be strictly fixedand followed. I recommendalso that the Chairman of theFinance Commission and theGovernor of the Reserve Bankof India be invited for themeetings of the Council. TheCouncil must have asupporting framework in theform of Zonal Council of Chief

Ministers and sectoral jointworking groups. There shouldbe periodic meetings ofPlanning Ministers and theheads of planning mechanismsin the States. The Councilshould deliberate largely ondevelopmental issues,excluding as far as possibleregulatory matters and issueswith legal implications.

Rangarajan Committee ofexpenditure on education in2010-11 (0.4 lakh crore underPlan and 1.5 lakh crore undernon-Plan), the logic of theargument is that the entireamount would need to betaken into consideration fordevelopment planning.

While redesigning publicexpenditure management, it isimportant that we do notthrow the baby out with thebathwater. Whatever isdesigned must be built inprovisions for sequestering offunds for development,preventing unproductiveexpenditure from gobbling up

between the Central and StateGovernments. Thismechanism will also serve tomonitor and evaluate actualimplementation. The level ofinteraction between theCentre and the States wouldneed to be considerablystepped up and the PlanningCommission or any successorbody should ensure suchinteraction.

Council of Chief Ministers

I presume that theproposed Council of ChiefMinisters would subsume theInter-State Council, provided inArticle 263 of the

Legal Framework

The new planningmechanism must besupported by a proper legalframework. Strangely, whilethe Constitution recognizesplanning at the Panchayat,District and Metropolitan levelunder Article 243, the PlanningCommission at the Centre andcorresponding mechanisms inthe States have been created byexecutive order. Necessary legalframeworks may be providedto support the organizationscreated at the Central and Statelevel, preferably throughConstitutional amendment.


The growth of localbodies andpeople’sparticipation indevelopment willultimatelystrengthen theroots of democracyand ensure thatthere is anunbroken chainright from theCentralGovernment tovillage panchayats.

16 KERALA CALLING January 201516 KERALA CALLING January 2015

Decentralization

One primary function ofthe Alternative Mechanismshould be to promotedecentralization andPanchayati Raj. Co-operativefederalism will never becomplete unless we havestrong, democratically electedbodies at the grassroots level.In Kerala, we have 1209 localbodies to whom we transfer aquarter of our State Planoutlay and about 10% of ourrevenue. They functioneffectively as the first point ofcontact for the common man.The Constitution recognizesPanchayati Raj as the mediumthrough which governancemust ultimately reach thepeople.

The growth of local bodiesand people’s participation indevelopment will ultimatelystrengthen the roots ofdemocracy and ensure thatthere is an unbroken chainright from the CentralGovernment to villagepanchayats. It may be notedthat the Kerala State PlanningBoard has played a pivotal rolein evolving and developing astrong system for local self-government in the State. TheAlternative Mechanismenvisaged to succeed thePlanning Commission mustensure that the Constitutionalprovisions are carried intoeffect everywhere. TheConstitution envisages thatthe District PlanningCommittee should be the keyinstitution for bottom-upplanning. Linkages betweenthe national structure, theState structure and the Districtand Sub District structureshave to be seamless and clearlydefined.

Planning Cycle

With regard to theplanning cycle, I am of theopinion that there should be aPerspective Plan. It is essential

to identify present strengthsand weaknesses, opportunitiesand challenges and look aheadat the kind of economy andsociety we would like to createover the next 15 to 20 years.The Prime Minister is awarethat Kerala has alreadyprepared a Perspective Plan2030, jointly with the NationalCouncil of Applied EconomicResearch, after extensivestakeholder consultation. Ourstrategy, as outlined in thePerspective Plan, is to create aknowledge-based economywith emphasis on humandevelopment, so that we canachieve income levels andsocial standards comparable toNordic countries by 2040.

With regard to five-yearplans, I agree that they shouldbe prepared well in time. Thedelays seen in preparation andfinalization of the EleventhFive Year Plan and the TwelfthFive Year Plan should surely beavoided. However, we do re-quire a medium-term frame-work for translating the Per-spective Plan into actionablechunks. The five-year plan is asgood a mechanism as any, tobreak down the PerspectivePlan into actionabletimeframes. The annual planperhaps needs to be revisitedto ensure that there is a certaindegree of continuity in theimplementation of projects,which generally straddle morethan a year. This would meanlooking at two or three yearperspectives in which to posi-tion the annual plan. The me-chanics of this process will haveto be carefully worked out. Thesignificant point is that the in-tegration between the Perspec-tive Plan, the five-year plan andthe annual plan should beseamless and outcome ori-ented.

Single-Window for States

An important function ofthe Alternative Mechanism

should be to serve as a single-window clearance house fordevelopment problems of theStates. Presently, Stategovernments have to run fromMinistry to Ministry, trying toget their problems resolved.There exists no fixedmechanism for co-ordinationand quick decision one way orthe other. Also, there is noneutral body, sufficientlyempowered to hear the viewsof the States on issues ofcrucial importance for theirdevelopment and takeobjective decisions vis-à-visCentral Ministries. The Statesare the first point ofinteraction with the people. Itis the State that implementsprogrammes in the field. It isimportant that a strong andabiding partnership isestablished between the Statesand the Centre. TheAlternative Mechanism can co-ordinate and resolve problems.

The mechanism forinteraction with the Statescould be many. There could bemembers charged with theresponsibility of looking at theproblems of groups of States.There could be inter-ministerial co-ordinationmeetings. Members could visitStates, along with teams ofSecretaries and solve pendingproblems on the spot. Thereverse function could also beperformed by the AlternativeMechanism. When Centralministries have problems withthe State governments, theytoo, could be discussed andresolved and whenever suchissues remain unresolved, amechanism could be evolvedfor joint resolution.

Knowledge and InnovationHub and PPP

It would be useful if thepresent role of the PlanningCommission as an innovationand knowledge hub isconsiderably expanded as

indicated in the concept note.We do need assistance andtechnical support in manyareas, including PPP, externalfinancing, technologicaldevelopments, humandevelopment and projectformulation and evaluation.We need to share best practicesdeveloped nationally andinternationally and have accessto high quality expertise andknowledge.

PPP is indeed an importantarea in which we are to makeprogress to supplement ourresources to buildinfrastructure. In his BudgetSpeech, the Hon’ble UnionFinance Minister had referredto the setting up of anorganization called 3P with aninitial allocation of Rs 500crore. There are four importantissues relating to PPP, whichthe Central Government maylike to consider. First, thepresent arrangement of PPPbeing located in both theMinistry of Finance and thePlanning Commission is notworking smoothly due todifferences in opinion.

The States and otherstakeholders consequentlysuffer. The Governmenttherefore, must decide a singlepoint where PPP could belocated, based on theprofessional expertise that hasbeen built up and the workthat has been done hitherto.Second, PPP has to be flexiblein order to succeed.Bureaucratic adherence to anapproved “model” in each casewill create in difficulties inimplementation as happenedin the recent past and collapseof certain projects. Unlessflexibility is built into theprojects within broadcontours, PPP as a concept isdoomed to failure. Thirdly, anyPPP official mechanism shouldbe manned by professionals.PPP is a complex and evolving

17KERALA CALLINGJanuary 2015 17KERALA CALLINGJanuary 2015

area and has legal accountingand costing aspects, whichrequires professional expertise.Fourthly, considering the scopeof malpractice in PPP, thereshould be an in-builtindependent mechanism forconcurrent audit.

International Agreements

Another importantfunction of the AlternativeMechanism, particularly theCouncil of Chief Ministers andits supporting framework,should be to take the States onboard while negotiatinginternational agreements thatcould impact the people of ourcountry. Our farmers, ourworkers and common peopleget seriously affected byprovisions in variousinternational agreementssigned without theirknowledge and without theknowledge of Stategovernments. As the PrimeMinister has repeatedly stated,the task of development is ajoint venture in which all of ushave important stakes. Therehas to be much widerconsultation with the Stategovernments and variousstakeholders before enteringinto such agreements.

Monitoring and Feedback

Regular monitoring andfeedback to the highest levels

of each implementingauthority should be one of theimportant functions of theAlternative Mechanism. Thiswill definitely result insignificant change at the fieldlevel. Likewise, projectsimplemented or substantiallyimplemented need to beevaluated and evaluationreports made public. A single-window experience ofimplementing major projectsmay be made available on theweb to ensure that lessonslearnt are captured whiledesigning new projects /schemes. In my State, we haveintroduced a web-basedmonitoring system called “PlanSpace”. Every month, myMinisters and I receive detailedfeedback from the StatePlanning Board on progress ofimplementation, bothfinancial and physical, and thestatus of clearances andsanctions at various levels. It isour intention to extend PlanSpace to District and Sub-District level during the nextcouple of years so that wemove towards real time onlinePlan monitoring. We alsopropose to introduce GPS-based monitoring ofimportant projects during thenext three or four months.

Skill Development

Resources for skill

development are nowscattered over nineteenministries, which evolve theirown schemes. Skilldevelopment needs to becentralized, co-ordinated andmade more effective. It is onlythrough skill development thatIndia can prepare itself formassive changes in theindustrial and service sectors.While the importance of skilldevelopment is universallyrecognized, there is need fornationwide efforts to ensurethat unemployment is reducedto the bare minimum. Thiscould be an additional functionof the Alternative Mechanism,which could facilitate the work

of the Ministry of SkillDevelopment.

Weaker Sections

While, line ministrieswould be primarily responsiblefor work relating to SC / ST,OBC, physically and mentallyhandicapped and other weakersections in the society, theAlternative Mechanism couldmonitor and evaluate theeffectiveness of schemes underimplementation, best practicesin use in various parts of thecountry and pass oninformation forimplementation. The samepractice may be followed withregard to areas of social andeconomic importance, such ashealth and education.Inclusiveness and balancedregional development mustalso be tracked throughscientific measures and madepublic.

In conformity with thespirit of partnership with theStates enunciated by the PrimeMinister, I hope that we will befurther consulted in the task ofdesigning and creating theAlternative Mechanism. Wehave to work together to reacha national consensus to builda structure that becomes apowerful instrument for therapid growth of our greatcountry.

Jain Hindn

The States are thefirst point ofinteraction withthe people. It is theState thatimplementsprogrammes in thefield. It isimportant that astrong and abidingpartnership isestablishedbetween the Statesand the Centre.


DDDDDisability primarily meansan inability or ashortcoming in somerespect. This may be visualimpairment, hearing

impairment, speech impairment,physically challenged or intellectuallychallenged. Can you pave a way to avisually impaired? In that case are theso called normal people reallycapable? Are they capable tocommunicate with a person who ishearing impaired or with speechimpaired? Are they able to associatewith an intellectually impairedperson? Are they able toaccommodate a physically challengedperson and treat them with equality?If not how can they call themselvesNORMAL? How can we call the

society of such NORMALpeople as advanced?

Sadly, until recently inIndia persons withdisabilities were consideredas ‘inferior’ to other so-callednormal people. Persons withdisabilities facediscrimination and barriersthat restrict them fromparticipating in society on anequal basis with others everyday. They were denied theirrights to be included in thegeneral school system, to beemployed, to liveindependently in thecommunity, to move freely,to vote, to participate in sportand cultural activities, to

COVER STORYDr BEELA G K


enjoy social protection, toaccess justice, to choosemedical treatment and toenter freely into legalcommitments such as buyingand selling property. Forgethelping and caring for suchpeople, some insensitive andunscrupulous people evenenjoyed making mockery andeven taking advantage ofsuch persons. Persons withdisabilities were consideredas a distinct class and couldnot easily mix with others.

The attitude towardsPersons with disabilities isundergoing change in therecent years. This hashappened to an extent due to


broad minded thinking ofpeople due to spread ofeducation and deviationfrom age old customs andpractices. The Governmenthas also played its part bymaking reservations forpersons with disabilities inpublic sector jobs, state runeducational institutions,reducing the passing cut offin competitive exams likeUPSC, PSC. Someeducational institutions haveeven introduced fee waiversfor persons with disabilities.Now, at airports wheel chairsand escorts are readilyavailable for Persons withdisabilities.

In spite of all this a lotneeds to still be done for thewelfare and greateracceptability of the personswith disabilities. Thus theUN has incorporated aconvention on Rights ofpersons with physicaldisability in 2007 to whichIndia is a signatory. TheRights of Persons withDisabilities Bill, is part ofIndia’s obligation towards theUN Convention on Rights ofDisabled Persons.

The protectionguaranteed in other humanrights treaties, and groundedin the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, should


apply to all. Persons with disabilitieshave, however, remained largely‘invisible’, often sidelined in the rightsdebate and unable to enjoy the fullrange of human rights.

In recent years, there has been arevolutionary change in approach,globally, to close the protection gapand ensure that persons withdisabilities enjoy the same standardsof equality, rights and dignity aseveryone else. The Convention on theRights of Persons with Disabilities,which was adopted in 2006 andentered into force in 2008, signalled a‘paradigm shift’ from traditionalcharity-oriented, medical-basedapproaches to disability to one basedon human rights.

We believe that all people should


enjoy certain rights. Because peoplewith disabilities have consistently beendenied the right to fully participate insociety as free and equal members, it isimportant to state and affirm theserights. All people should be able to enjoythese rights, regardless of religion, caste,creed, sex, religion, or disability.

l The right to live independent, active,and full lives.

l The right to the equipment,assistance, and support servicesnecessary for full productivity,provided in a way that promotesdignity and independence.

l The right to an adequate income or

wage, substantial enough to providefood, clothing, shelter, and othernecessities of life.

l The right to accessible, integrated,convenient, and affordable housing.

l The right to quality physical andmental health care.

l The right to training andemployment without prejudice orstereotype.

l The right to accessibletransportation and freedom ofmovement.

l The right to bear or adopt and raisechildren and have a family.

l The right to a free and appropriatepublic education.

l The right to participate in andbenefit from entertainment andrecreation.

l The right to equal access to and useall businesses, facilities, andactivities in the community.

l The right to communicate freelywith all fellow citizens and thosewho provide services.

l The right to a barrier freeenvironment.

l The right to a legal representationand full protection of all legal rights.

l The right to determine one's ownfuture and make one's own lifechoices.

l The right to full access to all votingprocesses.

20

The Rights of Persons withDisabilities Bill was meant to be anenactment to codify India’s obligationsunder the UN Convention on theRights of Persons with Disabilities(UNCRPD), which it ratified withoutreservations. In the year 2006,Government of India formulated andannounced a national policy for PWDs.An independent Department forDisability Affairs was constituted underthe Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment which became fullyoperational in April 2013. And in 2014the State of Kerala formulated andimplemented a comprehensive policy, adraft bill towards a right –based, barrierfree inclusive society of PWDs.

We are living in a worldof technologicalproducts. One day if youforget to take your cellphone to your office, youfeel disabled. We can allbe equally able anddisabled by technologyand our relationships toit, and thus to the socialworld around us.


The bill clearly defines the term‘disability’. The new bill divides thebroad categories into various sub-categories, thus including a largenumber of disabilities within its ambit.Other positives of the bill includeconducting a detailed survey to collectaccurate data regarding PWDs in theState of Kerala, for facilitating betterpolicy formulation and action planning.The present bill should be ensuring abetter place for PWDs in Kerala.

In fact there are two sets of peoplewith disability. The first set are thosewho are disabled-friendly, who areaccessible and are helpful. The secondset are those who are not accessible. Andwhat’s this all about really, is greaterequality in our country, making surethat all places, all businesses are friendly,accessible and open to people withdisability. Of course, there are somepeople who have more complex needsand can never be expected to work, andwe will never expect them to do that,and we will always support them. Thatis what a compassionate country shoulddo. But many people can work and infact want to work, and with the rightadjustments, work is good. And it isabsolutely right that we should do

everything possible to support them.The Government and Society should besensible enough to treat to those PWDswho can work with equality and shouldprovide opportunity. Similarly need tobe compassionate to those who needsupport and protect their rights.

We are living in a world oftechnological products. One day if youforget to take your cell phone to youroffice, you feel disabled. We can all beequally able and disabled by technologyand our relationships to it, and thus tothe social world around us. Technologyplays an important role in making thelife better for a person with disability.Assistive technology is more than justa tool - what it can offer is a newlifestyle, a hope for a better life and ainclusive society. Assistive technologyproducts can literally empower peoplewith disabilities, older people and othersand allow them to lead more rewardingand independent lives.

It is the era of Assistive technologiesfor people with disabilities. Technocrats,technologists, fabricators of this stateneed to give thrust on developing newtechnologies for making an inclusivesociety. I would like to invoke the peopleof this state that it is high time that we

The UN declared International Dayfor the persons with Disabilities iscelebrated throughout the World asan annual feature on 3rd Decemberin order to pay homage and to showsolidarity with special persons. Theday is to remind us to promote anunderstanding of people withdisability and encourage supportfor their dignity, rights and well-being. The day seeks to increaseawareness of the benefits of theintegration of people with disabilityin every aspect of educational,political, social, economic andcultural life.

The Centre for Disability Studies,Poojapura for the past three yearshave been observing this day byorganising events that includeinitiating and exchange of ideasbetween the researchers,celebrations for the PWDs as wellas honouring courageous peoplewith disability who have overcometheir challenges. We celebrate theskills, achievements, andcontributions of persons with .Werecognize the progress we havemade towards equality for all, andwe rededicate ourselves toensuring individuals withdisabilities can reach their greatestpotential.

need to think beyond charity for thepeople with disability and understandthat they have all the rights as we do inthis planet. If we are not able to live inan inclusive society, then it is a disabledsociety. We cannot have inclusivegrowth unless disability is made anintegral part of our growth and it is ourduty to give them all the facilities’ tobecome independent and be part of thissociety in all manners.

Government and the people of thisstate need to be committed to build ahopeful future for all segments of oursociety including the ones withdisability. Let’s build a state withcapabilities by building an inclusivesociety in the true manner and hopethat this Bill is a good initiative forthat.n

The writer is Director i/c, Centre forDisability Studies, Poojapura


IFFK 2014C S VENKITESWARAN

This section featured 14 filmsincluding two Malayalam films: Untothe Dusk by Sajin Babu and Zahir bySiddharth Siva, both debut films.Suwarna Chakoram for The BestFilm went to Refugiado directed byDiego Lerman and RajathaChakoram was awarded to HosseinShahabi for the film The Bright Dayand Hiroshi Toda for the filmSummer, Kyoto. The NETPAC Awardfor the Best Asian Film also went toHiroshi Toda and for the BestMalayalam Film to Oralpokkamdirected by Sanalkumar Sasidharan,and a Special Mention was given forOblivion Season directed by AbbasRafei from Iran. Oralpokkam also

Like every year, the 19th edition of theInternational Film Festival of Kerala too wascelebrated in an atmosphere of intenseargumentation and controversies. The numberof film lovers who wish to participate in this

festival has been steeply rising every year, a demand thatis well beyond the infrastructural facilities at hand. Thisever increasing demand for participation coupled withhyper media attention for the festival have led to asituation that is uniquely challenging and calls for

comprehensive solutions in terms of state-of-the-artscreening facilities and a sprawling festival complex. Unlessthese demands are earnestly addressed, IFFK will not beable to rise up to the level of expectations of its ever-burgeoning viewers.

But despite all such controversies and polemics, IFFKwas a huge success in terms of its content: that is, withregard to the quality and variety of films screened, andthe lively participation in the seminars, programmes andinteractive sessions that formed part of it.

Competition

Section

22


Film festivals are occasionsto look back, and payhomage to the masters whoextended the horizons ofthe medium. Retrospectivesincluded masters from twoeras in the history of worldcinema. While BusterKeaton represents thepinnacle of silent cinemacomedy, Miklos Jancso is afilmmaker from Hungarywho could be considered theharbinger of ‘red new wave’and whose films, redefinedand rediscovered cinematic

idiom and influenced radicalfilmmakers all over theworld. His oeuvre, thatextends over half a century,consistently raged againstall forms of dictatorship andcelebrated the spirit ofcreativity and freedom. Itwas a rare opportunity towatch Buster Keatonmovies in their new digitalavatar. Very often eclipsedby Charlie Chaplin, theexhibition of the slew of hisfilms made in the 1920s wasa revelation to the new

Retrospectives

& Homages

meditative and pondering,and follow life incontemporary Japan as ifthrough a microscope,dwelling upon the lives atthe fringes of life, polity andculture. The films of DanisTanovic from Bosnia dissectthe aftermath of racialhatred in the European

received the FIPRESCI Awardfor the Best Malayalam Film.The FIPRESCI BestInternational Film Award wasgiven to They Are The Dogsdirected by Hicham Lasri. Thesilver lining in the awards wasthe strong presence of youngMalayalam filmmakers, whohave managed to makesignificant films despite allodds.

generation. Thepyrotechnics with his bodyand the unbelievablemanner in which he usesthe material world aroundhim enthralls even thecontemporary viewer, whois used to digitalmanipulation of body andobject world.

The retrospective ofcontemporary mastersincluded Hany Abu-Assad,whose films map theexplosive themes ofnationality and belongingthrough narratives from theIsrael-Palestine region. Hehimself was born inNazareth, Israel and holdsIsraeli citizenship, butidentifies himself as aPalestinian. His narrativesdeal with the traumaticexperiences of men andwomen who are caughtbetween the nationalidentities and the life ordeath demands it makesupon them. The films ofNaomi Kawase on the otherhand traverse the thin linesthat divide documentaryand fiction, autobiographyand stories. Evoking theimaging tradition offilmmakers like YasujiroOzu, her films are deeply

context, the wounds andscars it has left upon humanlives, and memories. Thesporadic violence ittriggered and the havoc itwreaked upon ordinary menand women, comeshaunting its history in hisfilms, as bitter, yet to beexorcised nightmares.

23


True its tradition and fameas a viewers’ festival, wherethe expectations and tastesof the viewers are givenpriority over industrialimperatives or glamour andglitz of cinema, IFFKshowcased some of the bestof films and filmmakersfrom all over the world.Boyhood by RichardLinklater, The Cut byFatih Akin,

Clouds ofSils Maria by Olivier

Assayas, Coming Home byZhang Yimou, Foreign Bodyby Krzysztof Zanussi,Goodbye to Language byJean Luc Godard, Leviathanby Andrey Zvyagintsev(which won the Best Filmaward at IFFI 2014),

Meetings with a Young Poetby Rudy Barichello, Norte,Over your Dead Body byMike Takeshi, ThePostman’s White Nights bythe Russian master AndreyKonchalovsky, ThePresident by MohsenMakhmalbaf, Revivreby

Im Kwon Taek,Timbuktu by AbdrehmaneSissako, and Wintersleep byNuri Ceylan. Notre, The Endof History by Filipinofilmmaker Lav Diaz was oneof the outstanding films ofthe section that follows thelives of three charactersusing Dostoevsky’s Crimeand Punishment as asubtext. This experimentalfilm of about 4 hoursduration exemplifies thesearch for a new cinematicidiom that is Asian in itsaesthetic vision andnarrative style. Thismeditative film by Lav Diazdraws the audience into the

complex web of emotional,social and politicalcrisscrossings that capturethe ebb and tide of humanlives. Two Indian films -Court by ChaitanyaTamhane and

Labourof Love by

Adityavikram Sengupta –also stood out amongst thelot for their distinctapproach to life andaesthetics. The Court, adebut film made in Marathi,is a heart-wrenchingexamination of the judicialsystem in India, that followsa trumped up criminalcharge imposed upon apoet-activist. The layeredcomposition and thedetached way in which itportrays profilmic realityforces the viewer into acontemplative mood, that ismuch more explosive andradical in its subversivepotential. Labour of Love isan enchanting film thatfollows one day in the life of

a couple in Kolkata, whosenight and day jobs givethem little time to betogether. So, is lovepossible

in anenvironment that denies

you togetherness? In a way,the film is about duration oflove and the little thingsthat go into making life andlove ‘durable’ even in themost challenging andalienated of life situations.

The contemporaryMalayalam and IndianCinema sections too hadsome of the mostmemorable films of recenttimes, drawing theattention and adulation ofcineastes. The LifetimeAchievement Award thisyear was given to the Italianmaestro Marco Bellochio.His films have relentlesslyfollowed the traumatic post-war history of Europe fromItaly, and are admiredacross the world; IFFK 2013had a retrospective of his

World Cinema

Section

25KERALA CALLINGJanuary 2015 25

The major package on country focus was Turkeywhich presented a wide variety of films that gavethe viewer an opportunity to peek into thevibrant history and culture, the conflicts anddreams of a region, that has always been amelting pot of civilizations, beliefs andideologies. Turkey has always produced greatfilms and filmmakers like Omar Kavur, Yilmas

Country Focus –

Turkey, France,

Chinafilms. Sumitra Peries, veteranfilmmaker from Sri Lanka,delivered this year’s G AravindanMemorial Lecture.

Two major contributions of thisyear’s IFFK is that it brought intofocus the Adoor GopalakrishnanCommittee Report, which looksinto Malayalam cinema situationin a comprehensive manner, as anindustry, art form and a disciplinefor study. The Report makesradical suggestions to improve thestate of Malayalam cinema and itsquality by spotting andencouraging young talents, toremodel subsidy system, renewCinema Regulation Act, to improvethe award system, the conduct ofIFFK and the establishment of aTheatre Complex and a filmarchive. One hopes thesesuggestions will be taken seriouslyto launch Malayalam cinema intothe national and global scene. Onesuch intervention was theestablishment of Film Market atIFFK which showcased some ofthe best of Malayalam films madeduring the last two years, with aninternational jury to assess andcertify them.

If our festival is not meant to be amere space for consumption offilms, and is conceived as a launchpad and platform for betteringMalayalam cinema, such initiativeshave to be taken forward by thestate, cineastes and film industry.

Guney, Fatih Akin, Nury Bilge Ceylan etc, andthis package of contemporary films portrayeddifferent aspects of Turkish life and culture. Theother two packages showcased contemporaryfilms and filmmakers from France (The FrenchConnection) and China (New Journeys to theWest).

The writer is a renowned film critic


19 th

InternationalFilm Festival Kerala2014

27KERALA CALLINGJanuary 2015 27


MEMOIRJUSTICE K SUKUMARAN

The legendaryJustice

JJJJJustice V.R KRISHNA IYER is a legend inLAW, in all the plenitude of that grandconcept. He was born into a legalatmosphere. His father Manjheri Ram Iyerwas a lawyer, and much more than a lawyer.

Idealism was interlaced and intertwined with thelife of a bright and brilliant brain. A Brahmin inthe true sense of the term - BRAHMA JANANI,one well versed in Universal Knowledge.

Krishna Iyer had inherited the genes ofGandhian idealism. He could easily embrace thesocialist philosophy. The scientific social theory-Marxism- presented to him many beauties on thesocial perspective. As a lawyer, he worked withoutrest for the suffering masses- the toiling folk inthe fields, rising with the lark and working all timefrom sunrise to sunset and beyond, regardless ofthe clime or time, till homeward he plodded theweary way. The unceasing work regardless of shineand rain which produced the golden grain for theidle and indolent landlord, made him fight forjustice. This experience, gave him access to the rawand rough life of the down-trodden people.

He ran, literally from court to court, to appearfor an arrested ryot, a dismissed beedi worker, aHarijan whose hut was gutted in fire originatingfrom the landlord’s ire or carnal desire of themighty feudal chieftain for a black beautifulgirl...understandably, the people liked him. Whenthe Republic was born and the first election washeld he was elected from Koothuparambaconstituency in the Malabar District of the vastand the undivided Madras Presidency. Heperformed well in the Madras Assembly. Thencame the reorganisation of the States.

Kerala was born as new State. An electedCommunist Government surfaced for the firsttime in the world. The Cabinet had the brightestand the best from the representatives of thepeople EMS Namboodiripad, C Achutha Menon,K R Gouri Amma, Prof. Joseph Mundassery, Dr.A R Menon, T.A. Majeed and P.K Chathan Master.Krishna Iyer was the Minister, for Law,Electricity and Irrigation. He handled thedepartments with admirable ability.

As a lawyer, he workedwithout rest for the sufferingmasses- the toiling folk inthe fields, rising with the larkand working all time fromsunrise to sunset andbeyond, regardless of theclime or time, till homewardhe plodded the weary way.


After the dismissal of the electedministry, Krishna Iyer was a free man.The loss to administration was a gainfor the judiciary in its transformationprocess. He practised as a lawyer in theKerala High Court, facing a hostileatmosphere based on politicalconsiderations. His firm grip on legalprinciples and pleasant persuasivenesstook him to the frontline ofdistinguished lawyers within a veryshort time.

`Chief Justice M S Menon, noted forhis keen observation and a partisanadmiration for chaste English andflowery vocabulary, invited him to siton the Bench, instead of standing at theBar. Krishna Iyer responded positively.Justice Krishna Iyer brought manyjudgements of scholarship andsensational effect.

Some judgements were unduly longthough readable and enjoyable. A frankJudge, Justice P.T. Raman Nairexpressed the idea in his fortnightfashion. One in a tragic accident casemade him comment -‘I agree with theconclusion, and the discussions relevantthere to’- is a very eloquent sentence.After a stint in the Central Law

Commission, Krishna Iyer was soonelevated as Judge of Supreme Court ofIndia. It was there that he createdhistory, giving a quality and shape to thejurisdiction of a developing democracy.A source of great inspiration and hopefor common man. He was the leader ofa Gang of Four (as some lawyers andjudges of the Supreme Court used to sayin hush hush voice), the remaining threebeing Justice P.N.Bhagwati, Justice

Chinnappa Reddy and Justice D ADesai. They gave such rich colour andclear contour to the grand Indianjurisprudence.

The concept of an epistolaryjurisdiction is an exclusive contributionof Justice Krishna Iyer. Supreme Courthad new direction- in its solemnfunctioning, a direction whichaccelerated the pace for an ideal goal ofpeace and prosperity for the nascentdemocracy. Discernible all along was alegal approach and liberal attitude ofwiping every tear from every eye, as hewould repeat many times, injudgements and speeches. JusticeKrishna Iyer gave equal and deservedthrust on every aspect of the key wordsin the preamble of Indian Constitution(as brightening by 42nd Amendment).

Secular, Socialist, Republic

Secularism has been in the Indianethos from very early times. It had thathigh culture as a natural national trait.Unprecedented and disproportionateopulence has its proclivities ingenerating irrational aberrations. Thishas, in some areas, resulted in anundesirable religious fanaticism. Somewith excessive pride in the great culture


nurtured a counter culture, whichgained force, slowly but steadily. In theconflict of these opposing, inter-activities, real secularism became acasualty. Justice Krishna Iyer tried hisbest to block this backward flow of thetide of time. Perhaps the Kerala cultureof tolerance and respect for differentviews moulded this fine product ofsturdy strength in Justice Krishna Iyer’smind.

Here, in Kerala, the Hindu monarchmakes liberal grants – in land, in tradingfacilities, in religious tolerance, alike tothe Muslim traders and Christianmerchants who lived with the reformed

suggestion from the young and idealisteconomist Dr K.N. Raj of hasteningslowly, as indicated in the grantdocument of India’s first Five-year planintroduction. Justice Krishna Iyerupholds this idea in every way andsubstantially and decisively through thelandmark judgements, he rendered.

A Republic is a grand concept. It is aclean concept of the supremacy of thewill of the people. We the people reflectthat grand message. Same seem toentertain the idea (as the great andhumourous lawyer and at one time theSolicitor General of India Mr. Daphtaryputs it in the course of his arguments

spectacle of such leadership of JusticeKrishna Iyer when heated argumentswere being addressed in the GwaliorRayons case. A sagacious StatesmanAchutha Menon brought about a highlyrevolutionary measure by thenationalisation of private forests. Thelearned but Conservative minds thatconstituted the bench in the KeralaHigh Court had annulled that visionarylegislator.

An able Advocate General, AbdulKhadir, prepared an effective appeal. Itwas this appeal that generated brilliantarguments before the Supreme Court.The observation made by Justice

Hindus. Only in Kerala, one can see theserene edifices of a divine Hindu temple,the majestic mosque and the lovetoiling church with its lovely chimingbells. The spirit of these grand messageswas an inbuilt factor in the judgementand public expression of Justice KrishanIyer.

Socialism has its conceptual beautyand cultural appeal. Many enlightenedminds, including some who could beadministrators in the worlds at crucialtimes, stood by and supportedsocialism. When a national partyadopted a resolution with greater truston socialism its stature rose and itspower increased. Nehru was an idealsupporter of the untainted socialisticpattern, a pattern that purgeddictatorial input. Even while fondlingthe idea of revolution by process of law(as Cobden would put it), suchrevolution should eschew the elementsof dictatorship and negation ofdemocracy – Nehru felt. He wastherefore prepared to accept a

in the Bombay Prohibition case) that aREPUBLIC, without a PUB willdegenerate into a RELIC ! The SupremeCourt of India did not accommodatethat seemingly attractive argument. Abenevolent dictator is not a substitutefor an arising Republic, the systemwhere the governance is of the people,by the people and for the people. Peoplecannot excel in administrative lectureby any other concept. Justice KrishnaIyer advocates the deserved supremacyfor the idea of unalloyed gold-REPUBLIC.

That the governance must be for thepeople was a mission of life for JusticeKrishna Iyer. That vision and lightguided Krishna Iyer while as Judge ofSupreme Court he gave the final shapeof many solutions in the social justicearea. The enduring bias in favour of thepeople’s welfare was the madder andradar in all the voyages of theconstitutional ship where hefunctioned as the captain.

I was privileged to witness a grand

Krishna Iyer in the course of thearguments had a strong influence in themind of brother judges. The result wasone of the greatest judgements whichpromoted the welfare of the commonman and served as a beacon for similarexercises through the great countryIndia that is ‘BHARAT’!

Krishna Iyer too had some ‘humanweaknesses’-a term conceived to coverup mistakes. He, at times made othersfeel that the claimed credit for theachievements attributable to othersaround. Krishna Iyer did it towards hisown Cabinet Colleague - K.R.GowriAmma. The first women Judge of theWorld - Justice Anna Chandy - waselevated at a time when he was the LawMinister. Law Minister did not havemuch role in that elevation. Unceasingefforts were taken by the intelligentwoman minister KR Gowri Amma. Thedetails can be read in the interestingautobiography of Justice Anna Chandy,where she acknowledges the help shereceived from Gouri Amma, whose


photograph too finds a place in thePortrait Gallery in that Book.

Justice Krishna Iyer claimed agreater role than really due for therevolutionary Land Reforms Act.Minister Gouri Amma devoted a goodpart of her life to perfecting thatlegislation intended to make everyoccupant of a Land in rural Kerala, theowner of that small parcel of landaround the hut. Justice Krishna Iyer, theLaw knowing Electricity Minister,knows that a Minister had no controlover the daily routine work of theBoard, though he could make policydecisions and formulate them. It wasfor the Chairman, who even whenwarned about possible repercussions ina tiff with the Minister stuck to theprincipled stand.

The greatness of Krishna Iyer wasthat after more mature and deeperconsideration of all aspects, he correctedhis erroneous notion and made a freeand frank admission of the mistake tothe Chairman of the Board. (Thisincident revealed with all relevant andattendant particulars in the evidencegiven before Justice K. SukumaranEnquiry Commission.) Justice KrishnaIyer was inspired and instrumental inthe formation of the Peoples Councilfor Social Justice. It had renderedservices to the suffering common manin legal proceedings and Court cases,through an institution with strongfoundations. The comrade activistsinclude Justice P. Janaki Amma, JusticeJohn Mathew, Adv.M.Prabha and nowK. Ramachandran (a former DistrictJudge and now an Advocate) as thePresident of P.C.S.J.

Bangalore Water Supply case is ahigh water mark in IndustrialJurisprudence. It had given arevolutionary expansion to theconcepts of industry in the IndustrialDisputes Act. A contention urged bythis author on behalf of the Coir Boardthat the interpretation was overboardappealed to a Bench consisting ofJustice Sujatha Manohar and JusticeWadhwa. The Bench took the view thatthe matter merited consideration by alarger Bench. By an unconventionalorder, the Reference was declined.‘Karma of Law’ is Krishna Iyer’s own

coinage, which had great currency overa long period of time. A coin is a strongand lasts through ages in History.Theseminor aberrations do not detract fromthe grandness of the contributions ofJustice Krishna Iyer as a Judge, Juristand humanist. The powerful advocacyof Krishna Iyer was noticeablethroughout during the short period hewas at the High Court Bar.

In a case where an accused stoodcharged with shooting a person andwhen medical examination revealedplacement of many pellets in theabdominal cavity, Krishna Iyer wouldattempt to make the court believe thatit was only a slight mistake in practisinga hobby. As regards the pellets, hesubmitted that they had only the effectof consuming an excess of iron tonic!

When he espoused a case, he waspowerful in projecting that cause. Hebelieved, as did Dr. Johnson centuriesback, that it is not for the Advocate torender the judgment, but for the court.An advocate has to place the case of hisclient with all verve and vigour. He

adopted such an attitude in his personalmatter. At the time he purchased theproperty near MG Road in Ernakulam,it was a land with a few coconut trees.Coconut is, in Kerala, a symbol ofcultivation. A land where cultivationactivity is carried on is agricultural land-such was the step-by-step argumentdeveloped by Krishna Iyer for availingof a tax benefit, in the event of landbeing treated as agricultural property.

Many have forgotten the effect ofShemsher Singh Judgement architectedby Justice Krishna Iyer on the patternof the Government under theConstitution. India followed theWestminister way. A President is only aConstitutional Head and ordinarilybound by the advice of his CabinetMinisters. All these important messagescould make any person great anddifferent from others around. Aconcentration of all the virtues inJustice Krishna Iyer, had added a halo,with impressive glow and glory.n

The write is former Judge of Kerala andMumbai High Court

I was privileged to witness a grand spectacle ofsuch leadership of Justice Krishna Iyer whenheated arguments were being addressed in theGwalior Rayons case.


FEATURE

EntrepreneurialEcosystem

KRISHNA KUMAR S

Entrepreneurs play a crucial rolein propelling the knowledgeeconomy by drivinginnovations, nurturing newskills and capabilities, opening

up new markets and spurring growthin new industries. It is an instrumentin commercializing new ideas andraising productivity and employment inall the sectors. Creation of new firmscan create benefits for the society as awhole by creating employmentopportunities and generating incomesin the hands of the public. So, it is aperfect complement to community-based development.

A development scenario is primarilyunderstood as one that is investingmore on hard infrastructure-building,

bridges, roads, transportation networks,hiring labour and employing morecapital. But entrepreneurship can workwith minimal resources andinfrastructure. Entrepreneurshipdevelopment can be a low-cost, high-impact approach to economicdevelopment. Promoting private sectordevelopment and entrepreneurship inparticular, has thus become a definingfeature of development policy in recentyear.

Kerala’s economy is essentially awage economy. Entrepreneurship isrestricted to trade, transport andtourism, all of which are lowknowledge-intensive sectors. Recently,the government has started playing anactive role in promoting entrepreneurial

skills and infrastructure forencouraging star-ups. However, in atraditional economy that is stuck inlow-productivity vicious circles, thegovernment will need to addressstructural bottlenecks to change theattitude, values and perceptions of thepeople of Kerala, so as to promoteentrepreneurship among them.

Current Status

In Kerala, the Kerala Institute forEntrepreneurship Development (KIED)is a Public Sector Training Institute forentrepreneurs. Further, under theStudent Entrepreneurship Scheme forthe Universities, Colleges andPolytechnics in Kerala. Twenty per centattendance relaxation and 20 percentgrace marks are provided for students


Kerala’s economy is essentially a wage economy.Entrepreneurship is restricted to trade, transport

and tourism, all of which are low knowledge-intensive sectors. Recently, the government has

started playing an active role in promotingentrepreneurial skills and infrastructure for

encouraging star-ups.


who pursue entrepreneurship andinnovation during their studies.

The government is creating, interalia, a Technology Innovation Zone inabout 10 acres of land in Kochi, with aninitial investment of Rs. 100 crore. Thezone will house incubators formed inthe public-private-partnership model, inareas like data analytics, animation andgaming nanotechnology andbiotechnology. The government is alsoproviding a built-up space of one lakhsquare feet for a Start-up Village, oneof the first incubators in the country tocome up in the public-private-partnership model.

The Star-up Village aims to incubate1,000 product start-ups over 10 yearsand initiate the search for a billion dollar

company from a college campus by theturn of this decade. The NationalScience & TechnologyEntrepreneurship Development Board(NSTEDB) under the Department ofScience and Technology, Govt. of Indiahas also set up 10 Technology Businessincubators (TBIs) across universities inKerala.

The Kerala State SelfEntrepreneurship DevelopmentMission(KSSEDM) aims at inculcatingentrepreneurial confidence among theyouth of the State through a process ofselecting persons with aptitude andearnestness, training themmeticulously and enabling them to availof finance on easy terms from Banks/Financial Institutions. The youth will be

given opportunities in the agricultureand IT sectors, The Kerala Chapter ofThe Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), a globalnon-profit organization, was registeredon 12th March, 2003 for providingadvice, guidance and assistance tobudding entrepreneurs by successful &experienced entrepreneurs andprofessionals.

In rural areas, the KSSEDM aims atproviding training and soft loans to 10select entrepreneurs in each panchayathup to Rs. 20 lakh to start an enterprise.The project is aimed at educatingunemployed youth.

The vision for Kerala’s newEntrepreneurial Strategy

It is envisioned that Kerala will be aknowledge economy by 2030. An



economy run on knowledge ischaracterized by a critical role forknowledge –intensive activity andInformation and CommunicationTechnology (ICT), rather than tangiblecapita. Wealth creation increasinglydepends upon the generation andexploitation of knowledge to createeconomic value. This requiresentrepreneurship. Entrepreneurshipmakes economics more competitiveand innovative and is crucial forachieving the objectives of all sectoralpolicies.

‘Kerala will be a role model for all

Personal Enablers

Formal Education: Investing inEntrepreneurial education is one ofhighest return investments possible.

l Make accessible entrepreneurshipeducation at universities to allstudents, also to those in non-business disciplines.

l Promote entrepreneurial spiritamongst trainees in schools andvocational education.

l Promote entrepreneurial learning inan informal or non-formal learningenvironment.

programmes

Government funding

l Financing investments ofinnovative start ups is one of themost confounding problems for thesmall sector. It is hard for smallinnovative firms to obtain fundsbecause of the inherent riskiness ofsuch projects, informationasymmetry and market failures.Government–Funds onconcessional rate of interest areimportant initiative factor forprogressing entrepreneurship.

l Directly fund the most innovativeproject through competitive bids.The Small Business InnovationResearch (SBIR) initiative is perhapsthe most successful example ofgovernment funding of innovativeventures.

l Promote capital markets for thetrading of shares of SMEs.

Promotion of venture capital funds

and micro finance

l An Important component of asuccessful entrepreneurialecosystem consists of an array ofearly stage investors (venturecapitals and business angels) thatprovide seed and first round equityinvestments. These investors use anextensive network of peers andprovide valuable knowledge andsupport about the market and thedevelopment of the venture “smartmoney”. These investments may bespurred by fiscal incentives, workingwith investors in order to increasethe flow of venture capital, andcrowd-funding into web start-ups.

l Kudumbasree can play a role here byexpanding its scope to promote highend women entrepreneurs.

Environmental Enablers

Improve business freedom: CurrentlyKerala is 10th among 18 Indian statesin terms of business freedom. Criticalissues are: a non-operational singlewindow, long delays in approvals andclearances, frequent strikes, legaladministrative and tax provisions.There is a need for deregulating theprocedure for granting loans and alsoamend the laws framed by thegovernment.

developing countries inentrepreneurship development’. Inorder to target, design and implemententrepreneurial initiatives to achieveoptimum effect, the entrepreneurshipstrategy will focus on building an“Entrepreneurial Ecosystem”. Thestrategy will clearly define the term,“Entrepreneurs” and provide a majorthrust to the target group.

The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

The Entrepreneurial ecosystemencompasses all the elements thatentrepreneurs need to thrive on. Thishas six elements.

l Personal enablers

l Financial enablers

l Business enablers

l Professional enablers

l Economic enablers

l Social Entrepreneurs

l Assess the quality ofentrepreneurship education indifferent regions, nationally andinternationally, and learn fromsuccessful peers.

l Strengthen competencies and skillsby intensifying its E-skills actions toimprove leadership skills, scientificand creative disciplines, andmanagerial and entrpreneurial skillsto address new technology andmarkets.

Beyond the transfer of knowledge:

Towards involvement inentrepreneurship Effective and practicaleducation, and the promotion ofcommercial thinking in universities andthe media help promote a strongentrepreneurial culture.

Financial Enablers

Micro Finance, Venture capital,institutional loans, Government


Business organizational

transformation: A necessary conditionfor promoting entrepreneurship is asystematic, growth driven process oforganizational transformation inKerala. There is a need for systematicattempts to drive transformations inthe organizational form of economicactivity in the economy. The classiccooperative model needs to be carriedforward to incorporate elements ofcorporatization. The livelihoodapproach should give way to efficiencyand competitiveness.

Promote competition: A protectedeconomy offers no incentive forentrepreneurs. It becomes a breedingground for necessity or replicativeentrepreneurs. This affects innovationsand knowledge production ratheradversely. Clearly, the governmentneeds to promote competition in theeconomy by lowering entry and exitbarriers.

Professional Enablers

Professional services: Vitalprofessional services can be provided toincrease the success rate of newenterprises. Effective support consistsof holistic programmes that integratethe essential elements likemanagement training, R&D coaching,and networking with peers, potentialsuppliers and clients. Entrepreneursincreasingly need advice and support forresource availability and markets for thefinal products. Many smallerenterprises are also under increasingpressure from the companies to which

they supply to meet new standards anddesign requirements linked to improvedresource efficiency, recyclability orinternational obligations.

Professional services delivered

through ICT

l Foster the growth in knowledgebase on major market trends andinnovative business models, byestablishing online MarketMonitoring Mechanisms.

l Facilitate networking to support fornew business: This can be achievedby creating a “Mentors’ Network”for training, providing advice andhands-on coaching on how to dobusiness in the digital age, andfacilitating “match-making” eventsamong stakeholders to explore newpartnerships.

l Launch specific actions for Webentrepreneurs: These will include:a Start-up Partnership to unlock

Continued on Page 50

‘Kerala will be a rolemodel for alldeveloping countries inentrepreneurshipdevelopment’. In orderto target, design andimplemententrepreneurialinitiatives to achieveoptimum effect, theentrepreneurshipstrategy will focus onbuilding an“EntrepreneurialEcosystem”.

35


HORIZONS RADHAKRISHNAN

Modern hand dryers aremuch worse than papertowels when it comes tospreading germs, accordingto a research by Universityof Leeds. Scientistshavefound that high-powered'jet-air' and warm air handdryers can spread bacteriain public toilets. Airbornegerm counts were 27 timeshigher around jet air dryersin comparison with the airaround paper toweldispensers. The study showsthat both jet and warm airhand dryers spread bacteria

Bus Rides on Human Waste Fuel

takes the annual waste ofabout five people toproduce, the BBC reports.A single passenger’sannual food and sewagewaste can fuel the Bio-Bus for 37 miles. The bus,which emits up to 30% lesscarbon dioxide thanconventional dieselvehicles, will shuttlepeople between BristolAirport and Bath.

It is true that the Gas-powered vehicles have animportant role to play inimproving air quality incities but the Bio-Busgoes further than thatand is actually poweredby people living in thelocal area, includingquite possibly those onthe bus itself.

A new bus in Britain runs onbiomethane fuel produced by humansewage and food waste. The Bio-Bus

— or as it’s more affectionatelyknown, “the poo bus”— can travel upto 186 miles on one tank of gas, which

Toilet Hand Dryersspread Bacteria

Drugs Reduce Side-Effectsof Chemotherapy

into the air and onto usersand those nearby. Theexperts collected airsamples around the handdryers and also at distancesof one and two metresaway. Air bacterial countsclose to jet air dryers werefound to be 4.5 times higherthan around warm air dryersand 27 times highercompared with the air whenusing paper towels. Next tothe dryers, bacteriapersisted in the air wellbeyond the 15 second hand-drying time.

Wichita State Universityresearchers are working ona new system that coulddecrease the negativeeffects of cancer drugs onpatients.

With Nano technology, thegroup has creatednanomaterials anddeveloped a magnetic-targeted drug deliverysystem with the goal oflocalizing as much aspossible the cancer drugs tothe tumour sites andtherefore decreasing thenegative effects of thedrugs on the body. They'vetargeted their research onpatients with skin andbreast cancer.

The research team created

nano composite, magneticmicrospheres that carryp r o t e i n - b a s e dchemotherapeutic drugs.Those spheres wereincorporated with analbumin and biodegradablepolymer that increases theaccumulation of the drugsat the target site.

Once the microspheres areinjected with a syringe, amagnetic field is applied toattract the spheres to thetumor. Traditionalchemotherapeutic drugscan wreak havoc on apatient's body, resulting insuch issues as anemia,infections, nausea andvomiting, bowel problems,hair loss and severe pain.



A team of researchersworking in Nambia has foundthat elephants are able todetect rain storms fromdistances as far away as 150miles, around 241kilometers. In a paperpublished in the journalPLOS ONE, the researchersdescribe how they trackedboth elephants and rain overthe course of several years

A dinosaur tooth found in Malaysiais at least 140 million years old andbelongs to a new species within the"bird-hipped" Ornithischian order.Ornithischian, or "bird-hipped", isa major group comprised ofherbivorous dinosaurs such astriceratops. The dinosaur wouldhave been about as big as a horse.The darkened tooth fossil—13-mm-long (0.5-inches) and 10.5-mm-wide—was discovered in asedimentary rock formation by ateam of Malaysian and Japanesepalaeontologists.

It was found close to where thefirst Malaysian dinosaur fossil,estimated to be at least 75 millionyears old, was discovered in 2012.The exact location of thediscoveries is being kept secret inorder to preserve it.

Elephants detect rain upto 240 KMand found the elephantswere clearly able to detectrain events from greatdistances and move towardsthem. Nambia, like much ofsouth-western Africa, is ahot and dry place for mostof the year, occurs each yearfrom January to March.Elephants are one suchanimal—they drink andsplash around in temporarily

engorged streams and otherwatering holes. Elephantsare also migratory animals,with herds nearly constantlyon the move in the searchfor food and water. In thisnew effort the team ofresearchers was looking tobetter understand whyelephant herds have suchstrange migration patternsduring the rainy season.

What was so surprising washow the elephants were ableto move towards storms thatwere still very far away,sometimes as far away as a150 miles. The researcherscan't say for sure how it isthat the elephants are ableto detect the rainfall, butsuspect that they might beable to hear it—either thethunder claps or the rainactually hitting the ground

New Injectable Treatmentfor Soldiers

14 cr. year olddinosaur toothfound

Internal bleeding is a leading causeof death on the battlefield, but anew, injectable material developedby team of researchers from TexasA&M University and theMassachusetts Institute of Technologycould buy wounded soldiers the timethey need to survive by preventingblood loss from serious internalinjuries.

The potentially life-saving treatmentcomes in the form of a biodegradablegelatin substance that has beenembedded with nano-sized silicatediscs that aid in coagulation. Onceinjected, the material locks intoplace at the site of the injury and

rapidly decreases the time it takesfor blood to clot – in some instancesby a whopping 77 percent, saysAkhilesh Gaharwar, assistantprofessor of biomedical engineeringat Texas A&M and member of theresearch team. The team's findingsare detailed in the scientific journalACS Nano and supported by the U.S.Army Research Office.

Though it's still in early testing,Gaharwar envisions the biomaterialbeing preloaded into syringes thatsoldiers can carry with them intocombat situations. If a soldierexperiences a penetrating,incompressible injury – one where it

is difficult if notimpossible toapply thepressure neededto stop thebleeding – he orshe can injectthe material intothe wound sitewhere it willtrigger a rapidcoagulation andprovide enoughtime to get to amedical facilityfor treatment.



According to theWorld Travel Martbeing hosted inU.K, Kerala haswon the ‘Lonely

Planet’ award in the bestfamily destinations in theworld. It has occupied aprominent place among theten famous tourist spots inthe World. In 2014 Kerala

was one of the mostimportant places forspending holidays along withthat of New York City,Denmark, Prag, Iceland, Italy,and Hawai. Tourists who visitIndia are attracted to Keralawhere they can enjoy travel,tourism and leisure alongwith Ayurveda.. No doubtKerala has emerged as one of

TOURISMDr. JUBILY NAVAPRABA



the most acclaimed touristdestination in the world.

Kerala has world classmedical infrastructure andcan provide quality healthcare about 10% of the cost ofthe same procedure in the USor UK. Even on the domesticfront, cost of treatment inKerala will only be about 60%as compared to the cost of

Ayurvedaand Tourism

39

other health caredestinations in India likeDelhi, Mumbai and Chennai.Health tourism is catching upat lightning speed across theworld and is gainingimportance in Kerala. It isnon-seasonal in nature. Inthis digital era people travelacross the globe for healthpurposes because people aremore conscious about theirhealth. Through healthtourism one can enjoy thebeauty of health caredestination along withmedical treatment.

Most of the Ayurvedichospitals are providing majortreatments, health careprogrammes, facilities and

services. Clients/ guests/patients are coming over toKerala from various part ofworld every year toexperience our Ayurvedatreatment. Foreign HealthTourists coming from SouthAfrica dominate followed bytourists from Oman, U.K.,UAE, France, USA, Germanyetc. apart from the domesticones who play the major rolein the success of healthtourism. Hospitals are mostlyprofessionally managed,adhering to the traditionalAyurvedic healing powers ofnatural medicines.

Personal care and warmthof service are the hallmarks ofmost of them and some are

40 KERALA CALLING January 201540 KERALA CALLING January 2015

ISO 9001 – 2000 certifiedhospitals and accredited bynational and internationalagencies which enhance theirreputation among theforeigners. They believe inpreserving the traditionalpractice of Ayurveda and takeextreme care in nurturingand promoting the age-oldAyurveda, the first everdocumented medical science.Many of the centresrepresent the modern face ofAyurveda and do incorporatestate-of-the-art diagnosticmethods, technologies andequipments to identify thedisease precisely. Also haveproven track record of curingvarious serious ailments andtake care to stick on to thenatural healing of herbs. Theoverwhelming responses ofpatients give themconfidence to carry on theservice for the well being ofthe society. At many centres,patients are known andtreated as guests. They arenever called as patients andthey receive proper advice

and suggestions. Based onthe diagnosis and therequirement, they are evenadvised a change location oftreatment place, which is alsoarranged and managed by thehospital authorities. Thenature and the ambience dohave an impact on the successof Ayurvedic treatment. Arobust mind helps speedyrecovery from ailment. Thishelps the centres to gaincredibility and confidenceamong the foreigners. Aholistic approach is beingnoticed in many of thecentres which are run bycouples, which again createsa friendly atmosphere.

Ayurveda

Around 600 BC a newsystem of medicine evolvedin India. A system that inaddition to treating anailment, stressed on itsprevention, came to be calledayurveda. Kerala andayurveda are synonymous toeach other, as it is the onlyplace on earth where

ayurveda is practiced withabsolute authenticity anddedication. Ayurveda believesin the treatment of not justthe affected part of the body,but the individual as a whole,making it the natural way toperfect health and harmonyof life. Ayurveda is a holisticsystem of healing to achievethe right balance of body.This tradition of health carehas proved to be not only thecure for illness, but also the100% natural way to prefecthealth. The methods ofayurveda are unique anduniversal. Instead of treatingthe symptoms of a disease, ittreats the individual andcaring is given for the entirebody. Ayurveda medicines arepurely natural and absolutelyfree of side effects.

Ayurveda treatments areclassified in to two-Rejuvenation Programmeswhich aims at total well-being and therapeuticprogrammes which aims atailment-specific. The touristswho visit Kerala undergo

either rejuvenation ortherapeutic or a mix of boththe programmes. It is notablethat many of them come toKerala for repeated Ayurvedatreatments.

Rejuvenation Programmes

• Rejuvenation therapy(Rasayana Chikitsa)

• Overall fitness(Panchakarma)

• Body immunization andLongevity treatment(Kayakalpa Chikitsa)

• Body sudation(SwedaKarma)

• Meditaion and Yoga

• Beauty care

• Body slimming

are the majorrejuvenation programmes.

Therapeutic Programmes

The seven most commonTherapies adopted for theRejuvenation package are-

• Abhyanga (Generalmassage),

• Elakizhi (Patraswedam)

• Njavarakizhi

• Pizhichil


SWOT AnalysisStrengths

l Hospital owned and operated by a family of doctors.

l Team of highly qualified doctors.

l Support from Doctors of other streams of medical sciences

l Team of well trained therapists.

l Team of well trained hospitality executives.

l Using the assistance of latest technologies for precisediagnosis of the problem.

l Clean and hygienic facilities to accommodate patients.

l Transportation to patients and bystanders.

l Conveyance to tourist centers on request.

l Consultations done by of team of doctors.

l High success level in curing major serious health problemsof patients from all over the world.

l Family environment.

l Quality food to patients and bystanders.

l Different types of food ranging from Chinese, Continental,Mughals to Lips making.

l Settlement of financial transactions through foreigncurrency is possible.

l Less turnover of employees or working team.

l Counselling available

l Ticketing facilities.

Weaknessl Facilities at some centers have small problems in

infrastructure.

l Noisy highway road in front of the hospitals.

l Railway level crossing, traffic blocks, poor roads andsometimes harthals make it difficult to reach hospitalson time.

l Lack of hygienic toilets and cleanliness in premises.

Opportunitiesl The increasing popularity of Ayurveda.

l The increasing brand value of hospitals through thepresence in media.

l The increasing number of satisfied patients talking to otherpeople about the centres.

l Less turnover of employees helps to provide good service.

l More corporate houses convinced on the system ofayurveda now sends their staff for ayurveda treatmentfor stress management, etc.

Threatsl Misconception of Ayurveda.

l Deliberate move to defame ayurveda by groups withvested interest.

l Lack of support from the government to enhance theimportance of Ayurveda.

l Lack of support from the Government in includingAyurveda in the cashless benefit provided by the insurancecompanies.

l Lack of enough R&D activities in the field of Ayurveda.

l Lack of scientific and clinical evidences on the success ofayurveda treatments.

l Many unauthorized quacks working as ayurveda physicianscreate problem by providing wrong treatments.


• Udhwardhanam

• Dhara

• Nasyam

These programmes are offered by approvedAyurveda Centers, Ayurvedic Health Resorts andsome Hotels which have Ayurveda facilities. Thereare few leading Ayurveda hospitals in Kerala whichare providing variety of Ayurveda Treatments in asuccessful manner. All these centres have their ownStrengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats. Have a look into majority of the AyurvedicHospital’s SWOT Analysis.

In Kerala every year there is a representationof 25 countries in many of the Ayurvedic hospitalsapart from the domestic guests/patients. Majorityof the guests come over to the hospital on the basisof direct contact and others through e-mail contactand the rest through agents. Few centers have agood net work throughout the world which bringsmany of the tourists to the hospitals for varietyof treatments. Also many come for repeatedtreatment, which shows that the tourists aresatisfied by the holistic approach of our Ayurvediccenters. All this shows that Health Tourism is verystrong in Kerala and a good foreign exchangeearner. Many of the guests after or before theirtreatment visit places like Munnar, Kovalam,Varkala etc, for which the hospitals itself providetransportation along with accommodation andother facilities, according to the demand of theguests. No doubt well equipped health centers areoffering a slew of Health tourism packages, all ofwhich are tailor-made for specific individuals,which functions on need-based or demand-basedof clients. One who had experienced Rejuvenationor Therapeutic Programmes in Kerala will neverforget the indigenous streams of our Ayurvediccenters.

Apart from patients, doctors too arrive here toknow about the secrets of ayurveda at differentwell known established centres. Recently a fewseminars were organized in a centre where foreigndoctors interacted with ayurvedic doctors. Also ateam of practitioners from the US attended a oneday seminar in a famous hospital. Another sessionwas organized where some dentists and socialworkers from US took part. A group of paediatricdoctors along with few psychologists also attendedanother seminar conducted by a reputed Ayurvedichospital. The seminars become part of theContinuing Ayurvedic Awareness Programme andAyurvedic centres can involve in providing practicalsessions for the benefit of such medical expertsand for attracting more and more health touriststo our God’s own country.n

The writer is Associate Professor in Commerce,S.D.College, Alappuzha


OOOOOver the years, theterm emotionalintelligence as ab e h a v i o r a lconstruct has

matured and subsequentlygathered internationalrecognition. The concept hasbecome a commonterminology in managementthat it is imperative tounderstand and leverage itfor the sake of enhancingproductivity in present dayorganisations. The set ofskills that help peopleharmonize is recognized as animportant workplace asset.In common parlance it’s aform of social intelligencewhich has both cognitive andnon cognitive dimensions .Itinvolves the capacity to grasp,appreciate and discerninglymanage emotions inrelationship to oneself andothers. Recent researcheshave identified links betweenspecific components of

emotional intelligence andleadership success.

Peter Salovey and John D.Mayor coined the termemotional intelligence in1990 as the capability of aperson to understand,analyze and decide on issuesbased on self-control, self-awareness, self-managementand empathy. EI is ‘the abilityto perceive and expressemotion, assimilate emotionin thought, understand andreason with emotion, andregulate emotion in the selfand others’ (Mayer, Salovey& Caruso 2000). In 1981James Dozier a U.S ArmyBrigadier General who waskidnapped by a terroristgroup, discovered the powerof emotional intelligence insaving his life from hiscaptors. Quoting Dozier’slife example Campbell saysemotions are contagiousand a single person caninfluence the tone of a

group by modeling- he firstthought of getting his ownemotions under control andconveyed his calmness to hiscaptors, he then realized thatthey also caught his calmness.

Daniel Goleman in hisbook ‘EI :Why it can mattermore than IQ’ quotes that IQis relatively fixed where as EQcan be built and learned. Hepropounds that cognitiveskill can get you a job in acompany but emotional skillhelps you grow in the job

once you are hired. Alongwith emotional competence,Goleman et al have includedpersonal and socialcompetence, which includeself-awareness, self-management, socialawareness and relationshipmanagement.

The role of EI does notremain limited to formalorganizational contexts butany activity that requiresdealing with people wouldrequire the input of

FEATUREDr S RESIA BEEGAM

EmotionalIntelligence



emotional intelligence. Thereis a growing body of evidencethat the group of social andemotional competencies thatconstitutes what is nowcommonly referred to as EIplay a key role in determiningsuccess in both personal andprofessional lives. The Indianway of life is highly saturatedwith various cultural,religious and societaldemands. In a society filledwith conflictingresponsibilities andcommitments ‘work lifebalance’ has become apredominant issue in theworkplace. Employees inglobal communities alsowant flexibility and controlover their work and personallives.

The socio familial contextand work context createspulls and pushes onindividuals. People continueto respond to social andprofessional demands, cope

with social and professionalroles expectations andattempt to balance orintegrate the multiple rolesand multiple systems. Peopleneed to handle the variousand multiple dilemmas andmanage the stress, guilt,anxiety and apprehensionstogether with theiraspirations and ambitions togrow in the organization. Inan attempt to balance socialand professional roles theyexert super human effortsand reach in a real dilemma.While social roles are part ofpeople’s existence,professional roles are part ofchoice making. People’slocation in the system andowning one’s identity is asignificant process in rising tothe demands of both socialand professional roles. Thesocial dilemmas aresituations that contain apolarity of interests betweenthe individual’s interest and

public’s interest of the societyat large.

It is equally importantthat people create somepersonal space to be in touchwith themselves and theiridentity to define theirlocation, the new roles bothin social and work settings,and to add to themselves andthe system they are part of.Managing personal andprofessional roles effectivelymeans attaining a practicablework- life balance, the buzzword of modern society. Thechanging economicconditions and socialdemands have changed thenature of work throughoutthe world. Indeed, work wasa matter of survival.Throughout the years, therole of work and thestructure of the workforcegradually have changed.Today, work is regarded as asource of personalsatisfaction widely. The good

balance among time, workand life can play an importantwork life balance role in theattainment of personal andprofessional goals.

Work-life balance

Work-life balance is aconcept where an individualmanages to balance his timeboth at work and home. Ithelps people to divide theirenergy between work, familyand other important aspectsof their lives. Work-LifeBalance does not mean anequal balance. Trying toschedule an equal number ofhours for each of the variouswork and personal activitiesis usually unrealistic andunrewarding. We are allengaged in a number of rolesevery day and we hold anumber of duties throughoutour life. Conflict occurs whenwe are unable to give ourmany roles the required timeand energy as a result ofwhich participation in one

As a person makesa transition fromthe transactional totransformationalapproach to createa necessary socio –emotional nearnesswith people aroundhim, the behavioralconstruct ofemotionalintelligencebecomes a reality.


role is made increasinglydifficult by participation inanother.

The crux of the ideologyis that there should beresilience between the workand personal life. Work lifebalance is the routineachievement and enjoymentin all spheres of life. The bestwork life balance for anindividual (individual worklife balance) will definitelyvary over time, quite often ona daily basis. The rightbalance for today willprobably be different fortomorrow. The meaning ofright balancing for a socialbeing encompasses threeelements –family, work andcommunity.

Family: The society haschanged dramatically overthe past half century. Womencomprise nearly one half ofthe labor force. Strong familyrelationships are thefoundation for most careerwomen and men. They formgreat role models for theirchildren and social network.All relationships neednurturing with time, love anda constant effort to fulfillneeds and expectations. It isnot possible from one side.The happy and healthyindividuals have happy andhealthy relationship and thenthis spills over into theirwork. The availability (or

even a deliberate creation) ofstrong family support willact as a major factor in thesuccess of a person.

Work: The economicconditions and socialdemands have changed thenature of work throughoutthe world. It is veryimportant to give equalimportance to all thestakeholders. A person whodoes not enjoy his/her familylife cannot be a successfulperson. When a life isimbalanced then the rhythmof life vanishes and there is anadverse effect on the worklife too. Therefore, in aneffort to retain employees, itis increasingly important fororganizations to recognizethis balance. Work lifebalance requires flexibility,good judgment, strongleadership , negotiating skillsand shifting of priorities . Asupportive circle of colleaguesand friends is the platformthat can be made available toseek advice and assistance.

Community: Thecommunity is round tablewhich holds members ofsociety. There is constantinteraction betweenmembers of society. Work-lifebalance is achieved when anindividual’s right to a fulfilledlife is supported by thesociety. This requiresmeaningful participation

from diverse stakeholders.When people move beyondthe self and family, they findtheir role in the communityand they have the power tomake a positive change incommunity. In followingtheir purpose in life theytouch the lives aroundthemselves throughcontributions effective tobecome social entrepreneurs.

Work-life balance trainingprograms, practices andinformation can enableemployees to balance theirwork and personal lives inorder to manage lifestylecommitments includingfamily responsibilities, sport,study, and communityinvolvement. ‘There’s a hugedifference between beingbusy and being stressed,workcan be a huge source ofwellbeing,’ if it is planned tocreate balance (Williams).

Work-life balance is aboutadjusting working patternswhich allow employees tocombine work with theirother responsibilities. It canenable employees to feelmore in control of theirworking life and brings inlower absenteeism and ahappier and less stressedworkforce. An understandingof effects of imbalance willmake it easy to understandthe need for work life balance. The transition from work

life imbalance to work lifebalance has obvious benefitsto an organization and itsemployees too. At theorganizational level itincreases productivity andefficiency of employees.Satisfaction from workprovides better teamworkand communication inworking environment, whichleads to enjoyment at workand increased passion for it.

Work life balance on anindividual level can bringphenomenal changes in his/her life and can also haveheavy impact on a society.The work life balancepositively contributes to anemployee's health whichcreate healthy community atthe end. The balancing timeis a challenge. It is the jointresponsibility of theorganisation and employeesto have a conducive platform.What the experts suggest forfinding equilibrium are- flexitime at work, manage thetime, focus on outcomes,sharpen your skills, look afteryourself, take time out, talkto someone, work is not theenemy, don’t neglect yourfriends,avail every trainingopportunity etc

Importance of maintainingwork life balance

Work life balance is thekey to lead a successful andbeautiful life which includes


everything. It is important toeveryone such as student,employee, and employer andeven for a housewife tomaintain a balance betweenvarious aspects of their dailyroutine. A student mustknow how to balancebetween his studies andcourse activities; otherwisehe will fail in one or the otherthing.. ‘If you are losing yourleisure, look out; you may belosing your soul’( LoganP.Smith). Our life has somany things, like ourrelationships, work, health,e n t e r t a i n m e n tresponsibilities about familyand country etc, we mustknow how to maintainbalance between all of themtill to be successful in all theseaspects. Every day in the life,many people get so occupiedwith their work which is acase of neglecting otherimportant things of their life.

There is no denial that,the person cannot survivewithout work because this iswhat ultimately gives toperson the money, which isthe source of everyone’ssurvival. The money isessential for survival and forhaving comforts but toomuch emphasis on it is likelosing so much for so little.The clash between work andfamily in life occur ‘whendemands of participation inone field are unsuitable withdemands of participation inthe other field, or ,when one'sefforts to fulfill work roledemands interfere with one'sability to fulfill familydemands and vice versa’.There is a need and desire onthe part of workers for moreflexibility in the workplace.Flex time as concept isapplied in corporate worldtoday. When both the wifeand husband are working theflextime helps the right

division of commitments atfamily.

The current economiccondition has been accusedfor causing income loss,extended working hours andintense stress in workplacesall over the world. In thesefast moving lives, there aremany pressures that new-agecouples have to deal with-running a home, doing dailychores, raising children, caringfor the elderly and handle thetight deadlines at work.Personal development took alook at how to rise above themess, by redesigning the lifeto achieve the balancenecessary to ride through thestorm and bring life backunder control. The KASapproach is an eye opener inthis context as it widens theperspective and focuses onenhancing the knowledge,developing attitudes thatshapes the future andgenerating administrative/managerial competencies.The ultimate goal is people

accepting professionalorientation to their roles.

Role of emotionalintelligence

As a person makes a tran-sition from the transactionalto transformational approachto create a necessary socio –emotional nearness withpeople around him, the be-havioral construct of emo-tional intelligence becomes areality. Enrichment of theemotional dimension wouldhelp to solve behavioral prob-lems arising from organiza-tional and social dimensions.Emotional intelligence con-tributes to the true effective-ness of a person in handlingday to day activities diplo-matically and with maturity.An employee can achieve bet-ter results at office and canalso be a happy home makerwhen he /she is emotionallyintelligent to strike the rightbalance between work andlife. The various dimensionsof emotional intelligencewhich help people in handlingmultifold roles are:

l Self awareness

l Self assessment

l Social awareness

l Compassion

l Commitment

l Relationshipmanagement skills

l Achievement orientation

l Emotional self control

l Personal integrity

l Resilience

l Optimism

l Transparency andadaptability

Emotional intelligence isone of the most importantbehavioral constructs whichis considered as a major con-tributor to performance. Torise higher in one’s compe-tence at dealing with peopleit is not essential that indi-viduals are good in their jobs

,they are required to be en-dearing, positive, approach-able, warm, compassionateand optimistic. When em-ployees lead a contended per-sonal life, their attention to-wards work becomes moreyielding. When work life bal-ance is able to attain therewould be better environmentaround the employees. Thiswill lead to improved qualityof life-both at work and fam-ily. Managing personal andprofessional roles is not aneither or choice but an addednew concept and dimensionof role taking with the sup-port of emotional intelli-gence, the most rewardinginput in dealing with people.

In the global liberalisedeconomic world EI appears askey factor for employees’sstability, talent retention andsustainable development.Work organizations bothpublic and private which isalso employee –centric alongwith organizational goals willlook into this aspect seri-ously. Many professionallymanaged corporates havetheir own self awarenessbased emotional balancetraining programmes in theform of art of living, art ofself becoming, meditation,yoga, exercise, socialinteraction,group activitiesand cross cultural integrationbased activities. There is nodenial that an individual’semotional and personal com-petencies can be a strong in-put in managing the compo-nents of work life balance likeself management, time man-agement, stress manage-ment, change management,technology management ,lei-sure management etc whichultimately foster self success,task success, people successand system success.n

The writer is Professor, Dept ofCommerce, University of Kerala

An actionplan forthe self

Redefine your identity

Accurate selfassessment

Choice making

Prioritise yourengagements

Reprioritise if situationwarrants

Strategise your actions

Sharpen your skills

Keep interpersonalconnectivity

Develop support systemat home

Care for a supportsystem at workplace

Fruitful balancing ofwork and socio familialcontexts

Make use of everytraining opportunity


The system of creatingrecords during thecourse of an officialtransaction orbusiness has certain

advantages and their valuecan be assessed only in termsof future use. None wouldlike to preserve or retain athing unless it possessescertain amount of utility.Their primary value lies intheir administrative utilityfor which they wereoriginally created. In order tocoordinate the energies of allthe agencies in anorganisation towards acommon goal, to check upwhat progress has been madeor how much has been left tobe done or there is nooverlapping of activities, therecords provide a continuoustangible shape to a particularscheme and without which itwould have been verydifficult to conceive orexecute a plan.

The administration of acountry, Department ororganisation is not basedonly on personalities. Newpeople come and old retirebut the administration doesnot suffer due to thesechanges. The records fullymirror the activities of aparticular organisation andby consulting them one canlearn as to what has beendone and how much remains

to be done. They ward off thepossibility of the duplicationof work. Records are the onlymeans by which it can bejudged whether a policy laiddown is being executed asintended and they providenecessary guide lines to theadministrators in dischargingtheir duties. For efficientplanning as well as forperformance of any function,it is essential to fixresponsibility on individuals,who should be responsible toa superior authority. It canonly be done when a correctrecord is kept of any piece ofwork done by an individual.The simplest way to escaperesponsibility has been todestroy records. Again withthe help of records theinnocence of an officer canalso be proved. Records showthe honesty, integrity,innocence or guilt of anofficer. Standardisation ofvarious administrativeprocedures is only possiblewhen a faithful record is keptof various organs andagencies of the Government.

It is sometimes assumedthat the non-current records,which are a number of yearsold are of no use to theadministrator, but useful forthe historian only. But this isnot true. There arise a goodnumber of cases in currentadministration in which the

information contained inarchives is often found to beof utmost value. Often apolicy which appears to benew, might have been reallyold, might have been tried inthe past and actually given upfor some reason or other.Again records mirror theexperience and opinions notof one or two, but of a seriesof administrators of thepresent. If the lessons of thepast are ignored, the penaltyis to be paid in future. Aboveall it should not be forgottenthat the records wereretained by theadministrators not so muchfor the use of historians as fortheir own use for carrying onan enlightenedadministration in the light ofthe past.

The most importantmatters affecting publicrights are generally found tohave their roots in the past.That being so, no policy couldbe revised no public rightsdefended, without a carefulstudy of past records. Forexample, various aspects ofsubjects like RyotwariSettlement, the separation ofjudiciary from the executiveetc. could be studied andunderstood properly onlywith the aid of the pastrecords. During the last 150years, numerous changes hadbeen introduced from time to

FEATURED DAYANANDAN



time in the method oftransacting Governmentbusiness, and the details ofthese changes are availableonly in archival material.

Secondly, the mostcharacteristic features of ademocracy is its insistencethat public business beconducted under the eyes ofthe public. AutocraticGovernments may not havemuch use for records butdemocratic set up is, to a greatextent, possible on theexistence of recorded acts ofthe Government. Theconstitution of a country isthe most sacred andauthentic record of the willand intentions of the people.The right to form unions orassociations, the right toworship according to one’sown likings are some of therights enshrined in theconstitution. Electoral rollsand other records of theElection Commission provethe right of the people to castvote and elect theirrepresentatives for formingthe Government. Recordsrelating to gifts, sale, transfer,purchase or mortgage ofproperties prove the right ofownership and are verynecessary for deciding adisputed claim through thecourt of law. Thus the valueof records for the protectionof fundamental rights of

citizens is beyond dispute.

No less is the importanceof records for a businessman,in the shape of his productionschedule, account books,balance sheet, sharecertificates, bonus and wagebooks, pass books and otherfinancial instruments toshow his financial solvency.There is now an increasingrealisation that for aprogressive improvement inthe performance ofCompanies and businesshouses, the maintenance oftheir records in an organisedway is absolutely essential.

After the records haveceased to be of day todayadministrative use, theyacquire a value totallydifferent from the one forwhich they were originallycreated. They form animportant source materialfor the genealogist andbiographer and make up thebackbone of history and basisfor reference books.

In the absence of thismaterial it would have beenimpossible to create historicalor biographical literaturebased on authentic sources.This material brings usnearer to our predecessorsand enables us to understandtheir aims and aspirationsand to learn about handicapsunder which they had towork. It is on the basis of

archives that we canappreciate their success orfailure in pursuing a certainpolicy. They are veritablestore house of wisdom andare ready to give us counsel,Whenever we need. We arefully aware as to how muchour historians are strugglingto reconstruct our pasthistory and how much easiertheir task would have becomeif sufficient volume ofarchival material had comedown to us.

Therefore it is the duty ofthe archivist to cater to theneeds of the scholars andhistorians after he hasfulfilled his obligations withregard to the administrator.As a matter of fact it is verydifficult to demarcate theduties of archivist towardsthe administrator and thescholar. They go side by side.The archivist would be failingin his duties if he cannotsatisfy the public urge foraccess, information andinterpretation of archives,which are an indispensablesource for biographical,genealogical and historicalliterature. For this purposethe archivist is required tobring out suitable referencemedia, in the form ofdescriptive lists, Calendarsand indexes, without which itwould be an up hill task tocarry out researches.n

The writer is Rtd. Archivist



GARDENINGSURESH MUTHUKULAM

TTTTThe Swiss cheese plant isa tropical ornamentalthat has aerial rootsgrowing down fromthe stem.The plant get

its name from its large, heartshaped leaves, which becomescovered with holes as it ageswhich looks exactly as theworld famous Swiss cheese.The plant christened Mosteradeliciosa or the “Fruit saladplant” is a native of tropicalforests of Southern Mexico. Itis called Fruit salad plant. Theplant also has a nick name“Window leaf” due to the splitsand perforations in its foliage.Itis also called “Split leafphilodendron”. The strikingheart shaped foliage ,alongwith its easy-to-grow, vigorousnature make it an eye catching

focal point in the gardens.

The Swiss cheese plant isa popular foliage house planteasily recognised by its largeglossy leaves that aredissected with deep splits andperforated with oblongholes.The plant in its naturalhabitat climbs high into thetrees and supports itselfabove the ground with longtentacle-like aerial roots.Theaerial roots grow downwardout of the thick stem andtake root where they touchthe ground. The plant prefersfull sun but will adapt topartial shade also.It enjoys amoist well drained soil.Theplant grows best in warmconditions and requires highhumidity.If we have enoughspace in the garden Swiss

TheSwissCheesePlant


cheese plant will be lush andbold in growth. The plantproduces white flowers,resembling Spathiphyllumwith half oval creamy whitespathe with a thick 25 cmlong spadix in the middle.The spadix develops intooccassionally green, scalyfruit shaped like cucumbers.

The main stem of thisplant can be cut back toprevent excessive height butthis will encourage side growth.If the aerial roots become longand straggly they can be tiedinto the main stem support ortrailed down into saucers ofwater to hydrate the plant.Suitable support should begiven to the Swiss cheese plantto prevent it from becomingtop-heavy and tipping thecontainer over. A strong moss-pole or moss stick is usuallyinserted in the containerbehind the plant for support.Use container with drainageholes. This can be kept moistto keep humidity. The Swisscheese plant can be planted inmedium enriched with organicmanure and also has gooddrainage. Over several years ofgrowth the plant can reach toa height of 3 metres with itsdramatically perforated large,leathery, glossy, heart shapedleaves reaching a size of 30 cmlong or more. Young plantshave smooth leaves. But as itmatures, the leaves developdeeply cut edges and wide slits.In its natural habitat theslashes, holes and cuts in thelarge leaves help the plant towithstand strong winds andheavy rains. Keep the leavesclean always by frequentsponging. This is an easy houseplant to maintain since ittolerates dry air and semi-shade than many other plants.

The plant can be

propagated by takinggrowing tip cuttings of amature plant and inserting itinto equal parts mixture ofpeat moss and sand. Cuttingsshould be taken just after aleaf node removing thebottom-most leaves. Enclosethe cuttings in a plastic bagand keep it warm in brightfiltered light. The plant canalso be multiplied by dividingsuckers into foot-longsections. These can be gentlypressed into the soil.Oncethese sprout they can betransplanted to anotherplace. Air layering is anothermethod for propagation.Simply wrap some moistsphagnum moss around thestem where an aerial root and

leaf axil are located. Tie a pieceof string around it to secureit in place. Then enclose thisin a clear plastic bag with airvents and tie it off at the top.Within a few months newroots are seen appearing.Atthis time clip it off andreplant suitably elsewhere.

Monstera deliciosaVariegata is a popular varietywith leaves splashed withwhite or cream-colouredpatches of irregular shapesand sizes. These dramaticplants are ideal for patios,conservatory or large roomsincluding star hotels,shopping malls, sky scraperflats or restaurants. Inlandscape provide Monsterawith a trellis. The variety

Albovariegata also havevariegated foliage.Sometimes the plant may getinfected with mealy bugs orspider mites. Remove themwith cotton swabs soaked insoapy water as soon as younotice them. Apart frombeing used as an ornamentalplant it has some other usestoo.In Peru the thick aerialroots are used as ropes whilein Mexico they are used formaking baskets. The deeplycut foliage has an artistic,sculptural appeal that adds adecorator-touch to any roomwhen grown indoors insuitable attractive containersproperly trimmed andtrained.n


Continued from Page 35

expertise, and providing mentioning, technology andservices;

Economic enablers

Economic competencies and their structures are vitalfor entrepreneurship. The mismatch between economicgrowth and structural change in the economy is adampening factor for entrepreneurship. Unless a highreturn on entrepreneurship is ensured, people will lookfor employment. The demand – side policies shouldfacilitate the emergence of vital and sustainable marketconditions that ensure returns on entrepreneurship by:

l Implementing the proposed knowledge-driven,sustainable development strategy;

l Offering tax benefits to start-ups;

Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship can be defined asentrepreneurship that aims to provide innovativesolutions to unsolved social problems. Therefore, it oftengoes hand in hand with social innovation processes,aimed at improving people’s lives by promoting socialchanges. Social entrepreneurs use an entrepreneurialapproach in their primary mission to tackle socialproblems. There has been a proliferation of socialentrepreneurs across the world. Yet, their importance isunderestimated. Two proposals are made here.

l Scope of entrepreneurs should be extended to includesocial entrepreneurs;

l Social entrepreneurs need to be developed tosupplement the governments’ initiatives to promoteentrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs have a crucial role in determining thefuture prosperity of Kerala. The entrepreneur issomeone who drives forward several forces that togetherstimulate economic growth, such as encouraginginnovative technology, offering opportunities for youngpeople alleviating poverty, and making a positive impacton society. While entrepreneurship is a private sectorphenomenon, the government can play a crucial role inpromoting an entrepreneurial ecosystem that isconductive to growth. This in turn requires promotionof an entrepreneurship culture by increasing the visibilityand emphasizing the role of entrepreneurship in creatingnew jobs, sparking innovations, and reducing poverty;promoting the perception of entrepreneurship as a careeroption right from primary school onwards;mainstreaming entrepreneurship in universityeducation; providing specialized training assistance;exploring credit guarantees and banking support;strengthening venture capital and angel investors;offering a direct support scheme; designing impact, stableand multi-model incentives for entrepreneurs; providingsingle-window services; simplifying taxes andregulations; and providing professional support throughincubators.n

GOVERNMENT

ORDERS

Suraksha@SchoolAdministrative Sanction has accorded for the

Suraksha@school project of Kerala State Women’s

Development Corporation at a total cost of Rs. 50

lakh by debiting the expenditure to the head of

account 2235-02-103-90(02) in the current financial

year under the Flagship Programme on Gender

Awareness, subject to certain conditions.

G.O.(Rt) No. 726/2014/SJD dated tvpm08.12.2014

Renewal of GAIS forfishermenSancation has been accorded for the renewal of

Group Accident Insurance Scheme to Fishermen and

Allied Workers for one more year w.e.f. 17.12.2014

and also for signing an agreement with M/S United

India Insurance Company at a premium rate of

Rs.143 per head + ST of 12.36% of premium and

also accorded sanction for releasing an amount of

Rs. 3,79,69,062 from the Head of Account 2405-

00-800-82(P) and an amount of Rs. 100 lakh from

the Head of Account 2405-00-800-50(P) for the

renewal of Group Insurance Scheme of Fishermen

and Allied workers respectively.

GO(Rt) No.1104/14/F&PD dated tvpm 16.12.2014

Kerala EnvironmentalConsultative Committee-constitutedThe government have constituted a consultative

body viz. Kerala Environmental Consultative

Committee with Minister for Environment and

Forest as Chairman and Principal Secretary,

Environment as Convenor to facilitate co-ordination

during the implementation of the Participatory

Environmental Action Project.

GO(Ms) No. 17/2014/Envt. dated tvpm19.12.2014

For details of Govt. Orders and Circularsplease visit www.prd.kerala.gov.inwww.kerala.gov.inwww.finance.kerala.gov.in

Kc january 2015

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