India gang rape victim's father: I want the world to know my daughter's name is Jyoti Singh Pandey

5 Jan 2013 20:56

Devastated dad tells The Sunday People he hopes revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived such attacks

Badri Singh Pandey, father of Jyoti Singh Pandey. Cover Asia Press/Shariq Allaqaband

She is known to the world only as India’s Daughter following her sickening gang rape and murder.
But today, with permission of her devastated father, we can reveal her name: Jyoti Singh Pandey.
Brave dad Badri, 53, told The Sunday People: “We want the world to know her real name.
“My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself.
“I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter.”
We interviewed Badri and his family in his ancestral village of Billia in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Badri Singh Pandey, father of Jyoti Singh Pandey, with his family

Cover Asia Press / Shariq Allaqaband

 They have retreated there to grieve away from their Delhi home – a place that will constantly remind them of the barbaric sexual attack Jyoti, 23, was subjected to when she and a male friend were lured on to a bus.
His wife Asha, 46, was too shell-shocked to talk to us.
Badri said: “At first I wanted to see the men responsible face to face but I don’t want to any more. I just want to hear that the courts have punished them and they will be hanged.
“Death for all six of them. These men are beasts. They should be made an example of and that society will not allow such things to happen.”
Recalling the day he found out about his only daughter’s ordeal, Badri said he had just returned home after 10:30pm on December 16 from his shift at Delhi airport where he works as a loader.
His wife was worried after Jyoti, a medical school graduate, had not returned home from the cinema.

Indians participate in a candlelight vigil

AP

 Badri said: “We started calling her mobile and her friend’s mobile but there was no answer.
“Then at 11.15pm we got a call from the hospital in Delhi telling me my daughter had been in an accident.”
Badri asked a friend to take him on a motorbike.
He said: “When I first saw her she was in the bed with her eyes closed.
“I put my hand on her forehead and called her name. She slowly opened her eyes and started crying and said she was in pain.
“I held my tears. I told her not to worry, have strength and everything will be all right.”

An Indian family lights candles in memory of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India

AP

 At the time Badri still didn’t know what had happened. A policeman finally explained. Jyoti and her friend Awindra Pandey, 28, had boarded a bus to get home but had been taken on a two-and-a-half hour ride to hell by the driver, his assistant and four passengers.
Both were battered with iron bars and Jyoti was repeatedly raped before they were stripped and dumped on a road leading to Delhi airport – yards from where Badri was working.
He said: “I immediately called my wife and sons and told them to come to the hospital. But I couldn’t tell them about the rape.”
For the first ten days Jyoti was in and out of consciousness and it was hopeful she would survive. Badri said: “Doctors did their best to save her. She spoke a few times but mostly through gestures. She had a feeding pipe in her mouth making it difficult for her to speak.
But she did write on some paper that she wanted to live, she wanted to survive and stay with us. But it was fate that had the last say in the end.”
Jyoti gave the police two statements, but Badri was too distraught to sit in as he couldn’t listen to what his daughter had been subjected to.

Five men have been formally charged with the murder, kidnap and gang rape of Jyoti

 “My wife was with her through the statements but she cried so much after hearing it all,” Badri said.
“She then told me what happened. I don’t have the words to describe the incident. All I can say is they’re not human, not even animals. They’re not of this world.
“It was just gruesome and I hope no one ever goes through what she had to endure.
“She cried a lot, she was in a lot of pain. And as soon as she saw her mother and brothers she cried again.
“But after that she was a courageous girl, even trying to console us and give us hope that everything will be all right.”
Doctors were forced to remove Jyoti’s intestines and as her conditioned worsened, they flew her to Singapore for specialist care on Boxing Day.
Badri said: “I told her everything would be OK and we’ll soon be back home. She was excited when we talked about going home and she smiled.
“I put my hand on her forehead, she asked me if I’d had any dinner and then she gestured for me to go to sleep. I held her hand and kissed it. I told her to take rest and not to worry and she closed her eyes.”

Jyoti was moved to Mount Elizabeth Hospital for medical treatment before her death

Rex

 As Jyoti battled for life, thousands took to the streets to demand the hanging of the six accused and a new anti-rape law. But three days later on December 29 she had a fatal heart attack.
Badri said: “I so desperately wanted her to survive, even though she would have to live with a memory of that attack and get through her trauma.
“We’re so devastated that she’s gone. There’s a huge void in our lives. She was the centre of our universe. Our lives revolved around her.
“Her absence is so painful, a future without her is unimaginable.”
Badri said Jyoti’s friend Awindra was not her boyfriend – just a very brave friend who tried to save her.
He said: “There was no question of her marrying because we belong to different castes.
“She never expressed a desire to marry. She was concentrating on her studies and wanted a job first.”
Badri also revealed that Jyoti often mentioned how much Awindra tried to save her.

A participant lights a candle next to a sign during a vigil for Jyoti

Reuters

 “She kept telling her mother he tried his best to help but they kept beating him with a rod.”
Badri now cherishes the memories of his daughter. He remembers her dream of being a doctor.
He said: “I told her I can’t afford to pay for her to do such subjects but she was determined. She wanted to be a doctor and earn lots of money and go overseas a lot.”
When Badri first moved to Delhi in 1983 he earned just 150 Rupees a month – the equivalent of £1.70 today.
But he sold some land to pay for his daughter’s studies and saved as much as possible from his 5,700 Rupees (£65) a month he now earns.
Badri said: “It’s hard living in Delhi on my wages, very hard. But Jyoti always said she would change all of that. She wanted to change our lives once she got a job.”
Jyoti had only just finished her four-year course in physiotherapy at college outside Delhi. She was doing an internship when she was attacked.
Her brothers, Gaurav Singh, 20, and Saurav Singh, 15, were close to their big sister and cannot image how they will cope.
Gaurav said: “Life is going to be so difficult without her. Without her guidance I don’t know what to do or how to go about life again.”
Badri and all the family have been touched by the way the nation has supported them.

Indian protesters burn an effigy depicting rapists during a rally in New Delhi

Getty

 He said: “The people of India have given us strength to cope up with our loss. I feel she’s not just my daughter but also India’s daughter.
“I used to read about rape incidents in the newspapers but never digested it much. We’re so thankful to the people who came out to protest against the barbarity.”
DNA tests have linked five men and a 17-year-old from the bus with rape and murder. The men will appear at the District Court in the Saket area of the Indian capital tomorrow. The 17-year-old will be tried separately as a juvenile.
Badri now hopes mothers and fathers will teach their sons to respect women.
He said: “The police cannot handle this on their own. But parents need to keep an eye on their children too.”
Badri’s face lit up when he spoke of Jyoti’s dreams and invited us to look through his family album. Each photo showed his beautiful daughter smiling. In most she is wears western clothes, which she favoured over the traditional sari. She also always wore her long, dark shiny hair down and flowing – never tied up.
In respect with Badri’s wishes he has asked us not to picture her.
Releasing a photo of her is for another day.
Indian law prohibits naming a rape victim unless she authorises it or, if she is dead, her family agrees to it.
At the moment it is enough for the devastated family to sanction the release to the world of their precious daughter’s name. And they hope a hospital will one day be named in her honour.

 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/india-gang-rape-victims-father-1521289

India’s 50,000 Missing Children

NEW DELHI (AFP) Friday, October 05, 2012 5:00:58 PM

Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/File

The photographs of missing Indian children are displayed at a police station in New Delhi. According to recent crime statistics, 14 children go missing in New Delhi every day, at least six of whom are victims of human trafficking.

Thirteen-year-old Shivam Singh promised his mother he would be back to do his homework as he ran to get some sweets. He never returned, becoming one of the 50,000 children who go missing every year in India.

"My son left his books open, put on his sandals, combed his hair and ran out," Pinky Singh recalls tearfully of the fateful evening in July when Shivam popped out of the house. "It was the last time I saw him."

Three months on, perched on the edge of her son's bed and surrounded by his toys and sports trophies, Pinky Singh is terrified by what may have befallen him.

"I just pray that he is not forced into drugs or begging. He is a very innocent and studious boy."

According to recent crime data, 14 children go missing in New Delhi every day, at least six of whom are victims of human trafficking.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says around 1.2 million children are victims of child trafficking across the world every year.

Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/File
Religious threads adorn a photograph of missing Indian child, Shivam Singh, at his family's residence in New Delhi, pictured on September 12. Thirteen-year-old Shivam Singh promised his mother he would be back to do his homework as he ran to get some sweets. He never returned, becoming one of the 50,000 children who go missing every year in India.

India's mega cities such as Delhi and Mumbai are a particular target for criminal gangs that police say traffick children in much the same way they sell drugs.

In August this year, the country's top court ordered the federal and state governments to provide data on 50,000 missing children after a petition blamed them for failing to solve the trafficking of children by organised gangs.

Police officials said they have rescued hundreds of children from factories and busted large-scale child prostitution rackets but they accept they are sometimes overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge.

The country's federal detectives admitted last year that there were 815 gangs comprising of more than 5,000 members involved in the kidnapping of children for prostitution and begging across India.

"Very often we find kidnapped children are forced to work as cheap labour in factories, shops and homes. They get exploited as sex slaves or are pushed into the child porn industry," Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP.

"These gangs target urban slum children because they can easily track their movement, lure them with food and kidnap them.

Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/File
This combination picture taken on September 12, shows Indian women Ranjana Singh (left) posing with a photograph of her missing child Saket Kumar, while Pinky and Dinesh Kumar Singh (right) posing with a photograph of their missing child Shivam Singh.

"Some poor parents are scared to even report the case to the police and most do not have photographs of their children to submit as an evidence," said Bhagat.

In 2006, body parts of 17 children stuffed in plastic bags were found by the police in Nithari, a suburb near New Delhi, a horrifying case that shocked the nation and triggered a raging debate on the safety of children in India.

Twelve-year-old Sharath Kumar knows better than most of the dangers that lurk.

The son of a small shopkeeper in New Delhi, Sharath was nine when he became a kidnap target while waiting to be picked up from school by his mother.

"The old man covered my face with a black cloth, he dragged me and threatened that he would kill me if I raised an alarm," said Kumar.

The abduction however was foiled when several youths heard Kumar crying out for help. They managed to rescue the youngster and reunite him with his mother.

"My son was just plain lucky. He was in a state of shock and cried for hours when he came home," said Kumar's mother, S. Laxmi.

The incident taught Laxmi a crucial lesson.

Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/File
Pinky and Dinesh Kumar Singh pose with a photograph of their missing child Shivam Singh at their residence in New Delhi, on September 12. Thirteen-year-old Shivam Singh promised his mother he would be back to do his homework as he ran to get some sweets. He never returned, becoming one of the 50,000 children who go missing every year in India.

"When my son was kidnapped, the police demanded his latest photograph and I had nothing to offer. I kicked myself and cursed my husband for our carelessness," she told AFP.

She now gets portrait-size photographs taken of her two boys every six months.

Investigators say the absence of photographic evidence makes it impossible for them to trace the child.

"Most kidnappers target children aged between six to 13. We cannot trace the child without photographs," said V. Renganathan, a senior police officer in New Delhi.

Renganathan is the founder of an initiative called Pehchaan (Recognition) in which policemen take pictures of children in slum areas for their records and also provide copies to the youngsters' parents.

"The idea is to safeguard vulnerable children belonging to the poorer sections, millions of families in this country are too poor to even think about taking pictures," said Renganathan.

For Pinky Singh, who provided pictures of her missing son to the police, the wait for news just goes on.

"Every morning I wake up only to wait for my son's return and I fall asleep waiting for him. Waiting is the only way of life for me."

AFP (http://s.tt/1pdSa)

Intel's Ivy Bridge chips launch using '3D transistors'

 

Intel's new Ivy Bridge processors use a new tri-gate transistor technology to boost processing power while reducing the amount of energy needed

Intel is launching its Ivy Bridge family of processors - the first to feature what it describes as a "3D transistor". The American firm says the innovation allows it to offer more computational power while using less energy.

The initial release includes 13 quad-core processors, most of which will be targeted at desktop computers.

Further dual core processors, suitable for ultrabooks - thin laptops - will be announced "later this spring".Intel and PC manufacturers expect the release to drive a wave of new sales."The momentum around the system design is pretty astonishing," Intel's PC business chief, Kirk Skaugen, who is spearheading the launch, told the BBC."There are more than 300 mobile products in development and more than 270 different desktops, many of which are all-in-one designs.
"This is the world's first 22 nanometre product and we'll be delivering about 20% more processor performance using 20% less average power."

The firm has already built three factories to fabricate the new chips and a fourth will come online later this year."This is Intel's fastest ramp ever," Mr Skaugen added."There will be 50% more supply than we had early in the product cycle of our last generation, Sandy Bridge, a year ago. And we're still constrained based on the amount of demand we're seeing in the marketplace."

Low power The fact that Intel's new transistor technology - the on/off switches at the heart of its chips - are more power-efficient could be crucial to its future success.To date it has been largely shut out of the smartphone and tablet markets, where devices are most commonly powered by chips based on designs by Britain's Arm Holdings.Arm now threatens to encroach on Intel's core market with the release of Windows 8 later this year.

Microsoft has decided to let one variant of its operating system work on Arm's architecture, paving the way for manufacturers to build laptops targeted at users who prioritise battery life over processing speeds.
Tri-gate transistors Intel hopes a new transistor technology, in development for 11 years, will help it challenge Arm's reputation for energy efficiency.
Bell Labs created the first transistor in 1947, and it was about a quarter of the size of an American penny.Since then, engineers have radically shrunk them in size - so there are now more than one billion fitted inside a single processor.
Moore's law - named after Intel's co-founder Gordon Moore - stated that the number of transistors that could be placed on an integrated circuit should double roughly every two years without a big leap in cost.However, transistors had become so small that there were fears they would become unreliable if they were shrunk much further.

Intel's 3D tri-gate transistors

Traditionally transistors have used "flat" planar gates designed to switch on and off as quickly as possible, letting the maximum amount of current flow when they are switched on, and minimum when they are switched off.
The transistors' gates in Ivy Bridge chips are just 22nm long (1nm = 1 billionth of a metre), meaning you could fit more than 4,000 of them across the width of a human hair.
Intel plans to incorporate 14nm transistors by 2013 and 10nm by 2015.
The problem is that the smaller that planar gates become, the more energy leakage occurs unless their switching speed is compromised.
Intel's solution has been to make the transistors "3D" - replacing the "2D" gates with super-thin fins that rise up from the silicon base. Three gates are wrapped around each fin - two on each side and the other across the top.
There are several advantages beyond the fact that more transistors can be packed into the same space.

• Current leakage is reduced to near zero while the gates can still switch on and off more than 100 billion times per second.

• Less power is needed to carry out the same action.

• The innovation only adds 2-3% to the cost of making a chip.

 

Traditional planar chip design (left) and Intel's new Tri-Gate technology (right).

"A lot of people had thought that Moore's law was coming to an end," said Mr Skaugen."What Intel has been able to do is instead of just shrinking the transistor in two dimensions, we have been able to create a three-dimensional transistor for the first time.

"For the user, that means the benefits of better performance and energy use will continue for as far as Intel sees on the road map."
Graphics gains Mr Skaugen said that those who use the integrated GPU (graphics processing unit) on the chips, rather than a separate graphics card, would see some of the biggest gains.

He said the processing speed had been significantly boosted since Sandy Bridge, meaning devices would be capable of handling high-definition video conferences and the 4K resolution offered by top-end video cameras.
The GPU's transcoding rate also benefits from the upgrade, allowing users to recode video more quickly if they want to send clips via email or put them on a smartphone.The chips also offer new hardware-based security facilities as well as built-in USB 3.0 support. This should make it cheaper for manufacturers to offer the standard which allows quicker data transfers to hard disks, cameras and other peripherals.

Chip challenge

 It all poses quite a challenge to Intel's main competitor in the PC processor market - Advanced Micro Devices.
AMD plans to reduce the amount of power its upcoming Piledriver chips consume by using "resonant clock mesh technology" - a new process which recycles the energy used by the processor. However, full details about how it will work and a release date are yet to be announced.
One industry analyst told the BBC that Intel was expected to retain its lead.
"AMD did briefly nudge ahead of Intel in the consumer space in the early 2000s at the time of Windows XP, but since then Intel has been putting in double shifts to break away from its rival," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at the consultants Davies Murphy Group Europe.

"Intel is making leaps ahead using proven technology, while AMD is trying to use drawing board stuff. So there's less certainty AMD will succeed, and PC manufacturers may not want to adopt its technology in any volume, at least initially."As advanced as Ivy Bridge sounds, the one thing it is not is future-proof. Intel has already begun to discuss its successor, dubbed Haswell.
"We are targeting 20 times better battery life on standby - always on, always connected," Mr Skaugen said about the update, due for release in 2013.
"So you can get all your files and emails downloaded onto your PC while it's in your bag, and still get more than 10 days of standby and all-day battery life."

Courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17785464

Cancer typifies unmoored instability: Pulitzer winner

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) Cancer is often described as a 'modern' illness because its metaphors are so modern. It is a disease of overproduction, of fulminant growth tipped into the abyss of no control, says Pulitzer Prize winning writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee in his book, 'The Emperor of Maladies: A Biography of Cancer'.

'The notion of cancer as an affliction that belongs paradigmatically to the 20th century is reminiscent, as Susan Sontag argued so powerfully in her book, 'Illness as Metaphor', of another disease once considered emblematic of another era: Tuberculosis in the 19th century,' Mukherjee compares.

'Both drain vitality, both stretch out the encounter with death, in both cases 'dying', even more than death, defines the illness,' Mukherjee says.

According to the specialist, 'cancer is an expansionist disease'.

It invades the tissue; 'sets up colonies in hostile landscapes, seeking sanctuary in one organ and then migrating to another.

'It lives dangerously, inventively, fiercely, territorially, cannily, and defensively - at times as if teaching us how to survive. To confront cancer is to confront another species, one perhaps more adapted to survive then even we are,' Mukherjee says.

In writing this book, he started off by imagining the project as a 'history' of cancer.

'But it felt inescapably as if I were not writing about something but about someone. My subject daily morphed into something that resembled an individual - an enigmatic, if somewhat deranged, image in a mirror. This was not so much a medical history of an illness, but something more personal, more visceral in biography,' he writes.

To begin with, every biographer must confront the birth of his subject, the writer says. 'Where was cancer born?' 'How old is cancer?'

In 1862, Edwin Smith, part scholar and part huckster, antique forger and Egyptologist, bought (some say stole) a 15-foot-long papyrus from an antique seller in Luxor in Egypt.

'The papyrus was in dreadful condition, still crumbling, yellow pages filled with cursive Egyptian writing. It is now thought to have been written in the 17th century BC, a transcription of a manuscript dating back to 2500 BC,' Mukherjee says.

Translated in 1930, the papyrus was thought to contain the collected teachings of Imhotep, a great Egyptian physician who lived around 2625 BC. The physician listed 48 cases of illnesses found during his time.

'Describing case forty-three, Imhotep advises, 'if you examine having bulging masses on breast; if you place your hand upon breast and find them to be cool, there being no fever, they have no granulations, contain no fluid, yet they feel protuberant to your touch, you should say (concerning him): This is a case of bulging masses I have to contend with',' Mukherjee says in his book.

Imhotep was referring to breast tumours.

And under the section therapy, he offered only a single sentence: 'There is none.'

Mukherjee says: 'In 500 BC, Persian Queen Atossa self-prescribes the most primitive form of mastectomy (for breast cancer) which was performed by her Greek slave.'

Atossa's disease and her war against it serves as the cornerstone for cancer research over the centuries - evolving with time.

The book is divided into seven chapters.

In the summer of 2003, after having completed his residency in medicine and graduate work in cancer immunology, Mukherjee began an advanced training in cancer medicine at the Dana Faber Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

'I had initially envisioned writing a journal of that year - a view from the trenches of cancer treatment. But the quest soon grew into a large exploratory journey that carried me into the depths not only of science and medicine, but of culture, history, literature and politics - into cancer's past and its future,' the writer says.

The book, published in India by Harper-Collins, is priced at Rs.499.

Ten things to do if you lose your job

Ten things to do if you lose your job
ReutersPosted: Feb 12, 2009 at 1656 hrs IST

Indian professionals find going tough in...Stimulus will create 4 mn jobs: ObamaLG Electronics may axe some jobs
London Unemployment is rising towards two million and the outlook looks bleak. Here are 10 things to remember if you have lost your job:
DON'T PANIC
If you have been made redundant, then remember that chances are it wasn't your fault. The current financial crisis is a global event. You are not alone. Stay positive and don't wallow in your situation. It is time to dust yourself off, regroup, think about what you really want to do with your life and realise that, even though it probably doesn't feel like it now, this could really be a blessing in disguise.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Your employers have to follow stringent guidelines when making any redundancies. First of all, they need to give you a written explanation of why you are losing your job. They are also required to prove that the decision was taken objectively and not because of factors like age or gender. They should also try to find you another position in the company if possible.
It is likely that you should be due some compensation. You will only receive redundancy pay if you have worked at the organisation for more than two years but any less than this and you will still be entitled to notice pay (a week's wages for every year you have been in your job). If you are eligible for redundancy pay, then your employer needs to provide you with a written explanation of how the final amount was calculated.
If, however, you feel that you have been treated unfairly and you want to contest your employer's decision, then you need to act within six months of the initial notice of redundancy.
PLAN YOUR FINANCES
Now that you can no longer rely on your regular salary payments, it is even more important then ever to manage your finances sensibly. If you do receive a decent redundancy payment or you have some savings, think carefully about how you want to use them. You might want to pay down some debt, such as credit cards or other expensive personal loans.
BE HONEST WITH PEOPLE
While it is scary to suddenly find yourself out of work and potentially unable to meet your mortgage, credit card or other repayments, the worst thing you can do is not tell anyone. Your lender may actually be able to help you, so long as you tell them as soon as you can. Chances are they will offer you a three-month (possibly longer) freeze on payments. Energy providers also have such provisions in place to help customers.
CUT OUT LUXURIES
Gym memberships, subscriptions to satellite television or any other regular payments soon add up and you will need this money to live on.
FIND NEW SOURCES OF INCOME
Like most people who are made redundant, you will want to find a new job as quickly as possible. Until then, however, there may be alternative income streams that could help you in the short-term.
CLAIM WHAT YOU ARE DUE
There is still a certain stigma attached to claiming benefits, but don't let your pride stand in the way of any payments you are entitled to.
REVAMP YOUR CV
Have a good think about everything you have achieved and make sure anything worthwhile ends up on the page. Be concise and keep your CV to two pages and remember that you are selling yourself, so do not be bashful.
UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS
While there is probably little or nothing you could have done to avoid losing your job, there is plenty you can do to help you get a new one. Retraining or improving your skill set it one of them and this is one of the best ways to spend your free time as you search for a new job. Be sure that you know what it is that you want to do -- it may be that you want to go in a totally new direction. Your local university or college may offer courses that interest you, so contact them directly or go to direct.gov.uk for a list of available courses.
SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY
Finally, it is important that you think of redundancy as an opportunity rather than a disaster or a failure on your part. It may have been the case that you did not like your job anyway but perhaps lacked the confidence to make the change you always wanted. Now that the decision has been forced upon you, you can now potentially do anything you want. Start your own business, work abroad, go back to university or start again. Who knows, losing your job could be a blessing in disguise.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Ten-things-to-do-if-you-lose-your-job/422663/

The lotus in the swamp

The lotus in the swamp
Mohanbir S. Sawhney November 27, 2008

UNUSUAL ENTREPRENEURS

These are tough times for entrepreneurs. We are going through one of the worst economic crises in history. The meltdown in financial markets has plunged economies around the world into a recession.

Entrepreneurs are finding that investors have all but disappeared and revenues are declining as customers cut back spending. Given these woes in the capital markets and the economy, it seems that this is a very bad time to start a new company or to grow a start-up business.

Yet, history suggests that difficult economic conditions may actually be the best of times for entrepreneurship. Like a lotus that thrives in a dirty swamp, some of the most innovative companies have emerged during deep recessions.

And just as the lotus relies on the swamp for its nutrition, startup companies can actually benefit from difficult economic conditions. The Great Depression of 1929 was the most severe and prolonged economic crisis the world has ever seen.

And yet, it was during these times that great companies like Motorola and Texas Instruments were founded. Ironically, it was during the Depression that Fortune was launched, when there wasn’t much business to talk about. The next biggest recession the United States experienced was in 1982, as the economy shrank by 2.2 per cent and unemployment spiked at 10.8 per cent.

However, it was during this time that we saw the birth of the IBM PC, the founding of Sun Microsystems, and the creation of Cisco Systems. These events gave birth to the PC industry, the computer workstation industry and the networking industry.

Twenty years later, as the US was again mired in recession in 2001, Apple launched its first retail store and introduced its revolutionary iPod digital music player. As Steve Jobs noted, Apple does not pay attention to the state of the economy. Instead, it believes that as long as it keeps putting great products in front of customers, they will continue to open their wallets.

Why are difficult economic times a good time for start-ups and innovation? There are several reasons. First, when funding is easy to come by, as it was during the dotcom boom, there is a lot of noise and confusion in the marketplace.

Many dubious business concepts get funded, and it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Start-ups are locked into a mad race to “get big fast”, even though they cannot absorb the pace of growth that is demanded by impatient investors.

In my experience, far more start-up companies die of indigestion than of starvation. When you get too much money too fast, you end up spending it in foolish ways. And you don’t have as much pressure to make the business profitable, because you can always raise more money.

Just as homeowners in the US got into trouble when banks lent them more money than they should have, venture investors tend to pressure start-up companies to accept more capital than they need, which can end up getting them into trouble in the long run.

Another reason that recessions are good for start-ups is that customers become more demanding about value for money. So start-up companies are forced to ask themselves hard questions about what value they offer to their customers and why customers should do business with them.

When a market is growing rapidly, it doesn’t take much to sell your products and services. After all, a rising tide lifts all fortunes. But, as the legendary investor Warren Buffet observed, it is when the tide goes out that you find out who has been swimming naked.

Finally, a recession in an industry often signals that the current technologies and current business models are running out of steam, and that it is time for disruptive new technologies and innovative business models to take hold. For instance, the Desktop computing paradigm grew out of the declining fortunes of the Mainframe computing paradigm.

Similarly, we are witnessing a slowdown in the Enterprise Software market, but at the same time, we are witnessing the emergence of Software as a Service (SaaS) paradigm and the Open Source Software paradigm, which have the potential to usher in a new era of software, applications and devices. Take the mobile device industry, for example.

While the fortunes of conventional mobile handset manufacturers like Motorola and Sony Ericsson are declining, we are seeing the creation of open-source mobile devices based on Google’s operating system, location-based services on mobile devices, mobile gaming, mobile advertising and mobile commerce.

Entrepreneurship may actually thrive in difficult economic times, because entrepreneurs need to be more disciplined

Customers’ needs do not disappear in a recession. There is always room to innovate, and even more room when the existing paradigm is looking tired.

So the spirit of entrepreneurship remains alive and well even when things look gloomy. And entrepreneurship in India is no exception. Despite all the bad news we read about in the newspapers and the breathtaking decline of the Indian stock market, the Indian entrepreneurship scene is more vibrant than ever before.

A case in point— the Tata NEN Hottest Start-ups contest that is currently ongoing has received over 500 entries. The range of industries and markets these start-ups represent is amazingly diverse—from traditional domains like IT, Internet, media, outsourcing and retail to newer domains like healthcare, cleantech, biotech and agribusiness. And the fundamentals of the Indian economy remain solid.

The Indian Internet audience grew to 28 million users by April 2008, a 27 per cent increase from the previous year. The mobile subscriber industry in India continues to be on a tear, reaching 315 million subscribers by September 2008, with 10 million new subscribers being added every month.

And despite the economic slowdown, the organised retail market continues to hold immense opportunity as it still stands at only 4 per cent of the total retail market. The silver lining to the devaluation of the Indian rupee is that revenues for start-up companies focused on the US and Europe are almost 25 per cent higher in rupee terms than they were six months ago.

Clearly, there is no shortage of opportunities in the market. And there is no shortage of talented and passionate entrepreneurs who are pursuing these opportunities.

However, entrepreneurs do need to recalibrate their strategies for difficult economic times, as investment capital becomes scarce and the marketplace slows down. They need to think differently about their markets, their offerings, their approach to funding, and their operations. Here are some tips for surviving and thriving in difficult economic times:

Grow organically: Think about how you can grow your start-up company with minimal or no external capital. This might sound difficult, but on deeper reflection, investment capital is usually required for two reasons: to fund product development and to get big fast in a competitive race.

I advise entrepreneurs to begin with project-based services that can provide quick revenues and lessen the cash burn, and then gradually invest in product development as they generate resources organically. The mantra is “servicise to learn, and then productise to earn”.

Further, in difficult economic times, getting big fast may not be essential, because the race will be won not by those who run the fastest, but by those who last the longest. So you can afford to slow down and pace yourself to run a marathon, instead of burning out quickly in a frantic sprint fuelled by venture capital.

Sharpen your value proposition: As customers become more demanding, you can’t afford to be wishy-washy about why they should be doing business with your company. You need to communicate your value proposition clearly, crisply and concisely.

What benefits do you offer? When, where and who should be using your products? What situations or scenarios have you optimised your offerings for? How are your offerings better than competing alternatives, including the alternative of not buying anything at all?

How can you make it easier for customers to do business with you? How can you reduce their perceived risk of using your products or doing business with a small company? These are questions you should pay close attention to.

Diversify your markets: For a start-up company, it is a good idea not to have all your eggs in one basket. If you focus exclusively on one market, you are more vulnerable to sharp downturns in that market or in currency fluctuations.

For instance, the US market looked very lucrative a few years ago for Indian IT companies, but an over-dependence on the US is now hurting them. As an entrepreneur, think about how you can make your products and services relevant to the Indian market as well as to developed markets.

Variablise your assets: Fixed assets are the bane of start-up companies. You need loads of capital to acquire fixed assets, and they greatly limit your flexibility once you have acquired them. So, whether it is real estate, computers, software, office equipment or even staffing, think ten times before you put a single rupee into the ground.

Instead of buying servers and setting up data centres, use virtual “cloud computing” services like. Rent your office space, your office furniture and your office staff.

Use part-timers where you can to reduce your burn rate. I have seen start-up companies even time-share their executive management— hiring a part-time CFO or CMO until they have the resources and the need for highly-paid executive talent.

Variablising your assets makes you leaner and more agile, putting you in a better position to ride out the storm.

The spirit of entrepreneurship lives on in times good and bad. Entrepreneurship may thrive in difficult economic times, because entrepreneurs need to be more disciplined, more focused, and less distracted by competition.

If entrepreneurs can adapt their strategies to position themselves for the downturn, the same economic headwinds that are slowing them down can become the wind at their back, propelling them to the Promised Land.

—The author is McCormick Tribune Professor of Technology and director, Centre for Research in Technology and Innovation, Kellogg School of Management.

http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=82&id=21101&Itemid=1&sectionid=3&completeview=1

Courtesy: India Today

வெளிச்சம் வெளியே இல்லை

வெளிச்சம் வெளியே இல்லை - மு. மேத்தா

வீட்டுக்கு வெளியே ஓர் ஓரமாய்த் தயங்கித் தயங்கி உட்கார்ந்திருக்கிறது நம்பிக்கை வெகு நேரமாய்!

கவலையும் பயமும் என்னைக் கட்டிப் பிடித்துக்கொண்டு கட்டிலில் என்னுடன்.

சாயங்காலத்துக் காற்றுப் போல் உரிமையோடு உள்ளே நுழையும் சலனம்.
விரக்தி- ஒரு போர்வையாய் என் தலை முதல் கால்வரை போர்த்தியிருக்கும்.
வீட்டுக்கு வெளியே ஓர் ஓரமாய்த் தயங்கித் தயங்கி உட்கார்ந்திருக்கிறது நம்பிக்கை வெகு நேரமாய்!

நம்பிக்கையிடம் சலனமும் பெரு மூச்சும் சண்டை பிடிக்க பயம் ஓடிச்சென்று பரிகாசம் செய்கிறது:

"ஐயன்மீர் யாரோ? ஓ... பழைய நண்பரா?
பார்வையாளர் நேரம் முடிந்துவிட்டது... பயனெதுவும் இல்லை.

போவீர்... வருவீர் போய் வருவீர்!"

வேக வேகமாய் வந்த விரக்தி விரட்டுகிறது:

"அவசியம் பார்க்க வேண்டுமென்று அடம் பிடிக்காதே.

அவரோ - நூறு வகையான நோய்களில் நொந்து போய்ப்

படுத்த படுக்கையில் படுபாடு படுகிறார்.

இன்றோ நாளையோ அவர் இறந்த பிறகு

தந்தி கொடுக்கிறோம் தாராளமாய் வா.

இப்போது உடனே இடத்தைக் காலிசெய்!"

நகரா திருக்கும் நம்பிக்கை மோதும் குரலில் முழக்கமிடுகிறது.

"உள்ளே நுழைவதைத் தடுக்கிறீர்கள்...

எனது உரத்த குரலினை என்ன செய்வீர்கள்?"

பயமும் கவலையும் பஞ்சினைத் தேடின... என் காதுகளை அடைக்கக் கனத்த முயற்சிகள்...

குறுக்கீடுகளைத் தாண்டி நம்பிக்கை குரல் கொடுக்கிறது:

"தோழனே! ஓ! என் தோழனே! நான் தான் உனது நம்பிக்கை நண்பன்.

சுதந்திரக் கொடியின் சுடரொளியாக உச்சிக் கம்பத்தில் உயரப் பறந்த நீ ஏன் இப்போது

அரைக் கம்பத்தில் இறங்கி அழத் தொடங்குகிறாய்?

அவிழ்க்க முடியாமல் உன்னை அவதிப் படுத்தும் விரக்தியின் முடிச்சுகளை வெட்டி எறி!

உன்னுடைய புண்களின் மீது புன்னகையைத் தடவு!

எதிர் காலத்தை எழுதுவதற்கு உன் மனதில் பட்ட காயங்களில் மை தொட்டுக் கொள்!

போர்வைகளில் ஏன் இப்படிப் புதைந்து கிடக்கிறாய்?

விழித்து நீ எழுந்தால் விலங்குகளே நொறுங்கும்!

சின்ன நூல்கண்டா உன்னைச் சிறைப்படுத்தி வைப்பது?"

நம்பிக்கையின் வார்த்தை மின்சாரம் நரம்புகளில் பாய்ந்து

உறக்கத்தைக் கலைத்து உசுப்பிவிட

விரக்திப் போர்வையை வீசி எறிந்தேன் -

கவலை பயங்களை ஓரத்தில் விழும்படி உதறி எழுந்தேன்

தடைகளை மீறித் தாழ்ப்பாள் திறந்து

அருமை நண்பனை உள்ளே அழைத்தேன்!

நானும் நம்பிக்கையும் கை குலுக்கிக் கொண்டு நாற்காலிகளில் அருகருகே அமர்ந்திருக்க

எடுபிடி வேலை செய்யத் துவங்கின இதுவரை என்னை ஏவிக்கொண்டிருந்த கவலையும் பயமும்.

தேநீர் கொண்டுவந்து மேசையில் வைத்து "சர்க்கரை போதுமா சார்?" என்று கேட்டன.

சலனம்- பெருமூச்சோடு காலிக் கோப்பைகளை எடுத்துச் சென்று கழுவி வைத்தது...

விரக்தி மட்டும் ஒரு கௌரவமான வில்லன் போல் விடைபெற்றுக் கொண்டு வெளியேறியது!