Auto rickshaws are the most popular form of public transport in India after buses. They have not changed much in design over decades. A significant number use two-stroke engines, giving low mileage and causing pollution. Most do not have a reverse gear and hence execute crazy maneuvers on the streets endangering people around. They are surely not deigned for safety. They are very noisy, causing noise pollution. On top of all this, they are not inexpensive. Ask the driver of any new auto you get into, and he will tell you what he paid for it.
A country that has sent a rocket to the moon can certainly design a better auto to take millions to work. Please permit me to offer a suggestion:
a) The Government of India should announce a scheme to attract the best talents in India to design a better auto, and promote public-private partnership in R & D.
b) This can be in the form of a design competition to be completed within 18 months, thereby not restricting the competition to established firms.
c) The prizes would in the form of orders for autos to be used within Government. Some Govt vehicles are used for delivering and collecting files, going to make small payments, etc. Autos can replace these. This will also reduce the practice of officers’ children getting dropped at school by Government vehicles, etc. An order for 5,000 autos for the best design chosen, followed by prizes of Rs 2 crores and Rs 1 crore for the II and III place would make it worthwhile for a number of companies to participate.
d) Announced selection criteria should include specified marks under: efficiency, cost, reduced pollution and safety. There should also be marks for radical new designs such as electric autos and hybrid autos. A panel of judges with impeccable reputation should make the selection.
e) The process should be completed by Jan 26, ’11, and the selected manufacturer should be invited to send two-dozen of the newly made autos to participate in the Republic Day parade.
There are two major reasons for India to push this forward:
a) This will be a contribution to slowing down global warming.
b) India has the world’s largest market for autos. We ought to capture
the worldwide market.
Srinivasan Ramani
Dec 3, ‘09
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Prof V Rajaraman felicitated on Oct 31, '09
I have pleasure in reporting the honor bestowed on the father of computer education in India, Prof V Rajaraman, by the Supercomputer Education and Research Center at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Oct 31, ‘09.
His contributions as a pioneer in Indian education and research in the computer area, starting with his work on the faculty at IIT Kanpur, followed by his work at the IISc are very well known. We should also remember that he was a member of the Electronic Commission, that he was given the Padma Bhushan award by the Govt of India and that it was the Rajaraman Committee on Manpower that proposed the Master of Computer Applications programmes. He played a key role in the creation of what began as the All India Computer Users Group (AICUG), which was soon renamed as the Computer Society of India.
There was a Symposium in the morning, with technical talks by Prof Siva Ram Murthy of IIT Madras, Dr T S Mohan of Infosys, Prof Jayant Haritsa of IISc, Shri N Suthambara, IISc, Dr Atanu Mohanty, IISc, and Ms Sivagama Sundari, IISc. Prof P Balaram, Director, IISc presided over the function.
In the evening there was a felicitation event followed by a memorable Veena Recital by Vidwan D Balakrishna and dinner.
On behalf of all those who have studied under Prof Rajaraman or worked with him, I offer him our best wishes for the future.
I would like to express a personal opinion here on the Master of Computer Applications programme. The highest form of honor we can give a pioneer is to analyze and benefit fully from his ideas. Creation of the MCA programmes recognized a fundamental fact – that activities and knowledge related to the computer field go far beyond engineering. While MCA graduates in tens of thousands have contributed to the nation’s might in the software and services area, the educational world and the industry have to do a lot more to strengthen MCA programs. We should work for the day when the nation’s best graduates in sciences and humanities do an MCA, and some of best managers come out of that stream. The nation cannot ignore its liberal education.
Srinivasan Ramani,
Past President, CSI
His contributions as a pioneer in Indian education and research in the computer area, starting with his work on the faculty at IIT Kanpur, followed by his work at the IISc are very well known. We should also remember that he was a member of the Electronic Commission, that he was given the Padma Bhushan award by the Govt of India and that it was the Rajaraman Committee on Manpower that proposed the Master of Computer Applications programmes. He played a key role in the creation of what began as the All India Computer Users Group (AICUG), which was soon renamed as the Computer Society of India.
There was a Symposium in the morning, with technical talks by Prof Siva Ram Murthy of IIT Madras, Dr T S Mohan of Infosys, Prof Jayant Haritsa of IISc, Shri N Suthambara, IISc, Dr Atanu Mohanty, IISc, and Ms Sivagama Sundari, IISc. Prof P Balaram, Director, IISc presided over the function.
In the evening there was a felicitation event followed by a memorable Veena Recital by Vidwan D Balakrishna and dinner.
On behalf of all those who have studied under Prof Rajaraman or worked with him, I offer him our best wishes for the future.
I would like to express a personal opinion here on the Master of Computer Applications programme. The highest form of honor we can give a pioneer is to analyze and benefit fully from his ideas. Creation of the MCA programmes recognized a fundamental fact – that activities and knowledge related to the computer field go far beyond engineering. While MCA graduates in tens of thousands have contributed to the nation’s might in the software and services area, the educational world and the industry have to do a lot more to strengthen MCA programs. We should work for the day when the nation’s best graduates in sciences and humanities do an MCA, and some of best managers come out of that stream. The nation cannot ignore its liberal education.
Srinivasan Ramani,
Past President, CSI
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