US Space Shuttle and India's RLV ..

Over 135 missions, US proved and confirmed
that it's Space Shuttle reusable vehicle
programme is a total disaster and unreliable..

Criticising the Space Shuttle is punching America in the face - Forbes mag.. 

NASA spent $196 billion on their failed, unreliable and overspent Space Shuttle mission (flew a total of 135 missions through 5 shuttles), at a claimed cost of $450 million for each mission on an average (the actual cost was $1.3 billion per flight).

At the launch pad

And who paid for all these, the Saudis and OPEC countries ..

India's preliminary Reusable Launch Vehicle (unmanned and one fifth the original size) due for launch on 23 may, 9.30 am IST,  has so far incurred a cost of INR 95 crores, which is app $15 million. (just 1.1% of US' app $1300 million per flight of the failed mission).

True, the failed space shuttle, deserves it's final resting place in the Smithsonian National air and Space muse um in Wash. DC.

ge..

E Sridharanji ..

THE METRO MAN - E SREEDHARAN- FINALLY HANGS HIS BOOTS (and the world accepts him with open hands as Advisor to the United Nations at age 82)

A legend hangs up his boots On the last day of this month (in 2012/13) Finally, Elattuvalapil Sreedharan has been allowed to retire, at the age of 79. A man who built the Calcutta Metro, Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro. But he is best remembered for re-building in just 46 days the Pamban bridge which in 1963 was blown away by a cyclone into the sea.

Here is a man who is honest to the core, brooked no nonsense and set an example for others. A true leader who walked his talk. He truly deserves the Bharat Ratna. Now he is going to Kerala to fulfill the dreams of Mallus "The Kochin Metro "

The Metro man - E Sridharan ...

India has much gratitude for this great engineer. He is known as the The "metro man of India". He is quite a sensational project manager, who almost always gets the project completed on time or before schedule. He fought all the delays caused by bureaucratic red tape, corruption and lack of funds.
 

Sreedharan's willpower has moved mountains. He is not just a dreamer but also a builder, but most of all, one who has dedicated his achievements to every Indian. He stands out as a legend in Indian Engineering history. His major projects being the Delhi Metro and the Konkan Railways.

This 75+ year-old Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation only desires the progress of his country. He wanted Delhi to have a world-class metro rail project to change the meaning of urban transport in India. And he did it.

With his wife ..

The Konkan Railway project came to him in his retirement. It was a challenging task----760 km of rail tracks from Mumbai to Kochi through the rugged hills of the Western Ghats. This project was found as not feasible, by the British engineers in pre-independence era. But for Sreedharan nothing was impossible.

Environmentalists protested, politicians said it cannot be done and the project ran short of money. Sreedharan raised public bonds to finance it, taking everyone ahead. Kiran Bedi explains why Sreedharan is worthy of the title: "He is not in his 40s or 50s, but he is in his 70s, a time when we normally retire. Sreedharan has given the best metro concept for the railway of the country with integrity, vision, with commitment and with remarkable professional skills. There is no other person better than him in this category."

Sreedharan insists he does not have any special skills to get the best out of people. "I always found that people cooperate if you work for a good cause," he says. Sreedharan studied in an ordinary school & college and later on took his civil engineering degree from a govt engineering college. But he went on to become the boss for hundreds of IIM, IIT graduates!

So dedicated and disciplined ..

People still wonder what really makes him tick at 80 while a young man in his 20's struggles to begin his day at 6 or 7 in the morning. Sreedharan's day starts at 4 am, meditation and Bhagwad Gita.

He reaches office at 9:30 am and gets straight to work. In the evening, he usually takes a long walk with his wife Radha and allots time to his family of four children. He used to set up reverse clocks to show impending deadlines to his project members during Delhi Metro construction phase.
 

The message of the Gita: To act, without desire for the fruits of the action gave him the courage to act.

A plate placed in his Kerala office read as: 'Whatever to be done, I do. But in reality I do not do anything'.

India says thank you sir.

In native attire in his h0me town Pattambi..

Government of India may or may not award him the Bharat Ratna. But for the countless millions that have travelled on the Pamban bridge, Kolkata Metro, Konkan Railways and Delhi Metro and for the knowledgeable public he is already a Bharat Ratna - a real gem of the rarest variety.

==================== (adapted from the Internet)

The GoI confers Bharat Ratna on worthless people. He is much above Bharat Ratna (along with Dr. Varghese Amul Kurien, Vikram Sarabhai and Homi J Bhabha).

Not over !! After getting retired from GoI at age 79, he was not spared by other metros where he continues to be Advisor particularly in Southern States.

Now at age 82, he has been invited by Ban ki Moon, UN Secretary General to be the Advisor for Sustainable Transport to the UN for 3 years which Sridharanji has accepted. Busy till age 85 !!

All the best Sir !!

Can China block India's NSG membership ?

Why is it that China still believes it can boss around with India on nuclear issue when China's nuclear proliferation issue is under cloud ? 

Dictatorial tendencies .. ??

Through all of history, China has never overtaken India except during the last two centuries and it makes better economic and political  sense for China to hold hands with India, the world's largest, vibrant  and most dynamic democracy and the fastest growing economy, than counter it ..

Hope Xin Jinping sees sense and works for a safe, secure and prosperous China, trailing behind India if it works with India !

The Business Standard article

Click here for the Economist article on the dictatorial tendencies being exhibited by Xi Jinping..

It will do good for the world if China controls itself and does not embark on a misadventure..

ge..

When not sure, keep quiet..

Facts about Somalia and Kerala. Criminal ignorance, that is why Modi is being kicked on social media ! I wonder whether he is the PM of the country or the PM of a political party only ? 

In fact the infant mortality rate of tribals in Kerala is better off than Modi's state Gujarat, which he ruled and destroyed in 10 years.

Click on this article for more updates ..

Kerala social indicators have been compared  with that of state of New York in US and here comes a PM who is more than happy to downplay such achievements, all to grab power ..

Should the PM be talking of his country like this ? When to keep the mouth shut is also an art of governing .. The people of Kerala are agitated by this wrong reference to the state by the PM of the country, who does not know much of developmental economics, only on monetary economics.

From wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_model

The Kerala model of development, is the style of development that has been practised in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
This state has achieved improvements in material conditions of living, reflected in indicators of social development, comparable to those of many developed countries, even though the state's per capita income is low in comparison to them.^[1] Achievements such as low levels of infant mortality and population growth, and high levels of literacy and life expectancy, along with the factors responsible for such achievements have been considered characteristic results of the Kerala model.^[1][2]
More precisely, the Kerala model has been defined as:

• A set of high material quality-of-life indicators coinciding with low per-capita incomes, both distributed across nearly the entire population of Kerala.
• A set of wealth and resource redistribution programmes that have largely brought about the high material quality-of-life indicators.
• High levels of political participation and activism among ordinary people along with substantial numbers of dedicated leaders at all levels. Kerala's mass activism and committed cadre were able to function within a largely democratic structure, which their activism has served to reinforce.^[2]

ge..

Will TESLA totally disrupt the automobile and manufacturing industry ?

TESLA is doing things in scale and size. It is mind boggling how they are giving the giants Toyota, GM, VW, Ford and others a run for their money.

Economies of scale will push costs down, making it more affordable for the common man. Model 3 now retails for about $ 35,000 in US. With some more research into manufacturing and battery integration, the costs can be brought down to even $10,000, making it a hit in India and China.

Click here for the NG Megafactories of the future video .. a 5.8 million sq ft factory, the biggest in the world under one roof.

It is shocking and at the same time exhilarating.. Will TESLA take over autombile production in the world with cheap electric cars that has almost zero running costs. With production to touch 200,000 cars (to be scaled up greatly  later) by 2017 from under a single roof and economies of scale making TESLA Model 3 affordable for the population in China and India, what will be the future of automobile industry and manufacturing ?

Click on the latest on the Tesla giga factory ..

Where is TESLA taking us with his good intentions to care for the environment. ?

george..

British excuse on their incompetence - Kochi Int'l airport case .

I happened recently to watch this documentary from BBC on the insolation of the Kochi International Airport in Kochi, Kerala, india. Click here for the BBC video ..

What a shame BBC on you ? Instead of accepting that before any other airport in the world has ever attempted the insolation of their international airports, Kochi has done it successfully, BBC finds a silly excuse in the video and says it is because energy is costly that India has gone for the solar route. Elsewhere energy is cheap and so they do not feel the pressure to innovate ! Instead of accepting Indian novelty and innovation in a super critical application area, it is very disheartening to find BBC playing the achievement down. 

Come on, you still have your historical mindsets from the old times !

46,000 solar panels powering Kochi Int'l airport ..

Instead of accepting that India had the wherewithal, brains, innovation, mindset, determination, discipline and technology to implement the world's first and ONLY solar powered  international airport, you are  belittling Indian efforts by claiming the excuse of low energy costs in your country as a demotivator for innovation in the energy area.

If you can understand, try to catch this quote on incompetence. By belittling Indian efforts, let me tell you, Britain, you are going back and killing your own competence and efforts. 

Already on GDP, India is at #3 position in the world after China and US in that order, while Britain is at a dismal #10. Yes Britain is still in its earlier imperialistic mindset, building towers of nothing..

george

Pretension ..

Pretension is a survival strategy for the weak-minded and over-ambitious - George Easaw

Most of the people resort to pretension as a strategy in their lives. Why ? Basically we pretend lot of things when we have to achieve much but do not have the wherewithal or resources to achieve them. 

Here are some quotes from great thinkers in history who have enlightened us as to how dangerous pretension could be. It can kill a person by spreading incorrect facts of his abilities and strengths.