Editorials
by Rajen Kumar
No Escaping Social Media
Running a magazine concentrating on issues of small and medium enterprises and managing with limited resources is a like living life on the edge. In this rush of meeting deadlines,...
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Special Reports
Apr 2012EMRC, Brussels Associates with SME WORLD as its New Media Partner
EMRC has promoted business partnerships with the developing world and has organised dozens of business forums in key decision-making cities, such as Amsterdam, Rome,...
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The Last Word
Invoke the Sun God to Rescue Us
Rajen Kumar
Mar 2010
Mar 2010
In millions of Indian homes, the Sun God is regularly worshipped. We have umpteen temples dedicated to the deity. Sun is the single source of supplying energy to our planet. The irony remains that of the 1.2 billion Indians, almost about half of us live without electricity. We ardently and dutifully worship the Sun but have not yet learnt how to invoke the Sun God to our practical advantage, religious sentiments notwithstanding.
We have been facing severe energy crunch which has already taken it toll on our economic growth. Our industrial units in states like Haryana, UP, Bihar and elsewhere either remain partly operative or run their operations on oil-fed generators for hours together. Our government has woken up quite late in the day and has unviled plans to boost solar output almost 1000-fold to 20,000 megawatt by 2022.
Imgaine the pace with which our economy is growing, the energy demands are going to be enormous. The fact that we have failed to exploit our natural resources and if the crises presist for longer time then our billion-nation runs the risk of being known as the ‘disabled’ nation.
A decade ago, I met a Norwegian engineer in Himachal Pradesh who was installing a mini hydel power plant in a remote area. I asked him about the potential and prospects of hydel power in India. I was surprised to listen what he said. “It is strange that your Himachal Pradesh state which is known as the water state (with so much rainfall) of India cannot produce electricity. Your country should have mini hydel power plants everywhere but you have failed to conserve water, a very important source of alternative energy.” I thought the government will realize this and we will have mini hydel power plants in states like Himachal at least. But a decade has quietly passed and nothing concrete has happened.
Day in and day out, we talk of helping our industries by floating schemes and impressing upon our bankers to lend funds to the entrepreneurs. Our enterprises cannot make any headway with funds and stimulus packages alone, we have to give them power to run their plants.
We have ambitious cluster development programme but are silent on how the clusters will function to their advantage if we cannot provide them power. Our programme to consolidate our energy resources may be long term, the government must encourage the clustsers and industrial zones to set up their own power plants with alternative energy sources with co-coordinated efforts. Let such efforts be on the PPP model.
Further, establishment of such power houses can be made mandatory. The government does have schemes and incentives for such programmes but the schemes remain on papers and there is no defined approach for the implementation of the same.
Our large industries have all the resources to buy the best technology available and they can afford to employ technology to their benefit and reap maximum profits. But our micro, small and medium enterprises do not have resources and feel handicapped.
Let the government plan a comprehensive yet offensive awareness programme for the country\'s MSMEs and encourage them practically on ways and means to produce their own power for their own use and benefit. It is heartening that PCRA and the Ministry of MSMEs are joining hands for spreading the message of conservation and improving global competitiveness of the industries by making concerted effort in industrial clusters and implementing energy audit recommendation for demonstration purpose. This program aims to improve energy efficiency in entire clusters by developing demonstration units in each industrial regions. These demonstration units will highlight the benefits of adopting energy efficiency program and emphasizing its effect on the bottom line of units.
Meanwhile, let us worship the Sun God and pray that the God comes to our rescue.
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The Last Word
More Learned than Educated, You were!
I was speechless. Rather hesitatingly I asked him, “So, what have you decided, Sominder ?” His reply was curt and candid, “I have told the doctors that I don’t want to live life as dumb. Only...
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