Warrier's Collage October 27, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Wednesday October 27, 2021 Prayer Adityahrudayam https://youtu.be/O00BFBR6hoM In search of Habitable Planets https://youtu.be/nVXLW4IQ6tk ( A presentation by Dr Anand Narayanan. Anand is son of R Narayanan, my friend and colleague now in Thiruvananthapuram) Good Morning "One reader talked to me the other day about my recent note that for a few days issue of Collage may not be regular. Thought the responses (Not included in Collage) call for a clarification from my side. What I had in mind was, time constraints and inability to involve myself fully. As some 20 readers have expressed desire to get Collage in some form in the morning itself regularly, efforts are being made to make them happy" 🙏-Warrier Nice Day M G Warrier A Society & Social Responsibility 1) Chasing Inclusive Growth Chasing Inclusive Growth: Reforms for Financial Inclusion : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07B527VZY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_QSTE8FMG71RRTAQ69EKD Description Chasing Inclusive Growth: Reforms for Financial Inclusion is about the common man's perceptions, anxieties and aspirations about the 21st century India growth story with focus on resources management in the Indian context, by policy interventions in the structure and governance of the financial system. This is an area well researched and documented by several scholars, politicians and many in social media. The difference this book claims is the commonsense approach backed by a learning experience of the author spanning half a century. This book dispassionately analyzes the progress in economic and financial sector reforms in the context of initiatives taken by GOI and RBI to (a) provide better environment for doing business and (b) equip institutions in the financial sector to cater to the changing needs of society. It also tries to flag issues needing policy support in areas like gold management, social security systems like pension schemes, healthcare and education. M G Warrier 2) "Time to revamp human resource policies at government, PSUs" https://www.moneylife.in/article/time-to-revamp-human-resource-policies-at-government-psus/42956.html The subject is covered in a separate chapter in "Chasing Inclusive Growth". Excerpts : "HRMD in Indian Public Sector The Reserve Bank, in 2012, planned to rope in outside consultants to overhaul its human resource practices, a move that would affect its nearly 18,000 employees. It was reported that the central bank would form a panel of up to six independent professional firms to help RBI in framing, implementing and delivering integrated HR solutions in the areas of HR policies, processes and systems, among others. The empanelled consultants were to advise RBI on matters like hiring, salaries, training, performance appraisal, retention and succession plans, the banking regulator said. The panel will help RBI in areas like strategic HR planning and advisory services; evaluation and assessment system; HR and management practices audits; beside others. This was a step in the right direction. Recent years saw several flaws in HR Management in the central bank." B 1) Current Affairs RBI Governor's Speech "Reserve Bank of India - Speeches" https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=1136 Role of Audit in the Modern Financial System (Address by Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India - October 25, 2021 - at the National Academy of Audit and Accounts (NAAA), Shimla Conclusion With globalization and increasing complexity of the financial system, audit as a public good has become vital for a sound, stable and vibrant financial system. Auditors need to update and upgrade skills on constant basis and perform their task in the most effective manner. The profile of tomorrow’s auditor will be that of a critical yet constructive challenger, with a clear focus on public interest and quality audits. In essence, there is need to be even more professional, qualified, impartial, value driven, ethical and also display awareness and foresight. I am sure all of you will act as torch bearers of the supreme legacy of the Civil Service and the institution of CAG and uphold the principles of accountability, transparency, integrity and equity which are essential features of a good Public Servant, by imbibing the motto of the National Academy of Audit and Accounts – लोक हितार्थ सत्यनिष्ठा (commitment to truth for public good). With this, I conclude and wish you all a very fulfilling career in the Indian Audit and Accounts Service. (Role of Audit is significant. Proud to remember the days I worked in Accountant General's Office, Thiruvanantapuram during 1964-68 🙏-Warrier) 2) MPC Meeting October 6-8, 2021 MPC October 6-8, 2021 minutes "Press Release" https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=52450 Excerpts : "The thirty first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), constituted under section 45ZB of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, was held from October 6 to 8, 2021. 2. The meeting was attended by all the members – Dr. Shashanka Bhide, Senior Advisor, National Council of Applied Economic Research, Delhi; Dr. Ashima Goyal, Emeritus Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai; Prof. Jayanth R. Varma, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; Dr. Mridul K. Saggar, Executive Director (the officer of the Reserve Bank nominated by the Central Board under Section 45ZB(2)(c) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934); Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy – and was chaired by Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor. This was the first face to face meeting of the MPC after February 2020. 3. According to Section 45ZL of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Reserve Bank shall publish, on the fourteenth day after every meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting which shall include the following, namely: the resolution adopted at the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee; the vote of each member of the Monetary Policy Committee, ascribed to such member, on the resolution adopted in the said meeting; and the statement of each member of the Monetary Policy Committee under sub-section (11) of section 45ZI on the resolution adopted in the said meeting. 4. The MPC reviewed the surveys conducted by the Reserve Bank to gauge consumer confidence, households’ inflation expectations, corporate sector performance, credit conditions, the outlook for the industrial, services and infrastructure sectors, and the projections of professional forecasters. The MPC also reviewed in detail staff’s macroeconomic projections, and alternative scenarios around various risks to the outlook." 3) Media Response : Fighting Hunger To The Editor The Hindu Letters October 26, 2021 Let's fight Hunger, not split facts and figures This refers to the well-researched article "A reminder that India still trails in the hunger fight by Dipa Sinha (October 26). According to the Global Hunger Report this year India ranks 101 out of 116 countries for which reliable and comparable data about status of hunger existed according to compilers of Global Hunger Index. This makes news as it's a record fall from last year's position at 94, arrived at based on the same parameters. Whatever be the arguments for and against the methodology in computing Global Hunger Index, no one can dispute that across the world millions go to bed hungry everyday. My interest is in knowing, how long the world wants to cultivate and maintain poverty and deprivation levels high to have fertile resources for research and literature! I don't have the latest information. But my understanding is that today the world has enough food in stock to feed every living being for the next few years. If that is the case, why anyone should remain hungry today? The answer is : People/nations (many of them) do not have the money to buy food! And the rich and the powerful who own and manage the resources have a vested interest in maintaining a reserve pool of workforce hungry for economic reasons. Let's restrict our discussion to India. India has idle resources which are yet to be mainstreamed and accounted which will be sufficient to feed all Indians for the next 5 years. Once fed well for one year our farmers and workers will multiply farm and industrial production with amazing speed. Where there's a will...Yes, political will, there's a way. Till then, researchers and the rich will continue to mint money from hunger. Lucky few will become celebrities and billionaires. M G WARRIER Mumbai C Nostalgia Rasam : Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai However grand the feast be, whatsoever items we have in the wedding feast we long for Amma's 'Rasam'- a simple watery dish, a delicacy of South India. We think of rasam being prepared in a small vessel or lead pot for 4 or 5 people. But Kings have to plan a lot for large scale cooking. In Tanjore Palace*, there was a particular method by which the Chief Cook was appointed. People would be informed about the appointment of Chief Cook by Tandora. Intending candidates were listed & based on the confidential reports received from reliable sources they were shortlisted. Such candidates were asked to prepare one or two food items & finally 3 persons were shortlisted. Final selection of the candidate was done by a strange process. *Know more about Tanjore heritage : "What the kings read - The Hindu" https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/What-the-kings-read/article14397085.ece/amp/ Continued at E D Spirituality/Faith charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 51 जिचरु तेरी जोति तिचरु जोती विच तूं बोलहि विणु जोती कोई किछु करिहु दिखा सिआणीए अंगद, 138 As long as your jot, soul, is in body, you speak in that body. Let any wise person show any activity without Soul? (God speaks in all) Angad, SGGS https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1452768307648421890?s=20 E Continued from B There were 3 empty tanks( Kulams) specifically constructed for the purpose & the tanks were of the size of 15 ft x15ft with a depth of 10 feet. The 3 Short-listed candidates had to prepare PEPPER-CHEERAKA RASAM upto the level of 5 feet in the tank.Tamarind water, Salt, Chillies etc were to be added in the correct proportion & the RASAM had to be boiled directly under the heat of the sun for 72 hours, without being externally heated by any other method. Pepper-cheeraka- toor Dal mixture also had to be added at the appropriate intervals. On the 73rd hour three RASAM TASTERS of the palace tasted the rasam prepared by all the 3 shortlisted candidates & based on their recommendations, final selection was made. The item is a very simple one. But the quantity was huge. Roughly the volume of RASAM to be prepared by each person was 15ftx15ftx5ft i.e 1125 cubic feet or 31848.75 litres to be exact. (28.31 litres per cubic feet), nearly 3 huge lorry loads of RASAM!!( Chennai people, used to water scarcity, may know how much will a sump hold and exact calculation.) A simple record showing the selection process finds a place in THANJAVUR ARANMANAI KURIPPUGAL ( Tanjore palace records) May be the king wanted to test their sense of CORRECT ESTIMATION, APPROXIMATION & commonsense while preparing large quantities.. However, certain basic doubts arise in us. What would happen if it started raining in the middle of the process? Or the heat is not intense enough for the process? How they would have disposed 95000 litres of RASAM prepared on a single day?Even if all the residents of the kingdom were allowed to take the rasam in big pots, the tanks would not become empty. Or perhaps the rich palace might not mind throwing barrels of rasam. While there are so many varieties of food items, what made the king choose this simple RASAM & a novel method of testing the efficiency of the Chief Cook? How is it that the King, who was adept in all the fields, could not think about these simple problems? When I was contemplating about all these things, the reply also dawned on me. The selection process adopted is very open and brooks no nepotism.The proof of the pudding is always in the eating. The ability to cook for large numbers during official feasts, religious feasts and during the days of famine, drought and enemy siege, has to be proved thus. Even today in Maariamman temples during festive feasts such large scale cooking takes place for 'kumbam padaiyal' a relic of the old tradition, perhaps. In war times, sieges used to last for days at a stretch. People will be confined to the fort. Feeding them is King's responsibility. That is why almost all temples have graineries built in the outer prakaras. The Chieftain Paari, it seems, trained birds to bring paddy stalks from the fields outside the fort, to gather the paddy required during a siege by the great three, Chera, Chola and Pandya Kings. Among the traditional Tamil food items Rasam has a longer shelf life, especially when kept in mud pot. Works like Agha Naanooru, Purapporul Venpa Maalai and others speak of the many and varied items of food preparations in the days yonder. This preparation, when made into a thick syrup, can also serve as medicine more like what is known as kashaayam. Public could save and use it when needed. As regards interference of rain etc. the royal astrologer has to fix such a day when there would be least interference by nature. Despite this if it rains there is always another day for the trials! The kal satti sambar and eeya sombu rasam are very famous. I don't know whether the vessel really adds flavour or it is our obsessed thoughts about the vessel. Eeya sombu had been the cause of many separations of DIL s from the family. The speed with which eeya sombu melts is a sight to be seen. Within seconds there will be no sombu, no rasam and the flame is gone. It will vanish without trace. Lead vessels are very costly and in T. Nagar Chennai, there is a shop which sells eeya vessels alone. Kal satti is a cottage industry in our place and during Srirangam Vaikunta Ekadasi festival special shops will be there in Ranga Vilasam for kal satti alone. In a house where there are four or 5 daughters, Amma has to buy kal satti of different sizes. It cannot be straightaway used for making samabar or vathal kuzhambu. It has to to acclaimatised or tamed by boiling water for 3 days with turmeric powder, cleaned with cow dung, boiled with cow dung water, then clean it with chaff, rice flour. It will be nearly 15 days when the kalsatti gets ready for making sambar. Amma will struggle to give a trouble free kalsatti to her daughters. I do have a kalsatti gifted by my mother in1963. Vathsala Jayaraman F Controversy Facebook "Can Facebook's smart glasses be smart about security and privacy?" https://theconversation.com/can-facebooks-smart-glasses-be-smart-about-security-and-privacy-170002 Excerpts : "The research project aims to add augmented reality features to smart glasses using artificial intelligence technologies that could provide wearers with a wealth of information, including the ability to get answers to questions like “Where did I leave my keys?” Facebook’s vision also includes a future where the glasses can “know who’s saying what when and who’s paying attention to whom.” Several other technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Snap, Vuzix and Lenovo have also been experimenting with versions of augmented or mixed reality glasses. Augmented reality glasses can display useful information within the lenses, providing an electronically enhanced view of the world. For example, smart glasses could draw a line over the road to show you the next turn or let you see a restaurant’s Yelp rating as you look at its sign. However, some of the information that augmented reality glasses give their users could include identifying people in the glasses’ field of view and displaying personal information about them. It was not too long ago that Google introduced Google Glass, only to face a public backlash for simply recording people. Compared to being recorded by smartphones in public, being recorded by smart glasses feels to people like a greater invasion of privacy.