India Watch-19: Second in World in Steel Production

India's SAIL (the Steel Authority of India Ltd) occupies the second place in the world, according to World Steel Dynamics. The World Steel Dynamics' decision is based on 23 important factors. Incidentally, Korea's POSCO is the world's first, according to the above report.

Letters-85: Live-in Relationships

The Apex Court ruling that live-in relationship and pre-marital sex could not be construed as an offence anymore, coming at a time when the joint family system (is collapsing?) and broken marriages are on the rise, is a bolt from the blue. When the modern-day youth feel proud aping everything Western and look down on anything traditional, the observation of the learned judges giving blanket permission without understanding the nuances of the age-old traditions and practices was not only a big surprise but comes as a rude shock to millions who still believe and uphold the sanctity of marriage because the children born out of wedlock will not only be deprived of the parental love and affection but also the elders' blessings. One wonders what would happen to societal norms and practices followed since centuries? - K.R.Srinivasan, Secunderabad.

Courtesy: Mail Bag, The Hindu, Sunday Magazine

Grateful thanks to Mr.K.R.Srinivasan and The Hindu, India's National Newspaper.

A Thought for Today-361:

Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow -
Robert Kiyosaki

Picture of the day-183:

Letters-85: Pull up Varsity

1. The news that radioactive material, which caused critical illness to many and even a death at Mayapuri, New Delhi, was auctioned by the Chemistry Department of Delhi University (The Hindu, April 28, 2010), is shocking. Doubly shocking was that the material, which was procured from Canada for conducting experiments, was lying abandoned for long before being sold as scrap. This was clearly an act of criminal negligence for which legal and administrative action must be taken against the university authorities. The Vice-Chancellor must assume moral responsibility for this serious lapse and proceed on leave till an independent probe can fix responsibility and punish the culprits - J.M.Manchanda, New Delhi.

2. The tracing of the source of the radiation scrap opens up several issues with respect to the sale and condemning of equipment using radioisotopes. Why were regulations not followed when such an equipment was condemned in 1985 but not returned to an appropriate agency for safe disposal? Does the government cell overseeing the sale and disposal of condemned machinery not have a protocol to monitor the use of such equipment?

The blunder by university and the government cell makes this an act of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder". Will the officials responsible ever be identified and punished? - S.Purushotham, Kochi.

Courtesy: Letters to the Editor, The Hindu, Chennai, April 30, 2010.

Grateful thanks to Mr.Manchanda, Mr.Purushotham and The Hindu, India's National Newspaper.

A Thought for Today-360:

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to leave the world a better place; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded - Emerson

Picture of the day-182:

Letters-84: TV Serials

It is undeniable that TV is a companion to home-makers. At the same time, it has insulated us from neighbours. Many thefts and robberies could have been averted had there been a healthy relationship among tenants in flats. Though producers claim that their serials portrayed how good prevails over evil, it is the vices that get registered in the minds of the young. As the visual medium has a strong influence over impressionable minds, serial-makers should desist from producing screenplays that negatively impact on society - R.Sridharan, Chennai.

Courtesy: Letters to the Editor, The Hindu, Chennai, April 27, 2010.

Grateful thanks to Mr.R.Sridharan and The Hindu, India's National Newspaper.

S and T Watch-58: A New Electrical Fault-fixing Technology

A new generation automated fault-fixing technology remotely locates and isolates an electrical fault wherever it occurs in a power distribution network and restores current in seconds, an answer to lengthy power outages.

Source: The Hindu, Madurai, May 6, 2010

For a detailed article from Eureka Network:
http://www.eurekanetwork.org/showsuccessstory?p_r_p_564233524_articleId=298060&p_r_p_564233524_groupId=10137

Grateful thanks to The Hindu, India's National Newspaper and Eureka Network.

A Thought for Today-359:

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities - J.K. Rowling

Picture of the day-181:

A Thought for Today-358:

Most time is wasted, not in hours, but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom gets just as empty as a bucket that is deliberately kicked over - Paul Meyer

Picture of the day-180:

India Watch-18: First Indigenous Warship

India on April 29, 2010 commissioned 'INS Shivalik', its first indigenously built stealth warship with sophisticated features to hoodwink enemy radars, and gained entry into a top club of developed countries having such capability.

Source: The Times of India, Chennai, April 30, 2010.

Grateful thanks to The Times of India.

A Thought for Today-357:

I slept and dreamed that life was happiness. I awoke and saw that life was service. I served and found that in service happiness is found - Tagore

Picture of the day-179:

A Thought for Today-356:

Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny - Emerson

Picture of the day-178:

A Thought for Today-356:

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground -
Theodore Roosevelt

Picture of the day-177: