FEATURE

President Abdul Kalam has become immortal!

Prof. B. M. Hegde,

hegdebm@gmail.com

"Do something worth writing about or write something worth reading to become immortal." So wrote Benjamin Franklin. If that yardstick is applied Late President Abdul Kalam has already become immortal by both those two counts. In addition he lives in the hearts of every Indian child and youth because he loved them both most sincerely. Death, be not proud that you have been able to snatch him from our midst but alas, he lives in our midst. His childlike innocence, his transparent sincerity, his disarming universal smile, and his love for his motherland have made him the most popular President in recent times. Of course, there were great Presidents like Rajen Babu and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan in the past.

Probably the one unfulfilled wish in Kalam's life was his dream of becoming a professor in an IIT or Anna University and settle in Chennai after exiting the Rastrapathi Bhavan. That was not to be, thanks to the small mindedness and hubris of some of our hard hearted fossilised minded so called scientists and educationists, both of whom have not understood what education is all about. If having a PhD is the hall mark of becoming a professor many of our professors should not be where they are.

None of our IITs or Universities has set the River Ganges on fire anyway what with all their PhDs. With the same yardstick Guruji Tagore was not qualified to be a teacher, leave alone getting the Nobel Prize for English poetry in 1913, not having had any formal education worth mentioning! I do not think any of our present educationists and scientists have any idea what education is all about? Kalam made up for all that by teaching in all schools and AIIMs all over the country which made him the darling of our children's eyes. He would have loved to die in harness that too while still teaching-anaayaasena maranam-which only pure souls get. Single as he was all his life he would not have any one to look after him if he had some illness that made him disabled in life. God has been great. Kalam sab was lucky in life and also in death. Luck is a certificate that comes from God without his signature affixed.

I first saw this great man and got to meet him when I was still very young as a new entrant at Stanley Medical College in 1956 in Madras. I did not have a hostel place. My cousin, Balachndra Shetty, was a final year student of the new Engineering institute, The Madras Institute of Technology, at Thambaram where they had nice single room hostels. Kalam sab was his class mate and lived in a room with another of my acquaintances, Surendra Hegde, in the same hostel. I stayed for over a month in their hostel till I got a room at Stanley. I might have met him a few times during those days.

I had not met him for decades after that when I saw him in a science conference where I was invited to lecture. I could not have the courage to go to talk to him because he was by then a big man. After the lecture he came up to me and remembered our meeting at MIT hostel and he was conversing in Tamil only. I was pleased to hear him telling me that when I was describing the plight of poor malnourished kids dying like flies in India he had tears in his eyes. That made me feel how simple he was and how child like his heart was. The next meeting of ours happened in some curious circumstances. I was then the Dean of a medical college. The then VC of Kanpur University came to meet me. I thought he had his child in our college but no. He had come all the way to personally meet me for a request. It looked rather strange. He had come to personally request me to deliver a Guest Lecture at their next Indian Science Congress. Of course, I agreed but I was curious to know why he had to come. Then he told me that the scientific advisor to the Govt of India who is in charge of grants for their conferences had told him to have my lecture to get grants. That was Kalama Sab. I was really moved to tears that such a big man must have a soft corner for an ordinary human being like me. That was our second encounter and the lecture went well, thank God.

Late Abdul Kalam was India' greatest technologist and an engineer of the class of Late Vishveshwarayya. Prime Minister Vajpayee, in his wisdom, chose him as a jewel in the crown of India- Bharata Ratna. As a technologist and a missile man he had no peers and he went on to occupy all top posts in the Ministry of Science and Technology culminating him being the back bone of the Pokaran Test. He had invited me to Delhi for his inaugural but I wrote back saying that I could not afford the travel costs at such short notice. He had then given me a standing invite to meet him when I go to Delhi and did go to see him several times when we would discuss matters of common interest to the country. He always thought of the poor and the less endowed. He even released one of my books at the Rastrapathi Bhavan and got his own photographer to shoot the event. I remained grateful to hi. I had invited him to inaugurate our University’s Golden Jubilee event in 2003. He was reluctant as he does not want to spend tax payer’s money for private functions. Last minute he called me to say that he is going over to Bangalore for some Government engagements and would come from there. I was so happy and the function went off well. He had one condition, though. I had to get him 1000 copies of a book of mine which he had bought himself when it was published from his own money (1000 copies) to give it to school children when it was published. I have given hereunder his letter about that book. I also had to get 1000 school children to whom he will distribute my book on the occasion of our Golden Jubilee. We did that and he was so pleased to see the children there. Interestingly, he did not take any of our private hospitality during that occasion.

The first time I met him at the Rastrapathi Bhavan I was shocked to see him having a big bundle of Bhavan’s Journals where I used to write a column and in one of them I had written about him long before he became the President that he would be the ideal person for the Presidentship of India. He wanted to know; “ade epedi eleAthininge? How did you write that?” He asked me-such a child like innocence which is his hall mark. We used to meet now and then and each time he had that warmth which never diminished in intensity even long after he demitted office. His personal secretary, Palghat Prasad, was good enough to connect me to him whenever I wanted, to whom I remain grateful. Prasad was Kalam’s trusted lieutenant even after retirement. Prasad could read Kalam’s mind easily and would tell me if he is in good or bad moods.

Kalam came to this world, he saw the world, and he conquered the hearts of the people here. Such people are rare creations of God and come once in a long time. Our best tribute to him would be to emulate his example and live our lives make life sublime and be of some use to our fellowmen. I, for one, have benefitted immensely from his example. May God keep his soul in eternal peace with HIM. May he become jeevanmukta. May Allah, the Most Merciful, shower him with HIS best blessings and give courage and right direction to Kalam’s fellow citizens to change themselves to be good humans.

May the people’s President become immortal.

Gold monetization scheme could be a roaring success

A.N.Shanbhag

The Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS) appears to be good. Besides reducing reliance on import of gold, this recycling of the existent idle household gold, will also provide a fillip to the gems and jewellery sector by making gold available as raw materials on loan from the banks.

Most importantly, in the Gold Deposit Scheme (1999), the customers received exemption from Capital Gains Tax, Wealth tax and Income tax. Similar tax exemptions are likely to be made available to the customers in the GMS after due examinations.

Salient Features

It is well known fact that if you desire to sell your jewellery (or gold) to meet some urgent need, the jeweler –well- collects his pound of flesh. Apart from other issues, the main problem is that one has to pretty much take the jeweller’s word as to the purity and pedigree of the gold. However, GMS will have a set up of a vast infrastructure network for facilitating easy and secure Purity Testing. There are at present 350 Hallmarking Centres that are Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified spread across various parts of the country. These centres may not necessarily be jewelers. Moreover, there are about 32 refineries in the country. The laboratories of some of these are NABL accredited which means that the process that they adopt is certified BIS. They can be also roped in, if possible.

In a purity Testing Centre, a preliminary XRF machine-test will be conducted to tell the customer the approximate amount of pure gold. If the customer agrees, he will have to fill-up a Bank/KYC form and give his consent for melting the gold. If for any reason he doesn’t agree with the stated purity, he can take his jewellery back at this stage after paying a fee.

If the customer consents, a further test of purity will be conducted by removing the studs, meena etc., which will be handed over to the customer. Then, right in front of the customer the jewelley will be melted and through a fire assay , its purity will be ascertained. The customer has once again a choice of refusing to accept the results of fire assay, in which case he can take back the melted gold, then he will be given a certificate by the collection centre certifying the amount and purity of the gold. The fee will be paid by the bank. The minimum quantity of gold that a customer can bring is 30 grams.

When the customer produces the certificate to a bank, it will open a ‘Gold Savings Account’ for him and credit the ‘quantity’ of gold into his account. Simultaneously, the Purity Verification Centre will also inform the bank about the deposit made.

The amount of interest rate is proposed to be left to the banks to decide. Both principal and interest to be paid to the depositors of gold will be ‘valued’ in gold. For example if a customer deposits 100 gms of gold and gets 1% interest, then, on maturity he will have a credit of 101 gms. Consequently, it is the customer who bears the market risk.

The customer will have the option of redemption either in cash or in gold, which will have to be exercised at the time of making the deposit.

The tenure of the deposit will be a minimum of 1 year and with a roll out in multiples of one year. Like a fixed deposit, breaking of lock-in period will be allowed.

Other Details

To incentivize banks, they may be permitted to deposit the mobilised gold as part of their CRR/SLR requirements with RBI.

Banks may sell the gold to generate forex. The foreign currency thus generated can be used for onward lending to exporters / importers. Bank may convert mobilized gold into coins for onward sale to their customers and also buy or sell on domestic commodity exchanges.

Yet another way of mobilizing the deposited gold is through tapping the need of jewellers. Jewellers can get a Gold Loan Account opened at the bank. When a gold loan is sanctioned, the jewellers will receive physical delivery of gold from the refiners. The interest rate charged by the banks will have to cover a) Interest rate paid to the depositors. b) Fee paid to the refiners and Purity Verification Centres. c) Profit margin of the banks.

The banks can also directly get gold from the international market on a consignment basis and lend it to the jewellers.

Schedule of fees

1) Melting Charge per lot up to 100 gms begins with Rs. 500 and increases by Rs. 100 per additional 100 gms. For instance, if the lot consists of 100-200 gms the fee would be Rs. 600 and 200-300 gms it would be Rs. 700 and so on.

2) Testing/fire assaying charges – Rs. 300

3) Stone removal charges – at actual, minimum being Rs. 100

4) Melting loss – at actual.

For obvious reasons, the Scheme will be launched initially only in selected cities. Over time, as the infrastructure for assaying and refining of gold develops it will be extended to other cities.

At end

This scheme could be a roaring success, mainly because of the exemption from Capital Gains Tax, Wealth tax and Income Tax it is likely to offer. The only issue that will be an impediment is the sentimental attachment that we may have towards our ornaments. However, if we are honest to ourselves, we will find that it is only those few ornaments handed over to us over generations or purchased on a very special occasion that have true sentiment attached to them. A vast majority are just dead unproductive assets lying in the locker at home or at the bank. Now we will be getting a chance of put these to productive use. It is earnestly submitted that the authorities should also offer to buy the stones, studs, meena etc., to make the Scheme more customer friendly.