“Work for Loot” Bill
You work and we loot seems to be what the politicians of India are telling the poor when the Congress Chairperson has so proudly introduced the Employment Guarantee Act in the Parliament recently. Once again the politicians, supported fully by the “ma-baap” of the poor – the Communists, will take the poor people of the country for a ride. Already the Communists have started trumpeting about their “supportive” role in introducing the bill.
Every study has shown that not more than 20% of such grants reach the poor. The balance goes to fill the pockets of sundry others! Rupees forty thousand crores will be there for the grabs! And whose money the Congress Chairperson is offering for the grabs? The hard earned savings of the middle class. The Congress Chairperson may be naïve in doing this Hara-kiri but the wily Communists are counting the votes! The economist PM and the capitalist Finance minister must be two sad people today! In the name of defeating communalism the Congress chairperson is playing with fire.

This is not the way to wipe out unemployment. The Government should create more jobs not by holding out Rs.60/- per day to the unemployed, but by encouraging private investments and labour reforms. But the Communists are opposed to these reforms because they say these are anti worker policies. Ask the Communist CM of West Bengal for some lessons on wisdom!

Young men and women of today are a confident lot. They are sure of what they want, quite unlike many of us of the past generation. The young romantics of the past generation were idealistic and a lot of them were drawn to Socialism or Communism. But today most youngsters are taken by Pragmatism. Why has the change happened? I think, today life is not about just earning a livelihood, because that is within the reach of most people. Some years ago the living conditions of most people were extremely difficult but that situation has changed somewhat. Though the gap between the rich and the poor is huge and widening still, I think, the number of people who had no hope to look forward to has come down steeply in recent times. People are also realising that Socialism and Communism has not delivered what they promised in all those countries where they were or are still in power.
Though our Communists are crying hoarse about the inhumanities perpetrated by Capitalism in America and the western countries the arguments are hollow. No one is saying that Big Brother USA is doing everything right. Yes, they have done wrong in Iraq. Not everyone in India think that they did wrong in Afghanistan. Before the Talibans took over the Afghan administration who was occupying that country. Was it right for USSR to do it in Afghanistan? Was the Stalin regime such a sweetie pie? They have butchered more innocents than Hitler did, in the name of Socialism! But for Indian Communists Stalin and Lenin are still big heroes. Talk about Stalin’s misdeeds and the Indian Communists will go red in the face!
Our Communists are stalling disinvestments of PSUs, labour reforms, removal of subsidies on a number of items etc ostensibly for the benefit of the working class. But are they really good for the working class? Trade unions are relevant only up to a point. When the Trade Unions have no cause to fight against managements they invent causes to continue to do things to prove their relevance and in the process they become a burden to the community and the working class itself. They have done much harm to the working class and the community in general.

The disinvestments minister of the previous Government was undoubtedly an honest person and he has publicly offered to answer all the allegations the Communists are levelling against him. And the ruling Congress coalition government looks on helplessly and trying to weekly support the views of the Communists!! The clear policy of the ex-minister Arun Shourie, rightly was that it is not the Government’s business to run business houses. The Government’s business is to provide proper Governance and to intervene when norms are flouted. Yes, the private business class is interested in profits only. Does that mean that the Government should keep holding on to profit making companies till they become sick like mud? The private business would maximise their profits in whatever manner they want. What is the problem there for the Communists? If the workers get all their dues and more why are the Communists bothered? The poor unsuspecting workers are always taken for a ride. Up to a point it was the businessmen who took the working class for a ride and then it is by the trade unions! When an honest minister goes about his work seriously and earnestly, the entire political class sits up and finds faults with him. The present finance minister who is known to be a supporter of private capital is also finding faults with Arun Shourie for untenable reasons. That is politics!

The tragedy is that the way this Government is going, the working class will get cheated again. The Congress is giving away to the Communists in all matters, be it private enterprise or Naxalism. They have emerged as the force behind the Government and for all wrong reasons they may do better if elections were held again. This will be a tragedy because the working class will be the real sufferers in the long run if the Communists gain strength in this country. If this happens the Congress can take credit for that!

A very large section of the population of this country considered it improper (to use the mildest word) that a person of foreign origin should become the PM of this country. But the Congress had no alternative but to have a leader of foreign origins or perish. Millions of people could just only gulp and eat their pride in silence when it became a reality that Sonia Gandhi would become the PM. Though it was a relief when she renounced (!) the throne it is only a matter of time before she would claim it with strength on her side.

The NDA has really spoiled the chances to build a strong base for itself. Their leaders were too immature to gauge the atmosphere in the country. Who would be interested to see on the TV screen, some BJP leaders doing push ups in five star gymnasiums and eating such rich food which only the Mughal Kings of a different era could afford? Compared to that the young Congress new comers wore turbans, like villagers and sat on “Charpoys” drinking tea from mud pots! That really caught the voter’s imagination! Though all that is spurious humility, that worked.

Now the popular belief is that if we want a stable and strong Government The Hindus must unite. Hindus must unite not against any one but to give this country a strong Government, which has to keep the country from chaos and disintegration. The Hindu political class has to work for the up-liftment of the poorer sections and the underprivileged classes including the OBC, ST/SC and minorities. All the sections should be united which only the Hindu community can do.

Today every section of the Indian polity is trying to find their identity. The words nationalism and patriotism have lost their meaning. Secularism of thought and deed is more important than building a religious identity. The Hindus will have to win the minds and hearts of the other communities, and that is possible only if they themselves stand strong and united. Spirituality is the Ethos of India and the Hindus must take the lead to preserve that. Today secularism is a hollow word in Indian politics. All political parties are caste oriented and call themselves secular. The Communists and the Congress are experts in fishing in these troubled waters! The relevance of the Congress and the Communist parties for the future of India is highly debatable.

Different people have different emotions on Independence Day. For most of us it means very little, and little more than just a holiday to look forward to. The speeches of the country’s rulers and leaders hardly matters anyone. The parades and pageantry does not interest most people. It hardly means anything even to those leaders who make speeches and the soldiers and students and others who take part in these festivities. May be, a small number of freedom fighters have deep feeling about the day the county was rid of the colonial rulers.
But still the celebrations go on year after year the Government spending huge amounts of money for the same without a thought whether the spending is justified. Today people are questioning the need for Patriotism. I read so many articles in the newspapers questioning the relevance of the “P” factor! Why should one love ones own country more than that of others? In these days of so-called globalisation, the “P” should have no boundaries!! The word Patriotism itself will become irrelevant and be removed from the dictionary! Samuel Johnson said that Patriotism is the last resort of the scoundrel! It is politically correct to cheer the Pakistani Cricket team rather than boo them out!
What if Henry Kissinger called Indians, “Bastards”? He said that long ago. Isn’t Bush now saying that the Indians are really Yuppie!! How long are you going to sulk about what Kissinger said long, long, long ago? Forget it maaan! You should know where lies the ‘Moolah’!
I am reminded of a very interesting play I saw many years ago. It was called “SNAFU”.
Here, an ambitious young man, Raghunath, from lower middle class background befriends rich kids in college. The rich kids also want sidekicks around for their egos and also to do their errands and so they cultivate him and encourage him to all the “in” things they do, like smoking a grass for fun etc. So, Raghnath thought he has arrived in Pedder Road, where the rich and famous of Bombay of those days lived!! The last scene shows all the ‘Yuppies’ and Raghunath stretched out on the floor, only half awake from smoking grass, and one of the ‘Yuppie’ kids fondling Raghunath and trying to bugger him and suddenly his middle class morality awakens in Raghunath and he extricates himself from the tight grip of the ‘Yuppie’ kid and runs away from the scene. Wow!!

I do not think that any one in this world would have anything to say against our PM Manmohan Singhji. He is sincere, clean, erudite, scholarly, soft-spoken, hardworking and above all a very decent person. He is a Satvik person. We have great expectations from him. But we must remember that he is in the midst of mud. How long can he remain untouched by the mud of our politics? He is the author of India’s economic reforms and liberalisation when Narasimha Rao was the PM. He stayed with Narasimha Rao even as many faithfuls left him for this or that reason. And when at last he left PVN’s company he quoted the famous words “ Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”.
But when he became the PM, he was forced to cohabit with all kinds of tainted politicians! Can’t blame the PM. His Government did all kinds of dirty tricks in Goa, Jharkhand and Bihar! Why blame the PM. Did the BJP Government not do similar nasty things?? Well, that is why I say one cannot remain unstained living in mud pit.

The important thing is, the PM is sincere and he is trying his best to perform well. Take for instance his US visit. Did he not become only the fifth head of State to be invited to the White House for dinner with President Bush. Did President Bush not shower praise on the PM and the Indian economy and Indian BPO, and the Indian population in general? Then there was this nuclear agreement and so on. The PM also mentioned that he would stick to principles and at the same time be pragmatic. Or pragmatic and be principled at the same time. As the Congress spokes person Dr. Abhishek Singhvi would say, a win win situation! Never at a loss for words.

The PM has also done the best he could under the circumstances with regard to the Nanavati Commission Report on the 1984 riots against the Sikhs. The Secularists would not like to call it riot against the Sikh community. It was anti Indian riots. The Congress Party is appalled that the report has in no uncertain terms said that there is sufficient evidence to show that many Congressmen were involved in the riots. Surprise of surprises! But who did not know this from the day one?!

The last big riot was the one in Gujrat. The one in which 2000 or 3000 or 4000 people were killed. Like all such riots of the past we do not really know what all happened and how all that happened even though the media covered it in detail. The BJP says 44 riots have taken place in Gujarat during the Congress rule. What happened to all those thousands who were killed and the perpetrators of those riots? Not much is talked about the burning of people in the Godhra train. Who did that? Some politicians suggest that the BJP and the Parivar did it. The Railway Minister appointed a separate Commission, to get to the truth of the matter and he waved the report to the public that gathered to hear him speak just before the Jharkhand election. Was it ever made public? Who knows? But the election fever is over. The fever will start again in Bihar soon.

The Communists are pulling down the PM in all matters. The country is fighting external terrorism and the Communists are encouraging the Naxals! In the rally held in Malapuram in Kerala the Communists sang in praise of the Naxal Movement. Communists are said to be Godless, because in Russia they abolished God long ago. But, with the fall of the Soviet Union, God and Church has returned to Russia I believe! The Communists want to divide the Hindu Community for vote bank politics, the same tactics which was used by the British and later by the Congress party.

Communists are the ones who count today. One gets the impression that what the Communists want, the Government will do. See how tame P. Chidambaram has become?
The Communists behave as though they have the mandate to do what they want to do. Is that right? I think their numbers in the Parliament has slightly increased this time around because of the Antony – Karunakaran feud in Kerala. Not because the people love them. But, Congress beware! People are watching!

The following is a continuation of my earlier posting,"Beat the energy crisis" of 18/05/05
The effort of the modern world should be for utilisation of energy from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear reaction. As we all know, fossil fuels are depleting fast and nuclear reactors are far too dangerous in the present situation. Though few countries have gone in for nuclear energy in a big way, sustained efforts are being made to find other sources. Examples are, solar energy, wind energy, energy from ocean waves, biogas and bio diesel, geothermal energy and so on. Energy from the various sources may one day be able to replace totally the use of fossil fuels or nuclear reaction. Production of biogas from cow dung is a very interesting proposition for India. I have given some interesting details in the section biogas section.
But the Indian establishment appears to be totally in favour of nuclear energy for the future. Not sufficient seriousness is shown to promote biogas in a big way. Ruling Congress party is celebrating the concessions promised by US Govt. for the promotion of nuclear energy in India for purposes other than weapons. However, the Government authorities should not forget that development of energy sources other than fossil fuels and nuclear energy is one of the most important tasks for the country. It should be remembered that the US president has only recently called upon all developed nations to take to Methane gas farming in a big way. While France depends on nuclear energy for 80% or more of it’s total energy requirements, US dependence on nuclear energy is about 12% only. If the world’s richest economy is concerned about the depleting resources of crude oil, what is India doing with the world’s largest livestock population of 250 million?
Methane gas and bio-diesel are the new renewable sources to meet our entire needs.

Secular means not religious or not spiritual (material or lay). That is what the dictionary says. But in recent times the meaning has taken all sorts of twists and turns. Indian politicians tell you that they are religious but secular. This is like saying; the sky is blue but not blue.
Hardly any politician dares to say that he is not religious. That is because majority of the people in the country are religious and the politicians need to be part of the society for votes. Religiousness or spirituality is the ethos of India and not “secularism”. But the politician will go on insisting that India is a secular country because people belonging to many religions co-exist peacefully in this country. Does this mean that every individual, or every community should be unreligious to be able to live a life of harmony? If we remove the differences in religion, there could be difference in colour, language, educational levels, gender and so many more aspects that could divide people and create disharmony and strife for the society and the country.

Indians have been religious and will continue to be religious however much the yuppee secularists would like to have it differently. Religion was banished from communist countries but after some years it has resurfaced in those very countries. There can be any number of debates on the uselessness of religion, but man has need for spirituality to explore the depth of his inner being. Any degree of material success alone cannot buy him mental peace and spiritual solace.

The so-called secularism in the Indian context is a sham. It is the politician’s tool to win votes from minority communities. Politicians don on fancy headgears and ill-fitting clothes to identify themselves with different communities and groups and beg for votes.
For a Hindu politician it is important to visit a mosque or a church before the elections, so that he will not lose votes from those communities.

Though people belonging to different religious faiths are accepted in affluent countries, they will not be tolerated once they start challenging the local faith. The local’s faith today may be minimal or nonexistent due to other material diversions such as pursuit of success, sex or pot, but these pursuits will become increasingly unsatisfying and the individual will start searching for more permanent happiness. In his quest he will turn to religion. This is certainly happening in affluent countries at least in some degrees.

India’s ethos is religiousness or spirituality amid its diversity. But India’s constitution is secular. The constitution does not differentiate between people belonging to different communities. Every community has freedom to practice its religion. But this freedom to practice religion becomes irrelevant if all the communities do not have mutual respect for each other and their practices. It is important that, irrespective of the number of followers of the religions, they should all be considered equal.

It is well known that the British started the divisive politics in India. Apart from encouraging and aggravating the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, which led to the partition of India on independence, they sowed the seeds of dissention among the various caste groups of the Hindu community. The undeserving and self-serving so called leaders of different caste groups were encouraged to oppose the mainstream political struggle for independence.

Hindu society had a lot of ills. It is not a perfect society. With the passage of time The Hindu society has accepted changes and reforms. Though Hindu God-men may have influenced political leaders and politics marginally, their influence on mainstream politics is nonexistent. They do not call the shots. Their activities are confined to religious practice. In the western world, in olden days, the church had a strangle hold on political power. However that changed with time, and Secularism became the byword for progress. This is possible in the west with an overwhelming majority of the population of the same faith.

Hindu society has also changed a lot with time. Hardly any Hindu of present day has heard of Manu but the players of caste politics repeatedly talk of “Manuwad” to rubbish Hindu practices. Manuwad and the classification by “Varns” are all things of the past. Western education can take the credit for the reforms in Hindu society, but even with the reforms the Hindu religion has not weakened. If anything, the Hindu religion has only gained strength in recent times and there are many westerners who are quite impressed with the Hindu philosophy, the Vedas and the Upanishads etc.

In a country like India where people are essentially religious, Secularism is only a tool for administering Statecraft. It is not a tool, which the administration can use to divide people without impunity. In democratic India, only a shortsighted political outfit can use Secularism to divide people for vote bank politics.

In the present day Indian politics, the Shenanigans of Caste politics have a field day dividing the Hindu society. The Congress and the Communist Parties encourage this trend. Time will tell that the Congress Party, in all its wisdom has played a dirty game.

This hard cover edition published by Unisun Publications and edited by Aruna Nambiar is an interesting book to read. It is a compilation of 25 stories written by 14 Indian writers. The book is also profusely illustrated.
I qoute below portions of the forward, written by the editor Aruna Nambiar which gives an idea of the contents.

Be honest now - have you picked up this book to learn what the entrance fee is for Disneyland? Or where you can find a vegetarian menu amidst the smorgasbord of carnivorous delights in the Far East? Or how tall the Eiffel tower is and when it was built? Forewarned is forearmed. whisper to yourself."LET'S GO find another book" quitely return the offending pieceto that gap in the dust, back away carefully from the shelf and head FO-theDOR's.
let you labour under the misapprehension that this book is not of academic importance however, let me assure you that it contains a treasure trove of information. you will learn, for instance that shovelling shit can be fun- if you are on a reserve in South Africa. The slurping of noodles is not just expected in a Japanese ramen restaurant, but is also a highly efficient noodle consumption technique. That it is an honour in Australia, to be able to trace your background to a convict transported from England. That the largest beach in the world is a little 'worse-for wear'. That the children of Gandhi live in Brazil and not in Porbandar.

If you have ever been stuck in an alien land, hot or homesick, uncomfortable or unemployed, frozen or famished, or generally out of your depth, you will find ample company in misery as you turn these pages. If you are a jaded traveller who has sampled all that the world has to offer,only to discover surprises closer to home, you will find your wonderment echoed in these writings ............

So much was said and debated about the unprincipled war in Iraq and subsequent occupation of Iraq by American and British troops and their friends, that the rest of the world thought the people of USA and UK would show both Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair the door in the elections held recently. But that did not happen and both the leaders have been voted back to power.
What does this show to the world? It certainly proves that for all the talk of fair play, decency, justice and democracy the people of both these countries do not really care for all these values and all they care is for their supremacy and their own safety in this world. In war and in politics the winner is right.
It was widely reported that Saddam had the tacit support of the US to attack Kuwait, and when it happened the US turned the tables on Saddam and waged a war against Iraq and humbled Saddam. Sanctions were imposed on Iraq and Saddam was brought to his knees and the country was ruined. They wanted nothing less than full ownership of Iraq’s oil wealth (as believed by everyone in the world). But they would not admit it and it looks as though they believe that a lie repeated many times will ultimately turn out to be a truth.
Later, both US and UK went after Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction in spite of knowing the truth that there was no such WMD in Saddam’s possession. Again they attacked and humbled Saddam and imprisoned him. Both Bush and Blair are telling their people and the world that they have done a great job by removing the menace of Saddam and they are now in the process of teaching “democracy” to the people of Iraq.
Knowing all these matters, the people of the US and UK have voted these two leaders back to power. Do they really care for anything other than their own safety and prosperity? Lip sympathy for the hapless people of the rest of the world is all that they can give. Does Human rights and values mean anything to the people of the US and UK?

India is a country of diversity
Diversity of all kinds: religion, language, color and appearance of people, food, climate of different regions, art and culture and every aspect of life.

Spirituality is the Ethos of India
From Kashmir in north to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India and from Bhuj in the west to Shillong in the east every aspect of the country and life of the people is different. With all these differences the people of the subcontinent has for centuries lived as Indians. Differences in religion and language have from time to time caused discord and strife in different regions. But the people in general are proud to call themselves as Indians.
The diversity of India would seem to be its strength and cohesive factor. A Malayali of Kerala in the south is so much different from his counterpart in Punjab or Kashmir in the north. They have their individual Ethos but the Indian Ethos envelopes people of all regions and sections and prevail over the differences.
The majority population is of the Hindu faith. The Hindu faith is one, which has evolved over a span of several centuries. Hinduism is in fact a way of living as practiced by the people who lived in the Indus valley in ancient times. The Hindu scriptures known as Vedas and Upanishads originated several centuries before Christ.
Though Hindus are believed to be idol worshippers, in actual fact the idols represent only symbols which are necessary for the ordinary people to relate to a higher being, an almighty God. The great philosopher, thinker and poet Shankaracharya of Kaladi of 8th century BC, has propounded the theory of "Adwaita", which means non-dualistic. In simple terms God and soul (or Self) are one and the same. There is no separate existence of soul. Everything in this Universe, which are known, or unknown to us are all God manifestations.
God is omnipotent and resides everywhere and in everything. God is immortal and changeless. God is incomprehensible. You can neither feel nor see Him. But his presence is everywhere. God is present in the spark of life, in the heat and light of Fire. One can only realize him through introspection and meditation.
The purpose of taking birth in this world is to realize God. This life is precious because only the human intellect can realize God and one's true state. The Hindu belief is that death is not the end of life and that there is life after death. Until one reaches true realization of the self, cycle of birth and death continues.
When one realizes self, one attains release from the cycle of birth and death and becomes one with God.
The cycle of birth and death repeats because of the actions or "Karma" of the individual. Soul, or the Self, God, is inert, does not have qualities discernable to us. God is formless and infinite. It is like space. Like space or air it is inside and outside a vessel or a container. Soul is the spark of life and when it leaves the body the man is dead.
All living beings are born with certain inherent qualities, depending on ones actions or "Karma" in the previous life. These qualities more or less direct one's destiny. But once born, the humans unlike the beasts can use their intellect and modify their destiny through Karma. The quality of the Karma in the present life will mould the qualities for the next birth. This somewhat explains why the rewards of action are different for different persons.
Body, mind and intellect are the three main aspects of human beings. Ones desires arise from tendencies termed as "Vasnas" in Sanskrit, accumulated from previous lives. These desires are in one's mind and one's actions are dictated by the Vasnas and controlled by the intellect. If actions are performed without any control by the intellect, the intensity of the Vasnas increase and he will want to go on indulging in the same actions until his body can no more do these. If actions are undertaken with understanding and moderation it will help exhaust the Vasnas and the person will become more spiritual. Actions, if performed with a sense of duty and devotion will help reduce desires. The ultimate state of spirituality is not to have any desires at all. For the spiritual person there is no sorrow or happiness. His actions are dispassionate and he is not worried about the rewards for his actions.
When a person conducts his life without passionate desires he becomes relieved of the worries of success or failure. He becomes a spiritual person. A spiritual person is one who has no selfish interest in his actions or rewards. His work will be for the good of society at large and his outlook will gradually become universal.
A spiritual person is not worried about his welfare, his actions are as dictated by his "Dharma" and duty. He is not bound by anxiety for reward for himself. As a person becomes more and more spiritual he cares less and less for material comforts in life. He is a rich person whose needs are not many! Even while doing things his mind will be fixed on God, which is within him.
A person who realizes God, that is the one who gets a glimpse of his own soul (the Self) becomes the knower of every thing. He will want to know nothing more as his knowledge is complete. He becomes ecstatic and forgets the world around him and even himself and his body. A fully realized person is God himself.
Our spiritual state depends on our previous life too. If one is born with Satwic Vasnas he will tend to be more spiritual and he may reach Godhead more easily. The accumulated Vasnas of the previous lives is the logical explanation for pronounced inherent characteristics that are sometimes seen in small children. Valmiki who wrote the Hindu epic Ramayana was a hunter. Gautam Buddha, a prince, who grew up in the lap of luxury became an ascetic at an early age.
One of the more popular scripture of the Hindus is the Bhagavat Gita, which is a comprehensive text of the Hindu philosophy. It says that your religious Dharma, even though it may not be perfect is best for you. Fulfillment of Dharma, which is not yours, is always fraught with danger.
Bhagavat Gita also advises that it's teachings or secrets are not to be told to every one. Only those with a mature mind and faith in Him can understand or appreciate the text or realize the truth. Such people are rare. It is clear then that Religious Conversion is not a Hindu creed.

One of the main constraints for industrial growth of India is inadequate infrastructure. Though a lot has been achieved during the past couple of decades the energy situation is far from satisfactory There is this energy crisis looming large and for a country like India the problem could well become very serious in the future.
Conventional energy sources are becoming scarcer by the day and therefore new sources are to be explored. Through out the world lot of work is going on for alternative sources of energy.Apart from nuclear energy other sources such as solar energy, energy from wind and ocean waves, geothermal energy etc could become major alternatives for the conventional source from fossil fuels. Hydrogen is seen as a major alternative for automobile combustion engines.
For Indian conditions Biogas is a very interesting proposition, because of the abundance of the raw material - cow dung.
One of the main sources of methane or the biogas is from cow dung. There was an article in the Times of India written by Mr.Arun Firodia, which was very informative on the subject. Look at the numbers:

· India’s cattle population is about 250 million, which will produce 125 million tons of dung per year.
· Calorific value of one Kg of methane gas is equal to one KG of Petrol/Diesel/LPG
· Per capita requirement of LPG is 15KG and dung from 75 million cows can produce methane gas for cooking purpose for the entire population of the country.
· Petrol consumption in 2003-2004 was 8 million tonnes. Dung from 40 million cows is sufficient to produce equivalent amount of methane gas.
· Electric energy consumption of rural India is 112 KWH per capita/annum. Assuming that 200gms of petrol can produce 1 KWH power, dung from 85 million cows can meet the needs of a rural population of 740 million in India.

One should think it is high time the cow worshipping people of this country will utilise the cow dung more profitably so that the cow will be able to maintain its status in our society.
Plants of different production capacities are available in the country. Today the production of biogas from cow dung is mainly used for domestic cooking. However the production on a large scale may pose many problems. The whole production process depends on bacterial activity, which is not a totally dependable process since several factors affect the bacterial activity. Large-scale production would require innovation and adoption of controls for uninterrupted supply.
One is reminded of the grand success of milk production in the country. In the early sixties and seventies there was severe shortage of milk in the country. One man’s vision and hard work saw the flooding of milk in the country. The co-operative initiative started by Mr. Kurien, was responsible for this success. A similar co-operative movement can make methane production in this country a successful venture.
The cattle population is spread out all over the country and a well thought out strategy should be worked out to see that all the dung is collected properly and brought to the various plants within the specified time period. It may be necessary to produce the methane gas in small plants at district levels so that time is not lost in transportation, which may be vital for successful bacterial action.
After the gas is produced it must pass through quality checks and necessary processing before delivery. Problems of packaging and delivery of the standardised gas may also pose problems. Methane gas can be liquefied only at very high pressures, which may not be practical. However, methods could be evolved depending on the end use of the gas.
It is hoped that Indian researchers and industry will take an active part in utilising the abundant natural resource to meet the energy crisis faced by the country.
I hope some leaders of industry will take the initiative and save the country a lot of foriegn exchange and also dependence on the conventional fossil fuels which are slated to be exhausting within a couple of decades
I understand that the reputed German automobile manufacturer BMW is producing electrical energy from landfill gas, methane, to meet almost 20% of their energy requirement. They are getting the methane gas from a distance of about 9 kilometres through pipe lines to gas turbines for production of electrical power. This is really good.