25th Anniversary: Maruti 800

A tiny car, but a towering national presence. Indian motoring history reached its fabled inflexion point on a wintry December morning in 1983 when a tiny car was rolled out of a factory in Gurgaon. Indian roads have never been the same ever since. With virtually 90% of the world’s biggest automobile brands already plying their trade on Indian roads today, Sunday (December 14) marks an important milestone in India’s automotive history.

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of Maruti 800, a car that literally put Indians on an automotive diet, which continues unabated as the first, true-blue, Indian people’s car. Call it a cultural icon, a social symbol, or even a national emblem of sorts, the Maruti 800 has remained a mainstay of personal mobility for the masses. Its ownership transcended class and economic barriers, and its story goes way beyond mere numbers.

Speaking of which, time for some quantitative perspective. In its 25-year life, Maruti Udyog Ltd has produced 27,36,046 units of the 800, of which exports accounted for 1,92,914 units. What it means is that Maruti rolled out an impressive number of 800s every year – over 100,000 units per year on an average – for which any car maker would be willing donate an arm and a leg.

What is truly impressive about these figures is that the 800 came in at a time when the Indian automotive output stood at close to 40,000 units per annum. Within a year of its launch, the industry nearly doubled and,thereafter, kept at it for a few more years. In certain cases, the market also happened to favour the competition solely because MUL was unable to keep production to match with pent up demand! Rarely has the automotive world seen such a scenario play out, on such a large scale.

In the 25 years that the Maruti 800 has been in production, it has had just two model changes. The very first ran from inception in 1983 till 1997, when the present day car was introduced. The engine capacity has remained the same at 796cc. But, what’s amazing is the fact that Maruti and Suzuki offered a single overhead camshaft engine when everybody else had push-rod actuated overhead valves; even newer rivals like Ford, who came in the early 1990s, had archaic technology. Constant technological upgradation of components not only helped masses of car buyers freak out with fuel-efficient, zippy and very reliable Suzukis, the Indian component industry got a massive shot in the arms as MUL’s localisation juggernaut rolled along.

While the Hindustan Ambassador may be older and have the longest production run of any Indian automobile to date, the tiny 800 not only set Indians on the move, it also spawned a whole new culture. At the time of its advent, the 800 commanded a premium twice that of its list price. It came with a top-end luxury model with full leather interiors and it was not out of place to see chauffeur-manned 800s driving “sahibs to work.” From a human psychological perspective, it suddenly made 800 buyers as owners of their own destinies – an option which they could never exercise with the three-pointed star, given its unobtanium pricing then.

For Maruti and Suzuki, it laid the foundation of a giant in the Indian automotive sphere, the tiny 800 spurring on no less than 12 distinctly different models in the last quarter century.

 

(Source: The Times Of India)

DDA amasses over Rs 120 cr in interest

Finally, after a tense three-month wait, results of Delhi’s Great Housing Lottery are out. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has selected the winners who would be eligible to buy its flats. The odds were tough — over 5,60,000 families had applied for 5,020 flats, about 112 applicants per flat. And, without selling even a single flat, DDA has already raked in a profit of a cool Rs 120-Rs 200 crore.

DDA sold 12.64 lakh application forms for Rs 100 each, netting Rs 12.64 crore. Less than half could finally apply given the steep application fees of Rs 1.5 lakh. Yet, roughly every seventh household in Delhi had applied.

So, the DDA ended up with about Rs 7,680 crore in its coffers. This whopping amount has gathered interest for three months. At a conservative 6% per year, that would be about Rs 115 crore, and at 10% it would be touching Rs 200 crore. Barring the 5,020 lucky families, the rest would get back their Rs 1.5 lakh. But DDA keeps the interest Rs 120 crore to Rs 200 crore.

But all this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real question is: Why is there such a mad rush for a mere 5,020 flats in a metropolis of 1.7 crore people? According to the 2001 Census, there was a net shortage of over four lakh homes in the Capital, consisting of 1 lakh families sharing the roof with other families, and another 3 lakh that lived in unserviceable, kuchcha houses.

Besides this, an estimated quarter of Delhi’s population stays in rented accommodation. All told, therefore, about 11.5 lakh households needed modern housing. And this was 7 years ago, the situation would be worse today.
It is this mismatch of demand and supply that accounts for the mad scramble for every DDA offer. Homes offered by private builders are unaffordable for most middle class families, leave aside the poor. DDA should have taken care of this as it was created for this purpose. But its sub-par performance over decades has contributed to the housing shortage.

Rahul Gupta registered for DDA’s Rohini scheme back in 1981. He, and many others, have still not got plots. There are about 25,000 such persons awaiting allotment of plots for the past 27 years, he laments.
DDA has sold just 3.7 lakh flats in the past 40 years. According to the Annual Administrative Reports of DDA for the years between 2002-03 and 2006-07, its spending on construction of flats and shops declined from about 5% to a measly 1% of its total annual expenditure. It spent about Rs 1,500 crore on construction of houses and shops, and raked in over Rs 2,289 crore from their sale.

DDA’s real focus was on land. It bought land for Rs 2,616 crore and netted over Rs 10,155 crore by selling it off to various building agencies like group housing societies. Its income from sale of land has shot up from about 7% to 18% of its total income.

In case you think the DDA might not have the cash needed to build flats, consider this: it earned over Rs 16,383 crore in the past five years from its investments in securities and bonds. Such earnings have gone up from about 23% of its total income in 2002-03 to over 32% in 2006-07. Its total receipts have zoomed up from Rs 6,383 crore in 2002-03 to over Rs 22,394 crore last year, an increase of over 250%.

Experts feel that in the coming days, with huge land development by private builders proposed under the new master plan, DDA’s role in affordable housing may shrink further. But since most land in Delhi will pass through DDA’s hands, it will still laugh all the way to the bank.

Authority’s site crashes

Over five lakh applicants and 5,000 flats up for grabs. Little wonder then the DDA website crashed immediately after the initial list of successful applicants was posted on Tuesday. The DDA claimed that the results of the draw would be made available on www.dda.org.in and www.urbanindia.nic.in. But few applicants could actually visit the site.

 

(Source- The Times Of India)

Worrisome Lonesome

Security from terror and the economy may be our first concern today, but a survey of the average Indian’s worry index gives Times Life some interesting insights, reports Nona Walia

 

IT’S 3 a.m., and you’re awake — palms sweaty, mind racing. You’re worried about your life. Your kids. Your parents. Your promotion. What are people thinking about you? The sad truth about modern life is: We’re becoming worrywarts! We worry about everything! We worry about the ‘what-ifs’ in life. In an all-India survey by Times Life across eight cities, we asked worriers to write down everything that bothered them; 80 per cent people worried most about their family, 75 per cent about relationships. All Indians were worried about losing their self-esteem!

 

Risking one’s self-respect is sure to result in tense moments. Says actor Zulfi Sayed, “When we were inside Bigg Boss in confinement, we worried about our image. How are we being shown, what are people thinking about us? It became an obsession.”

 

Top worries are personal health, money, relationships followed by crime, the cost of living, terrorism and children’s future. But silly worries count too: A teenager worries that her mom may find her secret diary, another schoolgirl worries about her dog being fat.

 

Interestingly, 80 per cent people in Mumbai w o r r y about m o n – e y o ve r family or relationships. They are also concerned about what people think about them. While 80 per cent Delhiites and Bangaloreans worry mainly about relationships, people in A h m e d – abad really w o r r y about losing their self-respect.

 

Interestingly, in his book, The Worry Cure, author Robert Leahy writes, worriers respond differently to frightening situations than other people. They stay upset, rather than becoming less anxious over time. According to Psychology Today, worry is often like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but doesn’t necessarily get you anywhere. Says spiritual guru Ma Naina, from Osho Delhi, “To put an end to worries, you have to live in the present — then, there’s no past and no future!”  Says spiritual guru Thich Nhat Hanh, “We spend spirit energy when we worry. It saturates us.”

 

So, are we wired to worry? In these terror times, we’re all worried about our security. Says Poonam Verma, vice-chairman of Property Guards, security agency, “I’ve had women wanting to know how to safeguard themselves, how to use weapons, men wanting to know if sniffer dogs can protect them, parents wanting to train kids to deal with panic. Corporates are worried about bomb threats.” There are different kinds of worriers too. Chandrashekhar H. Panara, 21, a mountaineering instructor says, “I worry about small things that I can’t control!”

 

The good thing about worrying is it can mobilise us into action. Like Anuja Chauhan, author of Zoya Factor, who worries about whether her kids are eating right. “I don’t worry about long-term stuff,” she says.

 

Most worry today is about everyday things rather than longterm threats. Says classical dancer Geeta Chandran, “I worry about old age. Small, daily irritants can be bothersome. Right now, the economic downturn is occupying a lot of my mind space. I think also about how there’s lack of sensitivity today.” Evolution may have given us the opportunity to worry, but that doesn’t mean we should take the bait. Gitanjali Prasad, author of The Great Indian Family agrees, “Indians worry too much. Most worry about loss of a dear one. Losing your health is also a reason for anxiety.”

 

It seems people also worry a lot before they make big, life-changing decisions. But there’s no need to kill yourself with worry. Says TV actor Hiten Tejwani, “I think a lot before making career decisions. My wife, Gauri Pradhan also worries about small things.”

 

The website reallyworried.com logs 853 health worries, 580 current affairs worries, 333 money worries. That’s a lot of worrying going around the world. Says its founder Richard Rubin, “I was a chronic worrier. I wanted people to have a place to share thoughts on worrying.”

 

Bosnian fitness expert Vesna wants to help create a worry-free world, “Indians worry about small things. We waste our lives worrying, but it can’t change anything. So, why worry?”

 

TOP 10 WORRIED CITIES IN INDIA

 

1. Chennai 2. Mumbai 3. Bangalore 4. New Delhi 5. Hyderabad 6. Kanpur 7. Kolkata 8. Pune 9. Lucknow 10. Ahmedabad

 

4 STEPS TO NO WORRY!

 

ShareI Reveal your worries by talking.

 

RelaxI Learn to let go and relax.

 

DietI Cut down on caffeine and spicy food.

 

DrinkI Avoiding alcohol keeps you in control of your worries.

 

 

 

(Source: The Times of India) 

Making of Black Cats

 

It goes, strikes, achieves and quietly comes back, just like the mythological Chakra which would behead the demons and return to the finger of Lord Krishna” — Nikhil Kumar, former director-general of the National Security Guards (NSG), describing the elite anti-terror crack force

 

The NSG was in Chakra mode in Mumbai last month in a grim indication of its enhanced role in countering the terrorist threat. Now, it’s not just VIPs who want the best NSG commandos in their security team; many states are arguing for regional NSG hubs to deal with Mumbai-like situations.

 

But is this feasible, given that the NSG has just 7,500 men to take care of VIP security, antiterrorist operations and bomb disposal? No, says an NSG commando who took part in the Mumbai operation. “It is not possible because it takes minimum of 14 months to fully train a group of 500 to 1,000 personnel at one go.”

 

ENDURANCE TEST

 

Popularly known as Black Cats because of the black nomex coveralls and black balaclavas they wear, NSG commandos are on deputation from the Army and paramilitary, including the Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Security Force and Sashastra Seema Bal.

 

Three of their 14 months of training in Manesar, Haryana, are devoted to the basics. Physical fitness training has 26 elements, ranging from an crosscountry obstacle course to jumping from heights and across divides and scaling different kinds of terrain. One endurance test involves target shooting at the end of an obstacle-ridden cross-country run. This is meant to gauge the candidate’s performance under conditions of stress and exhaustion. Those who successfully complete the tests are sent for nine months of advanced training.

 

This trains the commandos to handle sophisticated communication equipment, combat gadgets and different kinds of arms/specialized weapons such as AK-47/74s, Browning hi-power 9mm pistols, 9mm Uzi sub-machine guns, 5.56mm M-16A2s, 9mm H&K MP5-A2/A3s and locally manufactured 7.62mm SLR and 5.56mm INSAS rifles. Sniper rifles such as the semi-automatic H&K 7.62mm PSG-1 and MSG-90, the SIG 7.62mm, SSG-2000 and the bolt-action Mauser SP66/86SR are also used to train members of the Special Action Group, which is specifically deployed for anti-terror/anti-hijacking operations.

 

SHOOTING IN THE DARK

 

Advanced training also covers ‘combat room shoot’ in which commandos have to enter a dark room, adjust their vision to the darkness and shoot at a target within three seconds by torchlight or a compatible laser image intensifier. Similar training is also conducted under discotheque strobe lights — conditions that are considered very difficult. Shooting skills are honed at an electronic combat shooting range, which is divided into 11 zones and spread over 400 metres. Recruits have to cover the distance in 6.30 minutes and fire at 29 targets along the way, with the target exposure being two to three seconds.

 

After completing their training, commandos have to be on “alert status” mode for two months. During this period, the target strike rate has to be above 85% for a commando to remain in the force. “Practice is key and, therefore, the commandos have to go through the routine drill every day to keep themselves fighting fit and ready to move within 30 minutes of notice to anywhere in the country,” says a commando.

 

And yet, despite all that training and alertness, NSG deployment to Mumbai was sadly delayed last month because the force does not have its own aircraft to transport the commandos from Manesar. The government now plans to buy two planes for the NSG to use, even as it creates four regional NSG hubs. But this cannot happen until it recruits and prepares more commandos, which will take at least 14 months of rigorous training.

 

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The NSG is modelled after the UK’s Special Air Squadron or SAS. How do the two compare?

 

 

An NSG team commander has to be less than 38 years and a squadron commander below 42

 

SAS officers in the UK must be between 22 and 34 years; those applying for other ranks between 19 and 34

 

 

The weakest NSG candidates are weeded out during the first three months of training. Dropout rate: 50-70%

 

The SAS selection programme, one of the world’s most gruelling, lasts four weeks. The dropout rate is as high as 90%

 

 

NSG men get nine months of advanced training in communications equipment, gadgets and weaponry

 

SAS has 24 weeks of jungle training, continuation training in various skills of an SAS man and parachute training

 

 

An NSG commando is paid anywhere between Rs 15,000 per month for a jawan and Rs 45,000 per month for a commissioned officer

 

In 2006, an SAS trooper’s annual salary was hiked to just under £40,000 (Rs 32 lakh) and a major’s to £70,000 (Rs 51 L) to stop them leaving the force

 

(Source: The Times of India)