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60 YEARS AGO, SHINKANSEN BLAZED A TRAIL. INDIA SHOULD BE A BULLET TRAIN NATION TOO. BY INVITATION: KYLE CHAN
Sixty years ago, on October 1, 1964, the Shinkansen set off from Tokyo to Osaka, marking a new era of rail travel. It’s hard to believe that when the project was proposed, there were protests over land acquisition, concern over cost and whether it was really needed in an era in which air travel was being democratised. Similar debates are now happening in India around its 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor. But there are many arguments to be made in favour of a bullet train nation. Decades of rapid economic growth have strained India’s venerable railway system. Highways and roads seem to be filled with traffic congestion no matter how many new lanes are added. A rising middle class has propelled India’s aviation market to third in the world by passenger volume, projected to reach 500m per year by 2030. There is clearly demand for fast, long-distance travel. And there are millions of Indians willing and able to pay for it. A nationwide network connecting India’s largest cities at speeds of 300 km/h or more would transform the country. One could zip from Delhi to Mumbai in under five hours or from Bengaluru to Hyderabad in just over two. In China, bullet trains have been so successful that airlines have stopped flying between some cities, such as Zhengzhou and Xi’an. Even for longer distances where flying might be slightly faster, bullet trains are often preferred for their punctuality, comfort, and reduced hassle at the station. Bullet trains, though more energy-intensive than conventional trains, are a much more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable way for the most populous nation on earth to travel than airplanes and cars. The benefits of a single high-speed rail line to individual passengers are obvious: faster connections, convenience, and reliability. But the benefits to the entire nation of a whole network of high-speed rail lines, though harder to quantify, can be far more profound. Existing research suggests China’s nationwide bullet train network improves innovation and work collaboration through greater face-to-face interactions. Regional clusters of cities and their surrounding areas can be turned into a single commuting zone, improving job opportunities for workers. Imagine a Hyderabad-Bengaluru-Chennai high-tech cluster connected by bullet trains. And high-speed rail, like conventional railways, benefits from network effects where each additional line improves the value of other existing lines. But what about the cost? The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train’s revised cost is Rs 1.65 lakh crore, which equates to roughly Rs 325 crore per km. While this may seem like a hefty sum, there are some things to keep in mind. One is that the entire railway network needs a massive expansion anyway. Bullet trains can help free up existing track, particularly for freight trains, which was a key motivation behind China’s bullet train program. (FAST TRACK: HIGH SPEED RAIL DOESN’T JUST BENEFIT PASSENGERS, IT IMPROVES JOB OPPORTUNITIES BY CONNECTING CLUSTERS) Another is that the railways are competing with air and road transportation. While improving existing rail infrastructure might seem like a more cost-effective option, there are limits to how far the present system can be pushed. Conventional track can only support trains operating up to certain speeds due to technical limitations. And running both slow and fast trains on the same tracks severely limits the speed of the fastest trains and causes delays. A slightly faster but still frequently delayed train journey will not be enough to win over passengers from aviation and road transport. A true bullet train service will. There are some ways to deal with the cost. One is through standardisation and scale. China created a set of technical and procedural standards that helped lower the cost of each new high-speed rail project. It also deliberately used the scale of its program to incentivise investment in production capacity by suppliers and construction firms. Another way to address costs is, paradoxically, to make use of elevated tracks, bridges and tunnels. This is a strategy that Japan and China both used. While direct construction costs are higher; it reduces problems with land acquisition, which is a prime cause of delays and cost escalations. This approach also helps with safety by keeping track separate from the surrounding environment. Can a national bullet train network even be built in India? Absolutely. Indian Railways has made tremendous progress in electrification, gauge conversion, and line doubling. The Vande Bharat semi-high-speed trains are a triumph of Indian engineering and manufacturing. The massive Dedicated Freight Corridor, which consists of 2,843-km of new freight rail lines, is nearly complete. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, for all its delays and problems, has now finished land acquisition. And don’t forget about the many metros popping up across the country. Finally, are bullet trains just a luxury for the rich? It depends on how the fares are set. In China, many migrant workers can afford to take bullet trains between their work and their hometowns. Even if fares are set too low to return a profit, as is the case for many lines in China, this is more than acceptable. A national bullet train network is an investment in India’s economic and environmental future.
(Chan is a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University) The Times of India 6/10/24
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
(THE TIMES OF INDIA 21/7/24 SWEET MANGO FACES A BITTER HEAT CHALLENGE
Be it the sweet and succulent Dussehri of Maal-Malihabad, Langda of Varanasi, Saharanpur’s Chausa, or Rataul variety of Baghpat – mango, the king of fruits, continues to reign supreme. Another significant constituent of UP’s diverse mango wealth is Gaurjeet of Gorakhpur, for which the UP government is trying to get a GI tag. If this happens, UP will become the state with the maximum GI-tagged mango varieties. What, however, has emerged as a challenge for mangoes in UP in the last few years is the unpredictable weather. Lucknow-based ICAR lab, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH), is working to make mangoes climate-resilient by introducing new technologies and, also, new varieties. “Last year, it was the untimely rain, and this time, it was the extreme temperature and heat which affected the crops.” Said director, CISH, T Damodaran. CISH Lab conducts research on mandated subtropical fruits, mangoes being the one, to come with improved varieties. In the case of mangoes, Dussehri, being an early ripening variety, is 80% more susceptible to heat and high temperatures. “In many fruits, we saw premature ripening this time, ” the director said. To deal with the impact of weather on mangoes, CISH is working at two levels – developing climate-resilient technologies and making efforts to come up with genetically improved hybrids. Many orchards in Malihabad had mangoes covered with paper bags this year, to control the impact of the heat. “This was only one of the ways devised to tackle the impact of heat. We have also come up with technologies to control the attack of pests on mangoes, as unpredictable weather may also trigger that,” he said. The institute has already released two hybrid mangoes – Ambika and Arunika. The varieties are genetically improved and were tested over a period before they were released for commercial production. Each is a cross of two types of mangoes. Ambika is a cross of Amrapali and Janardan Pasand, and Arunika is a cross of Amrapali and Vanraj, a mango from Gujarat. Two more varieties developed by CISH, Samriddhi and Madhurika, are ready for release shortly. Besides, at least 11 other hybrid mangoes may be up for screening by the institute to be released for commercial production. The hybrids are genetically improved, have high productivity and yield a better-quality fruit. They are also tolerant to heat waves and biotic stress due to the attack of pests and insects. The varieties developed scientifically are also nutraceutically improved. Along with this, CISH has also come up with improved varieties of Dussehri. It is by mid-March that a Dussehri tree usually completes its flowering stage, and within a week, the fruit may set in. In Dussehri’s cycle of growth, rain in March may be damaging because that is when the flowers just open and pollination takes place. “Rain may make flowers either drop or turn black, something that happened last year,” said Naseeb Khan, a mango entrepreneur in Malihabad. In that case, some fruits that develop may be false fruits as they would lack seeds. Mangoes need a temperature between 27 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius to grow ideally in March and April. The varying temperature damages the fruit. Cloudy weather, high humidity and high velocity winds may further hit the crop. “In many fruits, this year, the seed may become soggy, affecting the taste. It was because of the extreme heat,” said Khan. UP accounts for over 23% of the total mango production in the country. Lucknow, Saharanpur and Meerut are the main mango-producing regions. In the last few years, mango varieties from the state have been exported to Singapore, Malaysia, the US, England and Dubai. (PICTURES OF MANGO VARIETIES ON A PLATTER) (‘OG’ (ORIGINAL) MANGOES OF UP) – Dussehri from Maal-Malihabad in Lucknow, Langda from Varanasi, Rataul from Baghpat, Gaurpreet from Gorakhpur and Chausa from Saharanpur grow naturally in UP. – Dussehri, Rataul and Langda are GI tagged. The UP government has sought a GI tag for Chausa and Gaurpreet. – Dussehri, Langda and Chausa are exported outside UP and India and are commercially successful and popular. FIRST HYBRID MANGO VARIETIES – Work to develop hybrid varieties of mangoes started in the 1960s at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi – The purpose was to develop varieties that would bear every year and have high productivity, besides yielding good quality fruits. – Amrapali (cross of Dussehri and Neelam) and Mallika (cross of Neelam and Dussehri) were the first hybrids. – Dussehri is from North India, and Neelam is from South India. While North Indian varieties are biennial, those from South India bear annually. – CISH CONSERVES AND PROPAGATES 775 MANGO VARIETIES – CISH has the biggest collection of mango germplasm in the world. – Many varieties are now extinct at their places of origin – Collection started in 1975 when the institute started as the Central Mango Research Station. – Kensington Pride from Australia was the first exotic variety brought to the institute. – Today, it has 17 others, including Tommy Atkins, Sensation, Edward, Eldon, Keitt, Kent, Osteen, Palmer, Kitchner, Starch, Filipino, Lilly, Maya, Carabao, Kowasaji Patel, St Alexander & Prior-de-Amroesia. – Mangoes have been sourced from nurseries and orchard owners over a period of time, and are used to develop new varieties.
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
TIMES OF INDIA 18.1.22 : INDIA MUST GIVE TAIWAN A HELPING HAND BY BRAHMA CHELLANEY
After swallowing Hong Kong, redrawing the South China Sea’s geopolitical map and encroaching on Indian and Bhutanese borderlands, an expansionist China is itching to move on Taiwan. This island democracy is a technological powerhouse central to the international semiconductor business. Taiwan also plays an indirect role in the defence of India because its autonomous existence ties up a sizable portion of China’s armed forces. CHINA’S EXAGGERATED CLAIMS Beijing’s claim that Taiwan has “always been” part of China is dubious, at best, and based on revisionist history. For most of its history, Taiwan was inhabited by Malayo-Polynesian tribes and had no ties with China until the island’s Dutch colonial rulers in the 17th century invited Chinese workers to emigrate. In that sense, Taiwan is closer to the Philippines than China. The world cannot afford to let Taiwan go the way of the once-autonomous Tibet, which was gobbled up by the Mao Zedong’s regime in the early 1950s. Tibet’s annexation remains one of the most far-reaching geopolitical developments in post-World War II history, which resulted in China imposing itself as India’s neighbour and waging unending aggression. Today, Taiwan has all the attributes of a robust independent state, and most Taiwanese want it to stay that way. But China’s new Mao, Xi Jingping, calls the island’s incorporation a “historic mission”. Xi is working to implement the expansionist agenda that Mao left unfinished, which explains why he has not spared even tiny Bhutan. In the way a porcupine’s quills protect it from larger predators by making it difficult to digest, Taiwan needs to create porcupine-like defences with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. By turning a Chinese invasion into a bloody and protracted guerrilla campaign, a porcupine Taiwan would inflict high costs on China, including major military casualties. CREATING INTERNATIONAL SPACE But no less important than bolstering its defences is Taiwan’s imperative to carve out greater international space for itself. If Taiwan gains greater presence on the global stage, it will be able to shore up its status as a defacto nation, making it more difficult for China to seize the island in the way it occupied Tibet and Xinjiang soon after coming under communist rule in 1949. The then-independent Tibet, for example, should have applied for United Nations membership shortly after that international body came into existence in 1945, but it never did. China, as a step towards annexing Taiwan, is working to wipe out its international identity by bribing countries to break off diplomatic ties with Taipei and by vetoing Taiwan’s presence even in international forums. Its poaching has left only 13 nations and the Vatican is still recognising Taiwan. But recently, China has been forced to eat humble pie by a puny nation. Lithuania, with just 18,500 active military personnel, has set an example for bigger countries on how to stand up to the global Goliath’s bullying. Undeterred by China’s sanctions campaign against it, Lithuania has allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy. With some other European states- from the Czech Republic and Poland to Slovakia – already seeking to deepen ties with Taiwan, Lithuania indeed promises to serve as a bellwether of sorts. THE INDIA CONNECT India, locked in several military standoffs with China, needs to think and act creatively, including helping Taiwan by learning from its historical mistake on Tibet. When China invaded Tibet in 1950, India opposed Tibet’s desperate plea for a UN discussion before acquiescing in the Chinese annexation of the buffer, including withdrawing its military escorts from Tibet and handing over Tibet’s postal, telegraph and telephone services that it was running. If Taiwan is not to go Tibet’s way, India must do its part to help Taiwan reinforce its defences and self-governing status. India must follow the lead of Japan and the US in strengthening ties with Taipei. And it should emulate the example set by minnow Lithuania and allow Taiwan to rename its “Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre” in New Delhi as the “Taiwanese Representative Office”, while rebranding its own mission in Taipei as the “India Representative Office”. Make no mistake: Taiwan is on the frontline of international defence against Xi’s totalitarianism and expansionism, which have spawned a Muslim gulag Xinjiang, brutal repression in Tibet and Himalayan aggression. Major democracies must act before it becomes too late to save Taiwan, a democratic success story. If China succeeds in recolonising Taiwan, India’s security will come under greater pressure. (The writer is a professor of strategic studies, Centre for Policy Research) Times of India 18/1/22
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
BIGGER, MESSIER DELHI STILL HAS ITS ARMS WIDE OPEN
…. DELHI IS A RARE CITY WITH A LONG PAST BUT NO HANKERING TO TIE ITSELF DOWN TO IT. WHETHER IT’S PEOPLE OR SPACES, IT ABSORBS THEM ALL WITHOUT RESERVE
Delhi changed for me forever one day in the mid-1980s when a friend took me with him to the site where he was planning to buy a flat. There wasn’t much to see. The large tracts of nothingness, which became what we know today as Vasant Kunj, had no redeeming features. What was astonishing to me, however, was that when I looked towards Delhi, between me and the city stood the visage of Qutub Minar. That there could be a Delhi beyond Qutub Minar was something that made no sense to me. For in my imagination, it was pretty much at the very edge of the city. After all, that was a time when I remember going on a picnic in a bus with family friends to the exotic destination called Deer Park, far from our residence in Karol Bagh. . The Delhi that resides permanently in my mind is a cross between the city shown in Chashme Buddoor (the original, not the ghastly remake) and Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye. On the one hand, there are memories of wide open roads, a time scented with languidness, glorious winter mornings, neighbourhoods basking in leafy silence, and on the other hand, the untidy energy, the hustle, the ability to live loudly and publicly, and friends called Lovely, Pinky, Tinkle, Kuki and OK. The biggest change Delhi has seen is physical. It has burst out of its seams in all directions and has colonised spaces around it. It began with the conquest of Jamnapaar, which started out as a relocation drive of ‘unauthorised settlements’ under the watch of Sanjay Gandhi, but then took on a life of its own. Noida and Gurgaon are now cities in their own right, with their own cultural imprints, while drawing liberally from the mother ship. There are many more cars and there is a lot more money, which gives Delhi more mediums to express itself in. Delhi traffic nips at the heels of those in front, ready to kill to gain an inch of space. The murderous intent is expressed first in sound, achieved by honking persistently, and then sometimes followed by action, as evidenced by the number of road rage incidents. The money is visible everywhere – the old colony markets that continue to thrive, lavish weddings at farmhouses, crowds at high-end restaurants, and homes that overflow with decor. Perhaps the biggest loss is that of the Delhi winter. Delhi’s best, most glorious feature is now shrouded in noxious pollution that hangs like a foreboding and stings like regret. The joy of the outdoors, the enlivening experience of bone-chilling cold being thawed out by the sun as one sat on a charpoy and ate rewari and moongphali, basking for several glorious hours, is now an alleged memory, so far removed it has become. Winters are the time now to start muttering about migrating out of the city, while anxiously looking out for an AQI reading that tells us it is safe to step out of the home for a short walk. There are other losses, too. The cinema theatres, which served as a practical guide to different localities in the city, included Plaza, Odeon, Regal, and Rivoli in CP; Golcha, Novelty, Ritz, Delite, and Moti, which marked out Old Delhi; and Anupam, Savitri, Sapna, and the infamous Uphaar, which dotted areas of South Delhi. Some of these theatres remain, some have been refurbished, while others lie in dilapidated disuse. Nirula’s exists, but it is hard to believe it was at the cultural heart of Delhi’s upper-middle-class youth once. The classic Delhi restaurants – Kwality, Embassy, Moti Mahal and Gaylord- are still around, but their role today is to serve as nostalgic artefacts. One goes there to savour the memory of a Delhi that once was. And while street food in Delhi continues to be as delicious, the famous names are now tourist spots more than unselfconscious, humble eating places. And yet, while Delhi has changed in so many ways, at its core, it feels the same. The life that one leads today is poles apart from one’s experiences growing up, but the idea of Delhi has not shown much change. It still lives fiercely in the present and remains unmindful of the history it is set smack in the middle of. Contrary to its popular image, Delhi is India’s only genuinely cosmopolitan city, in that only a small fraction of its residents can claim to be originally from the city. Everyone is a stranger, and everyone is in the city as a user. Delhi hones our appetite, keeps our competitive edge intact and gives us many opportunities to advertise our success. It might have sprawled in ungainly ways in the last few decades and become even louder and shinier, but there is nothing unrecognisable about Delhi.
(WRITTEN BY SANTOSH DESAI. TOI COLUMNIST AND AUTHOR) TIMES OF INDIA ARTICLE 12.9.21
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:
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