17th Prof. Y.

Nayudamma Memorial Lecture 01 August 2012

V. Rajanna Dr Jagadeesh, Director, Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives, Dr Mandal, Director, CLRI, Mr Ratheish, Managing Director, AP Tanneries Ltd, ladies and gentlemen! A very very good evening!!! It is a privilege and a great honour indeed, for me to be here today to receive this prestigious award for 2012 from the Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives. I am very happy to be visiting Nellore after twenty years, and I can see the tremendous progress made in this district from space research to rice to aquaculture.. Dr. Nayudamma, in more ways than one, has been a towering personality, both literally and figuratively. His journey - from a simple farming family in Tenali - to being an internationally recognized organic chemist is aweinspiring. Personally, he has been a source of great inspiration to me, and before I begin, I cannot help but recall Henry Longfellows words, which are so apt in this context. Lives of great men all remind us, We must make our lives sublime, And departing leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time. [Meaning: Leaders (great men) (like Dr Nayudamma) leave their mark (footprints) on this world and through their work, remind us to raise the bar and make our lives very worthy (sublime).] In any setting, the ability to combine intellectual and emotional intelligence to not only inspire a generation and beyond, but to also make a difference in the
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life of the common man - is the hallmark of a leader - and the remarkable coming together of all these attributes in a person is what made Dr. Nayudamma stand out. Let me dwell a little on the attributes that made Dr. Nayudamma so special, and which are more relevant than ever in todays world. When I first came across Dr. Nayudamma and his practical science school of thought, I was struck by the amazing clarity of thought that went, hand in hand, with a completely simple approach, and how he built a seamless relationship amongst science, technology and the needs of those around him. Post-independence, when the adoption of science and technological knowhow from the developed nations was seen as the only route to development, and where the subject of science was confined to elite discussion groups, Dr. Nayudamma, with Pandit Nehrus active encouragement, focused on Science for the common man and as a tool to achieve the objective of the development of the society - emphasizing not on the adoption, but on the application of science and technology to suit the social setup where development was sought. He was convinced that Science and Society are inseparable, and must complement each other on the path to achieving the true development of the nation. As the youngest director of Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Dr. Nayudamma was able to create a sustainable impact on the Leather industry he not only helped modernize the processing of leather but also helped bring India on the international leather circuit. Export of finished leather and leather goods brings in significant foreign exchange into India today. I attribute the impact he was able to create on people associated with the leather industry, as well as on the industry itself, to his deep understanding of the issues that plagued the leather industry in India. Under his leadership, research came full circle at CLRI when it was applied directly to address the issues faced in the Leather units in the country. CLRI went on to become one of the most renowned centres of leather research and the largest of its kind in
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the world! He also contributed to the growth and development of leather industries in several other developing nations such as Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Turkey, Iran, Tanzania, and so on. It was his undeterred focus on the relevance of research and excellence in all activities that made this success possible. CLRI was, but one of the many roles that Dr. Nayudamma held. Dr Nayudamma went on to hold many more eminent positions across the research fraternity, and replicated the CLRI success. Besides being an eminent scientist, Dr Nayudamma was a great administrator and an even greater leader. As Madhuri Shah, the former Chairperson of University Grants Commission articulated, he possessed a balanced mix of science and administration, a remarkable capacity for providing leadership conducive to growth and development, a creative mind to spark off innovative activity and urge for making research in science relevant to the needs of the people and to national priorities. This is evident from the success of all the institutes and initiatives he led. He created an environment of collective leadership and creative innovative activity that led to pioneering, relevant research that touched the lives of the people around him. Even in the 1940s, long before the IT revolution, Dr. Nayudamma envisioned that technology was at the heart of the solutions to Indias challenges. He said, technology is at the heart of the development process to mitigate mans misery, to remove or reduce poverty, to provide gainful employment.to improve the quality of life and to make man self-reliant..to liberate people from the drudgery, degradation and heavy work.(it) should suit the local resources, skills, culture and needs of the people with less capital, energy, pollution and less centralization. His predictions and faith in technology have turned out to be extremely valid, with IT providing solutions in just the manner that he mentioned, and targeting just the audience to whom it matters most - the common man.

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Having been associated with Information Technology (IT) for more than two decades I have been closely involved directly or indirectly in the deployment of IT for various purposes ranging from enabling anytime, anywhere communication from the remotest of areas, making the government transparent and accessible to the common man, providing employment to the underprivileged, and bringing quality healthcare to the poor. Let us look at some of the aspects where technology has addressed the concerns of the people and transformed the lives of the common man. The state of Andhra Pradesh has proved to be a pioneer in leveraging IT for the common man. Today, in Nellore, I drove past a MeeSeva Kendra here, and felt very happy to think of how governance has changed with the times. MeeSeva provides citizens with a quick and transparent system for accessing a range of around 30 services - till now - government services. You can obtain Birth and Death certificates; duplicate Voter ID cards; Encumbrance, Residence, Income certificates, and several other documents, in a matter of a few hours, which so far had taken months to receive! More than 100 services will be available through MeeSeva by the end of 2012, and we are looking at something like 2 crore transactions every year at the MeeSeva Kendras. AP pioneered the e-governance movement in India by introducing initiatives like eSeva, APOnline, the state governments digital gateway, a Joint Venture by the Govt of AP and TCS, etc. APOnline offers over 100 Government-citizen and Business-Citizen services including payment of utility bills, payment of sales and property tax, registering for a water tank from the cantonment boards, payment of LIC premiums, and many other useful services. These novel initiatives have not only helped increase transparency in governance but have also enhanced citizen convenience. In Nellore alone, we have something like 35-36 APOnline centres!

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The success of this model resulted in its replication in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The launch of these Government-Business-Citizen interaction portals have also helped promote Village-level Entrepreneurship through setting up of local franchises/kiosks and generation of employment. Such innovative ideas are expected to reach the entire Indian population through the Common Service Centres scheme which is a part of National e-Governance Plan. Even computers today are dispensable! Earlier, we used to worry that computer awareness and penetration in India was far lower than that in some of the other developing countries - for example, India has only 1.6 PCs for every 100 people, while China has 6 PCs but now, there are other means of reaching out to millions of those in rural India who have never seen a computer - through the mobile phone, for example! Today, the mobile phone acts as a Banking terminal for rural customers. Smartcards or Biometrics are used for authentication, and transactions can be printed using a hand-held printer. Transactions such as balance enquiry, deposit and withdrawal are supported. It is not at all surprising then that Smartphone sales have today overtaken those that of Personal computers globally. While the growth in the smartphone market was about 62.7%, the PC market registered a growth of only 14.8%. Incidentally, India has the fastest growing mobile penetration in the world as of May 2012, there were over 929 million mobile phone users in India. Nellore is the rice basket of Andhra Pradesh, and therefore, has a very high percentage of farmers. General information on weather, soil, fertilizer and pesticides is available to some extent to all farmers; but, to receive information specific to their plot of land, at their fingertips - literally is now a reality. The Mobile Agro Advisory System (mKrishi) connects farmers with an ecosystem that empowers them to make sound decisions about agriculture,
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drive profits and conserve the environment. On downloading this platform on to their mobile phones, farmers can receive information on the microclimate, local market price and other subjects of relevance to them on the phone. For example, when a farmer enters his location on mKRISHI, agricultural sensors connect to geo-location services like GPS and Google Earth to deliver local weather, soil conditions, common pests and food-grain prices to the expert on the other end. Farmers can also attach photos if they have mobile cameras. It also enables farmers to send queries specific to their land and crop to receive personalized replies from agricultural experts, on their phones. And, here is the best newsIT has ensured that mKrishi costs a farmer only between Rs 40 and Rs 80 a month! The India Meteorological Department has also launched a weather and agroadvisory service which has helped farmers in UP and Punjab generate revenues to the tune of 50,000 crore! The information is disseminated to farmers through SMS, radio, newspapers and other means. The Nashik and Konkan regions in Maharashtra have also benefited from this service. e-Chaupal is another very successful initiative that links directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products. Computers and Internet access have been provided in rural areas across several agricultural regions of the country, where farmers can directly negotiate the sale of their produce. This online access enables farmers to obtain information on mandi prices and good farming practices, to place orders for agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizers, improve the quality of their products, and obtain a better price. Each e-Chaupal kiosk serves an average of 600 farmers in around ten surrounding villages within about a 5 km radius. There are presently 6,500 e-Choupals in operation, with plans to scale up to 20,000 e-Choupals by 2012 covering 100,000 villages in 15 states, servicing 15 million farmers. This initiative has made a huge difference not only to the

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large, but also medium and small scale farmers, and has completed removed the scope for exploitation by middle men! In recent years, India has become truly global, in terms of its interface with the rest of the world. But, has it been easy for us to obtain something as basic as a passport?! Not really - until recently, when the Passport Seva project was launched. The IT solution for the Passport Seva Project will deliver all Passport-related services to citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner. The government is also considering Customer Service aspects such as a comfortable environment, streamlined processes and a committed, trained and motivated workforce to deliver services with a smile. This is a huge change for India. The citizens dream of obtaining a passport in around one month will now become a reality. One of the most significant challenges in India is access to quality Healthcare, particularly in the rural areas. In our country, over 70% of the population lives in the rural areas, with limited or no direct, physical access to specialist health care. For such people, the additional concern is the prohibitive cost. One of the most breakthrough initiatives of recent times in the area of healthcare is Telemedicine allowing subscribers - particularly from the rural communities - access to medical guidance on non-emergency health problems and to specialist services over the phone. The service is available around-theclock in many cases, at affordable prices - less than around INR 45 for each consultation! Across India, various models have emerged; Telecom and data service providers have tied up with Healthcare service providers to provide healthcare consultancy on call. This is happening in Nellore too. In Andhra Pradesh, we have the Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme, targeted at families living Below the Poverty Line, that now provides quality, accessible and affordable or free healthcare.
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Here too, the scheme is powered by IT. The solution brings about efficient processing, transparency in operations, and the capability to quickly reach the most remote places in AP. GoAP has achieved close to 15 lakh surgeries; and round 58.5 lakh patients have been screened since its launch. The solution has run successfully in all 23 districts of AP. Dr. Nayudamma said that Competence gives confidence and self reliance gives a sense of values of human dignity. Self reliance is a focal social value, a human right, a basic need and the core of man-centered development. The biggest challenge to self-reliance in India today is illiteracy. According to the 2011 census report, the literacy percentage in India is at 74.04%, against the world average literacy of 84%. How will India get to 100%? Traditional methods of classroom teaching normally need six months to two years of dedicated time before a person is able to read and write. Can our illiterate afford this kind of time, when their every waking minute is spent on trying to earn enough for a single meal? This is where IT has to step in. In a simple, yet completely breakthrough approach, the Computer Based Functional Literacy solution devised and developed by TCS only requires an obsolete computer, and a simple Multimedia program. Spending a little time after they finish their days labour, working adults can read a newspaper in just around eight to ten weeks of learning! This amazing IT solution is available in nine Indian languages including Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil and Urdu. The solution has been implemented in 16 states in India . Even in Nellore, there is a lot happening. Two camps were recently conducted in the Kota and Vakadu mandals in Nellore by the State Resource Centre Vizag, in association with an NGO - Associated Rural Development (ARD). 80 learners were trained at these camps. The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act guarantees 100 days of employment in a year to at least one adult in every rural household.
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When GOAP implemented MGREGA in AP, a digitised IT solution was used this not only helped in simplifying many complex and time-consuming activities but also ensured complete transparency and accountability through Social Audit, enabling the plugging of potential fund leakages. Anyone can access the portal from anywhere, anytime for any information such as number of job cards issued, the average number of days of employment provided to a household and the amount disbursed in wages. The system has been implemented in 22 districts, over 1000 Mandals, and over 21000 gram panchayats. As on July 2012, over 1,26,00,000 job cards were issued and over 2,22,000 works completed. Going one step forward, GoAP, in collaboration with APOnline, has implemented a biometric authentication-based system for disbursement of wages and Social Security Pensions to the beneficiaries through village post offices and members of Self Help Groups, leveraging smart card technologies. About 27 lakh biometric registrations have been done so far. As we speak of the numerous individuals who have been ensured work and livelihood through innovative use of IT, I am reminded of the women in Nalgonda and their Chinna Pettis or laptops. It should be a matter of great pride for all of us that these simple women are managing the entire book keeping for their respective Self Help Groups, and managing their laptops as expertly as they do their routines at home. This project that started with a pilot at Bibinagar in Nalgonda has quickly grown into a large network; about 5000 laptops were recently handed over to the Self Help Groups. Standing in a long queue for travel tickets in now a thing of the past! The air, rail and road service providers are all online! According to Indian Railways, around 35% of the revenue comes from online reservations. In India, bus travel has become predictable and convenient, and with the online presence of bus service providers it is not surprising that road travel has become very popular. In fact, around nine billion bus tickets are sold each year, on routes connecting cities, towns and villages - this is about 50% more
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than the tickets sold for the railways. In the past few years, almost 20 online bus-ticketing sites have sprung up on the internet, comprising about 2,000 private bus operators plus government-owned transport corporations in every state. In all the examples I have cited so far, technology has been leveraged for humanity; when I see the success these initiatives have met with, and the difference they have made in the lives of the beneficiaries, I feel Dr Nayudammas dream is being fulfilled it is a matter of pride for each one of us to see his vision become a reality today! The examples that I have quoted stand as testimonials to his status as a true visionary whose work centred around the common man. No wonder he was so loved by statesmen and villagers alike! While Dr. Nayudamma believed that technology was at the heart of the solutions to Indias challenges, he was equally convinced that the nations youth held the power to propel the rural economy towards a brighter, more integrated and liberated future. He said, we have only two majorities in India the young and the rural poor; every other group is a minority. Let us then train the young to serve the rural poor. This training, he maintained, would be fruitful when it would help promote a new type of relationship between the individual and the society, help collective promotion of society as a whole instead of creating privileged few that get estranged and alienated from people. We see, today, that the Industry recognises this as very important, and has taken many steps to ensure collective promotion of society. Organisations are investing tremendous effort in ensuring that learning never stops for their employees, while they also provide ample opportunity and space to their employees to contribute to the development of society in various ways. One important step in this direction has been the Industrys involvement in addressing, as Dr. Nayudamma put it the mismatch of manpower requirement and educational facilities.
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The Industry, through various forums, has begun working with the society on improving the employability of the youth. The IT and ITES Industry Association of AP, called ITsAP - formerly called HYSEA - with the help of its member companies, is collaborating with the academic community to enable more current, improved quality of education to be imparted to students, towards making them industry-ready. The industry is collaborating with Academia by organising Faculty Development Programmes, providing inputs to enhance curricula, providing opportunities for student internships, and organising technical & softskills workshops, Finishing schools in collaboration with MHRD to enhance the employability of students. There are number of Engineering and Medical colleges imparting excellent education and direction to young minds in Nellore. With Sriharikota and ISRO next door, Im sure the spirited youngsters are already an inspired lot. With this pool of talent in Nellore, and with its proximity to Chennai and Tirupati, Nellore has tremendous potential to be one of the foremost Tier II cities in Andhra Pradesh. I urge centres like the Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives to take the lead in promoting Nellore. As I accept this award today, I recognize, in all humility, the immense responsibility that comes with it, and I pledge to continue to have unwavering focus on the common man, and live up to the standards of Dr. Nayudamma. I believe that behind every successful person, there is a family that provides unwavering support, friends who understand and encourage, and mentors who motivate to realize ones potential. I have been very fortunate in having the best of mentors in the form of current and former CEOs of TCS, Mr. N. Chandrasekaran and Mr. S. Ramadorai; if I am standing here today in front of this august gathering, it is because they have believed in me, nurtured and supported me, provided me with challenging and pioneering opportunities, and helped me succeed.

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I owe thanks to my family who have always been with me, and are always ready to travel with me whether it is to Taiwan or China or Singapore- at a time when travelling to the West was the more sought-after option. I thank the Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives for recognizing me, and also inspiring me to raise the bar. Also, thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit this excellent city once again! And finally, let each one of us here to pledge to leave his or her mark on this world. As Helen Keller, the American educator who overcame the adversity of being blind and deaf to become one of the 20th century's leading humanitarians said, Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Wishing each one of you the very best for the future! Thank You ! __________________End_______________________

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