Nobel Prize winners from India

#	Year	Laureates	Subject	Origin
	1902	Ronal Ross	Medicine	Foreign citizens born in India
	1907	Rudyard Kipling	Literature	Foreign citizens born in India
1	1913	Rabindranath Tagore	Literature	Citizen of India
2	1930	C V Raman	Physics	Citizen of India
3	1968	Hargobind Khorana	Medicine	Foreign citizens of Indian origin
4	1979	Mother Teresa	Peace	Foreign born citizen of India
5	1983	Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar	Physics	Indian-born American citizen
6	1998	Amartya Sen	Economics	Citizen of India
7	2001	V S Naipaul	Literature	Indian descendant of UK
8	2009	Venkatraman Ramakrishnan	Chemistry	Indian born American Citizen
9	2014	Kailash Satyarti	Peace	Citizen of India

Rabindranath Tagore was the only Indian Nobel literature laureate. 
In 1913, In his acceptance speech, he said, "I beg to convey to the Swedish Academy my grateful appreciation of the breadth of understanding which has brought the distant near, and has made a stranger a brother."

Sir C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for his work in the field of light scattering. This effect is now named after him — the Raman scattering. In his speech, he said he was inspired by the "wonderful blue opalescence of the Mediterranean Sea", during a voyage to Europe in 1921.

Hargobind Khorana (Far right) shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1968, with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley by showing the the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids. In his speech, he thanked " a very large number of devoted colleagues, chemists and biochemists" .

S. Chandrasekhar, along with William A. Fowler won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for their mathematical theory of black holes. The Chandrasekhar limit is named after him. In his speech, he quoted Tagore's Gitanjali and said, "May I, on behalf of my wife and myself, express our immense gratitude to the Nobel Foundation for this noble reception in this noble city?"

Again a first and only, Amartya Sen won The Prize in Economics in 1998. In his speech, which he began with a "silly thought", he said, "economists too can learn from the kind of open minded reasoning employed by Tagore and Chandrasekhar".

Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace prize in 1979. In a lecture played on the day of the ceremony, she said, "We must give each other until it hurts. It is not enough for us to say: I love God, but I do not love my neighbour."

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, along with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath, "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". In his speech, he thanked "the dedicated work and intellectual contributions of generations of talented postdocs, students and research assistants".

Kailash Satyarthi who won the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 at his Bachpan Bachao Aandolan office soon after announcement of the prize, in New Delhi. An avid follower of Gandhian philosophy, he vowed that "the fight would continue". 

Tourism in India

Foreign tourist arrivals to India grew by about 4.5% from 6.3 million in 2011 to 6.57 million in 2012. While this is a sharp drop from the about 9% growth that was seen in 2011 as compared to 2010, it is still twice the world average, according to latest data from the Bureau of Immigration.

Incidentally, the US continued to be the top source country, touching 1 million tourists in 2012. In comparison, the number of tourists from the UK, Sri Lanka and Malaysia came down in 2012.

The top 10 source markets remained the same. The US and the UK were followed by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Malaysia.

The number of tourists from the US in 2012 was 1.03 million, up from 0.98 million in 2011, while visitors from Bangladesh increased from 0.46 million to 0.48 million. Travellers from the UK decreased marginally from 0.79 million to 0.78 million as did those from Sri Lanka, dropping from 0.3 million to 0.29 million in 2012. Malaysia ranked at 10 from last year’s eighth position and saw a drop from 0.20 million tourists to 0.19 million.

Tourists from Canada remained about the same at 0.25 million while tourists from Germany increased from 0.24 million to 0.25 million. France registered an increase with 0.24 million tourists in 2012 while Japan saw 0.22 million tourists from 0.19 million.

Despite the increase in foreign tourists, India’s share of international tourist arrivals continues to be about 0.64% in the world with smaller countries in Southeast Asia attracting far more visitors.

According to tourism ministry sources, recent changes in tourist visa rules, including lifting the mandatory two-month gap between consecutive visits to the country and allowing visa-on-arrival for group visas, are likely to boost growth that will only be reflected a year later.

The government has also recently reviewed the embarkation form and eased the process. Plans are afoot according to tourism minister K Chiranjeevi to liberalize the visa regime further. These include bringing in more countries under the visa-on-arrival scheme, incentives for those coming for medical treatment and concessions for senior citizens.

According to provisional statistics 6.29 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2011, an increase of 8.9% from 5.78 million in 2010. This ranks India as the 38th country in the world in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 850.86 million. The majority of foreign tourists come from the United States (16%) and the United Kingdom (12,6%). In 2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were the most popular states for foreign tourists. Domestic tourists visited the states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu most frequently. Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011.

Worldwide, Chennai is ranked 41 by the number of foreign tourists, while Delhi is ranked at 50, Mumbai at 57 and Agra at 65.

Top 5 State/UT’s of India in number of tourist visits (2011)
#	Foreign Tourist Visits		Domestic Tourist Visits
1	Maharashtra	24.7%	Uttar Pradesh	18.3%
2	Tamil Nadu	17.3%	Andhra Pradesh	18.0%
3	Delhi	11.1%	Tamil Nadu	16.2%
4	Uttar Pradesh	9.7%	Karnataka	9.9%
5	Rajasthan	6.9%	Maharashtra	6.5%

The facilitation measure of issuing Visa On Arrival (VoA) to attract more foreign tourist to India, launched in January 2010 for the citizens of 5 countries, viz., Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore visiting India for tourism purposes, was further extended to the citizens of 6 more countries, namely, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Laos and Myanmar in January 2011.

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UNESCO world heritage sites in India

Why Only Modi, Why Not Amma?

With mounting voices to project Narendra Modi as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Sanjay Pinto lists ten points why he thinks the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa would make a better choice.

As  calibrated attempts to project Narendra Modi as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial mascot are in full swing, the ‘national’ media is yet to wake up to the possibility of a powerful leader down South being a contender for the crown. In the last few months, talk of a ‘dhoti clad’ PM from the South had been mooted at a literary function attended by politicians and film stars in Chennai; and later picked up and flogged in newspaper columns and on the social media. How about a ‘sari clad’ PM, South of the Vindhyas? Jayalalithaa has already made it clear that she would not have any trucks with either the Congress or the BJP. In the context of a third front, as an alternative to the Congress and BJP led alliances, the possibility of Modi’s good friend and the most powerful lady in Tamil Nadu – Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, emerging not just as a king maker but the queen herself in 2014 cannot be ruled out in India’s ever fluid political scenario. After HD Deve Gowda, who had a short stint as PM in the late nineties, and the late veteran Tamil Nadu Congress leader GK Moopanar who missed the bus with the United Front government, if Amma’s stars shine as they did in 2011, who knows, she may no longer have to send the State’s periodic ‘To Do’ lists to 7 Race Course Road but be able to address them herself!

A fractured mandate next year, or earlier, will make every small party and every seat count. If Jayalalithaa can solve her inherited power shortage to make her free mixies and grinders and laptops run in the next few months, a predicted score card of 30 seats may not be out of reach for the AIADMK. That will give her a huge bargaining chip and the gravitas to cobble together a coalition of like minded parties for a serious shot at Delhi’s corridors of power. Having supported political alliances in the past and even pulling down one of them, the lady from Poes Garden has ‘been there, done that’. Now it’s just a question of taking her clout at the Centre to the next level. I was among the first few journalists in the country to directly broach the subject of a Prime Ministerial inclination with Amma, a few years ago. Her repartee: “No comments. But thank you for the compliment” was interesting. Here’s why I think she will make a good PM.

1.   Jayalalithaa’s leadership qualities and acceptance among possible constituents of a third front is her biggest plus point. We’ve seen many leaders – from Chandrababu Naidu to Left bigwigs descend at her residence to announce Dr Abdul Kalam as their nominee for a second innings at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the previous election. Last year, she was first off the block in mooting the name of former Lok Sabha Speaker and tribal leader PA Sangma as the NDA backed Presidential nominee, with even BJP patriarch LK Advani  holding discussions with her at Fort St.George.

 2.   With friends across the political divide, forming a durable coalition and keeping the flock together may not be a tall order. With her excellent rapport with Samajwadi Party leader and UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and Left leaders like Prakash Karat, coupled with the TINA factor for other parties, perhaps even the Trinamool supremo – Mamata Didi may well accept Amma at the helm. A proven capacity to unite non Congress Chief Ministers over common grievances with the Centre is indicative of her hold over ruling parties in other States.

 3.    Much as she is called an ‘Iron Lady’, Jayalalithaa is known to have an amazing ability to convert her staunch critics and foes into lasting friends. I can never forget MDMK Chief Vaiko who was jailed by her under POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) for 18 months thundering outside the Vellore Prison on his release that he would fight the “fascist regime”. A few months later, he joined hands with Amma and remarked, “This is the finest moment in Tamil Nadu’s political history!” Even after boycotting the 2011 assembly poll because he felt short changed in seat allocation, Vaiko still regards Jayalalithaa as his sister.

 4.   By Indian political standards, 65 year old Jayalalithaa is relatively young. As a powerful regional leader with a brute majority in the Tamil Nadu assembly and her unassailable sway over her own party, she does not have to worry about internal squabbles that have haunted many Prime Ministers.

 5.   A tough and no nonsense approach to governance is what anyone who knows the State well will vouch for. Not afraid of cracking the whip – be it the elimination of the long pending Veerappan menace or the sacking of over a lakh government employees in her previous tenure or the recent handling of the anti Koodankulam protestors, soft pedalling is not an expression in Amma’s lexicon.

 6.   The ‘iron hand’ can also come with a velvet glove. Jayalalithaa seems to have mastered the art of populism (a term she doesn’t quite like, preferring to call it ‘welfare’ instead). Despite a debt of one lakh crore, she adroitly managed to start fulfilling her 2011 freebie election manifesto. In her third innings, she has demonstrated a willingness to reach out to various sections – minorities, caste groups and most importantly the poor. The ‘Amma Canteens’ that serve wholesome food at one rupee and\or a few rupees are a super hit, bigger than a Rajini blockbuster! With the same formula, placating States and allies when in the saddle, should be child’s play.

 7.   An unbiased observer will not fail to notice Jayalalithaa’s national outlook – whether it’s her firm stand against terror and on maintaining law and order or her  environmental policy or the pro nuclear energy stance, after doing her due diligence. Championing the cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka and her strong views on tackling terror, even in a possible Pakistan context, may augur well for a firm foreign policy.

 8.  ‘Tell me who your key officers are and I will tell you if you are a good leader’ can be the new age dictum in governance. Jayalalithaa’s choice of officers has always been spot on. Ask any retired bureaucrat who has served under her (if you think the serving ones will be biased in her favour) and they will fill you in with instances and concrete examples of her administrative acumen and her grasp over complex issues. Choosing a balanced Cabinet is crucial. Amma will pass that test.

 9.   The convent educated heroine turned political leader is suave, articulate and charming enough to even floor international dignitaries like Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton. Coming from the film industry, her communication skills are among the best in India’s political landscape. This was evident even during her Rajya Sabha years.

 10. You can judge a leader’s intellectual prowess by her or his press statements and conferences. Jayalalithaa’s knowledge of national and international affairs, economics and even law (her lawyers tell me that she is so clued in with even all the latest Supreme Court judgments) is impressive. A leader in the hot seat needs to understand the nitty gritty of a wide range of subjects. Not wanting in this department either.

 I’ve been a neutral political commentator all my life and will remain that way. But I don’t believe in denying anyone their due, even if it comes across as slanted. Jayalalithaa has it in her to aspire for the top job. She will, however, need to focus on the challenging task of suffering fools gladly and taking criticism, even if it’s not the constructive variety, in her stride. And yes, the outcome of the wealth case in a Bangalore Court will be crucial for the Chennai Super Queen to strike gold in national politics.

(Sanjay Pinto is a lawyer, columnist and former Resident Editor of NDTV)

Electronic Snooping by U.S.: India in top 5 list

Continuing its series of exposés on the manner in which the United States has been harvesting electronic communication from national and international communication traffic, The Guardian newspaper has acquired top-secret documents about a data mining tool used by the National Security Agency (NSA), called Boundless Informant, “that details and even maps by country the voluminous amount of information it collects from computer and telephone networks.”

A snapshot of the Boundless Informant data, contained in what The Guardian describes as a top secret NSA “global heat map” gives an insight into the sheer volume of data being collected by America’s most secretive intelligence agency: In March 2013 alone, it harvested a whopping 97 billion “pieces of intelligence from computer networks worldwide.”

Most intensively watched countries by U.S.
#	Country
1	Iran
2	Pakistan
3	Jordan
4	Egypt
5	India

Iran was the country where the largest amount of intelligence was gathered, says the newspaper, with more than 14 billion reports in that period, followed by 13.5 billion from Pakistan. Though the U.S. administration may justify the focus on these two countries because of the nuclear programme of the former and because many terrorist groups operate from the territory of the latter, the fact that India clocks in fifth with 6.3 billion pieces of information collected from the country’s computer and data networks in one month alone is bound to cause alarm and consternation in New Delhi. Jordan and Egypt are the third and fourth most intensively watched countries.

Though the Obama administration has attempted to reassure domestic public opinion in America that its spying operations are mainly directed outwards, The Guardian says the Boundless Informant documents show the NSA “collecting almost 3 billion pieces of intelligence from U.S. computer networks over a 30-day period ending in March 2013.”

The newspaper reproduced one of the NSA’s colour-coded “heatmaps,” according to which countries are more extensively monitored. The colours range from green, for the least amount of surveillance, to yellow, orange and finally red for those subjected to the most surveillance. India is coded orange. The extent of the NSA’s surveillance of Indian communication traffic is greater than its electronic snooping efforts in China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

China's first 'blue book' on India

            The first ever ‘blue book’ on India released in China by a prominent official Beijing publisher has portrayed a government in “serious crisis,” but expressed the belief that India would likely emerge as a stronger country by conquering its current obstacles. Chinese think tanks release ‘blue books’ every year on a number of issues. While not representing the government’s view, the books are put together by official think tanks and the projects are understood to be given tacit backing by the government.

The first ever blue book on India was released on Beijing by the Social Sciences Academy Press, detailing political, economic, foreign policy and defence issues for the year 2011-12. The book runs into more than 300 pages, and was compiled by Yunnan University, which has one of China’s biggest South Asia programmes. According to a brief summary, the book sees India as weighed down by a number of crises — particularly corruption scandals — but also details India’s rising military strength, which it sees as being partly directed at China.

It ultimately expresses the optimistic view that India would emerge stronger from the current period of difficulty. “The Chinese saying which says ‘many difficulties can make a country prosperous’ reflects India’s problems and hope,” the book concludes.

The book, however, sees India today as a country beset with numerous challenges, saying the current Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was facing its most serious crisis since it came to power in 2009. It pointed to frequent corruption scandals, divisions within the UPA and public anger at the economic situation as leaving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government with a tarnished image amid declining public trust. It saw the year 2011-12, which the report covers, as among the worst since India’s “remarkable achievements” after reforms in 1991. The book estimates that by 2030, India’s population will exceed that of China’s.

On the foreign policy front, the blue book notes that India has focused on boosting relations with its neighbours in South Asia, pushed forward peace with Pakistan and developed strategic relations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal — countries with which China has also recently deepened economic ties. It sees the United States “pivot” to Asia and strengthening of alliances in the region — viewed by most analysts in China as being directed to “contain” Beijing — as accelerating India’s “Look East” policy, observing that India’s defence cooperation with the U.S., Japan, Vietnam and Australia has warmed.

On military strategy, it argues that India’s defence policy has undergone an adjustment from focusing on Pakistan to a dual focus on China and Pakistan, including a consideration of the possibility of a limited two-front war. To this end, the book says, India has expanded military forces on the border with China and also expanded its naval power towards the east.