Our strength

8226; This refers to the ongoing controversy of US legislation against outsourcing. There is no reason to panic...

8226; This refers to the ongoing controversy of US legislation against outsourcing. There is no reason to panic over such legislation. Let us be clear that outsourcing of BPO, parts, services, etc., are done purely for economic reasons by the US government and American firms. It is simply cheaper and saves money. We need not push for these jobs 8212; they will come anyway.
The worry is when we beg for these jobs, because then the US will ask for something in return, like access to our agriculture market. We should be asking for those items or opportunities which will not come on purely an economic or merit basis. After all, outsourcing did not come to India because of any efforts on the part of the Indian government. Then why make it a bargaining issue? We must understand our strength and our needs. Even foreign investments will come only if there are economic reasons for them.

8212; Ramesh Chauhan New Delhi

Biased press?

8226; Apropos 8216;BJP8217;s weapon of mass persuasion8217; IE, February 20, I am surprised at the writer8217;s bias against the BJP. This party has moved India forward in trade, foreign exchange, manufacturing, infrastructure, foreign policy. It has lifted the prestige of Indians globally. The biased English press does not care for 50 years of rot created in India due to Congress misrule.

8212;Rameshwar Singh On e-mail

The other issue

8226; The recent public debate about the IIM fees appears to have overshadowed the somewhat more urgent issues regarding the state of education in India. For instance, it is estimated that in 2000 nearly 50 per cent India8217;s population aged 25 and over received no schooling at any time. The fact that this proportion is likely to reduce to 34 per cent by 2010, does not dilute the significance of the urgent need to continue to vastly improve our primary education system. When compared with other developing countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, where the proportion of adults with some primary education is 85 per cent or above, the enormity of the task in reaching primary education to all Indians is perhaps put in perspective.
The fundamental problems do not stop with ensuring increased enrollment at the primary level. Indians are estimated to receive an average 4.34 years of schooling, compared to more than 12 years in Korea and 10 years in Chile. Even in China, the adult population would have spent on an average six years in school. This low average years of schooling is not only a result of fewer primary enrollments, but also a reflection of the low numbers of enrollments at the secondary and tertiary levels. This implies that we are neither getting a sufficient number of our children into schools and colleges nor are we ensuring that we are keeping them there long enough to complete both basic and higher education.
The debate regarding the fees charged by the IIMs and the amount of research done by the IITs pales in comparison to the enormous amount of work that still needs to be done at the primary education level.

8212; Aashish Velkar Mumbai

A question

8226; Over the last few days, we find that film personalities like Jeetendra and Hema Malini have joined the BJP. The question that needs to be asked is, 8220;What experience in public life and what contribution have these persons made to the people of India?8221; Surely BJP, which has the temerity to question the bonafides of Congress president needs to answer this for the benefit of Indian voter?

8212;Anu Chatrath Chandigarh