Opinion Forty Years Ago — September 20, 1985
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has said the government is contemplating steps against private managements which deliberately allow their units to go sick.
Mr Gandhi said modernisation would not affect employment. He stressed that introduction of modem machines in a factory only resulted in changing the labourer’s work from one tool to another. 
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PM Gandhi on new tech
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has said the government is contemplating steps against private managements which deliberately allow their units to go sick. Inaugurating the 66th meeting of the general council of the Indian National Trade Union Congress in New Delhi, Mr Gandhi said this had become imperative in view of the growing industrial sickness. But he reminded the INTUC leaders that the most important reason for sickness was neither mismanagement nor labour trouble but obsolete machinery. Rebutting the views held by many trade union leaders, Mr Gandhi said modernisation would not affect employment. He repeatedly stressed that introduction of modem machines in a factory only resulted in changing the labourer’s work from one tool to another.
Higher pension for defence staff
Defence services officers and personnel will get a higher pension under the new norms finalised by the government. The government has decided to treat the entire dearness allowance, additional dearness allowance and ad hoc dearness allowance sanctioned up to the average index level of 568 points, as dearness pay for the purpose of retirement benefits of persons retiring on or after March 31. The interim relief sanctioned on March 1 this year, will also be taken into account for retirement benefits.
Mass suicide in Phillipines
A regional military commander said a tribal religious leader fed her followers poisoned food, killing 69 of them, and then stabbed herself to death in what local newspapers reported as a “mass suicide” in the Phillipines. Brigadier General, Jaime Echevarria, said in a telephone interview from Davao, 960 km south of Manila, that Philippine marines going to the scene were told by a village leader that 72 people were poisoned, but three survived in the September 9 incident. “These are fanatics. Those who survived said they were made to eat food poisoned by their high priestess,” he said.
WB report on India
The Indian economy, despite its impressive performance, growing at an average rate of 5.2 per cent a year in the Sixth Plan will continue to face difficult adjustments in the years ahead, the World Bank said in its annual report. “Growth remains constrained by shortages in the infrastructure sectors and an urgent need exists for capacity expansion and better utilisation of existing capacity on power generation, coal, mining, rail, transport and irrigation”, the report added.
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