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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 49 “Education & Spirituality”
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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 49 “Education & Spirituality”

My dear friends,                 

Once I was captivating introduction of the new batch of MBA at NPTI. The dialouge went as follows:

A Student:          Sir, I am Shrivastava, BE(Elect)

Me:                       I am not interested in your surname and your degree

-These are on our records

Student:             Sir, I am Mahesh Kumar (Imaginatively substituted name)

Me:                      That is your name given by your parents-drop it

Student:             I am a student of NPTI

Me:                      That’s your present occupation-I know it

Student:             Sir, I am a boy

Me:                      I am not interested in your gender

Student:              I am becoming conscious now, who am I?

Another Student: I am feeling intrigued, I am thinking now,

His next:               I am sensitized on my existence today,

Next to next:        My conscience says I am God’s creation,

Yet another:         I am motivated to think, I am divine.

Me:       When you drop all your labels, you come out as “the pure you” :

  • Your consciousness (awareness)
  • Your conscience (sense of right and wrong)
  • Thinking & feeling part of you
  • Your sensor/ sensitivity
  • Your motivation/ inspiration
  • Your divinity

-is your Spirit . Keep it awakened!

We need it all the time for the spiritual paradigms of our MBA education at NPTI, I indicated. I further clarified to them that subjects like “Power Reforms” , “Customer relationship & Entrepreneurship”, “Energy Environment Interface & Sustainable Development” etc. derive their essence from holistic spiritual paradigms of our survival. Besides technicalities, they involve ethics and ethos, human values, customer care, environmental sensitivity, resource renewability, society’s anxieties over clean energy, electricity for all and its availability 24×7 and so on.

Spirituality

Spirituality is a rather mysterious term for the scientific community who keeps experimenting with external and physical world only. There are several inner dimensions of human existence which can not be denied; for example Mind, Intellect (consciousness transforms intellect into wisdom), Innner voice/ Intuition (sixth sense) etc. An encounter with one’s own “inner dimension” is spirituality.

Spirituality is manifested by original qualities of “the spirit or the soul” such as love, compassion, wisdom, bliss, peace, purity, humility, power, forgiveness, sacrifice, contentment, self-responsibility, values, self-esteem, harmony and connectedness to others.

Spiritual literacy is a basic literacy for all that enables the understanding and use of the deeper meaning and connection in all aspects of life. Spirituality teaches us how our lives fit into the greater scheme of things.

Education & Spirituality

 Swami Vivekanand said : “Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain, undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas. If you have assimilated just five (5) ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library.

A semi-literate man “Anna Hazare” also talked of 5-ideas

  1. Pure Thoughts
  2. Pure Conduct
  3. Unblemished Life
  4. Sacrifice and
  5. Capacity to withstand humiliation;

which he assimilated, practiced and demonstrated, becoming the most literate man of today, saluted by the Indian Parliament.

Education is not merely Academics

Somehow we have misunderstood academics to be education

– We teach our children to read and memorise history but we don’t teach them to create history

– We teach them geography, but not geographical cultures and respect for them

– We teach them science, but not the science of life

-We teach them external management, but not internal management of Mind

Education is to lead a person to knowledge (know-how & know-why) graduating further to wisdom (discovery of truth by himself) to see life in its totality and to face it in its completeness. It is to set a higher goal of life, inner transformation, vision of oneness and genuine care for others.

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

BE(Hons), M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI-Scholar, D.Engg. (Calif.), FNAE, Hon.D.WRE (USA)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI) Govt. of India

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 46 “Value Orientation to Power / Energy Sector”

My dear friends,

Life on earth has been created on so many exacting conditions.
1. The earth rotates on its axis at one thousand miles an hour. If it turned at one hundred miles an hour, our days and nights, would be ten times as long as now, and the hot sun would then burn up our vegetation during each long day while in the long night any surviving sprout would freeze.
2. The slant of the earth, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, gives us our seasons. If it had not been so tilted, vapors from the ocean would move north and south, piling up for us continents of ice.
3. The sun, the source of our life, has a surface temperature of 12,000o F and our earth is just far enough away so that this “eternal fire” warms us just enough and not too much. If the sun gave off only one half its present radiation, we would freeze, and if it gave half as much more, we would roast.
4. If our moon was, say, only 50 thousand miles away instead of its actual distance, our tides would be so enormous that twice a day all continents would be submerged.
5. Had the ocean been a few feet deeper, carbon di oxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable life could exist.
6. Ozone layer protects the earth from ultraviolet rays of the sun and a well-designed greenhouse enveloping the earth maintains the right kind of warmth for living beings to survive.
The above exacting conditions necessary for life on earth could not possibly exist in proper relationship by chance. There is not one chance in millions that life on our planet is an accident. In fact, it appears to be a deliberately designed system to perfect equilibrium.

Sustainability of Human Intervention in Nature’s Equilibrium
Mahatma Gandhi said “There is enough in nature for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed”. With the evolution of human beings and their multiplying population together with their intelligence and aspirations to command the nature, the question arises as to how much intervention is possible in the universe, in such an exacting relationship as described above. For instance,
1. How much we can intercept locally the nature’s hydrological cycle for irrigation and power, with repercussions on local environment, even though carbon-free.
2. How much fossil fuel we can burn for power generation and other needs since it has a very serious repercussion on emissions of carbon di-oxide which according to an estimate, if not brought down to 60% of the current level, may cause major climatic shifts and submergence of low lying lands by 2050.
3. How much we can afford emission of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) which have already started disrupting the ozone layer which may cause skin cancer, blindness etc. The seasonal hole in the ozone layer during Sept’1998 covered an area of 25 million KM2 (about 2.5 times the area of Europe). According to one estimate 60% of GHG is attributed to energy Sector.
4. How much technological development we can afford so as not to disrupt the nature’s supportive equilibrium. At what rate resource consumption and growth of population is possible keeping intact the regenerative and self-recycling characteristics of the nature besides carrying capacity and assimilative capacity of the Eco-systems.

Value Orientation
Human intervention needs value orientation in any sector of development. A 15-point charter of values is suggested below for power / energy sector.

1. Sense of Proportion: A respectable share of Hydro is a technical necessity of Power Grid. Present Hydro:Thermal mix of 20:80 should ideally shift to 40:60.
2. System Ethos: Voltage and frequency fluctuations causing heavy damage to power equipment and completely stalling the sensitive control equipment; speak poorly of power system ethos. Grid frequency is a critical aspect of power system operations and a function of demand and supply (when demand exceeds supply, frequency dips and vice versa). Grid frequency reflects the discipline and the stress in the system. The frequency variation for example should be brought down from 8% (48 Hz-52 Hz) at times to less than 1% (49.7 Hz-52.2 Hz) at all times. CERC now aims at 0.2%.
3. Techno-economic Sense: Techno-economically, Hydro proves several times favourable option compared to thermal keeping in view the life cycle cost, recurring fuel cost and its escalation, environmental cost and grid economy. Nuclear option exhausts our foreign currency reserves right from fuel (uranium) to technology.
4. Financial Acumen: Solar PV is the costliest option for a 50 MW scale, but it breaks even for a 50 kW plant and proves cheapest for an isolated 50 W system.
5. Sustainability: With the present rate of consumption, all oil and gas stocks would be completely exhausted in India before 2050. Fossil route cannot prime the growth which is sustainable.
6. Renewability: Ever renewed solar energy is radiating directly onto the earth, at the same time manifesting itself in several indirect forms such as wind, hydro, ocean thermal and bio-energy etc. This naturally recycled resource-base holds potential for perpetual power generation.
7. Energy Storage: Energy storage is complementary to intermittent renewables. With “Energy Storage” component, the load demand can be met much better, right from cyclic stability to daily demand pattern to even seasonal demands.
8. Environmental Compatibility: Environmental impacts net of mitigative measures place Hydro at 3 against 7 that of thermal on a 10-point scale. Carbon emissions of Hydro and Nuclear options are least compared to all other known options for power generation, considering the full energy chain. Their carbon emission compared to coal option is in the ratio of 5:270. Hydro:Thermal SO2 emission is in the ratio of 1:1000.
9. Interweaving of Technical and Commercial Values: Higher tariff for peaking power could be an attempt towards optimising technical and commercial values of power.
10. Security Concerns: Longevity of imported fossil fuels is extremely doubtful since globally the oil and gas stocks are going to exhaust fast with the rate of consumption growing with population and their aspirations. National energy security concerns call for indigenous and renewable options to be developed.
11. Optimizing Demand-Supply Gap: Present peaking power shortages in India could have been completely eliminated under the same MW installed (under the same investment) had the country gone for a judicious Hydro:Thermal mix. Demand side management and energy efficiency measures on utilization side can also narrow down the demand supply gap which at present is in the range of 2.1 % energy shortage and 2.6 % peaking shortage during 2015-16, in respect of present electricity connected consumers.                                   12. Smart Grid: A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operational and energy measures including real time smart meters and other appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy efficiency measures. For instance, improvement of tail-end grid voltages can be achieved through Solar Panels. Computer intelligence & networking abilities and automation make it interactive right from generator to consumer. Optimization of energy use on real time basis with resultant economy and comfort are obvious benefits of smart grid which should soon be made available to all the electricity customers.
13. Decentralisation: It may be uneconomical to extend the grid to the remotest areas and therefore off-grid electrification with localised generation and distribution system viz. ‘mini-grid’ should be equally respected and encouraged. Stand-alone systems can also help in avoidance of transmittal of that much of power over long distance with attendant losses.
14. New Capacity Vs. Upgradation: Upgradation comprising renovation, retrofitting, uprating and modernisation is cheaper, faster and environmentally friendlier option for coping with the increasing demand than the new capacity addition and should therefore get priority in the power sector.
15. Conservation: We generate 4 units for ultimate utilization of just 1 unit of electricity, 25% being T&D losses and 66.7% being the end conversion losses in some crucial sectors like agricultural pump-sets. Energy efficiency measures should lead to conservation of precious energy resources.

Sustained Value Addition
R&D should expand to R&D3 meaning Research and “Development, Demonstration & Deployment”. Such a countenance would provide an orientation to take research activity right up to its logical end. R&D3 program would involve Research, Technology development, Engineering and Business Management strategies, all together with an integrated approach. India should see more and more innovations through the entire R&D3 chain in the 21st Century for maximization of indigenous value addition which would not only make the nation proud but would rapidly strengthen our economy.

Concluding Remarks
Rather poor “Techno-Economic-Environmental-Operational ethos” of our Power System calls for value orientation- a conscious introspection linking the present ills and shortcomings to the values and ethos and strategic envisioning of corrective measures. Values chartered above for producing a credible blue print of a formulated vision for India’s Electrical Power Sector can be of generic importance applicable to other sectors of development also, with due modifications.

Let us appreciate that value based introspection and corrective action planning are crucial for development.

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

BE(Hons), M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI-Scholar, D.Engg. (Calif.), FNAE, Hon.D.WRE (USA)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex. Director (REC) / Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 44 – “Energy Storage for Intermittent Renewables”

My dear friends,

Our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been announcing to the entire world that India has scaled up its plans from Mega Watts to Giga Watts in the arena of Renewable Energy in view of its environmental sustainability. The quantum jump being mentioned is 5,000 MW to 100,000 MW (100 GW) in respect of Solar Energy and 25,000 MW to 60,000 MW (60 GW) in respect of Wind Energy by 2022.

Such an ambition is not realizable without complementary energy storage of intermittent renewables. Both the above stated renewable energies are available only for 6-8 hours/day, not matching with peak load requirements and are further subject to seasonal variations. One of the basics of Power System is that the electricity must be generated at the precise moment it is demanded. It is the ultimate “just in time” system, where long-term inventory of electricity is denied. (Electricity can only notionally be stored in Capacitors and Inductors for a short time.) It cannot be stored in significant quantities but its converted forms like chemical energy in batteries, gravitational hydro potential energy etc, are possible to be stored.

Recent Cabinet Approval on Amendments in Tariff Policy

Recently the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power for amendments in the Tariff Policy. For the first time a holistic view of the power sector has been taken and comprehensive amendments have been made in the Tariff policy 2006. The amendments are also aimed at achieving the objectives of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) with the focus on following 4 E’s:

  1. Electricity for all
  2. Efficiency to ensure affordable tariffs
  3. Environment for a sustainable future
  4. Ease of doing business to attract investments and ensure financial viability

Unfortunately the 5th E i.e. Energy Storage for Intermittent Renewables has been missed out. Cost of energy storage should have been built in to the Peaking tariff. This was not expected in the present scenario when we have a common Union Minister for Power and MNRE.

Recent R&D Council Meeting of the National Wind Energy Institute under MNRE

I attended the latest (Twenty-third) meeting of R&D council of the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) held at Chennai on 30.12.2015 wherein their 10-Year Vision Plan was presented.

I pointed out that the renewables like wind and solar can become 24X7 power suppliers only when the appropriate Energy Storage systems are in place and hence a thrust be given for projects in developing Energy Storage systems, for renewables.

Pumped storage is one of the most promising options for energy storage in the form of hydro potential whose assessment in India is more than 96,000 MW of which not even 6,000 MW has been harnessed so far. Almost all (>99%) of power-grid-scale energy storage in the world today is pumped-hydroelectric.

However, Pumped storage is also undergoing a conceptual transformation. Rivers and dams are no more required. Sea water can be used as pumped storage media in novel approaches and “swinging door algorithm” pumped storage becomes a big battery analog for wind farm energy storage. Even an exhausted mine can be used as lower reservoir, if you can find a small water pond at a higher elevation nearby. There are many such novel systems that would revolutionize the energy storage spectrum and need immediate focus and practical green field pilots.

It was agreed in the Committee that a new group for “Energy Storage” would be created in NIWE, reflecting it as an essential ground-breaking component in the 10-Year R&D Vision Plan.

There is no future for Wind Energy Sector (and so also the SPV) without “Energy Storage”. Its importance is more than the “Solar-PV Hybrid” which can only expand the electricity supply period in a day to an extent, not necessarily matching with the Grid demand. It may however facilitate more land space for PV.

With “Energy Storage” component, the load demand can be met much better, right from cyclic stability to daily demand pattern to even seasonal demands. Without Energy Storage component Wind Energy & SPV can never be accepted as viable options for energy supply due to their intermittent nature. The cost of energy storage system has to reflect in the peaking tariff of energy supply. Higher absorption of renewable energy round the clock on the other hand may reduce its cost of supply.

There are four basic options in Energy Storage:

  1. Mechanical→Pumped Storage (Seasonal balance), Compressed Air (Daily stability), Flywheel (cyclic stability)
  2. Chemical→Batteries, Hydrogen (Electrolysers), Fuel cells
  3. Electrical→Double Layer Capacitor, Superconducting Magnetic Coil
  4. Thermal→Heat Storage (Molten Salt), for stability in heating systems or re-conversion in to electricity

The above options may suit different sets of wind farms & SPV stations and their connecting sub-stations to supply 24×7 and more specifically as per grid demand and the environment around.

I hope, all concerned wake up to the urgent need of Energy Storage in our country!

Satyamev Jayate !!!

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

BE(Hons), M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI-Scholar, D.Engg. (Calif.), FNAE, Hon.D.WRE (USA)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex. Director (REC) / Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 20 – “Bharat Ratna” to Sachin Tendulkar

My dear young friends,

The President of India has bestowed upon Sachin Tendulkar  “Bharat Ratna” the highest civilian honour. At 40, he is the youngest recipient ever. Was it given to him for his unconquerable record of 100 centuries, 164 half centuries, 76 times man of the match; 33,896 runs in international cricket and 50,000 runs in all recognized cricket ? Or was it something beyond?

Sachin had a unique combination of aggressiveness and speed with patience and seriousness. His humility, devotion, determination, commitment, passion, hard work and discipline were exemplary. First glimpse of his passion was seen when he was 16 and in his first match Waqar Younis’ bouncer hit his nose that started bleeding. He went for dressing. On return he slapped 3 fours on his ball in a sequence. Since then no bowler around the world could breathe in peace against Sachin. During 1998, in Sharjah test match Sachin hit Shane Warne’s balls so intensely that he had to say that he sees him slap sixes even in dreams. His regular net-practice before the matches speaks of his dedication. He used to enter the ground with the same devotion be it a charity match or an international test match. He never lost his cool during worst of provocation; he used to answer his critics with his bat. On being declared “out” he never questioned the umpire or his destiny. He simply left the wicket most humbly and obediently, accepting the failure with highest grace.

There are numerous stories about his providing inspiration and healing emotional wounds of his co-players in the dressing room. After Sachin’s retirement, Coach of South African team Russell Domingo stated that absence of Sachin Tendulkar in the dressing room would make an easy way for their team. No wonder, for setting up such sports culture, his photograph hangs in Lord’s dressing room.

Did we recognize this kind of Sports Culture and Sportsmanship?

Manoj Tiwari says when he was selected first time for Team India; he had to return to Kolkata from Bangladesh trip without playing a single match due to an injury. As per directions of BCCI he was getting ready to go to Mumbai for treatment. Same day Sachin was going to Bangladesh via Kolkata. He took his phone number from the local manager and made a call to enquire about his injury. During the talk Sachin asked him which doctor he has been referred to. When he told his name, Sachin said “he is a good doctor but is a specialist of knees while your injury is in the shoulder” Manoj told him that he may have to follow the instructions of BCCI and moreover he did not have any idea of another appropriate specialist. Sachin said he should wait for a while, he would do something. After half-an-hour Sachin telephoned him to say that he has fixed up an appointment with another suitable doctor and Board officials would help him in this. Without accepting captainship for long, his inspirational leadership was exemplary. The way he was carried on shoulders round the ground by his team members including the captain after the World Cup win in 2011 speaks of it all.

Did we recognize this kind of Humane Leadership?

At the time of his father’s demise during a world cup match he came to India to participate in rituals and immediately returned to England. In the next match when he made a century his tearful eyes looking at the sky were signifying that it was a salutation of a real patriot to his father. During 1999 Chennai test match against Pakistan, Sachin after making a century taking the team to a near win situation was declared “out” at 136 and India lost a romantic match. Disappointed Sachin returned to the dressing room and wept like a child. He did not go to receive his “Man of the match” award. After team’s defeat, his century and award both became meaningless to him.

Lalchand Rajput coach for Indian team in Australian tour during 2007-08 informs that several controversies had shadowed that tour. During that trip itself one day in Perth he was coming down in a Hotel Lift along with Sachin and Harbhajan for dinner. The lift stopped at eighth floor. An Australian entered and the moment he realized that he was face to face with Sachin, he almost became mad. He said his life became worth since he could directly see the God of Cricket. During the Australian tour in 1998 itself, Matthew Hayden had stated “I have seen God. He bats at No.4 in Indian Team in Tests”

Sachin’s benevolent farewell speech was telecast alive in Pakistan. Many newspapers praised him vehemently. Urdu daily “Insaph” wrote “Sachin like cricketers are not born every day. All love and respect him beyond limits”. Even Pak Taliban “Tehreek-e-Taliban” had to issue clarification that they never meant that Sachin should not be praised simply because he is an Indian.

“When India plays its old enemy at cricket the ideal solution for many Pakistani spectators is for Sachin Tendulkar to score a hundred and Pakistan to win ” according to the writer Suresh Menon. This speaks volumes of modesty, goodwill and consideration that Sachin has earned and spread across the Indian sub-continent, nay, the entire world. There are stories after stories to indicate that Sachin became an underpin of international goodwill which diplomatic machineries may take ages to build!

Did we salute his statesmanship?

Sachin was on the Golden Coin that was tossed in his farewell match, he is on the postal stamp, he is in the school curriculum, he is in Madame Tussauds and he is in a temple. He was an accepted “Bharat Ratna” for the unmatchable grace of Sportsmanship, Humane Leadership and Statesmanship even before the formal conferment by Govt. of India.

You would have realized my dear friends, the focus was not Sachin but insights into his aura of multiple layers of glory and grandeur which is generated by great human effort.

Satyamev Jayate !!!

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI Scholar, D.Engg.(Calif), FNAE
Hon.D.WRE (ranked amongst 30-most eminent scientists in the world)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex-Director (REC)/ Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 17 – Mindset Issues of Electricity Sector

My dear young friends,

Once a non-technical colleague of mine in NHPC asked me an innocent question. He said “if I switch off the bulb during my lunch time, how does it help? The electricity has already been generated and traveled to my doorstep. Can it be degenerated? How does it save the resource-water or coal responsible for generation?” I realized that day that electricity is an extremely complex product being utilized by common man. Neither its technicalities nor its economics are easy to understand by the consumers and other stakeholders.

There is a notion in public mind that solar electricity is expensive. Yes, if you think of a 50 MW plant supplying to a city but if you think of a 50 KW plant supplying to a small village it breaks even with other sources like gas/diesel. And if you talk about a 50 W installation for a hut, it works out to be the cheapest version. Therefore Solar is expensive for the rich but most economical for the poor. 

As Director (Technical) REC, once I was addressing a meeting of Chairmen, SEBs. I was questioning and criticizing them for locating electrical sub-stations non-optimally. After listening to me for a while, Chairman of one of the largest Electricity Boards stood up and said “We don’t decide the location of the sub-stations. Each 33 KV sub-station is decided by the local MLA and 132 KV sub-station by the local MP”. Imagine more than Rs 60,000 Cr. is being pumped into the Indian grid system from the central Govt. under APDRP & R-APDRP programs for rectifying and re-configuring the network to reduce the ill effects of sub-stations located off the load centers.

Once I was sitting with the MD of West Bengal Power Development Corporation during evening time. Looking at the ‘Frequency Watch’ in his office, I told him how lucky he was to have frequency very close to 50 Hz. He said “Please wait for an hour or so, you will see a rising surge in this frequency as soon as NTPC’s Super Thermal Plants start pumping power with no sensitivity to grid frequency, since they have to bag Gold Medals for their high PLF. My small generators cannot withstand that high frequency and break down due to higher centrifugal forces on the LP side.” They get the Gold Medals and we incur huge losses, he said.

Once I visited the control room of Scandinavian Power Pool (100,000 MW) in Stockholm.  I observed a typical wall clock there with a single arm, hardly having moved from its zero position. On enquiry I came to know that it was showing the guilt accumulated in last 24-hours of frequency supply variation. In our country we don’t have guilt watches or “Guilt” itself. In the rural end of supply the voltage levels being alarmingly low, the agricultural pump-sets draw higher current and in the process get burnt up, incurring huge expenditure on their repairs.

What we see in India today is insensitivity towards customers/ consumers of electricity. Once we were conducting a program on “Six sigma for power distribution” in a large Power Distribution Company. At the end of the Program, head of a distribution zone shot a question. “Why six sigma in power distribution?” Though it is a quality tool by which we can analyze a pain area of our business and improve upon it to make more profit, he said. He went on further to say why should his company make more profit when Govt. regulations mandate only 16% return on investment by the company.

I was stunned. I asked him what stops him from making more profit and passing it on to the customer. “Customer was not only out of focus but was out of sight”. For instance in Delhi the two private sector companies claim to have reduced the AT&C losses (including theft) from nearly 50% to 15%. If this benefit is passed on to the customers, their energy bills are bound to reduce.

A shocking question was posed to me on another occasion after concluding a Program on “Energy Conservation” for a Power Distribution Company again. “Why should we promote energy conservation, when we are in energy supply business? Let the consumers waste energy. Every extra unit we supply, we have a profit margin in it. An interesting question emerging out of perceptional perversion and lack of values and consciousness…..!

I had to make an effort answering the above question. I said firstly there should be no worry as a hardcore businessman, as for any unit saved there is a queue waiting for new connections which is a profit making proposition. The argument fitted well in the conversant 1st orbit of intellectual logic. Secondly I asked them whether they would like to supply energy in energy surplus/ wasting area or energy starved area? I gave them an example. In Hawaii sugar industries at the receptions, one is offered sugar as well as sugar-free crystals along with the tea. Once I asked them as to why they offer ‘sugar-free’ as sugar producers, their reply was “we don’t produce sugar for sugar-surplus people”. Similarly as responsible energy producers and suppliers good businessmen should have a clear preference for energy-starved area vis-a-vis energy-surplus or energy-wasting area. This was the 2nd orbit of emotional intelligence.

Finally taking them to the 3rd orbit of social and spiritual consciousness, I said that after 10 years, even if the supply equals demand, for every unit saved there will be a saving of 1 kg of coal (conserving it for the future generations); 1 kg of CO2, 0.4 kg of ash, 6 gm of Nitrous Oxide and 1 gm of Sulphur-di-oxide (causing pollution for the present generation) !!

There is so much of hype about “Smart Grid” but no one knows where it exists in India. If every Circle/ City distribution could have just declared its peak hours and the differential tariff, displaying it on the internet and insisted for a timer in the consumers’ meters; the load curves would have flattened meeting the first and foremost obligation of a Smart Grid. What is perhaps required is implementation mindset !

Wish you all a very happy and enlightening Diwali!

Satyamev Jayate !!!

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI Scholar, D.Engg.(Calif), FNAE
Hon.D.WRE (ranked amongst 30-most eminent scientists in the world)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex-Director (REC)/ Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 15 – Changing Meaning of Independence

My dear young friends,

I was asked to speak at the 67th Independence Day. Having turned 67 myself, I agreed to speak on changing meaning and spirit of Independence. I recalled how as a primary school student I used to join the procession led by our Head Master Shri Sharmanlal Gautam (President awarded) echoing the small town “Mandla” in Madhya Pradesh by the slogan “Bharat Mata ki Jai ”. After a few days of one such Independence Day I heard that my “Gautam Guruji” was in Jail. I went to meet him without any difficulty since my father was Jailor there. Guruji told me that he volunteered himself under “Jail Bharo Andolan” on some social issue and that I should not request my father to extend any special facilities to him.

Our Gautam Guruji used to check our nails before the morning prayers and then we were supposed to operate Charkha’s (spinning wheels) sitting on the floor. He used to run his Charkha very elegantly and efficiently and used to wear clothes woven by the yarn made by him. Today it is a fashion to grow nails, whether hygienic or not and wear clothes suiting or not to the “decency-decorum-dignity” expected from us-a sign of our growing independence. People debate very often the independence of dressing. In this context, I remember one instance. In a jammed traffic one of the mid vehicle’s driver was blowing his horn recklessly. The driver of the next vehicle went to him, wanting to know what was wrong with him. The reply was “It is my horn and my wish”.

When I started my primary school, copying in an examination and getting caught was such a big sin that one would feel like getting buried in the ground. When I reached 4th Class and was giving my final examination, I remember, our School Inspector’s daughter was sitting behind me. Suddenly I noticed my Class Teacher behind the standing Black Board hinting me that I should facilitate her copying my answer book. I ignored for a while but then his staring eyes with anger made me allow her copy my answers. Years later, while appearing for our 11th Board examination our Sanskrit Teacher who was also an invigilator wrote down “Hindi to Sanskrit Translation” on the board for all the students to copy. He thought he was doing his duty utilizing his freedom to help his students.

I recall one different kind of incident from my engineering college 4th year examination. One of the fresh lecturers of our Mechanical Engineering Department caught one of our classmates copying. He boldly declared he was nephew of HoD (Mechanical). The lecturer said it did not make any difference since he was caught red handed. First time many of us realized what it means to have a backbone. A rare meaning of independence of an invigilator in my memory!

Recently in a local Medical college in Mumbai, a candidate was found copying in the final examination from her mobile phone, which was confiscated. The messages were still pouring in providing the answers of the question paper. It was investigated as to where the messages were coming from. It was found that the source was her own father in whose conviction it was his independence to send messages to his daughter. In 67 years we have turned a full circle. As we have right to information, we seem to have right to copying. In recent past we rejected a Project Report since it was found to be a “copy-paste” from different sources. This “copy-paste” culture will not only make us “copy-cats” but also immoral in the name of freedom.

In our childhood we used to be advised “Learn more-Become a big man” and by a big man our elders meant “a person with authority particularly moral authority” and today we find the advice “Learn more-Earn more”. People talk of package and measure the status by it and that is our choice and freedom.

In independent India people started feeling that “paying” and getting the work done was their freedom, which has increased not only the non-productive middlemen but rampant corruption. How much Kejriwals, Khemkas, Durgas and my Engg. College Lecturer can change this price of independence has to be watched.

Right to Information was considered a sign of freedom but when applied to Political parties became encroachment on their freedom. They immediately utilized their freedom to amend the constitution retrospectively to spare them.

Off late (10-July-13) Hon’ble Supreme Court directed that people under Lock-up can’t stand for elections since they have no right to vote. Also they directed that criminals awarded punishment of 2 years and more imprisonment by any court become debarred from Parliament/ State Assemblies. Most of the political parties joining hands together decided and lodged a review petition. Getting a sensible decision reviewed is their freedom. Otherwise they will exercise their freedom to amend the constitution itself.

With the above kind of independence of law making, it seems to be the most opportune time for the “most wanted” to come back to India. They will be able to contest election from the lock-ups. If our normal politicians have to spend Rs 7-8 Cr. for their election (as recently admitted by a Maharashtra leader) these criminals will have capacity to spend Rs 800 Cr. They will use independence of our voters utilizing their own strong net-work from Film Industry to Match fixing Industry. Once elected they become Hon’ble members of Parliament. They will easily get bail and become free. They will be able to spend another Rs 800 Cr to get the court hearing dates extended till they are alive (as Hon’ble constitution makers).

Crossing “Luxman Rekha” everywhere is perhaps taken as independence today. Where will it lead us to? 

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI Scholar, D.Engg.(Calif), FNAE
Hon.D.WRE (ranked amongst 30-most eminent scientists in the world)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex-Director (REC)/ Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman Emeritus Reconnect 11 – “Earning” Wealth

1 May, 2013

My dear young friends,

In Indian society we find a typical hatred for wealth. From thousands of years it is believed that “while earning any kind of wealth there is pain, while protecting the earned riches there is pain, incoming and outgoing of wealth both are painful; root cause of all pain is wealth and therefore is deplorable”. Such a negative conviction has made Indians poorer and poorer over the centuries.

In relation to earning wealth there is one more negative perception that wealth can be generated by fraud only and it is impossible to attain prosperity with honesty. We ignore that in order to succeed in any business, you need at the same time knowledge & skills, courage, passion to win, entrepreneurship, creativity, vision, intellect, acumen, concrete planning, a strategy and focus.

I remember a dialogue with one of the respected businessmen in our country. He said “Making profit is our religion. As long as profit represents our vision, our first mover advantage, creativity, strategy, efficiency and hard work and NOT any kind of manipulation, tax evasion, cheating the clients by compromising on quality; it happens to be a sacred and most desirable dictum for us. We live for it. Such “earned” profit has a special value for us in terms of our efficiency, efficacy and pride”

Profit came for discussion at NPTI once when we were trying to make that Training Organization self-sustained instead of depending on Govt. grants. One opinion was “Making profit out of knowledge sharing seems to be unworthy motto, our Gurus never imparted knowledge for their profit”. The counter was “what if that profit represents our competitiveness, our capacity to transfer knowledge and skills for enriching and energizing power engineers, our capacity to think fast, think big and think ahead, our capacity to take the institution and the country forward? The same profit would become pious making us self-reliant and proud. After all why coins are offered to Goddess Lakshmi on Deepawali Puja? Simply because they represent our sweat, our effort, our industry; if we are honest”. and the country forward? The same profit would become pious making us self-reliant and proud.

My short trip to US last year reinforced in me a couple of lessons. The first one, the youth there have a special pride in earning. They don’t want to inherit, they don’t want to depend on their parents for higher education, and they don’t want to acquire money without “earning” it. My friend is Associate Dean in one of the Business Schools there. Once he told me that his College Building is cleaned up during 0-3 hrs., so that no one comes to know who are cleaning. Once he happened to stay late and found one of his professor friends from the nearby college in the cleaning team. They had a chat and his friend told him that he needed some extra money so he decided to do some extra “work”. What a value in Life !!

In India one unfortunate thing we observe is that with growing wealth, the arrogance also grows and sense of proportion weakens in spending. It is true of individuals as well as large groups. Some companies like TATA & WIPRO have shown their sensitivity towards CSR. Govt. of India has enacted one policy that companies making profit of more than Rs 5 crores, will have to spend 2% of their profit in CSR activities. With this, India has become the first country in the world to have such a mandatory provision towards sensitivity to return a small proportion of your profit to society wherefrom you have earned it, of course with your caliber.

While accumulating wealth one thing to be remembered is that it is like beehive. Someone else gets the honey. Its proper utilization at the end of the day rather than leaving it for natural inheritance is of paramount importance. I don’t remember the name of my grandfather’s father, so how can I expect to be remembered by my coming generations within the family?

Satyamev Jayate !!!

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI Scholar, D.Engg.(Calif), FNAE
Hon.D.WRE (ranked amongst 30-most eminent scientists in the world)
Chairman Emeritus, Great Lakes, Gurgaon, NCR, New Delhi, INDIA
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL), Ex-Director (REC)/ Executive Director (IREDA)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)

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Chairman’s Reconnect 9 – ‘Passion’

5 March, 2013

My dear young friends,

I have been writing to you at times on paradigms of professional excellence. One extremely important paradigm happens to be the “passion” with which you do your professional job. Passion at work is passion for fight with your own self, for exceeding all limits, beating your own benchmarks of yesteryears, “creating new ones- the world has never seen before”, making impossible possible……..

Each human being is a winner by birth. A possible 700 million sperms dash from the man towards one stationary egg in the woman. And only the healthiest and fastest sperm makes it. So every human being is that winning sperm which was one up on 700 million. The very birth of a human being signifies that he/she is a born winner.

What is Passion ?

1.     It is intensifying “desire” graduating to “ambition” and post-graduating to “passion”

2.     It is like a “Battery”, without charge it is useless, when charged it can move giant machines

3.     Passion is an “index” of life that determines the extent to which you are alive!

4.     Every cigarette, they say, reduces your life span by an hour. That could indeed be true. But truer is the fact that an hour spent doing something unwillingly, has already subtracted an hour from your life.

5.     Life is not collection of days you manage to live through, but a “net” sum of “productive” days you have lived “passionately”.

6.     It is “passion” that causes people to burn their mid-night oil, stay up late in nights and yet get up early.

Jack Welch has of late shared his rich experience of GE through lectures and his books on “Winning”. He says “Boundary less people, excited by speed and inspired by stretch dreams, have an absolutely infinite capacity to improve everything”. I have personally seen this happening in NPTI & CPRI where Indians have done a similar miracle, becoming one of the largest “Power Training” & “Research & Testing” Organizations in the World. Secret was the “passion” of being at the top of the world.

There is a big difference between people who just work and people who work passionately. And this difference is the difference between “success and failure”. Passion is the “Fire within”. One British Professor told Dr.Kurrian once “What Mr. Kurrian, milk sold in India has more bacteria than that in the Sewage System of England”. Thanks to “White Revolution” of Dr.Kurrian, today India is the largest producer of milk, free of any bacteria.

When Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of the train at Maritzburg Station in May 1893, with a valid First class ticket, a fire sparked in his mind “You have thrown me out of the train, I will throw you out of the countries wherever you have your immoral, invalid governance” The historic “Quit India” movement is a testimony of that fire-within that sparked off passion influencing 400 million Indians.

Abraham Lincoln is usually quoted for the “Ultimate Win”. Throughout life he was playing a losing game. He lost elections, he lost in business, he lost his kith and kin, he left politics & re-entered, At last at the age of 51, he was elected as President of USA. He is one of the most admired personalities in the world. His life teaches “Winning is nothing more than rising, each time you fall”. That needs tremendous passion.

If you think great players arrived India from 71 countries on 3rd Oct’10 for Commonwealth Games, you may be true but truer is the fact that >6,000 bundles of passion reached Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on the day. Let us remember, there are no passionate things, there are only passionate people.

“No job is small or big, it is the “passion” with which you do, makes it small or big”. Millions of people feel great to watch Cricket today! Do they watch Cricket or they watch passion for “Fight or Flight”, people fly, people dive forgetting that they are not playing in the swimming pool, they break their knees, they break their elbows, they break their wrists,…..they have to catch the ball at any cost….simply pop-corning, explosive vehemence!!!

Sachin failed in Xth Board (1988) due to his passion for Cricket, but he played and played and played till Maharashtra Xth Board Course Text Books brought his story on the First Page-First Chapter (2009). Any activity whether it is study, research, management or playing, if you attach Passion, it can bring great results…..!

Satyamev Jayate !!!

Best wishes and Regards,

Dr. B.S.K.Naidu

M.Tech., Ph.D., CBI Scholar, D.Engg., FNAE, Hon.D.WRE

Chairman, Great Lakes IEMR, Gurgaon, NCR, Delhi
Co-Chairman, Advisory Council, Great Lakes-Bauer Global Energy Executive MBA program, University of Houston
Former Director General (NPTI & CPRI / REL)

No job is small or big, the way in which you do, makes it small or big (c)