Sanyal unfiltered

You must give it to Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, for being “blunt” on several issues this past week during his address at an industry event. “There is a need to create capacity in government where it is needed. All the while we have been creating capacity where it is not needed,” he noted.

A case in point being India’s patent office where there are only 850 officers (he even referred them as kids!). Sanyal went on to point out as to how, especially in a knowledge economy, one can’t have a patenting system where it takes 5-7 years to get a patent! “By the time one gets a patent, the technology is already outdated”.

To highlight that India does not have enough patent officers, Sanyal pointed out how the 850 kids (yes, you read it right) had to compete with 13,500 patent officers in China and 8,500 in the US.

“Our kids can’t do it. It’s like going to a World Cup T20 game or an IPL match where they have 13 people and you have just about one!”

An emotional warning

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin, who was recently re-elected as party chief, took a dig at senior ministers who courted controversies.

In an emotional acceptance speech, Stalin said, “With a dual responsibility as Chief Minister and DMK President I will be held responsible for everything that happens. If it rains heavily, I will be blamed. If it does not rain also, I will only be blamed. In this kind of a situation, if senior ministers court controversies by their statements and actions, what will I do? I wake up every day hoping that there won’t be any controversies from the ministers. There is no privacy, especially with mobile phones being there. Please restrain from courting controversies.”

Governor strikes back

Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the chancellor of universities in the State, has taken what observers describe as an extraordinary step by showing the door to 15 members of the Kerala University Senate since ‘they failed to discharge their duties and responsibilities.’

This would take the no-holds-barred exchanges between the Raj Bhavan and the State government to an altogether new level.

Observers wonder how Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, currently abroad, might choose to react.

The Governor reportedly took the action after repeated directions to hold a meeting and provide a nominee of the Senate for constituting a selection committee to appoint a new Vice-Chancellor went unheeded.

Boiling over Basmati

A couple of months ago, Punjab banned 10 insecticides in Basmati-growing regions. This was to ensure that exports of the fragrant rice do not get affected due to the presence of these insecticide residue. Haryana followed suit. Following this, the crop protection industry moved the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.

The court, admitting the industry’s plea, suggested the Punjab government review its decision in consultation with the industry. However, Punjab Agriculture Minister Kulpeep Singh Dhaliwal delivered a monologue to the industry rather than seeking its views. The industry now awaits the next date of hearing.

Published on October 16, 2022