Reflections of Rajaram Bojji

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After reading what Mr F Mars, a friend of mine opined regarding speed of light need not be constant as Telsa says, I reflect that one thing is certain; there are many points of view but there is no clinching evidence that this is the truth! It always fascinated me- who I am and why I am here! Are there UFOs? In childhood I did dream of meeting people from a UFO landed in the back yard of my home, like many others, who claim to have even traveled with them! Well our mind it seems is the most powerful instrument which some times gives us sense of superior feeling to sit on judgment on every thing and every event and every one around us. Honestly speaking we only have questions. Questions- that is the key. I am from a social upbringing where our ancients told us to question and question till you reach the truth as you yourself finally realize. The statement that speed of light should be constant was questioned by me in my college education- because I questioned why it should be constant...

Commitment to excellence by improving constantly the product quality and couple the same with cost effectiveness so that the consumer gets products progressively improving in quality, at reducing prices, is the key to keep the consumption up beat and add wealth too because the purchasing power of the currency is sustained. This leads to sustained jobs and surplus incomes to enable spending. This in my mind is very critical core issue of building up an economy. Then the same qualities should reflect in financial services and banking too. That means Ponzi schemes and similar conscious fraudulent games should be treated as crimes and the white collar criminals should not get the extended goodwill treatment. The regulators and the systems have notoriously played shut eye even though the signs were glaring. The quality of lending keeping in view the debtor's capacity to pay is a fundamental issue, which again was compromised and that too knowingly. It is as much failure of the state r...

Newton is a unique scientist whose work remains relevant to humanity after centuries and even for space age travel. He is said to have born on 25 Dec 1642 as per Roman calendar, but Europe reset the date to Jan 4th, 1643 as per Gregorian calendar later on. Let me share a secret unused by us for the last 300 years. His theories on gravity can help us meet the energy needs of humanity to transport people and goods. Using the approach outlined below transportation is possible at speeds of 210 mph from city to city. Retooled cars/trucks on gravity-powered roads allow for transportation without fossil fuels and transport cargo from any point to any point at 60-mph. Existing metro rail can be powered by gravity doing away the electrical traction. Detailed specification in US Patent application number: 12184151 dated 07/31/2008 provides more information regarding the "Gravity Powered Rail, Road and Runways transportation systems". The principle is rather simple and ancient too. I...

Obama as President will be kick starting a massive $800b investment in energy and infrastructure. It is an excellent move to think of 5 to 7% of national economy to be used for priming the economy. Two cardinal principles, of course, I expect the wise architects of this massive conscious effort,to follow. One is employment generation with creation of permanent assets which all the future generations would be grateful for being a wealth generator and not budget guzzler posting losses and proving to be financial burden; secondly this opportunity should be treated as a historic golden chance to cause a paradigm shift in our life style reducing dependence on fossil fuel as much as possible. One such massive and ideal initiative to my mind is to implement alternate gravity energy based transportation technologies of US origin, to eliminate import of 8 to 10 million barrels of oil daily, prevent spewing out of 3.5 billion tons of carbon annually while making handsome profits of 30 to 40% pro...

In my view journalistic freedom of manufacturing news seems to be overtaking the events and clouding the facts. Too many young fresh zealous reporters are fighting for space and brownie points. Be as it may, the government agencies seem to have some "senior source" who is willing to leak information to an obliging friend in press and this further adds to disinformation. It is time we have some balance in the way media is handled by the government and over zealous reporting; credibility is at stake. Serious issues like terrorism and national security cannot be matters of gossip in a light hearted manner by the government.

At 360 kmph, a proposal is presented to cover 1000km under 3 hours, with 9 halts, a halt every 100 km, attaining 340 kmph average speed, saving 66% of energy as compared to current high speed trains of France(TGV) and Japan (Bullet trains). In India just at Rs 1450 one can travel 1000 km within 3 hours.The project earns also 30% profit operating 10 hours a day.Annually over 135 million commuters per direction can use this facility. This will eliminate need for air travel between major metropolises in India. Substantial saving of fossil fuel can be effected.

Corruption is at the root of all our problems-- all basic values, excellence, integrity of person , profession get compromised in corrupt environs. It is not a matter of just an individual remaining above personal gains in terms of money, but many of of our honest officers allow gross corruption by the powers in return for own power and position, facilitate robbing public money by the political bosses, justifying that after all they need the funds for their party etc; a hollow premise. This is actually distorting our values- projects with bloated estimates, get cleared not for merit but for immediate benefit of return on the basis of percentage to the clearing authorities. Good people doing this knowingly, do the mistake of lending their righteous faces to mask the wrong doings of the system. I believe we should not forget our Father of Nation in this matter. Means also are important. Once compromise starts, there is no line you can draw; this far and no further: enough is enough kind...

If India wants they can construct the freight corridor with gravity power towers, saving 87% of energy as per the calculations given below. The entire project is financially viable with profit assured and uses indigenous technology and so if funded from the sovereign funds, (through RBI Bonds), the wealth remains within the country but adds to real positive cash flows! We need a leader with vision to add this important infrastructure connecting Western Ports to North of India, without need to take loan from Japan and then buy equipment and technology from foreign countries, but still spending the same level of energy as we are doing today, not helping the cause of global warming. It is a double whammy.. incur heavy yen nominated debt, get inferior performing technology at higher cost, first to improve economy of other countries before India gets benefited. Is there some wise one out there in this infinite space of Indian bureaucracy to listen and act for my country? GRAVITY PO...

Nilekani's thoughts are typical all of us who got their education in India, opportunity to serve either through Corporate structure or Government sector like me, sticking to ethical standards both in private and public life. Yes I too feel fulfilled with my 35 years in Indian Railway Service of Engineers my patents/ service as MD Konkan Railway very satisfying with unavoidable internal fights with bosses with different agendas- a normal occurrence in any society. But the price we pay for self interest of quite a few highly placed individuals is too steep. In government sponsored or controlled projects invariably our technology though superior to imported options, get marginalised, with procurers prevailing the decision and policy making corridors of power. Whereas our country could have become wealthier and provide the same riches which the rulers aspire for, but in longer time frame, with making India number one in technology leadership in the world, the third world mentality prev...

Let me share a few thoughts! Yesterday my taxi driver, (now a days we find more down to the earth wisdom in their perception of the world), was telling how the number taxis booked by software companies is falling while the bookings to Apollo hospitals has picked up. he concluded that the lay offs taking place in Hyderabad, starting from call centers first, and now Citi bank has caused even reduction of traffic congestion in Hyderabad! Interestingly he asked a question whether Bush is responsible for all this!!! I wonder if I tell a villager in India , that IBM is trying to make a huge computer with cat like brain, he would look at me strangely and say all these years the village thought the young men in ties with some computers hanging around their necks and going about rural surveys, and looking very important, were very smart and doing very high class work. But if now the computer people are still trying to reach a cat's brain, then those boys are playing with mice only! That is...

Dear Mr Louise Gardner, I am glad you quickly responded. I did expect this response and am not disappointed. But bear with me and and pray introspect on what I have to share with you after 40 years of public life and as the only engineer from India whose work is covered both by National Geographic and Discovery in 160 countries- my Anti Collision Device technology and Skybus metro rail- I am also specially chosen to be appreciated by the World Intellectual Property Office Geneva for my innovations. Life of scientists and engineers is guided by the mission to contribute to improve human life. In my limited way I am trying. Engineers think I am not the routine engineer and feel uncomfortable with me and scientists think I am below their level, because I do laugh at some colleagues who are scientists who miss the wood for the tree. All the scientists put together in the last century have failed to give one alternative to the fossil fuel energy source- esoteric concepts of helium 3 gas or ...

Today 19th Nov back in 1863, to stand and listen to what Abraham Lincoln stated in such a short 2 minute time, is truly moving! Nov 19th , 1863 Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln The Bliss version, written well after the speech as a favor for a friend, is viewed by many as the standard text. Its text differs, however, from the written versions prepared by Lincoln before and after his speech. It is the only version to which Lincoln affixed his signature, and the last he is known to have written. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live....

Humans have not really been producing real wealth- but used creative genius in financial markets, to create funny money- which , which when reaches a critical proportion burst out as bubble!Now we have to pick up pieces of our life and slowly struggle back to normalcy and wait for some more creative geniuses to produce another round of funny money cycle to get feel good factor driving us out to shop,shop and shop until we drop dead! I pray for once we recognize creativity in non-financial sector, that is in real life sector, to improve quality of lives with reducing costs of supporting infrastructure, through aggressive application of science and technology. The enemy to put obstacles for this is within- too many cynical know- alls! In financial sector, it s a closed group & mutually beneficial society; normal public being kept out, but in real life sector and main street, the man on street to the man in White House have a say with layers of bureaucrats to bicker all the time. A ca...

Dear Mr President, welcome! I am worried the path ASCE is taking. A solution to save 98.5% of man made energy in transportation is being denied publication in our Journal on Transportation Engineering! It is a disservice to the members of ASCE to be denied an opportunity to be the first to share a breakthrough development by one of their members. Now they will have to read from some other journals. USA needs urgent solution to make us energy independent, and economic down turn can be addressed with such energy saving transportation solution like Gravity Powered Urban Rail! It is not a joke to be able to save 98 to 70% of man-made energy , replacing the same with gravity power, while using the existing infrastrutire too. I am intrigued as a very senior civil engineering professional with enough professional work reported all round the world, and not needing an endorsement at this stage in my life, what our society is looking for- to be unconcerned with current problems of scoiety makes ...

Hi Mr King, Liked your neat write up. I share this historic moment with you. So much of hope has been placed in one man and Obama must be feeling the heavy burden now- but he is so likable guy and starts with a huge all round good will. But he needs a break - a lucky one to turn the tables of the economic mess we have today created by the financial wizards who played a glorified Ponzi game with virtual money without actually creating wealth. But will he able to spot one even if one is available? He needs a truly value adding and wealth creating invention which can boost the country's lifestyle at affordable cost! Quite often the bureaucracy and established lobbies actually block him from access to such work- his own high position which gives him power to deliver also ironically blocks him from getting access to his solution which is badly needed. Let me share an example. USA imports oil and we pay heavy sums to gulf countries and now they are not buying back our treasury bonds, as...

I don't understand why the finance gurus still talk of derivatives as a natural corollary of financial system's evolution. The simple bench mark for any innovation should be, you cannot create more value than the available wealth; by perception based floating papers, using further such virtual paper to create even more of the same variety, we create a virtual realit of wealth. It is a hidden game of similar to the same scams perpetrated in earlier days of banking too.It is only Warren Buffet who stated in no uncertain terms that the derivatives will prove to be the weapon of mass destruction for the financial system and got his company out of it. It is time that experts like Rangarajan come out strongly and condemn and ban the derivatives approach in financial systems for protecting the economy from another future down turn. I am glad at least Dr Reddy, our former RBI Governor in a talk with me did agree that considerable risk and inadequate transparency prevail in quite a numb...

Reference Scientific American article on Force Fields( 4th Nov.08) : My gut feeling is the vast energies of the cosmic origin, shaped the system we see over millions and millions of human years. It looks ridiculous for a small tiny speck, our planet earth, and its inhabitants to attempt to redefine the force fields with little understanding. But it is exciting to keep on wondering at the discoveries we daily make in our little world with limited reach allowed to us by our extremely constricted tools of senses aided by imagination and conditioned intelligence! That is why we keep on contradicting our once highly laudable scientific truths and dust off again as time progresses, and go back to them! Best is to enjoy the process as long as it lasts! The simple gravity force we have all round us, we don't know much. But I discovered that with stops at 450m, peak speed of 108 kmph, and average speed of 54 kmph, we can have urban transportation on our planet, which can be powered by gravi...

I was reading Patralekha Chatterjee's article recently about how Mumbai can be reduced by a fringe political party into a shrinking cowering city with all the great national icons of from Maharashtra just cringing and showing a total lack of national spirit. I wonder what happened to the beautiful and proud legacy of Shivaji, Balagangadhar Tilak, Babasaheb Ambedkar and many a national leader who emerged from Maharashtra! Current leaders are reducing Maharashtrians to a mere third rate job seekers who think some one else is stealing their jobs!! What a pity from being leaders of the nation and rulers to fall to this dismal levels that a student in exam hall gets attacked and hurt and a simple labourer , a citizen of India, gets lynched motivated by the leadership! On top the leaders lack the courage to admit what they have done and disown responsibility too. I am proud of Matathas, their valour and respect for human values. This generation is seeing the a total disintegration of the...

I always wondered at the vast spread and depth of innate intelligence and wisdom prevalent in the country but clouded by very myopic visions of so called political leaders who collect a few aggressive self-serving followers and then aggressively exploit the society for their own benefit. The good natured remain mute and allow the nonsensical behaviour, there by abetting the crime. How come persons who denigrate the Constitution of the country, are protected by those sworn to protect the Constitution? There cannot be any political cause greater than the Constitution, I believe! Public good cannot mean out right justification of parochial attitudes. We today witness a strange case where there are no more Indian leaders-- but have regional chieftains. Who is responsible for this? It took years of effort and hard struggle for Tilak, Ranade, Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan, Phule, Ambedkar, Satyam,Rajaji, Netaji .. to name just a few , but many more ordinary people from all walks...

Most of our scientific knowledge fail to explain the why part-but only try to describe and fail rigorous test of cause and effect relation ships. Surprisingly logic has the fallacy described as post hoc ergo propter hoc which roughly means after this, therefore because of this...But all our knowledge if you introspect deeply, falls under this category. Trends can be foreseen but not spikes and timing. But what can be monitored is the ethical governance which is within human control, and which when we over look on a massive scale, can result in the current stock market melt down. Instead of describing the symptoms accurately with mathematical models, if we look for underlying driving forces and how the initial innocent belief that market forces will work in unbiased manner FAIRLY, is not proven sound and we do need HONEST regulation, not human based but may be digitally enforced ruthlessly, all will be better off. Interestingly if you mandate a group of us to lay down a process, we all...

Well hope the world will recover-- drops of 50% value in stocks in all countries, and GM in USA talking of bankruptcy as a natter option, though saying it is not an option-- some how --does not bode well. Who stole the money? or the accounting policy of mark to market for assets acted in reverse, suddenly making the debt uncovered by assets, causing a collapse for the company.There seems to be a collapse in trust quotient in the market- the instruments they used to believe each other seem to have failed badly. Now an open field is left and even when liquidity is there, no one is willing to stick out neck to offer credit! What a sudden credit crunch spreading like wild fire across the globe. Like when debit entry is there there must be an equal balancing credit entry- who got all the money seen to be lost in the market to the tune of $ 3 trillion in the world! Or it was only a paper trick and no real wealth was created, but only a perception that we are getting wealthier by globally spr...

B. Rajaram FNAE Dt 25 th August 2007 Director Atri Knowledge Embedded Infrastructure Lab P ltd. Hyderabad Transport mode for inter-city connectivity for people and goods: a wise choice! The requirements for inter-city connectivity must be first understood before offering a solution. The common mistake is one falls in love with an available product, then go about canvassing the same without concern for its suitability socially, technically and financially. Let us take two cases: cities within 500 km and those at around 1000km distance. The social requirements are environment friendly, least time consuming, and energy efficient system, which is affordable and comfortable. The point to point total travel time is important- one should talk of heart of city to heart of another city. There is no point in rushing and reaching a city outskirts in two hours and then spend another two hours to commute in the city to reach your destination. Inter-modal transfers should be...

I keep thinking of my country so rich in resources and human capital but so poor in organising and managing to unlock the value! The political and administrative structure has effectively blocked all honest technologically innovative initiatives in favour of imports from abroad. The fact that Indian accounts in swiss banks hold US$ 1.4 trillion as published in press speaks volumes. No wonder our technologies of Skybus or Anti-collision device network take pretty long time to be implemented quickly, because our own administrative structure which has to deliver, is more anxious to get from abroad what is needed and view Indian initiatives with disdain. The common man ishelpless and continues to lose his wealth and gets more and more burdened with national debt. Further the inflation is fueled by unproductive expenditures by the government and we see the results today. When will wisdom dawn in our rulers that they cannot become wealthy by making people poor- that is an unsustainable econo...

It is not just the administrators, but also the administrators who have become consultants who with poor knowledge of engineering and technology hide behind standard de-bunkering arguments whenever they are faced with giving advice on technologies they do not know! So when Skybus standard gauge rail concept came for evaluation, first check they do is whether it was done by an advanced country and running there or not. Once they find it is not available in any other country and we will be doing ourselves by understanding the same, they will adopt the de-bunkering approach. Oh my goodness, it is not a time tested and proven system, public life is involved and so one should await more work on the issue. Actually technical analysis and reasons why it wont work is absent. If the railway gauge, wheels and bogie only are used, it is not explained by these self-proclaimed experts why it works for normal railway and why it does not work for the Skybus! The load transfer points on to the bogie a...

Doc: Atrilab.skybus.mumbai.080327.v.1.01 Why not Skybus Standard Gauge Metro rail? This technology can permit rail transport without disturbing the existing buildings and along the suburban tracks. Quote: Times of India 26 March 08 “Be It Railways Or Airlines, City Now Looks To Be On Fast Track Elevated rail corridor plan gathers steam Devraj Dasgupta | TNN Mumbai: In a super-quick followup to the railway budget announcement of an elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar, a high-level delegation from the Railway Board will be in Mumbai on March 27 to brief interested bidders on the ground realities. The ministry’s mandarins will elicit the response of interested parties the very next day at a prebid meeting in New Delhi. Western Railway officials, however, say that the stretch from Churchgate to Mumbai Central neither needs nor allows for an elevated corridor. “There is scarcely any free space alongside the tracks between Churchgate and Mumbai Central. The tracks are surrounded b...

It is truly a sad method of planning the current modern airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore in India. No proper thought has gone into connectivity to the cities they serve. It is not a case of conecting one point in city to the airport- a multi-point connectivity from city to the airport is needed. This can be achieved without modal split with Skybus Metro rail which can deliver the passengers and their luggage to the airport security hold directly from multi-point access in the city. We have solution for providing a holistic approach to the transport problem but why sanity does not prevail in our rulers is the moot point.

Indicators of state vulnerability The index's ranks are based on twelve indicators of state vulnerability - four social, two economic and six political.[3] The indicators are not designed to forecast when states may experience violence or collapse. Instead, they are meant to measure a state's vulnerability to collapse or conflict. All countries in the red, orange, or yellow categories display some features that make parts of their societies and institutions vulnerable to failure. Some in the yellow zone may be failing at a faster rate than those in the more dangerous orange or red zones, and therefore could experience violence sooner. Conversely, some in the red zone, though critical, may exhibit some positive signs of recovery or be deteriorating slowly, giving them time to adopt mitigating strategies.[2] [edit] Social indicators 1. Demographic pressures: including the pressures deriving from high population density relative to food supply and other life-sustaining resources. ...

How do we define a failed state? When do we define the state to be sound? The various checks and balances we accept in a democratic society have to be based on the pillars of justice, laws , equal opportunity for all to grow, equity for all, some affirmative action to take care of poor and down trodden and those unfortunates to be cared for by those who do well- if a state can ensure this can we call it a sound one? If all the opposites occur can we say state has failed? Can we identify the thresholds of some identified parameters to give us different degrees of the health of a state on a scale of 1 to 5 – and give warning signs before a state fails? It cannot be 0 or 1 case- the degradation has to be gradual spread over years and similarly building back the framework of values has to be long drawn out affair. Merely holding a dictator in position and supporting a coterie with weapons and fear promoted in the ruled, cannot make a state, I believe.

An experience I remember! The Lufthansa's combined air-rail tkt: I experienced it. It is distinctly terrible when you change from air mode to rail mode even in Frankfurt! The life and glitter in air line areas distinctly contrasts with what you see in railway portion- persons slowly dragging their feet, dull lights, bleak surroundings in comparison with what the airport is just 100m across! You can see efforts to be different but lack of budget is visible. Ok then you board the 300 kmph inter-city. Fine train again with visible less than perfect maintenance in toilets as comapred to an aircraft. Even the Lufthansa stewardess specially provided to look after me , as I was I class pasenger- sounds a bit apologectic offering the coffee and limited snacks from the train service. Between rail and air tremendous attitudinal problems persist. The portion of the I class coach reserved and nominated as such by the railway- they try to create a separate identity but it is not effortless. T...