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President's Desk
New Delhi, 19 January, 2009
The
XXXVII-Dairy Industry Conference (DIC) would be held at
Kala Academy, Panjim, Goa between February 7-9, 2009.
Goa’s history stretches back to the 3rd Century BC, when it
formed part of the Mauryan Empire. It was later ruled by the
Satyahanas of Kothapur at the beginning of the Christian
era, and eventually passed to the Chalukyas of Badami, who
controlled from 580 to 750 AD. From the fourteen Century
onwards, Goa became a great trading centre on the west cost,
especially in the trade of horses imported from the Middle
East. In 1469 Bahmini Sultans of Gulbarga conquered Goa.
Later Goa was held by Adil Shahis of Bijapur. The old
secretarial building in Panjim is the former palace of Adil
Shah, and it was later taken over by the Portuguese, as
their official residence.
In 1503, on the order of King Dom Manuel I Portuguese
nobleman Alfonso de Albuquerque and his cousin Francisco de
Albuquerque were sent with the powerful fleet to defend the
cargoes of spices, mostly pepper, against Arab raiders. They
captured Goa in 1510. Blessed by its natural harbours and
wide rivers Goa was the ideal base for the seafaring
Portuguese who wanted to control over the spice route from
the East. They were also possessed with the strong desire to
spread Christianity. Jesuit missionaries led by the St.
Francis Xavier arrived in 1542. For the next 400 years Goa
was held by the Portuguese except for brief occupation by
the British and attack by Marathas. But it was not until
1961 when India, an Independent Republic under Pandit
Jawahar Lal Nehru ejected them, ending 450 years of colonial
rule.
Goa offers a number of tourist places to visit, Panaji,
Mabusa, Vasco, Ponda, Baga, Calangute, Singuerim, Anjuna,
Chapora, Vagator, Arambol/Terekol, Bogmalo, Colva Old Goa,
Aguda Fort.
Churches in Goa are known for their intricate architecture
not just in India but all over the world. Basilica of Bom
Jesus in Old Goa, built in 1605 is quite popular. The church
is famous because the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier
are kept here who died while on a sea voyage to China and
the saint's body continuous to be fresh attracting devouts
from all over the world. The Se Cathedral in Goa dedicated
to St. Catherine was built by Alfonso de Albuquerque who
conquered Goa. The other important churches are the Church
of St. Francis of Assisi, the huge Convent of Santa Monica,
the Reis Magos Church, the Church of the Three Magi Kings
and the Church of St. Alex at Curtorim.
Goa is renowned worldwide for its spectacular beaches which
are classified into the beaches in North and the beaches in
South. The beaches in North Goa stretch over a distance of
30 kilometers. These beaches include, Arambol, Morjim,
Chapora, Vagator, Anjuna, Baga, Calangute, Candolim,
Sinquerim, Bambolim, Miramar and Dona Paula. The beaches in
South Goa offer tourists relatively quieter and secluded
ambience and include, Bogmalo, Majorda, Colva, Benaulim,
Varca, Cavelossim, Mobor, Canaguinim, Agonda and Palolem.
The culture of Goa today is a synthesis of Portuguse and
Indian culture, a quaint blend of tradition, religion and
modernity.
The Conference would be inaugurated by Bharat Ratna Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Former President of Republic of India.
India’s 11th President, Dr. Kalam assumed office on July 25,
2002. He was born on 15th October, 1931 at Rameswaram in
Tamil Nadu. Dr. Kalam has been often referred to as the
“Missile Man of India” and was the Project Director of
India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III).
He graduated in aeronautical engineering from the Madras
Institute of Technology in 1958 and joined the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In 1962, Dr.
Kalam joined the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
In 1982, he rejoined DRDO as the Chief Executive of
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Dr.
Kalam is credited with the development and
operationalisation of India’s Agni and Prithvi missiles. He
worked as the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and
Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development
from 1992 to 1999. During this period, the Pokhran-II
nuclear tests were conducted. Dr. Kalam held the office of
the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
from November, 1999 to November, 2001.
Dr. Kalam is a prolific author. His books, “Wings of Fire”,
“India 2020 – A Vision for the New Millennium”, “My journey”
and “Ignited Minds— Unleashing the power within India” have
become best sellers. He is a favourite with children all
over the country and has met children with ease and
affection and has influenced them with his learned talks.
Dr. Kalam has received a host of awards both in India and
abroad. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan 1990 and the Bharat
Ratna in 1997. He is of the view that we should make India a
developed nation by 2020. Besides being a bachelor, Dr.
Kalam is a vegetarian and teetotaler. Among the many firsts
to his credit, he became India's head of state to take sea
journey when he boarded the INS Sindhurakshak, a submarine,
and to undertake a sortie in an fighter aircraft, a
Sukhoi-30 MKI.
And Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam regards his work on India’s
nuclear weapons program a way to assert India’s place as a
future superpower. Even during his tenure as President, Dr.
Kalam took interest in the spheres of India's science and
technology. He has even put forward a project plan for
establishing bio-implants. He is also an ardent advocate of
open source software over proprietary solutions to churn out
more profits in the field of information technology in
India. All of us would be fortunate to have him amongst us
on February 7, 2009.
The theme of the Conference is “Dairying for Livelihood and
Development”.
Dairying in India is an integral part of total farming
system. According to estimates of the Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO), the value of output from the livestock
at current prices was about Rs.1,73,350 crores in 2005-06.
Milk accounted for 68 per cent of this output. It was higher
than paddy or wheat. In terms of value of output, milk is
now the single largest agricultural commodity in India.
Dairying contributes close to the third of gross income of
rural household and in the case of those without land it
attributes nearly half of their gross income. An estimated
70 million rural households of which about three fourth are
landless, marginal or small farmers are engaged in milk
production. The distribution of rural income, as reflected
in the gini coefficient (the measure of inequality) is very
low for dairy sector in India indicating that the ownership
and the income is more evenly distributed and the progress
in this sector will result in a more balanced development of
rural economy. Presently, only 16-17 per cent of the milk
gets processed on account of inadequate infrastructural
facilities, thus denying benefit of value addition to milk
producers.
India has already entered the international market for milk
products and despite lack of support from the Government has
made considerable progress. However, under the WTO regime,
Indian exports will have to adhere to stringent quality and
food safety standards. The dairy industry will have to
upgrade itself to the international level. This would
require heavy investment in processing, value-addition and
marketing. The pattern of milk production would also require
a major institutional change with comparatively bigger size
of the herd. The ‘small holder’s milk production’ system
should upgrade itself into ‘small holder commercial milk
production’, since it would not be possible for one or two
milch animal holding farm families to adopt required
standards for quality considerations. To realise the
benefits of gains in dairy sector, both public and private
sectors need to invest heavily in logistics and
infrastructure, processing and modern retailing.
The theme of DIC has appropriately been chosen, looking into
the impeding changes in the agriculture economy.
All dairymen are,
therefore, advised not to miss this opportunity and to
participate in this conference. The slogan should be ‘Goa
Chalo’!.
(N.R. Bhasin)
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