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<ul><li>Tamil Nadu’s technical varsity <keyword id="6364790" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="anna-university">Anna University</keyword> is facing heat as it proposed introducing ‘Philosophy’ as a subject for engineering students. </li><li>The university plans to teach Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads to postgraduate students. </li><li>This move fired a debate in the state, criticising it for imposing of <keyword id="6390141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sanskrit">Sanskrit</keyword> and Hindu religion. </li><li>The university has rolled out six audit courses (non-mandatory) in all for the overall personality development of the students, following the guidelines of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).</li></ul>Tamil Nadu’s technical varsity Anna University is facing heat as it plans to teach the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita as a part of <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/bhagavad-gita-for-engineering-students-creates-controversy-in-anna-university/articleshow/71293637.cms">‘Philosophy’ </a>to engineering students. The university plans to teach the mentioned scriptures as part of audit course, which is not mandatory, to postgraduate students. The university said that ‘Srimad Bhagavad Gita’ by Swami Swarupananda can aid in personality development. This fired a debate in the state. M K Stalin, President of <keyword id="294965" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dravida-Munnetra-Kazhagam">Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam</keyword> (DMK) <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/dmk-left-slam-move-to-impose-sanskrit-in-anna-university-no-course-is-compulsory-says-the-varsity-1603375-2019-09-26">said</a> that "It is condemnable to attempt imposition of Sanskrit by making philosophy compulsory in the syllabus of Anna University's CEG campus." The university responded by saying that the students are free to choose any audit course, and it is not a compulsion to go with Philosophy. "We are not imposing anything, in fact, we are not teaching Sanskrit at all," it argued. The university rolled out six audit courses in all as per the guidelines of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). "To provide students with well-rounded development, we are introducing more and more courses in humanities," the university noted. Demanding withdrawal of the subject from the engineering syllabus, CPI (M) state unit secretary K Balakrishnan said, "This is against the principles of secularism. Introducing the teaching of a particular religion in a syllabus studied by students from all faiths and the state government standing by that, is not acceptable." See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-bill-to-do-away-with-ugc-and-aicte-will-be-tabled-in-the-parliament-in-october/articleshow/71305689.cms">A Bill to do away with UGC and AICTE will be tabled in the Parliament in October</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/aicte-awards-for-top-colleges-and-organisations-with-best-internships/articleshow/70834885.cms">The top Indian colleges and organisations for internships, awarded by AICTE</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/according-to-aicte-78-engineering-colleges-are-going-to-shut-down-this-academic-year/articleshow/70345828.cms">Over 70 engineering colleges in India opt for ‘progressive closure’ as they fall short of students, checkout the full list</a>

Anna University faces heat as it proposes Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads for engineering students

India on Sunday morning successfully placed into <keyword id="10842249" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="orbit-brazil">orbit Brazil</keyword>'s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1in a textbook style. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C51 (PSLV-C51) blasted off from the first launch pad at 10.24 a.m. laden with 19 <keyword id="41530" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="satellites">satellites</keyword> including Amazonia-1. At 10.24 a.m. the 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C51 rocket blasted off from the first launch pad here laden with 19 satellites-foreign and Indian- and slowly rose-up towards the skies with thick orange flame at its tail. The rocket slowly gained speed as it went up while emitting a rolling thunder sound. Seventeen minutes into its flight the rocket slung its primary passenger the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 - the first of the 19 satellites- into its intended Sun Synchronous Orbit. Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite of National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This satellite would further strengthen the existing structure by providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory, <keyword id="116095" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (<keyword id="6358064" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword>) said. With this India has slung 329 foreign satellites till date. If all goes well, then India will end the mission orbiting a total of 342 foreign satellites, all for a fee. India's first space mission for 2021 is one of the longest for a PSLV rocket is expected to conclude 1 hour, 55 minutes and 7 seconds into its flight. The rocketing is a fully commercial one of NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL). The 18 co-passenger satellites include four from IN-SPACe (three UNITYsats from consortium of three Indian academic institutes (Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Sriperumbudur, G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur and Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore), one Satish Dhawan Sat from Space Kidz India) with an engraved picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as <keyword id="6391748" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhagavad-gita">Bhagavad Gita</keyword> in a flash. The remaining 14 satellites are Sindhu Netra, an Indian technology demonstration satellite from <keyword id="490397" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Defence-Research-Development-Organisation">Defence Research Development Organisation</keyword>'s (DRDO) research centre Imarat, Hyderabad to identify suspicious ships and 13 satellites from the USA viz., SAI-1 NanoConnect-2, a technology demonstration satellite and 12 SpaceBees satellites for two-way satellite communications and data relay. For the third time ISRO is using the PSLV rocket's DL variant that will have two strap-on booster motors. In normal configuration the PSLV is a four stage/engine expendable rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively. Six booster motors will also be strapped on to the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments. But the PSLV rocket that flew on Sunday was the DL variant having only two strap-booster motors. This rocket variant was used the first time to put the Microsat R satellite into orbit on January 24, 2019. The Indian space agency has PSLV variants with two and four strap-on motors, larger PSLV-XL and the Core Alone variant without any strap-on motors. The choice of the rocket to be used for a mission depends on the weight of the satellite and the orbit where the satellite has to be orbited. Be that as it may, the PSLV-C51 mission is one of longest ones. As per its flight plan, the rocket will put the 19 satellites into Sun Synchronous Orbit over a duration of 1 hour, 55 minutes and 7 seconds. During its flight, the rocket's fourth stage engine will be cut off and restarted a couple of times, the first one will be at 16 minutes into its flight. Just over one hour into its flight the rocket's engine will be restarted for about nine seconds before it is shut down again. After 1 hour, 49 minutes and 52 seconds the rocket's engine will be reignited for eight seconds after which the 18 piggy back satellites will be put into orbit. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/how-to/how-to-export-passwords-from-lastpass/articleshow/81221242.cms">How to export passwords from LastPass</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-signal-and-telegram-face-a-catch-22-situation-as-indias-new-social-media-rules-threaten-encryption/articleshow/81221070.cms">Whatsapp, Signal and Telegram face a catch-22 situation as India’s new social media rules threaten encryption</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-saw-the-birth-of-two-new-unicorns-this-week-both-their-valuations-have-swelled-multiple-times-in-just-a-few-months/articleshow/81221476.cms">India saw the birth of two new unicorns this week – both their valuations have swelled multiple times in just a few months</a>

Indian rocket PSLV puts Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite into orbit

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C51 (PSLV-C51) rocket loaded with 19 <keyword id="41530" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="satellites">satellites</keyword> from Brazil, the US and India lifted off from the rocket port at <keyword id="6355143" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="sriharikota">Sriharikota</keyword> in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday morning. The rocket carrying Brazil's 637-kg Amazonia-1 satellite as its primary passenger and 18 others (13 from the US and five from India including a defence satellite) as co-passengers lifted off from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here at 10.24 a.m. on Sunday. India's first space mission for 2021 is one of the longest for a PSLV rocket and is expected to conclude 1 hour, 55 minutes and 7 seconds into its <keyword id="30815" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="flight">flight</keyword>. If all goes well India will end the mission orbiting a total of 342 foreign satellites, all for a fee. The rocketing is a fully commercial one of NewSpace <keyword id="105160" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Ltd">India Ltd</keyword> (NSIL) with the primary passenger being the Amazonia-1 satellite. At 10.24 a.m. the 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C51 rocket blasted off from the first launch pad here and slowly rose-up towards the skies with thick orange flame at its tail. The rocket slowly gained speed as it went up while emitting a rolling thunder sound. Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite of National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This satellite would further strengthen the existing structure by providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory, <keyword id="116095" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (ISRO) said. The 18 co-passenger satellites include four from IN-SPACe (three UNITYsats from consortium of three Indian academic institutes (Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Sriperumbudur, G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur and Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore), one Satish Dhawan Sat from Space Kidz India) with an engraved picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on it as well as Bhagavad Gita in a flash. The remaining 14 satellites Sindhu Netra, an Indian technology demonstration satellite from <keyword id="490397" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Defence-Research-Development-Organisation">Defence Research Development Organisation</keyword>'s (DRDO) research centre Imarat, Hyderabad to identify suspicious ships and 13 satellites from the US viz., SAI-1 NanoConnect-2, a technology demonstration satellite and 12 SpaceBees satellites for two-way satellite communications and data relay. For the third time ISRO is using the PSLV rocket's DL variant that will have two strap-on booster motors. In normal configuration the PSLV is a four stage/engine expendable rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively. Six booster motors will also be strapped on to the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments. But the 44.4 metre tall PSLV rocket that flew on Sunday was the DL variant having only two strap-booster motors. This variant was used for the first time to put the Microsat R satellite into orbit on January 24, 2019. The Indian space agency has PSLV variants with two and four strap-on motors, larger PSLV-XL and the Core Alone variant without any strap-on motors. The choice of the rocket to be used for a mission depends on the weight of the satellite and the orbit where the satellite has to be orbited. Be that as it may, the PSLV-C51 mission is one of longest ones. As per its flight plan, the rocket will put the 19 satellites into Sun Synchronous Orbit over a duration of 1 hour, 55 minutes and 7 seconds. During its flight, the rocket's fourth stage engine will be cut off and restarted a couple of times, the first one will be at 16 minutes into its flight. Seventeen minutes into its flight the rocket will sling the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1. Just over one hour into its flight the rocket's engine will be restarted for about nine seconds before it is shut down again. After 1 hour, 49 minutes and 52 seconds the rocket's engine will be reignited for eight seconds after which the 18 piggy back satellites will be put into orbit. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/how-to/how-to-export-passwords-from-lastpass/articleshow/81221242.cms">How to export passwords from LastPass</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-signal-and-telegram-face-a-catch-22-situation-as-indias-new-social-media-rules-threaten-encryption/articleshow/81221070.cms">Whatsapp, Signal and Telegram face a catch-22 situation as India’s new social media rules threaten encryption</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-saw-the-birth-of-two-new-unicorns-this-week-both-their-valuations-have-swelled-multiple-times-in-just-a-few-months/articleshow/81221476.cms">India saw the birth of two new unicorns this week – both their valuations have swelled multiple times in just a few months</a>

PSLV rocket lifts off with 19 satellites from Brazil, US and India

Modern management as we know it today thrives on an assumption: that it is objective and rational. Of course, cutting edge thinkers know that it is not so. But that management is objective and rational remains a dominant perception. Subjectivity plays a key role in management. And subjectivity is influenced strongly by culture. The way we see the world is conditioned by the culture we have been most exposed to since childhood. 
 
A child brought up in Denmark, for example, all his life, has a very different understanding of life, compared to a child brought up in India, Internet notwithstanding. There will be many things in common, but there will also be many differences. How much focus do we pay to subjectivity relative to objectivity, irrationality relative to rationality, in management thought? People are divided on this. 
 We have been conditioned to look upon subjectivity and irrationality as wrong, even evil, the source of problems and the source of chaos. Yet, it remains a factor impacting business and can be a lever that can change the way we conduct business and solve problems we face today. In Denmark, one is exposed to an <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> of 5 million people, 80% of the same ethnicity. In India, one is exposed to an economy of 1200 million people, where less than 40% speak the same language, and the remaining 60% speak 15 languages, and there is great diversity along economic, political, linguistic, educational, religious and caste lines. 
 
Management principles that will emerge from, and will be applicable to, Denmark may not work as well in India. This seems pretty obvious, but many people challenge this. Such reaction reaffirms the idea that different people see the world differently: the world is not a rational, logical, objective space, where there is one truth. There are many truths. But some truths are more favoured and more dominant than others, and even positioned as THE truth. 
 
Belief is an assumption based on how many data points we are exposed to, and how we join these data points: the more the dots, the more complex the pattern. The more the experience, the more ways we know to join the dots. And so belief keeps expanding. Like a business plan which changes when assumption changes, our understanding of business and management changes dramatically when our belief changes, or rather expands. Notions of business and management as we know it today comes primarily from the USA and Europe. 
 
These are shaped by western cultures. Historically, today’s management is influenced by principles of the roman Army, Jesuit Missionaries, and Industrial engineering of the 19th century – all western. It is not objective at all. It does not take worldviews of China and India into consideration to say the least. It assumes itself as rational, independent of cultural thinking. And that is its greatest shortcoming. 
 
Mathematics and statistics may be universal languages, but the way we read the results varies with the cultural gaze embedded in the leadership. This understanding is critical in the new ‘postinternet’ world order where everything is mingling and merging and we are realizing that all things western are not necessarily modern, or complete, or suitable for all contexts. It is important to re-evaluate our gaze. It is important to expand our mind, join more dots. 
 
Sun Tzu and The Art of War became popular in the 1980s because of the success of Japanese corporations and it gave management thinkers all over the world exposure to Chinese thought (Sun Tzu was not from Japan). Since India became a hub of outsourcing and a potential market for many in Europe and America, people have been wondering about Indian thought. Hence the proliferation of books on Chanakya and Bhagavad Gita. 
 
Chanakya appeals to the rationalist and Bhagavad Gita appeals to the philosopher. But neither takes into consideration the vast body of knowledge embedded in the stories, symbols and rituals of India. Neither takes into consideration Lakshmi, the restless but delightful goddess of wealth, the most popular Goddess in India (not just amongst Hindus). Perhaps this has something to do with 19th century disdain for all things ‘myth’ and an obsession for rationality and scientific thinking. 
 
Of course, today social scientists know that ‘myth’ is essentially a cultural point of view that expresses itself through stories, symbols and rituals: every society has its own myth. There is no culture that has no myth. Western thought is also a myth that shapes the modern world; it is neither rational nor real. The mythology of modern management is rooted in the belief that ‘all that is measurable can be managed’. It lends itself (wrongly) to the secondary assumption that ‘all that is not measurable does not exist’. A good scientist is acutely aware of this. But how many good scientists are out there? Most scientists of the world do come from cultures that value monotheism (one god, one truth) over polytheism (many gods, many truths). Even atheism is presented along monotheistic lines where rationality is argued as a god. 
 Emotions cannot be measured, imagination cannot be measured, but these play a critical role in policy making and business decisions. We cannot be indifferent to them simply because they defy both measurement and rationality. This measurement-celebrating western myth has resulted in placing more values on processes (measurable) than people (not so measurable). We rely more on institutions than on individuals. This has its roots in Biblical myth (one half of western myth) where the tribe or church is more important than the individual member. We are constantly seeking to institutionalize <keyword id="6357934" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Steve-Jobs">Steve Jobs</keyword> of Apple and <keyword id="6354630" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mark-Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> of <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword>. 
 
Ironically, these two gentlemen are embedded in the Greek myth (the other half of western myth) where glory comes from doing something extraordinary that challenges the status quo. They broke the prevalent assumptions of communication. They were what the Greeks called hero, men who changed the rules of the game, like Alexander, who was then invited by the gods to the special heaven called Elysium. 
 
Western management myth subscribes to the Biblical and Greek mythologies that are similar to each other in that they value only one truth. They are also at odds with each other: the one focuses on the collective and the other focuses on the individual. Please note: Biblical mythology does not mean the Christian Bible, it refers to a vast body of thought that emerged from Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Levantine, where great value is placed on central authority. 
 
Social scientists have used this individual/collective framework to explain cultural phenomenon all over the world not realizing this framework is western, not global. Different cultures have different frameworks they operate from. This is especially true in china and India. China values relationships and India values contexts. Neither china nor India thinks in terms of tribe/ church/institutions, although words like clan and caste do give the impression that they do. 
 
Hence guanxi (special relationships) are so critical in Chinese business. In Confucian china that dominated the court culture, the focus is the relationship between one and the other, not one and the many. This is a critical difference. The Chinese does not think China, he thinks ‘boss’ or ‘subordinate’. The boss embodies China, until he is overthrown by someone more noble and worthy. People often equate Chinese with ants. Incidentally, the institutional model is also about ants. 
 
In the Chinese worldview, the pecking order of ants matter. In the institutional worldview, the anthill matters more than the ants. India values neither ants nor anthill. Great value is given to impermanence (think Buddha). Nothing is fixed, except maybe gender and caste that are determined at birth. Everything else, even family structures are continuously changing. So the individual is continuously trying to figure out his relationship with the other in every context. Caste relationships, and village relationships, are more reliable than relationship with the government or someone far away. 
 
In the realm of impermanent structures, there is no fixed institution (as in the West) or boss (as in China); everything is changing and so one has to figure out at each interaction that status of the other, hence oneself. This creates a lot of ambiguity that exasperates people who do business in India. A simple tool to understand different cultures is to study the dominant mythology of the land: the stories, symbols and rituals that are favoured by a society. 
 Unlike psychoanalytical ‘archetype’ models that seek the common and the universal, the approach needs to be more structural – seeking differences. This reveals why the <keyword id="6362609" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Manager">manager</keyword> from Denmark is so different from the manager from India even though both are educated in the same B-schools and have gone through the same induction and training programmes. The difference is not just because of personality (individual) or the culture (collective) or institution (collective), but also because of relationships and context: the Danish manager will be very different in a roomful of Danes as compared to a roomful of Indians and vice versa. 
 
Biblical mythology celebrates rule-following prophets (Moses) and kings (Solomon), while Greek mythology celebrates rule-defying heroes (Odysseus, Theseus, Jason, Hercules). Indian mythology has both rule-following Ram and rule-breaking Krishna, both of whom, are not two different characters but the same character, Vishnu, in two different contexts: he follows rules as Ram in Treta Yuga and breaks rules of Krishna in Dvapara Yuga. 
 Then there is Shiva who is indifferent to all rules and who beheads Daksha who seeks to impose rules on others, for Shiva is more interested in the intention beyond the rules, beyond the processes, beyond the institution. In chasing the institutional model of modern management, we do not question its intention. It is structurally designed to celebrate greed: growth in profit quarter after quarter to satisfy the shareholder. Yes, we keep speaking of stakeholders, but the only action favouring stakeholders seems to be more rules: regulations protecting <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword>, or workers and rules compelling the rich to be more charitable. 
 The reliance is once again on processes than people. The assumption is that the world can only be made a <keyword id="808955" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="better-place">better place</keyword> through commandments. The assumption is that democratically-generated policies are bound to be fair, just and good. The assumption is the Board of directors are good or can be forced to be good through intervention of regulators and independent directors and other watchdogs. Modern management conversations rarely speak of people, or rather it leans disproportionately towards processes. 
 When there are conversations about people, they tend to focus on what they have (think <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>) or what they do (think <keyword id="71133" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Warren-Buffet">Warren Buffet</keyword>), but never know who they are. More often than not, the assumption is if you are a successful <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">entrepreneur</keyword> and have created an institution of enviable market capitalization, you must be a smart leader who inspires people (think <keyword id="28113" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narayan-Murthy">Narayan Murthy</keyword>). Who a person is cannot be reliably measured. Personality tests, designed using western methodologies, map people in a vacuum and do not take contexts and relationships into consideration. They map people as ‘archetypes’ in a fixed ‘template’, or as ‘pegs’ in a fixed set of ‘holes’. 
 
They do not consider relationships as in relational databases (who is in the cell above and below). They do not consider personality that keeps changing according to desha (geography), kala (history) and patra (roles), which define a yuga (context). Thus we grapple with incomplete patterns. 
 It is time to increase the dots and find more ways of joining the dots. It is time to look beyond known constellations to the billions of galaxies out there. It is time to also consider the very <keyword id="2827667" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="indian-approach">Indian approach</keyword> to management.

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Anna University faces heat as it proposes Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads for engineering students

Prerna Sindwani

Indian rocket PSLV puts Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite into orbit

IANS

PSLV rocket lifts off with 19 satellites from Brazil, US and India

IANS

Thinkers/Thinkers 50: Devdutt Pattanaik asks why bother with a very Indian approach to management?

thinkers50

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