Oral-History:Ravindra Joshi
About Ravindra Joshi
Ravindra Joshi earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from IIT and an MBA from Lancaster University, UK. He has more than forty years of large corporate experience. He is with Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited as Head of Department of Special Consumer Group. He has served as Treasurer & Chair-Human Technology Challenge Standing Committee of IEEE-Delhi Section Executive Committee, IEEE Delhi Section Execom Chair, and on the IEEE Delhi Section SIGHT Standing Committee. He has also been an active member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society.
About the Interview
RAVINDRA JOSHI: An Interview Conducted by John Vardalas, IEEE History Center, 18 February 2010
Interview #532 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Copyright Statement
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Request for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the IEEE History Center Oral History Program, IEEE History Center, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA or ieee-history@ieee.org. It should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user.
It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:
Ravindra Joshi, an oral history conducted in 2010 by John Vardalas, IEEE History Center, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Interview
NTERVIEW: Mr. Ravindra Joshi
INTERVIEWER: John Vardalas
DATE: 18 February 2010
PLACE: Delhi, India
Vardalas:
Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in our oral history program. Let's start, as we always do, with your growing up and what events influenced your choices in later life. Do you recall when you first became interested in things like science in school? Did you have an early interest in it?
Joshi:
Yes. You see, normally parents in India are ambitious in terms of making their children study and study hard. From childhood we are asked to be recognized in the society by becoming engineers and doctors. And to become that we are also told we will have to study hard, do our homework right and study at home. We will also have to be good in math and science to achieve that. This is how families groom their children.
Vardalas:
It is imbued in you.
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
Were your parents technical professionals?
Joshi:
My father was a finance professional. However, in the colony where I grew up, in Lucknow, there were engineers from IIT. [IITs is India Institutes of Technology.] I discovered that they were good people who came to be well recognized, and they were also good in math. I became interested in math and science in my preparatory school in Lamont, which is near Lucknow. Lucknow is the capitol of Uttar Pradesh, the largest province in India.
Vardalas:
Where is that in India geographically?
Joshi:
It is very near to Delhi. The moment you cross the border on the eastern side you come across UP (Uttar Pradesh).
Vardalas:
Let's continue the story now. You were saying?
Joshi:
Yes. I got excellent marks with stars in scoring full marks in numbers. I got high grades from the schoolteachers there, and this was on science of the preparatory stage type. There also I got excelling. I stood first in my class, and from there I started my journey realizing I did well in this area. For example, in my entire high school class I was the only person to make a 100 percent score in math.
Vardalas:
Very good.
Joshi:
In science I used to get scores in the range of 95 percent to 100 percent.
Vardalas:
Excellent. Did you enjoy the subject?
Joshi:
Yes. I enjoyed it and used to do it in a relaxed fashion. Therefore, it became clear that, yes, I am really comfortable in these subjects, and I can do really well in these areas.
Vardalas:
And that encouraged you.
Joshi:
Exactly.
Vardalas:
Did your high school teachers encourage you? Did anyone give you any special inspiration or encouragement?
Joshi:
Yes. When I was in high school the Nobel Prize winner Sir C. V. (Chandrasekhar Venkata) Raman visited the school, and I was selected to speak about what was happening in the school when he was sitting in the dais. My selection to do that gave me a lot of encouragement. I still remember it as a powerful confidence-boosting thing; a Nobel Prize winner sitting and listening to me. It was very memorable.
Vardalas:
All right.
Joshi:
There was another significant incident I recall. I was taking a class in Sanskrit, which is a very tough language. When I got full marks in that the class teacher thought that I cheated. He thought, "How could it be that he got 100 out of 100?" Therefore, he scolded me. I felt very badly because I had earned the grade fairly. Then my family accompanied me to his house, and from that visit he recognized that, "No, I was wrong. This child has got talent," and he encouraged me throughout the remainder of my school years and also taught me at home later.
Vardalas:
Oh, did he? Now in your high school years did you have any idea about what you wanted to do when you grew up? I know you wanted to go into engineering. Did you have any idea what it was about? What did you want to become in high school?
Joshi:
In high school I only knew that there were a few engineers who were studying in the boarding colleges.
Vardalas:
The boarding colleges?
Joshi:
Indian colleges were more than 90 percent residential.
Vardalas:
Oh.
Joshi:
You have to live on campus even if you are local.
Vardalas:
Ah.
Joshi:
Lately that rule has relaxed with some colleges, but earlier it was mandatory at all colleges.
Vardalas:
Mandatory [that] you have to live on the campus.
Joshi:
Exactly. I used to feel a thrill however and say to myself, "I don't care. I'll be managing myself," and I got more and more interested in it.
Vardalas:
Now what made you choose the university you went to? How did you decide? Was it natural choice for you to make?
Joshi:
Oh, IIT was one of the best universities in the country. I had a neighbor who was one year ahead of me in school who was attempting to enter IIT. And once I was having a chat with him and he said, "I am trying to get into IIT, but it is virtually impossible to get in there." When he said that, I got the feeling in me that, "If I can get into IIT, that means I have achieved something which he is saying is impossible."
Vardalas:
And that university or college was IIT Roorkee?
Joshi:
Yes. It is a very well-established university that started in the 1850s as Thompson's College of Engineering when the British were invading India, the roads, the bridges and railways. The earlier train engineers came from there.
Vardalas:
Right.
Joshi:
It started in 1857, and that is why it is a college with a lot of values attached and a lot of discipline. It was famous in the country, and it had an entrance test. I got fascinated. I thought, "If I do this, then I have achieved something." Therefore, I applied for the exam, and then started using some of the things which I use now in delivering my projects and in my work and leadership roles. And this is what we call a strategy.
Vardalas:
A strategy?
Joshi:
Yes. I used strategy. For instance, I picked up on what kind of questions the exam was going to ask and what kind of answers I should prepare. Okay, course curriculum is one thing. I came to practice each and every trigonometry question from a standard book. I knew that if I would practice and practice, I would not fail. I also answered the last five years' questions, and I would sit in like a mock classroom where I would have to do the testing. That made me successful.
Vardalas:
You were very systematic about it.
Joshi:
Yes. That was when I started becoming systematic.
Vardalas:
Did you have to choose a major when you entered IIT or were you able to choose a major after some years?
Joshi:
I had to choose, so I chose electrical engineering. I got fascinated by reflecting on a rotating fan. I saw that our living is dependent on electricity. Knowing that I had to select one line, I found it interesting to go into a line which is touching human life.
Vardalas:
Right. Interesting.
Joshi:
Yes. That is how I selected electrical engineering.
Vardalas:
Now in the time you were doing it, in this faculty and the courses, how much was electrical, how much was power-oriented, and how much was electronics and computer-oriented?
Joshi:
Oh, when I was in school there was a separate branch also: electronics and communication.
Vardalas:
Yes?
Joshi:
For electrical, we had a good number of units in electronics and then we started doing the computers at that time also. The electrical machines were a good component, and the power part of it was good. Then of course, there was regular instrumentation and bioinstrumentation along with some humanities subjects.
Vardalas:
You had some humanities subjects?
Joshi:
Yes. That was very interesting. We studied it every year. We started with English and then we did like psychology, history, and geography.
Vardalas:
That's very interesting.
Joshi:
Yes. It made us complete, [more all-around]. We enjoyed it. You see the core course curriculum used to be very rich, because suddenly we were studying machines and then geography was a little bit lighter topic but something which is very enriching.
Vardalas:
Now do they still have that kind of curriculum today in India or are they dropping the humanities?
Joshi:
They have dropped the humanities. I know this because of my son who is now in university. I believe it has been dropped. It was not a correct choice because it builds character to learn more about varied topics. That is the challenge on which we have to work. IEEE can play an important role by talking to the right people. I don't know whether it is good to divert the topic now. Shall I?
Vardalas:
We'll save it for the later topic, okay? In a sense, then, the idea of having a balanced curriculum is disappearing from India today?
Joshi:
Yes. I would say it is an area that could use improvement. And together, as IEEE, we could communicate with Mr. Kapil Sibal, who is our Minister, now of the Ministry of Human Resources and Development in India. [India has no Ministry of Education and education is handled by Mr. Kapil Sibal’s department.] If the IEEE delegation gurus with wisdom would convey this to Mr. Kapil Sibal that could be helpful. We used to have a humanity subject and used to have marks for sports.
Vardalas:
You had sports?
Joshi:
Yes. I had eight semesters, and I did eight courses.
Vardalas:
Oh really?
Joshi:
I did badminton, then squash, then yoga and then gymnasium, and I got credit for these classes.
Vardalas:
Really?
Joshi:
That is another thing which I find is missing from universities in India now. There was no point in dropping sports or the humanities because students need to be well-rounded for their mission and for the group.
Vardalas:
That's very interesting that you say that.
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
Was there any particular professor at the university that you felt took you by the hand and helped you out? Was there anyone who influenced you a lot in your decisions, such as what to do in engineering? How did you come to power engineering? Or did you graduate? Did you specialize when you graduated?
Joshi:
No, no. When I joined in the electrical side at my first job, I joined a large project and was a junior trainee there. I became a member of the team. I first participated at the junior-most level. Gradually, I started seeing more and more things and I took a deep interest.
Vardalas:
We will get to that job in a second. However, you went on and switched and got an MBA.
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
That was later on. What caused you to decide to get an MBA? Was it very practical reasons for career advancement?
Joshi:
Yes. This was purely for career advancement as well as for getting a more personally enriching job. There are different phases in a long career. At that time, I was doing some small power plants and also working with proposals and physicality studies.
Vardalas:
Were you validating proposals and physicality studies?
Joshi:
Absolutely. And I thought that I would never move beyond a junior position if I could not do the investment justice. I knew I needed to learn more in the classroom and thought there would be nothing better than getting an MBA. I could learn to do financial appraisals and also learn business law and some more resource management. I was also interested since the early career days of my career in working internationally. I had been working for five years in Southeast Asia.
Vardalas:
Did getting an MBA change your perspective about how engineering should be done? Did you find yourself thinking differently after you got the MBA?
Joshi:
Yes. For instance, now my thinking is always, whatever I do, as a total business, I am able to correlate it to the bottom line of the company's business.
Vardalas:
I see.
Joshi:
I am able to do it very fast, and it enriches my job. Like suppose I am going to work on a new project. I immediately will calculate for instance the monetary gains and the goodwill gain.
Vardalas:
Goodwill?
Joshi:
Yes. You know, it is even reported in the balance sheets and at the annual meetings, and it is not easy to appreciate. When an extra-high-voltage power project is completed, I am immediately able to realize for instance that some 50,000 customers will give a better report about the company. It is nothing but goodwill addition, and goodwill goes a long way.
Vardalas:
Let's talk about your first job. If I understand correctly, you had a general engineering education with electrical, electronics, power, a little bit of everything, general electrical. Then you first job was with a steel plant?
Joshi:
Yes. Steel Authority of India Limited. It had a fertilizer plant attached to the steel plant.
Vardalas:
Do you recall how you found this job? Did it just come to you? How did you choose? Why did you decide, "I want to work here" or was it the only choice?
Joshi:
Since my early days, I was interested in working on projects, and the larger the project the better it is. I knew that steel projects were huge projects, so that made me interested in this company and I joined them.
Vardalas:
Did you have on-the-job training there and more power?
Joshi:
Absolutely.
Vardalas:
How did you find the willingness of the company to train employees? Was it a good environment to learn?
Joshi:
It was a very good environment to learn. Very good. We have a very good environment for training. There is a separate dedicated training institute with a very senior person and a few more people manning it.
Vardalas:
Really?
Joshi:
People go to that classroom for some classes, come back to [the] floor, again go there, and then do on the on-the-job training. Partly the report is being made by the training institute, and partly the report is being made by the people who are supervising them. This is true even today. Now I am doing some meter training. Yes, I am becoming like a capitol engineer. I design and put them across various situations and keep a watch, and at the same time, I don't give them total charge.
Vardalas:
This is a program that the company supports and underwrites? Is it all done inside the company?
Joshi:
Absolutely. Yes.
Vardalas:
That is very interesting. What were your experiences there? What was it like working there? Was it what you expected it to be after you graduated?
Joshi:
Yes, it was. It has been very interesting, and the companies also have been nice. It is like doing the work, projects getting commissioned, delivering output, whatever it was intended to. Then I take a holiday. I go out and travel throughout both India and the world.
Vardalas:
Were there any memorable projects? Do you remember the first ones you were on in that job? Do you recall whether they were difficult or exciting?
Joshi:
Yes. I believe there was a 4-kilowatt motor, which was pretty huge. It was a synchronous motor with six panels for controlling it. It was a Hitachi-made motor, and there was an expert who came to commission it. In my early days I had stayed in the hostile there, the trainee hostile, and he was put somewhere across the road. I was made to tag along with him. I would find the taxi for him and that sort of thing right up until evening. It was also useful to have drinks, and I was participating with him. That went on for about forty-five days. At the end of those forty-five days, I could remember each and every wire by heart.
Vardalas:
Oh, yes?
Joshi:
On the sixth panel there is a huge panel. It had so many controls. I came to be regarded as an excellent troubleshooter. I had an operations chart after a couple of days.
Vardalas:
You did several other projects in your employment. You said you were in Southeast Asia for several years.
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
What kind of work were you doing in Southeast Asia? Engineering?
Joshi:
There were three projects which came up during my tenure there. In one project I was in charge of the power and electrical. This power plant used to be there, along with the switchyard – 132, the old switchyard. Eventually, I was in one process plant plus a power plant. I had total charge.
Vardalas:
That was in Southeast Asia?
Joshi:
That was in Southeast Asia, in Indonesia.
Vardalas:
Was this a steel plant?
Joshi:
No. It was a synthetic fiber plant, polyester.
Vardalas:
Was this owned by an Indian firm?
Joshi:
It was Enuri [spelling?], who was born and brought up in Southeast Asia. He has Indonesian citizenship.
Vardalas:
Let me ask you then about working for the North Delhi Power Limited, because you are involved with extra-high-voltage projects.
Joshi:
Absolutely.
Vardalas:
First tell me about what these extra-high-voltage projects are about.
Joshi:
Oh. Extra-high-voltage? Well, they start with 33 kilovolts.
Vardalas:
Right.
Joshi:
I am responsible for delivering all of the projects which are of 33 kilovolts and 66 kilovolts, which includes the green substations. And it includes the underground cable of 33 kilovolts and 66 kilovolts. It includes the transmission lines of 33 kilovolts and 66 kilovolts, so it is a packet of things.
Vardalas:
Oh, I see. This is done by the North Delhi Power Limited?
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
What is the distance of transmission?
Joshi:
This is actually a subtransmission system equally – when the power is crossing the city boundaries. And the voltages are 220 kilovolts, 400 kilovolts, 765 kilovolts, that is called as transmission systems. And then within the city it is called a subtransmission system.
Vardalas:
And that is what you are involved in?
Joshi:
Yes. And suppose we commission a green project, subtransmission system projects improve the liability as well as the power situation for about a lakh of customers. [A lakh is a measurement used in India and some surrounding countries including Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh that equals 100,000]. Therefore, it makes an impact immediately on one lack customers and that is quite satisfactory.
Vardalas:
Oh, I see. What other kinds of challenges did you have to face in doing this?
Joshi:
Actually, when I joined the EHB projects a couple of projects were stuck because of either the police or the Public Works Department was not giving the right of way for laying of our cables, or a corporation in Delhi was sitting on the papers, or some issues needed to be sorted out by the Power Ministry for giving the land for putting up a grid station.
Vardalas:
Right.
Joshi:
What I did was I identified that for the project. The pie chart. This is a major contributor. I started focusing my energy in handling these permissions and right-of-ways. And I can now tell you that about four major projects in the last six months are fully commissioned, including resolving their issues.
Vardalas:
Ah. So that is very much a human-oriented approach – dealing with people.
Joshi:
Actually it has got a human approach as well as like when we go out amidst people who are working. I have to continue contact, and I know the people who are IIT Roorkee alumni. You see? These alumni are placed in all the departments. And I explain to these alumni that our full electricity is only for the benefit of the public. They understand I am only doing a service to the public.
Vardalas:
Right.
Joshi:
They also understand, "He is not coming for my job." In this way there is much value in that networking, keeping in touch and then explaining properly what the thing is all about. My human skills work well.
Vardalas:
Do you think this networking was made more effective because it was a residential school, and that this is why you got to know these people these people from your alumni?
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
Did that make it easier to build up bonds?
Joshi:
Absolutely. In our university the first fifteen days are not spent on any educational curriculum. When a new batch of students arrive they interact only with the seniors for those fifteen days, chit-chatting, talking, getting to know one another. Ultimately, bonds are built, and we continue that habit by keeping in touch with each other.
Vardalas:
Oh, I see.
Joshi:
Of course, this is only one network. We have other networks as well, such as from attending conferences. We keep in touch, and it all works.
Vardalas:
Tell me more about what kind of innovations and technical challenges the NDPL faces in doing the work? Is it standard work? Technically is it routine technical work or are these projects?
Joshi:
First, there is a challenge in these project of passing of cables underground in the residential areas. Therefore, we must handle the citizens and handle the legislative assembly, [the] representatives who represent the people being disturbed because of the digging. We have to explain to them properly, "It is for you only" and resolve it. And then of course, there is the handling of the people from the perspective of permissions, and of course, handling the contractors to carry out the work safely and on time and within the budget. The Tata group is a very process-driven group.
Vardalas:
What does that mean? How would you define a process-driven group?
Joshi:
For every stage of the process, there is a defined step. It will be done this way, next is this, next is this, next is this.
Vardalas:
Like a flowchart.
Joshi:
Like a flowchart. Once we are in the stage of a job that we have to get a quality inspection done of the work, there is a checklist to which we stick. All the points must be clear. For the safety of the workers, we also we have a long checklist where the people must use hardhats, what type of shoes, etc., so they are safe.
Vardalas:
I see.
Joshi:
We have budget control, and we have it in MS Project, the Microsoft software.
Vardalas:
I use MS Project all the time.
Joshi:
Yes. Thus, the large projects, because they are having a link in terms of pre-activities to be done, there is source and location. All that is planned in Microsoft Project.
Vardalas:
Does it do a critical path analysis?
Joshi:
Exactly. My goal as leader, is to work on only critical path items. I draw the critical items from there and then I work from a short list of items which are critical. I attack them and resolve them and that's how we achieve the projects in time.
Vardalas:
You built up all this know-how through on-the-job training, but some of this must have come from your MBA too, right?
Joshi:
Absolutely. Some have come from my MBA, and some have come over the years of my work experience. Also, I have had a home computer since 1994.
Vardalas:
Oh, yes?
Joshi:
I also learned it in the offices. This is the advantage of working in a large company. As early as thirty years ago the Steel Authority had the mainframe 2050 computers made by IBM in one computer center.
Vardalas:
Which company was this?
Joshi:
Steel Authority of India Limited, my first job, and the main thing was the computer.
Vardalas:
Does your current company want very much to get involved in Smart Grid?
Joshi:
Absolutely. Our company is very alert to incoming technologies and we are very keen to participate in it and sponsor it.
Vardalas:
Where does the Indian utility industry buy its meters? Who supplies meters and things like that to India?
Joshi:
We have a couple of suppliers. We only go for reputable makes. Landison Gear for example is one. Larson and Toubro, a company based in India, is another.
Vardalas:
Are they Indian-made?
Joshi:
No. Landison Gear and LNG. I'm not sure where they are made.
Vardalas:
Yes. LNG is well known.
Joshi:
Then there is Larson and Toubro.
Vardalas:
I see that name Toubro everywhere.
Joshi:
Absolutely.
Vardalas:
What kind of company is that?
Joshi:
It is into construction, and now it has diversified into some manufacturing.
Vardalas:
And meters?
Joshi:
Yes, meters also, and now it's into electrical manufacturing also.
Vardalas:
Is that Indian-owned?
Joshi:
It is Indian-owned. It was started by two Finnish people, Mr. Larson and Mr. Toubro, but in India.
Vardalas:
Ah. I see.
Joshi:
They were based in India, Mr. Larson and Mr. Toubro, but it is fully professional.
Vardalas:
Oh, okay.
Joshi:
It is not owned by a single individual.
Vardalas:
Where do they buy their transformers? Who supplies the transformers?
Joshi:
There are some Indian makes, and we also buy from Siemens.
Vardalas:
Does Siemens supply the generators here too?
Joshi:
Yes. Siemens is into generators, transformers, panels and switchboards. Then we buy from Voltamp Transformers Limited Company also. That is a company in Vadodara, India.
Vardalas:
Do they buy any from any American suppliers such as GE?
Joshi:
No, not in this distribution utility here.
Vardalas:
Okay.
Joshi:
GE is supplying across India in other places though.
Vardalas:
Okay. Regarding the Smart Grid again, does your company now maintain any internal development capacity? By development I mean more like R&D. Do they have their own capacity to do R&D inside the company?
Joshi:
Not exactly. Not that has been started. However we do have intentions to do R&D.
Vardalas:
Right.
Joshi:
Yes. But we do not yet have an R&D center.
Vardalas:
Okay. How big is the company now? I don't mean Tata but North Delhi Power.
Joshi:
North Delhi Power serves about 1.1 million people.
Vardalas:
It's serves just a section of Delhi?
Joshi:
Yes. About 550 square kilometers in terms of area and about 1.1 million customers.
Vardalas:
I see. Okay. Let's move on for a second. I would like to also ask you about your IEEE experiences. When did you first hear about IEEE? Do you remember when you first joined? How far back was that?
Joshi:
It has been more than four years that I have been active in the executive committee of the IEEE Section here.
Vardalas:
When did you first become a general member of IEEE?
Joshi:
It has been about five years.
Vardalas:
What was the other society to which you belonged?
Joshi:
Institution of Engineers.
Vardalas:
What made you look to join IEEE and get involved? What made you think about it?
Joshi:
I had been seeing that IEEE is setting the standards, and then there were some events which were very nice. After attending an IEEE conference, I got motivated to join.
Vardalas:
Are you saying you went to an IEEE conference and became motivated by what you saw?
Joshi:
Absolutely. That's right.
Vardalas:
Was that held here in India?
Joshi:
Yes. In Delhi, India.
Vardalas:
Did you meet anybody from IEEE at the time?
Joshi:
I met the people who were participating in the knowledge-sharing sessions. And then as soon as I joined then they wanted me to participate more in the activities due to my experience.
Vardalas:
You have been a Section Executive for several years now?
Joshi:
Yes, about four years, and playing a role in exposing the students to NDP, taking them on tours so they know what it is like to work in the electrical field.
Vardalas:
Is that a part of your work in the Section?
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
Part of it is to show students what the real world work is like?
Joshi:
Absolutely.
Vardalas:
Tell me more about that. What is happening with the students?
Joshi:
When they come here they see the meters, the transmission line and the [unintelligible word] stations and they have become fascinated. So now all our [unintelligible phrase] controlled from a central station, so that ADI is quite you know makes them interested to electrical [unintelligible word].
Vardalas:
You mentioned some projects. Have you been helping the students do projects?
Joshi:
Yes.
Vardalas:
What is that about?
Joshi:
I introduce some of the IEEE students to an internship. And I also encourage and guide them to do some innovative project so that at the end of the two months after they go back there is something in which they feel they have participated.
Vardalas:
Oh, I see. Part of this internship thing is that they get to work on real projects.
Joshi:
Absolutely.
Vardalas:
Do you supervise that?
Joshi:
Yes. I guide it. Guidance is necessary. Without guidance they cannot do anything. They are fresh [sic; green or new].
Vardalas:
I see. And is the Section trying to increase student membership in IEEE?
Joshi:
Absolutely. There is a membership development team which works continuously on that.
Vardalas:
Has that been a difficult challenge?
Joshi:
No. It's working pretty well because the activities which are organized by the student members give them an opportunity to learn the organizing skills, participate in tech forums, and also bring to it some miscellaneous interest items. It is attractive to the students.
Vardalas:
I see. The growth of membership here in Delhi has been very fast in the last five to ten years. Has the Section been actively engaged in trying to recruit members?
Joshi:
Yes, it has been. It has been. The membership development team has been quite active and even the students are pretty enthusiastic people and like to also encourage other students to join.
Vardalas:
That's great. Have you been focused a lot on the student aspect in your work in the Section?
Joshi:
No, no. My work is not on that. I am chair of the Humanitarian Technology Challenge.
Vardalas:
Okay. So let me ask you why you accepted that position.
Joshi:
Because I like to be involved in corporate social responsibility activities. In my company I created one we called once a Blood Donation Camp. And I did one cycle program which was really very successful, showing bicycling as a means of not using a car [and lessening one's carbon footprint]. If you are traveling only a short way, why should you take out your car?
Vardalas:
Yes. Right.
Joshi:
I also did a tree planting project. All of that really induced me to do something in IEEE. Therefore, when the mention of this Humanitarian Technology Challenge came it was natural to me to become chair of that. We did seven or eight events in the last year, and they were all very successful. New of all these events has been published in the Delhi Section IEEE Beacon magazine.
Vardalas:
Are all of these in pdf files?
Joshi:
Yes. They are available as a soft copy. If you Google Beacon Delhi, you will probably get it.
Vardalas:
I should encourage your group to post these on the IEEE's Global History Network. I saw that the Delhi Section has a history page there already. You can attach as many files as you like and, in this way, the whole world can see very easily.
Joshi:
We can also do that, attach them ourselves?
Vardalas:
Yes, you can attach whatever documents you like to your Section history. If you have reports, minutes or you are discussing humanitarian technology, these eight conferences you had or meetings, you can show the results and the exposure will be greater. And if you need help doing that, please contact me and I will tell you how to do it.
Joshi:
Okay. I will post all those activities along with pictures.
Vardalas:
Yes. You can do pictures. You can do it yourself, and also all your fellow members in the committee can do it.
Joshi:
Okay. Those who are working on professional activity?
Vardalas:
Yes. They can put whatever they want on there.
Joshi:
Okay.
Vardalas:
The idea is that these are very interesting things historically, because five years from now people are going to look back and say, "This what they were doing."
Joshi:
Okay.
Vardalas:
Tell me about your expectations. What is the Humanitarian Technology Challenge going to do here in India? What are you guys going to do with it?
Joshi:
We can be an active player from the IEEE forum also of participating at the Apex levels and policy introductions so as to encourage the proliferation of solar power and sustainable power practices. We can also form some groups. They can work on how to implement their goal and participate in sharing their strategy with the Apex policymaking people. That can be a great contribution.
Vardalas:
Have they started working in that direction?
Joshi:
Actually, it was for this purpose that I told the Apex team which came about the IEEE representatives coming here from the U.S. However, they met the Power Ministry people without informing us – those who are in the Humanitarian Technology Challenge here and [unintelligible word; sounds like Z-con] members.
Vardalas:
Oh.
Joshi:
Since we are based here locally, we can carry the concept forward. They talked of Smart Grid and green technology in a briefing.
Vardalas:
Were they bypassed or missed you.
Joshi:
Yes. They missed us all. Hopefully in the future they will include us, because then it becomes easier to get the meetings at the Apex level and—
Vardalas:
What is Apex?
Joshi:
Apex are like the policymaking people.
Vardalas:
Oh, I get it. I understand now. Yes, yes, yes.
Joshi:
Because we can also contribute, like how should we go about things.
Vardalas:
Right.
Joshi:
And we also give talks. I give talks on Smart Grid. I have spoken at IEEE and then I spoke in that Board to spread the message of this Smart Grid so more and more people become aware. And it is environment-friendly also because it encourages the usage of the solar power, wind power and [unintelligible phrase].
Vardalas:
Tell me about your Chapter work. What do you do in the Power [and Energy] Society Chapter?
Joshi:
PES (IEEE Power and Energy Society) holds regular talks in the field of power.
Vardalas:
How many members are in the chapter? Do you know approximately?
Joshi:
In Power and Energy Society? The PE Society?
Vardalas:
Yes.
Joshi:
In the Power and Energy Society we should have about seventy to eighty members.
Vardalas:
Oh, that's great. Very interesting. And you could hold technical sessions all the time.
Joshi:
We could hold technical sessions and then of course annual general meetings and have social gatherings. We are also trying to build some activities wherein we interact in known technical forums though the forum we will call will be non-technical.
Vardalas:
Non-technical?
Joshi:
Yes, but we will definitely interact in regard to technical issues when we meet together in a non-technical forum.
Vardalas:
Oh, I see.
Joshi:
It is being proposed.
Vardalas:
Why don't you give me an example of a non-technical forum. What do you mean like?
Joshi:
It could be something like going on a picnic together.
Vardalas:
Oh, okay. Yes. Socializing on a different level.
Joshi:
Socializing. Yes. However, ultimately, things will be for the advancement of the missions of the IEEE.
Vardalas:
Are you getting the support you need from IEEE Headquarters? How do you feel is the communications between the Section here and the big organization called IEEE?
Joshi:
Actually, there is a lot of room for improvement I should say.
Vardalas:
Yes?
Joshi:
Yes. For example, suppose I am leading initiatives in the Humanitarian Technology Challenge. I am still not able to find out with whom to communicate, and there must be others like me across the world having this same problem. We could do so much more sharing. Suppose the World Environment event is approaching on the 5th of June. The UN volunteers last time also collaborated with us. This time again they said that we will do something together, so I need to plan to do something on a major scale. To do something like this on a major scale I need to know with whom to talk about how I should move this forward. If we do some small things here and there and join hands, then it will have a great impact and we will be leaving something truly significant for future generations.
Vardalas:
That is very interesting.
Joshi:
Yes. Hopefully the people who read this will pass on this information.
Vardalas:
Is there anything else you would like to say about engineering in India? Are there any other thoughts you would like to share?
Joshi:
Yes. One of the challenges today is to reintroduce into the curriculums of engineering universities courses such as the humanities and sports. And for instance, when I was in university, I had a short tour of fifteen days and then a long tour for three weeks across India.
Vardalas:
Oh really?
Joshi:
By the time I graduated I had seen all the major places in the country. This enhanced not only my exposure but also my wisdom. People are becoming more interested in software field, not in the core field. Therefore, we must showcase for them that there is a richness in terms of career in the core areas also.
Vardalas:
What do you mean by core areas?
Joshi:
A core area is for example, for people who have graduated with an electrical engineering degree, working for our company, Delhi Power Limited, not working for a software company. It takes people from all streams. Instrumentation and control engineering areas work are known as core areas. Another challenge is that we need people for R&D for things such as the solar power units. They need to be made more cheaply now. The day we can make them more cheaply overall it can be like a big revolution in terms of global greening. Another area which I have in mind to talk to someone about is doing a global initiative from IEEE. We could form a team. The IEEE, being highly technical, could maybe start interacting with a wider spectrum of people. That can be another initiative.
Vardalas:
I see. Are you finding that the engineering schools are producing enough engineers interested in power engineering? Are you getting enough supply of power engineers coming to you?
Joshi:
Yes. It's okay. Now we have got dedicated colleges for power engineering as well. Students are coming out of these colleges and becoming interested in the core areas. Our company is also doing a very good job of retaining them and making them interested in this job. Now the people who are happy with their lives, their earnings and their careers and who have become managers very quickly can be showcased.
Vardalas:
Is there anything else you wanted to say about your memories or your past?
Joshi:
Yes. It all has been quite a good journey. And like my college, which gave me a wide spectrum of learning and helped to build my personality. The sports and humanities effect on me were very good. The three companies for which I have worked have caused me to learn and grow. They gave me responsibilities and interest in the job. Once I had traveled, I felt I was a more complete person.
Vardalas:
One last question. Do you feel that to solve India's problems, which are not simple, that engineers are receiving the right kind of training to appreciate what has to be done technologically to solve India's problems? You mentioned if they don't understand the big picture humanities-wise they could miss some things. For example, rural electrification. Is rural electrification something that is stressed in engineering school?
Joshi:
We can work on getting that introduced, but it is learned from power distribution. Rural electrification is nothing like long transmission lines as we call them at a limit of 11,000. Building them is not difficult and they are very easy to install and very easy to implement.
Vardalas:
I gather that a lot of rural areas don't have electricity yet.
Joshi:
At the same time, and maybe you missed reading about this, it is being done very fast now.
Vardalas:
Oh, it is?
Joshi:
Very fast. It is happening. The day is not far that this will be implemented. In one year, it can be turned around, if we really want to do it.
Vardalas:
Oh, okay.
Joshi:
It is not at all difficult.
Vardalas:
Well, thank you so much. It has been a fascinating interview. This will be a nice interview to have in our collection.
Joshi:
All right. Thanks.
