World must acknowledge our expertise

The world may soon have to get ready for MST thatrsquos Mahakal Standard Time instead of Greenwich Mean Time If this sounds like news you obviously havenrsquot been paying attention to the more important things happening in this country Earlier this month Indiarsquos education minister called for this significant change while visiting the city of Ujjain He said it was important for the world to make this switch because the global standard had been determined by colonisers for too long What he proposed was respect for Ujjainrsquos own system because that ancient city had long been associated with timekeepingI was surprised because I had never heard of Mahakal Standard Time before Then again it explained why Indiarsquos best and brightest are placed in charge of the countryrsquos education system From Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to TV soap opera stars there is a wide spectrum of expertise associated with that role and my illiteracy only embarrassed me I couldnrsquot understand why the people of Ujjain hadnrsquot made more of a song and dance about this part of their history until now though I assumed they were just modest about their ancestors and hoped the government would rectify this with fullpage advertisements soonThe more interesting thing about the ministerrsquos proposal however was how it signified a shift in Indiarsquos global standing While we wait for the inevitable move from GMT to MST after a few phone calls from the Prime Minister I foresee an era where all standards start to follow what India is doing There may be some hiccups along the way but eventually a lot more people will start to realise that our approach to everything is more practical than anything theyrsquore currently doingConsider Indiarsquos version of food inspection for example Compare them to laws and regulations implemented by the European Food Safety Authority EFSA which are often cited as among the strictest in the world The European Union operates under a lsquoprecautionary principlersquo where any substance or process suspected of being harmful can be restricted or banned until proven safe The result is approval processes for new ingredients that can go on foreverBy contrast our homegrown Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI has a more tolerant approach that encourages innovation dispenses with the need for lengthy approvals and ensures that everyone in India has some version of milk ghee or spices that come close to the real thing If like MST other countries adopt FSSAI standards it stands to reason that more people will be able to eat without paying what they currently do After all isnrsquot it better to have adulterated paneer like they often do in Surat than no paneer at allAnother global standard thatrsquos ripe for change health care I believe medicines are too tightly policed in the West unlike India where anyone with a few rupees can purchase some form of cough syrup or antibiotic The Drugs Controller General of India DCGI arguably one of the pharmaceutical industryrsquos most respected regulatory bodies has long advocated what some might call a laissezfaire approach to drugs There has been some criticism about this along with complaints about manufacturing lapses substandard drugs enforcement failures lack of transparency and even unapproved fixeddose combinations but what these critics fail to acknowledge is that the drugs are available to everyone You may not get a cough syrup that works but we all know that what doesnrsquot kill us only makes us stronger In time and in the event of another pandemic I believe Indiarsquos standards will finally get the respect they deserveI still wondered about the implications of switching to Mahakal Standard Time but assumed the erudite minister had already figured this out Would it cause disruptions to global communication if every country didnrsquot agree to following our system Would there be an impact on trade What about aviation or shipping Could we all be at risk of logistical failures I must admit there was some panic but I put it all aside and decided to trust in the power of Indiarsquos diplomacy insteadThe worldrsquos future will be increasingly defined by Indiarsquos past as more people start to recognise how great our ancestors were We can start by changing how they see time and slowly implement changes to other aspects of their lives If everything goes according to plan every country on Earth will look just like India over the next 100 years The future is starting to look bright glorious and sanskariWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He can be contacted at wwwlindsaypereiracomSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper