Britons Pay Indian Women to Be Surrogate Mothers

By SiliconIndia   |   Monday, 28 May 2012, 16:43 IST   |    

Bangalore: The commercialization of wombs is increasing day by day in our society. When commercial surrogacy is illegal in Briton, many Britons are paying Indians to become surrogate mothers for them. This growing trend in India not only disregards the social systems in the country but also raises many ethical questions before us.

The birth to surrogate mothers in our country last year is likely to be 2,000. Experts agree that the prime single source of majority of these births is from Britons. There are almost 1,000 unregulated clinics in India in which most of them are specialized to help Britons become parents. Indian surrogate industry has been utilized widely by Britons who don’t wish to bear and deliver children. Only around 100 births are recorded in Briton while almost 1000 births through surrogate mothers in India account for Briton.

The investigation conducted by The Sunday Telegraph brings out this rapidly growing business. The report says that almost £25,000 at a time have been spent by Couples and single people to have children.  Authorities in India believe that the surrogate mother industry in India is worth about £1.5 billion each year.

The industry has to be regulated soon. As doctors responded to The Sunday Telegraph said that the present trend raises fears of a “wombs to rent” culture since many British women prefer to have babies through surrogates to avoid being pregnant and childbirth.

According to British doctors, women in India are being paid up to £6,000 to donate eggs and carry babies. This business have helped many including bankers, senior civil servants, executives at multinational companies and even NHS doctors to become parents through surrogacy in India.

“Nobody in India actually knows for sure how many babies are born through these commercial enterprises and how many places are involved,” said Dr Radhey Sharma, who was commissioned by the Indian government to study the boom in fertility treatments in preparation for legislation to regulate the industry.

He said while disclosing his findings, “I have the database of some 600 IVF clinics in India, but that is not a complete list. There could be around 400 more clinics operating without any regulation.”

The growth of this “baby factory” phenomenon has now become a concern for the government. The committee chaired by Dr Sharma has given suggestions for the industry standard for the first time which includes a regime of inspections and sanctions for those which fail them. The legislation has yet to be considered by India’s parliament and it may take some more years before it become a law.

However if the suggestions are approved, parents in Britain who look for treatments would either be unable to have for legal reasons, or would face lengthy waits on the NHS to obtain.

In the opinion of Dr Shivani Gour, the director of Surrogacy Centre India, “Gay people are just so keen and so desperate to have a family,” she said. “Many of the people say that as soon as they realised they were gay, the saddest thing was that they knew they would never have children.”

 “I would say to those people who call what we do immoral, that I feel very sorry for you, god bless you, but you are ignorant, “she added.

The Parents from Briton have to face long waits in India to attain citizenship and passports for their babies. Presently British authorities can take almost a month to grant British citizenship to the children and weeks more to issue passports.

If the proposed regulations for the industry become effective in India this would bring a check to British people from becoming parents through surrogacy. The regulations would make it compulsory for babies to have instant citizenship of their parents’ home countries as soon as they are born.

@perimerahjambu

10 Things Google Should do with Motorola

By SiliconIndia   |   Thursday, 24 May 2012, 04:27 Hrs   | 

Bangalore: Google is now officially a hardware company. The search giant completed its $ 12.5 Billion Motorola acquisition . Along with the software expertise, a multibillion handset, a set top box business and the talented workforce at Motorola, Google is now the proud owner of 17000 new patents. The market is ripe with rumors of what Google could or rather should do with Motorola. We bring you a list of 10 things that Google should do with their latest acquisition.

1. Fuel the tablet addiction:

Motorola’s Xoom slate was the first android tablet in the market. It was made famous with the Superbowl commercial that mocked Apple. Xoom got good reviews from critics and users alike but it could not capture the market. Motorola even went south with the prices to boost sales but the sales did not pick up too much.

We are crossing our fingers and hoping that Google will focus on coming up with competent tablets. It would be a mistake to not do so.

2. Do not hurt the other android vendors:

Google came up with android and changed the market dynamic. Android devices have a huge market which keeps increasing day by day. The android platform is used by several vendors. The merger between Google and Motorola could send waves of fear in the market that Motorola would have undue advantage since it now officially belongs to the birth house of android.

The smart step here would be for Google to maintain a safe distance from Motorola to reassure the other vendors that there would be no undue advantage given to Motorola.

3. Use the patents wisely:

Google had to shell $12.5 billion for Motorola. They are now the proud owners of the 17000 Motorola patents. This is bound to come handy in this season for patent lawsuits. These patents will help Google against oracle, apple and other such companies. Google could also use these patents to improve the android platform and thus help the various android vendors.

4. Software expertise:

The Amazon Kindle story is known to all. They took android and gave it the Amazon touch and made kindle an instant success. Motorola also followed the same path. They took android and modified it to suit their own handsets.

Let us also keep in mind here that Motorola is a software genius. Their software expertise must be utilized by Google to come up with something extraordinary.

5. Utilize the talent:

Google acquired several valuable assets after it took over Motorola. Although the company is not doing very well at the time they were once a force to reckon with. Known for their innovative products they are home to some very talented developers.

Google can benefit largely if they recognize the talents in the company and shift them over.

6. Revive the Chromebook:

The chrome book is a personal computer running on Google Chrome OS. It is a cross between a cloud and a personal laptop. It runs on a Linux kernel and Google Chrome web browser with an integrated media player. The product received mixed reviews and it soon slipped from the consumer memory and also from Google’s priority list.

It is a promising product and hopefully Motorola can work to better the design and relaunch it. All they need is one successful launch and Chromebooks can be back in business.

7. Better the Motorola lineup:

Motorola was earlier known for its sleek phones and they pioneered the flip phones but made the mistake of coming up with too many handsets. The markets were flooded with too many choices for the consumers.

They must focus on fewer products to come up with better choices for the consumers. Apple follows this policy and is at the top position in the market. Hopefully Google will help Motorola make smarter choices and simplify their product list. Too much of anything is not good.

8. Avoid layoffs:

The market is filled with hushed rumors that layoffs are inevitable after the acquisition. When Google had taken over DoubleClick, 40 percent of their employees were laid off. Motorola employees may see the same fate. The company had recently fired 800 employees in the name of reconstruction.

Google does not know yet what it has taken over. They should take some time to consider the possibilities here. The search giants can utilize the talented workforce to come up with newer and better products. They certainly have the resources to do so.

9. Innovation is the key:

Motorola owned the market with its flip phones and then clam phones. Its set top box business is iconic in itself. Motorola’s legacy of being an innovator has been lost in the recent past. They could not keep up with the rapidly changing communications and electronic market.

We can expect Google to come to Motorola’s rescue and resurrect them. Google has the cash and Motorola’s investment budget can also be used to make breakthrough inventions. Google needs to bring back the innovation streak in Motorola to justify the high price they paid.

10. Stand up to Microsoft:

Motorola is currently caught in a nasty lawsuit with Microsoft over patents. Motorola has subsequently sued Microsoft in the US and European courts. Such cases usually end peacefully in patent cross-licensing deals. But this time the companies involved are not looking for settling. Motorola wants Xbox 360 and Windows 7 to be banned in US markets. Recently a judge commented in Motorola’s favor saying that 4 of their patents were being violated by Microsoft.

Google can try to be the bigger person here by letting the lawsuit go or they can take the bull at its horns. It is completely their choice.

@perimerahjambu

Facebook is Sued!

Facebook is Sued!

By SiliconIndia   |   Thursday, 24 May 2012, 03:58 Hrs   |    

Bangalore: Adding to the Facebook IPO fiasco, shareholders of the social network sued the company and its bankers for the share slides on the first day and for hiding the revenue forecasts. Some of them even threaten to seek ‘remedies’ for the massive loss on the shares.

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, the law firm announced today morning that a class action law suit has been commenced in the United States District Court against the social network as well as its underwriters, Morgan Stanley on behalf of purchasers of Facebook.

The suit alleges Facebook of hiding “a severe and pronounced reduction in revenue forecasts from its investors.”  According to a Reuters report yesterday, many investors were shocked when Morgan Stanley unexpectedly cut the Facebook estimates just before the IPO and to make things worse, a Business Insider report yesterday stated that Facebook executive actually asked the underwriting banks to cut estimates, without sharing the news to small investors.

“The true facts at the time of the IPO were that Facebook was then experiencing a severe and pronounced reduction in revenue growth due to an increase of users of its Facebook app or website through mobile devices … such that the Company told the Underwriter Defendants to materially lower their revenue forecasts for 2012,” stated the suit. “The underwriters then subsequently lowered their estimates for 2012, which revisions were material information which was not shared with all Facebook investors, but rather, was selectively disclosed by defendants to certain preferred investors,” continued the complaint.

With its bad debut, rumors have been spreading in Silicon Valley about Facebook and itsfishy IPO. With the latest law suit, the picture is becoming clearer.