The Faculty Association
Indian Institute of Science

The General Body Meeting was held on 23.8.2000 (Wednesday) at 4:30 p.m. in
the Choksi Hall, Indian Institute of Science. The minutes of this meeting
are as recorded below:

1. The General Secretary, Prof. V. Kumaran, welcomed all the members to the
Meeting, and with the members' permission, started the proceedings with the
first item on the agenda, viz. the minutes of the previous GBM held on
8.2.2000.

2. The General Secretary informed the members that
the minutes of the previous GBM were circulated to the members, in
addition to being posted on the Faculty Association (FA) website. He then
proceeded to read the minutes. There were no comments from the members, either
prior to, or during, the GBM. Following a proposal by Dr. Abinandanan,
duly seconded by Dr. Ananthanarayan, the minutes were approved by the members.

3. In his Presidential address, Prof. Swami Manohar thanked all the members
for their support. He informed the members about the continuing efforts to
move online more and more activities (particularly those related to
interactions with, and among, members). This will be done through a
combination of e-mail and various discussion forums on the FA website. He
also informed the members that whenever an important issue is brought up by
a member, a sub-committee is formed to pursue that issue, with the
with the Executive Committee extending all possible support
to the sub-committee. He was of the opinion that this is probably the best
way to organize the functions and activities of the FA. He outlined a list
of issues which are being pursued actively by the FA. The list includes:

3.a. Faculty housing: The work on the new complex near the Janata Bazaar is
progressing well. He urged the members to visit the site often, and bring to
the notice of FA if they have any comments / complaints about the
construction.

3.b. CHSS: The FA is clear that the present implementation of the scheme is
far from satisfactory, and has informed the Administration about it. Since
the Institute is committed to review the working of the scheme at periodic
intervals, he promised that this issue will be taken up vigorously at the
time of the next review.

3.c. Kendriya Vidyalaya: The FA members are unanimous in their view that the
KV's infrastructure and facilities should be improved to match the stature of
the Institute. The FA will work closely with the Parents-Teachers
Association of KV towards improving the infrastructure. Another issue is the
safety of students who cross the road from the main campus to the KV campus.
Funds have been sanctioned for a foot overbridge across that road, and the
bridge is currently being designed.

With these remarks, Prof. Manohar concluded by requesting the cooperation of
all the members by way of volunteering their time in pursuing the
initiatives of the FA.

4. The audited accounts of the FA were presented by the Treasurer, Mr. M.
Adinarayanamurthy. Since there were no comments from the members, they were
approved after a proposal by Prof. Sriram Ramaswamy, duly seconded by Prof.
Jayant Haritsa.

5. The General Secretary, Prof. Kumaran, informed the members that
the two amendments to the rules and regulations governing the FA, as
formulated by the Executive Committee, were circulated among the members
well in advance.

5.a. The first amendment aims to retain only the life membership, and doing
away with the annual membership category. Further, for those who are to
retire in a few years' time, it also suggested a slab system of reduced fees
at a number of different rates. The General
Secretary pointed out that this amendment will ensure a stable (and large)
membership of the FA. Currently, there are large
fluctuations in the FA
membership from year to year. Another problem in the current system is
the difficulty in collecting the annual membership fee.

A member sought an assurance from the EC that the procedures are being
followed correctly in getting this amendment passed. The General Secretary
read out the relevant portions of the existing rules and regulations which
govern a change in the types of membership.

Some members opined that there
were too many slabs in the original amendment for those with a few more
years of service. It was felt that just one slab (Rs. 200/-) is sufficient,
for those with less than 5 years of service. For all the others, a fee of
Rs. 400/- will be applicable. This modification was accepted by the members.

This modified amendment was passed with a large number of members
favouring it, with a lone member voting in dissent.

5.b. The second amendment proposed by the EC was towards the reconstitution
of the EC membership. Prof. Kumaran recounted the background to this
amendment. A debate was initiated about two years ago, in the Presidential
address of the then President, Prof. Ananthakrishna, about the need to look
into the category-wise representation in the EC. After about two years of
debate, the previous GBM authorized the newly elected EC to formulate a
suitable amendment for consideration at the present GBM.

The EC constituted a committee with Prof. Ananthakrishna and Dr.
Shivaprakash as members to look into this issue. They made two possible
ways in which the reconstitueion can be carried out: the first one would do
away with category-wise representation altogether, while the second one
would retain 4 seats for category-wise representation, with the remaining 12
to be based on the number of members in each category in the General Body.

The EC considered both options, and felt that a modified version of the
second option would be suitable: this version addresses adequately both
the need to truly reflect the number of
members in each category and the need to retain, partly, the current
structure (which ensures a broad-based participation in the EC). He also
pointed out that the amendment ensures that no single category will be in a
majority.

Much of the discussion which followed Prof. Kumaran's presentation was about
a different structure for the EC (perhaps similar to that of the Faculty
club of the Instiute). It was pointed out that such a restructuring would
require a different amendment, which if the members wished to pursue it,
can be taken up in the next GBM. At the present GBM, only the amendment
as stated by the EC, and circulated among the members, can be taken up.

The amendment was put to vote, and was passed when a large number of members
voted in favour, with only four voting against the amendment.

6. Any other matter:

6.a. Many members felt that in addition to concentrating on new housing for
faculty, we should also ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the old
housing. One possible way is for families living in various quarters to form
local Residents' Associations, which will monitor the effectiveness of
maintenance. It was also felt that getting minor repairs done by private
contractors should be allowed, with the Institute taking care of the
charges. This system would reduce the workload on the Estate Office.

6.b. CHSS : A member wished to know what the St. John's rates for various
treatments / procedures were, and how they compared with those of other
private hospitals. It was pointed out by another member that a booklet
containing such information is available at the Health Center. He was not
sure whether the information therein is up-to-date.

6.c. A member felt that the FA website should include a way of registering
to be included in the mailing list. Prof. Manohar promised to have it
implemented.

6.d. Several members complimented the EC and the Office-bearers on the good
job they have done in making so much information available on the FA website.

6.e. Some members felt that we should look into the possibility of getting
all the on-campus housing connected to the Internet. Prof. Manohar suggested
that with the help of volunteers who can do a preliminary study of the costs
involved, such an issue can be taken up with the administration at a later
date.

7. The meeting came to an end with thanks to the chair.