"Kak cheshta,
bako dhyanam,
shwan nidra,
alpahari,
grihatyagi,
...vidyarthi panch lakshanam"
Roughly translated
the five indications of a good student are
1) perseverance of a crow,
2) concentration of a swan,
3) light sleeper like a dog,
4) light eater,
5) staying away from home(means noise,emotions).
Everything is fine but why to eat little ! Khoob khao, thoda ghoom ke tummy halki kar lo...aur fir padho !
26 May 2007
24 May 2007
Balance is the game
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life."
--Brian G.
--Brian G.
'Woh beete hue din...' the only golden period of life
ye daulat bhii le lo,
ye shoharat bhii le lo,
bhale chhiin lo mujhase merii javaanii,
magar mujhako lautaa do bachapan kaa saavan...
...vo kaagaz kii kashtii,
...vo baarish kaa paanii
ye shoharat bhii le lo,
bhale chhiin lo mujhase merii javaanii,
magar mujhako lautaa do bachapan kaa saavan...
...vo kaagaz kii kashtii,
...vo baarish kaa paanii
20 May 2007
CO2 Sponge wearing away
I came across a piece of research somewhere that had something to this effect. Its really alarming for the coming generations. Such things make me cogitate on whether our generation should really have children. Because we are not going to be able to leave them a healthy climate fit for living by the time we leave. The article had the following main points:
The oceans have absorbed almost a fourth of the total CO2 emitted by humans since the industrial revolution started. Globally about half of the extra CO2 emissions are soaked up by natural sinks such as oceans, soils and vegetation.
Now one of the prominent natural CO2 sponges, The Southern Ocean has almost come to a saturation in its ability to absorb CO2. The southern Ocean which absorbs CO2 equivalent to the entire emission of UK and Netherlands combined annually is absorbing the same quantity as it was absorbing 24 years ago. The reason for this saturation is itself the climate change. The uneven heating of the earth's atmosphere is causing greater pressure differences between different parts of the world, thus, increasing the speed of winds. This increase in winds over the southern ocean has resulted in more mixing of the waters causing the colder water to come up from the bottom. This colder water being already saturated with CO2 doesn't absorb more CO2 leading to an overall reduction of the CO2 absorbing ability of the ocean. The depletion of ozone layer has also contributed to the increased wind speed.
The oceans have absorbed almost a fourth of the total CO2 emitted by humans since the industrial revolution started. Globally about half of the extra CO2 emissions are soaked up by natural sinks such as oceans, soils and vegetation.
Now one of the prominent natural CO2 sponges, The Southern Ocean has almost come to a saturation in its ability to absorb CO2. The southern Ocean which absorbs CO2 equivalent to the entire emission of UK and Netherlands combined annually is absorbing the same quantity as it was absorbing 24 years ago. The reason for this saturation is itself the climate change. The uneven heating of the earth's atmosphere is causing greater pressure differences between different parts of the world, thus, increasing the speed of winds. This increase in winds over the southern ocean has resulted in more mixing of the waters causing the colder water to come up from the bottom. This colder water being already saturated with CO2 doesn't absorb more CO2 leading to an overall reduction of the CO2 absorbing ability of the ocean. The depletion of ozone layer has also contributed to the increased wind speed.
18 May 2007
Newton in Romantic Mood......
Universal law of Love:
" Love can neither be created nor be destroyed; it can only be transferred from One girlfriend to another with some loss of money "
*************
First law of Love:
" a boy in love with a girl, continues to be in love with her and a girl in love with a boy, continues to be in love with him, until or unless any external agent(brother or father of the gal) comes into play and breaks the legs of the boy. "
*************
Second law of Love:
" the rate of change of intensity of love of a girl towards a boy is directly proportional to the instantaneous bank balance of the boy and the direction of this love is same as the direction of change in the bank balance. "
*************
Third law of Love:
" the force applied while proposing a girl by a boy is equal and opposite to the force applied by the girl while slapping
" Love can neither be created nor be destroyed; it can only be transferred from One girlfriend to another with some loss of money "
*************
First law of Love:
" a boy in love with a girl, continues to be in love with her and a girl in love with a boy, continues to be in love with him, until or unless any external agent(brother or father of the gal) comes into play and breaks the legs of the boy. "
*************
Second law of Love:
" the rate of change of intensity of love of a girl towards a boy is directly proportional to the instantaneous bank balance of the boy and the direction of this love is same as the direction of change in the bank balance. "
*************
Third law of Love:
" the force applied while proposing a girl by a boy is equal and opposite to the force applied by the girl while slapping
17 May 2007
Phosphate's theory on excellance
Thou shall strive for conquering CAT
till thou gets through IIM A or perishes thee...
..
..
..
..
..
Thou shall take the call though if Harvard calls thee !!!
till thou gets through IIM A or perishes thee...
..
..
..
..
..
Thou shall take the call though if Harvard calls thee !!!
Kids...pure at heart
For true and false are attributes of speech, not of things. And where speech is not, there is neither truth nor falsehood. Error there may be, as when we expect that which shall not be, or suspect what has not been; but in neither case can a man be charged with untruth.
- Thomas Hobbs in the Leviathan
- Thomas Hobbs in the Leviathan
15 May 2007
Political lunaticism
Politicians will utimately do the right thing
But only after they have tried everything else
But only after they have tried everything else
- Keynes
12 May 2007
Work hard for whatever you dream of...you may not get the ultimate goal but you would have the satisfaction that you tried
| karmanya vadhikarasthe ma phaleshu kadachana | ma karmaphalahethurbhurma the sango sthvakarmani || | ||
| To work alone do we have a right ! Not to expect fruits thereof. Action with attachment is very inferior opposed to action performed with an evenness in mind. |
Striving for excellance
Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
Sitaron se age jahan aur bhi hai aur bhi hai
Abhi ishq ke Imtehan aur bhi hai aur bhi hai
Sitaron se age jahan aur bhi hai aur bhi hai
Abhi ishq ke Imtehan aur bhi hai aur bhi hai
Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
Tu shaheen hai, Tu shaheen hai, Tu shaheen hai
Tu shaheen hai, Tu shaheen hai Parvaz hai kam tera kam tera
Tere samne Aasman aur bhi hai
Tu shaheen he Basera kar Paharon ki chatano per
Tu shaheen hai tu Shaheen hai tu shaheen hai
Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
bata teri raza kia hai
bata teri raza kia hai
"Can you raise yourself to such a level
that when God wants to grant you a fortune
He asks you what you want"
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle
Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kia hai
bata teri raza kia hai
bata teri raza kia hai
"Can you raise yourself to such a level
that when God wants to grant you a fortune
He asks you what you want"
11 May 2007
Biofuel - Perhaps a myopic solution to the environmental problems
The increased focus of the world on the use of biofuel as an antidote to the environmentally polluting oil and coal can have severe implications on the economy, social life and even the environment whose friend it’s being much touted as.
As EU strives to meet 10 % of its energy requirements from biofuel by 2020 and the multi billion doller biofuel industry makes efforts to provide about 25 % of all energy needs within 20 years, everybody seems to have forgotten about the other side of the coin.
Large scale cultivation of energy crops would lead to mass scale deforestation and would take the best land currently being used for growing food crops. Whereas the former would lead to loss of bio diversity, soil erosion and nutrient depletion of soil, loss of habitat for forest animals, many of them endangered, the latter would lead to severe food shortage and price volatility of food grains. Although the economists argue that the trend would be beneficial for farmers as they would get better price for their harvest and for the poor countries where most of such cultivation is supposed to happen in the future, there is a dark side to this too. As the food prices rise it would be increasingly difficult for poor countries to afford food and even the emergency food aid would get costlier. Resulting rising inflation would impoverish masses particularly in developing and under developed countries.
There is a need to take a holistic approach to the problem of energy crisis and such one sided approaches would only add more misbalance to the nature.
As EU strives to meet 10 % of its energy requirements from biofuel by 2020 and the multi billion doller biofuel industry makes efforts to provide about 25 % of all energy needs within 20 years, everybody seems to have forgotten about the other side of the coin.
Large scale cultivation of energy crops would lead to mass scale deforestation and would take the best land currently being used for growing food crops. Whereas the former would lead to loss of bio diversity, soil erosion and nutrient depletion of soil, loss of habitat for forest animals, many of them endangered, the latter would lead to severe food shortage and price volatility of food grains. Although the economists argue that the trend would be beneficial for farmers as they would get better price for their harvest and for the poor countries where most of such cultivation is supposed to happen in the future, there is a dark side to this too. As the food prices rise it would be increasingly difficult for poor countries to afford food and even the emergency food aid would get costlier. Resulting rising inflation would impoverish masses particularly in developing and under developed countries.
There is a need to take a holistic approach to the problem of energy crisis and such one sided approaches would only add more misbalance to the nature.
8 May 2007
Improvement in rural infrastructure as an antidote to the need for Reservation
About 60 % of our population lives in villages and sustained migration of people form villages to the cities continues with the shift in the nature of economy whereas the villages tend to be largely agricultural communities with little investment in other areas. Most of these villagers are poor. And most of the villages in India lack even the basic infrastructure like power, water supply, sewage system, proper and planned primary education and a planned and effective health care system. The result is that the percentage of rural population, living in villages or migrating to the cities, that is backward in literal sense of the word exceeds the percentage of real backward people in the Other Backward Classes categorized by the politicians and myopic committees of the bureaucrats. A better measure, therefore, to lead to the long term plurality of society is to device policies to support in some way the former class of people, those of the poor rural origin, which at the moment forms a large chunk of the ostensible OBCs.
How improving rural infrastructure can eliminate backwardness in the long run
If rural infrastructure is improved, this would improve the living conditions in villages which, in turn, would stop the migration of people from villages to the cities which would further maintain the balance of the backward people towards the villages, thus justifying sustained efforts in improvement of rural infrastructure till the day when the rural living conditions are at par with those in the cities, at least as much as possible, and there is no more migration of the population from the villages to the cities in search of a better living. Instead rural population in the cities would migrate back to its homeland in that scenario, thus, further reducing the load on the cities. In such a situation, cities would be able to provide decent living conditions to all their residents and villages would have all the facilities for a healthy and decent lifestyle. The backwardness is, thus, removed in the literal sense of the word. The key to elimination of poverty and backwardness may therefore lie entirely in rural infrastructural development rather than the much touted reservation system for the OBCs.
Current reservation system versus long term social equality
Even when extended to the deserving section of the current OBCs, what the current system of reservation achieves in effect is that a child of the poor rural family goes to an institute of higher learning and gets placed in some software multinational or some manufacturing plant in the city. After a few years, he moves his entire family from the village to his home in the city, leasing out his ancestral land to some other farmers to cultivate which, finally, ends up in the sale of the land to some co-villagers. Thus, even after all the reservation, the village largely remains as such…undeveloped. Only a negligible percentage of people benefiting from reservation are rising to such positions of power where they can take the helm of developing, at least, their own village in their own hands. In the long term even this approach of accommodating all such beneficiaries of such a system in the cities, leaving the villages neglected, which results in the long term shift of the population towards the cities, thus, overloading these is unviable.
The needs of the rural infrastructure
The innermost villages of the country don’t have even a single power supply socket whereas riding on the services boom, the Indian economy from the surface is all set to claim itself to be the second most powerful in the world in the coming two decades. Despite all this we don’t see any initiation from the responsible agencies for the rural development of the country. Where else can we find an example of inequitable distribution of wealth that can match this huge gap between the resources, possibilities, opportunities and action. Last year when the central ministry for power asked all the state governments to come up with a detailed plan for total rural electrification in their respective states, notify the same to the central government and achieve the target in 6 months thereafter, none of the state government actually came up with anything by the stipulated deadline and the proposal awaits its fate in doom amidst the full concentration of state and central political parties on the ensuing elections.
The other major problems facing the rural infrastructure besides power are those of water supply, sewage system, primary education and healthcare.
The approaches
A recourse to all those problems that comes to mind is complete privatization of these services and exit of the states. But privatization in those areas would not work to the benefit of the common person since the prime requisite of all such development programs is accessibility, affordability and equity. No private player can be trusted to establish reconciliation between those large interests of the community and the basic motive of a capitalist, profit making. If, with some agreement, the private players are indeed given a responsibility to develop such an equitable distribution system of power, water, sewage system, healthcare and education services in those inaccessible areas today, they would have to charge exorbitant prices for all those services in the face of cost recovery and for faring better than just breaking even in absence of any government subsidy. And such a system, where the target customer would not be able to afford the service, would lose its purpose altogether. The government would, then, need to partly subsidize all those services with the tax payer’s money to the level of making such a system affordable for the general rural customer and at the same time profitable and incentive bearing for the share holders. And wherever the tax payer’s money comes into picture, it brings along the issue of corruption in the disbursement of funds.
The second recourse that seems likely is rigorous initiatives on the part of the central and state government to ensure better, efficient and effective management of the available resources. But none of the educated Indians can be sensibly expected to hope for this kind of miracle to happen in the government machinery at such a large scale across the country.
The first recourse then seems more practical. Perhaps, even the prospect of corruption there could be an incentive for the politicians and bureaucrats to give a heed to such a subsidized privatized system. And as far as the vote bank politics is concerned, the overall rural infrastructural transformation of the country at this scale resulting in the elimination of backwardness altogether is bound to generate more votes for the trailblazer than the Mandal commission’s caste based reservation system for the Other Backward Classes.
How improving rural infrastructure can eliminate backwardness in the long run
If rural infrastructure is improved, this would improve the living conditions in villages which, in turn, would stop the migration of people from villages to the cities which would further maintain the balance of the backward people towards the villages, thus justifying sustained efforts in improvement of rural infrastructure till the day when the rural living conditions are at par with those in the cities, at least as much as possible, and there is no more migration of the population from the villages to the cities in search of a better living. Instead rural population in the cities would migrate back to its homeland in that scenario, thus, further reducing the load on the cities. In such a situation, cities would be able to provide decent living conditions to all their residents and villages would have all the facilities for a healthy and decent lifestyle. The backwardness is, thus, removed in the literal sense of the word. The key to elimination of poverty and backwardness may therefore lie entirely in rural infrastructural development rather than the much touted reservation system for the OBCs.
Current reservation system versus long term social equality
Even when extended to the deserving section of the current OBCs, what the current system of reservation achieves in effect is that a child of the poor rural family goes to an institute of higher learning and gets placed in some software multinational or some manufacturing plant in the city. After a few years, he moves his entire family from the village to his home in the city, leasing out his ancestral land to some other farmers to cultivate which, finally, ends up in the sale of the land to some co-villagers. Thus, even after all the reservation, the village largely remains as such…undeveloped. Only a negligible percentage of people benefiting from reservation are rising to such positions of power where they can take the helm of developing, at least, their own village in their own hands. In the long term even this approach of accommodating all such beneficiaries of such a system in the cities, leaving the villages neglected, which results in the long term shift of the population towards the cities, thus, overloading these is unviable.
The needs of the rural infrastructure
The innermost villages of the country don’t have even a single power supply socket whereas riding on the services boom, the Indian economy from the surface is all set to claim itself to be the second most powerful in the world in the coming two decades. Despite all this we don’t see any initiation from the responsible agencies for the rural development of the country. Where else can we find an example of inequitable distribution of wealth that can match this huge gap between the resources, possibilities, opportunities and action. Last year when the central ministry for power asked all the state governments to come up with a detailed plan for total rural electrification in their respective states, notify the same to the central government and achieve the target in 6 months thereafter, none of the state government actually came up with anything by the stipulated deadline and the proposal awaits its fate in doom amidst the full concentration of state and central political parties on the ensuing elections.
The other major problems facing the rural infrastructure besides power are those of water supply, sewage system, primary education and healthcare.
The approaches
A recourse to all those problems that comes to mind is complete privatization of these services and exit of the states. But privatization in those areas would not work to the benefit of the common person since the prime requisite of all such development programs is accessibility, affordability and equity. No private player can be trusted to establish reconciliation between those large interests of the community and the basic motive of a capitalist, profit making. If, with some agreement, the private players are indeed given a responsibility to develop such an equitable distribution system of power, water, sewage system, healthcare and education services in those inaccessible areas today, they would have to charge exorbitant prices for all those services in the face of cost recovery and for faring better than just breaking even in absence of any government subsidy. And such a system, where the target customer would not be able to afford the service, would lose its purpose altogether. The government would, then, need to partly subsidize all those services with the tax payer’s money to the level of making such a system affordable for the general rural customer and at the same time profitable and incentive bearing for the share holders. And wherever the tax payer’s money comes into picture, it brings along the issue of corruption in the disbursement of funds.
The second recourse that seems likely is rigorous initiatives on the part of the central and state government to ensure better, efficient and effective management of the available resources. But none of the educated Indians can be sensibly expected to hope for this kind of miracle to happen in the government machinery at such a large scale across the country.
The first recourse then seems more practical. Perhaps, even the prospect of corruption there could be an incentive for the politicians and bureaucrats to give a heed to such a subsidized privatized system. And as far as the vote bank politics is concerned, the overall rural infrastructural transformation of the country at this scale resulting in the elimination of backwardness altogether is bound to generate more votes for the trailblazer than the Mandal commission’s caste based reservation system for the Other Backward Classes.
6 May 2007
Which is Australia's Capital ??
Canberra is the capital city of Australia...I never heard of this city !!
Our origin
Humans are thought to have first evolved in Africa because the oldest bones and remains of human creatures have been discovered there.
Implications of FDI in retail in India
Indian companies are eying the retail market in a big way and a tie-up is in the offing between Wal-Mart and Bharti Enterprises. All is well in response to the growing Indian Economy which is poised to soon register a double digit growth rate within the next decade.
The trouble however is that the regulations which need to be in place before such turning points in the economy are absent. I am not talking about the age old Nehruvian socialist regulations on the FDI. I am talking about the minimum level of state interference that is needed to protect the interest of workers and the society as a whole in a capitalist economy. It has been academically established that the market left on its own is not competent enough to take the large interests of the community into account while still maximizing profits in a capitalist scenario.
Walmart first started in 1962 as a regular departmental store in the US. At that time nobody realised what consequences it would have on the community around it. It was only in the last 10 years that the adverse effects of its cut throat operations began to surface.
Firstly, Market saw a free fall in prices owing to the penetration, scale and resulting negotiating power of Wal-Mart. Thousands of retailers lost their jobs as they were forced to sell below cost. When Thailand opened FDI in retail in Bangkok, about 60000 retailers lost their job only there. With a saturated 4000 stores in the US, Wal-Mart is looking to expand in other markets where it has 2700 stores. But what happens when it enters a poorly regulated market like India. At first there is always an increase in the employment but soon retails begin to lose their jobs on mass scale.
Secondly, Its interesting to note that the lowest prices of Wal-Mart are also the result of subsidies by the tax payers indirectly. Wal-Mart employees are payed so low that many of them are dependent on social welfare program for the schooling of their children, and for health needs etc. And with that indirect social subsidy, cutting on the cost of its operations, Wal-mart cuts the prices.
China is being touted as a model for India but even there FDI was opened up in retail over a 10 year period. And the Chinese government has an agreement with the company to respect workers' rights. In India there are no such contracts yet.
India can learn from the experiences of others and follow a socially favourable policy to let FDI in retail. Even most major US cities do not allow a Wal-Mart store. In Florida, the company has to prove the scope for a super store in a saturated market before it gets the permission to open one. With the experiences of the likes of US and Thailand and with the socially favourable policy adopted by China, India can probably learn how to allow FDI in retail even as it ensures community welfare in a capitalist economy.
I hope that in an attempt to correct the blunder done by the Nehruvain socialism for 44 years, we do not make unimaginative moves as those made by Boris Yeltsin in Russia that led to the misery of community on the whole even as its productivity and industrial exports rose leading to wide income disparities and social inequalities.
The trouble however is that the regulations which need to be in place before such turning points in the economy are absent. I am not talking about the age old Nehruvian socialist regulations on the FDI. I am talking about the minimum level of state interference that is needed to protect the interest of workers and the society as a whole in a capitalist economy. It has been academically established that the market left on its own is not competent enough to take the large interests of the community into account while still maximizing profits in a capitalist scenario.
Walmart first started in 1962 as a regular departmental store in the US. At that time nobody realised what consequences it would have on the community around it. It was only in the last 10 years that the adverse effects of its cut throat operations began to surface.
Firstly, Market saw a free fall in prices owing to the penetration, scale and resulting negotiating power of Wal-Mart. Thousands of retailers lost their jobs as they were forced to sell below cost. When Thailand opened FDI in retail in Bangkok, about 60000 retailers lost their job only there. With a saturated 4000 stores in the US, Wal-Mart is looking to expand in other markets where it has 2700 stores. But what happens when it enters a poorly regulated market like India. At first there is always an increase in the employment but soon retails begin to lose their jobs on mass scale.
Secondly, Its interesting to note that the lowest prices of Wal-Mart are also the result of subsidies by the tax payers indirectly. Wal-Mart employees are payed so low that many of them are dependent on social welfare program for the schooling of their children, and for health needs etc. And with that indirect social subsidy, cutting on the cost of its operations, Wal-mart cuts the prices.
China is being touted as a model for India but even there FDI was opened up in retail over a 10 year period. And the Chinese government has an agreement with the company to respect workers' rights. In India there are no such contracts yet.
India can learn from the experiences of others and follow a socially favourable policy to let FDI in retail. Even most major US cities do not allow a Wal-Mart store. In Florida, the company has to prove the scope for a super store in a saturated market before it gets the permission to open one. With the experiences of the likes of US and Thailand and with the socially favourable policy adopted by China, India can probably learn how to allow FDI in retail even as it ensures community welfare in a capitalist economy.
I hope that in an attempt to correct the blunder done by the Nehruvain socialism for 44 years, we do not make unimaginative moves as those made by Boris Yeltsin in Russia that led to the misery of community on the whole even as its productivity and industrial exports rose leading to wide income disparities and social inequalities.
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