Reality TV...taking it too far?

Hi all,

There has been a huge uproar in Parliament over the controversy generated by reality shows like Such Ka Saamna [Face the Truth]. While this session of Parliament is for debating the budget, our politicians are doing what they do best; digressing from arcane and not-so-people related topics to ones that can be easily identified by their constituents. While their actions are not pardonable, they seem to have raised a valid point.

Reality TV shows in general seems to be catering to our dark sides. From encouraging people to 'voluntarily' disclose sleazy facts about themselves to blatantly showing how different individuals feel about each other(and in the process getting them to spew out a few vulgarities!) to clearly placing the participants in harm's way, anything goes for reality TV. It is this perversion for catching as many eyeballs as possible is what has seemed to create all the furore.

Now big question is where do we draw the line and who does it? Who should be the regulator? What should he/she/they do? What should be considered as matters within the private realm and what can be made public/aired? We find ourselves in a familiar situation. So many questions and so little answers.

I am personally for self regulation. The onus of restricting what should and what should not be shown should lie on the broadcasters themselves. In fact, I am sure that this is what these organisations would want too. Now that they have been used to so much freedom, they certainly would not like 'Big Brother' looking over their shoulders, would they? [Off course these organisations would be dead set against even self regulation but somehow we have to convince them that it is the way forward] Moreover, i am certain that there will be at least one good human being among the thousands in those organisations whose wiser sense will prevail and sanity restored with respect to content of reality TV. This will also encourage responsible content generation and will pave the way for a independent yet responsible broadcasting.

Off course, the government could take the role of a 2nd class regulator and step in and take on these broadcasters if things go too far. Or we could have a independent body, consisting of all sections of the media, play regulator. But the downside of this is that vested interest might creep in and play spoilsport.

What are your thoughts on this?

Kargil: 10 years on....

Hi All,

It has been 10 years since the Kargil war (skirmish?). So I thought it would be nice to have a post to commemorate the 10 yrs and pay our respects to the men and women who laid down their lives to protect the territorial integrity of India.

To those martyrs who laid down their lives and their bereaving families, no amount of consoling words will be sufficient and no amount of financial compensation will be enough. Loss of live will always be hard to reconcile and we all sincerely hope that those families, in the past decade, have reached closure.

It has been 10 years and it is time to move forward, both for the individuals and the country as whole. We have to learn our lessons from the past and not commit them again. Even a slight lapse of vigil might be enough motive for intruders to attempt Kargil2.

That said and done, i strongly believe that dialogue is the way forward for resolution of any conflict, ours in no exception. Too many lives have been lost and too much money, time and energy have been expended on fighting. We should engage in military conflict only if it thrust upon us (like Kargil). Continuous engagement of neighbours, to resolve disputes, through composite dialogues will help rather than contemplating military solutions for them.

What are your thoughts on this....

Craziest/Wildest thing you have ever done?

Hi All,

This one isn’t my usual type of a post, where I discuss serious issues related to society. It’s just one of those posts that is meant to send you down the memory lane and recollect the wildest/wackiest/funniest/craziest things you have ever done in your life. It could have been an intentional action or more of an accident. An event when you were a kid and consequently narrated by your family members when you grew up. Anything goes, people.

As for me, I have had my share of doing crazy things. For starters, my mom used to tell me that I used to stare into the holes found in the back of TV sets hoping to find people inside. And when I couldn’t find any I would go and ask her how come they are not there but they appear on screen. Hiding biscuits in boxes and totally forgetting where I kept them or forgetting that I had hid them in the first place!

So what are your funny moments...share them here....

Direct Cash Transfer

Hi All,

Direct Cash Transfer(DCT) is a term that i came across in Nandan Nilekani's Imagining India and it has caught my imagination since then. It refers to the practice of government placing some amount of cash, based on requirement, into an individuals bank account in order to help him/her tide over a certain difficulty or to offset the removal of government subsidy that had been in place till then.

DCT has been experimented ,with varying levels of success ,all around the world and on the whole the beneficiaries of this concept have given it a big thumbs up. DCT tends to have a whole lot of advantages associated with it. I will state some of them here.

1.) Targeted Subsidies - Only a fraction of the subsidies today actually reach the intended audience. With DCT, subsidies can be targeted and made to reach only the people they were meant for. For ex. LPG cylinders being supplied to rich households are subsidised to the same extent as the ones beings sent to middle/poor households. This clearly doesn't make sense.

2.) Massive Savings- Apart from making perfect logic, DCT will also translate into good savings for the government. The cash transfer is going to be made only to families which need them and not to everyone by default, which is how the present system works.

3.) Responsible/Reduced Usage - Because DCT will only compensate for a finite amount of resources consumed, it will encourage beneficiaries reduce their usage of these resources. For the sake of continuity, lets again take the case of LPG:

Actual cost of one cylinder - 550

Cost to consumer - 350

Subsidy - 200

If the government sets the cylinder limit at 8/family/year then it would need to deposit 8*200=1600 into the accounts of the families and carry on and sell each cylinder at actual cost price.

Advantage 1: Subsidy provided to people who don't need it(read Ambanis' and the likes) will be eliminated.

Advantage 2: If families use more than their stipulated amount of cylinders, they would have to do so at actual cost of the cylinder.

Now that we have seen the merits of this system, i would like to highlight the challenges this system poses.

1. Mammoth Task - Creating bank accounts for millions of house holds across India will be no easy task and will require many changes/simplifications in the procedures for account creation. Orientation and acquaintance courses must be held to make the masses more familiar with banking terms/formalities etc.

Silver Lining - The banking system in this country is quite strong and that banks and their ATMs are spread across the width and the breadth of India.

2. Unwillingness - People might not be, initially, so receptive to the the idea of universal subsidy being removed and a more targeted system being brought in to replace it. Stiff resistance might be encountered from families which are large in number(5 or more) as they certainly would need more of these resources.

Silver Lining - This concept is politically "sell-able" due to its obvious benefits. Some Indian politicians were even making some noise about this in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. So for once, we can actually confide in our politicians to get the convincing job done!

So what do you guys think about this concept of subsidy delivery. Please share your thoughts.