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....
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Imagining India: A good read
Hi all,
I recently finished reading the book called Imagining India, written by Nandan Nilekani. To be frank, i took a couple of months to read it and moreover i was "two-timing" the book with my favourite English fiction authors..:) But at the end of it all, i must say the book made for a compelling read.
As Tom Friedman rightly points out, Nandan is a great explainer. Arcane issues are discussed threadbare and in a manner that even lay men can understand. Issues have been separated into broad categories and solutions have been suggested both at the macro and micro level. The ideas are fresh, innovative & even sometimes revolutionary. So revolutionary that,as Nandan himself agrees, it is going to take quite a bit of political will to implement the tough measures that this country so needs. It must be noted here that he has also dealt with the most thorniest of topics and given recommendations on how to go about solving them.
Something bizarre struck me after reading this book. We should make all our politicians read this book to make them realize the dire straits our country is in now and how to work towards making our society more progressive and peaceful. In fact we must have a test based on this book and many others of this ilk. Only if they ace the tests, should they be allowed into Parliament!
Coming back to the book, i certainly recommend this book for anyone regardless of your exposure to issues affecting Indian society. I also sincerely hope that the predictions Nandan has made in favour of India come true ASAP.
I recently finished reading the book called Imagining India, written by Nandan Nilekani. To be frank, i took a couple of months to read it and moreover i was "two-timing" the book with my favourite English fiction authors..:) But at the end of it all, i must say the book made for a compelling read.
As Tom Friedman rightly points out, Nandan is a great explainer. Arcane issues are discussed threadbare and in a manner that even lay men can understand. Issues have been separated into broad categories and solutions have been suggested both at the macro and micro level. The ideas are fresh, innovative & even sometimes revolutionary. So revolutionary that,as Nandan himself agrees, it is going to take quite a bit of political will to implement the tough measures that this country so needs. It must be noted here that he has also dealt with the most thorniest of topics and given recommendations on how to go about solving them.
Something bizarre struck me after reading this book. We should make all our politicians read this book to make them realize the dire straits our country is in now and how to work towards making our society more progressive and peaceful. In fact we must have a test based on this book and many others of this ilk. Only if they ace the tests, should they be allowed into Parliament!
Coming back to the book, i certainly recommend this book for anyone regardless of your exposure to issues affecting Indian society. I also sincerely hope that the predictions Nandan has made in favour of India come true ASAP.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
SriLanka: Battle Won, the war lost?
Hi All,
I am sure you would have heard about the recent events in SriLanka and how the war against rebels came to an end and the developing humanitarian crisis got countries world over anxious. The general secretary of the UN has described the scenes he witnessed of the war ravaged regions as "appalling".
I don't wish to take sides in this recently concluded battle. My post here is to highlight the plight of the civilians who were caught between a ruthless militia claiming to fight for their rights and an equally brutal military hell bent on "freeing" them from the clutches of terrorists. The blame for the heavy civilian casualty must be placed on both the government and the rebel forces. But i believe the SL govt must be apportioned a greater percentage of blame than the rebels.
The govt forces were using heavy artillery even at the fag end of the war knowing fully well that the rebels were using civilians as human shields and that the tigers were in no position of bouncing back. The government, even now, is restricting access to humanitarian agencies wanting to go into the war savaged areas. Close 2 hundred thousand civilians have been put under 24 hours of armed guard into a space that
is meant for a fraction of that of population .
While the SL might have won the battle, the fear is that it might have lost the war.
It has failed to cease the opportunity to impress upon the Tamil population that they have been "freed" from the hands of the LTTE. If recent events are any testimony to what is to come, I wouldn’t be surprised if an armed uprising, god forbid, is in the offing.
I am sure you would have heard about the recent events in SriLanka and how the war against rebels came to an end and the developing humanitarian crisis got countries world over anxious. The general secretary of the UN has described the scenes he witnessed of the war ravaged regions as "appalling".
I don't wish to take sides in this recently concluded battle. My post here is to highlight the plight of the civilians who were caught between a ruthless militia claiming to fight for their rights and an equally brutal military hell bent on "freeing" them from the clutches of terrorists. The blame for the heavy civilian casualty must be placed on both the government and the rebel forces. But i believe the SL govt must be apportioned a greater percentage of blame than the rebels.
The govt forces were using heavy artillery even at the fag end of the war knowing fully well that the rebels were using civilians as human shields and that the tigers were in no position of bouncing back. The government, even now, is restricting access to humanitarian agencies wanting to go into the war savaged areas. Close 2 hundred thousand civilians have been put under 24 hours of armed guard into a space that
is meant for a fraction of that of population .
While the SL might have won the battle, the fear is that it might have lost the war.
It has failed to cease the opportunity to impress upon the Tamil population that they have been "freed" from the hands of the LTTE. If recent events are any testimony to what is to come, I wouldn’t be surprised if an armed uprising, god forbid, is in the offing.
I am back...:)
HI all,
I know it has been a long time and I would pardon you if you had thought I was dead or something. No, I am very much alive and kicking!
A couple of delightful things happened over the course of this month. The 9th being my birthday and 11th was the day of our house warming. Though the events were spaced just two days apart, they offered me completely different experiences. I celebrated my birthday for the first time, with ONLY in the company of my friends (Really missed my mother's tasty vadai's and sweets). The house warming, on the other hand was held in the presence of a swarm of our relatives and well-wishers.
We (read my colleagues and I) were in attendance at the Lemon Grass, Bangalore on the evening of the 9th. Dinner was on me and Swapnil, colleague and friend on mine (His b'day was on the 6th...so we decided might as well give the b'day treats together.save some money..recession time u see). The customary cake cutting preceded the sequence of events for that evening. After helping myself and others to generous portions of the cake, we laid our hands on the gastronomic spread and i particular showed lots of commitment[read gobbled up food..:)]
Thank you Jagan, Anu and Prakash for the evening...
I know it has been a long time and I would pardon you if you had thought I was dead or something. No, I am very much alive and kicking!
A couple of delightful things happened over the course of this month. The 9th being my birthday and 11th was the day of our house warming. Though the events were spaced just two days apart, they offered me completely different experiences. I celebrated my birthday for the first time, with ONLY in the company of my friends (Really missed my mother's tasty vadai's and sweets). The house warming, on the other hand was held in the presence of a swarm of our relatives and well-wishers.
We (read my colleagues and I) were in attendance at the Lemon Grass, Bangalore on the evening of the 9th. Dinner was on me and Swapnil, colleague and friend on mine (His b'day was on the 6th...so we decided might as well give the b'day treats together.save some money..recession time u see). The customary cake cutting preceded the sequence of events for that evening. After helping myself and others to generous portions of the cake, we laid our hands on the gastronomic spread and i particular showed lots of commitment[read gobbled up food..:)]
Thank you Jagan, Anu and Prakash for the evening...
Monday, May 25, 2009
Inequality: A neccessary Evil?
Hi All,
Inequality has been a phenomenon that has been plaguing mankind time immemorial. It has crystallized into violent revolutions in the past and is threatening civil society in many countries today. India seems to be no exception to this trend. Our politicians seem to be hell bent on abolishing inequality, at least on paper. Great thinkers rue the fact that it still exist in our society and keep warning us on the continuance of inequality in civil society.
Though i couldnt agree more with the above mentioned people for the need of eliminating inequality, i ponder what a “inequality-less” society will be like. Why would our house maids work for us if they had the same amount of resources, opportunities as us. Why would we be working for our present employers if we have what they already possess. As you probably would agree with me, it is the inequality,in a perverse way, that keeps society ticking.
Combine that with human desire for continual improvement, we have a human populace that works for each other makes us all interdependent and paving the way for a more unified society. All well and good unless you are at the receiving end of the inequality you would say. Again i couldnt agree more.
But what if even at the receiving end, people had reasonable access to education, employment, affordable housing and nutrition. Would that kind of inequality be such a bad thing after all? So what if a small minority among us are filthily rich and probably having earnings multiple times as the rest of the population as long as the majority can survive and sustain better modest lifestyles.
Instead of viewing inequality as an evil, we should probably have fresher perspectives on this issue.
Inequality has been a phenomenon that has been plaguing mankind time immemorial. It has crystallized into violent revolutions in the past and is threatening civil society in many countries today. India seems to be no exception to this trend. Our politicians seem to be hell bent on abolishing inequality, at least on paper. Great thinkers rue the fact that it still exist in our society and keep warning us on the continuance of inequality in civil society.
Though i couldnt agree more with the above mentioned people for the need of eliminating inequality, i ponder what a “inequality-less” society will be like. Why would our house maids work for us if they had the same amount of resources, opportunities as us. Why would we be working for our present employers if we have what they already possess. As you probably would agree with me, it is the inequality,in a perverse way, that keeps society ticking.
Combine that with human desire for continual improvement, we have a human populace that works for each other makes us all interdependent and paving the way for a more unified society. All well and good unless you are at the receiving end of the inequality you would say. Again i couldnt agree more.
But what if even at the receiving end, people had reasonable access to education, employment, affordable housing and nutrition. Would that kind of inequality be such a bad thing after all? So what if a small minority among us are filthily rich and probably having earnings multiple times as the rest of the population as long as the majority can survive and sustain better modest lifestyles.
Instead of viewing inequality as an evil, we should probably have fresher perspectives on this issue.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Religion
Hi all,
Religion has been an issue that has evoked eternal debate and it is this issue that i wish to talk about. There have numerous discussions on religious extremism, communalism etc in this space and elsewhere. But what i wish to discuss is something different and distanced from the above mentioned.
Something about religion has irked me quite a bit. It is our brazen display of our religious affiliations that leave me perturbed. Be it the kumkum on Hindu women or the white cap on Muslim men or the turbans of Sikhs, we seem to have no qualms about wearing our religion up our sleeves and other hand we seem to be proud of displaying these religious articles.
Before you pounce on me and accuse me of being an atheist, i must say that i am in fact far from one. It is just that, i feel, displaying our affiliations in the open doesn't augur well for a harmonious society. We keep harping that religion should not pervade our society but keep doing the exact opposite. Why cant we just restrict our religious practices to the confines of our four walls? Is it necessary to openly display our religious faith to be counted among the faithful? Even if there is a minuscule chance that stopping these practices would in fact augment our chances of a more harmonious society, wouldn't it be worth a try?
Religion has been an issue that has evoked eternal debate and it is this issue that i wish to talk about. There have numerous discussions on religious extremism, communalism etc in this space and elsewhere. But what i wish to discuss is something different and distanced from the above mentioned.
Something about religion has irked me quite a bit. It is our brazen display of our religious affiliations that leave me perturbed. Be it the kumkum on Hindu women or the white cap on Muslim men or the turbans of Sikhs, we seem to have no qualms about wearing our religion up our sleeves and other hand we seem to be proud of displaying these religious articles.
Before you pounce on me and accuse me of being an atheist, i must say that i am in fact far from one. It is just that, i feel, displaying our affiliations in the open doesn't augur well for a harmonious society. We keep harping that religion should not pervade our society but keep doing the exact opposite. Why cant we just restrict our religious practices to the confines of our four walls? Is it necessary to openly display our religious faith to be counted among the faithful? Even if there is a minuscule chance that stopping these practices would in fact augment our chances of a more harmonious society, wouldn't it be worth a try?
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