Kejriwal for Dummies

Three events in post independent India would be recorded in history as turning points

1)Nathuram Godse killing Gandhi in 1948 and thereby laying the foundation of a deadly partition

2)Indira Gandhi killed by her bodyguards in 1983 and thereby strengthening Indian democracy

3)Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 thereby paving way for Narismah Rao to takeover

Recent events of the day with Arvind Kejriwal,the anti corruption crusade forming a new political party and taking Sonia Gandhi and family heads on  seem to suggest we might see a possible addition in the list above.There seems to be a confusion around Kejriwal. There is a section which credits him and Anna for bringing a second mass movement since JP.There is a second section that dismissed Arvind as yet another bureaucrat fiddling his hands with politics and power and there is a third section which chooses to just wait and watch as the scene unravails. Whatever be the case one thing is clear:love him ,hate him but you cant ignore him

So what is the Kejriwal movement all about.It is certainly not a mass movement as that of Gandhi or JP,for it is still supported by mostly elite middle class,the people glued to their i pads and blackberrys. The poor in India are too ignorant to be drawn in a movement which has corruption as its foundation.Most have accepted corruption as a way of life .A poor mans day in India starts and ends when he is able to fend for himself and his family a two square meal.He does not have the time and energy  and vision to fight for any cause beyond that.The upper class in India is the one that benefits the most from the business of corruption and hence is the most disruptive of kejrwals movement

On political front,Kejriwal ha a long way to go.He might catch a frame or two on prime time by taking on Vadra by neck or accusation on Congress and their buddy parties but remember we live in a nation where public memory is absurdly short,news media is fully controlled (paid) and last but not the least,the heavens of political parties is decided by a peasant sweating in the sun or a potter  working in the dark :all far away from social media,blogs and unable to read a few headlines that Kejriwal captures now and then.

Politics in India is similar to distribution.You sell only when you are available.It would take Kejriwal years before his workers reach those grass root villages which decide the fate of those 543 people that make laws in India.Kejrawal does not have those financial resources required to work that mammoth organisation;he does not have that reach to make his cause ring the ears of people that vote.He has a good product in anti corruption crusade but sadly lacks the distribution network to sell it.

So is Kejrawal just another bubble like Megha Patkaror Ramdev. Certainly not.Kejrawal has a larger role to play in Indias future than that of a political or mass leader.He would bring the winds of change,the dissatisfaction among people that would lead to formation of a second Indian republic.The next general elections would most probably produce a hung parliament giving powers in hands of Mulayams and Laloos of the day.Incompetence marked with unwillingness would mark the gradual decline of governance in Indian state.Couple this with increasing inflation (which is impossible to contain because we are billion plus people each expecting a better living style) and decreasing wages.Imagine a scenario when India's sovereign rating is educed to junk grade in next five years.FII's and FDI's start pulling out money from India. Suddenly you find an army of unemployed youth along with farmers struggling to recover from a bad monsoon.There is discontent all around and in this discontent Kejrawals lights the sparks of anti corruption crusade with a small grounds force he has built by that time. Isnt this the seeds of revolution.Youth marching and taking control of south block.Nullifying the constitution and laying the foundations of second Indian republic with 360 degree administrative political and judicial reforms.Or maybe a general like VK Singh..playing on popular discontent calling a marshal rule in the state

For good or bad..we cant say but Mr Kejriwal you have a role to play in our future.You would be our next Mangal Pandey but what remains to be seen is whether this third battle of Independence would be won by people of this country or not

Beyond Manesar:Of cars,shampoos and ipads

The manufacturing facility at Manesar,Gurgaon belonging to Suzuki motor company of Japan is one which would put Americans,Europeans and Japanese to shame.With an installed capacity of 300,000 vehicles along with an engine production unit and a sea of ancillary manufacturing facilities;it is a perfect example of Japanese mass production facility.However on 18th July 2012,this facility rolled out something other than cars,something which would take the shame away from those Europeans,Americans and Japanese and put it back on the face of  Indians:it rolled out dead and injured bodies,a venom of anger and facts which were for so long being conveniently ignored by the political and  industrial class and bureaucrats alike

While the exact reason for the violence at Manesar plant on that dreaded day is yet to be ascertained.One thing is sure,that there was a general pent up anger among the workers for the inadequate compensation that they were being offered.Workers at Manesar facility were made to work for 9 hour shifts with just two 7.5 minutes break,which were timed to perfection and paid a motley Rs 6000 for this.Apart from this  they were denied medical and other facilities in case of accident and mishaps

The proponents of free market economy (I am a very strong believer in free markets too) along with the  so called active press of this country have put the blame on Japanese management and pointed out the fact that as markets become more free and government loosens its hold over the industry,such incidents are bound to happen.We are reminded of Britain in late 19th century when it too was faced with the dilema of balancing rights of industrialists and workers alike.So is this debate going to lead to preferred path of socialism..NO

While some problems pointed out above are certainly true but we must remember that free market economies cannot be traded for slavery and rampant debauchery of the fundamental rights of poor.Even Adam Smith,the founder of invisible hand theory believed that the state must ensure that sense of justice prevails in society to prevent free markets to be reduced to crony capitalism.

While most people seem to think that what happened at Manesar is a one off incident ,the truth is the unrest is seeping ,nay throbbing in each nook and corner of our economy.I happened to intern with a UK based FMCG player having a prominent presence in India.The conditions there were even more deplorable.Workers were made to work for 12 hour shifts without payment of overtime.Only one set of chemical masks were given to workers working in a factory whose air was intertwined with deadly chemicals.The plant had even done away with the safety officers.The workers "were kept under control" by a team of labor contractors (which was a decent name given by company officials for local thugs) and greasing the palms of concerned government officials.Similarly another Indian auto major with whom I was associated with for some time had a similar policy.Apprentices were brought from across the state and made to work on a salary which was one fourth of a regular workers salary.Further they were not given any medical facilities.Workers who got injured while working (including severe cases ranging from amputation to blindness) had to bear their own costs.Any worker willing to quit was threatened with the fact that the HR would ensure that apprenticeship would never be awarded by any organisation.While these might look gory facts but we must accept them or else it is impossible to come up with a solution

The problem lies with the fact that for long our policy makers have been toying with the idea that low cost production of goods and services is the solution to our economic woes and economic and social upliftment of poor.As numerous examples in economic history of world would prove,sustainable economic development is generated by ensuring a spirit of creativity, entrepreneurship and risk taking ability in society.Any economy founded on basis of low cost theory is bound to fail because sooner or later the workers (blue or white collared) are going to demand a higher pay and at this point the production of goods and services would merely be transferred to some other low cost global locations  by the capitalists of world.China the most prominent beneficary from low cost theory is already facing increased pressure and locals demand higher wages and unrest in economy increases.Closer home our low cost BPO's are already facing heat as our south eastern neighbours start competing with us.

The solution to the problem lies with government and enterprising people making active efforts to move up the value chain.We need to invest a large amount of money at R &D .Government on its part can ensure availability of capital for R&D purposes.This can be done by easing regulation on R&D loans and ensuring less government interference in such matters.It must be clear to us that free markets would force industrialists to innovation only when state tools like police,laws and courts start taking a more neutral approach.When this happens and labour rates climb, industries would automatically take refuge in innovation provided capital is available.Also we can toy with the idea of establishing labor futures on lines of some western countries and let free markets determine wage rates rather than babus with their hands greased with 500 rupee notes deciding that

If above is not implemented,the day is not far when Manesar would become a rule rather than exception.The first half of 20th century belonged to freedom fighters ,fighting against oppression of British rule.The first half of 21st century could belong to freedom fighter,fighting against systematic corruption and police of state trying to make slaves of humans.If we don't open our eyes now a systematic failure of Indian democracy and free markets is just around the corner

Stateless Coup

Last week after getting an oppurtunity to finally get back to civilization ,I got a chance to see the latest Hollywood flick "Avengers".One of the characters there remarks "Humans are designed to be ruled.Freedom just makes them sad...".The statement is so profound that it actually makes you think.While there are numerous examples to prove this,the biggest that comes to my mind is the existence of state itself.

We humans feel comfortable being ruled for we shy away from taking decisions and risks.From the pheros of Egypt and dictators of world war II to the concept of liberal democracies today,it seems that the theme has always remained the same and only intensity has changed.The rulers of yore or the liberal democracies of today are all funded by rich and powerful of the day.The state has existed over time for the protection of rich and powerful under the shroud of a completely opposite pretext

While some of you reading this blog might already be murmuring the word extremist or senseless  to themselves but a closer analysis shows that state actually slows down progress and development and there is no reason for its existence

If you have read Darwins theory of evolution,you would know that survival of the fittest is the rule of existence and its precisely this rule that helps human race to develop at fastest pace.Insecurity and uncertainty although disliked always brings out the best in us humans.

The free markets and their success vis a vis state owned capitalism (called socialism by some ) has clearly proved this point.After Independence,we approached the policy framework with a mistrust towards the private sector.This resulted in a tainted political system with a bureaucracy which is more harmful to the country than the Britishers could even have imagined than themselves to be

Over the last few years ,the Indian state has strategically transferred many of its duties to private companies,resulting not opnly in better services but even lower costs.For example the privatisation of mobile phone industry has resulted in expansion of communication to rural India.Similarly,the privatisation of highways,electercity,airways has hugely increased the availabilities to common consumer.It is perhaps appropriate time for the citizens to demand the ceasure of existance of state and transfer duties to private players

As CK Prahlad argues in his world famous "Fortune at bottom of pyramid" organisations would strive to reach to poor and rural areas to increase their profits,taking the burden away from the satate.Under the current system,the State is nothing more than organised mafia with "tax" being the traditional "hafta" and police force being states "gunda raj".

An obvious question that springs is..Would a free market dominated stateless society be able to ensure liberty and protection of its citizens.However if we look at the performance of police and other protection agencies of the state,we would conclude that they mostly act as licenced preperators of terror in society protecting rich and wealthy.The situation has generated so much that people have even stopped reporting crimes in police stations.A far better solution  would be private defence companies providing detective and security service to communities and individuals.The tax savings from non existance of state can be used to finance such objectives.

The human spirit is enterprenual in nature and hence would always spring with surprises to serve poor and increase profits even in recessionary times.A gradual pullout by state and increased private participation would help make all necessary items at right prices to various sections of society.

Would a private organisation have allowed tons of food to rot while customers die due to famine or would asecurity company allow  its customers to be robbed when they pay for that security itself and there are bunch of firms competing to get the same contract

"I f you really want to help a poor person,teach him how to fish rather than giving him one".Perhaps the ceasure of existance of state is the true definition of human freedom.

WHY IS CONGRESS SCARED OF GETTING BLACK MONEY BACK!!

It took them an year to act against Raja, 6 months to arrest Kalmadi and 1 day to arrest Ramdev!! 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:Copied from Nitin Guptas Page on Facebook

For Orignal Article please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/nitin-gupta/why-is-congress-scared-of-getting-black-money-back/10150182763676384

Irony is PM had TONS of Evidence to enforce arrests of RAJA and KALMADI and NONE against RAMDEV.

So Ramdev arrested for asking what UPA promised before the 2009 Elections.

Black Money back in India!!

And Ex Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, 44 months after CBI gave its report about his wrong doings to DOT,  is still out in the open, suing the messengers for Defamation!  

Forget Arrest, MARAN hasn't even been asked to resign from the Govt. as yet!!

Pakistan PM Gilani (Who refuses to cooperate in 26/11 investigation) is welcomed with Garlands on Indo Pak Semi Finals and Citizens silently protesting for the country are being Lathi Charged. Why?

Because Election is still 3 years away!!  

Election 3 mahine baad hota to Digvijay aur Kapil Sibal wahin Baba Ramdev ke saath Stage par dikhte! Aur wahi promise kar rahe hote jo 2009 mein kiya tha...

According to RAMDEV, "I was forced to give a letter of consent in the hotel during the meeting with govt representatives which said that I will call off my fast by June 6. ALL MY DEMANDS EXCEPT FOR BLACK MONEY WILL BE CONCEDED TO!."

He alleged that the govt conspired to get rid of him through an 'ENCOUNTER'

[http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Ramdev-targets-Cong--Sonia--says-agitation-will-go-on/799619/]

Welcome to the biggest DeMOCKERYcies in the world: INDIA

WHY IS CONGRESS SO SCARED?

The total wealth of both Gandhis, as per their election returns, is just Rs 3.63 crore, and Sonia owns no Car!!!!

May be that's why Pranab Mukherjee is so scared of making the names of Swiss Bank Account holders public!

Following are a few compelling reasons why Congress would go out of the way (including arresting people who stage peaceful protests) to make sure BLACK MONEY never comes back...

1. FIRST FAMILIES SECRET BILLIONS!

In 1991, The effects of License Raj, reached a Flash Point.

India’s fiscal deficit was 8.5 percent of GDP. The country faced a huge “Balance of Payments” crisis.

and was heading towards a default, and the Reserve Bank refused additional credit.

India had to mortgage its gold deposits to raise money from IMF.

In other words, Indian Economy stared at Bankruptcy.

Foreign reserves barely amounted to $ 1 billion. (only worth one weeks of Import)

At that time, RAJIV GANDHI HAD 2.2 BILLION DOLLARS IN THE SWISS BANK.  

[SEE ANNEXURE 10]

When the countries, foreign reserves were a mere 1 Billion Dollars!!!!

RAJIV GANDHI had more than twice the amount in his personal accounts!!!

RAJIV GANDHI was rightly given the BHARAT RATNA for dwarfing the country’s reserves.. .How many of us can do that ?

For he literally had more Ratna’s in a personal account than the entire nations Forex Reserves!

Who was the beneficiary of all that amount after Rajiv Gandhi’s Death?

Sonia Gandhi.

2. Gandhi Family benefited from the RUSSIAN SPY OUTFIT,  KGB, says book

According to the archives of the Russian spy outfit KGB, Gandhi family has accepted political pay-offs from the KGB to fund their election campaigns in India, Infact they were regular recipients of KGB Money — a clear case of treason besides bribe.

SEE ANNEXURE 12: News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Dr. Yevgenia Albats, an acclaimed investigative journalist, appointed by then President Yeltsin to investigate KGB affairs, mentions in her book, The State with in the State : “A letter signed by Victor Chebrikov, then KGB Chief who stated : ‘‘The USSR KGB maintains contact with the SON of the Premier Minister Rajiv Gandhi (of India). R Gandhi expresses deep gratitude for the benefits accruing to the Prime Minister’s family from the commercial dealings of the firm he controls in co-operation with the Soviet foreign trade organizations. R Gandhi reports confidentially that a substantial portion of the funds obtained through this channel are used to support the party of R Gandhi’.”

Furthermore, In December 2005, KGB chief Victor Chebrikov had asked for authorisation from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, “to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi.”

The spokesperson defended such financial payments as necessary in “Soviet ideological interest"

Part of the funds were used by the Maino family to fund loyal Congress party candidates in the General Elections.

[SEE ANNEXURE 13]

3. BUSINESS CONNECTIONS of SONIA GANDHI ( Antonia Maino) with SADDAM HUSSAIN

The Maino family have had extensive business dealings with Saddam Hussein.

[See Annexure-18]

4. ACCOUNT IN TAX HAVEN, CAYMEN ISLANDS

RAHUL GANDHI expenses and tuition fees, when he was at Harvard, was paid from that Cayman Island account.

[SEE ANNEXURE 17]

5. FINALLY 2G SCAM KICKBACKS

Here is a curious account of Dr. Manmohan Singh's behavior....

November 2007, The PM, objected to the Raja Model of not auctioning Spectrum and asked him to be transparent.

Raja: “I am only going by the policy (of the previous government) in force”

January 3, 2008 ( a month later), The PM, quite intriguingly, just ‘acknowledged’ Raja’s letter — virtually giving a go-ahead to Raja.

October 28, 2009, When CBI raids Raja’s Office, He retorts, “why should I resign? I had done everything in consultation with the PM”.

THE PM DIDN’T DENY THAT STATEMENT

Dr. Subramaniyam Swami writes to the PM highlighting the Fraud.

May 24, 2010, the PM admitted that Raja had told him that he was only following the policy laid down previously — virtually approving the fraud.

Dr. SWAMI writes again 5 times to the PM seeking sanction to prosecute A Raja (with sufficient prima facie evidence). NO REPLY!!!

FRUSTRATED BY PM's INACTION, DR. SWAMI MOVES TO SUPREME COURT

Nov 2010: SC asks why the PM took 11 months to respond to a request by Subramaniam Swamy that asked for Telecom Minister A Raja to be prosecuted for the 2G scam.

The PM’s OBJECTION in November 2007 turned into NO OBJECTION in January 2008 and finally became his APPROVAL in May 2010.

Who made the PM do that is any body's guess..

Where did that money go?? Not to the Prime Minister Relief Fund, I suppose.

So Mr. Mukherjee whenever you dodge the question of bringing the Black Money back to India by saying, " We have to respect International Commitments!"

Do INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS refer to commitment to your GODMOTHER SONIA GANDHI ?

Furthermore, According to Subramaniyam Swamy :  Sonia Gandhi ordered Home Minister P Chidambaram to act against Ramdev at 10.20 PM yesterday night. "Show that half naked Mendicant, who sbe is!"

THANKS FOR SHOWING THAT HALF NAKED, AND THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. WHO YOU ARE!

PLEASE ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS MR. PRANAB MUKHERJEE

1. Why did you reject Germany's open offer to give names?

In early 2008, Germany’s Intelligence bribed — bribed? Yes — an informant in LGT Bank in Liechtenstein and got a CD containing the names of some 1,500 tax dodgers, and raided half of them, who were its citizens. It also offered, free of cost, the names of citizens of other countries.

Many accepted the offer gratefully. NOT INDIA?

Why Mr. Mukherjee?  Why did Indian Government not take the data when it was offered?????

Which International commitment would that have broken????

Instead you went on an signed a Tax Treaty with Germany which requires you not to disclose the names of the people.

Then you went and signed a pact with Swiss Bank in 2010, according to which, only the money which will be deposited post this treaty is signed can be gotten back..

[http://www.deccanherald.com/content/92824/india-swiss-pact-not-recover.html]

If Swiss Govt. is ready to give information on future dealings, why not past dealings???

Also Information for the same can’t be shared with anyone, not with Enforcement Directorate, not even the Parliament.

No wonder you want PM out of the LOKPAL BILL. SO THAT POWER COULD BE CONTINUALLY BE ABUSED.

2. Why was UBS (Leading Swiss Bank) given an INDIAN BANKING LICENSE?

RBI was against giving banking licenses to UBS. ( One of the top SWISS BANKS which holds Black Money)

Because UBS bank had not helped track to track the alleged money laundering by Hasan Ali Khan, a controversial businessman best known in India for his stud farm in Pune.

Why was then the UBS granted a Banking License to operate in India in 2008?

Ironically enough, That was the first time since 2002-03 that RBI has issued a new licence to a FOREIGN BANK

What a great PICK!!!

At one hand you say, SWISS BANKS don’t cooperate with us, at the other hand you grant the BIGGEST OFFENDER an Indian Banking License..

What is going on Mr. Mukherjee ?

Should we not read between the lines?

3: KINDLY EXPLAIN THE SHAMEFUL SILENCE AT G-20

When, in the G20 preparatory meeting at Berlin, Germany and France were threatening to blacklist Swiss and other secret tax shelters (US eventually got the list by filing a Law Suit against the same bank, UBS) Indian representatives, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, along with Dr Rakesh Mohan, did not utter a word in support of Germany and France. India, a principal victim of banking secrecy, should have been leading the war cry against it.

So much for the promise you made before 2009 Elections.

This is how you betray the Indian Public.

A HUMBLE REQUEST

Sir, for reasons which are strikingly obvious. We understand why the BLACK MONEY would NEVER come back. Now that you have signed treaties with the SWISS GOVT. which have killed whatever hope India had... I have a small request Pranab Da, Next time when you are asked about why Black Money can't be brought back to India. Please don’t BULLSHIT us on National T.V with your answers like, " We have international commitments! We can't force a Sovereign Nation to give details..."

.... for one, it insults our Intelligence!

and two, It looks like an obvious case of KISS ASS! Or as they say in Congress, "ITALIAN KISS"

and I say that with all due disrespect to you Mr. Pranab Mukherjee!!

You are not worth the Chair you are sitting on...

Also when your Ministers hold SECRET MEETINGS with BABA RAMDEV, It only raises more Questions and Suspicions over your INTEGRITY AND INTENT!

ZERO TOLERANCE TO CORRUPTION OR ZERO CREDIBILITY

SONIA G has been vocal about Zero Tolerance to Corruption, “elect us, we will investigate into black money, UPA is committed to Zero Tolerance for Corruption".

Really? Let's look at the track record !!

1. Russian Government was ready to give all the documents citing your families, KGB connections, provided CBI gets a Letter Rogatory for which an FIR is a prerequisite.  Why was CBI not allowed to file that FIR ???

2. In June 2003, Interpol found that Quattrocchi ( BOFORS accused) and Maria had two accounts, bearing numbers 5A5151516L and 5A5151516M in the London branch of the Swiss bank BSI AG with Euros three million and $1 million.They were frozen on CBI’s request.

British courts later repeatedly turned down Quattrocchi’s several appeals to de-freeze the accounts.

But, on December 22, 2005, the Congress led UPA government U-turned. H R Bharadwaj (Now Infamous Karnatka Governor), the law minister, got the additional solicitor general of India, B Dutta, to go to London to do the dirty job of releasing the amounts.

Then in 2009, UPA government had shamelessly let Quattrocchi off the hook by removing his name from global red alert. Because of the red alert he was always in danger of being caught and sent to India.

Why did the BOFORS accused, Quattrocchi got away eventually due to lack of a case is anybody's guess...

Why would the Black Money never come back now is anybody's guess..

NOW BABA RAMDEV'S ARREST!!

Ironically India's SARAH PALIN, Digvijay Singh had said couple of days ago, " If we were afraid of Baba Ramdev, We would have ARRESTED HIM!"  

What is congress afraid of is any body's guess....

YOURS SINCERELY

NITIN GUPTA ( RIVALDO)

B.Tech, IIT Bombay

ANNEXURE 10_43: An e-mail from the magazine addressed to Dr Swamy on February 22, 2002 confirming Rajiv Gandhi's secret account

ANNEXURE 10_44: Extracts from magazine Schweizer Illustrierte of Nov. 11, 1991, issue regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s numbered Swiss bank a/c amounting to 2 billion dollars.

ANNEXURE 10_45: Extracts from magazine Schweizer Illustrierte of Nov. 11, 1991, issue regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s numbered Swiss bank a/c amounting to 2 billion dollars.

ANNEXURE 10_46: Extracts from magazine Schweizer Illustrierte of Nov. 11, 1991, issue regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s numbered Swiss bank a/c amounting to 2 billion dollars.

Annexure 18_68 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to Director, CBI enclosing a news item in Indian Express regarding receipt of funds by Congress Party from Saddam Hussain.

Annexure 18_69 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to Director, CBI enclosing a news item in Indian Express regarding receipt of funds by Congress Party from Saddam Hussain.

Annexure 12_55 : News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Annexure 12_56 : News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Annexure 12_57 : News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Annexure 17_66 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to the then Union Finance Minister Mr.Yeshwant Sinha regarding Rahul Gandhi’s foreign bank a/c and the acknowledgement of the letter by the Minister.

Annexure 17_67 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to the then Union Finance Minister Mr.Yeshwant Sinha regarding Rahul Gandhi’s foreign bank a/c and the acknowledgement of the letter by the Minister.

HeadLess India

13th May 2011 is going to be an important date in the history of global Marxism for it marked the burial of the longest surviving democratically elected communist government in the world.The failure of socialist system and its  susceptibility to human greed is much more visible today than it was a century ago.When Karl Marx envisaged to create a class less society by imposing a state owned discipline on masses and industry,he forgot the most basic premise that human soul is corruptible and absolute power corrupts absolutely.With the relative success of United States and other Free market economies of the world (despite small hiccups like those in 2008)..perhaps we can move on with the bold question...do we really require existence of state in modern free markets? Hasn't the concept of nation and government outlived its utility?

The recent 2G,commonwealth and other scams unearthed at national and state level clearly point out to the failure of bureaucratic machinery to implement social projects.On the other hand free markets have proved their success even in social projects by implementing sustainable social business solutions.So be it the profitable micro financing schemes in Bangladesh or the impending infrastructure growth funded by private sector in India..or the growth of telecom sector in a country where getting even a fixed line connection meant requirng connection with top netas ..the difference is for everybody to see.

Therefore it seems that the best way for the growth of society in modern times is not by implementing more social welfare projects or by pouring more money and implementing new taxes for bringing equality but by continued liberalization of all sectors-industrial or social.The role of government should be limited to that of a regulator and a facilitator of growth by bringing together new ideas and people.The free markets so created with the aid of an effective regulator would ensure continued social and economic growth of the country.

Today,the government of India is a huge mammoth present in almost every thinkable social and industrial sector.If real growth is required ,what we require is strategic exit of government from a large no.of sectors.The only  areas today perhaps which cannot be entirely be privatized  are the defence and judicial services.The government should continue to exit its operational activities from other area and structure itself as a regulator.

To begin with ,the government can completely exit from health and educational sectors.The schools can be auctioned off and institutes of higher learning be corparatized.Instead of subsiding these schools ,the government should distribute educational coupons to parents who can then redeem them for a fixed value at any school.This would ensure generation of a wider market base for private schools to be profitable .The government can instead act as a regulator ,encouraging private investments and making new ideas fathomable in educational world.It can act as an arbitrator and ombudsman in case of conflicts.

Similarly the government can exit from railways ,as has been done successfully in many western nations.Also many civil services can be exited like revenue and tax collection,police services and traffic regulation.In 2005 US government created history when it outsourced its internal  revenue services to private parties on profit sharing basis.The result was increase in overall tax collection and lower default

The government should focus on creating a more responsible and faster judicial system,for fear of punishment is necessary for the growth of free markets and prevention of exploitation.In fact in truer sense of word ,the most important reason for existence of any state is the prevention of exploitation of its citizens.It would be good if GoI exits its non core activities to instead focus on the basic reason for its existence.No nation state has existed for prepetuality in history and as things seem to be India as a state is coming nearer to brink of faliure everyday...and the only thing that can prevent this failure would be a HeadLess ,Leaderless India that derives its leadership not from a single person or party but from each of its masses who contribute in their own way for growth of both the country and themselves

Silently Watching Cricket

India is a country where everything is "chalta hai".Our history of thousands of years is full of black swan events.It is therefore no wonder that we comfortably replace our national sport hockey with the de facto national sport of cricket--one which is more unpredictable that our Sensex or the future of our governments.

Ever since AB Vajpayee & Co. conducted the nuclear tests in Pokhran and effectively ended the possibility of 4th Indo Pak war,cricket has become the battlefield for both the nations.An Indo Pak match is never a match played by 22 players from 2 countries.Its a war played by 1.5 billion people from both the countries

Every Indian from the 5 year old chintu to the 75 year old "dadima" plays a part in this war

As yesterdays semif final match between the two arch rivals was about to begin ,warnings were thrown on Facebook to ensure that XYZ person did not enter the common room of hostel,lest he spoil the party like he did in India England encounter earlier...this was too big an occasion to let a person spoil the party.During the match a superstitious friend o wouldnt allow us to change positions,lest Afridi send the ball for a six.As I saw the match and the audience ,it seemed that Allah,Guru Nanak ,Ram and Christs prayer inboxes would be filled with only one request...get Pakistan out before its too late.

As the match ended ,it seemed a job well done...prayers seemed answered,the odd superstition seemed to have worked and yes the players played well too.However,India is a cynical naion .There were the usual crowd of doubters.."the match was fixed..I told you so" said one of them .During the 24th over,we got a message.."The match is fixed ..from 25th over Pakistan collapse would start"..the "satta players" shifted the focus from Sensex to the match score.And then there are those who drubbed the event as nothing more than another no use event created by television companies for their profit

Fixed or not fixed..big event or small event..the way cricket stirs passion in our country and unites the divided people,one does wonder if it wouldn't be a bad idea to declare cricket the national religion and Sachin ,the national God.Outrageous..stupidity..some of us might shout.However,looking at hindsight cricket has played its part in our 9% plus growth rate .Cricket has provided an outlet for the excessive energies of Indians.The unpredictables of cricket has helped Indians cope with the faliure of Indian State in many areas and always look at positive side.It has provided us inspiration to fight till the end.It has fueled among us the passion to succeed.The 1983 victory provided millions with the hope --we can..and this time if we win the cup....it will provide us the confidence to enter the middle over of Indian growth story with the belief ..we are winnning

Happy Blogging

Killer Doctors

If you had been a student at IIT Kharagpur and been to the state subsidized BC Roy Hospital,you would know it as a rule that an antibiotic,an expensive cough syrup or an expensive injection would be referred irrespective of your illness ,just to ensure that the doctor has his cut from next door chemist shop.At the beginning of this new decade, while our GDP continues to grow at more than 9% per annum,a large majority of Indian middle and lower class do not have access to quality health care.

When I refer to poor quality healthcare,I am not only referring to government hospitals where "no treatment" is guaranteed but also the new age private hospitals with their marble floored receptions and air conditioned wards that have taken the medical and healthcare industry to ridiculously low moral and ethical standards

If you are not a high powered politicians ,or do not have the right network to pull the necessary strings ,chances are your doctor will recommend you the tests ,medicines and treatment which might not cure you but would definitely inflate your bill to the size of your wallet.Horror stories going in air range from the speculative ones like targets given to cardiologists for monthly by pass surgeries to the confirmed ones like doctors recommending diagnostic tests just to pocket heft commissions.The situation has become so bad that the average Indian prays that he does not have to pay visit to the doctor "GOD" or his holy temple-the "hospital".

One of the most basic reasons of the current horror situation is the rising input costs for doctors and hospitals.The average cost of medical education at a private college in India runs to about Rs 20 lakhs over a 7 year period ,starting with 5 years of medical graduation (Rs 2 lakhs pa) and another 2 years of post graduation (Rs 4.5 lpa).Add to it the usual cost a student spends on preparing for medical entrance exams (Rs 2 lpa) and we are looking at a business with a long pay back period.While before liberalization ,medical education was mostly a state affairs and fees kept low and affordable,after education reforms ,private institutes mushroomed in across the country.Their was always ample demand for doctors in a country of 1 billions people and seeing the skewed demand supply ratio just helped increase the fees to astronomical levels.Besides,the healthcare education industry being unimaginative rely on student fees as a major source of revenue.The solution to all these problems is of course multi faceted.Colleges should look at tapping alternate sources of revenue ranging from consultancy fees to setting up sustainable rural health programme.Also more reforms need to be introduced to encourage private players to invest in medical education.Further ,the government can provide a fixed cash subsidy to all medical students in country

A second and most important factor that has led to the corruption of the noble profession in the country is the growing nexus between doctors ,pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic centres.Many multinational drug companies are known to provide commissions to doctors directly from their balance sheets and register them as marketing expenses.The laws like always are there to be broken by the rich and powerful medical and pharma lobby.The average cutthat a doctor can make by recommending patients to a particular diagnostic center can vary from 20-50% depending on test and no. of patients referred by the doctor.While nobody should deny medicine is business but at same time we need to form a framework which allows profits and real patient care to co exist before its too late.

Many social thinkers have contended creating stricter laws to ban such profit sharing arrangements..A pragmatic view would further help us realize any law so erected would be circumvented and made mockery of by the corrupt system.Moreover,if numerous other professions like law,travel and even business consultancy can benefit from the comission system,why not healthcare?A better solution would be to intoduce a new Prevention of Patient abuse act and make following inclusions in that:

• Establishment of separate fast track courts for medical legal judges to assure faster and time bound trials
• Treatment of medical negligence as a criminal act,when some person trusts you with his life being negligent is being criminal.Any doctor who can be negligent must be filtered out of the system
• Impose harsh punishment on doctors recommending unnecesary treatment or tests to their patients including but not limited to licence cancellation
• Establishing rating agencies ,that rate various hospitals and doctors in the country.This would help self regulation by industry
• Increase compensation to be awarded to patients in case of negligence by treating any negligent activity as a criminal act

The current legal system is clearly inadequate.Currently ,the courts rule only 28-40% cases in favor of patients at a speed which is characteristic of Indian judiciary.As a result,most doctors have never even felt the fear of litigation and licence cancellation is an act no doctor even thinks of even in his worse fear

While the world over ,politicians and legal thinkers are focusing on reducing healthcare costs what seems to have become more important now is to bring back the ethics of noble profession before its too late and the society forgets the difference between goons and doctors

I hope at least one doctor reads this article and understands and spreads the message intended.

Happy Blogging

Corruption is Good :)

On 2nd February ,2011 when A Raja,the former Union telecom minister was informed at CBI headquarters that he would be retained in judicial custody,he appeared a humbled man.The Dalit star of DMK and UPA-II had come a full circle from humble beginnings in Tamil Nadu to be humbled back at headquarters of premier investigation agency of Indian Union.The event marked an end of era in Indian telecom sector which was started with the introduction of mobile services in 1990's.The arrest was celebrated by leading political thinkers,media and me as a symbol of survival and semblance of constitutional values.The 1.76 lakh crore thief had been caught..they said..or had he?

Our nation has been brought up on a dosage of Gandhian values.While on one hand we are taught to swear by them in theory on the other we flout them in practice.Consequently corruption is a stigma for everyone of us and yet a convenience we prefer to practice.Life seems to be so easy with the 500 rupee note which prevents the cancellation of your licence or the odd 100 rupee that you slipped to the ticket checker when you didnt want to stand in a queue to buy the local ticket ...So is corruption really that bad or is it just a way free markets have adjusted to get over the impractical laws and rules that are "idealist" netas and babus frame for us

The US Commerce Secretary ,Gary Lucke quotes all difficulties in doing business in India from poor infrastructure to high tariffs except corruption.A survey by Transparency India found West Bengal and Kerala at lower spectrum of corruption while Delhi and Maharashtra were touted as one of most corrupt states in India.The Indian Black Money economy is supposed to be sized at at least one fourth of our GDP and is responsible for employing atleast a tenth of our population...So we are forced to ask is corruption a necessary evil we must stay with?

Before making an attempt to answer this question let us consider what would have happened had A Raja & Co. not stolen 1.76 lakh crores from the state Exchequer.Well it would have probably been invested back in giving subsidies to farmers or sick industries controlled by politicians.Alternatively it could have been wasted in NREGA which as a recent report suggests has leakages to the tune of 70%.It would have undoubtedly fuelled the subsidy on the petrol that run rich man's cars.Contrast this what happened because of this scam,while part of the money went to buying Omega watches and trendy cars for our babus and netas,the rest of savings were capitalized by telecom companies to provide Superior telecom infrastructure and data services to Indian people.The lengthy process of spectrum allocation was quickened leading to crores of savings in interest payments.Indian people today avail call rates which are cheapest in the world.While undoubtedly this filled coffers of some private players.At the same time it boosted employment generation and aided growth of Indian industry with superior infrastructure support,something our state run telecom companies could never have achieved.Business in India has benefited or in a better sense been subsidized in a very effective manner by this 1.76 l crores.Infact a closer analysis reveal that much of the corruption money once sent outside was quickly re routed back to India via tax havens and invested in Indian businesses.It is widely known that private spending is much more efficient than public spending in terms of efficiency,GDP growth and employment generation and sustainability.

By saying all this I certainly do noy .But to point out that the solution to corruption is not stricter anti corruption laws and their enforcement.But the solution is a deeper analysis to the situation and eliminate the problem from roots.We have to make our laws our pragmatic.For example in case of telecom industry the problem was scarcity of spectrum and the high fees would have made sustainability of industry a question mark.Efforts could have been made to implement newer technologies and free up more spectrum from Defence and other areas.Similarly we whine about corruption in subsidy bills while it could be easily avoided by eliminating subsidy and opening up markets directly for farmers.In fact what it seems is that many laws are tailor made to encourage corruption.

Its high time we re look at our laws or else the free markets will always find a way around.This time it was 1.76 l crores next time ,it might not be so peaceful...we could well choose the Egyptian way :P

Happy Blogging

Onion Tears

On Wednesday morning the price of aam aadmis vegetable - onion touched a year high of Rs 70 per kg.The Government of India in a franatic attempt to contain prices announced a slew of measures ranging from an indefinite ban on onion exports to an attempt to directly sell onions through public outlets.The result a somewhat cooling of onion price but the trend seems to be intact.In the past decades,onion prices have made many a governments bled to death.The most famous being the classical loss of BJP in 19998 to Congress when Onion prices broke through the rooftop and landed a victory to Congress on platter.No wonder ,rising onion prices is the worst nightmare for any political leader in power in India.

While rising onion prices may have drastic political consequences,a bigger question to be debated is the importance of onion as an agricultural commodity.Can onion be given the same importance that is to be given to essential commodities?A closer analysis reveal,onion has never been classified as an essential nutritional ingredient.So why should government put so efforts to control prices of a commodity which merely serves as a culinary pleasure rather than an essential healthy additive to food.Would people of India demand same protection from spiralling prices of turmerics,cinnamon or other pricey spices? Obviously not

A second important point to be considered in our story of onion tears is the role of speculation.Political leaders have often blamed traders and hoarders for rising commodity prices.However noting could be farther from truth.For one speculators can only intensify the price rise to some extent but not be solely responsible for it.Consider for example a commodity,say X.If a speculator hoards a commodity even if enough is available in the market,he will only lay trap for his own death because the excess supply would not make it possible for him to demand a price increase.In a country of 1 billion people its hard to imagine how anything other than demand supply situation can drive prices.

The best solution for the government to improve the price scenario is by taking steps to boost production.For one the government must concentrate on reducing cost of production by converting wasteful subsidies into useful soft loans and research funding.The government has long used steps like farm loan waivers,fertilizer subsidies etc as means to help farmers.However,something the government fails to realize is that subsidies are nothing more than white elephants.A recent UN report sights the wastefulness of these subsidies.An estimate puts the efficiency of such schemes at less than 20%(which translates to just 20% of money actually reaching farmers).The government can instead do away with such subsidies and instead focus on providing soft loans for implementation of newer technologies to boost production.A classical case in this respect is the free power distribution in Punjab.The state spends thousands of crores on power subsidies but the result is decreasing productivity and increased fiscal deficit of state.Free markets demand that government only acts as facilitator in business development.Its high time government starts recognizing agriculture as a business and focus on developing markets,finance and technology for it rather than subsidizing losses.

Perhaps the most important need of the hour is agricultural reforms.Contract farming is still illegal in many parts of the country.The government prefers to keep the farmers slaves of Minimum Support Price and arhtiyas (money lenders) rather than opening large scale window of opportunity for them.A second step needed to be taken is corporatisation of agriculture.Indian agriculture is in dire capital needs and the small Indian land holdings do not make entry of PE and FDI/FII players profitable in Indian agriculture.The plantation and cash crops have richly benefited from corporatisation..why leave others behind?Similarly the long standing battle over GM seeds need to be resolved to improve productivity.Some other areas where government can focus are improved use of IT and improvement of market infrastructure.More commodity exchanges need to be set up to provide farmers alternate ways to sell their produce.Currently most farmers are forced to sell their produce at local mandis at prices dictated by local arhtiyas .

Whatever the government chooses to do...one thing is clear...unless something is done...onion tears of government are not going to dry soon

Donating India Abroad

In 1975 a young man having tasted salt in the workshops of one of the biggest steel manufacturers of the world ,attended the advanced management programme at Harvard School Of Business,the mecca of management education .His stint at Harvard was to be soon followed by 26 years of painstaking work ,failed adventures and drowning companies until he tasted success after becoming chairman of one of the largest business conglomerates.The man was Ratan Tata,one of Indias most futuristic and prominent businessmen

In a spirit of philintrophy the TATA Trusts have decided to donate $50 million to Harvard School Of Business.A bit earlier another Indian Business Tycoon,Anand Mahindra had donated $10 mn to Harvard Humanities Department.The donations have been celebrated in the Indian media and sadly nobody seems to raise the obvious questions.Instead these multi million dollar donations are seem to announce the arrival of India in the big club.There was a time when India struggled to open premier institutes.Its best institutes like IIT's and IIM's were started with foreign donations and collaborations.50 years hence....the story seems to have reverted or is it?

The bigger question which seems to have missed everybody attention here is:Should a business house donate such extravagant sums abroad when more than 50% people in India do not even have access to primary education (Source:UNESCO).The 2010 budget estimated total expenditure on education sector at 4.1% of GDP.Yet we are ranked at lowly 82 in a pool of 150 counteries.India has just 2 universities in the world top 100 and just 3 in world top 500.The Government aims to spend more than Rs 1000 crore on development of new IIT's and IIM's to bridge the gap between quality technical education and industry requirements.So while India grapples for funds our biggest chose to donate abroad.

Before arguing on,let me first analyze the purpose of business in a free market society.Business in any society exists to create value,so that the added value flows back in form of profit and this profit can again be used for development of society.Seen in this light a bigger question that arises is :Should groups like TATA's and Mahindras be allowed to donate such big amounts when more than 80% of their profits come directly or indirectly from India.In essence,shouldnt this money be ploughed back in Indian economy?Further would these kinds of donations make entry of these business houses easier in the larger economies?Arent we acting like the proverbial slave who toils hard to work for the master for free.Here the masters are people in western countries and slaves ,Indians who toil hard to generate wealth only for their capitalist masters donating abroad for unknown reasons.

Perhaps,TATA's and Mahindra's feel with acquisition of companies like Tetley,Corus and Jaguar and land rover,it becomes their duty to act charitably for western economies.Perhaps then it means that these acquisitions are creating sustainable profit for their business groups or if not they are atleast paying back the high interest loans that were taken to fund these acquisiotns.,The answer ofcourse is an open secret.Any multimillion dollar donation would be justified had it been funded through profits in western counteries.Sadly this is not the case

From a finacial point of view,a 50 million dollar donation in a developing country has better utlization and reach than in a developing country.What do you think is better? Using 50 million dollars to educate a million poor people or using the same money to make 5 start buildings for educating CEO's of the world (the $50 mn donation at HSB would be used to make a new complex for executive MBA programmes).Isnt management education at top level supposed to be funded by corporates.An average executive programme at Ivey League Colleges costs close to 100,000 US dollars and would be attended by CEO's or top management who would soon go on creating new busts like Lehman and 2008 financial crisis.If purpose of any donation is to benefit the needy then it seems TATA group made its worst investment ever.

After deliberating all this it seems the only reasons such donations are being made is to make the name of the families immortal.Quickly after accepting the donation HSB announced it would be naming a new building at campus as TATA HALL and name of Humanities department be would be changed to incorporate Mahindra.Another luxury spending of the super rich ..is it?In yester year Kings were known to make grand masoulems and pyramids to make themselves immortal.Perhaps today the culture has changed..donate a few million to get yourself a page in history.Who would have remembered Alferd Sloan but for MIT Sloan or would have remembered Harvard but for Harvard University.If this is indeed the case,then I have no argument with Mr. TATA.Everybody has a right to spend his hard earned money.But then the tax slueths in Delhi ..do collect your Luxury Tax recievable from Bombay House