Why to save the Tiger ?

         Why did we all went to see movie "Ek Tha Tiger" ? Almost all of us go to watch Salman Khan the superstar kick the Bad guys ,dance with Katrina in some exotic locations of Istanbul and for full paisa wasool. Shahrukh, Salman, Aamir ,Amitabh Bachhan are the crowd pullers who guarantee the housefull boards in theatres and  they not only earn for themselves but also for many others right from the Film Producer to the popcorn seller at the cinema halls involved in the movie business directly or indirectly.If the film succeeds each one of them will benefit and if the film fails everyone suffers losses.

              Just as the superstars run the film Industry, there are a different variety of 'superstars' who run the tourism Industry.We call them the 'flagship' species.The Lions of Gir sanctuary (Gujarat),The Tigers in Sunder bans delta (West Bengal),The crocodiles in Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) , the dolphin of the Ganges or the Rhinos in Assam are a few examples .Anyone who has visited such places can only understand the excitement and the happiness experienced  the moment when you spot a tigress with her cubs or when you hear the roar of a lion or when you accidently spot a full grown crocodile.On return from such wildlife visit you try to share your experience with friends,family members and you get the typical answer यह सब तो डिस्कवरी पर भी देख सकते हैं .All you can do is pull your hair in anger and pity their innocence.

             India is home to a variety of wildlife due to it's unique Geographical location .The tourist hot spots in India includes over 102 National Parks,over 41 Wildlife sanctuaries and 18 biosphere reserves.These hot spots are also known as in-situ or Natural Home of the species living in it.The  Ministry of tourism has taken a number of initiatives to protect the forests and wildlife in India.Today Wildlife tourism has grown by leaps and bounds today with tiger tourism alone being an 8 million dollar Industry .In Madhya pradesh alone more than 20,000 people earn their livelihood through tiger tourism related activities.              

         Last week the Supreme court or the समझौता करने का अड्डा as i fondly call it lifted it's 4 month old  ban on tourism on tiger reserves.This has given a new lease of life to the millions dependent on the tourism industry in India.In fact tourism is actually helping the tigers as the local villagers for  their own interest protect their forests ,stop poaching activities in tiger reserves as they realize the importance of protecting tigers and their habitats.Tiger is an umbrella species of the forests and a healthy population of tigers indicate that other ecological components like trees,herbivorous animals are also present in good numbers as all of them together constitute the 'food chain'.

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         A healthy population of tigers indirectly help protect the forests.Forests are the lungs of the earth as they supply us with oxygen ,protect the ozone layer in the atmosphere and prevents the harmful Ultra violet rays from entering the earth.In short tigers = forests=earth=humans='you and me'.So it all depends on us humans how we protect one of the most beautiful animal on earth.For information on how to save the tiger go to this link http://www.saveourtigers.com/.So pack your bags, google your nearest wildlife locations and book your date with your favorite superstar it may be  the majestic Lion, the Mighty tiger or the splendid crocodile.Full on Entertainment and lots of memories guaranteed.

Important tourism websites:

www.indialine.com/travel/wildlife

www.indianwildlifetourism.com

Happy Tourism !!

Parential guidance in Resource allocation

           During childhood our parents had a strange habit of categorizing all things  into two categories...abundant things and scarce  things. e.g :fruits are abundant but ice creams are scarce...there was a limit on the Time for watching Television.Similarly there was always a fixed time to play during evening.All these years I used to feel there was a certain discrimination in such categorization .... Why couldn't I eat ice cream as much as i wanted,why couldn't i play any time of day when my friends are available,Why couldn't I enjoy Movies and cricket as per my wish.To add to this  rules were only meant for me while my younger brother and cousins used to violate the rules as per their wish and were never punished.

"Greedy INVESTORS :)"

           Now when I look back I realize that our parents were playing the role of REGULATORS. Because if they did not do so we would never had been able to draw the line between enjoyment and time mismanagement.Much like our parents Goverment of India is having a tough time managing it's wayward children's (Domestic and Foreign Investors...) who are always devising ways and means on exploiting the scarce natural resources of the country just like the kids are after the ice cream.What are these  Resources and who are these REGULATORS ??????
          Telecom spectrum, Electricity, Mines,Petroleum and Natural gas,Atomic Energy  are few of the most valuable and non-renewable Natural resources.While TRAI-Telecom Regulatory authority of India , CERC-Central Electricity regulatory commission,PNGRB-Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board are the Regulatory Bodies playing the role of strict parents.         

" PARENT-Regulators"

           India has since the year 1991 opened it's market for foreign Investment.India wants Investors from abroad to invest in our country so that we get foreign exchange in return and this will lead to growth in GDP, rise in employment,better Infrastructure,Roads and all this would lead to a better standard of living for the people.While offering a red carpet welcome to such investments Regulators (parents) have to make sure that  Investors(kids) adhere to the rules and guidelines given by the Goverment just as the kids remain under the supervision of  their parents.
               But for every strict parent there is an oversmart and naughty  kid. Vodafone was one such naughty kid who made the  FEMA (Foreign exchange management act) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Exchange_Management_Ac realise how easy it is to break the rules.To cut long story short Vodafone had bought another Telecom major HUTCH India  for a huge amount but did not pay the taxes of around  to the Goverment of India claiming that since the deal between the two companies happened in Mauritius which is a tax heaven en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_haven  so it is not liable to pay taxes to Indian Goverment inspite all of it's Earnings and profits coming from Indian operations.In the end with no concrete Tax imposement laws in place Vodafone avoided around 10,000 crores of taxes which could have bridged the wide fiscal deficit and earned foriegn exchange for the country. .

SAMJHAUTA करने का अड्डा 

     Now if you think that it is only the फिरंगी  like Vodafone who are exploiting our resources then let me cite the example of  the famous 2G spectrum allocation scandal wherein there was involvement of Telecom minister A Raja in allocating precious Mobile spectrum to Telecom Companies in India.The SC has scrapped all previous  allocation under 'Raja' and called for fresh bids.The Petroleum and natural Gas regulatory authority Board petroleum.nic.in/ is facing a tough time while dealing with Big domestic players like Reliance in allocation of oil Fields and Gas basins in Gujarat and Krishna-Godavari Basin.For more details refer.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Godavari_Basin.
                Coalgate (mining scam) is yet another case wherein we let our Precious coal reserves be sold at throw away prices to bogus companies in the absence of efficient regulators.In प्रगतिशील countries like Australia, USA it is customary to first put up an efficient regulatory board in place and then call investors for Bidding.This ensures efficient and transparent allocation of Resources.It is high time मनमोहन singh pulls up his sleeves and install such regulatory bodies in Our country or else we will run out of our scarce and precious 'ice creams'.