RAJNIKANT's pro Nation Budget ....

'The Pro briefcase'

           It's that part of the year when The Finance Minister of our country would be seen carrying a black briefcase (or 'Red' as per his mood) into the Parliament to announce the financial report card of the country  which  we all know by the name 'Budget'.Just as in college  pocket money was decided as per our parent's mood which again depended upon the marks one obtained in the last semester similarly the National Budget depends upon the  amount of revenues generated in the last fiscal year (i.e 2012-2013) along with the national as well as  International economic conditions and as per this an 'approach' towards the budget is planned.

pro-POOR OF THE YEAR

            This approach forms the foundation on which various social and pro poor schemes (here i mean the real poors who live below 28 Rs per day not the poor guy in pic  from Karan Johar movies) ,Economic policies (like FDI in single brand retail), defence budget allocations (for buying Fighter planes,submarines etc and do some 'scandals' ha ha ), tax exemption limits for salaried class people (the मंगो  पीपल  ) are also announced in the budget.

            Under the current scenario the major factors which Mr. Chidambram would  specially lay emphasis on while planning the approach towards the budget would be to bring the dangerously low GDP growth rate from 5 to a respectable 7 percent in the next fiscal year,bringing down the Inflation rate to less than 7 %, checking the negative growth in manufacturing sector and the slowdown in the exports because of  Euro Zone crisis .Quite amazingly every  Goverment claims it's budget to be good for everyone i;e pro Aam Aadmi, pro Industrialists,pro farmers,pro urban India,pro Rural India,pro employed, pro unemployed,pro single,pro commited,pro married,pro bachelor etc (this is as paradoxical as Mahesh bhatt calling Murder & Raaz as family entertainment especially made for kids).When it comes to presenting the Budget under present conditions it is impossible to satisfy everyone.Compromise on populist measures and bold decisions on part of the Finance Min is the need of the hour.
               However  looking at the trends of budget in the last few years one can draw a  conclusion that type of budget is highly influenced by the amount of time left for the next General ELECTIONS :) i.e if the goverment is in it's first year after winning the elections will try to fulfill as many promises it had done while begging for votes in it's poll manifesto before the elections,the second and third year will see huge amounts of pro poor subsidies,pro Industrialist being announced and then when everything looks screwed up the Goverment takes some tough measures like raising petrol and diesel prices,putting limit on the number of LPG gas cylinders, increasing the fare in railways,making education loans costlier (and car loans more cheaper) ,selling it's shares in PSU's like coal  India, NTPC etc to balance the rising Fiscal deficit, selling the precious spectrum of 2G,3G,coal block allocations etc .

Give me one chance...mind it

               Rajnikant has uttered an epic dialogue in movie Shivaji-The Boss ....that the biggest problem in our country is the widening economic gap which means irrespective of what policies the Government makes" rich are becoming  richer while the poor  are becoming poorer" .The middle class condition is no less pitiable which after paying sky rocketing petrol/ diesel prices,electricity-LPG bills,house rent ends,children's education ends up with no savings. So what can be done to change this trend ???  The best option is  to make Rajnikant our Finance minister .No Seriously .If this is not possible other alternative suggestions for 2013-2014 budget are as follows:
1.Expedite the delivery of UID AADHAR cards which will check malpractises and corruption in the distribution of food grains an other benefits to the people below poverty line.
2.Simplify the  investment policies but not without lessening the role of Regulators (like TRAI,SEBI etc) so that foreign investors can invest without any fears in Indian Markets thus increasing inflow of precious foreign exchange in  the country.
3.Expedite the Projects which are getting stuck in Red tap-ism and lethargic decision making by various ministries specially in manufacturing sectors viz power,steel,mining etc
4.Encourage Public Private partnership models so that expertise of private sector can be utilized to it's full potential.

               The success or failure of the economy of a nation depends largely on the private sector,however Goverment can play a vital role by creating favourable investment climate, developing infrastructure,supporting the poor and vulnerable groups by various schemes etc.India  follows mixed economy where we try to get the right mix of capitalist and socialist measures path to development.Building schools for children,making vocational training centres for youth to make them employable,spending on women and child  development,introducing FDI in retail  all such steps do not give immediate results it will  take many years until we start getting their results.As long as these objectives are fulfilled we can call our Budget as  a pro Nation budget.

Environment Protection etc...

What we think our leaders do !!

              It's quite surprising that we humans we are more fascinated and less frightened by the thoughts of doomsday,End of the world etc.Alien Invasion ,Global Warming  etc are the reasons or the causes which Many authors,scientists etc have stated for the world to come to an end.Based on these Hollywood filmmakers have made fortunes by  bringing such phenomenon on the silver screen with the Steven Spielberg's 'War of the Worlds' and Roland Emmerich '2012' being the Latest additions to the long list.Sometimes I wish the world could be saved in the same manner as in 'Avengers' where all superheroes like Iron Man,Hulk,Thor etc came together to save our Planet Earth.But unfortunately it is not so...In real World..the problems are many and diverse and the responsibility of saving planet earth rests on the shoulders of  educated (not all of them) and old (no exceptions)  representatives of  various countries. World leaders of different nations assemble together at places of their choice to attend boring yet important summits,conferences where they have tea,biscuits, liquor and other forms of entertainment and if time permits some  discussion on gathered data and published works of Hardworking and eminent scientists who are slogging day and night to bring to their attention imminent threats to planet earth due to Global warming, environment degradation ,Loss of  Biodiversity , lack of sustainable development  etc.

What our Leaders actually do...

                      Anyways we restrict ourselves only to the important discussions that happen in such meets and summits.For that let us get a brief background of various organizations that are working towards protecting the planet Earth.          
           IUCN -headquartered in Kenya is also known as World Conservation union. It is World's oldest Global environmental organization, one of the most prominent work done by this organization is the preparation of Red list which is a system of classifying animals, plants etc on the basis of their likelihood of extinction and India has 132 species (this does not include Digvijay Singh, Baba Ramdev, Mamata Manerjee etc) on this list !!Jokes apart we can just hope that  Environmental ministry headed by Jayanti Natrajan has had the precious time to give the List  a read and ensure positive steps are taken to protect these species,besides IUCN has also got an observer status at UN General assembly so that it can voice environmental concerns at the global stage.
           CITES-headquartered in Switzerland is the Convention on International trade in endangered species of Wild flora and Fauna is another contribution of IUCN to stop illicit trade of wildlife.Trade of wildlife is another serious problem as people all over the word use traditional medicines derived from plants and animals to cure diseases.Asian region especially Chinese are notorious in this as they use bones, tissues, bloods of tigers, rhinos, elephants for treating arthritis,impotency,cancer and even AIDS.The countries which agree to follow CITES guidelines are called 'Parties' .These countries meet at regular intervals and their meets are called 'Conference of Parties' .The next COP is to be held in Bangkok,Thailand.                          
        Next on the list is  IPCC- Intergovernmental panel on climate change is the leading body on the assesment of climate change.They do  no research of their own.They only assess the most scientific, technical and socio-economic information in simpler terms they select गरीब साइंटिस्ट और स्टूडेंट्स की मेहनत  in the form of research papers which can be helpful in understanding the causes of global warming.The fourth assesment report published by the IPCC has indicated that major contributor to Global Warming is due to the emmision of human induced Green house gases.  This indicates that everything comes down to human need vs greed theory  because as development is taking place at rapid pace in modern times Human greed has grown manifold and we are disregarding Environmental concerns.  
        We can only expect that in coming days  the policy makers in the Goverment  stop the age old (नाम  बड़े और दर्शन छोटे ) approach by only forming high level committees and attending Global seminars instead of doing changes at the grassroots level for the protection of flaura and fauna of our great land.In the era of Vote bank politics where subsidies are for the poor and tax exemptions are for the super Rich most important areas like protection  animals,environment and Biodiversity take a backseat.
           Considerable work is being done by people working in adverse conditions and hope this practise continue in coming days.For more information on the efforts taken by the Goverment in Environmental protection visit this link -Ministry of Environment & Forests
     
           Note:Readers for better understanding of any unfamiliar terms in the blog can click on  the highlighted link addresses.
           

Pati Patni aur China......

             Around 600 km away from the southern most tip of India lies a group of islands called 'Maldives' and it's capital is known by the name of 'Male'.From the Time it gained it's independence in the late 1960's it has been the closest nation to India.But today with a size of  mere 0.1 % as compared to INDIA this small Island Nation is on the course of creating some serious trouble for India.                                            
           Maldives is a muslim nation.A certain Maumoon Abdul Gayoom became the president of Maldives in early 70's after it obtained freedom from the british,He continued to rule the nation for around 30 years In 1988 however there was revolt against him but India intervened and operation CACTUS was launched by the Indian army to suppress the revolt.So he continued to rule until  2008 when he  was defeated by Md.Nasheed who became the first democratically elected President of the Island nation.
           Md. Nasheed has even held a cabinet meeting under the ocean water to highlight the dangers of global Warming to small Island nation.Besides he ha done some pioneering work during hid tenure to boost tourism,attrack foreign investment and bring about development in the island nation.All in  all वह  एक अच्छा राष्ट्रपति था But again in 2012 Md.Nasheed was removed from the presidency in a military coup and a New president took his place.Inspite of these turbulent times in all these years everything was well between the India(Patni) and 'Male' (Pati) with India supporting the island nation with majority of  all foreign investment and healthy inflow of tourism revenue coming from India ,courtesy those Indian tourists who want to live their 'Baywatch' or the 'Pamela Anderson' fantasies in actual life as there is no curb on the consumption of alcohol or anything for that matter.

"Chinese Plan of surrounding Indian Ocean in a pearl type formation"

                  But then they say एक छोटी सी चिंगारी को आग में तब्दील होते देर नहीं लगती .This चिंगारी came in the form of Foreign investment made by the Indian infrastructure major DLF....(the ex sponsor of IPL if u remember)  in building an AIRPORT.the problem started around a week back when the new Government post the military coup disagreed on the profit sharing model which the earlier Government had agreed with DLF. After all negotiations failed finally the 'Male' government scrapped the deal which could have been the biggest foreign investment in the island nation and this gave a sour taste to the friendly relationship between India and 'Male'.                                                                                                                                                                  All through these years "China- the woh Factor" in the Pati patni relationship was waiting for the right opportunity to exploit the situation and get into an alliance with 'Male'.But why all these years was china interested in a small group of island in the Indian ocean.,आखिर  क्यों ??????  the answer lies in the "string of pearls theory".(Refer diagram).China has been since long harboring an ambition to control all sea trade routes from the Indian ocean to the south china sea.Having already established a naval base in Sri-Lanka the conquest of Maldives will give a major boost to china's ambitious string of pearl strategy as it  will have a naval base in every major country surrounding the Indian subcontinent.If India losses Maldives it  will be at loss both financially and strategically .           
            Maldives is very important for India if it has to maintain it's sovereignty over the Southern Indian ocean and an important ally which it cannot afford to loose.Suppose an India-China war breaks out Maldives is very important to control the supply lines in the Indian ocean.So it's time India tried every trick of the trade just like Shahrukh did for Anushka in 'Rab ne bana di jodi' like granting financial aid, giving admission to Maldivian student to study in india,helping them to fight the effects of climate change etc  so that it can be all the happies endings and India and Maldives relations get back to normal.
          And yes for those readers still thinking about pamela anderson or for that sake visiting maldives here's the website link :)...BAYWATCH

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'.

Welcome to my Home

         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'.

Power crisis and Olympic Medals

        A few states in northern India together conspired to create the biggest  grid collapse in the world resulting in the entire North and north-eastern part of country going without electricity for around 48 hours.For someone like me sitting under the comforts of an integrated steel plant with self sufficient power it took some time to realize the the gravity of situation.But as the picture became clear with passage of time, I started imagining about the people stranded in trains(in moist areas ..perhaps), hospitals running out of generators,metro trains,half of the country's households, banking services and most importantly about the tax paying honest citizen on his way home who has to face such an ordeal.For kids in the age group of 5-10 year this was an ideal time to play hide n seek (such a game did exist in my time), and an unexpected break from studies .
          To understand how they managed to screw up everything let us first know how a grid works.Just imagine a city with several lakes,if somehow we connect all these lakes whenever any lake has excess water it can be passed on to the other water deficient lake .In this way the water level can be maintained in all such lakes.This same system when applied to sharing of electricity is called 'grid'.But when we talk of sharing of electricity it's not that simple...the state grid's have to be precise in stating their requirements because both the overdrawing and under drawing of electricity leads to fluctuations in frequency which if persists over a period of time can lead to grid collapse.The states over indulgence in POWER PLAY finally resulted in 48 hour blackout.

        Now if u r still continuing to read this blog it means that I have succeeded in arising DESHBHAKT inside you or that you are reading this on my insistence (sorry for that :-)   ).....anyways Ministry of Power has set up a 3 member committee to probe this matter.By the time report comes this incident must have been forgotten by the Janta.Now moving away from the problems lets now celebrate the good news being brought about by Indian sports persons at this London Olympics......4 medals so far (as on Aug 7) and 3 more expected if Wrestling and boxing team performs well.

            There was a scene in the film PAAN SINGH TOMAR...wherein Irfan Khan sums up the Indian sports reality in one dialougue..."4 ande(eggs) aur 2 Kele(banana) hath me pakdake bolte ho medal lao".We as a nation don't attach much value to once in 4 year Olympics and if a medal comes our way welcome out on the streets to celebrate the success and then we forget.Among the winners a certain Mary kom's story struck me the most.

       She hails from manipur hub of moist insurgency.In 2011 there was a 4 month curfew in her home state.For weeks LPG cylinder;s, food ration and other such essential items were not accessible because  all national highways were blocked by moists.Being a sports champ or World champion hardly made any difference she cooked food for her family using wood and charcoal.It was only 2 years ago that she state goverment provided her with a flat where there is 24 hr electricity (funny though...the average for remaining manipur state is 4 hours ).Such 'priveleges'  granted are too little and too late.

        

        

      

An Interesting Forwarded mail.....

Tomorrow you may get a working woman, but should marry her with these facts as well.

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as
you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your Sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family ,name

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning and cook food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more, and yet never ever expected to complain;
to be a servant, a cook, a mother, a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply

Because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise

One, who can be late from work once in a while , just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important, relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this...... 

Please appreciate "HER"