TRUE OPTIONS TO A ZERO CARBON ECONOMY

Carbon emissions like CO2 in the atmosphere form a blanket, trap heat  and result in warming of our planet. All actions and deeds of our civilisation for ensuring prosperity and comfortable life to humanity require burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, natural gas for energy in our means of transport, electricity generation and supply, industrial processes, residential and commercial buildings lead to formation of a blanket of these emissions contributing heavily to global warming. Similarly felling of trees for various industrial uses as well as for increased demand of cultivable land for ever growing population reduces the capacity of natural CO2 cycle so very essential for maintaining its balance on our globe.

We all have been a witness to the increase in temperatures during the last 50 years or so and even if carbon emissions are allowed to be stagnant for the next 50 years, earth will be hotter by a minimum of 2degree Centigrade.This could be real catastrophic for the mankind as it threatens about 40% of world population living within 100 Kms of oceans as the sea levels will rise because of excessive melting of snow in glaciers and permafrost land regions.

No doubt that an attack on reducing global warming has to come on many many fronts as is clear from the following pie chart describing the contribution to carbon gases in the earth's atmosphere.

Contributors to  Carbon gases in earth's atmosphere

The effect of these heat trapping gases will impact health of the people, fresh water supply sources, oceans, ecosystems and temperatures in a big way and poses a threat to the very existence of life on planet earth.A concerted effort by humanity is needed to bring down these heat trapping gases by at least 80% by mid century through all measures big and small to avoid this imminent catastrophe staring at us because of indiscreet use of technologies and practices in quest for the so called betterment of life and prosperity.

Resorting to power production through clean technologies, green transportation and managing forests and agriculture with particular accent on avoiding deforestation and forest degradation etc.. But a big contribution can come from energy efficiency boosting named as hidden fuel worth 100's of billion by the International Energy Agency and it can be a real game changer.

THRUST TOWARDS SOLAR ENERGY IS THE RIGHT STEP FOR ENERGY SECURITY OPTION FOR ONE AND ALL

Energy security through clean energy is much more than the necessity for mankind. In fact looking at the problems associated with all fuel based energy options, namely the global warming and health hazards, quest for clean energy has become the need of the hour to save our mother earth and its occupants. In this kind of a scenario and the finite quantum of all fuel resources one fails to understand as to why thrust towards clean renewable energy sources is languishing. 

Out of all clean renewable sources, solar energy occupies the pride of place for its large scale availability at almost all the places on our globe and above all the source is eternal and will last till humanity lives. The amount of energy falling on our globe is of the order of 174000 TWatts, a magnitude best understood by the fact that 1 hour of solar rays' energy is more than what mankind uses in a year. When this energy is responsible for lifting water from surface of sea to fall back down on the high mountains, drives ocean currents from tropics to poles, spins winds from pole to pole and power the green engine of life with guaranteed absolute safety, why it cannot be depended upon to provide energy security to all mankind on our globe. The powerful and mighty of this globe, the men who take pride in changing the fortunes of mankind certainly owe an explanation to the same mankind for guiding it to the brink of self destruction through their vested and motivated interests by resorting to all kind of energy security approaches likely to result in annihilation of life.
The irony of the whole game of providing energy security to the mankind on mother earth is that we are aiming at mastering more than complex and catastrophic nuclear sciences and technologies, from the finite fission energy to infinite fusion energy. It is something like an effort to reinvent wheel for the same fusion energy which has been bestowed upon mankind since ages in the form of solar energy and that too at a safe distance of millions of kilometers from earth with all the inbuilt safeties that man and his science cannot even dream of for the next thousands of years.It does not require any rocket science to conclude that we must spend all our time, energy, money and resources in harnessing what comes to us from nature and remove all small and inconsequential bottlenecks that are being talked about by those professing against the suitability of renewable energy sources for providing energy security. In fact thrust towards solar energy is the only right step for energy security option for one and all.

EU seeks nuclear power disaster insurance plan

 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission's energy chief says the bloc's executive arm will present a proposal on mandatory disaster insurance for nuclear power plants in coming weeks.

Guenther Oettinger said Tuesday the proposal should be one of the first items on the European Parliament's agenda following elections in May. He declined to elaborate.

The world's nuclear power plants have hardly any coverage. Governments implicitly guarantee they'll pay for the bulk of a disaster.

In several EU nations, required insurance only covers liabilities of a few hundred million dollars, while a worst-case scenario accident is estimated to cost up to hundreds of billions.

In the U.S., the necessary insurance for nuclear operators is capped at just $375 million per plant, with further claims funded by utilities up to a maximum of $12.6 billion.

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  Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/05/3732827/eu-seeks-nuclear-power-disaster.html#storylink=cpy

ENERGY SECURITY OPTIONS: A TALE OF NUCLEAR AND SOLAR POWER, THE TWO MAIN CONTENDING TECHNOLOGIES

Ever since the reality of finite quantum of all fuels fossil as well as non fossil ones has dawned on mankind, energy security has acquired utmost importance for all nations, developed and underdeveloped alike. The use of fossil fuels for majority of global energy needs has pushed mankind into the extremely serious problems of global warming and pollution related health hazards as a result of associated carbon gases and radioactivity which if not attended to on a war footing can endanger the very existence of mankind.

In the race for energy security options of the 21st century under the headings of clean infinite energy sources, following contenders emerge namely, the solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy and hydro energy. And surprisingly they all owe their existence and availability to sun and sun alone which is in fact the mother of all these energies. Choosing the most appropriate energy option for a nation must be on the basis of the following.

• First and foremost, the option must be free of pollution of carbon gases and radioactive pollution. The whole story and myth of nuclear energy being a pollution free energy stands busted in nuclear power at what cost.
• The source should be eternal so that science and technology has to work only on the improvements instead of fishing for new sources with passage of time.
• The option should be suitable for all applications, standalone, mini, micro and large scale and that too without any bearing on cost aspects of installation and power production.
• The option should have quick response capability and small gestation periods.
• The option should be simple and for best results should be realizable by keeping it simple.
• Maintenance costs should be low. 
• Not prone to catastrophic accidents  under any known or unknown circumstances.

The whole world has been debating on all available sources and out of nuclear and solar, the two main contending technologies, nuclear fails on all counts and it is solar that stands out. In spite of these bare facts, it is strange that our globe still has touts of nuclear power plants. The strong and viable case of solar as the best energy security option available to mankind does not need knowledge of rocket science but asks for an iota of common sense on the part of one and all controlling the fate of our planet.

MANAGING OIL ECONOMY CAN BE A GAME CHANGER IN INDIAN GROWTH STORY

Oil economics the biggest thorn in the Indian growth story needs immediate attention by the planners and rulers of India. Its contributions to the fiscal and current account deficits of the country and resulting inflation, rupee devaluation and deleterious effects on the economy  are so huge and long lasting that no government can afford to be slack in seeking permanent remedies to the malady of oil economics.
In majority of the countries oil economy leads to current account deficit only but in India because of political compulsions of the government for its survival and its reliance on vote bank politics for attaining winning ability in elections through major subsidies in diesel, gas and kerosene, fiscal deficit emerges as an equally damaging factor. The government has been unsuccessfully trying to stick to its self professed yardstick of sub 5% individual budgetary deficits on both counts. The logic of 5 % deficit is not fully understood and one is kept wondering whether reducing these deficits further will have deleterious effects on the economy?????

The current account deficit ( CAD ) of India is soaring and soaring and in fact has been the bane of Indian growth story for quite sometime now. During the last about 15 years, the reigns of NDA and UPA I, the current account deficit to GDP hovered  from -2.3 to 1.5 and everything from inflation to rupee value to growth rates were in order. Then with the beginning of era of UPA II, everything went hay way. No doubt the global economic picture was not in the best of shapes but it was policy and governance paralysis which was main culprit in the sudden spurt of CAD which wrought havoc on the Indian economy. 

Crude oil imports, gold imports and dwindling exports are the main culprits of exploding Indian CAD. In a global reality, everybody knows that crude prices will keep on rising as the global demand keeps on rising and the crude reserves keep on diminishing every day. Instead of taking any concrete action to find a long term solution to this malady, the Indian polity was busy fooling the nation by taking credit of reductions in oil import bill as a result of  fall in international prices. The Indian rulers are still none the wiser in accepting the crucial role of oil economics in the Indian growth story and oil economics have been allowed to remain the eternal bane of Indian economy and Indian growth story. Indian rulers and policy makers simply wait for cyclic reductions in oil prices to sing their song of achievements on this front and wait patiently to blame world economy on the next upturn of oil prices.

While nations have improved their oil economies through use of bio fuels, improvements  in the road network and mass transportation systems with specific reference to quality of roads and smooth flow of traffic, very little has been done in India on this front. In fact the country is still to realize the importance of improving the quality of ride, removing traffic jams and making energy efficient transport systems. While the world is talking about 'hidden fuel worth hundreds of billions' : IEA's new energy focus so much so that energy efficiency has not only being termed as a hidden fuel bur world's first fuel. India has to manage its oil economy with lot more seriousness to explore fully the potential of this game changer in Indian growth story.

GOOD ECONOMICS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE MUST FOR POVERTY BANISHMENT IN INDIA

A country like India which is striving hard to address the basic needs and necessities of its impoverished billion plus cannot draw solace from an economy growing at 5 % but needs to have an economic growth galloping at 12-15% for a few decades so that the present generation which was born poor does not grow old with the tag of poverty hung around its neck. Let it be clear to one and all that it is growth and growth alone which can bring prosperity to a nation. Any amount of gimmicks of redistribution of national wealth and measures leading to eternal consumption of national wealth will not yield favorable results.
India and its planners must not overlook the magic of compounding as shown below:

Growth Rate %                      Period in years                   Projected GDP
         5                                      20                                       2.65 times
        10                                     20                                       6.73 times
        12                                     20                                       9.65 times
        15                                     20                                     16.34 times

This only demonstrates what the country, its polity and policy makers can achieve for its impoverished billion plus.Such achievements have been made by Germany and Japan during the period 1960-80 and more recently by China 1990-2010 and there is no reason why India cannot do it. The only requirement is that these guys have to say good bye to their baser instincts and dwell whole heartedly on good economics and good governance. Ideally they should never forget the following lines which are passed down the line generation after generation in the text books of wisdom.

Good Economics and Good Governance is Ideal;
Bad Economics and Good Governance is A Compromise;
Bad Economics and Bad Governance is A Disaster;
Good politics, bad economics and bad governance is a catastrophe.

NUCLEAR POWER AT WHAT COST?????

With the never ending quest for more and more comforts for man, the energy requirements of our globe are growing up rather fast. The advances in science and technology have on one hand given us access to comforts and luxuries of life. At the same time it has given mankind the much needed insight into the various cycles of nature that maintain the balance so very essential for the very existence of life.

Rapid industrialization and inventions of motorized means of transport have revolutionized our lives. All this more or less through intensive use of fossil fuels has increased the pollution levels many many folds. The increased respiratory disorders among the populace, the greatly worrisome associated phenomenon of global warming and the limited fossil fuel resources of the globe has set the mankind thinking on the future course of action.

In this context, two new terms for energy resources have emerged. Firstly renewable/ infinite sources of energy such as sun,wind, ocean, hydro, bio fuels, biomass etc. and secondly clean sources of energy such as solar, wind, ocean, nuclear etc.. It does not require any rocket science to understand and conclude that future energy security of all nations must be based on the following considerations.

• The first and foremost requirement of a viable energy security solution is that it should be a clean source  capable of producing energy in a clean manner without any contribution to the biggest worry of  global warming. Surprisingly the much touted clean nuclear power results in up to 25 times more carbon emissions than wind energy when reactor construction and uranium refining and transport are considered.
• The source must be eternal and have the capacity to last for thousands of years so that the researches and technology development efforts can lead to an eternally valid solution like the invention of wheel. 
• All processes involved in utilizing an energy source for producing energy right from mineral stage to fuel extraction, power plant wastes and spent fuel disposal should be absolutely safe for humanity. In addition there should be zero chance of catastrophic accidents. In fact  Nuclear fuels are a curse on humanity from the stage of ore to fuel elements to waste.
• Lastly, the power production costs should be competitive with power from other sources. Nuclear power has always been touted as mankind’s finest invention to produce power at cheap prices without significantly harming the environment. However, a closer analysis reveals that it continues to remain one of the most expensive enterprises in the world, requiring constant subsidies and governmental support to ensure its continuous survival. Besides the manipulations regarding  ignoring costs of decommissioning, dismantling  and  nuclear waste disposal which are very very high, all governments and companies selling this technology are absolutely silent on the aspect of huge liabilities arising out of a catastrophic accident. A worst-case scenario study in 1997 by the Brookhaven National Laboratory estimated that a major accident could cost $566 billion in damages and cause 143,000 possible deaths. Another such study, by Sandia National Laboratories in 1982, calculated the possible costs at $314 billion. Adjusted for inflation, that would put both estimates close to the trillion dollar range today.
• The typical gestation period for a 1 GW nuclear plant is anything between 10-15 years many times involving further cost escalations and time over runs whereas a solar power plant of the same magnitude  could be functional in 1 year time. Imagine the value addition to the national GDP that will come through this 1 GW of power available for additional 9-14 years. This certainly is a win win situation for any nation.

In spite of all these facts about nuclear power regarding the cost of power, how clean is its implementation and the magnitude of catastrophe that can befall a nation in case of a major accident, it is not understood why people are enameled for nuclear power option when better sound options are available. Indian policy makers seem to be guided 

• Either by their whims and fancies 
• Or they are overawed by this complicated and sophisticated accident/catastrophe prone yet lucrative technology of taming atomic fission phenomenon.
• Or perhaps in their opinion solar technology cannot deliver because of its shear simplicity.In fact solar is simple and must be kept simple to retain its edge and that is the beauty.

ENERGY SECURITY: THE MAGIC OF SOLAR ENERGY FOR CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh with its controlled and uniform skyline and vast spaces of parks is potentially one of the most suitable cities to realize its energy security through the magic of solar energy. Recently the government of India has proposed to develop it as a "Solar City". Based on the analysis of potential for demand side measures along with that of supply side augmentation through renewable energy technologies, the following targets are proposed for Chandigarh in order to develop it as a “Solar City”. The concept of Solar Cities  is being taken up all over our globe as humanity is aware of deleterious effects of global warming and fast depletion of fossil fuels. The government of India has also come up with a plan to develop 60 solar cities, Chandigarh being one of them. Looking at the potential of solar energy in a planned city like Chandigarh the targets set are minuscule and a lot more can be done and achieved in this endeavor. The targets set in the master plan are mentioned in the table below.

          Targets for energy conservation, generation and greenhouse gas emission reduction

Through Solar Power Generation

 Energy Conservation                                 Reduction in present energy consumption
                                                               
                                                                  Short Term         Medium Term               Long Term
                                                                  (till 2012)           (till 2015)                      (till 2018)
1.1 Residential sector                                    10%                  15%                            20%
1.2 Commercial sector                                  10%                  15%                            20%
1.3 a Municipal sector                                   1.5%                 3.0%                           4%
        (Water pumping)
1.3 a Municipal sector                                   1.5%                 3.0%                           4%
        (Street lighting)                                    
 2. Coverage of solar water  heating systems  10%                  25%                           45%
(as a proportion of total heating demand
in residential and commercial sectors)

Solar Power Generation

3. Roof Top solar energy based                       2.5 MW          5.0 MW                    10.0 MW
   electricity generation
4. Large solar energy based                            3.0 MW          5.0 MW                     5.0 MW
    electricity generation at Landfill site
5. Large solar energy based                             5.0 MW          15.0 MW                  25.0 MW
   electricity generation at
   Patiyala ki Rao site

Greenhouse gas emission (GHG )
reduction (tCO2/annum)                               90973               214051                   214051

Chandigarh is a city with an area of about 110 Sq. Kms with an electricity demand of about 300 MW with major demand coming from residential and commercial sector like any urban conglomerate.Architectural controls with a uniform skyline with a design concept of row houses, commercial buildings, schools and offices in a vast majority of cases make it a juicy candidate for realizing full potential of solar power through individual and community/cooperative solar power generation. In fact the city can on its own meet more than 75% of its energy needs through a solar revolution utilizing all  roof tops and non usable waste lands. In the bargain a significant GHG reduction of about 1 million tCO2/annum  will be achieved. Add to it the benefits of small transmission infrastructure accompanied by low maintenance costs and losses and solar results in a win win solution for all times to come.

NEW MANTRA OF INDIAN POLITICS

The Indian general elections are scheduled for April- May 2014 and as usual all political parties are working overtime on their strategies to fool the voter to grab power for another five years to make merry at the cost of public exchequer and continue with their loot of the national wealth unabashedly. All leaders are well aware of the public disenchantment and disgust over the way this country has been ruled for the last sixty plus years and the manipulations of all these leaders in sucking the blood of  anemic/bloodless masses.

Earlier elections were fought and won on the capacity and capability of the leaders to malign their opponents, citing dangers to secularism,democracy, constitution and even the existence of the nation. To day it appears that these leaders have developed a realization that such rhetoric is not going to work 

It all started with Indian National Congress when they put all bad governance, failure on economic front including high inflation and failure to rein in corruption and black money on the government of the day. All high rhetoric people centric measures like Right to Information (RTI), Right to Education, Right to Food and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ( The intentions and efficacy of these notwithstanding ) were attributed to the party/organisation or in short to Sonia Gandhi / Rahul Gandhi combine. To day Mulayam Singh Yadav, supremo of Samajwadi party put up a similar plea wherein he squarely put blame and failures on the party and made a desperate plea for not getting punished for the misdeeds/follies of his party's government in the state. Similarly Bhartiya Janta Party is doing the mockery of dumping some of the big names without doing anything worthwhile to set their house in perfect order. It is a known fact that no leader in this country has vanished into oblivion because of the misdeeds of bad governance, criminal activity or economic offence.

In fact the guys who wrote the script for the failures and inaction on all fronts of governance that could have changed the plight of billion plus Indians are trying to absolve themselves and are busy finding scapegoats to remain perched on the high pedestal of concern for the nation and its citizenry. 

ROOFTOP SOLAR THE PANACEA FOR ALL ENERGY PROBLEMS OF OUR WORLD

Rooftop solar has the potential of growing into the biggest industry in the world and can be termed as the idea of the megaannum, a harbinger of inclusive growth and an idea with ultimate contribution to the cause of humanity as much as that of invention of wheel.

Rooftop solar accounts for 1.6% to the national electricity in Australia, the world's largest producer of uranium fuel and a nation with zero nuclear power on its soil. And that too when 0.7 million of the total 8 million households have adopted rooftop solar. A country with a population of 23 million is on its way to have 10000 Megawatt of solar power as early as 2017 and a major portion will come from rooftop and residential sector. Similarly Brazil with a population of 200 million is aiming to have 1400 Megawatt of rooftop solar by 2022, up from about 11 megawatt this year.In fact all the countries on our globe are concentrating on solar power in a big way as they are realizing the benefits of energy security through clean renewables. 
If this is the quantum of rooftop solar these small nations are looking to build up in the near future, one can see what it can do to the fate of humanity in countries like India and China, each with a population of 1 billion plus.In these countries the electricity generation potential of residential roof top is colossal, of the order of thousand Gigawatts. Add to this the total rooftop available, one could easily reach a figure of 4-5 Gigawatts. Imagine when every household is a power producer and achieves self sufficiency in its electricity needs, how much it will add to the prosperity of individual as well as that of the nation. Together with other advantages of clean energy, the very thought is simply irresistible and rooftop solar juggernaut is simply unstoppable.
With each passing day the reduced costs of solar energy installations, better efficiency of solar films and revolutionizing the energy storage solutions along with the fact that humanity won't have to look beyond solar for all times to come, make the urge to adopt solar in general and rooftop in particular a very compelling option for all nations.

INDIA CALLING OR CRYING: AT LAST LALU PRASAD CONVICTED IN FODDER SCAM CASE: It was quite heartening to learn that Lalu Prasad along with 44 others has been convicted in the fodder scam case . The case has been hang...

RAHUL GANDHI'S BLAST ON ORDINANCE ON CONVICTED LEGISLATORS : A DEEPLY THOUGHT POLITICAL MOVE

Ever since Rahul Gandhi blasted the ordinance on convicted legislators mooted by the coalition government headed by the congress party, the party headed by his mother and himself on 27th September, 2013, the political analysts of the country have been busy in analyzing the motive behind such a strong outburst. Strangely enough they are zeroing down to something that directly meets the eye and are confining their analysis to plain and simple calculations of the coming national elections in 2014.

But the motives behind such a strong blitz are far too deep. It is certainly not simple undermining the authority of the prime minister and his cabinet or a tussle of supremacy between the party/organization and government. It is the outcome of the war within the party, a war between the constituents that have leaning towards leftist and rightist policies. It is perhaps a result of internal policy rivalries and finding a direction for the national policies. Mrs Gandhi and Rahul feel strongly for the left of centre policies ( socialist and socialistic ) and appear to have reached a conclusion that the experimentation/flirtation with right of centre policies can be suspended. Additionally it is ripe time for putting the blame for all ills and failures of nine year misrule of UPA government on the government and start afresh after dumping some of its active old guard elements.

Excerpts from Rahul Gandhi takes on the Indian government move to shield convicted politicians.

To an unbiased observer history seems to be repeating itself. There is a lot of similarity in the saga of 1969 split of the congress engineered by Rahul's grandmother wherein it was a battle royal between the rightists, mainly the old guard (controlling the party/ organisation)  and socialists/leftists in control of the government. Today again we have the same situation, though the rightists, champions of free economy are mainly part of government and old brigade and the socialists/leftists headed by Rahul Gandhi himself are in the party/organisation. The country still has more than six months to the next general election and it appears that Rahul & co will not have to struggle to attain ascendancy in the power corridors as the family has complete control over the organisation and there is no mass leader with pan India appeal in the government.

RAHUL GANDHI TAKES ON THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT MOVE TO SHIELD CONVICTED POLITICIANS

Ever since the supreme court of India by its landmark judgement of 10th July 2013 declared that the members of parliament ( MP's ) or members of legislative assemblies ( MLA's ) will automatically cease to be MP/MLA if convicted by a court for specific offence. Also such legislators will not even be entitled to contest the election. This created big commotion in the polity for in India about 30% of lawmakers i.e. MP's and MLA's have criminal charges against them and the polity was trying to find faults with this order. Also polity wanted to prove the supremacy of legislature over judiciary. With these dual aims the cabinet committee of Indian government cleared an ordinance to protect tainted politicians

There was a lot of anguish and uproar in the public at large and this became the most debated issue in the Indian media.Sensing the public mood and outcry on this, Nehru-Gandhi dynasty scion Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed a cabinet move to protect politicians found guilty of crimes, embarrassing the government led by his own party just months from a general election.

The nation is witnessing a political drama and every politician, majority with criminal credentials or credentials leaning towards criminality are shouting at the top of their voice that they are totally for nobility and saintliness in polity. But Rahul Gandhi appears to be playing a much deeper game. After all it is not just  for nothing that he has chosen to slight the prime minister and senior cabinet colleagues of his own party government.when elections to three major states and the country are round the corner.Through this calculated outburst he is trying to give the party and himself an image of honesty, sincerity and seriousness of purpose by claiming the right to food, right to education, right to information, land acquisition reform bill etc. being party's initiative. By showing his utter disgust in his carefully chosen words "My opinion on the ordinance is that it's complete nonsense and it should be torn up and thrown out," he said. "I feel, personally feel, that what our government has done as far as this ordinance is concerned is wrong." all the ills of the nine year misrule of the government, be it corruption, scams, policy paralysis, poor governance, inflation and messing up of economic health of the nation have been attributed to the old guard.

In this rather calculated move there is much more than what meets the eye. It is a war within congress between the rightists and leftists to guide the country in their own way and preferred directions. To an unbiased observer history seems to be repeating itself. There is a lot of similarity in the saga of 1969 split of the congress engineered by Rahul's grandmother wherein it was a battle royal between the rightists, mainly the old guard (controlling the party/ organisation)  and socialists/leftists in control of the government. Today again we have the same situation, though the rightists, champions of free economy are mainly part of government and old brigade and the socialists/leftists headed by Rahul Gandhi himself are in the party/organisation. The country still has more than six months to the next general election and it appears that Rahul & co will not have to struggle to attain ascendancy in the power corridors as the family has complete control over the organisation and there is no mass leader with pan India appeal in the government.

NUCLEAR LIABILITY DILUTION : IS INDIA'S RULING POLITY A BUNCH OF FOOLS OR A DISHONEST BUNCH WEDDED TO ITS OWN CAUSE AND ASPIRATIONS

The recent news of India further diluting the as it is insufficient and meaningless liability clause has come as a shocker to all the well meaning citizenry of this country. The basic  idea of meeting the energy security of any country in the 21st century through nuclear route is an idea which is near obsolescence and totally out of sync with the latest concepts. The Indian government at the time of declaring nuclear power as the only viable option for country's energy security committed an act of great folly. The coming generations will not forgive these leaders on two counts, firstly giving in to nuclear power generation when nuclear fuels are a curse on humanity and secondly denying India the god sent opportunity to become global leader through total reliance and super thrust on renewable energy.

As it is every developed country is shunning the nuclear energy option, those who have no stake in nuclear energy technologies do so openly and those who are the sellers of this technology do so clandestinely. It is no secret that USA has not added or replaced even an iota of nuclear power on its soil during the last thirty years because it is said that no nuclear power generation firm can exist if liability clause is put in use with a meaningful perspective.The Indian polity must explain the reasons to go in for nuclear power, the worst available option for energy security and all the more now when they are committing national hara kiri by diluting the liability clause in favour of US firms.

FIVE DEFICITS : THE BANE OF INDIAN ECONOMY AND GROWTH STORY

The potential of Indian growth story and chance of India to become a global economic superpower has been a hot topic with the economists and analysts all over this globe. The forty year opportunity window is at India's doorsteps just waiting to be grabbed for fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of 1 billion plus Indians. This great opportunity window exists simply on the back of huge demographic advantage of cheap skilled manpower both in the technical and managerial cadres and the world economies looking for new economic order in the face of diminishing old order energy resources and global warming associated with them.

The demographic advantage of today will become a major disadvantage after a few decades when the bulk of the population becomes old. After all no sanity can deny the fact that ultimately for about 35-40 years of productive life, the same individual is going to be a burden on the national resources for next 25-30 years. The number of aged individuals and non productive years of these aged individuals will keep on increasing as a nation marches on road to prosperity. The problems of developed and industrialized economies mainly emanated from this crude reality of life. Whereas these countries fully utilized the opportunity window that came their way and grew old after becoming rich, it looks quite likely that India may grow old before becoming rich and prosperous unless and until some wisdom prevails on Indian polity and they start addressing the five deficits, the bane of Indian economy and growth story at the earliest in a sincere and earnest manner. If the polity keeps harping on their  vote bank politics with subsidies, doles and freebies  for another decade or so, India would have missed this golden opportunity and all because the nation could not produce leaders who could keep their baser instincts of lust for power and money away while serving/governing the nation.
No doubt India has complete wherewith all to make use of this god sent opportunity to erase poverty, become prosperous and be an economic superpower. But till such time the challenges before India, the potential economic superpower of 21st century are dealt with in an effective manner, nothing worthwhile is going to be achieved. Intelligentsia from all spheres like politics, economics technology etc. talks about the growth drivers of next generation, namely, the corruption mitigation and good governance, infrastructure and human resource development and Energy security but precious little has been done or achieved in any of them during the last decade or so. The following deficits are the biggest impediments to the growth of Indian economy.

• CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT :
• FISCAL DEFICIT
• COMMONSENSE DEFICIT
• GOVERNANCE & POLICY DEFICIT
• TRUST DEFICIT

The first two deficits namely the current account deficit and fiscal deficit are the sole measures of economic health of a nation. Let nobody forget that they are the manifestations of the governance and policy deficit, trust deficit and commonsense deficit which has engulfed Indian rulers. No amount of patchwork solutions through monetary policy and (Reserve Bank of India) RBI actions can provide lasting solutions and are in fact disastrous in the long run as seen in the case of trying to fight inflation through monetary policy. At best these actions can give the rulers some breathing time.

Commonsense Deficit is a crucial factor in marring the destiny of a nation and it has been proved time and again that redistribution of national wealth is not the answer to poverty among the masses of India. As no army can be effective and efficient with a low  tooth ( combat soldiers ) to tail ( support and supply manpower ) ratio, no economy can grow and prosper with a low productive to consumption fund ratio. The polity has to learn to control their baser instincts of vote bank politics and bring in austerity in spending on all subsidies, doles, freebies and government expenditure. The policies and directions of government spending have to concentrate on the force multiplier principle of compounding to reap the benefits for positive gains and not allow it to work for the detriment of economy. Oil pricing policies are a typical case in point. The Indian government decided not to increase the prices of petrol,diesel,cooking gas and kerosene for a very long period just to keep the vote banks happy, even though the international prices were soaring and the rupee was weakening at a fast pace.They even forgot that oil economics could be a thorn in Indian growth story and the resulting impact on fiscal deficit, current account deficit and the national economy is there for all to see. Similarly, the recent food security bill with constant prices to the beneficiary will make the exchequer poorer by Rs 15000 crores every year at an inflation of 10% and will have value reductive effect on the economy.

Governance and Policy Deficit: The Indian government has all these years harping upon the fact that compulsions of coalition government and global economies not being in good shape were responsible for bad state of economy, whereas the basic fact is that the country suffered badly as a result of governance and policy deficit prevailing in the country.It is sad that decisions that were supposed to be good for the country in the eyes of ruling polity were also kept pending  to realize there full impact on the vote bank politics during the ensuing elections in 2014. Now all of a sudden, after destroying the economy for a number of years, lot many legislations and policy measures are seeing the light of the day, the compulsions of coalition politics and tottering global economies not withstanding. In fact during the last month alone projects worth approximately 4.00 lakh crores in infrastructure sector alone have been cleared simply demonstrating 'where there is a will, there is a way'.
Trust Deficit: The biggest negative for the government of the day is the syndrome of trust deficit it has acquired by its actions, deeds and a non coherent approach so much so that the various state governments have no faith its intentions. No body seems to be willing to invest in India, be it the Indian or foreign entrepreneurs/investors. The government seems to be majorly banking on (Foreign Direct Investment) FDI and (Foreign Institutional Investors) FII's for all its economic woes including CAD and propping up economy but the naked truth about FDI is something not very comforting because of huge trust deficit it has built for itself over the years. 

WHO WILL STEM THIS ROT???

The Indian national elections to the 16th Lok Sabha are still about nine months away and all political parties are busy fooling the Indian voter and maligning each other in the murkiest of the manner. The well meaning honest Indian is witnessing  the high voltage drama going on everyday wherein the biggest howlers disguised as spokespersons are at their worst best and keep the nation amused by their daily quota of prowess of gift of the gab with half lies and no truth whatsoever. The hapless common man is all the more helpless as he fully knows that he has no choice of an honest government, and with the choices available his aspirations will just meet the fate 'out of the frying pan into the fire'. All such people would like to vote for the best man but sadly enough either this best man is not a candidate or is not allowed to be a candidate by the system of goons and buffoons ruling/ruining India.

The country which boasts of a galaxy of economists and a committed  polity ( committed to what? Your guess is as good as mine ) is passing through one of the worst economic crisis and the leaders of the advanced western countries of our globe are thoroughly enjoying the hara kiri acts of the Indian government towards destroying the Indian dream and chance to become world leaders. Isn't it really ironic that instead of present advanced countries and economic superpowers working for maintaining their coveted supremacy and global leadership, it is the Indian polity that is helping them all out by not doing anything to meet the challenges before India, the potential superpower of the 21st century. 
The need of the hour is to have somebody who could say with Charles de Gaulle, "In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate". It is a pity that political masters of India betray both, the country as well as electorate just to be in power by all kind of foul means. How one wishes that Indian polity too has some statesmen in its ranks, for 
Statesmen think of next generation and create opportunities, Leaders Seize opportunities that come their way, while Politicians think of next elections and fritter away these opportunities and dirty politicians who are the core of Indian polity simply mess up everything and this is what separates wise men from men, men from boys and boys from impudent louts in the realm of changing fate of a nation.

INDIAN REFORMS OR SHORT CUT TO DISASTER

Indian population of one billion plus had seen high hopes of an end to their woes and miseries in the hands of the trio of highly acclaimed economists but all their hopes and aspirations seem to have bitten the dust because they have miserably failed to put their knowledge to its best use. The polity has all along been thriving on hollow promises, high sounding slogans and true to its basic baser instinct of fooling citizenry at large and lust for power, UPA II has worked hard to manipulate the two path breaking reforms (in their words), namely the food security bill and the land acquisition bill.

It is not that the Indian government on the whole and these three musketeers in particular do not understand the total implications of their actions on the health of the economy and deterioration of the psyche of human resource of India. But their lust of power pushes them to the dictum of everything is fair in love and war, the war to grab power and dictates them to resort to anything and everything that can fetch votes, not withstanding its negative impact on the nation.

It is really sad that total Indian polity has failed to take the food security bill in the correct perspective and all politicians in the country wanted to excel each other in blowing away public exchequer in the most undesirable and inefficient manner. They fail to realize that the country's resources are limited but these vote banks are quite capable of blackmailing the polity into submission knowing its need to ensure votes for its mere existence.

Much has been said about land acquisition bill and that it will have far reaching effect on the fortune of our farmers. A few points any learned politician of the country will like to answer.

• In next five years how much of land from how many farmers/ farming families is likely to be acquired? May be a couple of thousand of farmers and fooling around 200 million voters, in the same way as fooling around 300 million voters for reservations in jobs by doling out 1 lakh jobs during the last 65 years. What a great achievement ?
• Who is going to reap the benefits of land acquisitions by government for infra projects, industry and urbanization? Is it not a fact that much before the actual land acquisition comes into play, the sharks belonging to power corridors, the kith and kin of politicians, their stooges and cronies manage to corner all land. The bill is an effort to give them the huge windfall benefits. If there was iota of sincerity in the minds of the polity, to give the real benefit to the farmer or the real landowner, some safe guard against this activity could have been incorporated, otherwise in present form, it is only an effort to maximize the gains of Vadheras and the likes of them along with the piddlings of the power corridors.

The seemingly innocuous land acquisition bill  is an effort to multiply manifolds the illegal earnings of who's who of the power corridors and to fool the farmer at large to grab his valuable vote for the black motives of the polity. Its overall impact on the economy,  its growth and to the urbanization of the country is going to be highly negative. Land acquisition bill will push up property prices by 30% along with making land acquisition a long drawn process riddled with uncertainties. Every cloud has a silver lining and hopefully the provisions contained in the bill will be used by landowners at nuclear power plant sites to see an end to the call on nuclear power in India : our worst enemy.

INDIA CALLING OR CRYING: WE ARE ALL TAINTED, WE WON'T ALLOW OUR LIFELINE TO...: United we stand, divided we fall . The Indian polity remembers this saying only when their sole life line to existence in politics i.e. co...

FOOD SECURITY BILL IN CORRECT PERSPECTIVE

Food security bill is the latest burning issue of Indian politics and seems to highlight the compulsions of the polity. There is no denying the fact that food security is the first basic big element in the chain of value addition in the earning ability of an individual, his health and India's march towards poverty alleviation. Food subsidy bill talks in terms of providing food to 50% of urban India (377 million) and 75% of rural India ( 833 million) at highly subsidised rates at a whopping cost of Rs 1,30,000 crore to the exchequer. Add to this the cost of pilferage, grain rotting and logistics inefficiencies, an estimated amount of Rs 60,000 -70,000 crore. A cost of about Rs 2,00,000 crore for meeting the basic food requirements of 800 million of Indian citizens after 66 years of rule by politicians totally dedicated to the cause of the common man. A matter to be proud of ???? Still let the country grant them credit for at least imbibing the motto 'BETTER LATE THAN NEVER'. ( Excerpts from http://veekay-indiandreamsvsreality.blogspot.in/2013/08/wrong-economics-or-wrong-intentions.html )

There are a few basic questions that any well meaning citizen of this country fails to understand.

• The timing of this bonanza of dole/freebie : India has been governed by this very polity for the last sixty years plus ( In fact more than 75% have been there for 25 years or more and in many cases  the power has been passed into the hands of 2nd and 3rd generation ) and all these years, election after election the common man has been misled/fooled into believing that his woes and miseries have been reduced by successive governments responsive to all their causes including food, shelter and clothing and their utmost concern for their upliftment. Today all of a sudden, 833 million people of the country need subsidized food for their basic existence and that too in the 10th year of rule of Congress and its allies. Add to this the fact that Indian economy is almost at its nadir and is fighting the menace of inflation coupled with high fiscal and current account deficits along with rupee devaluation. Is this the right time to indulge into an activity of providing additional 2 lakh crore to 3 lakh crore subsidy. But alas, this has got to be done now and now alone because this is perhaps the last straw for the sinking ship of this Indian government  which does not have any worthwhile achievement to boast of and is totally mired in corruption scams, Even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) feels that Food security bill will eat into India's finances but the government instead of showing some sincerity and honesty towards the national interest is simply bent upon looking for its own future and is playing vote bank politics.
• Why there has been a shift from the lofty principle of food for work to food for right to exist/life. The Indian citizenry to the Indian polity is like ants feeding wheat flour to whom by  Indian polity  is a path towards their Nirvana ( In this case a ticket to electoral victory and another chance to suck the country for their own luxuries and benefits ).

So much for the intentions behind this so called noble desire to serve the humanity. To an independent observer the following gaps/ lacunae very smartly left uncovered  by the policy makers are big irritants and will take the nation and its economy to dogs in the long run.

• There is no mention of the fact or any provision in the act about the period for which the provisions of the act will be applicable. Similarly, as the years roll by and with the likely growth of GDP, will there be any change in the quantum of subsidy and the number of beneficiaries. In a country like India where the only obsession of polity is to play to the gallery of its vote bank and coming to power by fair means or foul, making such provisions has little value as we have seen in the case of reservation policy and earlier subsidies. After all India has been ruined by a plethora of subsidies which could not even be rationalized leave alone doing away with them.
• Add to this the urge of the governments to play to the agriculturist vote banks and lobbies as also the fact that the prices of food grains will keep on going up courtesy inflation and costs of inputs, food bill subsidy will keep on growing.

While any sane person will not and should not grudge providing food security to the poor. It is well known that a healthy mind grows in a healthy body.  Healthy body and healthy mind are the two basic prerequisites of the human resource development which is one of the major next gen growth engine of the Indian economy. But food security bill must be taken up in the right earnest with an eye only on the future of India. Any digression from this to make it a ploy for vote bank politics now or in future will kill all chances of India becoming an economic superpower through unmanageable budgetary deficits. The choice is before Indian polity. Rise to the occasion for the sake of country and your beloved masses. For this threshold moment leave your baser instincts and lust for power in the interest of the nation otherwise be a mute witness to the reality of Is India progressing or regressing and Indian citizenry will never forgive you for having failed them in their long term aspirations.

WRONG ECONOMICS OR WRONG INTENTIONS

Pseudo economics, artificial actions and on all policy fronts with the sole consideration of vote bank politics have pushed India into a situation which is certainly not the envy of even the best of the supporters of the present government of India. It is only the modern day equivalents of historical court jesters and those excelling in the art of boot licking and sycophancy of the power corridors to succeed in their own dubious self interests who are all praise for the government actions which have failed to produce any positive results  on inflation front, the mother of all problems related to the economic health of the nation and the resulting rupee devaluation and a dwindling economy. Common sense says that the buying power of the rupee in the Indian market directly has a strong bearing on its buying power in the international market and yet strangely the only action taken by government of India is tightening of monetary policy through reserve bank without much effect on the inflation front but significant deleterious effects on the Indian economy. The real challenges before India the potential superpower of 21st century seem to have gone in the background and the Indian economy has been caught in the vicious cycle of slowing growth, fiscal deficit and current account deficit. All actions by the hi fi economists of the country seem to be hitting a wall perhaps because no concerted and sincere effort is being made.
Economics, governance and inflation are so much interlinked that any slackness in economics or governance will not allow inflation to come down to acceptable limits till such time the benefits of NREGA and increase of per capita income through increase in GDP are nullified by the increase in unemployment and dwindling growth rates of GDP. Similarly, Fiscal deficit and current account deficit do temporarily come down with decrease in international commodity prices of gold, crude etc and will go up as the commodity prices rise again. Unless and until the oil economics is viewed and managed in totality, oil economics will be the eternal bane of Indian economy and India's growth story. On the gold front also, Indian rulers are conveniently and merrily forgetting the basic fact that it is the most convenient method of absorbing black money. Increasing import duty can be a short term deterrent for some but in the long run the demand for yellow metal will not reduce and it will give incentive to more black money generation through smuggling route.

Why is it that every measure to take care of the woes of the common citizen has to be detrimental to the country? The answer is pretty simple, all actions are being taken by keeping  the interests of nation and its poor millions in the background and the  baser political/human urges to gain control over vote banks at the forefront. Food subsidy bill is a representative case in point.There is no denying the fact that food security is the first basic big element in the chain of value addition in the earning ability of an individual, his health and India's march towards poverty alleviation. Food subsidy bill talks in terms of providing food to 50% of urban India (377 million) and 75% of rural India ( 833 million) at highly subsidised rates at a whopping cost of Rs 1,30,000 crore to the exchequer. Add to this the cost of pilferage, grain rotting and logistics inefficiencies, an estimated amount of Rs 60,000 -70,000 crore. A cost of about Rs 2,00,000 crore for meeting the basic food requirements of 800 million of Indian citizens after 66 years of rule by politicians totally dedicated to the cause of the common man. A matter to be proud of ???? Still let the country grant them credit for at least imbibing the motto 'BETTER LATE THAN NEVER'. But what is the compulsion of 

• Giving it as a dole for the empty stomach, a liability of human body and not barter it against the output of two working hands which are the biggest asset of every human being. Why can't the polity ensure a monthly income of Rs 7000 for a household of five persons ( 35 days wages split between 2 adults ) or Rs 47 per day per head through a payment against work. The expenditure can be met by clubbing  together money spent on all the doles, freebies and the allied wastage, pilferage and administrative costs. Imagine the miracle of additional 300 (working days) X 100 million (working hands) available man days in a year, a figure even all the European nations combined together cannot dream of.
• Not adopting a methodology that would be most cost effective and least contributor to mismanagement and corrupt practices that have been the bane of majority of government programs and actions.

Why can't these brilliant men at the top think of achieving food security, work security and health security all by a single action of good governance and forgetting subsidies. Perhaps the polity lacks the courage and will to tell their vote banks that they are getting everything as compensation for their labour and work. Or may be the vote bank tells them that payment against work is acceptable from polity that deserves to rule and not from polity which relies only on corruption and corrupt practices for ruling the country.

WHAT IRKS INDIA'S POLITICIANS

While the word corruption irks the common man because it is the biggest impediment in his march towards end of poverty and miseries, the same word corruption irks the Indian politicians because it is the sole lifeline to their ability to earn a livelihood, to win elections, to come to power and to retain power.The political class as a whole takes a very strong exception when such comparisons are made but do not support any measure that could control corruption even in a small manner.

For achieving success in their lofty dubious goal of not allowing any controls on the demon of corruption, the evergreen goose that lays golden eggs for them, they sing the song of danger to democracy, danger to constitution, danger to principles of jurisprudence in complete harmony and unison. They have the power at their beck and call  to subvert and negate small actions by odd bold bureaucrats to rein in individual cases of corruption, a system under their thumb to neutralize bigger scams and legislative powers to annihilate even the observations/ rulings of judiciary.

And all this in the name of governance and policy making. Following actions and utterances of the polity during the last two years go a long way in showing the glaring differences in the perception of corruption mitigation of a common man and that of the rulers.

• Handling of Lok Pal Bill : The society wants it. All politicians want it as a public posture but nobody wants it in actual. In fact no body can deny the fact that An insincere polity is the crude Indian reality and it will never its own hands with any of its actions.
• Political parties under the Right to Information Act ( RTI ). The national government and the congress has been boasting for bringing in RTI but when Central Information Commission brought political parties under the ambit of this act, the same party along with all others has introduced a bill in Lok Sabha to keep political parties out of the purview of RTI act. Divided on everything else, political parties unite against RTI act as corruption and corrupt practices are their fundamental right.

• Supreme court directions on decriminalisation of poltics
• Supreme court directions to poll panel to act against election time freebies
• Giving autonomy to Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ), the caged parrot speaking in its master's voice.
• Politicians do not want Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG ) to keep a check on their dubious deeds,so much so that most of them say that CAG has no right to challenge government policies  even though they may be deleterious to the national interest and bordering on the realm of corruption and corrupt practices.

SOLAR ENERGY: BEST BET FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

The Indian government's thrust on inclusive growth is laudable and it is well known that growth, prosperity, healthcare, education and improvement in living conditions are all dependent on availability of power and an energy security model based on large power producing plants and a massive transmission and distribution system is neither viable nor feasible in rural areas whether remote or otherwise. A city conglomerate with a population of  about 2 million and an area of about 200 sq. kms is a concentrated pocket requiring something like 200 MW of electricity and the costs incurred on bringing in electricity from a large power plant 150 to 200 kms away can be justified but imagine a rural cluster of 5 villages in the same area with a population of  may be 5000 and an energy requirement of  5 - 10 MW can hardly justify the costs of being on a national grid system. India today needs many fold increase in its energy generation to cover all industrialization and households electrification needs. Firstly, this quantum of energy requirement cannot be met without resorting to renewable energy sources and secondly putting a national grid in place to cover all nooks and corners of the country may not materialize in the coming few decades even if the country decides to forget the cost, commercial aspects and the economy of energy production, transmission and distribution. Power engineers and policy makers anywhere must never forget that solar is simple, keep it simple to retain its edge when looking for solutions to energy security. It is because of such concerns and considerations of giving boost to rural industrialization that Brasil, Indonesia and now Zambia has opted for Solar energy to boost rural industrialization.

Of late the government of India has started realizing the importance of development of solar energy and it has proposed a target of 20000 mw by the end of 13th five year plan, though too little and too slow in view of the potential and advantages of basing India's energy security entirely on renewable energy concepts. The Indian prime minister has asked Bharat Heavy Electricals ( BHEL ) to take lead in developing solar power technology. It will be wonderful if other engineering giants are also involved in this national endeavor to make India into a global leader in the field of power from renewable energy sources. It was equally heartening to note that Dr Kakodkar, former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, one of the most vociferous advocates of nuclear energy has bracketed solar along with nuclear for the ultimate energy security of the country. Nuclear energy is debatable and a very contentious issue in the light of false safety promises and likelihood of catastrophic accidents. In comparison solar has no thorns attached to it and easily emerges as the only wise option. It is not just for nothing that many advanced countries are putting in all their eggs in the basket of renewable energy, so much so that their yearly additions to power from renewable energy sources are to the tune of 4000 mw and higher and solar power being the highest contributor.
The whole world takes cognizance of the fact that India   is  at  the  thresh  hold  of  a  huge  step forward to become one of the economic super powers of  21st century because of a huge opportunity knocking on its doors with a combination of favourable factors like vast technical and management  human  resource at much lower expense,  an  awesome demography  advantage   coupled   with   an enormous demand for all kind of consumer goods, infrastructure, housing and healthcare needs even if one talks about extending  the benefits of development to a level of reasonably good living as per the European standards to the 1 billion plus population of the country. Add to this the need and inner desire on the part of all nations to shift over to renewable energy sources for energy security because of global environmental concerns and finite nature of all fuel based energy. Total reliance and a super thrust on renewable energy is a must for India becoming a global leader and the sheer magnitude of India's additional power requirements in the coming two decades should prompt the country's leadership to find solutions which can give the country leadership in newer power technologies for all times to come.

CORRUPTION, THE HARBINGER OF PROSPERITY FOR CHOSEN FEW AND MISERY FOR BILLION PLUS

Corruption is the sole lifeline of existence of Indian polity. It governs their ability to earn a livelihood, their ability to win elections, the ability to come to power and even their ability to retain power. And all this under the garb of politics. As it is the word politics was and has never been a very honorable word in the society. Its connotations have always been far from positive. From time to time it has been defined in a very polished but realistic manner

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first". Ronald Reagen

No guesses for naming the oldest profession, it is well known to every individual but what is the role of a politician in this profession. Is it that of the client, broker or the sex worker. One dare not hazard a guess for all the three will take exception to being compared with a politician

"Politics is the last resort for the scoundrels"George Bernard Shaw

To what extent these statements are true in the other countries but in India it is not last but first refuge of any and every scoundrel. It is not a coincidence that out of 776 Members of Parliament (MP's) and 4120 state legislatures ( MLA's), more than 30% have criminal cases regarding murder, attempt to murder, robbery, dacoity, etc pending against them. And why not? For this is the only profession that can make a hero out of an antisocial element, let his illegal wealth grow, provide some dignity to such impudent louts possessed of almost no virtue and help them tremendously in hoodwinking the law of the land and allow them  going scot-free on  technical grounds or through benefit of doubt. There are a  number of  occasions when MLAs and MPs from  jails were  brought to legislative houses and  parliament so as to  save the Government of  the day. Such is  the value and  importance of these elements (with their tonnes of black money, goonda power, and vote garnering capabilities) to even the saints in politics that these saints not only close their eyes to their black deeds but let them grow exponentially in their black deeds.

In recent times the nation has been a mute witness to the absolute unholy alliance of almost entire polity of the country to defeat following watershed decisions that could have have changed the corruption scenario in a very big way which in turn could have revolutionized the course of development of the country and above all the poverty alleviation which is ironically the sole declared aim of each and every political worker.

• Lok Pal Bill
• Political parties under the Right to information act
• Supreme court directions on banning criminal elements for contesting of elections and continuing as legislatures
• Giving autonomy to Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI )

The agony of the nation lies in the fact that instead of doing something concrete to find an end to this malaise of corruption, the entire polity of the country  has come together, in fact to find ways and means/ flimsy excuses to 

not let anything happen in the right direction. For them the guiding principles are that 

• No harm should come to even a single imaginary righteous man ( righteous not because he is honest but because he could manipulate to escape conviction for lack of evidence or legal loopholes) even if 100% of legislature gets occupied by corrupt and criminals.
• And once a powerful man manages to hoodwink legal process, his integrity becomes impeccable and he can occupy even the most sensitive position.I wonder why the same yardstick is not applicable to bureaucracy where even an iota of doubt on one's integrity can have far reaching consequences.

THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT ( FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ) FDI

The Indian government unleashes big bang ( Foreign Direct Investment ) FDI reforms and the same have been termed as game changing reforms by all those who have sacrificed their intelligence, conscience and ability to speak for truth at the altar of ruling combine and a hoax by all those who have dumped all these positive human traits  in the basket of opposition. It is a pity that not even a single individual from amongst the total polity of the country dare put things in the correct perspective without singing the song of his affiliation.

Firstly, let us all be very clear that poverty alleviation will happen with growth and growth alone which can come only through huge investments in the next gen growth engines, namely

• Corruption mitigation and good governace
• Indian energy security
• Infrastructure and human resource development

No amount of social engineering, empowerment and redistribution of wealth can bring about poverty alleviation for these are plain and simple election rhetoric aimed solely at fooling the public at large. Sixty five years history of independent India is a mute witness to all this and the country has not achieved anything worthwhile towards the oft touted slogans of poverty mitigation, food , health, education, shelter and a reasonable human existence  for all. 

While the government widened its doors for FDI in many sectors, Arcelor Mittal has scrapped the project of a Rs 50000 crore steel plant in Orissa and Posco pulled out of a Rs 32000 crore steel mill in Karnatka. Similarly, in spite of the gates being open about a year back to FDI in retail in India, a measure that could have catapulted not only the growth story but changed the lot of millions of workers, farmers etc. no worthwhile investments have come to India.

This only shows that there is simple trust deficit and the foreign entrepreneurs are simply not willing to pour in their hard earned money on the assurances of a polity which cannot be depended upon  for their utterances and actions. The ruling polity has to understand that these players are playing with their own hard earned money and are not enjoying the grand perks and prosperity at the cost of public exchequer. Unlike the polity which can afford to be incoherent in their policies, inefficient in their actions and imbibe a couldn't care less attitude in fulfilling their promises for providing the necessary atmosphere and infrastructure for any profitable business activity, these guys want continuity, sincerity and an honesty of purpose at all fronts in the country they step in.

The naked truth about FDI is that it will keep on pouring in tonnes if Indian economy keeps on growing at 9% plus with insignificant inflation. This reality is India's for the asking if and only if India takes on the challenge of corruption, graft and black money mitigation as also providing good governance earnestly.India must understand that God also helps those who help themselves. Let India grow at  9% plus, FDI will get attracted even with the present norms of cap on FDI like flies get attracted to jaggery for if they don't partake in the Indian growth story on India's terms, the emerging Indian industry giants will swallow them in no time.