Corruption, Black Money in India : Aadhar the only Viable Solution

Corruption amongst politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, other government functionaries and corporate world is rampant in India. Though the cases that come to light through media everyday are a minuscule sample of the menace of Corruption, Black Money and Bad Governance, the government and the polity have shown scant concern in this regard. A few raids, some action on the part of vigilance authorities and once in a while expose by media efforts cannot produce any meaningful dent on the extent of corruption, black money and bad governance malaise which is deeply rooted in all aspects of Indian economy, governance and day to day lives of all Indians. To whatever extent we may reinforce our anti corruption machinery, judicial system and laws we can only manage to put a scratch on the problem. The real fight against corruption and black money will come through good governance and administrative action only.
Aadhar project of the Unique Identification Authority of India can be the real aadhar of the nation's fight against corruption and black money. The project was given concurrence by the government as an exercise to give identity proof to 1 billion Indians. Slowly and slowly when the total repercussions of the Unique Identification Number started unfolding themselves, the polity seems to have developed cold feet suddenly.Firstly because it takes away the punch from the slogan of inclusive growth and social, economic and political empowerment and secondly it puts their survivability in politics in question as major support to elections comes through these cadres and such tainted money. The amounts involved are simply mind boggling. A sum of Rs 1,50,000 crores which goes into corruption and black money through leakages, bribery and pilferage in welfare benefits such as subsidies, pensions, NREGA, India Awaas Yojna, mid day meals and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. After all these are the only sops that can be offered to their political loyalists at 2nd and 3rd level. In this country who wants to have power without any financial gains attached to it? Who wants to serve the nation and its masses free of cost? The UID project has come under attack from all flanks. The very basis of of unique identification number i.e. procedures for data collection and potential errors therein as well as concerns over privacy are being challenged. What kind of hidden agenda or ulterior motives are behind this, is any body's guess.

Real estate along with all other asset classes is the other main source of corruption and black money. The only viable solution seems to be through linking of all immovable and movable assets with UID number. These assets will include all commercial and residential property, all agricultural land, gold and jewellery, all vehicles ( commercial and private ), all luxury items, DMat accounts, investments in commodities, banks and mutual funds etc. etc.. Along with these linkages the following steps are also a must.

• Government should have the power to acquire about 5-10% of real estate deals in the secondary market by paying 10% premium to the declared value of the deal.
• Practice of power of attorney in respect of real estate should be abolished.
• All Discretionary powers in the hands of government functionaries should be withdrawn because in India they are always used for one's own hidden agenda and ulterior motives.

Once the investment avenues of ill gotten money are plugged, we can see a ray of hope in improving the living standards of Indian masses at a much faster rate.

BAD GOVERNANCE IN INDIA:ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE

Roads, highways and expressways are a very important mode of transport in a country and have enormous impact on the economy and connectivity of people and places. The sector demands a priority from the government for approvals, land acquisition, funding etc. which are not forthcoming at a pace India requires to achieve double digit growth of economy and bringing in some aspects of comfort and conveniences in the day to day lives of its people. All because of bad governance i.e. not having an integrated approach between various agencies involved. All this has affected the pace of development of the road network development in a big way.

The state of Roads and their maintenance is  invariably substandard so much so that during and after monsoon months they are not worthy to be called metalled roads ( pucca roads ).On roads full of large pits and eroded rough stretches, no vehicle can move even at speeds of 30 kmph resulting in longer and inconvenient travels. The petrol consumption for the same journey is almost double of travel in normal conditions. This condition prevails all over India for about 6 months in a year meaning thereby that petrol consumption during this period is almost double.What a waste of our our precious foreign exchange! How much it will contribute to subsidy burden and annual fiscal deficit? On the top of it the wear and tear, break down damage cost to the vehicles and the annual repair bill of these roads costs to the nation a few thousand crores . Bad governance in India and insensitivity to the woes of its citizens and little concern for nation's assets is the hallmark of our governments.

FDI in RETAIL in INDIA:WHY SO MUCH OF OPPOSITION

The decision of government of India to allow FDI in retail business has been the focus of so much of commotion inside and outside parliament. Whereas the government is certainly to be blamed for the timing of the decision particularly when more pressing and rewarding issues like fight against corruption, graft and black money, setting our electric power generation industry in order and increasing the pace of infrastructure development which need immediate attention. The opposition parties are just playing petty politics for short term gains and nailing the government with larger ulterior motives by instigating their vote banks with half baked truths. Interestingly the main opposition i.e. BJP was the original exponent of the idea of FDI in retail in India as early as the year 2000.
To day's call for keeping all shops and Kirana stores closed by various unions is motivated by reasons known to them only, for their businesses have not suffered in metros where large retail stores are already existing and are selling goods at substantial discounts to maximum retail price mentioned on these goods. The politicians who have taken up their cause have never raised an eyebrow on avoidance of various government taxes by this sector and its huge contribution to the black money generation. They have never taken up the issue of the wages, working conditions and benefits that are the right of all employees working in these stores. Their concern for workers and nation are simply deplorable.
To day Anna Hazare, a highly respected Gandhian leader who has taken up the issue of corruption in India on his shoulders and awakened the Indian masses for a war against corruption, has also jumped into the fray with  his objections to FDI which are out of sync with the modern concepts of globalisation.

BAD GOVERNANCE IN INDIA:POWER SECTOR

Power is the back bone of industrial growth and improving the lives of masses of a country. It is surprising that despite of talking big on Energy Security and massive plans to increase India's installed capacity from the present 1,60,000 mw to 8,00,000 mw in 15-20 years and to 16,00,000 mw in about 30 years, we are sleeping on introducing energy management concepts in this sector.The various aspects of this sector are grossly mismanaged and need immediate attention on the part of both, the government and consumers.

• Power production - Majority of country,s power plants are running at a maximum  of about 75-80% of installed capacity.
• Energy transmission loss and thefts account for 30-35% of the installed capacity.

These two factors alone account for about half of the installed capacity. While the industry, business consumers and the household consumers are crying for more and more of quality power supply, our governments are not bothered to address any of these concerns.

• Massive Energy capacity addition plans have been announced and approved during the last few years but without any concerted effort on the part of various government ministries, departments and agencies. Large sums of money have been invested but additional electricity is not available to industry and other consumers, sometimes because of issues related to environment clearance, acquisition of land, non availability of coal, gas etc, and finally because of transmission facilities not being in place. With all the expertise available, with all the good and sincere intentions of the polity and government, with all the concerns for the nation and its poor millions, we are mute witnesses to this bad governance.
• National grid not being in place, requirement of additional power needs at one location cannot be met with the availability of surplus power at another location in the country by diversion and the surplus power is a total loss.

Lastly the consumers from all walks of life - government,business establishments,industry and household sectors should be encouraged to  have solar passive architecture, heat insulation technologies and adopt non grid electricity sources where ever and when ever possible.

TRUE FACE OF INDIAN POLITY

The winter session of Indian Parliament has started last week. The government proposes to introduce a large number of bills which are meant to address the hot issues of corruption, graft, black money etc., as also various others meant for the good of Indian economy and progress of the nation. Surprisingly, ten days have passed without any business being conducted in the parliament.

The government blames the opposition parties whereas these parties blame the government for this logjam. The fact of the matter is that politicians by and large are just playing dirty politics over frivolous matters so that somehow or the other Lok Pal bill, Citizen Charter bill, Judicial Accountability bill, Whistle Blower bill etc., in fact everything connected with corruption, graft and black money do not come up for discussion in the parliament. As if opposition's stance on black money and price rise was not enough, government ill timed the issue of FDI in retail to add fuel to fire.After all most of them have their vested interests. They all know the answer to ailments of Indian economy  but who wants to cut the branches of the tree of corruption, who wants to cut the limbs of graft and black money demon. None of them, for this in essence is the golden hen which provides them personal prosperity. It also provides them security to survive in the power game through so called inclusive growth of their near and dear ones, cronies, stooges, loyalists and political brokers.

FDI in RETAIL in INDIA: A CORRECT PERSPECTIVE

The total retail industry in India is of the order of Rs. 2.3 lakh Crores and 95% of it comprises of normal Kirana shops, mom & pop stores and about 5% of organised retail sector. The latest government decision to allow 50% FDI in retail is seeing a lot of resistance from the opposition parties as well as some of the constituents of UPA. This action of government will add a small percentage to the organised sector of retail Still the contribution from normal Kirana stores will be in excess of 90%. It is hard to understand the rhetoric of employment opportunities getting reduced as a result of this and it appears to be similar to the fears that were raised when decisions on computerisation of government departments, LIC and banks was taken a few decades back. In fact more job opportunities of a different kind and higher order will emerge which will give all the benefits of employment which accrue from organised sector employment, to our youth.
Any capital inputs to the retail sector will upgrade our back end infrastructure, logistics capabilities and  realty sector directly and benefit the employees involved in giving them better remuneration, working environment and social security. The unorganised sector of retail is a major contributor to black money through excise duty, sales tax and income tax avoidance. Big retail outlets will help reduce this tax avoidance and contribute to the tax kitty of the country.
Those opposing this step are playing petty politics and are in fact working against the interests of their major vote bank of poor citizens of this country as the farmers will be deprived of getting better value of their produce and small time Kirana stores of getting cheaper goods from wholesale mega stores. In fact they are only resorting to mud slinging and slogan mongering for it aids them in cornering the government for immediate political gains. If we don't take decisions that will bring about major changes in our work force capabilities, say from unskilled to semi skilled and finally to skilled one, we are not going to add to their's and country's earnings. The dream of becoming a prosperous and developed nation will never become a reality.

Indian Nuclear Power Option:A Fraud On the Nation

Indian government seems to be in undue haste to sink trillions of rupees of the nation on the nuclear power option as energy security which is defunct, redundant and out of sync with the best available options in the 21st century and  future ahead. No other nation on this globe seems to have any conviction on this energy security option, not even the main advocates and suppliers of nuclear power technology themselves.
Apart from the safety and environment concerns associated with nuclear power option, it is the civil liability magnitude which seems to be beyond any tangible solution. The total damages in the case of a full blow  out can be thousands of lives, condemned area of about 10000 sq. kms. and effects lingering on for many decades. In terms of money, the damages amount to a whopping sum of Rs 90000 Crores or higher. Who is going to pay? If Government of India has to exercise nuclear power option, what provisions have been made for blow out damages? If damage amount is taken care of, even the much touted lower cost of nuclear energy production becomes much more than the cost of production of solar and wind energy.Lastly, what surety is there that India will be ensured nuclear fuel supplies for all times to come; for tomorrow the economic and political interests of nuclear cartel countries and India could clash. Or does India has to be under the black mail threat for all times to come once it exercises the nuclear power option. Do we have a suitable and fail safe penalty clause included in these contracts for we are going to sink a fortune in these plants.

While Germany has decided to phase out its nuclear power option completely by 2030, the French and British governments are under tremendous pressure from a vast majority of their populace to phase out nuclear energy completely by 2050 or so.In USA no new nuclear plants have come up during the last three decades. It cannot be just a coincidence that the most developed countries are fighting against the very presence of nuclear power plants on their soil. Indian government is either oblivious of the concerns that are bothering the citizens of developed nations or is holding them back from the nation for reasons best known to it.

India is likely to add up about 5 lakh mw of electrical power in the coming two decades and a similar demand is likely to emanate from Asia and Africa who are likely to be denied access to nuclear power.The energy requirements of developed world will be confined to small amount of replacement of their obsolete plants. In this scenario, the advanced countries will like to delay the employment of huge funds for developing renewable clean energy technologies till such time they earn huge sums of money from their earlier investments in nuclear power technologies. The same money will be deployed for researches and industrial infrastructure development for clean renewable energy technologies.This is the right time and opportunity for India to make best use of trillions of rupees to be spent in power sector by giving impetus to relevant researches, technology development and manufacturing facilities for renewable clean energy options and become world leaders in this field which is going to be the backbone of development and prosperity in the immediate, intermediate and long term future.The government policies are certainly denying the nation the golden opportunity to become world leaders.
Let us wake up and not allow these politicians to opt for nuclear power option and deny the nation the golden chance to become world leader. Even a mother does not feed milk to its own child unless it cries.