The Egyptian uprising had Facebook as a medium (Wael Ghonim from Google used it to reach out to youth in the country) to mobilize opinion and crowds, back home response to Anna Hazare’s fast against corruption generated tremendous support in towns and cities across the country and that too at a rapid pace (less than 24 hrs), one thing that is common to both mass movements is access to information by the citizen and how it is challenging the government. In this social networking world information is no more a privilege of a few, it is getting difficult for the governments to control it. (In perhaps the most secretive anti-terrorist operation in the world, we saw a commoner tweeting innocently that something is not right dead at night). There is nothing secret in this world anymore.
For 60 years Governments and bureaucrats in India could hide and while away time withholding information from the public, this of course lead to entrenchment, corruption and under development. Today the momentum in the country is against these evils and the enabler has been access to information. The RTI act, aggressive visual media and mobile penetration is leading to dramatic resurgence in public reaction to issues that concern the nation. Indians who have given up hope on development, corruption, education, health care etc can now aspire to live in a better India by forcing governments to act.
The response of government to Ramdev’s fast against black money is an indication of the new found eagerness to address such sensitive issues faster before it gets out of hand. Of course there is a counter argument if the methods adopted by Anna and Ramdev are proper in a democracy. I am not sure about the pros and cons of such information lead mass movements but I am sure the elephant called Indian democracy will start moving.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
This Urban Medical center (UHC) is bang on the periphery of the affluent IT district in Hyderabad. We went on a visit to the center after knowing through the news media that such a center catering to the daily labor and the surrounding slums is defunct.
The place is desolate and looks like a place to catch a disease rather than to get rid of one. There are some 5 contract nurses who have not been paid for 16 months whiling their time away. They give medicines for minor ailments to the occasional visitor. The facility itself is big one with decent infrastructure which is unused and rusting. No doctor visited this facility for 5 months. There was a young house surgeon who is mandated to spend 2 hrs/day for a month in the facility, she was looking at her watch to get out of the center and probably get into one of the swanky private hospitals to learn more about her trade.
So much for the governments focus on primary health care. We need not even talk about the PHCs in the rural areas, conditions must be depressing there. It is unfortunate that health care and education are not serious political issues in the country as yet, hence we see no political party interested in putting these on their agenda except for an occasional stir. They do not win and lose elections on these issues. Therefore there is no accountability in the system. 80% of the country does not have reach to primary health care, they are forced to go to the Private clinics and pay beyond their means.
The government is pouring so much money into health care the impact of is not quantified and measured, they keep throwing data on HIV,TB, cholera cases but no significant improvement is seen in the infrastructure on the ground. It is a messy relationship between the government and private hospitals; one of the government schemes “Arogyasri” allows BPL citizens to get medical care in private hospitals (this in principle worked to some extent) but the usurious private hospitals loot the exchequer with higher charges and conducting needless procedures on the patient. Definitely not a way to handle health care for 800 million poor citizens of the country.
There is utter despondency in the area of health care. We will file an RTI and get this center up and running for a while but who will do it for the country, who will wake up the sleeping “Health Ministers”.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Bengal between rock and hard place
Mamata’s victory is a welcome news in west Bengal after 35 years of indifferent rule by the communists. At the end of 35 years communists are leaving a state which is dilapidated and ranks low on most developmental parameters.
The communist’s significant achievement is the land reforms act “operation barga”. The small farmer (share cropper) was given ownership rights and much of the land which was under cash crops like jute was brought under food production, making the state self sufficient in food. This ensured their longevity.
For an outsider West Bengal is a poor state where there are frequent bandhs and government does not work. Post liberalization West Bengal is one of the big states which has lost out in putting the state on fast track (look at Maharashtra, Gujarat, AP, TN etc). The lefts dogmatic approach to privatization and inviting private capital for development ensured that all the engineers and other professionals left the state to pursue jobs in other states.
The current chief minister tried to change the thinking in the communists and pushed for reforms but it was too late. They made a mess of the Nandigram, Singur and the Netai incidents which meant the left has become arrogant and lost touch with the common man. The urban voter has deserted the communists’ long time back, with the above incidents even the rural voter rebelled against the high handed behavior of the left.
Beyond the land reforms the communists mishandling of vital issues of state - like industrialization, education, the centre-state relations etc alienated the people. Prakash Karat and gang harassing the Manmohan singh government on the Nuclear issue and forcing a vote in the parliament was not taken well by the people and is a reason for its downfall.
One is not sure if Mamata is the right alternative to the communists, she too has copied the lefts tactics of bandhs, hartals etc to beat them in their game. Her handling of the Railway ministry is nothing much to write about. Can she put West Bengal on the path of rapid development, can she shake up the lackadaisical administration and push other important reforms? One needs to wait and see, but she definitely needs to be congratulated for breaking the lefts grip on West Bengal.
The communist’s significant achievement is the land reforms act “operation barga”. The small farmer (share cropper) was given ownership rights and much of the land which was under cash crops like jute was brought under food production, making the state self sufficient in food. This ensured their longevity.
For an outsider West Bengal is a poor state where there are frequent bandhs and government does not work. Post liberalization West Bengal is one of the big states which has lost out in putting the state on fast track (look at Maharashtra, Gujarat, AP, TN etc). The lefts dogmatic approach to privatization and inviting private capital for development ensured that all the engineers and other professionals left the state to pursue jobs in other states.
The current chief minister tried to change the thinking in the communists and pushed for reforms but it was too late. They made a mess of the Nandigram, Singur and the Netai incidents which meant the left has become arrogant and lost touch with the common man. The urban voter has deserted the communists’ long time back, with the above incidents even the rural voter rebelled against the high handed behavior of the left.
Beyond the land reforms the communists mishandling of vital issues of state - like industrialization, education, the centre-state relations etc alienated the people. Prakash Karat and gang harassing the Manmohan singh government on the Nuclear issue and forcing a vote in the parliament was not taken well by the people and is a reason for its downfall.
One is not sure if Mamata is the right alternative to the communists, she too has copied the lefts tactics of bandhs, hartals etc to beat them in their game. Her handling of the Railway ministry is nothing much to write about. Can she put West Bengal on the path of rapid development, can she shake up the lackadaisical administration and push other important reforms? One needs to wait and see, but she definitely needs to be congratulated for breaking the lefts grip on West Bengal.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sell it or Shut it
There is no one reason for the mess in Air India, it is a combination of mis-management, political interference, employee hostility and lack of conviction on part of the government to either make it a successful business, divest it or lock it down.
From buying aircraft, over-expenditure and general mis-management there is nothing going right at Air India. The latest CAG report slams Air India for 'wasteful expenditure', 'inefficiency', and 'excessive delays' in repairing and overhauling its fleet's engines, resulting in huge losses for the airline.
The merger of Air India and Indian Airlines to create a company called NACIL is a marriage between incompatibles said the Parliamentary committee, the combined entity turned out to be as loss making as the separate entities. ”The Maharaja had become a pauper a long time ago,” said Capt Gustav Baldauf, who was brought specifically in to oversee the merger of Indian Airlines with Air India. He has been kicked out for asking the government not to interfere in his job.
With total accumulated losses of USD 3 billion, bank loans worth USD 10 billion and millions more to be paid to the oil companies it is a story of throwing good money after bad.
It definitely has a social role to play, flying to non-profitable domestic routes and provide help in evacuating citizens during calamities. But we have a situation where the airline management has opted out of profitable routes. Is there a surreptitious attempt to make the airline unprofitable to kill it; is there an attempt to aid the private operators by doing so? A particular minister was suspected of hobnobbing with private airline owners. It was the top carrier in the Indian skies a decade ago today it share is a pathetic 16%.
No one seems to own the beloved Maharaja, neither the politicians, nor the management, and not even the unions. Everyone has their own vested interest and no one is serious to save it.
Can Air India be profitable ever? It is basically a management problem which can perhaps be addressed and a turnaround made possible but only without political and government interference. Is that a possibility?
The next question is can the government find a buyer for the loss making airline? The economic environment will be a deterrent for potential bidders. Should the airline be stripped down and sold in parts and let the government run a smaller corporation to address only the social obligations. I think this is possible solution.
As long as the government keeps inducting equity into the airline without a radical shift in its strategy of running this business it is throwing money down the drain, we need all this money to build schools, hospitals and Infrastructure in the country, not to keep feeding this white elephant.
From buying aircraft, over-expenditure and general mis-management there is nothing going right at Air India. The latest CAG report slams Air India for 'wasteful expenditure', 'inefficiency', and 'excessive delays' in repairing and overhauling its fleet's engines, resulting in huge losses for the airline.
The merger of Air India and Indian Airlines to create a company called NACIL is a marriage between incompatibles said the Parliamentary committee, the combined entity turned out to be as loss making as the separate entities. ”The Maharaja had become a pauper a long time ago,” said Capt Gustav Baldauf, who was brought specifically in to oversee the merger of Indian Airlines with Air India. He has been kicked out for asking the government not to interfere in his job.
With total accumulated losses of USD 3 billion, bank loans worth USD 10 billion and millions more to be paid to the oil companies it is a story of throwing good money after bad.
It definitely has a social role to play, flying to non-profitable domestic routes and provide help in evacuating citizens during calamities. But we have a situation where the airline management has opted out of profitable routes. Is there a surreptitious attempt to make the airline unprofitable to kill it; is there an attempt to aid the private operators by doing so? A particular minister was suspected of hobnobbing with private airline owners. It was the top carrier in the Indian skies a decade ago today it share is a pathetic 16%.
No one seems to own the beloved Maharaja, neither the politicians, nor the management, and not even the unions. Everyone has their own vested interest and no one is serious to save it.
Can Air India be profitable ever? It is basically a management problem which can perhaps be addressed and a turnaround made possible but only without political and government interference. Is that a possibility?
The next question is can the government find a buyer for the loss making airline? The economic environment will be a deterrent for potential bidders. Should the airline be stripped down and sold in parts and let the government run a smaller corporation to address only the social obligations. I think this is possible solution.
As long as the government keeps inducting equity into the airline without a radical shift in its strategy of running this business it is throwing money down the drain, we need all this money to build schools, hospitals and Infrastructure in the country, not to keep feeding this white elephant.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
A mystic, demigod or a god
I have been a distant observer of the Saibaba phenomenon over the years and my feelings swung between, is he a real god to ok let me not be skeptical he is doing admirable social work.
There were claims that he is a charlatan, trickster etc. but his phenomenon was always on the rise, to his credit none of the allegations stuck to him. He deftly evaded most challenges thrown at him by rationalists and went on to build his credo spreading his simple message of universal love. He was dogmatic and took into his fold all castes,creeds and religions with open hands.
Needless to say that there is something special in this man who could attract Presidents, Prime Ministers, Judges, Ministers and Doctors to his fold. I had an opportunity to see him in his Bangalore ashram, a diminutive figure in a wheel chair was rolled into the hall, he had a soft gleaming skin, I instantly could feel he is different from the rest of us but I do not know in what way. They say one should be “connected” to a guru to experience his warmth and love and that is what his followers might feel in his presence. Perhaps rest of us do not have such experience since we have not yet surrendered to a guru.
Over the past 2 decades Saibaba has used his trust funds well to serve the public and used his money generating power in executing projects which government couldn’t do. Drinking Water projects to the parched district of Anantapur and Chennai city are significant as also the super specialty hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore. His trust has poured crores of rupees into these endeavors. He is indeed a god to many who go to his hospitals to get their surgeries done free of cost. He is a god for the denizens of Anantapur and other districts where his projects delivered drinking water. Saibaba has stepped in where governments failed.
He has left an empire worth anything between 40,000 to 100,000 crores and it is up to the trust to deliver on the ideals of service that Saibaba preached. India is a land of mystics and god men of all sorts; we are naturally attracted to these mystics for various reasons. Some of them are frauds, some of them are genuine and some in between, Satya Saibaba has definitely left a positive legacy with his work for the society and a role model for the rest of the spiritual gurus on how to harness their energy towards social good.
There were claims that he is a charlatan, trickster etc. but his phenomenon was always on the rise, to his credit none of the allegations stuck to him. He deftly evaded most challenges thrown at him by rationalists and went on to build his credo spreading his simple message of universal love. He was dogmatic and took into his fold all castes,creeds and religions with open hands.
Needless to say that there is something special in this man who could attract Presidents, Prime Ministers, Judges, Ministers and Doctors to his fold. I had an opportunity to see him in his Bangalore ashram, a diminutive figure in a wheel chair was rolled into the hall, he had a soft gleaming skin, I instantly could feel he is different from the rest of us but I do not know in what way. They say one should be “connected” to a guru to experience his warmth and love and that is what his followers might feel in his presence. Perhaps rest of us do not have such experience since we have not yet surrendered to a guru.
Over the past 2 decades Saibaba has used his trust funds well to serve the public and used his money generating power in executing projects which government couldn’t do. Drinking Water projects to the parched district of Anantapur and Chennai city are significant as also the super specialty hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore. His trust has poured crores of rupees into these endeavors. He is indeed a god to many who go to his hospitals to get their surgeries done free of cost. He is a god for the denizens of Anantapur and other districts where his projects delivered drinking water. Saibaba has stepped in where governments failed.
He has left an empire worth anything between 40,000 to 100,000 crores and it is up to the trust to deliver on the ideals of service that Saibaba preached. India is a land of mystics and god men of all sorts; we are naturally attracted to these mystics for various reasons. Some of them are frauds, some of them are genuine and some in between, Satya Saibaba has definitely left a positive legacy with his work for the society and a role model for the rest of the spiritual gurus on how to harness their energy towards social good.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Adverse impact of increasing alcoholism
While spending a couple of nights in a hospital to take care of a relative i could witness firsthand the havoc alcoholism is causing on young drivers. As per statistics a third to a quarter of road accidents are related to drunken driving. It is consuming young lives.
One need to recognize the role of irresponsible governments in the increasing rate of alcoholism in the country. Drive across the main highways and towns in the any of the states one can find multitude of wine shops dotted across the landscape. Alcohol provides a big revenue stream to the states and hence they turn a blind eye to the social impact of this dangerous addiction. They just churn out new licenses every year to eke out more revenue from liquor sales.
As per latest data nearly 30 to 35 per cent of adult men and five per cent of women are regular consumers of alcohol in India. The earliest age at which alcohol is consumed has changed significantly — from 28 years in 1980 to 18 years in 2010.
It is well know that Alcohol consumers have a higher incidence of mortality, hospitalization and disabilities due to injuries. Nearly one-third of night road traffic injuries and deaths are attributed to alcohol use. About one-fourth of violence and other forms of abuse against women and children were linked to chronic alcohol use.
A recent study showed India as the largest producer of alcohol in the world, contributing 65 per cent of total production and nearly seven per cent of imports within the region. The data from the International Wine and Spirits Record and said the sale of alcohol liter cases went up from 72,000 in 2000 to 200 million in 2009.
Country-made liquor and rum are common in rural areas. Home-made local brews continued to be popular in select communities, especially in the northeast and Goa. In general it is observed that social costs of alcoholism far exceeded the revenue generated from sale of alcohol. A recent study revealed that nearly one of three patients above 25 years of age entering emergency rooms has shown acute to chronic effects of alcohol.
Total prohibition is imposed in Gujarat and Mizoram while partial prohibition continued in Karnataka since 2007-08. The experience of prohibition across Indian States revealed that while prohibition had a marginal impact in reducing availability, it promoted smuggling. The policy of increasing taxes on alcohol by successive governments had only been generating more revenue and had no desired impact on consumption patterns.
Governments need to wake up to the reality of the social costs that alcoholism is imposing on the state and invest in policy and education to make citizens aware of the frightful consequences of alcoholism.
ref : NIMHANS study
One need to recognize the role of irresponsible governments in the increasing rate of alcoholism in the country. Drive across the main highways and towns in the any of the states one can find multitude of wine shops dotted across the landscape. Alcohol provides a big revenue stream to the states and hence they turn a blind eye to the social impact of this dangerous addiction. They just churn out new licenses every year to eke out more revenue from liquor sales.
As per latest data nearly 30 to 35 per cent of adult men and five per cent of women are regular consumers of alcohol in India. The earliest age at which alcohol is consumed has changed significantly — from 28 years in 1980 to 18 years in 2010.
It is well know that Alcohol consumers have a higher incidence of mortality, hospitalization and disabilities due to injuries. Nearly one-third of night road traffic injuries and deaths are attributed to alcohol use. About one-fourth of violence and other forms of abuse against women and children were linked to chronic alcohol use.
A recent study showed India as the largest producer of alcohol in the world, contributing 65 per cent of total production and nearly seven per cent of imports within the region. The data from the International Wine and Spirits Record and said the sale of alcohol liter cases went up from 72,000 in 2000 to 200 million in 2009.
Country-made liquor and rum are common in rural areas. Home-made local brews continued to be popular in select communities, especially in the northeast and Goa. In general it is observed that social costs of alcoholism far exceeded the revenue generated from sale of alcohol. A recent study revealed that nearly one of three patients above 25 years of age entering emergency rooms has shown acute to chronic effects of alcohol.
Total prohibition is imposed in Gujarat and Mizoram while partial prohibition continued in Karnataka since 2007-08. The experience of prohibition across Indian States revealed that while prohibition had a marginal impact in reducing availability, it promoted smuggling. The policy of increasing taxes on alcohol by successive governments had only been generating more revenue and had no desired impact on consumption patterns.
Governments need to wake up to the reality of the social costs that alcoholism is imposing on the state and invest in policy and education to make citizens aware of the frightful consequences of alcoholism.
ref : NIMHANS study
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Ugly journey to reach the beautiful
How many hours should it take to travel 250 km under Indian road conditions. @50 km/hr may be 5 hrs that too on what we call NH-2 (National Highway-2).
It ultimately took 7.5 hrs to reach Agra and a lesson in the challenges that the country is facing because of rapid Urbanization, Huge Population, Poor urban and Infrastructure planning and Lawlessness. I am back to Agra after a decade and this is my experience.
You get out of Delhi to get into a series of villages that are totally chaotic and one wonders if the villages have expanded to occupy the Highways. Rapid industrialization and real estate boom in the NCR region has brought in lot of employment seeking population to Delhi and its Suburbs.
What is visible is that agriculture is vanishing along the highways and farmers are getting out of the vocation selling lands to land mafias. All sorts of Small industries, Eateries, Engineering and Management colleges are cropping up along the highways. Delhi doesn’t end up to 100 km from its outskirts. The sea of humanity getting out on to the roads is intimidating even for an Indian.
At the heart of the matter is lack of urban planning, zoning and regulation. I would say no state in the country is good at it but in the NCR region it is acute. DDA and the other agencies must be throwing all rules to the winds in approving projects around the NCR region.
If the travel from Delhi to Agra through Faridabad, Ballabgarh, Palwal and Mathura is a nightmare in itself, travel within Agra to reach the elusive Taj is even nightmarish. Any other country having this fabulous monument would have gone to lengths to ensure the town is developed as a world class tourist city and attracted more tourists. Agra is like any other North Indian city, there is nothing like city administration it runs by default.
Since being declared a UN Heritage site in 1983 the situation is better for the Taj and its surroundings but much more needs to be done (they still allow plastic into the Taj campus and one can see plastic bottles lying around in the mausoleum itself – very bad). A beautiful Taj and an ugly Agra town stand in contrast. Shahjahan would be surprised to see the lack of town planning which he envisioned 350 years ago.
The Yamuna Expressway may ease things in terms of travel to Agra but the larger question of urban and town planning practices across the country remains. In the name of development we should not end up with ugly structures as eye sores around the country.
Town and urban planning departments are amongst the most corrupt in the country, they need to be fixed.
It ultimately took 7.5 hrs to reach Agra and a lesson in the challenges that the country is facing because of rapid Urbanization, Huge Population, Poor urban and Infrastructure planning and Lawlessness. I am back to Agra after a decade and this is my experience.
You get out of Delhi to get into a series of villages that are totally chaotic and one wonders if the villages have expanded to occupy the Highways. Rapid industrialization and real estate boom in the NCR region has brought in lot of employment seeking population to Delhi and its Suburbs.
What is visible is that agriculture is vanishing along the highways and farmers are getting out of the vocation selling lands to land mafias. All sorts of Small industries, Eateries, Engineering and Management colleges are cropping up along the highways. Delhi doesn’t end up to 100 km from its outskirts. The sea of humanity getting out on to the roads is intimidating even for an Indian.
At the heart of the matter is lack of urban planning, zoning and regulation. I would say no state in the country is good at it but in the NCR region it is acute. DDA and the other agencies must be throwing all rules to the winds in approving projects around the NCR region.
If the travel from Delhi to Agra through Faridabad, Ballabgarh, Palwal and Mathura is a nightmare in itself, travel within Agra to reach the elusive Taj is even nightmarish. Any other country having this fabulous monument would have gone to lengths to ensure the town is developed as a world class tourist city and attracted more tourists. Agra is like any other North Indian city, there is nothing like city administration it runs by default.
Since being declared a UN Heritage site in 1983 the situation is better for the Taj and its surroundings but much more needs to be done (they still allow plastic into the Taj campus and one can see plastic bottles lying around in the mausoleum itself – very bad). A beautiful Taj and an ugly Agra town stand in contrast. Shahjahan would be surprised to see the lack of town planning which he envisioned 350 years ago.
The Yamuna Expressway may ease things in terms of travel to Agra but the larger question of urban and town planning practices across the country remains. In the name of development we should not end up with ugly structures as eye sores around the country.
Town and urban planning departments are amongst the most corrupt in the country, they need to be fixed.
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