Survival of the Richest

I was shocked to see electricity bill this month,I'm consumer of one of leading energy providing company ,this bill was actually a whistleblower which made me re-evaluate everything which I consume and buy and my monthly expenses.I realised that all these essential commodity expenses have almost double,we are being hit by inflation badly.It made me think about term Inflation,poverty rich and poor.
 

Usually when we look around us, we don't see starving masses (might be we don't wanna see ). All we see are high rise buildings, large banner advertisements for the latest SUV'S Smarrtphones , and multiplexes swarming with college students munching on nachos and buttered pop corn. So it makes us wonder, what exactly moral of the story is?Where is the poor rich divide ?where lies the inflation? and so many question arises.. Despite of Indian economic growth in last 2 decade Indian society is still suffering with a wide gap between rich and poor.From past 3-4 years prevailing negative market sentiments and market volatility has made this divide even more wider. According to Asian development Bank report, which says that inflation in Asia is leaving millions behind, causing a widening gap between rich and poor. Rich are getting richer and poor more poorer.Middle class is getting miffed in between.This is more prevalent in India.

Off course there has been growth in terms of economic fronts,Roads ,Railways,Real estate,per capita, urbanisation etc.There’s been improvement in the standard of living, too. But that’s done nothing to end the distinction between the rich and the poor. Markets are flooded with luxury commodities that cater to the fancies of the privileged class. As per reports of ASSOCHAM majority of households' real spending power on non-food articles fell by over 65% in the three months of the year with steep rise in prices of fruits & vegetables and essential commodities like milk, eggs, meat and fish etc. There was country-wide survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in metro cities of India, which reveals fact that over 88% of middle income group (MIG) and lower income group (LIG) find difficult to manage the household budget and squeezing families' finances to the lowest level due to uncertainty of monsoon. Indian economy is Agrarian economy,which is totally dependent on monsoons.Poor monsoon adversely affect production.However natural calamities and poor monsoon aftermaths can be minimised though proper food procurement management system,which we don't have.

 
The prices of essential coommodities are more than doubled less than in a decade. The survey also reveals that another major item of essential consumption has also increased in price that of drugs and medicines which has gone up, obviously impacts upon the entire population, but especially the bottom half of the population which may find it extremely difficult. High inflation is putting lots of pressure on companies not just in terms of high input cost, but with demands for higher salary hikes. 72% of the respondent said that “the salary hike last year it was not in sync with the cost of living which has gone up by almost 40-50 per cent. Right from vegetables to petrol prices to house rent, everything has gone up so much and savings are also reduced to half.

 
A working common man find its everyday difficult how to mange his monthly budget.Monthly budget has become so much volatile that you have to keep a hawk eye on every single penny you going to spent. Every year Agricultural ministry claims of record foodgrain production but still prices stay high and food inflation is varying between 8-10 percent. ASSOCHAM report also mentioned that the food prices for rural population rose 9.87 per cent and for urban population it was 10.18 percent. For vegetables the prices rise was 24.55% weight age of 5.44% in CPI. In the case of milk where India is a net exporter, prices rose 14. 9%. Prices of eggs, meat and fish rose up to 9.95%.

 
However despite of all this mess our leaders still don't are concerned.Indian Leaders like Beni Prasad verma says I'm happy with the inflation and price rise it is going to help farmers ..either he must be joking or he must be most idiotic person on this earth. We actually are lacking a market regulatory authority who can at least can keep check on essential commodities necessary for survival. Arbitrarly any argument is given fuel price rise is responsible for hike on everything,this is purely ridiculous argument given. This has became "Raambaan" for politician and financial advisors of this nation to save their ***.






 As festive season approached sugar become more bitter,Milk becomes more dearer,sweets are weighed in ounces,and clothing is just enough to hide you. I guess at least it was better non materialistic life of Adam and Eve had before they ate that magical Apple,it has resulted in people feeling proud owing an Apple today,and there are also those kind of people who can't even have a slice of same Apple for Apple of their eye's. In this inflationary turmoil and unstable economic situation prevailing in our country.


 I unanimously remind of Charles Darwin theory Survival of the Fittest..I'm very much sure if he would have lived in India he would have called it Survival of the Richest !! (Note: All data derived from ASSOCHAM report available online.)

Beauties of Democracy..

Every Morning when I turn on television,or glance over newspaper headlines.The only flash and headlines which are prominent are about corruption and new scams or scandals.Needless to say, corruption has corroded every delivery system and has made it completely dysfunctional. The entire Indian public life is riddled with overriding rates of corruption – from the Adarsh land scam to Commonwealth Games misappropriations to the 2G spectrum scam and now Coal scams.

 
Day on day magnitude of these Headlines & Scams is increasing exponentially.It is extremely difficult to find out a single positive vibe on newspaper and television news channels these days. Its very disturbing where are we heading towards,a decade back there was a India which was suppose to lead world economy we were among fastest growing economy (still we are 10th largest economy of the world in terms of GDP)and we were in race with our neighboring counterpart China who is now leading towards developed nation and we are left far behind in this race. The things which are dragging us behind are scams corruption,political instability and inefficient leadership.

 
For instance, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) where India’s rank has been slipping consistently languishing at the 95th position now with a score of 3.1 (on a scale of 10), a sizable 23 ranks down from 2007! We are far behind China that stands at 75th position with a score of 3.6. CPI score is not only about corruption but is more about the way corruption has got institutionalised in our system. India fares badly on almost all parameters considered under CPI like bribery, extortion, nepotism, patronage, graft, embezzlement. The 2G spectrum scam, CWG scandal, cash-for-vote bribery case have set infamous benchmarks on all these parameters and surely are the reasons for such poor showing in the index.

 
Interestingly, all the least corrupt countries like New Zealand, Denmark and Finland with 9.5, 9.4, and 9.4 scores respectively are not just socially developed but also economically progressive. And that’s why these are those nations that experience very few cases of crime, corruption and other forms of social malaise – unlike India. Even though we had so much turmoil going on still our economy is not that bad in shape.Imagine if all that money would have channelized evenly,there could have so much liquidity in the system which we could have utilized in nation building projects, Expressways,Roads,Bridges,Canals,Agriculture and Educational Institutions.

 
As per reports India has more black money stashed in Swiss banks than all other countries combined! That’s a truly mind boggling data! The number eclipses $1,500 billion, a figure that no one else can touch or even come close to. A distant second on this ignominious list is Russia with $470 billion black money, followed by UK with $390 billion and China at $96 billion.Its Strange,it should be actually added in Ripley's Beleive it or not fact book. It is nation where in the name of Democracy and independent judiciary rulers of this nation make fun.

 
The Trumpet of Democracy which we always blow is actually fake.Meaning of democracy has been changed by these white collared rulers. Democracy no longer is the People,by the people ,for the people.It is actually a game of few or in better words musical chair in which one sits for 5 years and then other replaces it for next 5 years. But as usual what are we doing from past 65 years is same legacy we are still carrying,we don't prevent scams and national loses but we prefer to investigate it for infinitely long years in which again we loose man-hours and money.What for CBI is made for? Its sole task is to investigation and it always remains the puppet of ruling party.Their jobs profile ranges from finding out missing dog of minister,from wiping out running nooses of their kids to investigate national Scams against those who are their own bosses. Hard to beleive but known fact that, till the time investigation gets completed judiciary gives its decision 2-3 generation gets passed.And in the meantime some new Scam erupts and again the same viscous circle of investigation and allegations is followed.

 
Few years back when whole world aspired India as emerging global leader now looks at us a country of economic failure ,political instability and corruption hub. We have downgraded our image in front of global arena. Global temperaments have started indicating like Standard & Poor had downgraded the rating outlook in April, citing poor public finances, rising fiscal burden and the government's failure to push through crucial reforms.Its implications are country would face much higher costs for its future borrowing as its credibility will not be considered high and fewer lenders would want to invest. This loss of confidence would result in an outflow of funds from the equity markets as well because then investors would begin to have doubts about the economy as a whole.

Its really difficult task to chose best among worst,that's the reason for every 5 years one or the other rules us loots us and roams scot free.And a few who are still behind bars are leading a luxurious life inside the prison with all luxuries at their disposal. This speaks volumes on the credibility of the so-called ‘Rule of Law’. Such lousy rules of law are the vital motivating factors for our political and business class to adhere to such corrupt practices.Those who raise their voice against them are then grilled ,crushed & dismantled.There is recent example of Team Anna and others. We are mute spectators because leader of nation is always Mute.His political behavior resembles me of Mahabharata blind 'Drihtrastra' who ignores every evil deeds of his son in the name of blind father-son love. People of this country still don't know who actually is leading this nation.This kind of proxy ruling is possible in India only where corrupt minister's can rule their state from jail by portraying their illiterate wives as a filler of their vacant seats and keep all discretionary powers in their own hand. This is what the exact Beauty of Democracy.

 
Another Beauty of Democracy is (i will say misfortune) of our nation is coalition governments,coalition was supposed to provide variety of constructive inputs from each section of political representative but now it has became a tool of blackmailing , because of which no autonomous decisions can't be taken,stringent laws can not be passed.economical reforms can not be done because coalition means you have to follow policy of Appeasement. In country like India where younger population is growing and could be decisive in shaping future of our country.Recent scams have only sowed seeds of discontent,corruption, perhaps is fast wearing down the belief in the State. Such a development would not only be dangerous for the society but also threaten the very integrity of the nation at large.Our & Global economic indicators are revealing the hidden dangers of shameful deeds ,but how can we improve our moral indexes is there any way??

Night Shift a Nightmare !!

There is one more night I am going to pass tonight ,it is yet same as the previous countless nights I have spent sitting in my cubicle.It is the same dark dull,drowsy and insomniac shift which I always hated. But God is so kind that he listened my anti-wish and awarded me with this work schedule.Night shifts are the really weirdest,ugliest and scary shift ever made. You loose all the fun people do working in regular shift,you keep dreaming of waking up early in the mornings ,having Bed-tea ,king size breakfast and then lunch in the noon and here comes the EOD (So called End of the Day) when clocks ticks 5pm you feel relaxed start packing your stuff of your desk and with feel filled with delights of spending precious moments at evening tea with your family. The above routine is usual stuff of a regular shift working employee there is nothing special about it,and they don't actually realise the importance of it.Its a fact importance is realized by those who don't have it. This is simple categorized in two categorise Have's and Have Not's.I fall in later one. The day when I joined my organisation I was so glad that finally I would not be working like owls in nights,at least I might be working in Mid shifts which are still tolerable. But as I said by God's grace I was thrown in to Graveyard shift,the shift which every employee hates except those who see it is an opportunity to make more bucks by loosing their normal human life. Working the graveyard shift forces the body to operate counter to its circadian rhythm, the internal clock that tells us when we should be sleeping and when we should wake. Two decades back working in Night shifts was only considered to be the job of a watchman,police officers,Army men,manufacturing industrial units which require 24*7 support. But post 90's after globalization and IT revolution ,Indian employers turned to be ITEeS support industry,which definitely gave millions of jobs to employable graduates,but the other face of the coin is that this rat race of ITeS services made Indian youth more like Service Support providers. We are supposed to work as per Client requirements,we are driven by Clients.This Client-Server architecture is making Indian IT minds blunt.We never think of entrepreneurship,we are happy doing service for clients ,and more happy when switching from one job to another which is a popular culture of IT.

So without diverting from our main topic ,lets get back to the point,that this hazardous shift is gift for many by our so called US counterparts for whom we work sleeplessly whole night. A research also showed that most night workers were unaware of the risks associated with their shift patterns. So there was a clear need for employers to raise awareness of the risks of night working among workers and those responsible for managing their shift patterns and working environments. But fact is that no such organisation does that,we are compensated with meager amount of allowance,for which we sacrifice our regular normal life. Whatever,are the consequences we are succumbed to work like this,as most of Indian IT work is outsourced from foreign clients and we have to fullfill their dependency, because we are paid for the same.So No complaints at all!! This is totally our choice. But still I feel jealous of all those who are soundly sleeping in their cozy beds and I am writing all this crap on my notepad,I should not forget that once I also enjoyed sleeping at Nights !! :)

Total Modi-Fication !!

There is controversy going on among NDA who will be the next priministerial candidate from their alliance.There are many experienced ,educated and intellectual faces in NDA but the only name which is coming forward these days is Narendra Damodardas Modi. Why this has happened that a man who was being criticized by whole country media and government for his past records is now the only one whom whole Nation is counting upon. The sole reason behind this change of current is the stature which Mr Narendra Modi has made n Indian Politics not through fake promises but through his deeds. If you look at the progress report of Gujarat as a state currently it s the only state in country which is contributing highest GDP to the nation. The way he is ruling the state that people elected him twice and given him opportunity to drive Gujarat on path of progress. As soon as he came to power in 2001, he faced one great challenge, the reconciliation and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the Gujarat Earthquake. However, Modi being the man he is, took the bull by the horns. It is here, where Modi’s capabilities were witnessed. Another challenge which he faced as he came to power was Power situation of GUjarat which was grimming The Gujarat State Electricity Board, or GSEB, had posted a loss of Rs 2,246 crore for 2000/01, on revenues of Rs 6,280 crore. Interest costs alone were Rs 1,227 crore. He re-engineered the GSEB , Power thefts were controlled by passing laws,tringent action began against those who ran up large power bill arrears, including disconnecting their supply. Similar acts helped Gujarat to sustain on its own Power supply.




However 2002 was again a bad phase for him ,he has to walk on double edge sword ,communal riots broke out and he allegation were against him from various communities and political parties ,However, there was no sufficient evidence of a single community’s involvement. The after-math of the riots raised quite a few questions against Modi, and some voiced that he should resign,he step down from the post of CM. But again in state-reelection Modi won 127 seats out of 182 assembly seats in 2007 ,he took again took command of state in his hand and implemented cost effective policies ,new schemes & formulated new administrative style. Now Gujarat is the favorite destination for FDI(Foregin Direct Investment) there are major IT compnaies who have made their bases in Gandhinagar, Ahmadabad,Vadodara, surat. Major Auto Giants are also targetting Gandhinagar as is supposed to be Detroit of Asia, auto companies like TATA,Maruti,Peugot ,Ford are establishing their plants in Gujarat. All this has been made possible because of the availability of good Infrastructure and ease of paper work done ,whereas usually in government approvals it takes ages for a project to become reality.All this was made possible by Mr.Modi's style of governance. Not only IT and Automotive Industry ,Modi had rejuvenated Tourism as Industy in Gujarat which helps in maintaining foreign liquiity in state and gives job to milions of people. Modi has stood out of the political crowd mainly because of his passion, knowledge and ability to lead. He was declared by India Today as the Best Chief Minister, a few years ago, and also has a few other honours under his belt. All such factors cumulatively make Modi as the first choice for PriMinisterial candidate he is Bold,dynamic and has leadership qualities to lead a Nation of 120 crores with his strong decisions.There are dislikes against him because of certain allegations but still we don't need a PM who is just a puppet of few hands..we wont be able to find a single political person without any allegations against him. So now the choice is ours whom to choose whom not to, its totally Modi-Fication what India needs now.!!