NDA Sarkar - Ghise Pitey Path Par ??

It may be stupid on my part to say that Modi lead NDA Government  is functioning like the UPA ruled sarkar. At least not yet, barring a couple of instances when one feels that his 56 inch wali sarkar ka seena  ( Chest ) has shrunk. 

Yes, I felt the same when the government drew cold feet on the gas pricing issue. I am not qualified to comment on the same for want of home work on my part.

But, Yes, I felt so when the rail minister rolled back the local passenger tickets & pass fares, under pressure from shiv - sena and other local alliances. Why ?? because of elections. It is not befitting Modi sarkar. It is understood that the commuter in Mumbai wants status quo, but then if you analyse then you would notice that the pass holder pays for about 15 trips in a month, compared to his actual 50 odd trips ( leaving the weekly offs ), Similarly the daily tickets for Borivili - Churchgate or Karjat / Kasara - VT are abysmally low. If the railway ministers do not raise the fares for years together for the fear of backlash / loosing vote banks then the Railways would remain like that for life long. Instead, if the fares are calibrated on yearly basis on the basis of fuel and electricity charges then people would be mentally prepared. 

The pass holders fares should immediately be increased to cover 25 trips instead of 15 at present. Then probably this too can be increased every year by about 2 trips / every year till it reaches 40 trips. This should be implemented in the budget itself. 

It is Surprising  to see people's mentality also. They accept the inflation in food items, petrol / diesel, cinema tickets, clothing and what not, why forget the air fares, but not the Road / Railway fares.

I for one though I am retired person, feel that the railway fares should increase 2 - 3 % every year across the board, be it the freights / local trains / passenger - fast - super fast trains. 

If we want the services / infrastructure to improve, if we want the bullet trains , if we want railway network to cover our frontiers too, then we should be prepared for shelling out some money. 

I would rather be prepared to shell out more to see our stations & platforms spic & span, Rail Lines on stations devoid of shit and obnoxious smell, better safety, our compartments of better ( if not international ) standards, better toilets in compartments, better food quality, more trains, easy ticket availability, better booking systems,  etc etc

I hear the logic of some people who say - the government should plug the loopholes, arrest corruption, improve efficiency, etc etc. their point is well taken. But then it will take 5 decades to come to that stage. 

Shall we wait?

Habitual Mess Creators

Some people are very good at creating a mess first, without others realizing or knowing about it and then finally solving it too. Such People are called Trouble Shooters in Management Jargon. In such cases the mess is intentional.

But in Real Life Some people just create a mess by habit. Such people are called Habitual Mess Creators. In these cases the mess is not intentional but habitual. 

The Du's 4 years' degree course mess falls in the second category. In fact let it be any university or a state, such issues crop up at the time of admissions only. With the result,the Colleges have a delayed opening and the students are made to suffer. 

I fail to understand why these authorities do not find out a problem, be it related with the course duration, curriculum or deposits / fees  and find a solution for the same during the one complete year, before the next year's admissions? This way they or any petitioner has one year to fight it out in the courts. Why only at the time of admissions ?

This is some thing similar to Road Repairs taken up by all municipal corporations just before the onset of monsoons. Well, here at least one understands the motive for such acts, but what is the motive of the universities or UGC to hang on with such issues till the admissions ?

Nothin but the " SADISITC PLEASURE " they derive out of harassment of the students, in my opinion.

The First Bitter Pill

The first bitter pill declared by the Modi Government was the Rail Hike. The hike was justified in my opinion. It was already planned by the earlier government, but it was not announced . It is not of any importance to know if it was planned by the earlier government or not. What is important is to know if it was needed or not, and if yes, then could it not be coupled and timed it with the Railway Budget in two weeks time.  I really doubt if there can be an argument on the first part, but yes, it could certainly have been part of the regular budget. 

But the larger question is " How long we will live on the free bees and subsidies ? ". Let there be any government coming out with such policy decisions. The opposition, the Media and People in general are just waiting to grab the opportunity to occupy the center stage of attention. Nobody is interested in looking at the statistics, the bottom lines. 

There is hardly any party or media channel who thinks rationally on such issues. They all want attention and TRP ratings. 

In fact if one looks at the Railway deficits seriously he or she would realize that it was necessary. Forget the bullet trains, the new infrastructure, the better signalling systems, the new railway coaches, new trains, the tracks etc, this hike is necessary for sustainability and overall health of the railways. Where will the money come from to compensate for the regular salary hike ? where is it, along with the increasing diesel cost factored in ?

We want better services, more safety, better platforms, but are not ready to shell out more. We want salary hikes to compensate for the inflation but are not ready to shell out part of it. 

In fact the burden seems more because it comes after big gaps ( 6 - 10 years ). A better approach would be to increase the fares and freight charges by about 2 %  every two years at least, if not every year. It should be planned and rolled out as a policy for 5 years period, which could be reviewed , retained or increased by the new government. Then there will not be so much of hue and cry.

But then what the Opposition and the Media will live on ? I would love to keep many other issues at their disposal, like the 4 years' degree course of Delhi University.

I have an opinion on that too. It is reserved for the next blog.

Parochial Steps.

The Modi Government is following the same old and dirty practices of seeking resignations of governors and chiefs of some commissions and organisations appointed by earlier ruling party.  The Sarkariya commission had recommended some very practical ground rules for appointment and replacement of persons in such offices and the Supreme Court had also given a ruling on the same issue, some time in 2004. I do not understand why appointments are made in the first place which are controversial, like the appointment of Mrs. Sheela Dixit ? 

The moot questions are - " Why the opposition parties did not raise the issues then and why did they refrained from approaching the Supreme Court then?"

Is it not a parochial step on the part of Modi Government? Are there no more pressing issues on their plate ?

Though I feel Sheela should go and so the others who are under CBI scanner, but then it is not the right time. The Modi Government should have first settled down, addressed some really pressing issues like Indians stranded in Iraq, Price Rise, Electricity or lack of it in Delhi  etc.

That would have given the right signals to the people who have voted them in. And Yes, now at least the Modi Government should come out with a Policy and get it passed in both the houses, to ensure that such incidences are  not repeated in future. That would be a better beginning.

Mr. Modi would do well to rise above all such petty issues and govern in a way which is different and Trend Setting, rather than following old practices which boarder on Revengeful Acts.

Tax Exemptions

The ministry gives tax exemptions for the corporates, but not to the individuals. I feel it is high time they think out of the box. Our coals reserves are in a mess, Uranium has to be imported, even though we have it in NE region, Thanks to some NGOs, Hydel Stations have to depend on rain water.  New generation capacities require huge investments and time. Then why not think differently.

I would like to see in this year's budget tax exemptions for individuals who purchase energy efficient appliances / electrical light fittings / solar heating systems etc. yes, we have subsidy on solar heating systems. But there should be tax exemptions too. The exemptions could be different for different savings. 

Say if conventional refrigerator consumes X wattage, then exemptions could be in slabs of 50 - 70 -  100 % based on energy savings of 10 - 20 - 30 % and above. Similarly, A CFL Fitting / Lamp consumes say 30 % less than conventional tube light / incandescent  lamp and a LED fitting consumes  60 - 70 % less power the conventional lamp source,  then the exemptions should be 30 % and 70 %  or even 100 % respectively. The individuals should attach all such bills with the returns to get exemptions. It will certainly motivate the real end users to buy energy efficient lamps / fittings / appliances. 

We should realize that  Every Unit saved is Unit Generated. 

Our population is about 120 crore which may be 30 crore houses . If each house saves two unit each, every day, the country would have 60 crore units surplus from the existing generation capacity, with out having to incur huge capital investments. I have posted this on the PMO India FB Link & also on the Finance Ministry FB Link. 

I had this one thought. If the ministry asks the people, there may be 30 crore such or better thoughts.

Hope the concerned authorities see it and weigh it seriously.

Special Packages

I can not understand the logic ( if any ) the Governments at center adopt to declare any state eligible for special package. This should not be a tool to garner support in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. 

I feel it is high time you and your council of ministers come out with a policy defining eligibility. The planning commission could then be directed to declare special package for such states. 

It should be based on YOY growth rates for preceding 3 / 5 years, which should take in to consideration industrial growth, Infrastructure growth ( Roads, Railways, Energy, Water management, Sanitation, Health Care, Education, Poverty etc. Any state falling short in a particular area, and is below the national average, should then be given package to develop that area of concern. and with accountability riders tagged to it and for a definite period of say 3 / 5 years. 

If the Growth is not reflected in real numbers, then the special package should be stopped. The package / s can be reviewed and renewed again on expiry of the period. In short there should be a scientific way in doing certain thing. Then the states will not be seen begging / requesting for such packages. 

Be it Bihar, Odisha or Tamil Nadu or West Bengal. The factors arrived at by a National Economic Survey Division under the Planning Commission will automatically help the center to give special package / s to the states falling below the National Averages, in each area or Sector of Concern.

For God Sake let us not have something like article 370 , Reservations to Minorities, Uniform Civil Code etc which certainly need a debate and review. However, I feel these can be taken up in BJP's Next Term. They will be well advised to focus on growth and employment opportunities, Health Care, Sanitation & Education. 

An Appeal to the PM

Sir, Heartiest Congratulations for this wonderful victory. 

I personally feel that Article 370 & Uniform Civil Code should not be taken up immediately. People in opposition and some media channels are ready to lap this and project this as the controversy jacks up their agenda & TRP. Instead ask your ministers to concentrate on Bijli, Paani, Sadak ( Infrastructure - Roads, Rails - Energy Sector ), Makan, Suraksha ( Women Safety first ) & Sauchalaya ( Sanitation ). Yes Cleaning up Ganga & Developing Varanasi as a tourist spot too should be taken up on Priority.

I also feel that our armed forces like your BJP Karyakarta are more important for our freedom & democracy. So do not forget them. One rank - one pension, Rehabilitation of retired armed forces, honouring the awards and compensations declared to them by states / center etc should be taken up on priority.

Procuring latest arms / ammunition , ships / planes  etc should also be a priority. Our armed forces have to fight the battle with old technologies.

We should not forget our police forces. the system needs to modernized. their moral should be boosted.

And yes, developing 100 nodal cities around the big cities too will be an important step in the right direction.

Your idea of picking 10 odd professionals / technocrats / experts too is good. Please implement it fast. I would like to see people like Mr. Sridharan , Mr. Deepak Parekh  , Mr. Suresh Prabhu,  Mr. Jalan ( Ex RBI Governer ), Mr. Arun Shurie, Mr. Narayan Murty, Mr. Ratan Tata etc to be in this advisory group of people.

I pray to god to give you long life to serve the nation.

Jai HInd.