Saturday, July 23, 2011

UP Babus Loot Rs 3700 crore Rural Health Funds

Is India a veritable paradise for looters and bootleggers? What a shame to the nation, the doctors and their para-medical staff in U.P had indulged in a systematic loot of central funds released under NRHM (National Rural Health Mission, I suppose) to the tune of Rs 3700 crore out of Rs 8600 crore received over six years, as a preliminery report indcates (TOI of July 21, 2011). As usual the district-level officers assisted by their subordinates do involve in such underhand dealing to syphon off the funds placed at their disposal for implementation of various schemes. It is an open secret. Who is there to check such an activity? The higher-ups have no time even to allot the funds after getting proper sanction from concerned authorities and clearance from the finance department. Financial achievement by the end of the year is more important than the physical achievement. The lower functionaries have a field day. Sometimes they do pass on certain percentage of funds as their share even before they are allotted by the HODs and the ministers in some cases. The level of looting has gone to such an extent that the funds from GOI itself ensures a cut/payment from state officials which the Secretary or Joint Secretary of the Department in GOI may be aware of or may not be, one is not sure.

NRHM is not an exception and similarly UP state alone is not at fault. Probably all Missions initiated and monitored by PMO  are subject to this malady invariably. Top to bottom either the functionaries are fully involved or sidelined conveniently if found non-co-operative in the process so that the loot could continue unhindered.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

RBI links bank licence to rural reach

It is a good news, no doubt but how far the commercial banks would succeed in running those retail outlets in the form of branches in unbanked villages is a million dollar question in view of the mounting NPAs in rural branches so far due to poor recovery of dues from the borrowers. Well for the present due to pressure from RBI the banks are required to open at least one branch in the villages for every three branches being licensed by RBI as per the new norms. Wish them best of luck.

Otherwise as a well-wisher  I have had been pleading for small bankers in rural areas from among the traditional money lenders only with strict norms and riders so that the overhead costs can be kept very minimum with more scope for better recovery percentages. The RBI nearly followed my thesis in 2006-07 but the same was abandoned due to the discouraging advice given by the so-called advisors to the state government. The top men in the government take advise invariably from the inexperienced and impractical officials with the result no innovative ideas get the support from the policymakers at crucial times even if one has to suffer under the illusion of illustrious achievements. That is the fate of the system prevalent in the country now.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Scientist Vs Humanist

When our former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam paid a visit to an Engineering College in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, on June 26, 2011, he made an observation during his dialogue with the students to the effect that the establishment of Nuclear Reactors could not be stopped due to the possibility of disasters alone. He tried to argue that the air-crafts and other automobiles could hardly be dispensed with simply because that there had been accidents from time to time. Dr. Kalaam’s observation was prima facie based on his thinking as a scientist. Knowing full well that atom bombs are more harmful not only to a few individuals but to a few thousands and millions, one cannot justify their proliferation. Similarly, due to a few accidents in the air or on roads people cannot avoid the use of air-crafts or the manufacture of automobiles, it is true. But the difference between these two sets of activities or operations lies in their sweep and intensity having long term implications to humanity. After all the developed nations like Germany, Japan and the USA are not foolish to abandon the future plan of Nuclear Reactors for power generation and to scale down the existing operation till they are phased out of their life-time in the very near future.

Keeping this point in mind Professor Shivaji Rao, Director of the Department of Environment in the University of Geetham has questioned the wisdom and observation of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalaam. I too agree with the Professor after seeing the untold sufferings and long term implications caused by the reactors of Fukushima recently in Japan, Cherinobyl in Ukraine and Pennsylvania in the USA in the past. While the developed countries can’t afford dangers from such Nuclear Reactors, the same sold by those developed nations to India cannot be expected to avoid such disasters likely to be caused by the callousness of our engineers and scientists.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Power Woes in Tamil Nadu

After the Assembly Elections and the announcement of results, Chennai City is facing two hours of scheduled power-cut and unscheduled voltage fluctuations throughout the day.

  • T.N.E.B's outstanding debt in 2005-06 was Rs 9300 crore
  • T.N.E.B's debt in 2010-11 is Rs 40,000 crore
  • Monthly Power Purchase Bill of TNEB is Rs 2000 crore
  • Cost of Proposed Bail-out sought by C.M from the Centre is Rs 40,000 crore 

Vivek Narayanan (Times of India, July 3, 2011) tries to explain the predicament of the new government and the ailing TNEB in terms of additional funds required to finance the purchase of additional stocks of coal for power generation and clearing the arrears of power sellers due from TNEB so far. The only solution seems to lie in the revision of tariffs both for the domestic and industry sectors. And it is not easy to touch the domestic sector and the farming sector at this juncture.

Well, as it is being argued that the position will improve in the year 2012, we are to bear with the current situation for one more year at least, if everything goes well as per the plan unveiled before the new government. Who are responsible for such a sorry state of affairs? Politicians alone?

Fair Sex at the Receiving End

Country: - Australia
National Union of Students' poll of more than 1500 female university students found that 67% of respondents had been through an unwanted sexual experience of some kind, with 31% saying they had had sex when they were, or had felt, unable to consent.

The union’s women’s officer Courtney Sloane said the online survey showed that violence against women was unacceptably high. “Women at university tend to come from middle-class and upper middle-class social groups and the survey shows they have experienced sexual assault, harassment and obsessive behavior at a high level” she told.

Women seem to be at the receiving end even now – whether it is a developed and literate world or an underdeveloped illiterate society. Unless they are physically trained and equipped with self defence methods, this sort of aggressive postures and ill-treatment at the hands of male members in the vicinity and at work places will be a daily occurrence and nobody could help it.