Sunday, June 25, 2017

TN got just 10% of 2.42L crore promised in GIM, admits minister:



The state of Tamil Nadu received just ₹29,615 crore  in investments of the ₹2.42 lakh crore promised by various industrialists at the global investors' meet (GIM) in September 2015 that was inaugurated by the chief minister J.Jayalalithaa, the government disclosed on Friday, June 23, 2017.

Many state governments have had, in the last two decades, tried their best by spending crores of rupees to attract the industrialists to come to their respective states, invest heavy sums and create employment potential to the local populations. Despite tall promises made in the presence of popular chief ministers, the investing industrialists have shied away from or delayed the establishment of their manufacturing units on account of practical difficulties faced by them on the ground .

It is worth investigating as to how much of an effort by different state governments have borne fruits and how much of funds have gone the drain due to unintelligent planning and worthless preparations by different departments in the governments. Ease of doing business mostly remains on paper, it appears.
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Friday, June 23, 2017

Supreme Court, Police Station & F I R



Spot: Kalashetra Colony, Chennai
Date: May 20, 2017 
Incident: a pregnant woman with her husband were on a stroll after dinner when the suspect passed by on his bike. He took a 'U' turn, rode close, molested her and sped off. Despite the chase by husband the suspect disappeared safely. The couple went straight to Thiruvanmiyur Police Station for filing a complaint and registering an FIR, but the same could not be done due to non-cooperation of the police. Only on the intervention of a woman police officer in the City Police Commissioner's office, the FIR was registered and a copy was issued after 20 days of the incident. God knows when the suspect would be caught. 

The policeman seems to have persuaded the woman not to register a case because she would be on a television channel tarnishing her own image. He further informed her that in a similar situation a woman journalist  working in an English Daily had the same fate on the same spot a few weeks ago. 

Registering an FIR is next to impossibility in this country despite strict ruling by the Supreme Court of India and strict orders and directions of senior police officials (DGPs and Police Commissioners) from IPS. Who is there to ensure implementation of this job by the officers in charge of police stations in this country?
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Friday, June 16, 2017

Mother of Parliaments


U.K House of Commons - 2017 Elections

51 Non-whites, 208 women out of 650 members in the house

a good and progressive development - the best example for other democracies to emulate in the days to come!
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Sunday, June 11, 2017

Farmers Revolt



One has to lament like TOI editorial (June 8, 2017) that about five protesting farmers  were shot dead in Mandsaur district - ironically in the state of Madhys Pradesh often upheld by BJP as a model of agricultural progress. In states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu also farmers are up in arms against the state governments and the Centre. It should be treated like a wake up call and the governments should seek to remove the structural bottlenecks in India's farm economy. Loan waiver can't be a permanent remedy to ease the situation in the countryside.
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Farmer start-ups gain strength - the most satisfying solution found at last!



The age of middlemen in the life of farmers should find its exit  as early as possible . Sooner the better for the farming community in India, as I had been advocating for decades after studying and researching the economics of small and marginal farmers.

Example: About 1000 goat herders from 10 neighbouring villages floated Theni District Goat Producer Company Ltd (TNiGPCL), a company in 2015 that markets the goats of of all its shareholders in bulk. 

Farmers Producer Organisations (FPO) are farming startups which are being incubated by the Centre through Small Farmer Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) , rural development bank NABARD, agriculture and horticulture departments of state governments and NGOs. There are around 200 such companies in Tamil Nadu.

A good initiative and strategy in the interest of farmers!
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Sunday, June 4, 2017

Golden Rule in Tamil Nadu!



District Virudhunagar: Vacancy in the posts of Anganwadi workers & Helpers - 190
Office bearers of AIADMK, the ruling party had collected commissions @ 2-3 lakh rupees for each vacancy in advance.

Collector Sivagnanam had selected candidates on merit and released the list of successful candidates. Those who found their names in the list were happy thinking that their agents had worked hard and got them selected. Those who didn't succeed  got back their money luckily. When the successful candidates learnt the truth later on that they were selected on their own merit, they started chasing the agents for the return of their money but the latter quietly washed off their hands saying that the money had reached the minister's hands and hence their inability to oblige their request.

Similarly in Madurai district out of 47 vacant posts of Helpers in Animal Husbandry Department, the local minister (famously known as 'Thermacol minister') demanded the quota of 25 seats in selection to fill his coffers. In the meanwhile the ruling party functionaries including MLAs had collected lakh of rupees as commissions for all the 47 seats. If the minister fails to oblige them they seem to have threatened to leave the ruling party as already bargained and decided in Koovatoor resort in Chennai during their captivity before proving his majority in the State Assembly by the C.M Edapadi Palanichamy. The aspiring candidates and their parents are waiting for the list till date.

Hey Ram! 
Where is transparency and honesty for appointments in Government Service? Do we expect a verdict from the High Court on this episode too sooner or later?
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Thursday, June 1, 2017

Administration wanting?

Civil and Military Administrations sailing on similar Boats in India

Examples: 1) Civil Admin during rains and floods in Chennai
         2) Military Admin during the terrorist attack in                Pathankot in Punjab

Noteworthy developments:
lack of proper and timely intelligence 
Lack of appreciation of inputs available for emergency action
Lack of coordination between different wings of administration 
Lack of common sense even after the bungling in Mumbai Attack during 2008

If concerned governments fail, who will succeed in future? Difficult to answer!
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