Irrational Expectations ?

In early 50s, Shri ShriPrakash was the governor of Maharashtra.

At a short notice, he had to leave for his hometown. Being a true Gandhian, he did not want to use the government machinery for a private visit. So he sent a friend to Bombay Central Railway station to buy the train tickets.

Friend returned with the tickets but only after bribing the railway clerk.

Narrating this incidence to Pundit Nehru, ShriPrakash said,

“ As a Gandhian, I promise I will not take a bribe. But don’t ask me not to give a bribe ! “

When a service that is legally / justifiably due but gets denied, what

can ordinary / non-Gandhian people do ?

This is why millions are irrationally looking up to Lokpal Bill as some kind of panacea !

Drafting Committee has an unenviable task before it.

With regards

hemen  parekh

Cut-off Percentage ?

On June 15, 2011, Shri Ram College of Commerce ( New Delhi ), published its “ Admission List “ of students selected for admission.

Only problem : the “ Cut Off “ percentage of marks was 100 % !

Now, the Junior Colleges in Maharashtra are not in such a great demand amongst the students.

But still, the number of student-applicants far exceed the number of available seats.

So, the “ Higher Technical Education Department “ ( Govt of Maharashtra ), came up with an innovative criteria for admission.

The department issued a circular stating that a toilet block at home was a must for admission to Junior Colleges !

Worried that the students will cry-out, “ Unfair, Unreasonable, Undemocratic etc “, the department has agreed to grant “ Provisional Admissions “ to students who don’t have a toilet, on condition that they build one within 3 months of admission.

Now, Kapil Sibal cannot say that this is “ irrational “ !

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

WHAT ABOUT THE REST ?

Thanks to RTI activist SC Agrawal’s application, now we know the attendance at Cabinet Meetings for 2010 / 11 , as follows :

Ø      Pranab  Mukherjee  ……………………….                    95 %

Ø      Ambika Soni / AK Antony / Veerappa Moily  ………  85 %

Ø      Kapil Sibal  ……………………………………………………………… 83 %

Ø      Murli Deora ………………………………………………………………80 %

Ø      P Chidambaram  ………………………………………………………75 %

Ø      Dayanidhi Maran  …………………………………………………….50 %

Ø      S M Krishna ………………………………………………………………45 %

Ø      Farooq Abdullah  ………………………………………………………35 %

Ø      Mamta Banerjee  /  M K Alagiri  ……………………………17 %

Obviously, DNA [ June 25, 2011 ] did not consider it worth wasting ink on reporting the attendance of the rest !

In most schools in India, children with less than 80 % class attendance are not allowed to appear in the final exam.

We should seriously consider a People’s Representation Bill, which would disqualify ministers having less than 80 % attendance from contesting next election !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

A Black Swan ?

Author Nassim Taleb, in his book, “ Black Swan “, describes a black swan as an extremely rare event but still possible.

Search engines

Ø  giving the same rank ( position in search results )

Ø  to the same website

Ø  for the same search-term ( and a long / generic too )

is an example of such a rare event.

But it did happen this afternoon ( Jan 13, 2011 ) when Google and Yahoo and Bing, all placed

                              IndiaRecruiter.net

at position  # 3, upon entering search-term

                       Recruitment Process Flow Chart

Can someone calculate the probability and record feedback at

                                 Celebrity Opinions

With regards

hemen  parekh

Jobs  for  All  =  Peace  on  Earth

Innocent / Crying / Dieing Faces

To :  Members of Lokpal Bill Drafting  Committee

Once again you will meet this morning ( June 15 ), to debate where to place the commas and the full stops in your draft.

You will meet in an air-conditioned office, sit on a plush chair and, may even partake of tea / biscuits.

Even as you do, let this knowledge humble you :

During those 3 hours of your meeting, in our country, 1000 tons of food grains will rot in the open under the sun and the rain.

During these very same 3 hours, 1000 children will die of mal-nutrition ( - a political euphemism for “ starving “ ! ).

That is 3 million per year !

If you have the moral courage, a deep sense of responsibility and dignity befitting leaders of 121 crore countrymen, then please,

>   Stop mud-slinging, name-calling, insulting

>   Lock yourself in that room

>   Don’t come out till you have signed an agreed upon draft

>   Don’t show your face ( or whatever is left of it ) to the public

>   Compromise , move forward

>   Use the “ Art of Possible “ to resolve differences

And all the while be reminded of those innocent / crying / dieing faces.

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL - INDIA

Here is a synopsis :

Ø         First introduced in Lok Sabha ( Lower House ) by United Front Government in 1996

Ø         Calls for 33 % reservation of seats for women from Lok Sabha to local legislatures. Panchayats ( village councils ) already have 33.3 % reservation for women

Ø         Who is supporting whole-heartedly ?

Congress  /  BJP  /  AIDMK  / other parties

Ø         Who supports conditionally ?

Samajwadi Party / Bahujan Samaj Party / Rashtriya Janata Dal etc.

Ø         What is their condition ?

Within the 33 % quota, there must be a sub-quota for women from backward classes

Ø         Why this condition ?

They are afraid that in absence of a sub-quota, the bill will only help women from the elitist groups

Ø         Who can bring about a compromise ?

Lok Sabha Speaker ( Ms )  Meira Kumar – herself a woman from a backward class

Ø         What has been the progress so far ?

Bill has already been passed in Rajya Sabha ( Upper House ) in 2010

Ø         What can we do ?

Pray that it does not meet the fate of the Lokpal Bill !

With  regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

Sign your own death warrant ?

I don’t understand why the Ministers rejected the Lokpal Draft Bill submitted by Anna Hazare team.
If I were Kapil Sibal, I would have introduced that draft in the parliament, without changing a full stop or a comma.
Then let members of parliament decide – knowing fully well in advance what they would decide, viz :
Reject it. Or water it down till no one can have any objection.
And they will introduce a hundred amendments till no MP can be prosecuted for murder !
Would any MP want to sign his / her own death warrant by passing Anna’s draft ?
It is about time, Civil Society members accept that after 42 years of waiting, a watered down Lokpal Act is better than no act at all !
After all, Government would fulfill its obligation of “ introducing “ the bill in the monsoon session.
And the political parties would claim helplessness over how its MPs would vote !
With regards
Hemen Parekh

SIGN YOUR OWN DEATH WARRANT ?

I don’t understand why the Ministers rejected the Lokpal Draft Bill submitted by Anna Hazare team.

If I were Kapil Sibal, I would have introduced that draft in the parliament, without changing a full stop or a comma.

Then let members of parliament decide – knowing fully well in advance what they would decide, viz :

Reject it. Or water it down till no one can have any objection.

And they will  introduce a hundred amendments till no MP can be prosecuted for murder !

Would any MP want to sign his / her own death warrant by passing Anna’s draft ?

It is about time, Civil Society members accept that after 42 years of waiting, a watered down Lokpal Act is better than no act at all !

After all, Government would fulfill its obligation of “ introducing “ the bill in the monsoon session.

And the political parties would claim helplessness over how its MPs would vote !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

SURVIVING IN INDIA ? NO BIG DEAL.

Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission of India, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia thinks , one can survive in an Indian city for Rs.578 ( approx.$ 12.5 ) per month.

That is Rs.20 per day ( $ 0.35 ).

If you do, you are not “ poor “ – as defined by Planning Commission !

And don’t let it worry you that United Nations computes International Poverty Line at $ 1.25 per day.

Now, members of National Advisory Council, Aruna Roy , Jean Dreze and Harsh Mander were a bit skeptical.

So they went to the market and managed to buy with Rs.20  :

• one small aluminum spoon

• 25 grams of dal

• Half a slice of bread

• Some washing powder

• A torn piece of cloth

Then presented the packet ( obviously without gift wrapping ! ) to Montek Singh – who was not amused !

All the while, TV Channels were busy reporting on Lokpal Bill.

May be Aruna Roy and her colleagues should have undertaken a 10 am to 6 pm “ Survival Event “ at Jantar Mantar – solely depending on their purchase !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

LAWS CAN BE COMPLEX !

While unambiguous when it comes to punishing the guilty , laws must have built-in provisions to protect the innocent against blackmail / harassment thru frivolous use.

Team Anna should keep this in mind while framing their version of “ Right to Recall “ bill [ RTR ]

They must ask – and answer – following questions :

• How many voters are there in that constituency ?

• How many voters were there when that representative [ MP / MLA / Corporator etc ], got elected ?

• What %age of voters voted in that election ?

• What %age of cast votes did that representative get ?

• What should be the minimum %age of voters who will be required to sign the recall petition – mentioning their UID / PAN / Voter ID ?

• Who should the petition be addressed to ? Speaker ? President ?

• Should petition contain specific charges, substantiated by evidence against that representative ?

• Which agency shall investigate the charges and on whose order ?

• If referendum is to be resorted to, which agency shall order the referendum and when ?

• Who will conduct the referendum ?

• Will referendum seal the fate of that representative thru a simple majority of those voting – irrespective of the no of voters in that constituency ?

• Will the concerned representative have a right to defend himself ?

• Can any action be taken against the petitioning  voters if the petition is found to be frivolous ? Should they be debarred from voting for 15 years ?

• If found guilty and re-called , will the concerned representative be allowed to contest in the next election ? Or , should he be debarred for 15 years ?

• Depending upon the extent of the guilt, will there be punishment of the concerned representative in addition to recall ?

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list and Team Anna should invite public to add to these

We must not throw out the baby with the bath-water !

With regards

HEMEN PAREKH

PATRIOTIC INDIANS

They may stash away black money in Swiss banks but they continue to live in India.

Now contrast this with the Chinese scenario.

The Central Bank of China just released following figures :

• Between 1990 and 2008, some 16,000 /  18,000 corrupt Chinese government officers transferred $ 120 billion of bribe money to their secret accounts in America, Australia, Canada and Holland.

Apparently, “ hawala “ does not seem to be an original Indian invention !

• Then they migrated to those countries and set-up private companies there.

No Indian government servant will ever stoop so low. After all , he is patriotic !

He will always send his son for higher “ studies “ to that country and settle down so that the black money can be brought back legitimately !

Why earn 2 % interest abroad when you can earn 20 % by investing in India ?

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

NO AGREEMENTS ?

UK newspaper, The Sun, recently carried out a survey to find out, the number of times an average British couple has arguments, in an year.

Here are its findings  :

2,455  “ arguments “ !

And what were the reasons ?

• Not listening to what the other person is saying …….  112

• Getting annoyed over spending  ……………………………..  109

• Money in general  ……………………………………………………..  108

• Snoring  ……………………………………………………………………….102

• Sex ( lack of or timing )  …………………………………………..  88

With nearly 7 arguments per day ( on an average ), do British find any time for “ Agreements “ ? I suppose, that would depend upon how much time it takes per argument !

May be , The Sun ought to conduct a fresh survey.

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

Child Labor in India

Times of India [ June 13, 2011 ] reports as follows :
? According to ILO, “ Accelerating Action Against Child Labor “ Report ( 2010 ), there are 215 million children employed as child labor worldwide.
? There are 45.2 million child labor in India, as per National Commission for Enterprises in Unorganized Sector ( 2007 )
? NGO “ Bachpan Bachao Andolan “ estimates the number at 60 million
? Instead of paying Rs.115 per day ( approx. $ 2.5 ), which is National Floor Wage, these children are paid only Rs.15 per day ( approx. $ 0.30 ) as wages
? As a result, these Indian employers ( exploiters ) are pocketing around Rs. 120,000 Crores ( approx. $ 27 billion ) annually, by employing children and by not paying taxes
ILO may not know but I am sure NGO knows that these children are made to work 12 hours per day and often sleep on the same factory floor where they work – after having one slice of bread and a cup of tea for dinner !
Cry, beloved country !

With regards

Hemen Parekh