FARMERS COMMITTING SUICIDES

Farmers in Vidarbha ( Maharashtra / India ) have been committing suicides by the hundreds over the last few years – 42 / day , as per one estimate ( 250,000 in last 16 years ! )

Reason ?

They have no money to repay the loans that they have taken from the banks

( Silly ! Politicians and Businessmen – whether Indian or European – never repay their loans ! Nor commit suicide ! )

Why don’t farmers have money  ?

Because there is no water to grow their crops

Why there is no water  ?

Because there are no dams to hold the water

Why there are no dams ?

Because corrupt Government officials and contractors just don’t want to complete the construction of dams !

Times of India ( 08 June, 2012 ) reports following figures for the number of years by which some of the dam projects have got delayed,

Ø  Warna Irrigation………………………… 45  years

Ø  Chaskamam………………………………. 38  years

Ø  Kadavi……………………………………….. 35  years

Ø  Chikotra…………………………………….. 35  years

Ø  Patgaon……………………………………….34  years

No wonder project costs have gone up by 2,000 %  to  7,000 % !

In the meantime , for the last few months ,the only “ Life or Death “ matter that has occupied the minds of our politicians is ,

“ Who should be our next President ? “

How long will Mother India continue to cry ?

Hemen  Parekh

UNEMPLOYED BRITISH YOUTH

7 Oct 2010

UNEMPLOYED BRITISH YOUTH

As per DNA ( Sept.20,2010 ), British cabinet minister Vince Cable has stirred controversy by suggesting that unemployed young Britons should be sent to India to find work.

According to the minister, it was time to end the one-way flow of skilled workers from India to the UK and claimed that British graduates should be able to go in the opposite direction to India where the economy has boomed.

Good idea !

And since Google India just announced that it will pay Rs. 100,000 by way of referral fees to anyone who recommends a software engineer ( subject to employment offer from Google and joining ), this opens up another opportunity to Vince Cable.

By recommending British software guys to Google India, he can earn their gratitude ( and votes ? ) while simultaneously helping to reduce the budget deficit of Pounds 170.8 billions.

Hurry up. Google offer expires on Oct.15, 2010 !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

THERE IS NO DEARTH OF COMMON-WEALTH!

India will spend Rs. 70,000 crores ( $ 17 billion ) on current Commonwealth Games ( Oct.3-14, 2010 ).

Games Organizing Committee ( OC ) claims that the games will create 2.47 million jobs. A beginning has been made by employing some 36 relatives.

But as of May 2010, some 38 million young Indians are waiting for jobs, having registered with 900 + State Employment Exchanges.

To give jobs to all of them, all we have to do is to sanction to the OC, a provisional expenditure of Rs. 1,076,000 crores ( $ 262 billion ) - with a stipulation that the actual figure after 5 years must not exceed the provisional figure by more than 10 times.

They will lose no time by hiring forthwith, additional 540 far-flung cousins / nephews etc.

In India, cousins / nephews have never remained jobless !

Hemen  Parekh

A HIGH-SKILLED BONDAGE ?

5 Oct 2010

A HIGH-SKILLED BONDAGE ?

In his book “ Which way’s up ? “, Tory MP Nicholas Boles suggests that , before granting of immigration visas, migrants to UK should be required to furnish a security bond worth Pounds 5,000 for use of “ public services “.

Then he goes on to recommend that the bond amount be refunded to the migrant as soon as he has paid to the Government, taxes exceeding “ many times “ the bond amount.

Now considering that the British Government plans to admit no more than 24,100 highly-skilled immigrants per year, the British Treasury would get richer by 120 million Pounds.

It is another matter that the “bond income “will not make much of a dent to the British budget deficit of Pounds 170.8 billion!

Someone may come forward and suggest that every single 5.4 million immigrant to UK (UN Report of 2005), should be asked to furnish a 5000 Pound bond.

That would add 27 billion Pounds at one stroke!

Hemen  Parekh

TWICE THE JOBS AT HALF THE SALARY ?

4 Oct 2010

TWICE THE JOBS AT HALF THE SALARY ?

  

Earlier in 2010, State Bank of India ( SBI ) advertised for 27,000 clerical job vacancies.

Some 2,800,000 candidates appeared for a written exam.

Amongst those who got selected were 4,000 graduate / post-graduate engineers.

Not surprising considering that India produces 500,000 engineering graduates every year [ including 150,000 software engineers ].

Their median starting salary would be approx. $ 1 per hour – about the same what I pay 2 software engineers who are developing my website for past one year.

Should SBI have created 54,000 jobs by paying $ 0.50 per hour ?

Ask any of the 38 million jobless Indian graduates who have registered at 900 + State Employment Exchanges.

The last registered must wait 126 years to get his job-offer !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

INTERVIEW ETIQUETTE

At Mumbai Municipal Corporation (India), it is the interviewers who are learning lessons in Interviewing Etiquettes, while interviewing 13,500 candidates for the post of peons.

It took 2 years just to shortlist from the hundreds of thousands of applicants.

·       Lesson # 1

         

Treat with love and compassion, toddlers accompanying their mothers to the interview room. When they tear up resumes, fling paperweights and swallow paper clips, just talk and play with the babies !

·       Lesson # 2

  

Conduct interviews standing up when ( most ) rural candidates refuse to sit down in order to express their humbleness !

·       Lesson # 3

  

Bear with bare feet candidates who leave their footwear outside the interview room. For them, an interview room is a sacred place like a temple where one must not enter wearing shoes !

  

It is about time someone wrote a book titled “ Interview Etiquette for Interviewers “

Hemen  Parekh

OUTSOURCING HAS MANY NAMES!

1 Oct 2010

OUTSOURCING HAS MANY NAMES!

Times of India (Sept. 29, 2010) carries a report about a joint study conducted by FICCI and HOSMAC on medical tourism.

They studied tourists traveling to India, for treatments of cosmetic and life-saving surgeries and found that a US citizen saves a lot of expense if he / she obtain such a treatment in an Indian hospital as compared to a US hospital.

Here is “how much“ :

Angioplasty………………………………..79 % - 82 %

Bypass Surgery………………………….92 % - 93 %

Tummy tuck……………………………….67 % - 89 %

Facelift………………………………………..44 % upwards

If a US Corporate can “ rationalize “ its outsourcing action on the basis of cost-cutting, can US citizens be far behind ?

Surely, diseases do strike even a jobless person !

500,000 patients who came to India in 2009 for medical treatment can’t be blamed !

Hemen  Parekh

POOR MPS OF INDIA !

28 Sep 2010

POOR MPS OF INDIA !

Poor Members of Indian Parliament recently agitated and got rewarded with hefty increase in their pay and perks.

But how do they stack-up vis-à-vis MPs of other countries ?

Times of India ( Aug.22,2010 ) computed salaries ( including perks ), of MPs of several countries. Then divided these with the per capita GDPs of respective countries.

To ensure an apple-for-apple comparison, salaries were adjusted using $ Purchase Price Parity.

The following picture emerged :

                           Salary ( + Perks )

                           --------------------   =

                           Per capita GDP

Kenya…………………………………………………………………..180  times

India ( before recent upward revision )……………104  times

USA…………………………………………………………………………35  times

Pakistan………………………………………………………………….17 times

UK…………………………………………………………………………….9  times

France……………………………………………………………………….8  times

Italy……………………………………………………………………………7  times

Japan………………………………………………………………………….6  times

Singapore……………………………………………………………………4  times

Other countries of Western Europe......less than…..10  times

India's per capita GDP ( in $ PPP ) is taken at $ 3,176 /  year

This hides the fact that nearly 45 % of India's people ( that should be close to 500 Million ), earn less than $ 0.5 / day as per author Rajesh Shukla ( " How India Earns, spends and Saves " )

How can you blame poor Indian MPs for not knowing that by 2020 , some 320 million Indians will be “ unemployed “, when they are debating important issues  such as who should be the captain of the Indian Cricket team ?

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

IN SOURCED

24 Sep 2010

IN SOURCED

In-Sourcing better than Out-Sourcing ?

At least the Australian Government seems to think so.

Why else would it “ import “ from India ( under its migration scheme), 450  Plumbers / Masons / Carpenters / Electricians / Mechanics etc ?

These highly skilled “ tradesmen “ were in-sourced from the Industrial Training Institute at Aundh ( India ) which has been training the students since last year for a certification that is recognized by the Australian Government.

Their minimum annual salary package is Australian Dollar 40,000.

The “tradesmen“ are happy because this salary is approx. 10 / 15 times what they would earn in India (- if they were lucky enough to find a job !).

Australian employers are happy because they just cannot find highly skilled technicians locally.

It seems, younger Australians prefer white-collar jobs.

May be they believe that white-collar workers may not get In-Sourced.

Is there a chance that white-collar jobs may get Out-Source?

Hemen  Parekh

WHAT ARE THE " LAY – OFF " RATES ?

23 Sep 2010

WHAT ARE THE " LAY – OFF " RATES ?

Quoting a research published in the " Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology ",The Washington Post reported following ” divorce rates “ amongst different professionals :

• Casino Workers/Tele. Operators/Nurses……Highest

• Dancers / Choreographers …………………………43.1%

• Bartenders / Massage Therapists……………… 38 %

• Fish and Game Wardens……………………………25.5 %

• Detectives………………………………………………… 12.5 %

• Podiatrists……………………………………………………6.8 %

• Clergy…………………………………………………………..5.6 %

• Optometrists………………………………………………..4.0 %

• Engineers ( Agri / Sales / Nuclear )……….Lowest

The authors said that the data did not explain whether it's the nature of the jobs that lead to divorce or people prone to unstable relationships are drawn to certain professions.

In these times of double-dip depression, a much more relevant research could be :

What kind of professionals suffer the highest " Lay –off  rates “ ? Do companies trying to cut costs thru out-sourcing lay-off maximum number of professionals ?

Only problem :

Researchers may not get any journal to publish their findings!

Hemen  Parekh