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

MAN BITES DOG !

No doubt, you have heard that cardinal principle of media, viz:

“ If a dog bites a man, that is not news : but if a man bites a dog, that is news “.

Obviously, for the journalists, what is commonplace has no place in reporting !

Hence, when 300 million Indians go to sleep without food everyday, that is “ no news “.

When 3 million poor Indians die of starvation every year, that is “ no news “

But, one celebrity going on a “ hunger strike “ at Jantar-Mantar in Delhi, between 10 am and 6 pm is “ Big News “ – to be continuously captured in cameras throughout the day !

Only once-in-a-while, a journalist like Ravish rises above the hypocrisy to give us “ Ravish ki Report “.

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH  

MEDICAL TOURISM TO INDIA

In Times of India ( May 21, 2011 ), Shobita Dhar provides following highlights on medical tourism to India :

·         In 2009, 2.2 % of the total tourists who came to India, came for medical treatment

·         India now handles 500,000 foreign medical tourists annually, compared to 1,200,000 tourists to Thailand

·         Major Indian cities attracting medical tourists are, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Goa, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad

·         17 hospitals in India have JCI accreditation ( Joint Commission International Accreditation and Certification System )

·         The latest Medical Tourism Climate Survey-2011, conducted for the European Medical Travel Conference, has revealed India to be the most popular destination for health travel in the world

·         The Indian Medical Tourism industry is growing at a rate of 30 % annually and is expected to reach $ 2.3 billion by 2012

·         Cost effectiveness of treatments in India are as follows 

( as a % of US costs ) :

#   Heart bypass…………….. 7.2 %    (  $ 7,200  / 100,000)

#   Angioplasty ………………..4.3 %    (  $ 7,000 /  160,000)

#   Hip Replacement ………..16.5 %  ( $  7,100 /  43,000)

#   Spine Fusion ……………….12.1 %  ( $  7,500 /  62,000)

#   Gastric bypass …………… 26.3 %  ( $  9,200 /  35,000)

#   Tummy tuck ………………. 45 %     ($  4,500 /  10,000)

#   Dental Inplant ……………..15 %    ( $  1,500 / 10,000)

     No wonder, Indian doctors settled in USA / UK are returning to India to set up world class hospitals.

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!

Times of India (June 11, 2011) reports :

• As per National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) 2007 – 08 survey, the size of the Indian workforce is between 416 and 466 million

• Over 30 million Indians cannot find work despite being in the labor force and another 25 million are officially under-employed

• 41.6 % of India’s population earn less than the International Poverty Line of $ 1.25 / day, in purchasing power parity ( PPP ) terms

• In the 11^th and 12^th Plan, the Planning Commission is expecting the creation of about 116 million jobs which would absorb 85 million increase in the labor force

• But during same period, India’s population will go up by 180 million!

By the time NSSO 2011-12 report comes out (hopefully , in 2015),

 the tunnel would have grown faster than the speed of light !

With regards

HEMEN PAREKH

Skills Shortage / Labor Shortage / Staff Shortage / Workforce

Here is a win-win situation ( as reported in Times of India / May,06,2011 ) :

Ø   A “ Skills Australia “ report estimates that Australia will need 2.4 million more skilled workers within 4 years

Ø   Australian trainers will train 100,000 Indians in Indian Universities over the next 4 years

Ø   Of these, 30,000 will be recruited to work in Australia

Ø   Any Indians who come to Australia under the scheme would be employed on the same conditions as Australians, subject to Immigration rules

National Skills Development Corporation ( NSDC - set up in Feb 2011 ), has the mandate to provide “ Skills “ to 500 million Indians by 2022, to make them ” employable “ .

How about India importing 30,000 Australian Trainers for this purpose ?

That would make for a true “ Win – Win “ situation !

With regards

Hemen  Parekh