JUDICIAL PRODUCTIVITY

12 Dec 2011

JUDICIAL  PRODUCTIVITY

If figures published in DNA [ 29, Nov. 2011 ] are any indication, there is a perceptible improvement in India’s judicial system.

Here are those facts :

·             During 5 year period ending Dec 31, 2011(?)

·             No of new cases filed……… ………… 111.60  million

·             No of cases disposed off……………..107.70 million

·             No of cases pending………………………..3.79 million

Assuming that the courts worked for an average of 200 days / year, ( ie: 1000 days in 5 years ), this translates to disposal of nearly 107,700 cases per day !

So , each of those 12,600 judges disposed off ( on an average ), 8.5 cases daily

While admitting 8.85 cases every day !

A total of 17.3 cases in a 4 hour period ! That is some productivity !

Of course ,with the arrival of e-governance, it is anybody’s guess what would happen when 120 million citizens having internet connections can lodge a corruption related complaint against 12 million Government servants , on Lokpal’s web site

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

Corruption rises in India ?

Just when you thought that there was no room for corruption to rise any more , Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index shows, India has fallen by 8 places !

Here are corruption indices of various countries ( as reported in Economic Times / 02,Dec.2011 ) :

      [  Score:   0 = Highly Corrupt,        10 = Very Clean         ]

Ø  New Zealand………………………                     9.5

Ø  Denmark……………………………. 9.4

Ø  Finland………………………………9.4

Ø  Sweden………………………………9.3

Ø  Singapore………………………..      9.2

Ø  China…………………………………3.6

Ø  Sri Lanka……………………………..3.3

Ø  India………………………………… 3.1

Ø  Bangladesh……………………….     .2.7

Ø  Pakistan……………………………    2.5

Ø  Uzbekistan…………………………   1.6

Ø  Afghanistan……………………..       1.5

Ø  Myanmar…………………………… 1.5

Ø  N Korea……………………………. 1.0

Ø  Somalia………………………………1.0

Now you know why Team Anna wants a strong  LokPal  Bill, covering even those 57 lakh, Class “ C “ government employees

Do we hear Standing Committee saying :

“ Oh, but perceptions can be deceptive ! “

With regards

hemen  parekh

WHO IS AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF ?

6 Dec 2011

WHO  IS  AFRAID  OF  THE  BIG  BAD  WOLF  ?

If and when , Wal-Mart , Carrefour , Tesco arrive in India , who will be afraid of them ?

Certainly not all of the 50 million small retailers

There are many amongst them who are thoroughly transparent , honest and have a very high standard of business practices.

In fact , no foreign Super mart can even match their personalized service to their customers

The retailers who are afraid are the ones who engage in one or more of the following un-ethical practices :

·      Selling fake / duplicate goods

·      Selling sub-standard goods

·      Selling goods at a price higher than the M.R.P

·      Cheating on correct weights

·      Selling goods without bills / cash memos

·      Selling expired goods

·      Not subscribing to “ Packaged Commodities Act “

·      Not subscribing to “ Weights and Measures Act “

·      Selling same item at different prices, especially to poor illiterate customers

·      Refusing to accept genuine “ Returns “

·      Selling drugs without prescriptions

·      Passing off misspelled, poor quality “ Substitutes “

·      Selling PDS items for poor in black market

They are afraid because they will have to give up their un-ethical ways of making a fast buck by cheating their unsuspecting customers

As a customer , I support FDI in retail

But I will continue to patronize my honest corner grocery store !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

Can someone please enlighten ?

FDI in retail will be allowed in only 53 cities – each with a population of 100,000 or more

Even if we assume that the average population of these 53 cities , is 2.5 million, it could add-up to approx 120 million people

That is just 10 % of India’s population of 1210 million

It is unlikely that more than 10 % of these 120 million people will shop at Wal-Mart , Carrefour, Tesco etc

That is 12 million people – no more than 1 % of India’s population !

And how many Super marts will foreign retailers open in those 53 cities ?

9/10 in each of these 53 cities ? – for a total of 500 ?

But , as per recent newspaper reports , we have 50 million small retailers in our country

That means, one Super mart must compete against 100,000 local retailers !

Is that a grave danger to the local retailers – having 99 % of the market share ?

Unless someone claims that those 1 % of the population make 50 % of the total purchases in the country !

If I am wrong , please enlighten


With regards

hemen parekh  /   05  Dec   2011

George Osborne : villain or hero ?

Recently, British Chancellor of Exchequers, George Osborne announced many measures to pull the British economy out of depression. Among others, these measures included :

Ø Starting 2013,  1 % cap on Public Sector pay for 2 years, once the current two-year pay freeze ends

Ø Plans to raise the state pension age from 66 to 67 would be brought forward by 8 years to 2026

Ø 1 billion pound scheme to subsidize work placements for the young unemployed

Despite these measures, unemployment is expected to rise from 8.2 % this year to 8.7 % next year

Job losses in public sector would nearly double to 710,000 , compared to earlier estimate of 400,000

Questions to be debated :

Ø If British Govt can impose a pay freeze for 4 years in Public sector, should British private sector follow suit ?

Ø To keep wage-costs under control, should employers be allowed to hire temporary / contractual staff on a fixed salary for , say , 2 years ?

Ø Will that encourage employers to hire more people ?

Ø Can inflation be better controlled thru a pay freeze ( less money in people’s pockets ), rather than thru hikes in interest rates ?

Ø Since salaries / wages are a major input-cost, can such freeze hold the production costs constant ?

Ø Will pay freeze lead to a “ low cost “ economy , making British products much more competitive internationally ?

Ø If this “experiment “ is successful, can it possibly lay the foundation of a National Wage Policy which pegs maximum annual wage-increase percentages  to 90 % of the rise in the Consumer Price Index of the preceding year, for both, the private and the public sector employees ? Can such mechanism , set in motion , a “ Virtuous Circle “ ?

Ø Can such a policy automatically control inflation without haphazard / half-cooked external interventions by Central Banks ?

Only history will decide whether George Osborne was a villain or a hero !

With regards

hemen  parekh

USE BLACK MONEY FOR EDUCATION ? WHY NOT ?

29 Nov 2011

USE  BLACK  MONEY  FOR  EDUCATION ?  WHY NOT  ?

E & Y and FICCI came out with a report :

“ Private Sector participation in Higher Education , 2011 “

Here are its findings , as reported in DNA ( 25 Nov 2011 ) :

·        Over 52 % students of India are studying in private higher educational institutes

·        14 million students are enrolled in 31,000 higher educational institutions across India

·        Central Govt targets to enroll 40 million students in higher education , by 2020

This will require :

·     25 million additional seats

·     Investment of Rs.10 lakh crores

·        Central Govt expects that 50 % of this investment ( ie : Rs. 5 lakh crores ) would come from private sector

Ground reality :

·        Govt will never find its share of Rs 5 lakh crores

·        Private sector can – and will – find the entire sum of Rs 10 lakh crore, if sufficiently “ incentivized “

What Incentives ?

·        Allow investing of black monies [ thru SPVs ], in higher education of only girls – especially girls from SC / ST / OBC / Dalit communities  

·        No questions asked as to the source

·        Tax-free income for 5 years

Outcome ?

·        India will overtake the entire world in creation of “ Intellectual Property “ and in creation of jobs

I hope , someone forwards this to Kapil Sibal / Pranab Mukherjee / Soniaji Gandhi / Behen Mayawatiji / Mamta Didi / Jayalalithaji etc

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH