Blog

Saturday, 19 September 2020

Air India : No Buyer ? No Surprise !

Govt can privatize AI or shut it down: Puri

https://lnkd.in/ePimYzn
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With ₹60,000 debt, the choice is between privatisation and closing down the airline, Puri said.
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There is a saying : Old soldiers never die . They just fade away

Nearly 3 years ago , another minister had anticipated such a fate for Air India and said :

Finding a Bakra ? Possible ? [ 04 June 2017 ]

https://lnkd.in/fTeddJx
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Extract :

Ashok Gajapathy Raju ( Civil Aviation Minister ),who recently said to CNBC TV !* :

“ There are hardly any bakras around, so to get one is difficult and businessmen are businessmen

There are limitations . One thing is for sure, the taxpayer’s money cannot be committed for eternity

So, that is one problem . Failures are there on the financial front , so there are problems and these will be attended to “

Govt can privatize AI or shut it down: Puri

SERVICE LIABILITY ACT ? Time is NOW

Could this , some day soon , launch SERVICE LIABILITY ACT ?

Context :
Power Ministry seeks comments on draft rules for empowering electricity consumers
https://lnkd.in/eaqi_vg
======================
Highlights:

> The draft includes the provision of reliability of service..

> The draft also includes provisions for compensation and
penalty for delay in service automatically by the discoms
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Now, the concept of Service Liability Act :

Needed : a Service Liability Act [ 12 June 2019 ]

https://lnkd.in/fTXK6bn

Power Ministry seeks comments on draft rules for empowering electricity consumers

Calculate Harm Quotient for Road Tax

Shri R C Bhargava ( Chairman, Suzuki ) says :

( https://lnkd.in/e5vPNBn ) :

Other than GST , road tax and initial insurance cost should be cut : Maruti Suzuki Chairman

Dear Shri Bhargava,

I totally agree with your suggestion to cut down on " Road Tax " and " Initial Insurance Cost " - with following improvement :

The lesser the HARM QUOTIENT of a vehicle ( capacity to harm the environment ) , the lesser should be the taxes. As a logical corollary :

The higher the HARM QUOTIENT of a vehicle , the higher should be the taxes

If implemented ( automatically and WITHOUT human intervention ), such a SYSTEM of PIGOVIAN TAXES, would unleash unimaginable BENEFITS, as explained in :

Transport : an Integrated Logistic Plan ? [ 20 Nov 2018 ]

https://lnkd.in/fep8UKZ

Government should try to bring down total purchase cost of vehicles, says RC Bhargava

Clueless on number of jobs lost ?

Govt clueless on number of jobs lost during pandemic

https://lnkd.in/eXuX_NP
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Dear Shri Santosh Gangwarji { Labour Minister }

santoshg@sansad.nic.in / santosh.gangwar.bareilly@gmail.com

Even after pandemic is over and some kind of " normalcy " returns , we will continue to remain " Clueless " [ about numbers Employed - Unemployed - Self Employed ] , unless the Governments [ Central + States ] , coerce and incentivize all establishments to implement :

https://lnkd.in/ebf8pSZ

Here is proof of concept :

https://lnkd.in/gYFxSNf

Govt clueless on number of jobs lost during pandemic

How about making this a Permanent Feature ?

Context :

Bill to cut MPs’ salary by 30% for a year introduced in Lok ..

Read more at:
https://lnkd.in/eayXGcr

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Hrere is how :

Artificial Intelligence to fix MP / MLA Salary ?

https://lnkd.in/fuyqpet

Bill to cut MPs’ salary by 30% for a year introduced in Lok Sabha | India News - Times of India

Time to " Talk the Walk "

Dear Shri R K Singhji

Just came across :
https://lnkd.in/e6xiYeZ

Quote :
" Electricity is future of India / most of its infrastructure will be powered by electricity, including cooking completely on electricity, giving poor strata of society a cheaper medium of cooking.. a POWER FOUNDATION is being set up under the Ministry for the purpose... large scale use of electric cooking will make the economy self-reliant "

Pl consider following suggestion :

Dear Shri Goyalji : How about a Solar Cooker ?

https://lnkd.in/eZJbAGT

How can Govt help to accelerate a RAPID ADOPTION of Solar Cookers ?

By providing a DBT of 75 % of the Sale Price of a Solar Cooker (meeting specific performance criteria and having obtained a prior ISI certificate), into the Jan Dhan A/C of the buyer ( subject to max of Rs 7,500 )

This subsidy would be available to a HOUSE-HOLD(and not to each person in the family ), and can be availed only ONCE per family

Subsidy would be available for only DIRECT PURCHASE from govt approved Authorised Dealers – and not from Re-Sellers

Friday, 18 September 2020

A Nightmare come true ?

Covid is bad : Black-marketing ( through hoarding of limited supply ) of Vaccine is worse

Context :

Rich countries snap up half of Covid-19 vaccine supply

Extract :

Ø The five leading vaccine candidates in late-stage trials will be able to supply 5.9 billion doses, enough to inoculate about three billion people, the Oxfam report said. Some 51% of those jabs have been snapped up by the wealthy world, including the US, Britain, the EU, Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, Japan, Switzerland and Israel.

Ø A study released by Oxfam showed a group of wealthy countries representing just 13% of the world population has secured the lion’s share of doses.

Ø “Access to a life-saving vaccine shouldn’t depend on where you live or how much money you have,” said Robert Silverman of Oxfam America. “Covid-19 anywhere is Covid-19 everywhere.”

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What is happening at the “ World Level “, could well happen at the “ National Level “, with the RICH and POWERFUL people of India cornering most of the supplies of locally manufactured ( or even imported SPUTNIK V from Russia ) vaccines

Also consider this :

India is claimed to be manufacturing 60 % of the total vaccine production of the entire world ( with allegedly , SERUM INSTITUTE – Pune supplying 50 % of world supply )

That imposes on India, a MORAL RESPONSIBILITY to help out poor / covid affected countries, who do not have their own manufacturing facilities, nor the money to import expensive vaccines made by US-EU etc

At the “ World level “, we cannot dictate other countries what distribution regulation they should adopt

But, nothing stops Central Government from announcing the following RULES for the Indian Vaccine Manufacturers :

Ø You will email ( to DCGI – Drug Controller General of India / ICMR and the Commerce Ministry ), your weekly / monthly, production / sales figures ( including any vaccines imported in bulk for re-packaging or as vials )

Ø You can locally sell vaccine, only to the Central and State Governments (- their notified agencies ) under BULK PURCHASE CONTRACTS

Ø In any given month, you will be allowed to EXPORT, 20 % of the dozes that you have actually “delivered “to local governments during the preceding month. For such exports, you will need to apply – and obtain from the Commerce Ministry – an EXPORT LICENCE ( If you have delivered 10 lakh dozes locally in Nov 2020 , you will be issued an export license for exporting 2 lakh dozes in Dec 2020 )

Ø To get an Export License, you will need to mention the DESTINATION PORTS ( countries to which exporting ). Commerce Ministry will want to ascertain that you are going to export to “ COVID affected POOR countries “ – and not to RICH countries

That leaves the question re:

“ Who (which individuals, in which Section-Strata- Region of our society ), shall the Central + State Governments give priority for getting vaccinated ?

How will these priorities get determined systemically – scientifically – transparently ( without introduction of HUMAN BIAS in the process ) ? “

For such a process , read :