Born to be Dead

This is the title of an article by Pooja Kashyap ( Times of India / 17 July, 2011 ).

Here are some highlights of this article :

Ø   Every year, nearly 1.2 million newborns die in India, most of them within the first few days after birth

Ø   India accounts for 30 % of neo-natal deaths worldwide ( out of 3.9 million )

Ø   Infants dieing during neo-natal period :

·        within first 7 days  ………….  45 %

·        within 7 – 28 days  …………   20 %

Ø   In the state of Uttar Pradesh, as many as 71 % neo-natal deaths occur during the first week itself

Ø   According to NGO – Save the Children -, over 400,000 newborns die annually in India, within the first 24 hours of birth – the highest in the world !

Ø   The single largest contributor to neo-natal deaths is the highest numbers of births in home settings, under the supervision of untrained attendants

My observation :

           If India could bring down its birth-rate from 2.1 % to 1.7 % during last decade, why can it not bring down its infant mortality rate from 5 % to 1 % ?

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

Better to be urban [ To beat Rural Poverty ? ]

Of course, there was never any doubt, but here are figures to prove.

As per 66^th round of survey carried out by National Sample Survey Office ( NSSO ) of India, average  URBAN monthly per capita consumption expenditure ( MPCE ) were higher than RURAL MPCE as follows :

Ø  In Punjab  ……………………  28 %  higher

Ø  In Kerala  …………………….  31 %  higher

Ø  In Rajasthan  ………………   41 %  higher

And just as expected, the expenditure on “ food “ is :

Ø  In urban India  …………….  44.4 % of  MPCE

Ø  In rural India  ……………..   57 %    of  MPCE

No wonder there is a huge migration of rural folks to cities.

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

Starving / Dying can be saved

If only the world learns not to waste food

Here are statistics provided by United Nations :

Ø  935  million people currently don’t have enough food to eat

Ø  Each year, some 6 million children die , all over the world , due to malnutrition ( of which 1.6 million die in India alone )

Ø  One – third of the food produced globally every year , does not reach human mouths – a staggering 1.3 Billion tones / year !

Ø  Per Capita per year, food wasted :

·        By USA and Europe ………………….. 95 – 115  Kg

·        By Africa and Asia ……………………    6 -    11  Kg

Ø  Percentage of purchased food thrown away by consumers :

·        In  USA…………………………………………. 25  %

·        In  UK  …………………………………………. 33  %

Monks belonging to Jain religion in India must ( apart from remaining strict vegetarian ),

·        Go around homes of parishioners, collecting food in wooden bowls ( but only once a day )

·        Eat everything served. Even water used for cleaning bowls must be consumed by drinking !

·        Never store food

We don’t have to become Jains in order to save the starving millions.

Just don’t waste food

With  regards

hemen  parekh

A Tale of Ten Cities ?

No, Shakespeare did not write it.

Here are the people who did :

Ø   Tunisia……………………….Ben Ali

Ø   Libya………………………….Muammar  Gaddafi

Ø   Syria………………………… Bashir Assad

Ø   Egypt…………………………Hosni Mubarak

Ø   Yemen………………………Bin Saleh

Ø   Iraq………………………….Saddam Hussein

Ø   Iran………………………….Ahmedinejad

Ø   Afghanistan……………..Osama Bin Laden

Ø   Sudan……………………..Omar al-Bashir

Ø   India…………………………Many Contenders !

But since India is the only democracy in this list, let people decide by voting / electing, who  authored the “ Ravan Lila “ in Ramlila Maidan  on the mid-night of June 04, 2011 !

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

A People’s Home ?

If India’s TATA group can deliver a People’s Car for Rs 100,000 ( Euro 1700 ), then why not a People’s Home for Rs. 32,000 ( Euro 500 ) ?

That is the question that Sumitesh Das – Chief of Tata Steel’s global research program – must have asked his colleagues.

As per DNA Money ( 16 July, 2011 ), the answer was, “ Yes of course ! Why not ? “

So, they came up with following specifications for People’s Home :

Ø   Flat roof with an area of 20 square meter for Rs.32,000

Ø   Upgraded 30 Sq Meter model to cost Rs 44,000 ( Euro 700 )

Ø   Pre-fabricated kit containing all parts

Ø   Kit to have significant amount of “ non-steel “ components

Ø   Kits to be manufactured ( under license ), all over India, in order to generate local employment

Ø   People’s Home must last about 20 years

Ø   Buyer should be able to assemble himself within 7 days

For India, with a current shortfall of 25.7 million dwellings, this is nothing short of a technological breakthrough !

Deliveries are expected to start within next few months.

Congratulations, Sumitesh !

With regards

Hemen  Parekh