Was in Delhi for a long while, about two weeks, busy with all the MBA interviews. Got done with them, hopefully with a few positive results. Then we decided to push to Rajasthan to meet my sibling in law school.
After three days of hectic travel, I finally reached home and the first thing I did was to fall sick and have the worst cough of my life. Anyways, I had lots of fun, and more importantly, am glad that I only have one interview left, albeit the most important one of all.
The road to Jodhpur from Delhi is good, no doubt. Got to ride the expressway between Delhi and Gurgaon. The expressway is great, but just awful, awful driving skills. People cut lanes at will, and just cut you off whenever they noticed even an iota of space. Very scary, because all this takes place at very high speeds. Also, although its called an expressway, it still does not stop pedestrians from crossing over at many places.
The road from Gurgaon to Jaipur is good too, its four lane, but decently surfaced, and I didnt find a lot of traffic. Then there is the GVK Expressway from Jaipur to Kishangarh, which is about 30 km from Ajmer. The expressway is very good, and a pleasant drive.
Ajmer to Jodhpur is good in the sense that although it is two lane, there is very little traffic, and you can ride your fastest even though its two lanes.
I think I missed a lot of juicy news while I was away, but definitely not enough to not have an opinion about them.
First, the media is again enamoured by a little girl who was stuck in a borewell for 27 hours, before being rescued by the Indian Army. Before this, a few more children had become the centers of media attention after being stuck in wells, and some children have even lost their lives. Only one news channel actually said anything about no lessons being learnt after all these tragedies. Why are borewells being allowed to be abandoned without being filled up? Why aren't there rules about effective fencing around borewells, or any deep holes dug for any purpose to prevent children and other crazy people from getting near them? There should be laws dictating how they need to be dug up and how to be utilized and how to be abandoned.
The entire country was apparently praying and holding vigils and all that, but I doubt anybody will have the good sense to raise this safety issue further. I think our belief is God supersedes our belief in ourselves.
Also, I am reading India 2020 these days, and we have already lost 12 good years, because this book came out in '98, but I think everybody who has a vision for this country should read this book, because even if we don't achieve a lot by 2020, at least we know the possibilities and what needs to be achieved.
Reading the book makes me wonder of the great opportunity we seem to be bent on missing. And President Kalam is right about one thing - we need to rise about the little problems we worry about all day and for once think ahead and think far. I realize now that most of the politicians we elect today don't have a vision for the country. I don't blame them, because most Indians don't seem to have a vision for the country. Thats unfortunate and that needs to change.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
amnesty FM
Just like Jaswant Singh was called the rollback FM for rolling back the price hike in fuel after announcing it in his budget last decade, they say P Chidambaram is the Amnesty FM for his super sized write off of Rs. 60,000 crores in small farmer loans. Of course, everyone says that all this is being done with the polls in mind, but this still needs to be looked deeper, because there are more shades to this decision than just the polls.
Farmers with land holdings of 2 acres or less are eligible for this write off, to begin with. Now there are a few things that even in my ignorance, I can more or less figure out. First, and probably the biggest cliche of all is that our agriculture sector is in such a pathetic condition that it can't survive without such bailouts. Most of the small and marginal farmers simply can't produce enough from their small land holdings to even break even. I feel that the biggest reason for this is India's very poor farm productivity, which is even below the global average.
I think another point to look at is that the number of small and marginal farmers who actually get loans from the public sector and co-operative banks are actually actually not as large, with private money lenders still lending to many of these farmers.
And no matter what, I am sure most of them who worked hard and cut into their savings and consumption to pay off their loans probably feel cheated, and I think the FM should have done something for them as well. Maybe he could have offered them new loans at a much lower rate. Besides, its not that these farmers whose loans are written off have a clean slate. They have no choice but to go in for new loans.
The FM says that he is simply wiping the dust off these loans for the banks. Which is a good point, because many of these loans were NPA's for these banks already, and with the FM saying he has the money, maybe they will receive some of the money which they probably wouldn't have received before.
The bottom line is that agriculture needs a much bigger and comprehensive push that just debt write offs. On TV, they had a few farmers from Punjab who said the same thing about not having any incentives for the farmers who actually worked hard to pay off their loans. Also, one of them urged the FM to teach them how to fish, and not give them fishes. Good points, and I think the second Green Revolution can't come any sooner.
Farmers with land holdings of 2 acres or less are eligible for this write off, to begin with. Now there are a few things that even in my ignorance, I can more or less figure out. First, and probably the biggest cliche of all is that our agriculture sector is in such a pathetic condition that it can't survive without such bailouts. Most of the small and marginal farmers simply can't produce enough from their small land holdings to even break even. I feel that the biggest reason for this is India's very poor farm productivity, which is even below the global average.
I think another point to look at is that the number of small and marginal farmers who actually get loans from the public sector and co-operative banks are actually actually not as large, with private money lenders still lending to many of these farmers.
And no matter what, I am sure most of them who worked hard and cut into their savings and consumption to pay off their loans probably feel cheated, and I think the FM should have done something for them as well. Maybe he could have offered them new loans at a much lower rate. Besides, its not that these farmers whose loans are written off have a clean slate. They have no choice but to go in for new loans.
The FM says that he is simply wiping the dust off these loans for the banks. Which is a good point, because many of these loans were NPA's for these banks already, and with the FM saying he has the money, maybe they will receive some of the money which they probably wouldn't have received before.
The bottom line is that agriculture needs a much bigger and comprehensive push that just debt write offs. On TV, they had a few farmers from Punjab who said the same thing about not having any incentives for the farmers who actually worked hard to pay off their loans. Also, one of them urged the FM to teach them how to fish, and not give them fishes. Good points, and I think the second Green Revolution can't come any sooner.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
higher education is heading nowhere/somewhere?
Got to watch parts of a good show on the status of higher education in India on the Sahara Samay channel.
India has less than 300 universities, from what I heard, but before most of us wonder at this minuscule number, I think we should remember that India still follows the British education system to a large extent - that of having colleges affiliated with universities. The India-famous Delhi University is one such example. There is no such concept as a DU culture, but its mainly about the dozens of colleges that are affiliated to it all around the city.
The Government seems to have woken up after so many months of bullshit from its HRD Minister - Mr. Arjun Singh, who, as I have said so many times already, is there because of his obeisance to the Gandhi family. So there are 7 new IIT's coming up, and the ones in Bihar and Andhra will start taking in students from later this year or next year. Then the seventh IIM at Shillong is also to start functioning this year, though still on borrowed space at the North Eastern Hill University. Conveniently, its named after Rajiv Gandhi. Also in the works are 30 new other central universities and a lot more colleges.
It is good to build, but I think they need to take a look at how our existing universities are functioning too. In most parts of the world, universities are the center of innovation and new thought, and Indian universities have also been such centers, but I think this is fading slowly. We have not much money to spend on R&D at these universities, or at least they make it out to be. There are moral policemen roaming all our nooks and crannies, ready to browbeat new thoughts and anything that their small minds can't digest. The point is this - the fundamental right to free speech is now preceded by the fundamental right to not agree with it and very importantly, create a ruckus against it.
While the government is planning more of its own and private money into the higher education system, I would like to make it clear that for the most part, I am against foreign direct investment in our universities. While I understand the importance of importing best practices from all the world's best universities, I feel our focus should be on self-improvement and aiming to improve the quality of our own universities. India has had great universities, places of new thought, freedom of expression and dissent, but today, the only place that still seems to live that way is JNU. Don't get me wrong, I have many charges against JNU, or rather, the way the commies have occupied it, but I also know that any free country needs such centers of dissent. The level of innovation that should be coming out of the much touted and craved IIT's and IIM's is also way below potential. The IIM's are not about innovation and development, for most of the people who aspire for it - mainly the IIT graduates, it is but the step that will take them into 7 digit salaries. Why this craze for most IIT engineers to crave for management degrees after getting a supposedly great technical degree from the IIT's? I dont know, but what I do know is that for in most of our youth, the zeal for learning and innovation is dead, and the only thing that runs in our blood is the desire for more money.
So I think nothing will happen till we continue to see a lack of clear policy for our higher education. Building more universities is good, but what is more important is to improve the existing ones, most of which today are in shambles. Our universities need to be insulated from the daily political dirt that floats in the air. They need to be grown as centers of free thought and our professors need to be given more respect and at least a decent amount of salary. I am sure most will agree that our teaching professions are in shambles as well. Most are at the mercy of politicians and paid a pittance. Where will be the will to teach? That is why so few of them have it any more. All these are just as important as the grand plans for more universities.
India has less than 300 universities, from what I heard, but before most of us wonder at this minuscule number, I think we should remember that India still follows the British education system to a large extent - that of having colleges affiliated with universities. The India-famous Delhi University is one such example. There is no such concept as a DU culture, but its mainly about the dozens of colleges that are affiliated to it all around the city.
The Government seems to have woken up after so many months of bullshit from its HRD Minister - Mr. Arjun Singh, who, as I have said so many times already, is there because of his obeisance to the Gandhi family. So there are 7 new IIT's coming up, and the ones in Bihar and Andhra will start taking in students from later this year or next year. Then the seventh IIM at Shillong is also to start functioning this year, though still on borrowed space at the North Eastern Hill University. Conveniently, its named after Rajiv Gandhi. Also in the works are 30 new other central universities and a lot more colleges.
It is good to build, but I think they need to take a look at how our existing universities are functioning too. In most parts of the world, universities are the center of innovation and new thought, and Indian universities have also been such centers, but I think this is fading slowly. We have not much money to spend on R&D at these universities, or at least they make it out to be. There are moral policemen roaming all our nooks and crannies, ready to browbeat new thoughts and anything that their small minds can't digest. The point is this - the fundamental right to free speech is now preceded by the fundamental right to not agree with it and very importantly, create a ruckus against it.
While the government is planning more of its own and private money into the higher education system, I would like to make it clear that for the most part, I am against foreign direct investment in our universities. While I understand the importance of importing best practices from all the world's best universities, I feel our focus should be on self-improvement and aiming to improve the quality of our own universities. India has had great universities, places of new thought, freedom of expression and dissent, but today, the only place that still seems to live that way is JNU. Don't get me wrong, I have many charges against JNU, or rather, the way the commies have occupied it, but I also know that any free country needs such centers of dissent. The level of innovation that should be coming out of the much touted and craved IIT's and IIM's is also way below potential. The IIM's are not about innovation and development, for most of the people who aspire for it - mainly the IIT graduates, it is but the step that will take them into 7 digit salaries. Why this craze for most IIT engineers to crave for management degrees after getting a supposedly great technical degree from the IIT's? I dont know, but what I do know is that for in most of our youth, the zeal for learning and innovation is dead, and the only thing that runs in our blood is the desire for more money.
So I think nothing will happen till we continue to see a lack of clear policy for our higher education. Building more universities is good, but what is more important is to improve the existing ones, most of which today are in shambles. Our universities need to be insulated from the daily political dirt that floats in the air. They need to be grown as centers of free thought and our professors need to be given more respect and at least a decent amount of salary. I am sure most will agree that our teaching professions are in shambles as well. Most are at the mercy of politicians and paid a pittance. Where will be the will to teach? That is why so few of them have it any more. All these are just as important as the grand plans for more universities.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Who is Raj Thacck...whatever?
You know, Jaya Bachchan ji isn't an astute politician, neither an seasoned, wily one, but there is one comment she made that made a lot of sense to me - "Who is Raj Thackrey?"
She said this after Raj Thackrey attacked Amitabh Bachchan and his family for their apparent siding with the "North Indians", when it was Mumbai which had given him his fame.
Currently Mumbai is under attack by hooligans and thugs led by Raj Thackrey, and Mumbai Police is standing with its tail between its legs. People travelling in trains were asked their state of origin, and beaten up if they were from the north. Shops owned by North Indian immigrants were ransacked, immigrant taxi drivers were beaten up, and there wasn't even an iota of courage, or willingness, shown by the state government to crush such amazingly anti-national and anti-democracy actions.
Just depressing to see our country stoop to new lows on every social front. People such as Raj Thackrey are usually the most loud bastards in any democracy, but are usually the most sidelined. But here I was praising Mumbai in front of some of my friends for its openness and modernity, and the Thackrey puppy comes in and rains in on my parade.
If this country has any hope of actually moving forward - never mind the rosy macroeconomic picture - then we will have to at least attempt to modernize our thoughts as much as we are trying to modernize our lives. Raj Thackrey is a goon, and I hope this country and its government realize that letting dogs bark will do nothing but hurt our ears.
She said this after Raj Thackrey attacked Amitabh Bachchan and his family for their apparent siding with the "North Indians", when it was Mumbai which had given him his fame.
Currently Mumbai is under attack by hooligans and thugs led by Raj Thackrey, and Mumbai Police is standing with its tail between its legs. People travelling in trains were asked their state of origin, and beaten up if they were from the north. Shops owned by North Indian immigrants were ransacked, immigrant taxi drivers were beaten up, and there wasn't even an iota of courage, or willingness, shown by the state government to crush such amazingly anti-national and anti-democracy actions.
Just depressing to see our country stoop to new lows on every social front. People such as Raj Thackrey are usually the most loud bastards in any democracy, but are usually the most sidelined. But here I was praising Mumbai in front of some of my friends for its openness and modernity, and the Thackrey puppy comes in and rains in on my parade.
If this country has any hope of actually moving forward - never mind the rosy macroeconomic picture - then we will have to at least attempt to modernize our thoughts as much as we are trying to modernize our lives. Raj Thackrey is a goon, and I hope this country and its government realize that letting dogs bark will do nothing but hurt our ears.
Friday, January 25, 2008
I think what national columnists think!
While I consider most of Indian national media to be absolute crap, and Hindi television media to be the worst afflicted, there are some channels and shows which do stand out.
First, I am a big fan of the Lok Sabha TV. The first time I came across the channel was when I was surfing through cable, and I came across a show, if i remember correctly, on Indian aviation. Now that is something which really interests me, and I stopped to watch the show. I realized that the panel they have is not the usual suspects, the one 'expert' for all fields. They were actually men of position, and everyone on the set - the anchor, the guests - were very mature in their discussion. I was aware that such a channel had been launched recently, but this was the first time I had a chance to see it.
I've watched it a lot more, and I've always found maturity, objectivity, and absolutely no scope for sensationalism and tabloidism. They have a mix of lot of good things actually.
And then, another day, I was watching Sahara Samay, just another of those moments when I stopped at the channel while surfing, and again I thought that this was very good journalism, and I was actually surprised that there was no juicy non-news that other channels paraded as news, and again, there was no sensationalism.
The point is that there is a columnist in The Indian Express, Shailja Bajpayee, and she actually mentioned the exact two channels in her column for their quality. So I am not the only one who notices these things then.
That being said, I am glad that in this age of loud and tasteless television, there are actually television channels that you can watch without being hurried.
Finally, I feel that some channels need to change their names. Star News is not a news channel. They are a tabloid, through and through. They should get rid of the pretenses. The same with India TV. Most of the 'news' they have is juicy tabloid stuff. Its a pity that a quality Hindi journalist such as Rajat Sharma has to spend time there. Also, when Star Gold first started, they focused on quality movies that were actually gold, but today I find that most of their movies are movies that are unheard of, and very new. Also, the channels that aren't Indian, such as Travel & Living and Discovery, have much better shows on India than all the Indian channels! Surely some domestic television executive will get a hint.
First, I am a big fan of the Lok Sabha TV. The first time I came across the channel was when I was surfing through cable, and I came across a show, if i remember correctly, on Indian aviation. Now that is something which really interests me, and I stopped to watch the show. I realized that the panel they have is not the usual suspects, the one 'expert' for all fields. They were actually men of position, and everyone on the set - the anchor, the guests - were very mature in their discussion. I was aware that such a channel had been launched recently, but this was the first time I had a chance to see it.
I've watched it a lot more, and I've always found maturity, objectivity, and absolutely no scope for sensationalism and tabloidism. They have a mix of lot of good things actually.
And then, another day, I was watching Sahara Samay, just another of those moments when I stopped at the channel while surfing, and again I thought that this was very good journalism, and I was actually surprised that there was no juicy non-news that other channels paraded as news, and again, there was no sensationalism.
The point is that there is a columnist in The Indian Express, Shailja Bajpayee, and she actually mentioned the exact two channels in her column for their quality. So I am not the only one who notices these things then.
That being said, I am glad that in this age of loud and tasteless television, there are actually television channels that you can watch without being hurried.
Finally, I feel that some channels need to change their names. Star News is not a news channel. They are a tabloid, through and through. They should get rid of the pretenses. The same with India TV. Most of the 'news' they have is juicy tabloid stuff. Its a pity that a quality Hindi journalist such as Rajat Sharma has to spend time there. Also, when Star Gold first started, they focused on quality movies that were actually gold, but today I find that most of their movies are movies that are unheard of, and very new. Also, the channels that aren't Indian, such as Travel & Living and Discovery, have much better shows on India than all the Indian channels! Surely some domestic television executive will get a hint.
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