View Full Version : Bharat Mahan (?)- Kab Banega ?
Once there was
1 deadly cyclone...
more than 10s of villages were washed off
more than 100s of reporters approached
more than 1000s of houses slided with the water
more than 10000s of people died
more than 100000s of people missing
more than 1000000s of rupees were estimated as loss
more than 10000000s of rupees asked from the government for relief
Then,
10000000s of rupees allocated
And
less than 1000000s of rupees released
less than 100000s of rupees were shared
less than 10000s of rupees were brought for relief
less than 1000s of rupees were shown to us
less than 100s of rupees were distributed on papers
less than 10s of us were called to collect the aid
at last,
1 of us also couldn't get it
U****a, Botswana freer than India
January 04, 2006 15:28 IST
Hong Kong and Singapore, the economic jewels of Asia, are the world's freest economies, according to the 12th annual Index of Economic Freedom, released by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
India, however, is way behind at 121st spot in a list of 157 countries graded in the 2006 Index of Economic Freedom.
Even Botswana (30), Pakistan (110), China (111), Belize (55), Mongolia (61), U****a (66), Bolivia (67), Cambodia (68), Lebanon (73), Swaziland (79), Lesotho (99), Zambia (112), Mozambique (114), Cameroon (120) are ahead of India in terms of economic freedom.
Meanwhile, in the overall ranking Ireland overtook Luxembourg and Estonia and moved up to No. 3, and Iceland moved up three spaces to No. 5, where it is tied with the United Kingdom.
The Most Free
Hong Kong (1st)
Singapore (2nd)
Ireland (3rd)
Luxembourg (4th)
Iceland (5th)
United Kingdom (5th)
Estonia (7th)
Denmark (8th)
Australia (9th)
New Zealand (9th)
United States (9th)
The United States improved enough to re-enter the top 10 after falling out last year for the first time ever. It's tied for 9th worldwide with Australia and New Zealand.
The world is economically freer today than it was a year ago which means greater prosperity for those countries that embrace open markets.
The Index findings are straightforward, according to editors Marc A Miles, Kim R Holmes and Mary Anastasia O'Grady. 'The countries with the most economic freedom also have higher rates of long-term economic growth and are more prosperous than are those with less economic freedom,' the report says.
The Least Free
Turkmenistan (148th)
Laos (149th)
Cuba (150th)
Belarus (151st)
Libya (152nd)
Venezuela (152nd)
Zimbabwe (154th)
Burma (155th)
Iran (156th)
North Korea (157th)
Of the 157 countries graded in the 2006 Index, 99 improved their overall scores, compared to 51 whose scores worsened and five that remained unchanged. Overall, 20 are classified as 'free,' 52 as 'mostly free,' 73 as 'mostly unfree' and 12 as 'repressed.'
Countries receive a 1-5 rating -- with one being the best -- on 10 broad measures of economic freedom: trade policy, fiscal burden of government, government intervention in the economy, monetary policy, capital flows and foreign investment, banking and finance, wages and prices, property rights, regulation and informal (or black) market activity.
Those scores are averaged to create an overall score. The top finishers are classified as free economies, followed by mostly free, mostly unfree and repressed economies.
The links between countries that embrace economic freedom and prosperity are long established. Those in countries with 'mostly unfree' or 'repressed' economies earn 70 percent less than those in countries with 'mostly free' economies, the Index editors say. And those in 'free' economies enjoy a per capita income more than twice what those in 'mostly free' economies earn.
Here are the economies that have made the greatest changes since the 2005 Index:
Top 10 Improved (Score Change)
Pakistan (0.40)
Romania (0.39)
Kyrgyz Republic (0.35)
Suriname (0.33)
Armenia (0.32)
Turkmenistan (0.32)
Georgia (0.31)
Turkey (0.30)
Tajikistan (0.29)
Kazakhstan (0.26)
Over the last 10 years, more and more countries have embraced policies that promote economic freedom. As a result, this year the average Index score falls into the 'mostly free' (2.98; the cutoff is 3) category for the first time -- although the median score (3.04) remains just over the line in the 'mostly unfree' category.
Sadly, this message doesn't seem to get through where it's needed most. The prosperous countries of the North America/Europe region -- spurred by rapid moves toward economic freedom by the former Soviet republics -- show consistent improvement. But regions such as Latin America, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, which, to its credit, continues to improve on its Index scores -- continue to lag behind in prosperity because of the protectionist economic policies of their governments.
Top 10 Worsened (Score Change)
Iran (0.30)
Italy (0.22)
Guinea (0.22)
Bolivia (0.21)
United Arab Emirates (0.20)
Oman (0.20)
Equatorial Guinea (0.16)
Sri Lanka (0.16)
Egypt (0.16)
El Salvador (0.15)
Nicaragua (0.15)
satanicspawn
30-04-06, 09:06 PM
wow man where did ya come to know all this from ?
India overtakes South Africa in HIV infections: UNAIDS
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PTI
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 20:50 IST
NEW DELHI: India has overtaken South Africa in the number of people infected with HIV, a United Nations report on HIV released on Tuesday said.
The world's second-most populous nation has overtaken South Africa as the country with the most people living with the HIV virus. India is home to about 5.7 million cases as against about 5.5 million people infected in South Africa, the UN agency said.
The '2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic' was released on Tuesday in Geneva.
While select countries have reached key targets, the Indian subcontinent has been a cause of concern in the global AIDS epidemic control programme. It accounts for two-thirds of HIV cases in the whole of Asia, it said.
About 5.7 million people in the country were infected with the deadly virus by the end of 2005, while the figures in South Africa stand at about 5.5 million, the Geneva-based body said in its biennial study of the global epidemic.
South Africa, however, remains the hardest-hit continent and has highest infection rates per capita, it said adding penetration there is much deeper as 18.8 per cent adults were living with HIV as compared to 0.9 per cent in India.
Important progress has been made since 2001 special session, yet there is extraordinary diversity in the response to HIV between countries and regions.
HIV prevalence has been declining in four states, including Tamil Nadu, where prevention efforts were scaled up in the late 1990s, the report said.
Is govt harassing the salaried class?
June 06, 2006
If you are a salaried individual or a pensioner, bad news awaits you.
The new 4-page income tax return form '2F,' which replaces the 1-page Saral, will make life very complicated for you. You now have to give details of all investments, all household expenses, cash in hand, cash in your bank, any loans or gifts that you receive, etc. in the income tax return.
This means all of you will have to keep a statement of all the expenses you make: the exercise will be quite like maintaining a company balance sheet. Instead of making life simpler for you, the government is keen on making it more difficult.
All about the new tax return form
What the new I-T return does, besides increasing your paperwork and pain, is that it infringes on your civil rights. For, even though your tax is deducted at source, you need to tell the government where and how you have spent your money. The imposition of such financial policing on the salaried class is tantamount to harassment of honest taxpayers.
And while the government wants to know the entire financial status of all salaried taxpayers, no effort has been made to bring those who can manipulate their income and evade tax under more supervision.
University's results website flops
By: Yogita Rao
June 7, 2006
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Many TYBCom students could not check their results on Mumbai University’s website, www.mu.ac.in, on Tuesday, after the site did not open.
The frustrated students had to wait a day for the results to be posted on the notice board to see how they had fared.
“We thought the website would spare us a visit to the campus. But I simply could not open the link. Finally, I went to the college yesterday afternoon and got my results,†said Pooja Somani (20) of Vivek College, Goregaon.
“It is good that they posted the results online, but the university needs a stronger server that can handle so many hits. Some students were miserable, thinking they had failed,†said Girish Chandani, whose brother Haresh is a TYBCom student.
“The university should not have put out the results before its website was in order. My friends spent several anxious hours in cyber cafes, trying to open the website. Pasting the result sheets on the notice board would have been much better,†said Hetal Patel (21), a student of MK College, Borivli.
Prakash Wani, the university’s controller of examinations, had told MiD DAY on Monday: “The website is working smoothly.â€
Another dud
The university had also decided to provide results over the phone. This experiment flopped as well, as most students were unaware of the facility. The few who tried, found the line continuously engaged.
Slums, sloth corrode rain-ready claims
==========================
Thursday, June 15, 2006 00:50 IST
MUMBAI: While the dry spell may distress the ordinary Mumbaikar, it has come as a blessing in disguise for the city administration. The 15-day break in the monsoon has emboldened both civic bodies — BMC and MMRDA — to claim that the city is safe. They say that when the rains do hit the city, there will be no potholes, and that water-logging is history.
The only work done in the past fortnight is patchwork to bring dug-up roads to a technical “safe modeâ€. At the time of writing, MMRDA officials are still struggling to relocate shopkeepers on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road while rocks in the sensitive Poisar lake are being cleared.
Work remains incomplete on crucial roads such as LBS Road in Kurla, Yari Road, Carter Road, Asalfa Link Road, and Andheri-Kurla Road. Merely 15km of the 25km stretch between Andheri and Dahisar is complete. While babus are relieved that Madam Cama and Maharshi Karve roads near Mantralaya are open to traffic, the rest of the city remains on tenterhooks.
But Municipal Commissioner Johny Joseph said, “These 15 days gave us time to finish major road work. The nullahs have been cleaned. The disaster cell is fully equipped. No one will be stranded on roads.â€
Amid claims and counterclaims lies the untold story about why both bodies are unable to move professionally. The MMRDA’s biggest headache is the extensive rehabilitation of people — a long, politically fraught and bureaucratic process — which is delaying projects under the MUTP, MUIP, and Mithi river cleanup.
The threat that rehabilitation costs will outstrip the cost of the projects is now real. “We are not here to shift the entire city,†said Metropolitan Commissioner T Chandrashekhar. “Already, extension of the slum deadline to 2000 has increased our workload by 30 per cent. The greed is so high that people want new houses or shops in prime area of equal dimensions. The fact that we are fulfilling this demand will increase influx. All our projects are languishing because of this and there is a danger of them becoming financially unviable.â€
For the BMC, the July 26 wakeup call rings only distantly as officials speak of nothing but drainage cleanup and connectivity for this monsoon. There is no talk of reform and no sign of the much-touted planning cell. For instance, why go to Delhi when Mumbai has enough muscle to raise funds for the crucial storm-water drains project?
Unless the city gets a proactive administration, the idea of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai will continue to look farfetched.
Porn On Your Cell? Pay Fine!
Rly cops stop commuters with high-end phones, check the contents and impose a ‘fine’ of anything between Rs 2,000 and Rs 25,000 if they find ‘objectionable clips.’ The law says they can’t examine mobiles without a warrant
Binoo Nair and K A Dodhiya
If you are carrying a high-end mobile phone that can store film clips, then be on your guard against Government Railway Police (GRP) constables who have come up with a rather ingenious method to extort money.
They zero in on people carrying high-end mobile phones and demand to check its contents. God forbid, but if they do find something, they will demand several thousand rupees as 'fine'.
People prefer to pay up rather than lose face in public and risk exposure among family, friends and colleagues.
What these unsuspecting victims do not know is that constables do not have the authority to check people's cell phones without a search warrant.
On Saturday at around 1.15 pm, businessman Narayan Ghor was stopped by some cops in civilian clothes while crossing the tracks at Andheri. They took him to the police station on Platform No 1 and started frisking him. While they were at it, they found a high-end phone on his person and checked its contents. Finding some 'objectionable clips', they told Ghor that it was illegal. It was enough to rattle Ghor who offered to give the contents of his wallet - something between Rs 500 and 1000 - to the cops to avoid any action that could put him in more trouble.
However, the cops refused to relent. "Flashing a rule book, they told me that I would have to pay a fine of anywhere between Rs 3,000-25,000 or be remanded to custody till Monday for carrying objectionable clips on my mobile phone," Ghor said.
The Cuffe Parade resident pleaded that he could not arrange such a huge amount. After much pleading, the cops asked him to arrange for Rs 6,000.
At this point, Ghor called up a friend who worked in the media. The reporter managed to speak to the cops who had detained Ghor. "Didn't you read newspaper reports on Friday, which says that anyone found with objectionable clips could be fined or even arrested. Hence, we detained Ghor. He will be let off only after he pays the fine," said one of them.
Another cop, Tanay Pawar, said, "Had we known that Ghor was known to you, we would have let him go long back."
A few phone calls to senior railway police officials later, Ghor was let off without any 'fine'.
Another Victim
Two weeks earlier, Jackson S (name changed), employed with a private firm in Marine Lines, was stopped by some GRP cops in civilian clothes just outside the chief health inspector's office on the foot-overbridge at CST.
They checked the contents of his cell phone and found some 'objectionable' movie clips. They threatened to arrest him.
He pleaded for an hour, but was let off only after he withdrew money from an ATM and paid the cops Rs 2,400.
Jackson chose not to pursue the case though the cops still have his memory card, which contains his resume and some vital information.
Senior railway cops admit to the existence of such a racket, but plead helplessness in curbing the menace.
The main reasons are lack of written complaints and the reluctance of victims to pursue the case since they risk the contents of their mobile phones being made public and exposure among family, friends and colleagues.
What the top cop says
P S Pasricha, director-general of police, Maharashtra
"I have spoken to the commissioner of railway police Suresh Khopade and senior inspector of Andheri railway police. I have been told that the person was travelling on the roof. When the railway police brought him to the station, some constables checked his mobile. I have asked the railway police to conduct an inquiry. I will state very clearly that the police is not supposed to check any mobile phone unless it is a matter of security or some terrorism-related issue."
Despite repeated attempts, Khopade was unavailable for comment.
What The Law Says:
Under the Information Technology Act, a person's cell phone can be searched, and/or seized, only by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, or an officer authorised by the central government. Besides, there is no provision for payment of an on-the-spot fine. The police has to prove that the cell phone owner published and/or transmitted pornographic material before any action can be taken.
— N S Nappinai, co-founder, Technology Law Forum, which deals with Information Technology-related cases
No random checks Allowed
The constabulary is not vested with powers to check the contents of a cell phone without a search warrant. But, under Section 77 of the Bombay Police Act, the information for carrying out such a search has to be specific. What it means is that cops cannot check people's cell phone at random.
Do you have a right to watch
this or not?
Last night there was a lot of snow in Mumbai. But it was not a climatic change, merely a dramatic one. Cable channels across the city went on the blink, leaving millions of Mumbaikars staring aghast at snow on their TV sets or Krishi Darshan on Doordarshan.
The operators pulled the plug on Mumbai's favourite entertainment after a series of police raids by the Social Service branch on cable operators under the Hathway and InCable umbrella and in which they sealed the decoders of nine television channels including that of HBO, AXN, Star Movies, Star One, Sahara Filmy, Sahara One, Star World.. The raids were conducted because cops said cable operators were showing adult films on TV.
In protest cable operators shut shop, saying they could do little as it was the channels that showed adult content and that they were merely the messengers.
Cable TV goes on the blink
While Star TV refused to comment on the matter, Anuj ****hi, president of One Allainz that handles distribution network for Sony, MTV and Discovery said: "We have little control over this move of the operators . As per law I have no choice. It is not mandatory for the operators to give any prior notice to the public. As of now we only have to wait and hear what the high court says on August 23," he added.
The issue began with morality super-cop Pratibha Naithani filing a petition in the high court against obscenity on television.
Last week (August 16), Naithani's lawyer had argued that despite an earlier order to the contrary, a total of 85 films with 'A' certificate and 42 films with 'U/A' certificate had been shown on Cable TV and that three other films with no censor certificate were beamed.
the High Court asked Director-General of Police Dr P S Pasricha why his department had not pulled up the cable operators who were still beaming channels which showed adult content. However, an affidavit filed by Pasricha only stated that the DCP enforcement has issued only show-cause notice to concerned cable operators. Pasricha's affidavit was silent on the actual action taken, which infuriated the judges. And so the raids on Monday.
"It is for the Information and Broadcasting minister to come up with a proper guideline for such channels. The police should not harass us for things which are out of control," said an official for Hathway requesting anonymity while Ganesh Naidu, secretary of the Cable Operators Distributors Association said they would be meeting AN Roy on Tuesday before taking a call on whether the cable system would be switched back on or not.
For us viewers meanwhile, there is always Krishi Darshan.
Gods must be crazy!
Suresh Nair
Monday, August 21, 2006 19:50 IST
This is getting scary. Idols have started drinking milk again! The sea has turned sweet! Karan Johar has become the new marriage counsellor! Of course, the melee over a matinee masala about marital mess doesnt worry me as much as the sneaking suspicion that God is actually working these days for the milk co-operatives! In fact, I would like to pose a few questions to God over his attempts to drink milk through idols made of plaster of Paris! And thats assuming he reads this column, which would be nothing short of a miracle!
For starters, why milk? Why not tea? Darjeeling, Earl Grey or Brooke Bond Red Label? I mean, wouldnt it be a bigger chamatkar if the idol you are feeding milk to suddenly opened its mouth, not for your offering of milk, but to say: Can I have some tea now, please? Without milk! And just one spoon sugar! Of course, that might cause a bit of tension in the house with your wife complaining that not only is she tired of making tea five times a day but now she also has to make one extra cup of tea for God!
But my next question is why does God resort to such small scale miracles to assert his presence in this world while there is no sign of Him during troubled times like floods and terrorist attacks? Were a country of poor people reeling under natural calamities and manmade taxation who can barely afford milk! We need God to save us from ruthless terrorists and selfish politicians instead of adding to our kharcha-paani! Unless, of course, God is in a bigger financial crunch than Ram Gopal Varma and cant really afford any larger-than-life divine display!
Thirdly, whats the big deal about sweetening the Mahim creek? Is this an answer to someones prayer that if Pepsi and Coke get banned, there will still be sweet dark-coloured water available to drink in the form of Mahim Cola? Can we also expect a diet version of it for the fitness freaks - maybe at Versova beach?
All this is not to say that my faith in God has lessened in any way. However, I pray to Him to drill sense into those who cant seem to draw the line between fact and fantasy. Please, God! Hurry up before someone mixes milk with Mahim Cola and offers you a Cola-shake!
arranged marriage: root cause of all evils in India?Yeah, to begin with we will get stubborn defenders of arranged marriages.. its our culture,, its our way of life,, its our right (?) blah blah blah...
but lets look at some of the issues:
* there is no point in improving ourselves:
in west, a person has to be his.her best to attract good marriage partner.. so they go for good clothes (creating designers out of tailors - note that there are no tailors.!), try to be nice (good road sense, no cheap corruption etc), try to be responsible etc etc...
Here, all these doesn't matter. You are not getting married, your families are getting married.. so no need to worry. Do whatever, behave like animal or whatever,, you will get married by the sheer presence of yr family.. on the corollary, if your family is average, then too you don't have any incentive to improve yourself for your destiny is bound by your stupid family (which might be product of arranged marriage gone hay wire)
* people start family without knowing anything:
it becomes too predictable and too robotic.. people ahve to get married irrespective of maturity, they have to produce two kids whether they like responsibility or not, the kids have to follow strict guidelines for growth - schools, subjects, college everything is decided when the kid is welll a kid.! So, kids become copy of their parents,, only problem is that they are more in numbers.. and since they are misfit in todays world (for they are copies of their parents of era gone by), it becomes gr8 problem for India as a whole.!
* population explosion:
since everything is robotic, population automatically grows. No control is effective. The worse is that the quality of population doesn't grow.
* imbalances:
people start killing female childs because they can have only two kids,, this create imbalance in society.
* unfulfilled life and the effects of same:
hardly anyone is happy.. this is reflect best on roads where nearly 100,000 peopl perish because of rules flaunting. If a girl is alone for even a single night, she will be raped without doubt,, people have to stay at home, no matter what. girls cannot travel alone.. there is so much of insecurity everywhere because you are not sure what other unhappy person might do to your loved ones.!
People complaing about each others... nothing pleasant news,, fighting over stupidest of the causes,, asking bribe,, honking without reasons, insulting others when you can and more henious than that... root cause is the unhappiness.!
only if people find love (cannot get in arranged ones), they would be happy and things would be pleasant in society.
Now, we are even judging God!
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I AGREE that almost every aspect of our lives has been commercialised, and Valentine's Day and most festivals are major examples of this. Still I believe that there has to be a limit to this commercialisation.
Today it is the turn of the Ganpati festival. What has angered me is that a leading publication is having a contest for readers to vote for their favourite Ganesh idol in Mumbai.
It has published pictures of various idols in different areas of the city, and asked readers to vote. Worse, celebrities will judge the choice of the best idol.
Hello, since when have we started judging God! This is simply unacceptable.
These people should realise that God is one. He may take different forms to reach His people.
Instead, now some people are pitting idols of the one Lord Ganesha against one another! This is just not on.
Devotion is the key. We have to know it, believe it and practice it.
=================================
Political parties have hijacked Ganpati
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GANPATI celebrations are getting more and more politicized. Every inch of space around the Ganesh pandals is covered by hoardings of political party functionaries welcoming worshippers. Makes one wonder whether one is going into a political convention! Lord Ganesha has been hijacked by the political parties. The courts had better intervene to stop this nonsense.
Endever(Ndvr)
13-09-06, 11:43 PM
RIGHTFULLY SAID. AB INDIA MAHAN KAB BANEGA? ,
CONCLUDING NETHING ABT THIS MAY NOT BE EASY, ESPECIALLY IF POLITICS, PAISA, POWER, CORRUPTION AND OTHER SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE DOMINANT AND EXISTING.
MAYBE IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS ??
NEWAY, WE'LL SEE ABT THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENDEVER --- [RAHUL]
BOMBAY Trains' terror gangs
This is S Khuperkar's story. It could be yours too. Yesterday morning a slow train trundled into Dombivli station. After a wait it was to return to CST. As it slowed down, Khuperkar climbed in and stood near a second class compartment door. A man called Santosh Dattraya More boarded that compartment and began screaming at Khuperkar, "This is my place, get down or I will throw you off the train." He followed his tirade with some choice abuse. Khuperkar used his mobile phone to call the railway police. At once, an inspector and two constables came to the train and carted the man off to the police station. The incident highlights terror on our local trains. There are groups of men claiming to be regulars who push people around. They proceed to reserve places for themselves in what is a public mode of transport. They shove others around if someone dares to sit or stand in their designated place and refuse to budge if one has to get off the train at a station. These 'train gangs' can terrorise a lone commuter into submission and sometimes prove to be dangerous too. Lone commuters are too scared to say anything as they fear revenge.
Commuters, give voice to your concern and be brave enough to file a police complaint against those who think it is their right to book places in local trains, and enforce their might using foul words or worse, their fists.
Our universities are in a mess
September 28, 2006
Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, it must be conceded, has real gumption. After having very nearly struck a remarkably bad bargain for India and the developing countries at the last two meetings of the World Trade Organisation -- which fell through only because of the greed, inflexibility and lack of unity among the rich countries -- Mr Nath has positioned himself as the foremost champion of neoliberal globalisation in the United Progressive Alliance government, with the exception of Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Amazingly, he has raised his rating within the Cabinet despite his dubious performance. He is one of the four Ks being considered for appointment as foreign minister, no less.
Nath has run a successful crusade for Special Economic Zones (SEZs). These will result in a massive land grab and huge losses for the exchequer. He now audaciously demands that India's higher education sector be thrown open to unbridled Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). His ministry has made a strong pitch for this in a 'consultation paper' written 'in preparation for' the WTO services negotiations.
It is noteworthy that the plea for effecting such a major change in the prime source of India's most skilled and intellectual personpower should be exogenous, or driven by external circumstances, rather than by an endogenous consideration of how the country should improve its universities and professional colleges to develop its human resources and emerge as a global leader -- not just in science and technology, but in the world of ideas as a whole.
It is even more regrettable that the argument for allowing the unregulated entry of foreign capital into higher education should be inspired by a narrow view of India's participation in the WTO talks on Agreement on Trade in Services.
India should never have agreed in the first place to negotiate GATS and accept the perverse re-definition of drinking water and sources of knowledge as mere 'services', trade in which should be recklessly opened up -- putting commercial interests above all else. Nothing could have been a more eloquent testimony to our willingness to subjugate India's developmental objectives and strategies to the profiteering demands of multinational capital.
However, let us get to the core of the commerce ministry's argument. It consists of four propositions, two of which are unexceptionable and two obnoxious. Take the first lot. The paper concedes that education is a public good crucial to human capital creation, which is itself a key determinant of progress. The second acceptable proposition is that India has not invested adequately in higher education.
Consequently, only 11 per cent of those in the relevant age group (17 to 23) are enrolled in colleges or universities -- a proportion that's unacceptably low, not just in relation to the developed countries (enrolment rate, 50 to 80 per cent), but even Brazil (18 per cent), the Philippines (31 per cent) or Malaysia (29). There's a strong case for sharply raising India's tertiary enrolment rate.
So far so good. Now come the two bad propositions crucial to the carte blanche-for-FDI view. The paper holds that higher education in India largely benefits the elite and hence is a private good, which should be funded privately.
Indeed, it disingenuously says: 'Private funding of higher education is not only more efficient, but also more equitable.' There is undeniably a problem of access in India's highly stratified, unequal and hierarchical society. Very few people have the luxury of going into tertiary education. Indeed, only one-third of those who enter school complete secondary education.
But this mandates improving access through more subsidies, scholarships, freeships, and courses that combine learning and earning, etc -- not for further reducing the access of a majority of our population to high schools and colleges. The relevant statistics make out a good case for greater public funding of higher education. India currently spends only 0.37 percent of its GDP on it, three times lower than developed countries. Private investment in education is a recipe for elitism and further contraction of access.
The second argument is even worse: namely, foreign investment is all that's needed to improve matters in India. Hence we should allow FDI into higher education, like the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Singapore do. This wholly ignores the issue of content of education, reducing it to a financial problem -- of guaranteeing a high enough profit on investment.
But higher education is all about generating knowledge, encouraging critical thinking and imparting skills relevant to this society and driven by its needs.
Education in general, and higher education in particular, is a highly nation-specific activity, determined by national cultures and priorities. The European Union has to a certain extent politically integrated 25 countries, and the Euro has economically integrated 16 of them, including Germany, France and Italy. But the education systems in the three largest countries of continental Europe are as varied as the languages they speak.
A German learns engineering through a different sequence of steps from a Frenchwoman. And the way Italy designs its university courses to suit the needs of state recruitment is markedly different from the fashion in which vocational education is organised by its neighbours.
In India, we have a huge, creaking, poorly managed higher education system, with 348 universities, 17,625 colleges and 10.5 million students, besides 320,000 teaching staff. There is very little quality control, especially over the 63 unaided 'deemed universities', 7,650 unaided private colleges and 150 foreign education institutions (FEIs).
Although the private colleges have over 3.1 million students, they duck state regulation, for instance, in respect of Scheduled Caste or Other Backward Classes reservations. India's public institutions are subject to the not-very-rational control of the University Grants Commission and All-India Council of Technical Education.
The growth of India's higher educational institutions has indeed been spectacularly rapid: universities have doubled in number since 1990-91, and enrolment has more than doubled. But this has been at the expense of quality, increased rigidity in course design, poor absorption of knowledge, and growing lack of access to laboratory facilities, journals and opportunities for field work, etc.
Let's face it: Our universities are in a mess. The average Indian graduate compares poorly with her/his counterpart in most countries, including many developing ones. The so-called elite institutions are extremely selective, and well-funded, but pose the problem of relevance and drain of talent. Most IIT graduates end up going abroad or selling soap. Less than 5 per cent do what they are best trained to do -- very expensively, at an annual cost of Rs 10 lakhs-plus per student.
All this calls for reform, administrative changes, more funding, greater flexibility, quality improvement, etc. But this daunting task won't be remotely addressed by the entry of foreign universities. A National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration study of 131 FEIs (59 from Britain, 66 from the US) says the only two of them run full-time courses in India; the rest offer twinning programmes to attract students to the host country.
Twinning is a cheap option, as part of the programme is undertaken in the host country and the rest at the foreign destination. This is an open invitation to fly-by-night operators and owners of 'degree mills', without an iota of quality or relevance.
Faced with the demand for free FDI entry, the ministry of human resource development appointed a committee under eminent scientist CNR Rao to go into the issue. The Rao Committee wisely suggested that FEIs should only be allowed under regulation, for a limited period followed by review, on payment of a substantial security deposit, no repatriation of surpluses, etc.
FEIs must be accredited in the home country, and which offer courses on a par with those taught there. They must accept Indian regulation on quotas, fees, etc. and agree not to poach Indian faculty. They must fully disclose the fee schedule. They should be allowed on a strictly reciprocal basis.
Messrs Nath and Ahluwalia are mounting pressure to drop all these cautionary principles. But their plea would violate the spirit of all the consultations held since January 2005 with different agencies, including the states. It also goes against the principle of non-discriminatory and reciprocal treatment, and will encourage commercialisation and profiteering in education.
The commerce ministry's proposal will turn India into a passive recipient of educational services, forever willing to be exploited by the supposedly 'superior' FEIs.
No university of excellence like Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford or Princeton is likely to set up shop in India. We'll be loaded with 'B' and 'C' grade universities. This will only increase the existing drain on resources caused by the 140,000 Indians who go abroad to study every year. The drain is enormous -- the equivalent of what it would take to set up, say, 10 JNUs or 15 to 20 IITs. This is wholly unconscionable.
If India is ever to emerge as a knowledge superpower, it cannot dispense with self-reliance in higher education. No self-respecting country can afford to do that. Self-reliance doesn't mean autarky and isolation: we must encourage contact, interaction and collaboration with good foreign universities and laboratories. But that has nothing to do with hawking our students as grist to the FEIs' commercial 'degree mills.'
Good work yaar
Its seems you are quite well read about the current affairs. Keep it up
So whats up with you??? You studying!!!!
India may run out of water by 2020: World Bank
Rajesh Sinha
Sunday, November 26, 2006 23:04 IST
NEW DELHI: India faces a turbulent water future, says a World Bank report. Within the next 15 years, Indias demand for water will exceed all its sources of supply, it warns.
The report, Indias Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future, by John Briscoe, senior water adviser at the World Bank, examines the challenges facing Indias water sector and suggests measures to address them. It is based on 12 papers commissioned by the bank from prominent Indian practitioners and policy analysts.
Unless water management practices are changed and changed soon India will face a severe water crisis within the next two decades, the report says.
Indias large water infrastructure is crumbling and shortfalls in financing have led to an enormous backlog of maintenance. The implicit philosophy has been aptly described as Build-Neglect-Rebuild. Much of what currently masquerades as investment in irrigation or municipal water supply is, in fact, a belated attempt to rehabilitate crumbling infrastructure, the report says.
It notes that most of Indias irrigation needs and its domestic water supplies come from groundwater. Though this practice has helped people to cope, it has led to rapidly declining water tables and is no longer sustainable.
A number of areas are already in crisis, among them the most populated and economically productive parts of the country, the report says. Government actions have worsened the problem.
Some 90 per cent of Indias territory is drained by inter-state rivers. The lack of clear allocation rules imposes high economic and environmental costs.
Sewage and waste water from rapidly growing cities have turned many rivers into smelly sewers. Climate change projections show that Indias water problems are only likely to worsen.
Urgent need for action
Indias dams can store only 200 cubic metres of water per person. Other middle-income countries like China, South Africa, and Mexico can store up to 1000
New infrastructure needs to be built, especially in underserved areas such as the water-rich Northeast
India has used only about 20 per cent of its hydropower potential, as compared to 80 per cent in developed countries
WHEN WILL SMOKING BE BANNED IN INDIA ???????????
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Paris: A ban on smoking in public spaces went into effect on Thursday, a change that may alter the image of a country defined in part by its smoky cafes.
A patient smokes in front of the entrance of Strasbourgs universitary hospital
Frances 15 million smokers are now banned from lighting up in workplaces, schools, airports, hospitals and other closed and covered public places. More than 175,000 agents are to enforce the ban, handing out fines of euro68 (Rs 3,903) for smokers and euro135 (Rs 7,740) for employers who look the other way.
In a year, the ban will extend to cafes and restaurants.
The French government said it will help smokers quit by reimbursing up to euro50 (US$65) per person per year for stop-smoking aids. It will also allow companies to invest in strictly regulated special smoking rooms inside the workplace.
Norms are changing across Europe, with Italy, Spain, Belgium, Britain and Ireland already enacting broad smoking bans.
Smoking Bans
* Ireland imposed the worlds first nationwide ban on smoking in the workplace in 2004.
* US states, including Florida and California, have had similar bans since 2003.
* In Nov 2004, Bhutan became the first country in the world to ban tobacco sales completely.
* Jan 2006: Spain bans smoking in offices, hospitals, schools and enclosed spaces. Belgium bans smoking in enclosed workplaces.
* March 2007: Puerto Rico confirms a ban on smoking in enclosed public places from March 2007. Uruguay bans smoking in public spaces, the stiffest restrictions are in Latin America.
* April 2007: A ban on smoking in all enclosed public places takes effect in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and England from July 2007.
* June 2007: Nepal announces ban smoking in public places.
* July 2007: Finland decides to ban smoking in restaurants, cafes, bars from June 2007.
banega nehin mera bharat mahan hai
Up goes the smoking ban
NEW DELHI: The railways have banished them from the platforms and 'No Smoking' boards are seen in government offices. As world observes May 31 as 'No Tobacco Day' there is little sign that Indians are willing to heed the warning.
"I would say that there is apparently some increase in smoking levels. I don't think bringing in legislation banning smoking has resulted in decrease in smoking level but strict enforcements of such bans are always welcome," says Dr. SK Jindal Professor and Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
Based on a government order, the tobacco companies will soon introduce 'skull and cross bones' and other pictorial warnings on their packs. There is a ban on smoking in public and a recent court order in Delhi has also made it illegal to smoke while driving.
A visit to any cigarette stall in Delhi invites you with a banner prominently displaying that it is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors or those below the age of 18 but yet in spite all these, smoking has only become more prominent.
Even though, rules have been framed to curb the use of tobacco, market trends reveal a different picture. In India, the last one year has seen more than four new cigarette brands entering the Indian market along with the dominant players who have introduced new swanky cigarette packs to attract customers along with new flavours.
"The new brands are doing reasonably well. It will take some time for it to make great sales. The older ones continue to do well," says Tapan Kumar, running a cigarette stall in Connaught Place, Delhi.
He also truthfully adds that he sells tobacco products to everyone who comes to him irrespective of age. "Its difficult to ask for one's age everytime you interact with a customer," he says.
However, even as World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked for a complete ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces and public places thereby making them 100% smoke-free, experts suggest ban alone would not help.
WHO's theme for this year's World NO Tobacco Day (May 31) is 'Smoke Free Environments'. WHO is asking for a complete ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces and public places thereby making them 100% smoke-free. It states that second-hand smoke causes cancer, acute and chronic heart disease. It has also been linked linked to bronchitis, pneumonia and asthma. In children, it is linked to lower respiratory infections, asthma, middle-ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.
According to a study conducted by Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 2005, bidi was the most common form of smoking, more so in the rural areas.
The mean number of cigarettes/bidis smoked per day was 14 and the mean age of starting smoking was 20.5 years. Increasing age, low socio-economic status and rural residence were important factors associated with smoking. Vigorous anti-tobacco measures under the tobacco control programmes yielded only a quit-rate of 10 per cent.
"I now go to various schools on their invitation to give presentation on harmful effects of smoking. I can see that smoking age is going down and even school authorities have realised this," says Dr PK Dal, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.
Experts argue that complete banning and imposing fines is not the only solution. "Smoking has more to do with Psychology than anything else and hence banning or imposing fines won't help much. Its all in the mind," says Aruna Broota, Psychologist based in the capital.
She further adds, "A person smokes to gain diversion from something and he thinks he is getting a good feeling. He also thinks that he is very hep and is also getting a kick out of smoking. Some smoke because they think through this they are becoming powerful and hence defiles his close ones who ask him not to smoke. A smoker needs Psychotherapy."
In India, tobacco-related cancers account for half of all cancers among men and one fourth of all cancers among women in India, according to Cancer Patients Aids Asscociation (CPAA).
As per the WHO country profiles, CPAA has mentioned that tobacco usage is a major cause of death and illness all over the world with India being no exception.
The latest study conducted by WHO ahead of the World NO Tobacco Day, tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death globally, causing more than five million deaths a year. It further adds, tobacco use continues to expand most rapidly in the developing world, where currently half of tobacco related deaths occur. By 2030, if current trends continue, 8 out of every 10 tobacco-related deaths will be in the developing world.
"The complete smoking ban is not at all encouraging. I agree that one should not smoke when non-smokers and children are around but one cannot impose rules to prevent me from smoking at all. It would be against my freedom of choice," laments a young executive from the banking sector.
"People should be made aware of harmful effects of smoking. We should not forget that we are world leader when it comes to highest number of mouth cancer. People are not aware that smoking causes many other ailments other than just cancer," says Dr Dal.
He further adds, "Banning is just not possible because of the huge revenue that the government gets through taxes. Moreover, then we will have have to ban more products other than just tobacco. The main way out is to increase awareness and tax the tobacco companies heavily. Higher prices will become a deterrent for many."
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Warnings in general
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The surgeon general is an ethereal thing. He is a lot like the minister for animal husbandry, we know he exists but we're not sure what he's up to or why he exists.
We only know the surgeon general from the warnings he gives us on the back of cigarette packets, which don't seem to be working to begin with, given the increasing consumption of cigarettes and tobacco products.
I was wondering, how life would be if the surgeon general was more proactive or if his job had a larger scope. Under those circumstances, I suspect these are the kind of warnings he will be issuing, with substantial amounts of his own gyan thrown in. I offer some examples.
On cigarette packets
Are you freaking illiterate or what? How many times do I have to tell you that smoking kills? What kind of indicator do you want? Would it help if the guy selling you cigarettes had his blackened lungs hanging from his belt? You stop smoking now or I will come there personally and whack you!
On music
Himesh Reshammiya is injurious to your health. Pulling your hair out everytime you hear a remix will not make it stop, it will only make you bald. Everybody cannot sound like R D Burman. Please stop trying, you are making a fool of yourself. Your mehbooba growl sounds like flatulence.
On Bollywood
Abhishek, Sunil Shetty and Emraan Hashmi can carry off stubble. You look like a wanted criminal. Please shave.
A hero jumping off a building is actually a trained stuntman jumping onto a big air bag. Please don't try to imitate him, you will either make an ass of yourself or die, maybe both.
Just because Salman Khan can patao any girl he wants, doesn't mean you can. Control yourself, aur aukaad mein rehna.
Complaints about Bombay
Once you're done complaining about Bombay, why don't you shift to Tehran, why don't you return to your native village, and take the Bachchans with you.
Self service is best service. The best way to fill up a pothole is to lie down in it. Please do the needful.
On weight
Not only are you unhealthy, you are taking up too much space in an already crowded city. Lose weight now.
You are not rich, not handsome, not powerful, at least be thin.
Out of the desired attractive features of thin, rich, handsome, fair, powerful and tall, the easiest to achieve is thinness. Try it.
On stockmarket
The entire stockmarket awaits with bated breath for you to invest today so it can fall tomorrow.
Your broker makes his brokerage commission whether you buy or sell, whether you make money or lose it. Remember that when you trade.
In the long term the market goes up, in the short term your blood pressure does. Buy long term, sleep well.
Back to cigarettes
If you are going to insist on smoking, at least don't smoke smuggled foreign cigarettes. Not only is it injurious to your health but you are also encouraging illegal activities, the government makes no tax revenue and local cigarette companies lose revenue and profits. If you are going to die from smoking anyway, at least die a patriot.
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moonwalker786
12-07-09, 06:02 PM
thanks for sharin
come on man it takes some time a country to develop
india right now is in a messed state but it will improve................
'India among the worst in man-woman equality'
Press Trust of India (http://www.ndtv.com/news/search/results.php?cfeed=tw%3BSU%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv. com%3BLC%3A%23003399%3BVC%3A%23008000%3BDC%3A%2399 9999%3BTB%3A0%3BPBG%3A1%3BGP%3A0%3B%3BRBG%3A%23DCD CDC&hl=en&q=Press Trust of India&site=ndtv.com), Monday November 9, 2009, New Delhi India (http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/india_among_the_worst_in_man-woman_equality.php#) may be the world's second fastest growing economy, but it figures among the worst when it comes to man-woman equality - at 114th among 134 countries, on the World Economic (http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/india_among_the_worst_in_man-woman_equality.php#) Forum (WEF) rankings.
Worse, sharing Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's concern over female foeticide and 25 million 'missing women' in India, the WEF has placed the country at the bottom of the table on health (http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/india_among_the_worst_in_man-woman_equality.php#) and survival issues, reflecting the huge gender gap.
The India Gender Gap Review 2009, released at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi on Monday, ranked the country behind Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal - showing that women in these countries share resources with men more equally than in India.
The Geneva-based international organisation, known for its global conferences and studies, has made strong remarks against the wide inequalities between the health facilities extended to males and females. "We find that there are still persistent gaps in health and survival, a fact that contributes to India's 'missing' women," it said.
It said close to 300 Indian women die every day during childbirth or of pregnancy-related causes, and the country has the worst sex ratios at birth in the world, ranking 131st on this variable.
However, India's performance in empowering women politically, relative to the rest of the work, is strong, ranking at the 24th position. Women hold 11 per cent of the positions in Parliament and 10 per cent ministerial-level positions.
As Indira ****hi remained the Prime Minister for 16 years, India was ranked fourth on the indicator relating to number of years that a female leader has held the head of government position in the last 50 years.
The survey, which reviewed attitude of large companies vis-a-vis their women employees, said over time "a nation's competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilises its female talent".
Commenting on the issue, Chanda Kochchar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank (http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/india_among_the_worst_in_man-woman_equality.php#) said the women power can add to the economic strength of the country. "I am a believer on gender neturality. If it (the ratio of working women) goes up to 50 per cent in 20 years, we will be adding 0.5 per cent to our GDP every year," Kochchar said.
All other BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, China - are ahead of India in terms of the gender equality gap, the WEF report revealed.
India 84th most corrupt country in the world, says survey
PTI
Wednesday, November 18, 20
New Delhi: Transparency International (TI) still perceives India to be among the most corrupt countries. In its annual index, the global watchdog has ranked the nation 84th on a list of 180 countries in terms of public-sector corruption.
While releasing the list naming and shaming the world's most corrupt countries, TI has, for the first time, recommended that tax havens such as Switzerland and Liechtenstein should do away with secrecy in banking laws.
"Corrupt money must not find a safe haven. It's time to put an end to secrecy in banking laws," the Berlin-based group's head Huguette Labelle said.
Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq are the bottom five nations, while the cleanest countries with ranking close to perfect 10 are New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore.
According to the corruption perception index, India scored 3.4, much lower than Bhutan which scored 5 and claimed the 49th spot on the list.
India's corruption index is the same as last year. But in the last five years, the country shown significant improvement.
In 2004, India had scored 2.8, claiming the 90th spot on a list of 146 countries.
This year, developing countries such as Serbia, Burkina Faso, Peru and Ghana fared better than India claiming 83rd, 79th, 75th and 69th spots. China scored 3.6, slightly better than India.
Neighbouring Nepal claimed the 143rd position, Pakistan scored 2.4 claiming the 139th position along with Bangladesh, while Sri Lanka scored 3.1 and stood at the 97th position.
Nearly half the countries scored three or less on the scale of zero (indicating most corrupt) to 10 (indicating least corrupt) showing that corruption is rampant across the world.
"Transparency International has found that a strong correlation between corruption and poverty continues to exist, jeopardising the global fight against poverty and threatening to derail the United Nations millennium development goals," Admiral (retd) RH Tahiliani, chairman of Transparency International, India), said.
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