Howzatt!!

As the “Ball” slowly climbed up the staircase with a bat in one hand and a bucket half filled with tears and sweat from the batting session in the other  he could see the mauler on the gym cycle.It was the first time he had seen him on it.Hope changed to despair,he signed, the electric plug was missing from the machine, the mauler was busy tucking into his third bowl of kheer specially flown in from the capital and  lecturing the dietician on the merits of being on a milk diet. The ball then turned his attention to  the emperor  perched on his throne, he had not given up this position for decades, waving his sword  he was doing something strange…..95,96,97,98,…he was  counting when he  suddenly stopped at 99 and spoke no further , some one shouted “ arrey yaar” after 99 comes 100….There was a strange smell coming from  club room……no not idli rassam something like like….. Hyderabadi  biryani, a balding man was tucking into his fifth plate, gosh his appetite for runs had been converted into hunger for red meat. Naatu strolled in,poor chap he was really bowling fast and well,no signs of his Achilles heel !......The commander was sitting back when the kangaroo jumped in ………..the guy could run and jump faster than he could bowl, please commander he said here’s your jar of milk with extra malai……..can I get a chance in the next match……it would do my IPL carrier much good……Commander glared at kangaroo….not now , I am busy preparing my victory umm defeat speech just need to find and replace a few words, if you can get a few of the Aussie under 15 lads out in the nets I will consider till then get me what the mauler is having. The only animated conversation in the club room was taking place between the young stud and the warhorse, the stud bowled with  good speed with only one minor problem his balls would disappear to the fence and beyond even quicker than what he had bowled them at,the warhorse signed and grimaced, his thigh was giving him some problems, he had to cancel that advertisement shoot tonight, no chances can be taken when national duty beckons can they ? The only person not enjoying seemed to be the “angry one”, he was looking at his fingers,one of them had cost him half his match fees,if only if only he could have vented his angers at the net bowlers…..damn even they were bouncing him out. The Ball sighed and looked at his bat……..it was what they called a mongoose bat specially designed for entertaining crowd,was entertaining the crowds not why we play cricket he mused!

This is a fictional post and not intended to hurt the sentiments of any one.

India’s lost decade – Part II-Electricity Reforms

We also need to massively invest in the generation of electricity its transmission and its distribution. A staggering amount of India’s electricity generated just like our farm produce gets wasted or pilfered.

This has to stop!

I fear in the coming years the greatest danger that will hold India back in this decade is the lack of adequate quality electricity.

How can India be shinning if she is dark and unlit?

Companies already invest a lot in purchasing and maintaining diesel gensets. Diesel as a fuel to generate electricity is both wasteful and inefficient. Manufacturing industries in the past few decades have innovatively invested in their own captive power plants to free them from the yolk of the bankrupt State Electricity Boards. This, however, cannot be the long term solution to our problem.

Without quality, adequate and nonstop electricity there cannot be a developed India. Make no mistake. People who think otherwise are liars and cheats in cohort with the politicians and bureaucrats for their self serving interests.

What can be done to arrest this slide?

Rules and regulations are already in place to reform our State Electricity Boards. We need visionaries and implementers not people who create and debate on Acts and Statues and slip away to the Assembly canteen for a ‘cuppa chai’ and condiments after appearing on National television for a couple of hours.

The State Electricity Boards are bankrupt, they are unable to pay for the electricity they purchase from the power generating companies. Yet it’s odd that electricity tariffs have gone up at an alarming rate.

Again I like most people do not mind if I pay for electricity provided I get to enjoy it and not curse its non existence. Where is my money going? To pay for the bureaucrats salary, chai, lunches, staff bungalows, parties? .Why have separate State Electricity Boards for each State? Why not have just one National Electricity board modeled on NTPC or NHPC.

Are we not citizens of “One India”? Can we not for the sake of national efficiency have one National Electricity Board?

Some say that complete privatization of the electricity sector is the solution to our problems. I am for increasing efficiency, whether it’s complete privatization or a public private participation it does not matter to me.

However, there are certain drawbacks even if we privatise social/infrastructural services.

1. We would still for political reasons and vote bank politics subsidise rich farmers. Who would pay for this subsidy? The private companies? Ha Ha I laugh – No way! We have to tackle the issue of subsidies in electricity before we can fully privatise the power sector I feel.

2. Protection of consumers – Private companies in India are notorious for fleecing consumers. The Competition Commission along with the Consumer Forum is doing its bit but we need to ensure penalties are stiffer. How easy would it be for a consumer to change from one electricity supplier to another? Simple things like electricity meters should be standardized to ensure hassle free transition from one supplier to another. We should not be encouraging monopoly in the name of privatization.

One step in the direction could be to incorporate this National Electricity Board into a company, break it up into three divisions one each for generation, transmission, distribution and list it in the stock exchange. Appoint directors who understand the electricity sector and do away with government and bureaucratic control. The CEO could be selected in the same manner as the Chief Election Commissioner.

Give the directors authority to make and implement quick decision and have oversight over them through shareholders. Limit government shareholding to 26%, invite public and Institutional investment to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

Have dedicated branches for billing and enforcement. Advertise defaulters name in newspaper and penalize them heavily.

It is also important that we inculcate the habit of saving and using electricity efficiently. Not only companies but even large apartment complexes should be encouraged and if necessary mandated to produce renewable and clean energy.

Use of solar powered geysers, lights should be encouraged and if required subsidized. We need to channelise our subsidies to be efficient and not be a black hole to suck our precious non renewable resources.

Electricity is subsidized to the farmers but what use is this subsidy if there is no electricity in the first place? Again, do we need to subsidise electricity to rich farmers, if farmers are able to purchase luxury cars surely they can also pay for electricity at normal rates!

I am at least encouraged to note the solar powered traffic signals with timers in a few places in my garden city. They seem to be working also!

It is not that we as a country lack resources, financial, natural or human. It’s just that we need good policies backed by sound implementation.

Wishing all my readers a bright and well lit future.

India’s lost decade – Part I

India’s  lost decade – Part I

As I pen my thoughts the 1 trillion dollar + Indian economy is slowing down and slowing down it is at an alarming rate. The Indian economy plagued by Government’s   mismanagement and paralysis  has seen growth rates plummet to  a dismal 6% down from the heady 10% reached a few years ago.

The reasons are many but let us not start blaming external factors or the foreign hand, as India’s economy inspite of globalization is still unlike other developing nations dependant on internal factors for growth.

If we as a nation are unable to arrest this fall we run the risk of getting into a period of slow growth which I dub as the “lost decade”.

I am not an economic guru nor a doomsday analyst but just an ordinary aam admi frustrated by the economic paralysis being suffered by our great nation

The lost decade is the term used to refer to Japanese economy of the 90’s where the once mighty Japanese economy started to lose steam  and  its sheen to its gigantic rival to her West – China.

There is one glaring dissimilarity which makes India’s case all the more frightening - Japan started to decelerate after it got rich,we on  the other hand are still struggling on some parameters to compete

with sub Saharan African countries.

India cannot afford a lost decade! But are the so called economic czars of policy making and our business oligarchs listening?

Why are the corrupt politicians and administrators of our great nation hell bent on taxing, double taxing, triple taxing quadriple taxing the hapless aam admi. It is not that I mind paying my taxes for nation building but I do mind when my taxes pay for the foreign trips of our ministers and bureaucrats or filling up their Swiss accounts.

One reason for bailing out the inefficient national carrier Air India is certainly to ensure that our ministers keep travelling free to foreign locales to stash away their ill gotten black money. And whose money is it that has bailed out Air India – yes you guessed it right – the tax payers!

The question that I keep asking is what can be done to arrest this sharp fall in economic growth rate?

I listen on television to the endless debates that meander along among the politicians, bureaucrats, oligarch and renowned economists on the current state of the Indian economy  but they  often dismally fail to provide specifics on economic growth and poverty alleviation.

What India Needs

Yes they say “India needs to invest in infrastructure”, well everyone knows that. Money is already being spent on infrastructure but we need to spend more and quicker.

Build build build I say maintain,maintain,maintain what we build, do I emphasize on.

We need to build roads,village roads to ensure farmers get their produce on time to the markert,roads to connect cities, road to connect economic centers to ports, connect towns to other towns .More importantly we also need to ensure roads are well lit ,repaired on time and expanded to keep pace with the demand. How do we do it – Have contractual agreements which are freely available on the web  with information on payment made to contractors, progress rate of construction, number of working lights on roads,penalities imposed on defaults,timely repairs carried on within time.Why can we not make this available in the Surface transport ministry website, why the hassle  to ask someone for it using the RTI Act (thank God for the RTI Act- Right to Information Act though). Also why have multiple ministries – Shipping, Road transport, power, ports etc etc, Just have one ministry – Ministry of Infrastructure.

Make the contractors who build the roads accountable for their maintenance and improvements.

Ensure contracts are completed on time, penalties are imposed if necessary and the amount of penalty is deposited to an infrastructure fund.

We need to build schools but also ensure that schools are well lit, are staffed with well qualified teachers, have chairs and desks and minimum infrastructure required to impart quality education. I am a realist not a dreamer, I do not want AC classrooms with a computer for each of India’s youth – rich or poor, huge play grounds with indoor swimming pools, basket ball courts etc, canteen which provide  breakfast, lunch and snacks. I leave those facilities (which I never had either) to be enjoyed by the sons and daughters of those who can afford it!

It is not that that steps are not being taken, but the pace at which it is being done would even put a tortoise to shame.

I ask Does the Right to Education guarantee a ‘right to adequate education’ leave alone quality or superior education? Can we fire/remove a teacher who does not know how to add 5+5 or spell apple correctly? Hugh….. in India we cannot even remove the school janitor hired by the Indian bureaucracy for inefficiency. What hopes does the Right to Education of even partial success if it does not have a mechanism of addressing these issues. None, I sadly say.

Education is a subject which is very close to my heart and I would like to write more on it in my subsequent blog post’s. Why you might ask? Elementary I say - I am what I am today because of my academic qualification. What made me get the first job was not my experience of which I had none, nor my verbal skills which I had yet to develop,nor a beautiful face which I don’t. It’s my educational qualification which got me my pay cheque and ensured I had to open a bank account! From there on till today its hard work, skills and situational awareness which has got me where I am today – confident to start writing a blog on topics I feel passionately about.

Watch out for Part II

Launching The Rise of the Phoenix

Hi I am Indro, a financial analyst by profession and now a blogger out of love for writing and reading. I feel that blogging would be the perfect tool to pen down my thoughts and to get to know what others feel about what I think and write. I want to make my blog a place for informative and fun filled reading. A place where I will write not only on burning issues which affect us all but diverse topics as well which one can read and enjoy.