Falling Fertility Rate in India…

One of the boons for India in recent times is “Falling Fertility Rate”. Though this is a boon for India the reasons behind this falling fertility rate should be understood. I read one article about falling fertility rate globally in Indian Express today. The reasons written there were apt for global view but were somewhat less as compared to India. So I thought of enlisting some more reasons those are responsible for falling of fertility rate in India.

1) For almost all of the 20th Century (that is 1900-2000) an average single family wanted a baby boy instead of baby girl. So they had babies till they bore baby boy. This was until 1970’s. The in-laws were also particular about having baby boy than baby girl. This caused a huge difference and acted as catalyst in rising the fertility rate.

According to a book “Population in Asia” by Warren C. Sanderson and Jee Peng Tan,

in 1980-1988 fertility rate in India fell from 4.4 BPM (Births Per Mother) to 4.0 BPM. Again in 1988-1991, fertility rate fell from 4.0 BPM to 3.6 BPM. Thus on as average, the total fertility rate fell by 0.05 births per year between 1980-88, and more than twice as fast, 0.13 births per year between 1988-91.

Thus we can see that as the mindset has changed towards having any baby than particular baby boy. Thus taking the fertility rate further down to current 2.72.

2) People in India are becoming more career oriented now-a-days. So they are happy with even a single child so as to balance their work and family life. Even a single baby is enough for them to take care of.

3) As economy is emerging fast and its becoming hard to cope up with the pace of economic boom and competition, people are more and more drifting towards the mindset of having less children.

4) With increasing stress and work load, health of people is deteriorating rapidly making them physically less fit to bear more than 2 children. Not that they are expected to bear more than 2 children, but they find themselves incompetent. Less physical capacity and aftermaths of having a child has made it more complex thus dragging the fertility rate down.

5) In India, education is becoming more of a premium thing than the basic need. With even nursery schools asking payment up to Rs. 20, 000 and more per year, education seems to be for privileged only. It’s becoming more and more difficult for parents to educate their children and that too in some good school and college. That’s why current mantra of parent’s is “Less the number of children, more is the probability of educating them properly” thus bringing the fertility rate further down.

6) Also marriage of a daughter is becoming an one-time affair unlike in the past. So people think of making it more valuable and memorable. So “Less the number of children (especially girl) the more the probability of making her marriage more valuable and memorable.” This can also be one of the reason why the fertility rate in India is falling down.

These are some of the reasons of dropping fertility rate in India. Well the dropping fertility rate is really a boon and as people say “Nature takes care of it’s balance”, nature here is taking care of rising population.

Currently India is at 82nd number with rate at 2.72 BPM.

The rival China is at 157th number with rate at 1.79 BPM.

The fertility rate in India has reached to Replacement Rate so I reckon this rate should continue with a slight modification on the negative side.

Judicial Incompetency…

Well, there are umpteenth number of examples to justify the statement I have made above. But sticking to some key cases, I will try to justify the statement that  in India, Judicial Services are running on the incompetent track.

1) Abdul Karim Telgi.

The one who whitewashed the whole country in stamp business and earned whopping Rs. 202 Crores daily has got punishment after almost 12 years. The stamp paper fraud took place in 1994 and after that Telgi was sent from one judicial custody to other without getting any punishment. The conviction and subsequent punishment came in January 2006. 17 January 2006 was the date when Abdul Karim Telgi was sentenced for 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The second punishment came on 28 June 2007 sentencing 13 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of whopping Rs 202 crores.

Even Abdul Karim Telgi was relieved to hear him getting the punishment finally. Even he thanked the judge for punishing him finally.

The question here is what took the courts 12 years to punish Abdul Telgi? Was the case so complicated thats it took the court 12 years to solve the mystery???

2) 1993 Bomb Blast Case.

Same is with “1993 Bomb Blast” case. The link I have provided here clearly says, “though the conviction and result came after 16 years, only the small fishes were caught and fried. The bigger fishes in the game were long long gone“.

This case also took 16 years to solve and to convict the culprits. But these culprits were only pawns in the game. The main King or the Queen are out of the sight.

The same question comes in mind here too. What took them 16 years to convict the culprits? Similar things have happened with Gujarat Riots, Malegaon Bomb Blast and so many other cases.

Reference: The article in http://www.indiatime.com/2009/07/27/1993-bomb-blasts-convictions-continue/ in It’s IndiaTime.

3) Ajmal Kasab.

This 25 year old young phony have brought tears in many eyes. But still he is not speaking up and the case is not leading anywhere. He is enjoying the cozy of locker and is being provided with newspapers and other resources. Though it’s being said that he is kept away from any media exposure and is isolated, it was revealed in some trials that he gets to read newspaper daily. Even the ex-police officers have admitted that Kasab gets newspaper to read.

He also demands perfume to clear the air around his jail room. He also demands the money which his Pakistani friend had packed in his rucksack. What is this? Is Ajmal Kasab a celebrity? How can he demand such things and not damned?

But one thing is there. Kasab is just a pawn in this game and the King’s won’t mind him getting eliminated. That is why it is important to get to the root of this case, find and convict the King/Queen of the game. Otherwise the Kasab trial would lead to where the 1993 Bomb Blast case lead. As is mentioned in an article by IndiaTime on 27 July 2009.

Reference: An article http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/crosslines/entry/kasab-trial-or-circus1 by Ranjan Roy.

Fast Track courts – A chaos.

As per the decision of Supreme Court of India, India decided to set up Fast Track courts to clear backlogs and give fast justice. But the primary motive of Fast Track courts seems to be loosing out. Now the government want Fast Track courts out of the scene before they complete their 5 years term. Fast Track courts are now finding it difficult to work because of non-availability of fund. They are starving of funds. And who is responsible for this?

According to a report of Dr. Madabhushi Sridhar, faculty at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, the number of cases pending are alarming. As per figures available on July 5, 2000, the total number of cases pending before the Supreme Court was 21,600 against 1.05 lakhs a decade ago. As for the High Courts, pending cases number 34 lakhs now, against 19 lakhs 10 years ago. The number of cases pending for more than 10 years is 645 in the Supreme Court and 5,00,085 in the High Courts. (According to Frontline, July 07, 2001)

The reason attributed to such an alarming increase in the pending cases is non-filling of vacancies of Judges. Thus fast-track courts are also loosing out on this.

Reference: An article http://www.legalservicesindia.com/articles/misoj.htm by Dr. Madabhushi Sridhar, Faculty at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

Though various cases are getting forwarded to Fast Track court, i doubt how quick the fast track courts can come to the decision. The Judicial System needs to awake and see the loop holes in the system. And try and figure out the ways to cover those loop holes so in the future an common man won’t be afraid of coming to the court and will be assured that “Courts in India mean JUSTICE“.

“All the delay and lack of accountability and half baked schemes amount to a daily mockery of the fundamental right to speedy trial. The Supreme Court made it clear that “speedy trial is of essence to criminal justice and there can be no doubt that the delay in trial by itself constitutes denial of justice” (Hussainara Khatoon V. State of Bihar AIR 1979 SC 1364).

4G before 3G???

Well guys, there is one surprising news  here.

“Intel is thinking of entering in Indian market with 4G”

Yes, Intel is in conversation with some major telecom companies in India like Bharti, Reliance etc. Intel wants minority stakes of these companies and is willing to introduce WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) in India. WiMAX is one of the BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) technology which is in nascent stages in India. Almost all of the US is using WiMAX and 4G technologies and India is not yet decided on 3G.

 

Isn’t it a shame that even after declaring the introduction of 3G in India since almost 1 and half year, we are still at the “no-where” situation? DoT (Department of Telecom) and Defence Ministry are fighting over the spectrum availability since some months now. Don’t know who is at fault, but its getting stand-still again after some movement. Even if someone goes for RTI (Right to Information) I doubt how revealing that would be.

 

Currently India is having only 6.5 million broadband subscribers, which is very much below par as compared to the estimated 20 million till 2010. So if the government is not able to bring customers to broadband, what they will be able to do for wireless? The main problem because of which people are reluctant even for broadband, let alone for wireless is, the price tag with which they come. The huge price which the subscriber is asked to pay makes them shy away from the services.

 

At first the government should clear the mess about 3G and then pave the way for 4G. Because 4G is supposed to be one stage ahead of 3G. So if 4G is made available in India, who will go for 3G? And then the setup for 3G will go in vein.

But the thing is that, 3G and 4G will be very costly for general public and hence won’t gain momentum till the government makes in usable to common public.

Entrepreneurship on the rise in India and China

On the backdrop of Global Recession, Indian and Chinese people have scored a bit more in entrepreneurial market. Previously asleep tigers and dragons are awakening now.

The entrepreneurship have been on the rise since 2008 only, but the recession has provided an excellent platform for the budding entrepreneurs. As jobs are shrinking, more and more people are thinking of setting up their own start-ups.

http://ow.ly/xt1i.

The link above gives a fair amount of idea as to why and how the entrepreneurship is on the rise. The website of Harvard Business School is good in providing such information. The site is named as Working Knowledge by HBS.

Fireworks – Origami

As Diwali is nearing in India, this nice Origami work will be handy for those who want to try something new in their life. I have tried this and I’ve got a good Firework. As and when time permits I’ll upload the photo of my Firework for sure.

I am posting the video of Origami Fireworks here:

Try yourself and enjoy this Diwali to the fullest. I will be posting some new Origami work in coming future too. Keep visiting.

Ganges clean by 2020, a proposal by NGRBA India…

No Untreated waste to flow in Ganga by 2020.

a) Why government waited for this long considering the fact that sewage disposal and treatment plant requires 10 years to

come into existense? Ganga was polluted before also. Ganga is victim of pollution and waste disposal

since long time, then why government waited for this long to form National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) for solving

Ganga pollution problem.

b) Now NGRBA has asked central government to provide them with 1000 MW of FREE power (electricity), why?

You have necessary funds at your disposal. Moreover if you (NGRBA) fall short of some cash you can always raise the funds

from market by floating an IPO or simply some relief fund kind of thing. As Ganga is our National River (which has been

declared in LAST November, thats Nov 2008, I mean what took them so long to declare that and take some action on keeping

Ganga clean or for that matter every river clean?) You should not be asking central government for any freebies.

c) This proposal of cleaning Ganga off wastage and pollution is good, but this proposal should go much deeper than only Ganga.

Every Indian river is ailing with pollution and wastage problem. When Government is planning to clean every river? India is

facing a very serious problem of water shortage in almost every city. Considering the fact that our rivers are more nullahs than

rivers and carry more waste than water, it needs huge investment to purify that water and supply for domestic use. So why not clean

them and use them as resources for providing water to every city and town in the country? Government should undertake that

project also as soon as possible.

d) No doubt, better late than never, Government has woke up to the fact that Indian rivers are getting polluted. But as we all

know that Indian Government is inefficient of executing anything, it will be interesting and important to see for how long the

NGRBA works in line for Ganga cleaning. It will be better if Government really follows the proposal to the exact deadlines,

unlike what’s happening in Delhi prior to CommonWealth Youth Games 2010.Project

Project:                                         Cleaning of river Ganga by 2020

Project Inception:                Still in the nascent stage.

Project planned:                    In October 2009

Project Cost estimated:    Rs. 250 crore.

Project Deadline:                  By 2020

Further process:                   A plan will be devised for cleaning the Ganga and will be presented by NGRBA.

Yes, the river Ganga is about to get clean and purified or rather Industrial wastes will not be left in Ganga anymore after 2020. But I don’t know why so late onto deciding such a critical issue? I have some doubts and questions to be asked and those are as follows:

a) Why government waited for this long considering the fact that sewage disposal and treatment plant requires 10 years to come into existense? Ganga was polluted before also. Ganga is victim of pollution and waste disposal  since long time, then why government waited for this long to form National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) for solving Ganga pollution problem.

b) Now NGRBA has asked central government to provide them with 1000 MW of FREE power (electricity), why? You have necessary funds at your disposal. Moreover if you (NGRBA) fall short of some cash you can always raise the funds from market by floating an IPO or simply some relief fund kind of thing. As Ganga is our National River (which has been declared in LAST November, thats Nov 2008, I mean what took them so long to declare that and take some action on keeping Ganga clean or for that matter every river clean?) You should not be asking central government for any freebies.

c) This proposal of cleaning Ganga off wastage and pollution is good, but this proposal should go much deeper than only Ganga. Every Indian river is ailing with pollution and wastage problem. When Government is planning to clean every river? India is facing a very serious problem of water shortage in almost every city. Considering the fact that our rivers are more nullahs than rivers and carry more waste than water, it needs huge investment to purify that water and supply for domestic use. So why not clean them and use them as resources for providing water to every city and town in the country? Government should undertake that project also as soon as possible.

d) No doubt, better late than never, Government has woke up to the fact that Indian rivers are getting polluted. But as we all know that Indian Government is inefficient of executing anything, it will be interesting and important to see for how long the NGRBA works in line for Ganga cleaning. It will be better if Government really follows the proposal to the exact deadlines, unlike what’s happening in Delhi prior to CommonWealth Youth Games 2010.

Austerity and Indian politics…

Today’s Indian Express says Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar has said that austerity by a politician should be a voluntary gesture. Well, I as a citizen of India want to question this statement made by honorary Lok Sabha Speaker.

 

-> Does flying with economy class brings down your prestige and social status?

-> Does travelling by an ambassador or any government assigned vehicle harms your status?

-> Does paying electricity and phone bills harm your status?

 

I guess every politician will answer yes to these questions, as they are not habituated to live big and work less. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are held so as to solve the problems faced by the country and state. But the picture there is pretty different. At first place MPs don’t attend the parliamentary sessions, and use the highly costly and worldly pleasures offered at these places. If you don’t want to work there, don’t become a MP. MPs fight in the parliament like they are in a school. Are you paid to do this? Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha expenditure is done through the revenue generated from people. So MPs should note this thing and don’t pretend to be spending their own money on this.

 

Another issue is, what’s the harm in flying economy class? According to Lok Sabha speaker this issue should be left to the politicians. I bet no politician will fly economy class if left on his/her own. The ticket expenditure on every politician is through public revenue and taxes. So why waste in such a foolish way?

 

New MPs like Azaruddin and Shatrugna Sinha are demanding bigger and larger homes. What’s your status man? You are just a new born kid in the Lok and Rajya Sabha. Then why demand such foolish thing? Before becoming MP weren’t you living in the same place? So what’s wrong in living there after becoming MP? If a boy or girl of age 8 is demanding to be placed in class 10, can we do that? A person gets whatever he has got according to his abilities. So better leave demanding big things. At first do some good work and then demand.

 

MPs like Shashi Tharoor sorry Shashi (GYM)oor wants his own gym and privacy. If you want privacy build your own gym at the place you live and maintain your privacy. Aamir Khan also has his own gym, go his way. Why to live in seven star hotels and that too in Presidential suit? Who’s money you are spending there? I bet you are not spending your own money there. And if you are spending your own money, give Indian citizens the source of such huge money. Same applies for S.M. Krishna also.

 

Hon. Mayawati ji also built so many statues. Who’s money you are spending madam? Why nobody questions them? Banks and courts screw common man for not paying debt and spending more than what he got. Income Tax department raids common man’s home only, if seen some inconsistency in the income pattern. But then why not raid a politicians house and take action after that?

 

These things are really maddening. I don’t see a solution to it, until politicians follow the austerity suit. Freedom Fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Lal Bahadur Shastri and many more, had also lived an austere life.  Mahatma Gandhi left wearing full cloths because people were not having anything to wear. Lal Bahadur Shastri left eating rice because common public was not getting rice to it. Why did these people have done this? Because they followed austerity and that’s why they live thousands of years in the minds of public and in History. Today’s politician’s life is very miserable, because they have done this to themselves. These politicians will only be on the paper of history books but won’t be in anybody’s mind. Once they step down from the throne they won’t be counted also. Mind it.

No to Chinese workers in Indian Power sector…

Yes, India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram has stated that India is home for skilled and semi-skilled worker. So India doesn’t need Chinese workers coming to India in Power Sector. Home Minister has asked companies to recruit Indian workers instead of Chinese workers.

 

On the other hand, Chinese Government is furious over India’s decision of not providing visas to Chinese workers. Some years back Indian Power Sector opened up for foreign players. India allowed foreign companies to bid for Indian Power Sector. The result was introduction of two Chinese companies “Shanghai Power” and “DongFang Electronics” bidding for Indian Power sector. Chinese Government has stated that Chinese workers are skilled to handle Chinese boilers and turbines so let them work.

 

But P. Chidambaram has taken a strong stand of not allowing them visas to work in India. It’s good to see that Indian politicians taking strong stands but it will be interesting to see how long they will be able to withstand this decision. But I don’t understand one thing. Reliance power also asked Shanghai Powers to serve power sector in India, but they strictly said that they will employ Indian workers only. So why can’t Indian Government state such thing while signing the pact only?

People and their driving sense…

Ahead of Commonwealth Games 2010, Delhi is buzzing with various infrastructure developments (only Delhi Government knows how many of those infrastructure development programs are meant for infrastructure development and how many for internal corruption and wallet filling). The development seems to be much sluggish than a tortoise walking on the beaches. Constructions have only started but the end seems no where. May be the development will end either on the date of commencement of Commonwealth Games or after the games get over. Similarly the traffic regulation and people’s driving sense seems to have gone for a vacation on some other planet (may be on Moon as Chandrayan and other space shuttles have discovered water on the Moon).

The traffic all over India is unregulated. Traffic Polices are only for a show off and for jacking money from people. But they don’t seem to regulate the traffic. They don’t even try for regulation. People also follow the similar notes. Vehicles are provided with Upper and Dipper beams so as to facilitate people in night driving. These facilities are provided for use only. But people don’t use the dipper beam and ply with upper beams only, even though that upper beam obstructs the vision of the person coming from the other side.

Similar incidence happened with me (though it happens on a regular intervals with me) recently. A person was driving a jeep and on a narrow road we came head to head. He was focussing upper beam only. So I flashed upper and dipper consecutively so as to suggest him that lower your beam as I am not able to see anything. But he refused to lower the beam. What I could have possibly done other than cursing that man. I tried to tell him to ply the vehicle on dipper and use upper when necessary, but in vain.

Delhi Government has announced a new program wherein they will educate the Delhites on proper driving rules and practices. But I doubt how useful that will be. But there is no harm in trying things out. Delhi Government and P. Chidambaram (Home Minister of India) stressed out that Germany and China have done the same thing before hosting such big events. The education program in Germany and China were successful because people there think for their nation and feel dejected if someone from outside blames their country. But that’s not the same with Indians. We Indians have lost pride in our country. And that’s the reason we are facing issues like corruption, ill-politics etc. (the list will go on and on).