Dated: November 23rd, 2009 Rajendra Pratap Gupta
President
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Hon’ble Prime Minister
Government of India
7, Race Course, New Delhi-110001 Registered Speed Post / E-Mail
Shri.Ghulam Nabi Azad
Hon’ble Health Minister
Government of India
Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi -110011
Reference: Healthcare reforms – A detailed agenda for Population Health Improvement
Dear Dr.Singh & Shri Azad ji,
This needs your esteem, kind and personal attention. I am sending a detailed note on what India needs to do to build an effective healthcare system. Over the last 62 years , we have increased the life expectancy by 26 years , reduced the infant mortality and morbidity significantly, eradicated Small pox and Guinea worm and almost eradicated polio and Leprosy.
The government of India has taken up a smart fight against HIV, T.B. , Tobacco. The launch of massive programmes like NRHM & NUHM by the government & the ban on smoking in public places is a proof of the fact that, Indian government is committed to the healthcare of its population. I believe that the healthy population is a prerequisite for an economically vibrant & a healthy nation .
At this juncture, with such a proactive government, I must bring to your kind notice a detailed note on how to transform the healthcare system of the nation. To start with, healthcare has to become the priority sector for the government of India. The Indian healthcare system must have a broader scope and a bigger purpose!
Firstly, let me apprise you of the fact that, higher spending does not mean better healthcare. We have the case of America where 17 % of the GDP goes on healthcare. Still 77 % of Americans have at least one chronic disease, 1 out of 2 Americans have a chronic disease and 7/10 people die of chronic diseases. Despite such a high spending, according to WHO, US Healthcare system ranks 37th amongst nations, at par with Serbia; 31st in life expectancy and 40th in child mortality, worse than Cuba and Croatia . So we must not pursue wrong goal of just doubling the healthcare spends as a percentage of GDP. We need a system that is outcome driven and not that is expense driven !!
Even the French Healthcare system which was ranked as the best by WHO in 2000 is losing USD 28124 every minute and is expected to go bankrupt by 2019.
Taking into consideration the global examples in healthcare , where most of the healthcare systems have failed , India is fortunately better placed. As developed regions like USA & Europe are struggling to correct their system backwards, India is just starting to build its healthcare system. We must embed strong fundamentals in our healthcare system. Though India is better placed not by design but by default and faulty policies over the last six decades, we must use this opportunity to build in our indigenous healthcare system and not import failures by copying anything from abroad .
Let me draw your attention to a few important observations of mine regarding the healthcare system:
Payer model: India has the right payer model , where the user pays. This makes the user as the ‘gatekeeper’ in the healthcare system. The global experience shows that, whenever there is a blanket cover for free healthcare, it is likely to be misused, over used and prone to fraud. Global examples have proven that, whenever healthcare is free, systems collapse. So I must request the policy makers never to change this basic fundamental of the healthcare system, though you must provide free healthcare to BPL families.
Preventive care & Recession: My belief is that healthcare was also one of the main reasons why America faced recession. In 2008, U.S. employers paid an average of USD 9144 per employee for healthcare insurance. Over the last few years, increasing healthcare costs have forced American companies to ship jobs overseas as this presented significant cost savings. Imagine that a computer sold in U.S. was produced in China. So the entire process of building a computer created job and income for Chinese but it was sold in the U.S? So while U.S. kept spending on buying products, U.S. lost its earning & income creation opportunities to China. For each product U.S. citizens purchased, salaries and income moved to China for producing such products. No wonder, China became the biggest lender to America!! American recession was in the making for the last couple of years because of the healthcare costs going up.
Why healthcare costs went up in America? In 1970 preventive medicine specialists represented 2.3 % of the physician work force and by 2002, the preventive medicine specialists were down to 0.8 %. America did not take care of prevention, and today it is home to a population that is more ill than healthy and so is the economy. American economy is a mirror image of its healthcare system. U.S. spent USD 700 billion on the troubled assets relief program (TARP) & USD 568.4 billion on fighting chronic diseases in Medicare and Medicaid. India must learn from USA on the management of chronic diseases early on. We need to build a strong preventive care in the Indian healthcare system.
India is a young nation with more than 60 % of its population below 40 years in age but, in the next thirty years; we will become an aged nation. We will grow ‘Older’ before we grow ‘Wealthier’. Moreover, with the rising incidence of chronic diseases, we are heading towards a problem where even after spending 25 % of our GDP on healthcare, we will never be able to salvage our healthcare system.
It is high time we converted our slogan from Food, Clothing and Shelter to: Food, Clothing and Healthcare. Health care needs to become the fundamental right of every Indian
Disease burden in India: India has to first asses the health burden in India. The figures released by the top consulting firms are not reliable given the wide disparities. Let me give you a glimpse of the ‘potential’ disease burden in India.
A. According to WHO, India has 14 % of its population suffering from Arthritis. This takes the Arthritis patients to approximately 140 million
B. According to WHO, India has 10 % of its population suffering from Hypertension. This takes the Hypertension patients to 100 million
C. According to the International Diabetes Federation , approximately 5 % of the Indian population suffers from Diabetes i.e. 50 million
D. India has at least 40 million CVD patients
E. Cancer patients in India are about 2.5 million
F. Elderly people in India are about 150 million
So, by any conservative estimates, we have about more than 400 million patients suffering from one or more chronic disease.
ABCDE of Indian healthcare system . I coined this Acronym , where A stands for Arthritis , B – Blood Pressure , C- Cardiac diseases & Cancer, D- Diabetes , E – Epilepsy or Elderly. My belief is that the prevalence of chronic diseases is such that today every family if India has one or more members of either of ABCDE .
Due to out of pocket spending on health, about 40 million people go below the poverty line every year.
If we see the population dynamics & demographics , it calls for a serious planning and implementation on healthcare reforms so that we don’t face what America is passing through today! We need to build low cost, user friendly & accessible healthcare system so that people enter the healthcare system earlier and leave it earlier and it does not cost more!! I have changed the centuries old saying ‘Prevention is better than cure’ to ‘Prevention is better than death ™’ Since chronic diseases, if not controlled, lead to disability and finally , death
Problem of distribution: India has a serious problem with the focus & allocation of health resources ; we are quite urban centric. A survey by the Indian Medical Society had found that 75 % of the qualified consulting doctors practice in urban centers, 23 % in semi-urban areas and only 2 % in rural areas, where about 65 % of the population lives
Acute model of care: Though over the past 60 years the disease patterns have shifted from acute and infectious diseases to chronic or life style diseases, still Indian healthcare system emphasizes on acute care and medical care model. This needs an immediate correction. The problem of not adopting preventive care is that aging population requires more healthcare treatments with a lower earning and paying capacity. Earnings reduce with age but healthcare problems increase. This will put our ‘Young’ nation of today into a serious economic, social and development crises in the next 25 years. The ‘baby boomers’ of today will become ‘Patient boomers’ of tomorrow.
A study done by Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that, the healthiest 50 % of Americans account for just 3 % of the annual spending; the sickest 15 % represent nearly 75 %. This should help India understand the importance of preventive measure to keep our population healthy.
I believe that we have already been late for this generation, but we must build a robust healthcare model for the coming generation. We need to bring a change in government policies, medical curriculum, medical practice and channels of delivery of care across the healthcare spectrum. Without an integrated care system, we cannot have results, and without preventive care we cannot have an integrated healthcare system.
We must seriously consider that it might be cheaper to provide free preventive care than to absorb the high cost of chronic care. Preventive care must become the minimum standard of healthcare.
New paradigm of care: We must work towards building a strong support system for our healthcare infrastructure to build an effective healthcare system. This calls for a strong:
• Self control & Self care : Individuals must take to self care and self control and become health conscious individuals. This is where the government can play an important part and sensitize the population on health issues , so that the healthcare becomes effective
• Education system: The Prevention must move from the ‘Medical school’ to ‘Primary school’. It should be ingrained in our school text books and Preventive care is more important than the sex education for which too many efforts are being made too fast! Yoga & Meditation should be taught for at least 30 minutes / day from class 1 onwards
• Occupational health: Work place wellness is not established in India. I would expect that the proactive private sector gets active on providing preventive care to its employees at the work site
Why should a person approach the doctor directly for every small / routine issue?
For Preventive care , we must have two goals :
A. Preventive care has to be the mainstay of the stable healthcare system
B. Preventive care becomes the minimum standard of care
Government: Action points:
• The government must set up an inter-ministerial task force under the Prime Minister’s office or mandate the National Knowledge Commission to make recommendations every five years on healthcare reforms needed , based on the fast changing dynamics and demographics of the Indian population. The ministries to be included are Ministry of health & family welfare, Ministry of labour , Ministry of sports, Ministry of finance , Ministry of defense , Ministry of rural development , Ministry of child & social development ,and
Ministry of tourism .We must look at Brazil’s healthcare system where the health provisions are under the state & municipalities , but the Federal government continues to be responsible for the quality of care
• Health should be a federal subject
• Department of pharmaceuticals ( currently under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers) must be brought under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
• Central Health Authority : We need a central health authority along with similar state health authorities in every state to focus on Health Risk Assessment , Healthcare forecasting, Health Awareness , Immunization , Mother & Child care , Geriatric care , Primary prevention , Occupational health , Disease management , Organ transplants , Emergency care & Palliative care
• Government must take the sole responsibility for awareness creation about wellness and diseases separately, and both should be handled by different heads with proper coordination
• India immediately needs an epidemiological survey. As of now, there is neither an epidemiological survey nor a health risk assessment index to find the actual disease burden. Without that, anything we are doing amounts to Adhocism. We need to be more scientific in whatever we do to have an outcome. The data given for various disease states are thrown by various organizations and the data is hard to believe! Health Census must be done along with the population census.
• Government must take the responsibility for mass screening and mandate the employers to do mass screenings for their employees based on the guidelines for each sector
• Government must issue industry & sector specific recommendatory daily allowance (RDA) for food intake or calorie intake , health & wellness guidelines for employers and employees. If need be, government must appoint a employee health regulator to enforce the guidelines
• All the admissions after high school should have a basic health check as a prerequisite
• People above the age group of 21 should go for a yearly basic health check up
• Marriage certificate should only be issued after a comprehensive risk assessment
• Those with BMI above 23 should be put on annual preventive check
• Those with a family history of any chronic ailment should be kept on OPC – Observatory preventive checks at an early age ( 16 years )
• Government must come out with a health status report on its national leaders and set up a separate health department for political leaders both at national & state level
• Government must focus more on Geriatric care
• Government must address the issue of mental health deficiencies & encourage TeleHealth in Psychiatry seeing the ratio between Psychiatrist and population being 1:1 Million
• Government must start ‘Day Care’ centers for minor surgeries across the nation
• There are thousands of lives lost every year in road accidents. Government must work out organ transplant centers and frame guidelines for cadaver implants.
• The government must start a 24 hour health channel.
• Local governments must start a IVR – Toll free health helpline for the local population with Frequently asked questions on health put in IVR format
Special guidelines to treat chronic diseases:
• The government must immediately start a Central Disease Registry (CDR). All the
chronic disease patients must be registered under the same by the path labs itself
• Once the person is diagnosed with a chronic disease, the entire family must undergo a health risk assessment covering basic checks like BMI, B.P., Sugar, Cholesterol etc. This will be an effective way to monitor and control the chronic disease incidence. Such families should be advised to undergo a yearly basic check to avoid chronic diseases
• Chronic diseases cannot be controlled by prescription alone. It involves a behavioral change. This calls for counseling. Counseling should be made mandatory for chronic diseases. Doctors , Pharmacists and Nurses should be trained in the management of chronic diseases
• Patient’s family must be involved in the management of chronic diseases. Chronic diseases cannot be managed alone; it needs proactive support from the family members. Guidelines should be issued for the same
• Based on the disease state , the patients must be put on the appropriate disease
management program
• The doctors practicing in the field of chronic diseases should not be allowed to practice without a counselor , dietician , Phlebotomist and a fitness trainer
• The local municipality must encourage the formation of patient groups at a local level to help in the self management through ‘role model’ approach and via experience sharing amongst patients. This can be quite effective in the management of chronic diseases
• Nurses & Pharmacists have not been effectively utilized in the management of chronic diseases. These health professionals should be effectively used. In fact, the pharmacists should become the first local touch point for health information dissemination
• Pharmacies must be mandated to provide instant checking like BMI, Sugar, and B.P., Cholesterol etc.
• Pharmacists must be mandated to counsel all chronic patients
• Government must encourage generic prescription in all government hospitals and allow patients to seek generic substitution at the pharmacies.
• All doctors must seek patients nod before prescribing products other than generics
• The government must implement Disease management in the PSU’s immediately to
study the amount of money & lives that can be saved. Also that this can lead to better
outcomes and increased productivity
• Religious leaders must be used to tackle health issues as they can prove really very
effective
• The government must ban Junk foods in schools
• Special emphasis needs to be on Geriatric care and a separate set of guidelines needs to be worked out on the same
• Government must mandate the insurance companies to pay for routine health checks and
preventive care. Home based self diagnostics should be re-imbursed under insurance
• Gram Panchayats must be starting points for information dissemination for rural India.
Primary Healthcare centers should add Telehealth to its faculties to take the health to the rural population. Building and maintaining healthcare faculties in rural India is not viable. But Telehealth is an option worth trying to provide boost to rural health
Standards & protocols in Medical Practice : Due to absence of medical establishment standards , lack of treatment guidelines and protocols ; substandard facilities are mushrooming and malpractices are leading to ‘Over Diagnosis’ and ‘Over Treatment’ The government must play an effective role for the formulation of guidelines and enforce the same effectively . Also , despite having the best of brains and facilities , we are still
using the JCI / Australian accreditation . The government must recognize only the NABH / NABL accreditation for its healthcare facilities and take it international through support and incentives .
The detailed guidelines are expected on:
• Guidelines for screening.
• Guidelines for diagnostics
• Guidelines for treatment of various disease and the line of treatment along with the diagnostic requirements
• Government must come out with grading norms for facilities based on the treatment outcomes, number of beds , clinical staff, facilities , accreditations offered , town class and treatments offered
• Government must decide the price / rate for various treatments & procedures in facilities based on the infrastructure , town class , outcomes data for treating patients & grade of the facility
• Referral protocols for higher diagnosis and treatment
• Rural health guidelines should be formulated
Financial Incentives for the health sector:
• Rapid or instant diagnostic kits should be entitled for lower taxes & duties. Ideally, it should be duty free. But we must also encourage local production
• Telemedicine or Telehealth hold a promise when it comes to healthcare delivery in more than 6.20 lac villages. Such companies should be given a tax holiday for the next 10 years
• Medical imports under PPP must be tax free
• Clinics & Hospitals in rural areas must be given a tax holiday for 10 & 20 years
• Government must give a tax holiday for 3, 5, 7 & 10 years for healthcare facilities in tier 1.2. 3.& 4 class towns
• Preventive checks should be made tax free
• Currently government gives rebate in income tax for medical insurance. The same should be given for preventive check and the amount for such checks should be Rs. 2500 per family member per year. For senior citizens, it should be Rs. 3000 per member per year. Gyms & Yoga club memberships should be included in the preventive check category
• Health professionals working in designated rural areas should be given 50 or 100 % tax free income based on the regional disparities
• Companies that do preventive checkups for employees must be entitled to a tax rebate on such expenses to an extent of 100 %
• Pharmaceutical & other companies that sponsor health checks in communities should be given 50 or 100 % tax rebate for the amount spent.
Health Minister’s Fund – (HMF). The government must create a health minister’s fund to encourage donations from individuals and corporates with 100 % tax exemptions on donations. This fund must be used for providing healthcare to BPL families
Compulsory Health Savings Account(CHSA) & Health Cess: We need to look at innovative ways to fund healthcare. Levying 1 % health cess on taxes would collect Rs.4000 crore.
The government can draft a CHSA under three classifications and people can opt under the scheme as per their entitlement. The people enroll in CHSA at an age of 25-30 years and contribute a monthly amount for 30 years. Say, for example, a category A person pays Rs. 1250 per month per family for the first 10 years, Rs. 1500 per month for the next 10 years and Rs. 2000 per month for the last 10 years. So in 30 years the family saves USD 31000 and can get free healthcare for the rest of his life. Also, if we assume that the dollar is at an exchange rate of Rs. 45 & an annual interest rate of 7 % is accrued on this ; the middle class which is assumed to be 150 million now, grows to 200 million in the next 20 years and 250 million in the next 30 years. The government will stand to collect USD 1 trillion after 10 years, USD 2 Trillion after 20 years and USD 6 Trillion after thirty years. . The money thus collected can be used to make the best of healthcare facilities.
Indigenous research: We have sent Chandrayaan to the moon and made our own sub marine. But we have not done great research in medical technology and pharmaceuticals. Technology and equipment import constitute a major cost in a healthcare facility set up cost. These costs are passed on to the patients. This can only come down if we can have our own technology. Irony is that, we export our brains and then import technology at an exorbitant cost!! We have the best institutes & best brains to train them but we are not able to retain them! The government must frame strict deterrents to avoid brain drain. Healthcare will only become affordable if the cost of set up comes down. This can happen if we have indigenous technology. Going forward, healthcare will be totally technology driven.
AYUSH Professionals: The government must integrate and effectively utilize AYUSH professionals in mainstream healthcare & rural health. This could be the best way to make use of the resources at hand.
Medical Curriculum: Far reaching changes are required in medical curriculum
•
•
• The government must not allow M.B.B.S. to do Post graduation till they spend 3 months each into rural health, telemedicine, pharmacies and Panchayat health centers.
• Private medical college students should also undergo the same internship as is for students of government medical colleges.
• Those health professionals ( doctors , nurses and pharmacists ) working in rural areas for three & five years must be given special quota / guaranteed admission in P.G. courses or given fast track promotion in government jobs
• Government must provide higher pay and perks ( including tax free income ) and more paid leaves to doctors working in rural areas
• Doctors who working in rural areas should be given loans at a cheaper rates from the ‘Central Health Fund’ to set up medical clinic / facilities
In Mexico, absence of proper planning during the 70’s lead to oversupply of physicians in the 80’s. India should avoid the same and plan carefully.
Rural health needs a special consideration. In rural India, whenever a patient is taken to the nearest urban center for treatment, at least two family members accompany him. That’s the reason why even the 20 % beds mandated free for BPL families remain unused. Government must provide for free accommodation to these two attendants of the rural population who travel to urban areas for treatment including free train & bus travel. Telemedicine should be the core to rural health model in India
New Models : The government must ideate and try new low costs model where the primary preventive care can be availed at Rs.2 per day. Imagine, if we get 5000 people to pay Rs. 2 a day , we can have Rs.3 Lac per month per facility .This can be used to have two full time doctors , two nurses , two counselors to provide basic care to the population of 5000 people round the clock. I believe these are the models to be tried and implemented
The government’s role must logically move from a provider of care to payer and a regulator. Though government must be responsible for primary care,disaster management & sudden outbreaks but it must also focus on
• Awareness and education about health & wellness for the common man
• Primary care and prevention
• Rural health
• Regulation and standardization
The government must follow the chart mentioned below when approving secondary & tertiary care facilities in any place based on the population size as the standard for population health improvement. Government must not approve the higher end facilities for a geography till the facilities are existing for the levels below ,for which the approvals are sought. The government must also encourage private players by incentivizing them for providing primary care before approving them for secondary and tertiary care
Level of care Population Size Facilities Services provided
1 1000 Telemedicine, Panchayat level dissemination of info. Basic health services must be provided
2 10,000+ PHC – Panchayat Health Center Trained Nurse Practitioner
3 50,000+ Primary Hospital with 25 beds Primary Care
4 100,000 + Secondary Care Hospital 100 beds Secondary Care
5 500,000+ Multi Specialty Care hospital 250 beds Tertiary Care
6 10,000,00+ Institute of Medical Sciences Centers of Excellence
Private Public Partnerships (PPP): I have been actively involved from the very beginning in the PPP document authored by CII. I have already written in detail about the success factors for PPP in healthcare. The government must enter into PPP only for secondary and tertiary care. There is a lack of trust, transparency, speed and continuity in the government policies. Government does not trust the private players and Vice Versa. All PPP’s must pass the test on the four parameters
• Scientific credibility
• Operational stability & scalability
• Financial feasibility
• Political viability
Medical Tourism: Medical tourism can be a big revenue earner for the Indian healthcare system. But there should be a segregation of DHSP – Domestic healthcare service providers and IHSP – International Healthcare Service providers
Government must provide land at highly subsidized rates or free, at or near the airports, for hospitals and facilities catering to medical tourism ,and take the profits as a sleeping partner
For private players entering into IHSP, for each IHSP facility they set up, they should set up three DHSP.
Government must come up with an insurance scheme for international medical tourists coming to India for medical treatments to encourage and promote medical tourism
We have the best of tertiary care in India but what we lack is the basic primary & preventive care in the country .If we don’t start healthcare with preventive care and continue with chronic care management; one day, the entire healthcare system will become over burdened, under- funded and outdated – no matter what we do !
We have to move from being a ‘Disease focused’ and a ‘Doctor centric’ system to a system that revolves around younger populations, and where nurse and a pharmacist play the role of a health coach
The government has to be careful in our healthcare capacity building. One side, we need to increase the healthcare service providers, on the other hand, we have to work to reduce the burden of ‘Killer’ diseases. A very strong primary and preventive care model needs to be embedded in the system.
Healthcare is the largest service industry in terms of revenue and the 2nd largest after education in terms of employment
‘World Class’ standards in India is not the goal, ‘India Class’ standards for the world should be our goal. We can teach the world how to run an effective healthcare system
I am quite convinced that committed leadership will take cognizance of this note and take measures to implement the suggestions after a debate with all the stake holders in the continuum of care . Should you need any assistance at my end , feel free to connect.
With best regards
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
CC.
Sonia Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi
Dr.Murli Mahohar Joshi
Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Shri L.K.Advani
Smt. Sushma Swaraj
Shri Dinesh Trivedi
Sitaram Yechury
Members of Parliament
Sam Pitroda
Secy , Health & Family Welfare , GOI
Dr.K.Srinath Reddy
Chief Minister’s of States
Dr.Salim Hebayeb, WHO
Gerard M La Forgia , World Bank
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The growth story of India is questionable - Rajendra
India’s questionable growth story :
While the government’s overall inflation figures remained at record lows of 0-1.5 %. The average wholesale price of food items had increased by a whopping 17.5 % in past one year as per the government announcement yesterday
Despite the growth of 6.8 %, the country’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first half of the current year ( April – September 2009 ) stood at 7.9 % of the nominal GDP compared to 4.4 % in the corresponding period last year . It is very difficult to contain the deficit at budget targets . Pranab Mukherjee has estimated the full year fiscal deficit in the budget 2009 presented in July at 6.8% . A sharp pick up in the economic activity will not help bridge the gap as the tax collections remain depressed.
If we strip the government consumption , then the real growth for the rest of the economy was 4.9 % in the September quarter, at 1999-2000 constant prices. That's lower than the 5.5. % year-on-year growth notched up during the preceeding quarter. The last instalment of the pay commission arrears has already been paid , so no further boost to government consumption is expected. What will happen to growth realising that the rain God were not approving the plight of farmers under the current government and thought it wise to boycott India !!
How will the government fund ambitious schemes ?
What is the plan to bridge the deficit ?
Is divesting PSU a short term goal ? If we keep divesting this way , after some time , when the deficit widens , we will be left with nothing except to sell the nation !!
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Email : office@rajendragupta.org
While the government’s overall inflation figures remained at record lows of 0-1.5 %. The average wholesale price of food items had increased by a whopping 17.5 % in past one year as per the government announcement yesterday
Despite the growth of 6.8 %, the country’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first half of the current year ( April – September 2009 ) stood at 7.9 % of the nominal GDP compared to 4.4 % in the corresponding period last year . It is very difficult to contain the deficit at budget targets . Pranab Mukherjee has estimated the full year fiscal deficit in the budget 2009 presented in July at 6.8% . A sharp pick up in the economic activity will not help bridge the gap as the tax collections remain depressed.
If we strip the government consumption , then the real growth for the rest of the economy was 4.9 % in the September quarter, at 1999-2000 constant prices. That's lower than the 5.5. % year-on-year growth notched up during the preceeding quarter. The last instalment of the pay commission arrears has already been paid , so no further boost to government consumption is expected. What will happen to growth realising that the rain God were not approving the plight of farmers under the current government and thought it wise to boycott India !!
How will the government fund ambitious schemes ?
What is the plan to bridge the deficit ?
Is divesting PSU a short term goal ? If we keep divesting this way , after some time , when the deficit widens , we will be left with nothing except to sell the nation !!
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Email : office@rajendragupta.org
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Lessons to learn - Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Price rise & Inflation: ‘Elecflation’ –i coined this term for ‘election induced inflation’. This is a recurring phenomenon
I see a lot of hue and cry on the inflation and price rise of vegetables and pulses. While the public is worried, government seems to be doing nothing on it. Why???
Answer: Whenever there are elections, the business houses are forced to contribute to election funding or false cases built up against business houses to make money to fund the party. So how will the business houses recover the money they have spent for the elections? So very naturally, the politicians are also obliged to allow these business houses to hoard and sell at higher prices till they recover in multiples of the money paid for fighting elections. It is a simple election driven price inflation. Remember , same politicians and business houses will meet again for the next elections
I was recently addressing a gathering and i told the people that we don’t have any political parties in India. The people were quite anxious to know what made me conclude this? To which, i explained that what we have today are ‘election parties’ & not ‘Political parties’. Election parties come up with a manifesto during elections and then forget everything for another five years and spring into action again gearing for the next mandate. If we had political parties or politicians then we would have a long term vision for this great nation. Unfortunately, we don’t have politicians. A politician or a political party cannot run a nation of 1.2 billion population without an agenda for 10, 20 & 30 years. Adhocism has not taken this nation anywhere in the last 60+ years
Also, no politician or party can take credit for India’s growing middle class. What we are today is not by design but by default and fault of failed policies and politicians. Fortunately, it puts India in the right spot at the right time. But we should not brag about it but we must have a long term vision and policies and actions to shape the destiny for the nation
Just think, 1/6th of India is under naxalites, 4/6th of India is poor. So whatever you read or see as India opportunity is just representing 1/6th of India. I.e. 200 million Indians are in a position to afford what you have. This blog will only reach may be 40-50 million people. Isn’t that an irony of a nation with 1.2 billion brains? We are exporting brains and then importing technology. We are not a democracy but a pseudo-democracy for just 200 million Indians
There are clearly three segments of Indian population.
People who vote (majority are paid or coerced to vote – these are the people who fall into 800 million people living @less than 2 $ a day)
People who make others to vote (town class or semi urban middle class or Political workers.)
People who are voted – run into a few million as elected or rejected candidates who have the best of all available and are above the law of the land)
It is a time to change ................................The democracy that is India is for 1/6th of the population. Remaining 5/6th is either under the slavery of naxalites or poverty.
On 25th /11 there was a function organised at the Mumbai police Gymkhana. As a trustee of the United Force of India i was asked to share my views on the Mumbai security after 26/11. I only asked one question to the journalists. If after one year of attacks our elected representatives can be manhandled in the Vidhan Sabha and our journalists can be beaten and their office vandalised. Where are we? What security are we speaking about? We are just waiting for another attack to happen and it will!!
Now coming to Dubai crises: For long, i have believed that we are chasing wrong goals as an economy. In fact, on 19th January, i wrote a letter to our Hon’ble P.M. that we should not build our economy on dollars but it should be built on agriculture and SME’s. Free dollar flow is a sign of future pain!! .
See the case of India’s stock markets . The FII’s invest in it raise the index , exit and book profits . Poor Indian retail investors lose when such FII’s exit . But you cannot do anything . The big fish make money . My perception is that , this is happening with the concurrence of the people who are a party to such ‘short money making tactics’. Every politician starts as a humble farmer or a worker and then becomes a ‘uncrowned king’ with schools , charitable institutions , real estate , business ventures unheard and unimagined by people like you and me . We have seen the case of YSR’s son, Reddy brothers , Madhu Koda and the list is end less ............
Take the case of Dubai. Now people have started calling it ‘Doob Gayee’ . Dubai built their economy on dollars and we know their fate. If India does not focus on Agriculture and SME’s. We will cry with pain. I recently read Dr. Manmohan Singh statements that with strong FDI inflows, our economy is slated to grow 9 %. I sometimes, don’t understand why are we still dependent on the foreign money? This FII / FDI are like a refined and sophisticated terms for EIC – East India Company. They will take profits abroad. These instruments have only one goal – Feast on the growing middle class. Do we allow them? The day we make our ’Farmers , the father of the nation , the nation will turn into a vibrant economy’. I wish Dr.Singh to say some day that our farmers contribute to the growing GDP and SME contribute to a majority of dollar inflow .
Lastly, i must quote our Environment Minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh - ‘If there was a noble prize for filth, India would get it hands down as there would be no competitors’. I expected our M.P. friends to seek his resignation for officially calling India a land of filth. He is a union minister and he should have abstained from making such a degrading comment on this great nation. Anything he says impacts India’s image negatively. What will people think about India when they read about this ‘noble prize’ eligibility for India? Do we expect more tourism with such statements or do we get more sanitation funds from WB / WHO etc with such irresponsible comments? Is the entire nation full of filth? Mr. Minister, please apologise for your senile statements and resign . You are getting your perks from this nation of filth .
Does it not prick your conscience to bring about a change in the nation than to complain??
Each one of you can bring about a small change in the scheme of things . Think small , aim big and act fast .
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
President
Country FirstEmail: President@countryfirst.org / mail@rajendragupta.org
I see a lot of hue and cry on the inflation and price rise of vegetables and pulses. While the public is worried, government seems to be doing nothing on it. Why???
Answer: Whenever there are elections, the business houses are forced to contribute to election funding or false cases built up against business houses to make money to fund the party. So how will the business houses recover the money they have spent for the elections? So very naturally, the politicians are also obliged to allow these business houses to hoard and sell at higher prices till they recover in multiples of the money paid for fighting elections. It is a simple election driven price inflation. Remember , same politicians and business houses will meet again for the next elections
I was recently addressing a gathering and i told the people that we don’t have any political parties in India. The people were quite anxious to know what made me conclude this? To which, i explained that what we have today are ‘election parties’ & not ‘Political parties’. Election parties come up with a manifesto during elections and then forget everything for another five years and spring into action again gearing for the next mandate. If we had political parties or politicians then we would have a long term vision for this great nation. Unfortunately, we don’t have politicians. A politician or a political party cannot run a nation of 1.2 billion population without an agenda for 10, 20 & 30 years. Adhocism has not taken this nation anywhere in the last 60+ years
Also, no politician or party can take credit for India’s growing middle class. What we are today is not by design but by default and fault of failed policies and politicians. Fortunately, it puts India in the right spot at the right time. But we should not brag about it but we must have a long term vision and policies and actions to shape the destiny for the nation
Just think, 1/6th of India is under naxalites, 4/6th of India is poor. So whatever you read or see as India opportunity is just representing 1/6th of India. I.e. 200 million Indians are in a position to afford what you have. This blog will only reach may be 40-50 million people. Isn’t that an irony of a nation with 1.2 billion brains? We are exporting brains and then importing technology. We are not a democracy but a pseudo-democracy for just 200 million Indians
There are clearly three segments of Indian population.
People who vote (majority are paid or coerced to vote – these are the people who fall into 800 million people living @less than 2 $ a day)
People who make others to vote (town class or semi urban middle class or Political workers.)
People who are voted – run into a few million as elected or rejected candidates who have the best of all available and are above the law of the land)
It is a time to change ................................The democracy that is India is for 1/6th of the population. Remaining 5/6th is either under the slavery of naxalites or poverty.
On 25th /11 there was a function organised at the Mumbai police Gymkhana. As a trustee of the United Force of India i was asked to share my views on the Mumbai security after 26/11. I only asked one question to the journalists. If after one year of attacks our elected representatives can be manhandled in the Vidhan Sabha and our journalists can be beaten and their office vandalised. Where are we? What security are we speaking about? We are just waiting for another attack to happen and it will!!
Now coming to Dubai crises: For long, i have believed that we are chasing wrong goals as an economy. In fact, on 19th January, i wrote a letter to our Hon’ble P.M. that we should not build our economy on dollars but it should be built on agriculture and SME’s. Free dollar flow is a sign of future pain!! .
See the case of India’s stock markets . The FII’s invest in it raise the index , exit and book profits . Poor Indian retail investors lose when such FII’s exit . But you cannot do anything . The big fish make money . My perception is that , this is happening with the concurrence of the people who are a party to such ‘short money making tactics’. Every politician starts as a humble farmer or a worker and then becomes a ‘uncrowned king’ with schools , charitable institutions , real estate , business ventures unheard and unimagined by people like you and me . We have seen the case of YSR’s son, Reddy brothers , Madhu Koda and the list is end less ............
Take the case of Dubai. Now people have started calling it ‘Doob Gayee’ . Dubai built their economy on dollars and we know their fate. If India does not focus on Agriculture and SME’s. We will cry with pain. I recently read Dr. Manmohan Singh statements that with strong FDI inflows, our economy is slated to grow 9 %. I sometimes, don’t understand why are we still dependent on the foreign money? This FII / FDI are like a refined and sophisticated terms for EIC – East India Company. They will take profits abroad. These instruments have only one goal – Feast on the growing middle class. Do we allow them? The day we make our ’Farmers , the father of the nation , the nation will turn into a vibrant economy’. I wish Dr.Singh to say some day that our farmers contribute to the growing GDP and SME contribute to a majority of dollar inflow .
Lastly, i must quote our Environment Minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh - ‘If there was a noble prize for filth, India would get it hands down as there would be no competitors’. I expected our M.P. friends to seek his resignation for officially calling India a land of filth. He is a union minister and he should have abstained from making such a degrading comment on this great nation. Anything he says impacts India’s image negatively. What will people think about India when they read about this ‘noble prize’ eligibility for India? Do we expect more tourism with such statements or do we get more sanitation funds from WB / WHO etc with such irresponsible comments? Is the entire nation full of filth? Mr. Minister, please apologise for your senile statements and resign . You are getting your perks from this nation of filth .
Does it not prick your conscience to bring about a change in the nation than to complain??
Each one of you can bring about a small change in the scheme of things . Think small , aim big and act fast .
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
President
Country FirstEmail: President@countryfirst.org / mail@rajendragupta.org
Friday, November 6, 2009
Plenary address at the India Health Summit - Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Plenary address at the India Health Summit 2009, Rajendra Pratap Gupta, President, DMAI & Director, DMAA- The Care Continuum Alliance, USA
Dear Friends,
This is an interesting audience which includes policy makers and those who can influence policy makers. I have a short message for you all. I feel so great about our nation. The developed world has failed in healthcare, and fortunately, in India, we are starting to build our healthcare system. This is the time when we can have the strong fundamentals ingrained in our population health improvement model
According to Kaiser Family Foundation the healthiest 50 % of Americans account for just 3 % of the annual spending; the sickest 15 % represents nearly 75 %. Half of the spending goes to those 55 and over, a third to those over 65 and over. In Europe, the chronic care accounts for 70 % of the healthcare expenses.
Today, we are the youngest nation with an average age of approximately 26.5 years, 30 years from now; we will be the oldest nation. Also, that we will become older before we become wealthier.
At present, we are not able to provide healthcare to more than 65 % of our population, and we are growing in numbers and age both. If we don’t pay attention to preventive healthcare, our health systems will soon become over burdened, under-funded and outdated as well.
This sums up clearly that we need primary preventive care as the starting point for healthcare and secondary preventive care in the continuum of care. We have the best of tertiary care in India but preventive care is missing!!
I believe that the biggest threat to our healthcare system is our generation. Our ‘lifestyle’ will lead to ‘disorders’ that will become the ‘Chronic diseases’ for us, and ‘Genetic disorders’ for our very own next generation. It is a call to action.
I must reach out to you all the come and participate in the three Global campaigns that I am starting at the Disease Management association of India
1. Red Flag campaign - If you have BMI above 23. Work Hard. Did you all ever think that having a BMI at 25 is being at borderline and being predisposed to chronic risks!! Let’s try and get it at 23. A healthier India should be our goal
2. Blue Building Campaign – We have green buildings to conserve energy. What about conserving health and becoming more employee health friendly. let’s have blue buildings, where the employers are proactive about employees health
3. Eat more, Burn more campaign. Have the RDA for each lifestyle. Live happy, live healthy. If you eat more, don’t feel guilty and regret, just you need to work out a little more and burn the extra calories. Isn’t that simple.
Thank you.
Dear Friends,
This is an interesting audience which includes policy makers and those who can influence policy makers. I have a short message for you all. I feel so great about our nation. The developed world has failed in healthcare, and fortunately, in India, we are starting to build our healthcare system. This is the time when we can have the strong fundamentals ingrained in our population health improvement model
According to Kaiser Family Foundation the healthiest 50 % of Americans account for just 3 % of the annual spending; the sickest 15 % represents nearly 75 %. Half of the spending goes to those 55 and over, a third to those over 65 and over. In Europe, the chronic care accounts for 70 % of the healthcare expenses.
Today, we are the youngest nation with an average age of approximately 26.5 years, 30 years from now; we will be the oldest nation. Also, that we will become older before we become wealthier.
At present, we are not able to provide healthcare to more than 65 % of our population, and we are growing in numbers and age both. If we don’t pay attention to preventive healthcare, our health systems will soon become over burdened, under-funded and outdated as well.
This sums up clearly that we need primary preventive care as the starting point for healthcare and secondary preventive care in the continuum of care. We have the best of tertiary care in India but preventive care is missing!!
I believe that the biggest threat to our healthcare system is our generation. Our ‘lifestyle’ will lead to ‘disorders’ that will become the ‘Chronic diseases’ for us, and ‘Genetic disorders’ for our very own next generation. It is a call to action.
I must reach out to you all the come and participate in the three Global campaigns that I am starting at the Disease Management association of India
1. Red Flag campaign - If you have BMI above 23. Work Hard. Did you all ever think that having a BMI at 25 is being at borderline and being predisposed to chronic risks!! Let’s try and get it at 23. A healthier India should be our goal
2. Blue Building Campaign – We have green buildings to conserve energy. What about conserving health and becoming more employee health friendly. let’s have blue buildings, where the employers are proactive about employees health
3. Eat more, Burn more campaign. Have the RDA for each lifestyle. Live happy, live healthy. If you eat more, don’t feel guilty and regret, just you need to work out a little more and burn the extra calories. Isn’t that simple.
Thank you.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Vulgar Salaries - Corporate India
Mr.Salmaan Khurshid
Union Minister for Corporate Affairs
Government of India
New Delhi
Dear Mr. Khurshid ,
I wish to put my view point on your statement made a few days ago on the Vulgar salaries. Since i was travelling so i could not send this earlier .
Recently there has been a lot of hue and cry created due to a statement made by you. Earlier a similar statement had come from Dr. Manmohan Singh. According to you, corporate honchos are drawing salaries that are 12500 times the per capita income of this nation
I am not at all happy with your statement . I recall my letter to Dr. Manmohan Singh in January 09, wherein i requested that the salaries of the public representatives must be made more lucrative to attract the best brains
Also, that I must walk you through some of the realities in the corporate world and the politician’s working so as to make a correct assessment and a logical conclusion.
Firstly , Mr.Salmaan Khurshid , you must question why the governments in the last 62 years have not been able to increase the per capita income in this nation ? If the per capita income would have grown sufficiently , then you would not have a devastating comparison of 1:12500 ? Prime Facie your governments are at a fault for the backward development of this nation on the basis of caste and regions , and focussing on the real issues
Also , that the corporate world have created wealth for the nation and politicians have taken the nation’s wealth to Swiss Banks ? Did you take this into account before your statement ?
Corporates have created millions of Jobs. Be it TATA’s , Birla’s , RPG or Reliance or any big or even the smallest corporate house . These people have a lot of responsibility to deliver & risks to take at the cost of their family and social life. Still of whatever they earn , you ( i mean the government ) takes 50 % as taxes , both direct and indirect taxes. Needless to mention, about the income that government makes from the corporate taxes that the companies pay due to the hard work and intelligence of these executives !! . If they earn Rs.50 crore a year after delivering billion of dollars for the nation’s economy & creating lacs of jobs, what is wrong in that ? You forget that Ambani’s themselves contribute about 10 % to the total tax kitty of this nation ? What an irony that you would pat your back with his 60 % voluntary salary cut . Anyways, he has his net worth in billions of dollars as stakes in RIL etc........ You must think of nationalising his stake in RIL
Did you also take into account the CSR ( Corporate social responsibility ) that the corporates undertake ?
Mr. Minister , did you ever consider that government run companies are ‘Toxic assets’ till your people run it, and they become ‘Exotic assets ’ once they are privatised !! Because when you pay peanuts , you get monkeys !!
Today , you go all over the world and scream of the India’s IT & Telecom numbers . This is done due to the hard work of Private CEO’s and not political monkeys !! You had the monopoly of BSNL & MTNL . What great job have you done despite the monopoly ? You privatised VSNL to TATA’s and it is doing good. You could not make good business out of it. In the 60’s when the private sector wanted to grow you licensed it and even nationalised it, claiming it was the right thing to do . After messing it for 40 years , now you are privatising and you believe that it is the best thing to do ? Are you not fooling the public ? You all are privatising as you don’t have the money to run the government !! That’s the truth .
Let me show you what you politicians do. Here are some examples
Centaur hotel at Mumbai airport was sold to Batra Hospitality for Rs. 85 crore . Without doing anything , Batra Hospitality sold it to Sahara for Rs. 143 Crore within a few weeks . And its occupancy is 100 % at any given point in time. What was your minister doing when Centaur failed to deliver ? What was the basis of his selling to Batra and not to Sahara directly ? Reason out why the hotel was sold at such a low cost to Batra Hospitality ? Government lost due to a minister that was not at all as competent as Batra Hospitality executives or .......................
Your Current Civil Aviation minister had lost the election in 2004, despite that he was made the minister . Under his leadership, Indian airlines would stand to lose Rs.5000 Crores this year . Is this how a corporate CEO performs when he takes the so called ‘Vulgar’ salaries? Give me one example in India where the CEO gives such a humongous loss and still continues !!
India is facing an unprecedented shortage of agriculture products ( grains etc due to erratic and insufficient rains ). Please check the rule book of the FCI (Food corporation of India ) godowns ( warehouses ). 2.5 % of wastage is permissible ( please correct me , i may be wrong on this info). This means for one lac ton of grains , 2500 tons of wastage is permissible !! How efficient is this ? Please privatise and see the magic !!
Mr. Telecom Minister is delaying the allocation of 3G spectrum. It is estimated that the spectrum allocation would earn the government anywhere between Rs.20000 to 35000 crore . Ministry has already delayed the spectrum allocation by more than a year . If he takes it to two years . Just the interest loss to the government on the spectrum fees would be as high as Rs. 7000 crore ? Wish you had a corporate CEO taking Rs.100 Crore a year salary and saving you Rs.6900 crore ( Assuming a loss of Rs.7000 crore on the interest income ) ? Does it sound ‘Vulgar’ ? And , interestingly, even after giving such a massive loss to the government exchequer . Your minister has the ‘Cheeks’ to make tall statements and he is not accountable . Had it been a corporate CEO issue , he would have been removed ‘unceremoniously’ from the board , and his career would have ended forever !!
Sometime in 2007,i had a chance to meet once of the relatives of your Telecom Minister Mr.A.Raja . His relative asked for 10 lacs to make ten calls on behalf of the Minister to corporates irrespective of the outcome . What a business model ? Dare to act ? Please initiate a CBI inquiry against Mr.Raja’s assets and the truth should be out .
Earlier , you had the license Raj that killed the corporate world . Now you are trying to license the salaries ? Do you want corporate CEO’s to meet the Minister for taking approval of the salary hikes ? So that you all can start making money on corporate salaries ? Have some shame Mr. Minister !
When parties go to collect donations for the elections , why do you not talk about this ‘Vulgar salaries’. Shamelessly, you collect money from corporates and then have the ‘balls’ to talk nonsense !!
Do you also have a figure of the cost of buying an M.P’s vote in the ‘floor test’ of the house ? For an ordinary MLA it is about 50 core !! That’s what we have always heard or read in the news . Does this not sound ‘Vulgar’
When your allies ask for ‘Plum postings’ in Ministries what does it mean ?
Mr. Khurshid, let us check what the Minister’s take as salaries and perks:
• Average minister get’s an M.P.’s basic salary of Rs.1.92 Lac per annum
• Rs.24000 additional
• A Bungalow in Delhi – Costs upwards of Rs. 200 crore at today’s prices and would mean a rental of Rs.60 lacs a year
• A staff strength of 16 for cabinet ministers and 13 for Deputy ministers
• Plus Security Guards
• A fleet of three cars with Petrol ???
• Unlimited domestic and international calls
• Now ‘Cattle Class’ travel and also private jet’s and government choppers used for luxury travel – cost cannot be calculated off hand .
• A MPLAD fund of Rs. 2 crore for expenditure
• Above all . No accountability !!
Do you think that an M.P. can represent 1.9 million people and win an election at these salaries and perks ? unofficially , the average cost of becoming an M.P. is Rs. 20 crore . That is the reason that most of the current lot of M.P’s are either owners of media houses , educations trusts , shady businessmen or sons and daughters of politicians .Pay decent salaries to your M.P’s, rather than being jealous of the corporate salaries !! Corruption in politics is only, because all of us expect a lot from our politicians and they are grossly underpaid . My view point is , that each M.P. represents an average of 1.9 million citizen, and they must be paid a between Rs.5-10 crore per year as salary to get the best out of them.
With 545 M.P’s in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha working for this nation . We still had a staggering fiscal deficit of Rs. 2,10,000 crore in January 2009 and counting . It works out to a loss of Rs.575 cores a day , 23.95 crore per hour or Approx. Rs.40 Lac a minute. Does it not make sense to pay each M.P. a salary of Rs.5 -10 crore a year and get the best brains ? You all are penny wise and pound foolish policy makers !!
What a colossal opportunity loss for India due to ‘mediocre brains’ and ‘low salaries’. Please re-consider the salaries, and we ( at least i would be for sure ! ) would be glad to join !!
I know that recently , Mukesh Bhai decided to take a 60 % cut in his salary so Salmaan Khurshid can pat his back . Don’t take common man for a ride Salmaan Sahab . Your statements are a proof of your getting distracted by handling the ministry of corporate affairs . You should be made either the rural development minister , NAREGA , JNRHM or the minister of telecom . Your mouth would be shut for the next few years !! After all they are ‘Plum postings’ !!
Don’t forget that until 1980’s India was only known for poverty , population & corruption. It is the private sector that has taken India where it is today. Don’t try and meddle with the sector
Though , i must make a point that a very few corporate CEO’s in India take a salary of about Rs.10 crore or more . They are a handful in a land of 1.2 billion . Pray to God that we have more such CEO’s so that India can grow more . I want a wealthy India . You might say it is ‘Vulgar ‘ to think so !
Regret to write to you this email, but can’t stop expressing the thoughts
With no wishes or regards
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
President
Countryfirst
office@rajendragupta.org
President@countryfirst.org
+91-922 33 44 542
C.C.
Mrs.Sonial Gandhi
Dr.Manmohan Singh
Rahul Gandhi
Sharad Pawar
Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi, Chairman , Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance
Sitaram Yechury
A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
Shiv Khera
Ratan Tata
Mukesh Ambani
Anil Ambani
Media
Union Minister for Corporate Affairs
Government of India
New Delhi
Dear Mr. Khurshid ,
I wish to put my view point on your statement made a few days ago on the Vulgar salaries. Since i was travelling so i could not send this earlier .
Recently there has been a lot of hue and cry created due to a statement made by you. Earlier a similar statement had come from Dr. Manmohan Singh. According to you, corporate honchos are drawing salaries that are 12500 times the per capita income of this nation
I am not at all happy with your statement . I recall my letter to Dr. Manmohan Singh in January 09, wherein i requested that the salaries of the public representatives must be made more lucrative to attract the best brains
Also, that I must walk you through some of the realities in the corporate world and the politician’s working so as to make a correct assessment and a logical conclusion.
Firstly , Mr.Salmaan Khurshid , you must question why the governments in the last 62 years have not been able to increase the per capita income in this nation ? If the per capita income would have grown sufficiently , then you would not have a devastating comparison of 1:12500 ? Prime Facie your governments are at a fault for the backward development of this nation on the basis of caste and regions , and focussing on the real issues
Also , that the corporate world have created wealth for the nation and politicians have taken the nation’s wealth to Swiss Banks ? Did you take this into account before your statement ?
Corporates have created millions of Jobs. Be it TATA’s , Birla’s , RPG or Reliance or any big or even the smallest corporate house . These people have a lot of responsibility to deliver & risks to take at the cost of their family and social life. Still of whatever they earn , you ( i mean the government ) takes 50 % as taxes , both direct and indirect taxes. Needless to mention, about the income that government makes from the corporate taxes that the companies pay due to the hard work and intelligence of these executives !! . If they earn Rs.50 crore a year after delivering billion of dollars for the nation’s economy & creating lacs of jobs, what is wrong in that ? You forget that Ambani’s themselves contribute about 10 % to the total tax kitty of this nation ? What an irony that you would pat your back with his 60 % voluntary salary cut . Anyways, he has his net worth in billions of dollars as stakes in RIL etc........ You must think of nationalising his stake in RIL
Did you also take into account the CSR ( Corporate social responsibility ) that the corporates undertake ?
Mr. Minister , did you ever consider that government run companies are ‘Toxic assets’ till your people run it, and they become ‘Exotic assets ’ once they are privatised !! Because when you pay peanuts , you get monkeys !!
Today , you go all over the world and scream of the India’s IT & Telecom numbers . This is done due to the hard work of Private CEO’s and not political monkeys !! You had the monopoly of BSNL & MTNL . What great job have you done despite the monopoly ? You privatised VSNL to TATA’s and it is doing good. You could not make good business out of it. In the 60’s when the private sector wanted to grow you licensed it and even nationalised it, claiming it was the right thing to do . After messing it for 40 years , now you are privatising and you believe that it is the best thing to do ? Are you not fooling the public ? You all are privatising as you don’t have the money to run the government !! That’s the truth .
Let me show you what you politicians do. Here are some examples
Centaur hotel at Mumbai airport was sold to Batra Hospitality for Rs. 85 crore . Without doing anything , Batra Hospitality sold it to Sahara for Rs. 143 Crore within a few weeks . And its occupancy is 100 % at any given point in time. What was your minister doing when Centaur failed to deliver ? What was the basis of his selling to Batra and not to Sahara directly ? Reason out why the hotel was sold at such a low cost to Batra Hospitality ? Government lost due to a minister that was not at all as competent as Batra Hospitality executives or .......................
Your Current Civil Aviation minister had lost the election in 2004, despite that he was made the minister . Under his leadership, Indian airlines would stand to lose Rs.5000 Crores this year . Is this how a corporate CEO performs when he takes the so called ‘Vulgar’ salaries? Give me one example in India where the CEO gives such a humongous loss and still continues !!
India is facing an unprecedented shortage of agriculture products ( grains etc due to erratic and insufficient rains ). Please check the rule book of the FCI (Food corporation of India ) godowns ( warehouses ). 2.5 % of wastage is permissible ( please correct me , i may be wrong on this info). This means for one lac ton of grains , 2500 tons of wastage is permissible !! How efficient is this ? Please privatise and see the magic !!
Mr. Telecom Minister is delaying the allocation of 3G spectrum. It is estimated that the spectrum allocation would earn the government anywhere between Rs.20000 to 35000 crore . Ministry has already delayed the spectrum allocation by more than a year . If he takes it to two years . Just the interest loss to the government on the spectrum fees would be as high as Rs. 7000 crore ? Wish you had a corporate CEO taking Rs.100 Crore a year salary and saving you Rs.6900 crore ( Assuming a loss of Rs.7000 crore on the interest income ) ? Does it sound ‘Vulgar’ ? And , interestingly, even after giving such a massive loss to the government exchequer . Your minister has the ‘Cheeks’ to make tall statements and he is not accountable . Had it been a corporate CEO issue , he would have been removed ‘unceremoniously’ from the board , and his career would have ended forever !!
Sometime in 2007,i had a chance to meet once of the relatives of your Telecom Minister Mr.A.Raja . His relative asked for 10 lacs to make ten calls on behalf of the Minister to corporates irrespective of the outcome . What a business model ? Dare to act ? Please initiate a CBI inquiry against Mr.Raja’s assets and the truth should be out .
Earlier , you had the license Raj that killed the corporate world . Now you are trying to license the salaries ? Do you want corporate CEO’s to meet the Minister for taking approval of the salary hikes ? So that you all can start making money on corporate salaries ? Have some shame Mr. Minister !
When parties go to collect donations for the elections , why do you not talk about this ‘Vulgar salaries’. Shamelessly, you collect money from corporates and then have the ‘balls’ to talk nonsense !!
Do you also have a figure of the cost of buying an M.P’s vote in the ‘floor test’ of the house ? For an ordinary MLA it is about 50 core !! That’s what we have always heard or read in the news . Does this not sound ‘Vulgar’
When your allies ask for ‘Plum postings’ in Ministries what does it mean ?
Mr. Khurshid, let us check what the Minister’s take as salaries and perks:
• Average minister get’s an M.P.’s basic salary of Rs.1.92 Lac per annum
• Rs.24000 additional
• A Bungalow in Delhi – Costs upwards of Rs. 200 crore at today’s prices and would mean a rental of Rs.60 lacs a year
• A staff strength of 16 for cabinet ministers and 13 for Deputy ministers
• Plus Security Guards
• A fleet of three cars with Petrol ???
• Unlimited domestic and international calls
• Now ‘Cattle Class’ travel and also private jet’s and government choppers used for luxury travel – cost cannot be calculated off hand .
• A MPLAD fund of Rs. 2 crore for expenditure
• Above all . No accountability !!
Do you think that an M.P. can represent 1.9 million people and win an election at these salaries and perks ? unofficially , the average cost of becoming an M.P. is Rs. 20 crore . That is the reason that most of the current lot of M.P’s are either owners of media houses , educations trusts , shady businessmen or sons and daughters of politicians .Pay decent salaries to your M.P’s, rather than being jealous of the corporate salaries !! Corruption in politics is only, because all of us expect a lot from our politicians and they are grossly underpaid . My view point is , that each M.P. represents an average of 1.9 million citizen, and they must be paid a between Rs.5-10 crore per year as salary to get the best out of them.
With 545 M.P’s in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha working for this nation . We still had a staggering fiscal deficit of Rs. 2,10,000 crore in January 2009 and counting . It works out to a loss of Rs.575 cores a day , 23.95 crore per hour or Approx. Rs.40 Lac a minute. Does it not make sense to pay each M.P. a salary of Rs.5 -10 crore a year and get the best brains ? You all are penny wise and pound foolish policy makers !!
What a colossal opportunity loss for India due to ‘mediocre brains’ and ‘low salaries’. Please re-consider the salaries, and we ( at least i would be for sure ! ) would be glad to join !!
I know that recently , Mukesh Bhai decided to take a 60 % cut in his salary so Salmaan Khurshid can pat his back . Don’t take common man for a ride Salmaan Sahab . Your statements are a proof of your getting distracted by handling the ministry of corporate affairs . You should be made either the rural development minister , NAREGA , JNRHM or the minister of telecom . Your mouth would be shut for the next few years !! After all they are ‘Plum postings’ !!
Don’t forget that until 1980’s India was only known for poverty , population & corruption. It is the private sector that has taken India where it is today. Don’t try and meddle with the sector
Though , i must make a point that a very few corporate CEO’s in India take a salary of about Rs.10 crore or more . They are a handful in a land of 1.2 billion . Pray to God that we have more such CEO’s so that India can grow more . I want a wealthy India . You might say it is ‘Vulgar ‘ to think so !
Regret to write to you this email, but can’t stop expressing the thoughts
With no wishes or regards
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
President
Countryfirst
office@rajendragupta.org
President@countryfirst.org
+91-922 33 44 542
C.C.
Mrs.Sonial Gandhi
Dr.Manmohan Singh
Rahul Gandhi
Sharad Pawar
Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi, Chairman , Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance
Sitaram Yechury
A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
Shiv Khera
Ratan Tata
Mukesh Ambani
Anil Ambani
Media
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
USA & the New World Order- Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Speech delivered by Rajendra Pratap Gupta at the US-ASIA Business forum at Los Angeles , USA on 12th September 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center , LA, USA
Global Economy – in the new world order
Good Morning ladies and Gentlemen
A very interesting session !!
Like an earth quake changes the topography , the recession changes the eco-geography ( Economic Geography ) . Every time a recession has sets in , the world is put on a reset button. We have seen in the past that the earlier recessions have changed the world order. The 20th century recession changed the world .The supremacy of the British empire ended paving the way for a bi-polar world from a uni-polar world. This recession will shift the world order again . It will now change to a multi-polar world . It is a natural progression from a uni-polar world to a bi-polar world to a multi-polar world
For more than a century since the invention of the Steam Engine, America has been a source of inspiration and awe for the world. Today , it is a source of learning and unlearning . It has shown the difference between being ‘Big’ and being ‘Great’.
Over the years , we have also seen the growing interdependence of the developed economies on the developing world.
We have seen how G-4 nations, the group of four biggest economies have, over a period of time expanded to G-5, G-8, G-14 & now G-20. After the recent crises , India, China & other developing economies have been invited to participate and play a role in revival of the Global economy. We are just seeing the economic evolution , which is similar to the Human evolution. It was earlier the survival of the biggest , then came the survival of the fittest and now will be the survival of the most agile & interdependent economies .
We have seen that the corporations that stood tall for over 150 years, collapsed in weeks last year. It had a cascading effect . Companies that were associated with such global corporations suffered huge losses. Nothing is infallible in this dynamic world. We need to have foresight , intelligence & be responsible to keep standing tall.
I see that there has been a lot of hue and cry on outsourcing, and I don’t understand how can people drive the market by such ad hoc policies ? We must not forget that outsourcing was started to create economic, internal efficiencies and customer focus , and this finally lead to Globalization. Globalization is an irreversible process . It is a fact that market conditions drive the economies today. It is more important to see the index of the stock exchange every day and not the GDP of a nation to gauge the market sentiment and the economic outlook. Today, the companies are not driven by market share but by share market . So are the economies. We must not forget that the developed economies or the world class cities & global conglomerates have been built by immigrants and locals working together . Today, this is more relevant . We have moved to an interdependent World
Out sourcing is market driven and it will always exist, where ever companies & countries want to grow .
This year, for the first time, we have seen that about 20000 of the 65000 H1B VISA’s have not been used out of the yearly quota . This signals a drastic shift . Till last year , the applications were over quota on the first few days of the opening . And there used to be a lucky draw for allocating H1B Visa to applicants in India. Suddenly , there are no takers this year. The very ‘brand America’ is hit badly.
Today, there is one world economy interlinked with three category of customers – developed , developing and under-developed countries
The developed countries have reached the peak and are saturated , and growth is going to be marginal . Investments will not be forth-coming in such a scenario and money invested might not yield good returns . The major corporations from the developed world need to support and get support from the rest of the world for future growth.
Developing countries like India & China support more than 2.4 Billion consumers . A great place !! These customers need more investment, and growth & returns would be fantastic . These countries also need to learn from the experience of the developed world , they need knowledge sharing , technology support & investment to scale up and work with the developed world
Under –developed countries; The more we invest, the more better & bigger markets we will be able to create for developed & developing countries . This is the future
Today , the mix of the world economies present a unique synergy and a tremendous opportunity to work together and progress; much more , much faster. There is no competition at all globally , we just require to understand the growth equation in the world order & invest , collaborate and scale much ahead . Horizons are expanding as we are trying to reach them. The world is not just a market where we represent either sellers or buyers , but it is a family knit more closely than ever before . Globalization is not just irreversible but is also indispensible force that drives us together , ahead . Remember , we are equity partners in the global economic progress where wars drive down our returns and growth increases our returns . We know that , today, business interests drive the political decisions . So we require a more close and a strong business relationship between the developed , developing and the under-developed economies to ensure a lasting peace and progress universally.
For more than a decade , America has been a land of opportunity for the rest of the world . Today, the rest of the world is a land of opportunity for America .
I would like to define the developed , developing and under-developed economies as the past , present and future of the new world order and without past , you cannot plan your future !
Two important points to note :
First : There is a reversal of destinations , innovation has moved out of the developed world , as innovation always follows the struggling race. Today , developing and under-developed world houses the world’s best innovative minds & the real consumers . They are the fertile economies . Let’s accept this fact and shape our vision accordingly. The destinations have reversed in the last 15 years and we need to see them as interdependent destinations
Second: You cannot give up outsourcing and still sell your products and services to the developing and under-developed countries. You need to understand that the developing economies are also the consumers. Today China might be a developing economy but also is the biggest lender to America & has 1.3 billion consumers . If China decided to en-cash all the American bonds , the American economy will come down today evening . But we understand that the valuation of dollar is what holds the value of Chinese economy’s reserves. If China decides to en-cash US securities , Dollar will fall and so both the economies will collapse simultaneously. So today , we are closely inter woven and cannot bully a nation. We are partners in progress and partners in downfall alike . Today no country can be independent in resources to meet its population’s needs without interdependence . We depend on oil from Middle East , manufacturing from China & IT & Knowledge from the eastern countries like India . Indian & Chinese economy suffered a hit due to slowing down of the US economy but do you know why Germany slowed down ? Because the Chinese and Indian companies stopped buying heavy machinery from Germany and so was the case with many such countries . It was not just the US economy driving down production , it was also the developing economies that affected the developed world. We have to understand the fact that, it is a either win –win –win or a lose-lose-lose for the interdependent world in today’s equation. The world has come close together like one family during this crisis . We need to use this as an opportunity to develop more understanding for a longer and a deeper global partnership so that we can avoid future recessions . We are all living in a fully integrated and inter-dependent world. It is like a necklace . One weak link can break the entire chain and the necklace will fall off.
Also, America needs to have a re-think on some of its strategies . It needs to invest more on development of the developing world . Just think $ 568 billion was given as aid in S. Africa for the last 42 years and more than $ 642 Billion is being spent on Iraq war . Today the world could have been a much better place & probably out of recession, had the war money gone to the development of the world’s under-developed and developing economies . These could have been the biggest customers for US companies !! We should not forget the point that the majority of the biggest corporations in the world are from America .
Globalization according to me, means a truly interdependent and an intertwined world.
So, it is clear that we live in a truly interdependent world & that we need more even distribution of opportunity and challenges all over the world , and invest more on economic opportunities than enhancing military capabilities; to share more wealth to a much larger mass of population . Thriving businesses can do that faster without much involvement from the government . The forums like US-ASIA business forums must happen more frequently to develop an understanding , partnerships and facilitate a better flow of resources , ideas , goods & services to all the three categories of customers & vice versa
I would suggest my friend Kevin Kaul to take the US- ASIA business forum to a much broader scale and help develop the understanding of interdependence of the new world order between the past , present & future i.e. developed , developing and under developed economies to bring all round progress for the whole world
Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
515-450-8036 (USA)
+91-922 33 44 542 ( India )
+971-553 121829 (UAE )
Email : office@rajendragupta.org
office.rajendra@gmail.com
Global Economy – in the new world order
Good Morning ladies and Gentlemen
A very interesting session !!
Like an earth quake changes the topography , the recession changes the eco-geography ( Economic Geography ) . Every time a recession has sets in , the world is put on a reset button. We have seen in the past that the earlier recessions have changed the world order. The 20th century recession changed the world .The supremacy of the British empire ended paving the way for a bi-polar world from a uni-polar world. This recession will shift the world order again . It will now change to a multi-polar world . It is a natural progression from a uni-polar world to a bi-polar world to a multi-polar world
For more than a century since the invention of the Steam Engine, America has been a source of inspiration and awe for the world. Today , it is a source of learning and unlearning . It has shown the difference between being ‘Big’ and being ‘Great’.
Over the years , we have also seen the growing interdependence of the developed economies on the developing world.
We have seen how G-4 nations, the group of four biggest economies have, over a period of time expanded to G-5, G-8, G-14 & now G-20. After the recent crises , India, China & other developing economies have been invited to participate and play a role in revival of the Global economy. We are just seeing the economic evolution , which is similar to the Human evolution. It was earlier the survival of the biggest , then came the survival of the fittest and now will be the survival of the most agile & interdependent economies .
We have seen that the corporations that stood tall for over 150 years, collapsed in weeks last year. It had a cascading effect . Companies that were associated with such global corporations suffered huge losses. Nothing is infallible in this dynamic world. We need to have foresight , intelligence & be responsible to keep standing tall.
I see that there has been a lot of hue and cry on outsourcing, and I don’t understand how can people drive the market by such ad hoc policies ? We must not forget that outsourcing was started to create economic, internal efficiencies and customer focus , and this finally lead to Globalization. Globalization is an irreversible process . It is a fact that market conditions drive the economies today. It is more important to see the index of the stock exchange every day and not the GDP of a nation to gauge the market sentiment and the economic outlook. Today, the companies are not driven by market share but by share market . So are the economies. We must not forget that the developed economies or the world class cities & global conglomerates have been built by immigrants and locals working together . Today, this is more relevant . We have moved to an interdependent World
Out sourcing is market driven and it will always exist, where ever companies & countries want to grow .
This year, for the first time, we have seen that about 20000 of the 65000 H1B VISA’s have not been used out of the yearly quota . This signals a drastic shift . Till last year , the applications were over quota on the first few days of the opening . And there used to be a lucky draw for allocating H1B Visa to applicants in India. Suddenly , there are no takers this year. The very ‘brand America’ is hit badly.
Today, there is one world economy interlinked with three category of customers – developed , developing and under-developed countries
The developed countries have reached the peak and are saturated , and growth is going to be marginal . Investments will not be forth-coming in such a scenario and money invested might not yield good returns . The major corporations from the developed world need to support and get support from the rest of the world for future growth.
Developing countries like India & China support more than 2.4 Billion consumers . A great place !! These customers need more investment, and growth & returns would be fantastic . These countries also need to learn from the experience of the developed world , they need knowledge sharing , technology support & investment to scale up and work with the developed world
Under –developed countries; The more we invest, the more better & bigger markets we will be able to create for developed & developing countries . This is the future
Today , the mix of the world economies present a unique synergy and a tremendous opportunity to work together and progress; much more , much faster. There is no competition at all globally , we just require to understand the growth equation in the world order & invest , collaborate and scale much ahead . Horizons are expanding as we are trying to reach them. The world is not just a market where we represent either sellers or buyers , but it is a family knit more closely than ever before . Globalization is not just irreversible but is also indispensible force that drives us together , ahead . Remember , we are equity partners in the global economic progress where wars drive down our returns and growth increases our returns . We know that , today, business interests drive the political decisions . So we require a more close and a strong business relationship between the developed , developing and the under-developed economies to ensure a lasting peace and progress universally.
For more than a decade , America has been a land of opportunity for the rest of the world . Today, the rest of the world is a land of opportunity for America .
I would like to define the developed , developing and under-developed economies as the past , present and future of the new world order and without past , you cannot plan your future !
Two important points to note :
First : There is a reversal of destinations , innovation has moved out of the developed world , as innovation always follows the struggling race. Today , developing and under-developed world houses the world’s best innovative minds & the real consumers . They are the fertile economies . Let’s accept this fact and shape our vision accordingly. The destinations have reversed in the last 15 years and we need to see them as interdependent destinations
Second: You cannot give up outsourcing and still sell your products and services to the developing and under-developed countries. You need to understand that the developing economies are also the consumers. Today China might be a developing economy but also is the biggest lender to America & has 1.3 billion consumers . If China decided to en-cash all the American bonds , the American economy will come down today evening . But we understand that the valuation of dollar is what holds the value of Chinese economy’s reserves. If China decides to en-cash US securities , Dollar will fall and so both the economies will collapse simultaneously. So today , we are closely inter woven and cannot bully a nation. We are partners in progress and partners in downfall alike . Today no country can be independent in resources to meet its population’s needs without interdependence . We depend on oil from Middle East , manufacturing from China & IT & Knowledge from the eastern countries like India . Indian & Chinese economy suffered a hit due to slowing down of the US economy but do you know why Germany slowed down ? Because the Chinese and Indian companies stopped buying heavy machinery from Germany and so was the case with many such countries . It was not just the US economy driving down production , it was also the developing economies that affected the developed world. We have to understand the fact that, it is a either win –win –win or a lose-lose-lose for the interdependent world in today’s equation. The world has come close together like one family during this crisis . We need to use this as an opportunity to develop more understanding for a longer and a deeper global partnership so that we can avoid future recessions . We are all living in a fully integrated and inter-dependent world. It is like a necklace . One weak link can break the entire chain and the necklace will fall off.
Also, America needs to have a re-think on some of its strategies . It needs to invest more on development of the developing world . Just think $ 568 billion was given as aid in S. Africa for the last 42 years and more than $ 642 Billion is being spent on Iraq war . Today the world could have been a much better place & probably out of recession, had the war money gone to the development of the world’s under-developed and developing economies . These could have been the biggest customers for US companies !! We should not forget the point that the majority of the biggest corporations in the world are from America .
Globalization according to me, means a truly interdependent and an intertwined world.
So, it is clear that we live in a truly interdependent world & that we need more even distribution of opportunity and challenges all over the world , and invest more on economic opportunities than enhancing military capabilities; to share more wealth to a much larger mass of population . Thriving businesses can do that faster without much involvement from the government . The forums like US-ASIA business forums must happen more frequently to develop an understanding , partnerships and facilitate a better flow of resources , ideas , goods & services to all the three categories of customers & vice versa
I would suggest my friend Kevin Kaul to take the US- ASIA business forum to a much broader scale and help develop the understanding of interdependence of the new world order between the past , present & future i.e. developed , developing and under developed economies to bring all round progress for the whole world
Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
515-450-8036 (USA)
+91-922 33 44 542 ( India )
+971-553 121829 (UAE )
Email : office@rajendragupta.org
office.rajendra@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Where are we headed - Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Where are we heading as a nation – Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Let’s examine the state of the nation after the election. It is good that the public voted out all the nuisance mongers like Lalu, Mulayam, and Mayawati & Jayalalitha. Public is growing aware and taking an active interest in the governance of the nation.
Let’s see where are we now?
Rural India
NAREGA – This is the over hyped scheme of the regime. Recently, a study revealed interesting statistics about NAREGA.
• Only 10.62 % of the total 33.89 million registered rural households in 2007-08 were provided 100 days of employment
• The national average of the number of work days per household in NAREGA was only 48 in the last fiscal year. Less than 50 % of what was targeted
• 80 % of the of the households said that they did not get the work within the stipulated 15 days time of demand for work in writing , nor were they paid any unemployment allowance
• It was found that only in 42 % of households could women share the one-third of the allocated person-days ( wage days )
• It is also doubtful if any permanent assets can be created with unskilled labour
Agriculture:
Rain gods have shattered the claims that rural India was shining that the rural economy was unaffected by the global crisis. With drought rampant in most parts of the country. It is going to spell disaster. It is really painful to see that the image of the farmer has not changed in India despite 62 years of independence. When you think about the farmer. The image that comes to mind is that of a ‘half clad, dark skinned frail old man looking at the sky covering his fore head with his hand ’.
All our leaders forgot that ‘Farmers of the nation are the fathers of the nation’
Poor planning for farmers have led to a stage that the government had to push over 7 billion dollars to rekindle the rural India.
Prices of the agricultural produce are going sky high, and the grocery items are supposed to reach a new high from the next month onwards when the rainy season is over. Adding to this, about 70 % of the population lives below the poverty line revealed a national study early 2009.
Aviation sector:
Thanks to our efficient Aviation Minister, the biggest and the only government carrier is bankrupt. All the airlines are bleeding. New airports are in bad shape, the waiting time is an average 30 minutes before landing and 20 minutes before takeoff. Air India burnt more than Rs.150 Crores for the waiting time in the air.
Foreign policy:
We are surrounded by hostile neighbors and all the time is spent in fire-fighting with Srilanka, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bangaldesh and Burma. With such ‘un-cooperative’ neighbors. In addition to this, we don’t share the same relations with US & USSR (CIS). USA is openly supporting Pakistan with arms and ammunitions ,and doing a lip service to India.
With such relations, do we not conclude that the foreign policy is a total failure? Our entire diplomatic energy is wasted balancing equations of power
Sharm-Al-Sheikh was another blunder after JLN took Kashmir to United Nations. We must wait and watch as the future unfolds in the Indian Foreign diplomacy.
Defense & Internal Security
Our moon mission is a failure, our fighter planes are being called flying coffins. And there is a serious issue with attracting talent in the army.
Earlier it was Kargil, Kandahar , Kashmir and then it was terror attacks. We are still waiting for the next anniversary of attacks to repeat. We are not prepared to avert any attacks
Healthcare
Neither there is Health nor care. Swine flu is taking its toll and health minister is giving absurd statements. Millions of kids die every year due to malnutrition. 75 % of the population is anemic. The Cardiac diseases and diabetes are taking away millions of Indians away from us every year with India not having an effective coverage system.
Judiciary
With Crores of cases pending in courts , anyone who says he respects judiciary is respecting the inefficient and corrupt and insulting the nation. We can certainly be forced to abide by the decisions of the courts but the question of respecting the judiciary in its current form is not acceptable
Opposition
At this point in time, Indian democracy should have has a strong opposition. Unfortunately, BJP is paying for its misdeeds and image and self projection issues of its top two leaders. It is high time; it shapes up to ensure that it plays the role of an impactful opposition party in India.
Hope that the good sense will prevail
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
office@rajendragupta.org
0922 33 44 542
Let’s examine the state of the nation after the election. It is good that the public voted out all the nuisance mongers like Lalu, Mulayam, and Mayawati & Jayalalitha. Public is growing aware and taking an active interest in the governance of the nation.
Let’s see where are we now?
Rural India
NAREGA – This is the over hyped scheme of the regime. Recently, a study revealed interesting statistics about NAREGA.
• Only 10.62 % of the total 33.89 million registered rural households in 2007-08 were provided 100 days of employment
• The national average of the number of work days per household in NAREGA was only 48 in the last fiscal year. Less than 50 % of what was targeted
• 80 % of the of the households said that they did not get the work within the stipulated 15 days time of demand for work in writing , nor were they paid any unemployment allowance
• It was found that only in 42 % of households could women share the one-third of the allocated person-days ( wage days )
• It is also doubtful if any permanent assets can be created with unskilled labour
Agriculture:
Rain gods have shattered the claims that rural India was shining that the rural economy was unaffected by the global crisis. With drought rampant in most parts of the country. It is going to spell disaster. It is really painful to see that the image of the farmer has not changed in India despite 62 years of independence. When you think about the farmer. The image that comes to mind is that of a ‘half clad, dark skinned frail old man looking at the sky covering his fore head with his hand ’.
All our leaders forgot that ‘Farmers of the nation are the fathers of the nation’
Poor planning for farmers have led to a stage that the government had to push over 7 billion dollars to rekindle the rural India.
Prices of the agricultural produce are going sky high, and the grocery items are supposed to reach a new high from the next month onwards when the rainy season is over. Adding to this, about 70 % of the population lives below the poverty line revealed a national study early 2009.
Aviation sector:
Thanks to our efficient Aviation Minister, the biggest and the only government carrier is bankrupt. All the airlines are bleeding. New airports are in bad shape, the waiting time is an average 30 minutes before landing and 20 minutes before takeoff. Air India burnt more than Rs.150 Crores for the waiting time in the air.
Foreign policy:
We are surrounded by hostile neighbors and all the time is spent in fire-fighting with Srilanka, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bangaldesh and Burma. With such ‘un-cooperative’ neighbors. In addition to this, we don’t share the same relations with US & USSR (CIS). USA is openly supporting Pakistan with arms and ammunitions ,and doing a lip service to India.
With such relations, do we not conclude that the foreign policy is a total failure? Our entire diplomatic energy is wasted balancing equations of power
Sharm-Al-Sheikh was another blunder after JLN took Kashmir to United Nations. We must wait and watch as the future unfolds in the Indian Foreign diplomacy.
Defense & Internal Security
Our moon mission is a failure, our fighter planes are being called flying coffins. And there is a serious issue with attracting talent in the army.
Earlier it was Kargil, Kandahar , Kashmir and then it was terror attacks. We are still waiting for the next anniversary of attacks to repeat. We are not prepared to avert any attacks
Healthcare
Neither there is Health nor care. Swine flu is taking its toll and health minister is giving absurd statements. Millions of kids die every year due to malnutrition. 75 % of the population is anemic. The Cardiac diseases and diabetes are taking away millions of Indians away from us every year with India not having an effective coverage system.
Judiciary
With Crores of cases pending in courts , anyone who says he respects judiciary is respecting the inefficient and corrupt and insulting the nation. We can certainly be forced to abide by the decisions of the courts but the question of respecting the judiciary in its current form is not acceptable
Opposition
At this point in time, Indian democracy should have has a strong opposition. Unfortunately, BJP is paying for its misdeeds and image and self projection issues of its top two leaders. It is high time; it shapes up to ensure that it plays the role of an impactful opposition party in India.
Hope that the good sense will prevail
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
office@rajendragupta.org
0922 33 44 542
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