The Govt drafts Lokpal legislation which is meaningless

When Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi said that corruption has to be removed and she will support the movement started by Anna Hazare I suddenly thought may be she will be instrumental in making this legislation a reality. But Congress party doesn't seem to show any interest. It is shocking that Manmohan Singh whose honesty has never been questioned is now being called honest king of a corrupt government. He doesn't even express how his own government's anti-corruption legislation is toothless. Ask a common literate man to read the draft given by the Government and he/she will just say it is -"NONSENSE".

Read govt's version here.

As per govt, Lokpal will

a) Not have police powers, cannot file a FIR and will be an advisory body. 

Then why establish it? The Central Vigilance Commission is already there doing this job and advises government to act on it, but the Govt never acts.

b) Only if Lok Sabha speaker/Rajya Sabha Chairman gave permission action would be taken against the corrupt MP's or MLA's:

This is the funniest part. How can the speaker decide on if action has to be taken against a MP or not? Will the speaker's judgement be so trustworthy? Never. This is the most nonsensical part of the legislation.

c) People cannot file complaints to the Lok Pal.

For whom is this Lokpal? For people or the government's corrupt officers to protect themselves? The government's logic is people might misuse the lok pal. How can the government conclude this?

d) CBI and Lokpall will not be inter connected.

Then CBI which is already corrupt will continue to promote corruption and Lokpal would not be able to do anything.

e) Punishment is 6 months to 7 years and not necessarily all the money/assets will be seized/recovered:

Which means a politician will be ready to go to jail, but his assets will be with him even after he comes back from jail. This is more crap than Ekta Kapoor's crappy serials. How can a honest PM accept for a legislation like this, especially someone who opened up this country for reforms.

f) Lokpal won't be applicable for cases against judges:

This is a tricky part and I agree with the Govt's view that if judges are brought under Lokpal who will investigate against Lok pal itself if it turns corrupt? Not involving judiciary is not as much a big concern than not taking effective action against MLA, MP and bureaucrats.

g) The PM cannot be investigated in the matters related to foreign affairs, defense and security until the PM demits office.

This is understandable and is not a big issue. Really for the public - the "aam aadmi" for which this Govt works as per the claim, the PM is not a problem. The local bureaucrats, MLA, MP's are the problem. Hence, Anna Hazare would do a big mistake if he breaks talks with the Govt over this reason. This can be handled even at a later point after the legislation is brought in. Think of it - How many Indians feel any difference even with a honest PM like Singh? Does a honest PM make any difference? 

The PM is not a reason to worry, but the local MLA definitely is. 

Anna Hazare's version of Lokpal contains provisions that will create a super body that will consume all major investigative agencies and will apply to everyone. This is good, however a super body means that powers must be carefully defined.

I seriously fail to understand how can the Congress party even propose such a legislation which would not do anything. And I can't believe even if this legislation gets passed, it will enthuse people if any.

The tragedy of the nation is that the principal opposition party neither indulges nor inspires this nation as to how they would like the Lokpal.

It looks like India need of a strong leader who can act and deliver.

The future of Rahul Gandhi's strategies

Indian media is known to hype matters on several issues much like international media. For the past few years, it has been over hyping Rahul Gandhi and his future. No one knows if this over hype may actually become reality and one day we see Rahul Gandhi as the PM.

However, as a citizen Rahul Gandhi must do more than held press conferences or sleeping in Dalits homes. India is not 1970 where these things translated into sympathy and people voted that person. In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamilnadu Rahul tried to deliver the power of youth, but failed miserably. If present India is to this state, it owes a lot to Gandhi family for all good and bad reasons. If his predecessors - Rajiv, Indira and Nehru did a lot good to this nation, they did far worse when it came to corruption and lack of transparency in governance and even eliminating poverty.

Recently, Rahul Gandhi made this remark - "I have seen the violence unleashed on your men and women. By seeing what has happened here, I feel ashamed to be an Indian. The state government is tormenting its own people. I was travelling with the Assistant District Magistrate and he told me that it is like Naxalism has reached here" (click here)."

I am surprised and shocked at this naive statement made by him. He made this when he declared that in Bhatta Parsaul village in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where farmers were protesting against land acquisition for Yamuna Expressway. He said women were raped and farmers were killed who were protesting. He showed a site of bodies and said they were buried there. When a team of forensics held the investigation they found everything was false. The ashes contained that of animals and not that of human flesh (Link).

Why did Rahul Gandhi do this? Simply because it is elections time in 2012 and he wants Congress to win UP state. Winning this state paves the way for a clear majority Congress at the Centre. Remember Congress lost all the Muslim and Hindu vote banks in 1992 after the Babri Masjid Demolition and never has Congress recovered from it again till now.

Rahul tried to imitate what Indira Gandhi did in the late 1970 when she rode an elephant and visited Belchi village and highlighted that the Central Govt is insensitive to the atrocities on Dalits and she came back as PM. But India is not the same as it was in 1970. Today, people look for leaders who can think out of the box solutions to solve India's problems.

Rahul further declared he would bring in Land Acquisition Bill in monsoon session of Parliament this year and get it  passed.

Here is a series of questions to him:

• Why didn't Rahul protest like this when farmers were shot in Nandigram and Singur for Tata's project by the West Bengal Left Govt who was an ally with Congress at the Centre? Why didn't he come out on the streets and say - "I am ashamed to be a part of the Central Govt where one of my allies can order such a shootout on farmers who do not want to give up the land". 
• Why doesn't Rahul Gandhi feel ashamed that despite the slogans of "Garibi Hatao" in 1970 by Indira Gandhi, poverty is still 30% in India? 
• Why doesn't Rahul Gandhi feel ashamed at his own party government in Delhi? Why? Every other day a woman is raped in Delhi. No one is concerned - neither the Govt led by a woman herself Sheila Dikshit or the party. I am ashamed to see the capital city as "rape" capital. I am ashamed that a woman is either kidnapped, raped or killed in Delhi and the govt doesn't act over it. If the capital can't be safe, how can India be which is ruled by his party for the past 7 successive years and almost 50 years since Independence. 
• How can his party support Mayawati and remove her name in CBI's list of investigations and later blame her for all the state govt's problems?
• This country was ruled for a full term by the non-Congress PM Atal Vajpayee for just 7 years. So, why blame any other party or regional party for the failure of India's problems? Congress party is not the same anymore which gave us the Independence. Rahul must re-invent Congress's vision before he can show he can make a difference to this country.
• Why didn't you protest when farmers in Vidharbha in Maharashtra (which is also being ruled by Congress for the past 10 years) committed suicide for not enough support from the state Govt? You were considered the crown prince of India since then.
• Why is that the Land Acquisition Act (which was so much in the mind of the PM Singh to get it passed way back in 2004) has not been passed? It should have been passed right after farmers were shot by Left Govt in West Bengal. Only for the sake of vote bank politics the Congress govt from 2004-09 was silent.
• Why don't you force the govt and your party to take a strong action against all the black money lying abroad which could be brought back.

Rahul Gandhi, definitely, has the zeal and age as a factor on his side. However, even before you are elected you you need to convince India why it should buy your speeches? Why your silence on several matters that are troubling "aam aadmi" of which you represent is so high? Why don't you speak out what your solution is to the problems of India.

It is not as if BJP is crystal clear on corruption and issues of the country. They too fail to give a vision as to how they would sort out issues like Land Acquisition and corruption. However, it is to the credit of the Opposition led by Left and BJP that Congress govt was brought on its knees and exposed such large scale corruption never seen in India before. There is a lot for the present Govt to learn from Land Acquisition Acts in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. There is a lot that the present Govt can learn from Right to Service Acts passed in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. They are simple, but are proving to be effective solutions.

Indians know that they are growing. 8-9% growth is not alone going to help Congress. There are matters far troublesome which no one wants to address. In a scenario like this I would say Rahul's strategies have clearly failed.

There is a far more social revolution India needs and that can happen only if social problems are addressed through an economic reform, which is not impossible. It just requires an iron will.

The New Delhi Airport Express link opens with check in facility

In my last article (CLICK HERE) about the New Delhi Airport Express link I had mentioned that this is going to be one of its kind in India. It missed its deadline in Sept 2010 and finally opened in Feb 2011. The reviews have been good if not great and there are many plans drawn to improve the experience of this express link.

It is beyond doubt that this is helping a lot of commuters who want to reach the airport from the heart of the city or Delhi-Gurgaon expressway area (NH-8). This train connects the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in 18 minutes and the train runs with a speed of 135 km/hr. The total length = 22.7 km of which 15.7 km is underground and the rest elevated.

From the NEW DELHI RAILWAY STATION to the airport the cost is Rs.80/- and upto Dwarka Sector 21 is Rs.100/-. The frequency is 20 minutes and it runs from 5 am to 11 pm.

And finally, one can check in luggages at New Delhi Station and Shivaji Stadium. For more, one can visit this site of Delhi Airport express.

Remember: If you are a person who drives on Delhi's roads you would better appreciate the massive importance this link would give you instead of taking 45-60 minutes to reach the airport from the heart of the city through road.

The stations also show the flight timings. These stations are guarded by Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF). This was done after hectic discussions with Ministry of Home Affairs.

Flip side:

1) Sign boards need to be improved.
2) Check in counters are less in number
3) Ridership is 8000 per day which is low compared to the intended capacity.

72 year old man forces Government to act against corruption

Every layman on the streets of India – be it literate or illiterate can talk lengths and depths about corruption in India and how it affects him/her. For almost 40 years, the anti-corruption bill has been put on the backburner and every time a weak version of it had been introduced in Parliament. Every time it had been defeated and no urgency was shown either by Congress or BJP. 

The bills introduced in 1996, 1998 and 2001 included the PM also subject to scrutiny. However, after Manmohan Singh came in, the PM was removed from its ambit (No one knows why). Irrespective of Congress or BJP the bill has not been taken seriously with respect to implementation. Every time the bill lapsed and was sent to further review. Already 3 such committees have studied and modified the bill, but in vain.

Existing Mechanism:

Anybody (any govt officer) can be booked under Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, but requires state/central government permission to drag the person to court. So, essentially a citizen can only expose (that too if the citizen is still alive after exposing), but no legal mechanism be easily started. Simply put - the Congress or BJP would ask ministers to resign and keep on boasting about taking actions.

With the government reeling under multiple scams (2G, ISRO-Antrix, Commonwealth, cash-for-votes, Adarsh society, IPL, Quatrochi, Central Vigilance Commission appointment of Thomas - wonder how can so many scams emerge and PM doesn't even know about it. It is carelessness and abysmal leadership by a clean PM) running into 16 times India’s current deficit, the people now have very thin line of patience. 

In early 2000, the Lokayukta was set up in 18 states but no powers were given to prosecute the officers. Today, only Karnataka has a fairly successful Lokayukta. However, its powers of prosecution have never been fully sanctioned. This has made the body meaningless. Yes, it does expose officers, but who wants just that.

What’s going on now?

A trigger was just required. It finally took 72 year old Anna Hazare to sit on a fast and force the PM to draft the bill by a committee consisting of 50% government officials and 50% civil society members.

The reason: No parliament member alone can draft the bill which could slit his own throat when he/she is involved in corruption. The current bill (also known as Govt version of Lokpal bill has loopholes) mainly creates the body and exposes officers but doesn’t give powers to prosecute and drag officers to court. Hence, a set of people namely – Santosh Hegge (Former Supreme court justice and currently Karnataka’s lokayukta chief), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist) drafted the JAN LOK PAL Bill whose salient features include:

• CBI, CVC will be merged into this agency.
• The body will be independent of judiciary, executive and legislature just like Election Commission.
• The body will have a citizen forum where public an express grievances/complaints and the officers have to execute and punish the guilty within 2 years of the report filed.
• The body also would protect the whistleblowers.
• All property and assets would be seized from the accused once proven guilty.

Joining Anna Hazare was retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi whom we all know and Swami Agnivesh. No politician was allowed to share the dias with Anna. Slowly, a lot of RTI activists, “India against corruption” NGO activists began to join. Facebook, Twitter, blogs were soon flooded with support for Anna. 4.3 million people joined to support in just 3 days!!!!

People joined the movement and lit candles at the India Gate at the very place where people celebrated at midnight cheering Team India for winning the WORLD CUP CRICKET last week. Protests, rallies were held in various cities – Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and many others.

Have a look at how bollywood fraternity joined – Farah Khan, Anupam Kher, Hritik Rshan, Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher, Diya Mirza, Juhi Chawla, Madhur Bhandarkar and many more expressed their support either by physically joining the protest or tweeting and attracting lots of fans and citizens. The movement spread even to New York city where there is going to be a huge gathering of Indians on April 9^th at Times Square.

THIS IS AN UNPRECENTED MOVEMENT. The last time such a movement happened was when Mumbai witnessed 26/11. The people seriously wanted safety and Chidambaram has done a remarkable job by personally monitoring the security and making the new body National Investigative Agency to finally look into all matters of this kind. Hope we get some equally good output from the government this time too.

The Govt was forced now to accept a demand and make Santosh Hegde, Anna, Kejriwal to form members of the committee which will be co chaired by Pranab Mukherjee (Finance Minister) to finalize the bill.

I hope that a real good legislation comes out quickly and gets passed quickly. If it doesn’t people should continue their agitation and not stop. This revolution is a must before we can really overtake the world.

The following questions, however, must clearly be legislated before the bill is passed:

1)      How will this anti-corruption body be constituted?

2)      Who would be elected?

3)      How will he be elected? Will there be a fixed term?

4)      What qualification is necessary for the members?

5)      How independently can they function?

6)      What will happen to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and CBI?

7)      What if this LokAyukta becomes corrupt?

The classic example is that CBI has been misused over and over by everyone in power and the Karnataka Lokayukta has not been given powers to act against corrupt officials. The Karnataka govt which wants to support Anna Hazare should first enact and give powers to Lokayukta. It is only then the CM would set a precedent.

It is very important that the govt considers who would be called a whistleblower and how is he protected if he is involved in exposing corrupt official.

Even if the above questions are not answered, clearly this movement shows there is impatience and growing anger against corruption in India.

India becomes world's 3rd largest SMALL CAR MANUFACTURER

It is 2011 now. Try watching any old Hindi movies of 70's and 80's. You will notice 2 standard cars on an average - Ambassador and Fiat. These were the only 2 cars one could possess until the entry of Suzuki (Maruti) in 80's. Thanks to Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. He insisted that a common man must have a car and Indira Gandhi allowed for the collaboration of Suzuki with Indian govt thus creating the first auto revolution in India.

Post liberalization, auto production has been growing, but in the latter half of the 2000 decade, car production has tremendously increased. Today, on Indian roads, you will find an amazing variety of cars from Maruti to Nissan, from Volkswagen to BMW. The people have so many choices that if you still possess the Maruti Esteem, please think of synchronizing with the market. It is very old to have it!!

Have a look at some incredible statistics: (Source1 and Source2).

 

There are about 13 foreign companies (BMW, Fiat, Ford, GM, Honda, Hundai, Benz, Mitsubushi, Nisan,Toyota etc), 6 domestic companies (Tata, Chinkara, Mahindra, etc) involved in car production in India thereby heating up the market.

Car manufacturing total units as per 2009:(Source)

BIGGEST ADVANTAGE INDIA HAS:

• Cheap and skilled labor. Almost 10-15% costs lesser against US and Europe - a huge gain for multi national companies
• Huge market size.
• The Auto Policy of 2002 that allows foreign companies to directly assemble/manufacture cars instead of collaboration route with local companies which China mandates.
• Volkswagen, Hyundai, Nissan, Mitsubushi are investing in heavy R&D (research and development) to develop small cars customized to Indian roads. Huge job opportunities to people.
• Hyundai cars made in India are a huge hit in Russia, Taiwan, Latin America and Africa.
• Indian tractors are a huge hit in the US.  US is still the largest market for Indian tractors.
• Pune has emerged as the hub of research of tractors mainly led by Mahindra and Mahindra and Deere
• The Govt's new policy of emission standards - Bharat Stage III that is pressurizing car manufacturers to produce fuel-efficient and low emission output cars.
• The growing number of RURAL PEOPLE PURCHASING CARS. It shows signs of a growing urban class.
• An urban middle class of 300 million - almost 1/3rd of the population.
• Banks making car loans easier - from 17% interest rate to 13-14% interest rate. (It is now bound to increase because of inflation).
• Reduced costs of raw materials - almost 11% cheaper than US or Europe.
• Lower manufacturing tax (8% excise duty).
• Small cars suit most people because of crunching parking spaces and suits most middle class homes with respect to price/cost.
• Unlike China which has been always having issues with non-safety components, The Auto Policy of India ensures that the foreign companies are putting the best practices and components in cars. Shocked about China...It is true....This is from CHINA DAILY newspaper
• The cost of steel in India is one of the cheapest in the world.

INDIA OVERTAKES CHINA IN CAR EXPORTS:

Between 2008-2010 when the Europe and the US car companies where drowning in recession, India overtook China in car exports. Which means cars manufactured in India were exported in huge numbers than China. Here's the bloomberg report and times of india news confirming this. The biggest bet India has taken is that people will continue to buy small cars and hence the demand will always be there. However, we don't know how far will we go, though the future looks optimistic. The rising inflation which is burning the pockets of the common man, and huge deficit in city roads (highways are expanding) are continuing to be show stoppers for zooming car sales.

A bloomberg report which was published in Sept 2010 says that in less than 10 years sales of Mercedes Benz in India is going to be that of U.K as the growing number of millionaires are on the rise in India.

Hynudai exports 50% of its cars produced in India. It's i-20 and i-10 models are a huge hit overseas. Even several models of Maruti are being produced only for the purpose of exports.

Nissan expects to export 250,000 cars by the end of 2011. Fiat is planning to get $1 billion worth of auto components from India.

Britain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and South Africa are countries that received exports worth $4.5 billion last year. This year it is expected to jump to $12 billion.

TATA NANO makes headlines in the US and forces China to invent such a vehicle.

Tata Nano is truly India's invention. With almost 10 patents in its favor, Nano is making inroads. However, due to the entry of many other companies giving several luxury features in cars, and production not matching the demand quickly, Nano sales have been going down. The management is aggressively marketing Nano by offering a lot of incentives and warranties.

Looking at the new research output which India has given to the world, China invented a similar one - Jiangnan Alto in Aug 2010.

INDIAN CARS - TRULY MADE BY INDIAN CAR COMPANIES - A HUGE HIT OVERSEAS:

Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata are truly most successful indigenous car production companies of India. The new electric car by TATA INDICA called VISTA is a huge hit in Bangkok. It promises 200 km on a single charge and acceleration of 0 to 100 km in 10 seconds. Nano, Vista and Indigo Manza are being exported to Mexico, Brazil. The order is for 100,000 cars. The demand may go up to 300,000. Here's the livemint article.

Mahindra's diesel trucks are going to hit US roads - Made in India, Drive in America. As it is tractors are the largest exported item to US market. The target is to capture at least 5% of US market. If this happens on a full fledged scale, it is a huge phi-lip to Indian auto industry.

Mahindra's jeeps run on ITALY's roads. Click here for the picture.

But, what is the share of India's exports on a global scale?

It is 1%, which is a very small number, but in less than 5 years, the industry expects to go up to 3% and if that happens then the expectations would be beaten and not just met.

Future Outlook:

The future of auto industry is very positive. Just to gauge this statement, look at the following developments happening. The list below is just some. Many more will happen.

• Mini Cooper to hit Indian roads soon.
• Bridgestone and JK Tyres plan to set up plants to manufacture tyres in Indore and Pune.They plan to produce 10,000 units of passenger tyres per day by 2020.
• Harley Davidson sets up a plant in Haryana to manufacture 2 wheelers.
• GM begins simultaneous production of petrol and diesel cars in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• 101 BMW's sold in a single day in Aurangabad (Maharashtra).
• Volkswagen and Toyota are bringing out their own newly designed cars - Made in India - exclusively for Indian roads with a price tag of Rs.6 lakh.
• Hyundai is making profits - at least 50% by exporting cars made in India.
• US still remains the largest destination for exporting Indian made tractors.
• Here's the list of 10 hot cars being launched this year with its features.

Challenges before India's auto growth

• It is very important that production of components keeps pace with demand. 
• Power supply shortages
• Infrastructure bottlenecks
• More emphasis on R&D and management skills
• Customer service skills and more customer friendly measures/discounts.
• More emphasis that needs to be given to safety and fuel-efficiency.
• It is very important that Indian auto industry starts investing in bringing more hybrid vehicles, vehicles which run on green energy. This is very crucial.

What are the bad effects of such an unprecedented growth?

• Because of such an exponential growth, the number of cars on the road have increased leading to traffic mess in cities.
• The traffic management is getting more challenging.
• More parking spaces and open areas are required which puts a lot of stress on cities and highways.
• Safety could be a big issue if the small car manufacturers do not take adequate measures to suit Indian roads where driving is a hell.

THE IMPACT OF CAR PRODUCTION ON THE ECONOMY:

This booming auto industry is changing the economic landscape of India. Aurangabad was a sleeping city in the past decade. Now with BMW setting up plant, Aurangabad is booming. So many malls are being set up, apartments are being built, real estate is heating up, jobs are being created.

Another example is how Kanchipuram has changed. Earlier known for temples and sarees, it is now a huge production base for Hyundai. Read this BBC article that captures the details of this news item where 300,000 cars are produced annually.

Chennai has become DETROIT OF INDIA. Chennai is home to

• 5 global car majors production facilities.
• 2 commercial vehicle production facilities.
• 3 earth moving companies.
• tyre major and 100 major auto component manufacturing companies.
• 1.28 million cars are produced from this city (in the region Tiruvalluvar to Maraimalainagar)
• It is home to National Automobile Testing center.

More can be read from this WASHINGTON JOURNAL - A NEW DETROIT RISES IN THE SOUTH.
Another interesting newspaper article is NEW YORK TIMES - MORE CARS COMING FROM INDIA.

According to industry experts, 22 million jobs are created till date because of the growing auto industry. Halol in Gujarat has now become the new industrial hot bed after Nano plant has been set up. Many more companies are targetting the same place to compete with Tata.

Tier-II and Tier-III cities are increasingly being penetrated so that car manufacturers can reach semi-urban and rural areas. 

At present 5% of India's GDP comes from auto sector which is significant with respect to industrial contribution which is about 20%.. 17% of Indirect taxes to Govt comes from this industry.

I hope that industry sets new benchmarks in automobile industry and become a major contributor to the Rising India story.

Why have onion prices skyrocketed? Solution?

Onion is one of the most common vegetables used in every household - be it in a poor, middle class or rich family. For everything onion is used. The rising onion prices brought down the government of Delhi headed by Sushma Swaraj in 1998.  Exactly last year around this time, I had written an interesting and a well researched article - Why vegetable prices are soaring? Read this article just to refresh the mind and it would be easy to follow the content below.

This is what the most intelligent political minister (apart from Manmohan Singh whose intelligence is never allowed to come out free and fairly) in the current Government led by Congress who is also a Harvard university graduate  gave a statement like this.

"Inflation is high, food inflation is very high... we are not sure whether we have all the tools in hands to control food inflation,"

It is like saying in Hindi - "Saawan jo aag lagaaye use kaun bhujaaye" - i.e If rain which is supposed to extinguish fire itself sets fire, then who is going to extinguish it? If a govt which claims that it is AAM AADMI allows the prices to escalate and then say they have no tools to control, who will help the AAM AADMI? While it is true that there is no single formula to contain inflation, the Govt can do several things to ensure that the prices are in check. Simply raiding on hoarders, cracking down on speculators won't work. How can we convincingly say that the real culprits are being booked for? Several times there is a nexus between the officials and the hoarders and hence it is not effective.  Banning exports is a tried and tested idea.

None of these are able to bring down the prices of onion. In the wholesale market, people purchased onions at Rs. 34/- while from the retail at Rs.80/- What a difference. The margin is more than 120%. What is causing this difference? The profit margin can be at max 30% but not 120%. Who is eating away the money? Why are consumers helpless?

If you carefully analyze my earlier posted article on "Why vegetables prices are soaring high?", it would be aptly clear that there is no regulation on how prices can be increased and decreased. Anyone sets arbitrary prices and that penetrates the market ultimately making the consumer suffer. The farmer never gets the right money. The consumer ends up paying entirely jacked up price. 

The middle layer which consists of hoarders, speculators, commission agents really capture the market. The commission agents get almost 6% paid in several markets in Delhi. These commission agents bring the wholesaler to suppliers and get the profit. In Bangalore, several truck load of onions were auctioned in the market. Here's an article that explains how onions were auctioned in markets in Bangalore. 

When prices dip below, the farmers strike. The middlemen say they are not be blamed. This has distorted the demand supply chain. The govt simply says due to excess rains onions were destroyed in Maharashtra, but couldn't the Govt take enough steps? It simply will not. As long as our system depends on the Govt to deliver, we will fail to see it.

Here's another article proving that hoarders control the prices and consumers are hurt the most.

Here's the chart printed in Times of India newspaper indicating the profit margins made in different cities.

So, what's the solution?

It's high time that government gives a serious thought to contract farming and/or allow FDI in retail. In contract farming there is usually a legal agreement between companies/corporates and the farmers. It works both ways - companies assure good prices and farmers assure regular supply. The classic case is how GUJARAT FARMERS are progressing due to contract farming in cotton. Another classic case is PUNJAB farmers and Pepsico have joined hands and are making farmers rich, spurring rural growth.

If just one or 2 companies enter the market, they can create a monopoly. However, if several companies come into the focus, prices will have to come down for each of them to survive.  There is no way for Govt to regulate the prices and assure right prices to farmers through the APMC yards or mandis. These are to protect the farmers, but they are destroying them. 

These APMC yards and government godowns are not good enough to store any vegetables or any farm products. Contract farming will ensure that the supplies are stored and processed correctly. 

What makes contract farming more productive is that companies will emphasize the need for using efficient water irrigation techniques, better seed inputs, fertilizers and guide the farmers. These ensure that the crops are healthy and fetch high value. The knowledge imparted to farmers is immense that they can give it to the next generation while the market and the consumer benefit the most. 

Just think - When BSNL had monopoly over telecom industry, what service and quality did we get? The moment Spice, Vodafone, Airtel and several such companies came into the market, the prices dropped so low that India perhaps has the lowest cellphone tariffs in the world. It is another matter that our broadband hasn't caught up that much. That day is also not far when even this problem will slowly fade away.

There are people who will always complain against capitalization of agriculture. The fact is the existing system is in no way better and is only causing immense distress to the farmer and the consumer. Regulation can be done, but the initiative has to be taken. Convince me as to how the existing system is helping the farmer, forget the AAM AADMI. 

Will someone in the govt listen? Definitely, "No". This is because Congress is assured that it will win the next elections when Rahul Gandhi will become the PM. There is an over confidence and complacency set in the minds of the Congress. The opposition BJP must support contract farming as it allows in its own state of Gujarat and Punjab. It should not catch in votes of the people who will vote against contract farming.

The Govt is busy in drafting National Food Security Act. What use will such an act do if we don't plug the loopholes in our transportation and distribution mechanism of food? There is no denying that Congress party built this country, but will it allow to ruin now?

The AAM AADMI wants solutions. The growing Indian market requires urgently these bold steps. It is important to remove the layer of immense profiteering by several hoarders, middlemen and commission agents.

It simply is pinching the pockets of every Indian. The rising prices of onions has made onion items removed from several restaurants both in Bangalore and Mumbai. WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR THIS. They are charging extra if a person orders Onion Dosa, Onion Sambar etc. It looks like everyone has to jump to the Jain diet of not having onions and garlic.

The corruption termite bites India big time

The corruption termite has bit and continues to bite India big time. This time it is the largest in money post independence - $40 billion. Unfortunately, it is Congress again at the Center of the controversy. In 1980's corruption in Bofors case made Congress lose power. In 1996, P,V. Narasimha Rao corruption cases made Congress lose power. Now, Manmohan Singh stands to lose power. However, a weak BJP is no threat to Congress. As long as journalists like  Sheela Bhatt, Vir Sanghvi - all these continue to idolize Congress and claim that is the only party of governance, Congress will be the darling. It is not as if BJP is clean as it claims.  The hope Manmohan Singh being the PM which so far lit up the heart of an Indian is today shut off. I am amazed at how Dr. Singh could not act and allowed his government to run like that of Narasimha Rao govt.

First, it was the CWG games scam, then came housing scam - how many more to go - Mr. Singh.? The real India has 2 sides. On one hand, it is growing like never before with 9% growth and all the world turned towards us, and on the other hand the corruption continues to grow and swell too.

The intention of writing this article is to give readers a chance to understand how Manmohan Singh allowed the biggest corruption to take place under him and he did not act at all. His deafening silence is admission of his guilt. PM is not corrupt, but by not acting against the corrupt (despite 3 times notice served to A. Raja), he admits his guilt. Let us study how all it happened in simple terms.

First, prior to A. Raja becoming the Telecom Minister, the policy of First come first serve basis (FCFS) was followed to allot new entrants who wanted to provide cell phone service. Basically, according to FCFS policy, the date of application by the new entrant was the criteria in processing the application. Based on the dates, all the entrants/bidders were auctioned as per the prevailing market price of the spectrum. 

However, page 66 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report shows how Raja changed the system of FCFS without the approval of The Cabinet, Telecom Regulatroy Authority of India (TRAI), Finance Ministry  and Empowered Group of Ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee. He used the criteria of agreement to Letter of Intent (LoI) as the criteria instead of the application date. The letter of Intent (LoI) is the letter given by the Telecom ministry as a document of agreement stating that the operator can provide the service after paying the respective fees. Before giving any LoI, the Minister studies the company profile, takes the recommendations of TRAI and Department of Telecommunications (DoT). All these rules were flouted by A. Raja

Let's look back as how events unfolded. 

Around June 2007, 575 applications were received who wanted to buy 2G spectrum to provide cell phone service in the booming telecom market in India. At that time the subscriber base had jumped to 350 million from just 4 million in 2001. Although 575 applications were received the spectrum was scarce and only 150 applicants could be alloted the spectrum. However, A Raja chose to play with the system and he decided to allot the spectrum to only those companies which he had prior contacts with. Real estate companies which had no prior telecom experience started applying. The queue was getting formed illegally and Raja now decided to favor some companies over the other. Spice, Idea who were waiting to provide services in Delhi and Maharashtra and applied in 2006 got pushed to the end while SWAN and UNITECH who applied in 2008 got shortlisted. The spectrum was sold to them at 2001 prices instead of the current market price.

When this came to the notice and Raja had still not issued the LoI, The DoT sent a letter on Oct 27, 2007 asking Raja to follow the auction mechanism. 

The PM Manmohan Singh also shot a letter on Nov 2, 2007 asking Raja to follow the transparent auctioning mechanism. However, Raja continued to write tricky and clever detailed letter - that following such a mechanism is harmful to telecom sector.

Dec 26, 2007 - The PM acknowledges receiving the letter and did not even send an objectionable letter mainly because DMK pressurized the PM not to act - A brazen act of cowardice. I question Sonia Gandhi as to why and how she could tolerate all this. This is where PM's mistake lies.

Dec 27, 2007 - DoT warns Raja again on issuing LoI to the new companies and asking to stop violating all norms that were in the rule book. 

Dec 31, 2007 - Finance Secretary retired and the LoI given by Raja to Finance Ministry to sign did not get approved.

By Jan 10th, 2008 - the new Finance Secretary is brought in and the LoI's signed. This was not brought to the notice of Finance Ministry or even the EGOM headed by Pranab Mukherjee taking everyone by surprise.

How did this decision go through? How could Manmohan never follow up this? Was he under constant pressure from DMK? What about Sonia Gandhi. It can't just happen that she is not aware of these things. How could she turn a blind eye? 

Despite giving licenses to 125 companies, only 35 operate till now. The remaining are not even in the market. So, who were these companies who were given spectrum and the spectrum at 2001 prices? Who is accountable for this money which runs to 1.76 lakh crores or $40 BILLION - enough to fund the entire country's defense, road and pro-poor schemes for almost 4 years.

This is how CAG report says: For more, also read this:

The entire process of allocation of UAS (Unified Access Service) licences lacked transparency and was undertaken in an arbitrary, unfair and inequitable manner. The Hon'ble Prime Minister had stressed on the need for a fair and transparent allocation of spectrum, and the ministry of finance had sought for the decision regarding spectrum pricing to be considered by an EGoM. Brushing aside their concerns and advices, DoT , in 2008, proceeded to issue 122 new licences for 2G spectrum at 2001 prices, by flouting every canon of financial propriety, rules and procedures," the 77-page report says. 
Source: Times of India - click here

When it so happened that 2 companies SWAN and UNITECH declared that they sold 45% and 60% of their stake to Etislaat and Telenor respectively - the TRAI and the CAG were alarmed to see that without a single customer the spectrum that they purchased was sold to foreign companies. The profit these companies made is the amount that had to be paid to the Govt. Many of the recipients of the  spectrum are fictitious companies. Many of them didn't even qualify for bidding.

The Supreme court came down heavily on Mr.Singh and asked him why he did not bother to answer the PIL filed by Subramanyam Swamy and why he acknowledged Raja's letter. CLICK HERE


The PM doesn't want to answer. Can his silence mean his guilt? Clearly, Manmohan has failed. His responsibility to act has failed and his intellect is of no use to either this country or himself. How can the media never blame him for anything? Sonia Gandhi asks ministers to resign and questions BJP that they cannot do the same. If BJP cannot do the same, it is their problem. But as a lady whom the entire media calls the Goddess - a saint - durga maata (I hate such journalists who idolize Sonia. I will understand Indira, but never Sonia. Sonia doesn't even come 1% close to Indira Gandhi's life style), what is she doing to prevent corruption in the country. It is time for you to act Madam, not to accuse BJP. Talk what you would do against these people. Merely, resignations are not going to help. A month ago, she gave a speech (click here) admitting that corruption has reached every sphere of India and she is worried about it. Does she forget that culture of corruption started during the Gandhi family that ruled this country for 50 years? Was it not her husband Rajiv Gandhi who had been involved in Bofors scam and yet no conviction has been made. For 5 years that Congress was in power during Narasimha Rao, what did Congress do? How will the Congress President act against her own party and government?