ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Friends  We are well in to the 2013. The month of Feb. is the traditional national budget month. Railway Budget is expected to be more rational with some fare raise across the board. If the services and safety has to be updated continuously, the element of fare raise has to be there. For far too long we have been operating pro-people budget. Deficit finance has always been the last resort to keep the people happy. There are many elements which contribute to the problem of deficit financing, uncontrolled govt. expenditure, subsidized goods and services, escalation of infrastructural costs by avoidable delays by the contractors for mostly wrong reasons. Besides, mopping up of resources from all sources, has to be on the basis of what-traffic-can-bear. Those who can, should pay more. Largesse to politicians should be under check. Every rupee saved matters. Finance Minister has promised a ‘responsible budget’. He is an intelligent man but being business friendly, he needs to be ...

UTTAR PRADESH: There was this news last month that two Italian marines who are in jail facing trial for shooting dead two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast, were received by the Italian Defence Minister at the airport near Rome. These two marines were given the permission to travel to Italy for X’mas holidays, pending disposal of their case. Of course as was the condition of travel, these marines have come back and reported back to the authorities in Thiruvanantapuram. This was a reflection of the human dignity, the western countries attach to their citizens, that the country’s Defence Minister came to the airport to receive two ordinary compatriots, who are only security guards of a ship, undergoing investigation in a foreign country. The action of the Defence Minister certainly deserves to be applauded and is indeed a model.  But look at our own establishments, both political and defence establishments. Reportedly Pakistani sentries sneaking from across the border in Kash...

A DENIAL REPUBLIC CALLED PAKISTAN “Saarey Jahan Sey Achcha Yeh Hindustan Hamara”, that melodious patriotic song remained in this part of the geographical land mass, to be sung and sung again, for its sheer verbatim beauty. But the poet Allama Iqbal who created the song left this portion of the land of Hindustan for supposedly better pasture into the other portion of the land christened as Pakistan, by those who wanted a separate land for Muslims. The separation called PARTITION broke the country into three parts for ever, physically and mentally, and reduced the exercise into an estranged, wrangling, warring neighbours for all the 65 years of India’s post independence and of the creation of Pakistan. Come August 1947, millions of Hindus and Muslims migrated to their chosen side from across the divided line decided by the then colonial masters, the British.  How happy and contended these mass of people are, after those tumultuous six plus-decades? It is a question of profoun...

  What is great about science? Prof. B. M. Hegde, hegdebm@gmail.com “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself.” Galileo Science, like religion, has become so dogmatic that any view that does not fit into the accepted views of the “greats” in science is outright rejected. Many thinkers feel that time has come for science to be kept at a respectable distance from governance in any democracy. The original definition of secularism was that the Church in Europe had to be separated from the government. We need to reinvent a scientific secularism if our civilization has to survive. I have been, from time to time, reminding the powers that be that all that is labeled as science need not necessarily be the truth. There are so many loops within the loops in science, influenced by the vested powerful groups that distort the scientific views. It is all the more dangerous in the filed of western medicine which, we in India, accept as gospel tru...

24x7 Mental Helpline from BMC Mumbai: Considering the urgent need for people with mental health problems to just have someone to talk to, the BMC will be launching a 24 x 7 mental helpline. The helpline is aimed at reducing the increasing number of suicides every year, violence against women and stress. “It has been shown that just talking to a suicidal person reduces the chances of committing suicide,” said Dr Shubhangi Parkar, Deputy Dean of KEM Hospital and Head of its Psychiatry Department. She said the helpline will have trained counsellors who will counsel those who call at length. Dr Sandhya Kamath, Dean of KEM Hospital, said that they are in the process of hiring trained counsellors for the helpline. Swiss wants to check black money flow New Delhi/Bern: Often accused of providing safe havens to black money from India and other countries, Switzerland has proposed a new bill to prevent its banks and other institutions from accepting “untaxed assets” from their clien...

Thai Deputy PM charged over export of 100 tigers to China Bangkok : A Thai deputy prime minister was charged in connection with the export to China of 100 tigers, an endangered species protected by international law, the attorney general's office said. Plodprasod Suraswadi approved the export of tigers from Sriracha Tiger Zoo - a popular tourist attraction a few hours from Bangkok - to a Chinese breeding firm in 2002. He was the head of the forestry department at the time. 312 hectare land turns green Bhopal: People of a small village Takhla Khurd in Barghat Janpad of Seoni district have done a work in a short period what other people take years to do. Tall trees instead of weed now stand in 312.66 hectare area in the village as a result of hard work, dedication and willpower on the part of total 15 persons. Small and big wild animals are also thriving in this man-made forest. Now, people of the village have also started cultivation of lac in this forest. These villagers...

When X'mas left Britons poorer London: Christmas has left millions of Britons in debt, as one in four-22 percent-said they would not have been able to afford Christmas without borrowing. A survey by consumer group found that nearly half of Britons — 46 percent — used credit cards, overdrafts, store cards or payday loans to fund the festivities, the Daily Express reported. Average borrowings were 301 pounds but six percent took 500-1,000 pounds while two percent borrowed more than 1,000 pounds. Five percent had to borrow from friends or family.Despite this, 56 percent spent less on Christmas this year than last year, with 43 percent cutting back significantly, the daily said. Soaring food prices meant 48 percent did not buy as much to eat and 45 percent bought lower quality food. With energy and food costs rising, the survey also found that people don’t feel positive about the New Year, with 54 percent expecting their household budgets to be squeezed even tighter. ...

Why  not  aim  at a South Asian Union? Dr. M. V. Kamath So at last, India has woken up. It has, on the face of it, hardened its stand against Pakistan. Not only has the Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh warned Pakistan that India can retaliate at “a place and time of our choosing”, he has told his commanders to be “aggressive in the face of firing”. Singh, however, has discounted the possibility of the skirmish leading to a full-fledged war and has also discounted the possibility of Pakistan resorting to nuclear warfare saying that it has no relation to the local conflict. Besides the Army Commander, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh as he should, has also warned Pakistan that it cannot be “business as usual” in the aftermath of the beheading of an Indian soldier. Not much of a threat, but may be Dr Singh does not want to sound too aggressive and is only waiting for further development before a more definitive step can be announced. What are the likely developments...