Why Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam Adores Nanaji Deshmukh?

Namaskar to all, I am back with one more interesting & eye opening interview of Dr. A.P.J.Abdulkalam.Please read the excerpts.For detailed interview go to link given below,enjoy…

‘A Nation Without A Vision Dies’ 

INTERVIEW Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam whose book of memoirs has just been launched on why the state of our democracy is our responsibility 

Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam, who has authored several books, has come out with a deeply personal, readable and pocket-sized book of memoirs, My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Action (Rupa). Dedicated to “the sixteen million youth I have met and interacted with in the last two decades,” the book relates his life story that began in Rameswaram, a temple town on the Tamil Nadu coast. Every chapter contains a lesson. He relates, for example, how his father, who was the imam of the mosque at Rameswaram, conferred with his friends — the priest of the temple and of the local church — to thwart communal feelings before they got out of hand. He affectionately recalls his mentors, ranging from his parents and cousins to the eminent scientist Vikram Sarabhai. In the process, a moving portrait of a boy burning with zeal to learn emerges. The simplicity of the small-town boy is overwhelmingly apparent in Dr. Kalam, who made the transition from first citizen to ordinary Indian without a hiccup. Edited excerpts from an interview: 

Today, greatness is largely measured by material wealth, and this in turn brings about discontent in society. Do you feel there is a need for us to shun materialism as your father and elders did? 

I studied till High School in British India. In 1947, we got freedom and I started living in India’s India. I have seen various transformations in society, be it the economy or the value system. While our economy is developing, we need citizens with ethics and a value system. For the last 10 years I’ve been promoting an idea called Evolution of Enlightened Citizens. It has three dimensions. One is education with value system. This comes from the family, or may be from a primary school teacher. After all, the evolution of enlightened citizens is essential for India and the world. Second, comes economic prosperity. Third, religion should transform into a spiritual force. I advocate these three (www.abdulkalam.com). 

I have given lectures in our Parliament, addressed the European parliament of 23 nations, a pan-African parliament of 53 nations, and the Korean parliament. I am not saying the Indian value system should be taken to other countries. They also have great leaders and traditions based on their value system. I believe that one’s value system, the joint family system, economic growth and different religions transforming into a spiritual force are vital. That’s why I have shared this at various interactive forums. 

Your work gives pre-eminence to inspiring and changing the thought pattern of the youth. However, as we see the country deluged with problems such as hunger, disease, a deteriorating environment and unfit living conditions, how long will it take to see change, or is it already visible ? 

Thought is the seed of action. Thought is as ancient as Socrates. Tiruvalluvar, 2,200 years ago, has also said that… That’s why I proposed in Parliament that we need India Vision 2020. That is, by 2020, India should become economically developed. Even now, it’s not too late. Parliament should consider how it can activate the vision for the nation, so prosperity can be aimed at. Our priority should be to use PURA – ‘providing urban amenities in rural areas’. Our farmers are producing 250 million tonnes of food. But we don’t do value addition, which means greater export potential. We are leading producers of fruits and vegetables but we don’t process these as juice or packaged food. And third, of course, small scale industries which are spread across the country. 

Are you in touch with the PURA projects, and these are showing results? 

I have seen in Madhya Pradesh, the Chitrakoot PURA founded by Nanaji Deshmukh. He is a pioneer and they are doing very well, more than 500 villages are connected, and there is prosperity. Another one I saw in Maharashtra, Warana PURA. There is no poverty there, because the cooperative movement is doing very well. And the third I have seen in Tamil Nadu at Vallam, Thanjavur. 

I am in touch with these three, and visit them often. But apart from that, the Government of India has started a few PURAs with public-private participation. The number of PURAs is increasing. But it has to be fast. After all, there are 600,000 villages; we have to establish 7000 PURAs in 10-15 years’ time. We have less than 100. 

What is the status of the Youth Brigade which exhorts young people to stand up even to their parents if they indulge in corrupt practices, and the “What Can I Give” mission? 

Many schools and colleges have started ‘What Can I Give’ missions. It is not a structured program, we don’t want one; it will not grow. It is the responsibility of each institution to start a program and promote reform within their institution. Then we started what is called Happy Home which has four components: spirituality, mother’s happiness, transparency, and a green and clean environment. The youth have taken an oath that they will live in a house free from corruption. 

Your writing reflects great contentment, yet this never stops you from action. 

God helps only those who work hard. There is nothing like contentment. Success is not the ultimate aim. 

However, at no time should you allow your problems to overwhelm you. I can’t say that I am content, because I meet 80,000 to 100,000 youth a month. I know their dreams, their pain. A nation without a vision dies. Parliament has to give this vision. 

ANJANA RAJAN

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/a-nation-without-a-vision-dies/article5065821.ece

Economy on verge of internal, external bankruptcy

Dear Friends, As we all know our economy is going to the dogs, though we have a former reserve bank governor cum "maker of liberalization " cum an ace bureaucrat as our prime minister.There are so many speculations going on in economists' circles regarding this grave economic situation. Our all time best  investigative journalist Shri S. Gurumurthy gives an account of this economic misery & a sort of solution also.Please read it & share it with your friends.

Undoubtedly the reckless current account A deficit of $339 billion in the nine years of the UPA rule has directly hit the Rupee unconscious. The CAD is the proximate cause of the Rupee’s disgrace, but not the only cause. Fiscal deficit is as much a culprit. The fiscal deficit is the excess outgo of government over its revenues. The deadly combination of huge current account deficits and high fiscal deficits have put the Rupee on the ventilator. See the fiscal deficit record of the UPA Government. In its nine-year rule, the UPA Government has incurred a fiscal deficit of over Rs 27 lakh crore -- of which it incurred Rs 22.66 lakh crore in the last five years at an average of Rs 4.5 lakh per year against the average of Rs 1.35 lakh a year in the earlier four years. The government’s alibi for the huge deficit of almost Rs 23 lakh crore in the last five years is the stimulus it gave to the economy by cuts in excise and customs tariff because of the global meltdown in 2008. 

Because of the tax cuts, the revenue deficit shot up to Rs 16 lakh crore in five years averaging over Rs 3 lakh a year against the average of Rs 0.75 lakh in the first four years. The stimulus given in 2008 is still on, partially. See how this has robbed the nation, imposed high fiscal and huge current account deficits, eroded the Rupee’s value and benefited only the corporates. 

Rs 30 Lakh crore revenue foregone 

The Statements Revenue Foregone, annexed to each annual budget, details the tax waivers given by the government since 2006-7. In the nine-year UPA rule the tax waivers have accumulated to Rs 30 lakh crore! In the two years before the stimulus in 2008, the waiver averaged Rs 2.6 lakh crore a year. 

But thanks to the stimulus, it almost doubled Rs 5 lakh crore each year for the last five years. Against the budget revenue deficit of some Rs 16lakh crore during the UPA’s nine years, the tax foregone is Rs 25lakh crore! The rationale for the stimulus was that the economy, under recessionary stress, needed support. But surprisingly the corporate profits were more in the stimulus period than before. The corporate profits were 11pc of the GDP in 2005-6, before the 2008 meltdown, when the GDP growth was also one of the highest – 9.5pc. Against this base year numbers, the corporate profits to GDP ratio rose up year after year thus: 12.94pc [2006-7], 14.26pc [2007-8] 11.86pc [2008-9] and 12.71pc [2009-10] and 12.15pc [2010-11]. The excess over the base year’s gains of the corporates during the five years was Rs 4.8 lakh crore. This meant that the corporates had swallowed the substantial stimulus meant for the economy. Significantly, before the stimulus [2008-9] the average GDP was 9pc, in 2008-9 it was 6.7, after the stimulus it averaged 9pc till 2010-11. Only later it declined. Obviously the stimulus was a kneejerk reaction, not entirely based on merits, given the good performance of the corporates and GDP during the six years from 2006-7 to 2010-11. The UPA’s latest Economic Survey [2012-13] too laments about the huge tax foregone [p66-68] and counsels “there is merit in limiting” the tax waivers. 

As far back as in 2005, both Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram swore that they would withdraw tax cuts but didn’t. Not doing so then and not fully cutting the stimulus in 2009 amounted to a criminal mismanagement of the economy. The weak performance of the economy from 2011-12 itself was partly because of the huge fiscal deficit of Rs 12lakh crore occasioned by the stimulus tax cuts. On top of it now is the proposed expenditure for attempting an UPA victory in the 2014 elections at public cost like the Food Security Bill, which threatens to escalate the fiscal deficit by Rs 2 lakh crore more each year. This creates the market perception that the UPA is recklessly keen for power even at the cost of national bankruptcy. Why will the Rupee not collapse?  Move on.

Tax cuts invite high CAD 

The stimulus conceals a much greater evil than just loss of revenue. The stimulus cut in customs tariff in 2008 -- already down to one half in the last decade -- made imports cheap. Result, the capital goods import surged in the next five years [2008-9 to 2012-13] to $407 billion. In the previous four years it totalled only $180 billion. Obviously, the customs rate cut has to do with enlarging the flood gate of capital goods import. The customs collection, which was Rs 1 lakh crore in 2007-8, came down to 0.83 lakh in 2009-10 -- that is less by over 17pc - even as imports rose from Rs 8.4 lakh crore [2007-8] to Rs 13.74 lakh crore [2009-10] by over 56pc. Obviously, the surge in the import of the capital goods was stimulated by the customs and excise stimulus in 2008. As demonstrated yesterday (Monday), surging capital goods imports decimated the domestic capital goods industry and forced the GDP down. Thus the stimulus tax cuts have hit the economy in every way – increased the fiscal deficits sky-high, imposed huge current account deficit and sent the Rupee to the ICU. But that is not the end of the mischief. 

CAD causes huge debts 

Even as the post-2008 budget deficits added `21.6 lakh crore to the public debt, the current account deficits necessitated huge external borrowing. This is despite the fact that during the UPA rule, the investment flow into India was unprecedented. FDI inflow into India during the nine years was $205 billion. Deducting the investment outflow of $102 billion from India, the net inflow of FDI was $103 billion. The net FII inflow into stock markets was $124 billion. The two added $227 billion to the forex kitty, but that was short of the current account hole of $339 billion. Huge external borrowing became inevitable. Including the risky short-term debts, which rose by 17 times from $4billion to over $70 billion, the external debts leaped by $288 billion during the UPA regime to $396 billion. The huge rise in investments and debts caused a four-fold rise in the net outgo of the income on investments and debts from $4 billion to $16.5 billion. With the current account deficit of $339 billion eating away most of the investment inflow [$227 billion] and additional debt [$288 billion], the forex reserves grew only by $180 billion to $292 billion. With the Himalayan current account and fiscal deficits continuing, escalating debts, increasing servicing spend on debts and investments and disproportionate short-term debts, the statistical forex reserve of $292 billion barely conceals the semi-external bankruptcy that has put the Ru pee in ICU. 

Culture saves India 

But what has ultimately saved India from internal and external bankruptcy is not fully evident in the public discourse. How were the fiscal deficits financed? Simply by the government issuing bonds to the commercial banks and the Reserve Bank and borrowing. The government could borrow within India because the traditional Indian families ‘safely’ bank their savings. They deposit close to Rs 10 lakh crore a year in the banks, which saves India from internal bankruptcy. But how is the bankrupting CAD really met? The truth, an untold story, may shock. It is the ‘remittances from the Indian workers for family expenses’ and ‘local withdrawals’ from the non-resident Indian accounts that has saved India from external insolvency. The forex contributed by Indian families totalled $335 billion during the nine-year UPA regime, almost equal to the CAD. Not a single dollar of this remittance is returnable. It bears no interest. This huge lifeline remittance is not the product of economics laws or the government policies. It is the traditional, cultural gift to the Indian economy. Had the traditional Indian families, struggling against modern individualism, not held together, would there have been such remittance? 

Never. More. If the Indian workers did not remit for the maintenance of their kith and kin, besides the loss of the $335 billion lifeline for India, the state will have to fend for them. Has the Indian establishment discourse ever noticed this culturally devised protection to the economy? The relation-based nature of the Indian society makes this remittance culturally mandatory. This would not happen in contract- based societies like those in the West. Yet the government is making laws and the public discourse is striving hard to atomise the Indian family and society and turn it into a contract-based one. The establishment takes this lifeline for granted, perhaps not even conscious of it. But it tom-toms the investment inflows and debts. 

The final part of the story will show how naive or criminally negligent the UPA Government has been in allowing a large part of the huge current account deficit to run contrary to India’s strategic interests.

Who Is Afraid Of Julian Assange?

Dear Friends , in the series of fresh & fruitful(hopefully) articles & write ups i am adding a book review written by my student (who has a bad habit of reading & thinking!) Ms. Ankita Singh.Please go through it & give your valuable feedbacks.

Book Review

The unauthorized Autobiography: By Julian Assange

‘A compelling portrait of a brave, complex, difficult, brilliant and essentially humane individual,  Assange is not easy to like but his intellectual gifts, his moral courage and his carelessness of his own physical safety make him impossible not to admire.’

Assange was the product of a relationship between his country girl mother, Christine, and a man with a gentle voice who spoke to her at an anti-Vietnam war rally in Sydney. "It [the voice] belonged to a 27-year-old, cultured guy with a moustache. He asked if she was with anyone and when she said 'no' he took her hand."

Not long afterwards, Julian was born into a hippie set-up in north Queensland. They moved house often and quite soon he learned "how to master the environment and conquer danger". He spent a lot of time exploring a disused mine, sometimes burning ants with a magnifying glass. "At an early stage," he says, "I realized there was a social element to all this. I put a gang together, the better to get things done and have fun while doing it." A solemn-faced, slightly scary Tom Sawyer or William Brown emerges.

Assange's upbringing consisted of one cult, multiple homes, more than 30 schools and two stepfathers, one of whom left him with the name Assange. He was clearly a handful and probably manipulative. He advises his schoolmates that dirt is a certain way to stop bleeding and on another occasion organizes his friends to dig a tunnel under the neighbors’ fence in order to supply his folks with tomatoes. As he gets older, his mother's peripatetic existence seems more pathological and a fugitive pattern set in. His father and two stepfathers disappear from the narrative without much explanation and it becomes clear that Julian has fairly big issues in the authority department.

The unfinished nature of the book, I suspect, means that quite a lot has been let through by Assange that a second or third round of editing might have seen adjusted or eliminated. At times, it looks as though he is artfully supplying scenes from childhood to explain the adult outlaw, but then there are real shafts of light such as the moment when he talks about a teacher called Mr. King. "In my view, even then, a lot of teachers were prissy, but this guy was strong in a way that seems important. He was a very competent individual and I felt safe with him – I clung to the idea of manly competence."

There is a really good section in which he talks about the first computer hacking placing a large part of his mind in the space of the computer. You glimpse the thrill of his trespass when he hacks into the Nortel network of 11,000 computers, which he likens to "walking in the Sistine Chapel at midnight". He writes: “That’s how hacking begins. You want to get past a barrier that has been erected to keep you out”.

The story of the Wikileaks founder, currently under house arrest and fighting extradition over sexual assault charges in Sweden, opens with Assange being taken to jail, the press photographers "scrabbling around the windows [of the police van] like crabs in a bucket", and delves back into his past as a computer hacker and "cypherpunk", where the first seeds of WikiLeaks were planted.

You don't know whether to believe the man who once gave himself the handle Splendide Mendax (nobly untruthful). Littered in his wake over the past 12 months are many well-known journalists, lawyers, activists and helpers who will have no more to do with him because of his congenital bloody-mindedness and what they see as his shaky grasp on the truth. Yet this book seems remarkably candid. He admits to measures of autism, arrogance and insensitivity and, in a rather bewildered passage, remarks that he can empty a room faster than most.

All this and probably much more is true of Assange. Whether you take Assange as a reliable narrator (he himself seems ambivalent about the idea) it is an exciting tale of “life on the run”, and the revelations, leaks and power games that came to dominate his life—and our media.

This one’s surprisingly revealing. It reminds us of the huge amount Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have contributed to this epochal time and how important is the principle of free publication.

An intriguing self-portrait, Although Mr. Assange makes an easy target, he has interesting things to say, however controversial. And the world does sometimes need such annoying, single-minded people move forward. Mr. Assange and his creation, WikiLeaks, have made it a more open and transparent place, and hence a bit more just.

Book Review By Ankita Singh

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Why I Love To“Hate” Na Mo!

Namaskar,adaab & sat sri akal to all my Indian & non resident Indian netizens. Welcome to Prattyancha. In fact I was planning to start my blog for a long time but due to professional & family compulsions it didn’t materialize. Now I am starting it with the goal in my mind. I will discuss various issues related to our nation, I will also try to analyze certain core issues that our mother nation is facing nowadays.

Friends let me give you a disclaimer here. This blog is entirely my personal space on the web. It has nothing to do with my professional life. What ever content I will put on this blog will be solely my responsibility.

As per Indian tradition I must begin with some “Shubh”(Auspicious) content to start my writings on this blog but being “secular atheist” I am starting it with a” hate note” for a person who is one of the most popular political persona in south Asia. Yes you are right. It’s none but our Gujarat chief minister Narendrabhai Modi.

The title of this post might have baffled you that why I have joined NaMo Hate brigade? I will explain it one by one. So here we go….

1)      I want to be called super secular…

By hating him I will automatically become “secular”(sorry, super secular) yes, nowadays it’s a trend amongst intellectuals of this great nation to “hate” Na.Mo. and join the bandwagon of “secularists”…..

2)      I want to be considered super intellectual..

Though I am in a profession where  professionals are by default considered Intellectuals, I want to join the league of super intellectuals, that’s why…

3)      It may bag “Padma award”for me  some day

Well, that’s very far fetched assumption but “seriously” if I will keep on “hating” Na.Mo. My chances of bagging any Padma award in near by future is very bright. If you don’t believe in my theory pl. ask Teestaben (arey, our Teesta Setalvadji)She will tell you how easy it is to do so..

4)      It Will Sell My Books & Films

To be frank I am associated with a field where creating hype & getting lime light is very necessary. who knows someday I can sell my books ( which has to be written/published yet). if you don’t believe this theory kindly contact Dr. Amartya Sen. He has done this successfully in a recent past.As far as films are concerned pl. Contact producers of “Kaipo Che” & “Firaq.”they may guide you on the right path…

5)      It May Help me To Fetch A Loksabha / Assembly Ticket From Congress

Who knows what will happen in future, but I can give you assurance that my political future is very bright. My “hatred”for Na.Mo. Is creating my admirers in congress & like minded parties. So maybe I will be offered a Loksabha/Assembly ticket in future & by the grace of god Congress (i.e. UPA) returns into power my chances for Rajyasabha are also bright…

6)      I Will Easily Get America’s  Visa

Hurrah…that’s the biggest reason friends.You must be knowing now a days it’s a full time /part time business for some of our elected representatives to shoot letters to Mr. Obama for denying visa to Na.Mo.well, if lady luck blesses me one of them may write a “favour” letter for me and I can fly to USA…

7)      It Will Increase My Popularity

You know friends, we media people are also “hungry” for this bitbyteflashbulbshimmering popularity. If I continue this “hate practice” I know my “secular” friends will help me to climb ladder of popularity. In fact they will provide me “lift” instead of ladders….

8)      His Hindu Nationalism idea…

What nonsense.. Now a days when the entire nation’s intellectuals (like me ) are  talking about globalization, economy, political powers and so on and this man is talking about Hindu nationalism. He calls himself Hindu+nationalist. well I think he urgently needs a refresher course on “secularism”. I strongly recommend him to immediately join Dr.      Amartya  Sen’s part time course on “how to be a secular Indian” or if he has enough time he should join Dr. Digvijaysinh’s full time course on “how to be a true secularist? “

9)      It Will Make my post Instant hit

Well, now you know this open secret.the more I “hate” him, the more like minded netizens will “like” me. I will instantly get lakhs of hits……

Well that’s it for the beginning.. pl. Keep on watching this space for new updates & pl. Don’t forget to send your comments, till then aavjo…

(Image Courtsy- Google Search/India Today Cover)

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                                                        Mango & Modimaniacs

Someone put the following spoof on a Marathi blog called "Misal pav.
"Here is a translation…

A reporter from the Reuters is interviewing Mr Narendra Modi: "What is your favorite fruit Mr Modi?"

Modi: "Mango."

Within a minute this exchange is carried by all news channels in India as "breaking news" with the header, "Modi does not like guavas."

Spokespersons of different political parties/NGOs were invited to give their reaction.

Jitendra Avad: Mahatma Gandhi used to like banana, which is easily available all across India and cheap; so even the poor people can afford it. It is a
fruit of aam admi. Modi is basically against Mahatmaji. So it is obvious that he does not like bananas. He represents Nathuram Godse who killed Bapuji.

Manish Tiwari: Modi does not like guava because of its green color!
This shows his anti-Muslim bias!! Shame on him!!

Ajay Makan: Not surprised modi likes an expensive fruit like mango. By that choice, he is mocking the poor masses of India.

Pappu aka Amul Baby: I am not like Modi who only likes specific things or items.
My food intake is all inclusive and I respect all foods like I respect all religions. I like saffron mangoes, green guavas, and white amlas. Tomorrow I am going on
a visit to the poor people of UP living in poor huts where I will share and eat green and yellow skinned bananas with them.

Digvijay: Modi is a rotten mango and must therefore be immediately removed from the basket. Otherwise all mangoes in the basket will rot.  A rotten
mango like Modi has no place in the secular, all-inclusive basket of India.

Nitin Wagle on Lokmat-IBN Ten O'Clock News: Welcome all! A new day and a new topic for discussion today. Modi has betrayed his ugly, communal
façade by declaring that he likes mangoes. By deliberately avoiding green guavas from the list of fruits he likes, Modi has clearly demonstrated his anti-Muslim, communal mentality. We have among us Mr Madhav Bhandari of the BJP, Mr Sachin Savant of the Congress, and great and original thinker Mr Markandey Katju.

A comment by Dilip Padgaokar:
"Modi likes mangoes an Indian fruit which mean he hates Olives, the Italian fruit. This shows a narrow nationalism. These RSS people have no international taste"

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