Demonetisation
– The Dawn of a new era of Indian Economy
Stronger the ills,
stronger the pills! It was in line with this thought that on November 8, 2016
the Prime Minister gave a call for Demonetisation of high value Indian
currency. As he exhorted the masses to participate in the Mahayajna to weed out black money and join the “festival of honesty and celebration of
integrity,” the Indian economy looked at the dawn of a new and cleaner era.
For the time being, the demonetization may be a bitter pill but it is a pill
that is likely to cure many ills plaguing our economy.
The decision of demonetisation
is expected to go a long way in nullifying black money hoarded in cash,
corruption, terror financing and fake currency. Despite some temporary hiccups
and downsides, the move is generally seen as provider of a big boost to
national interests by discouraging parallel economy on one hand and giving a
much-needed push to the cashless economy on the other. If a significant amount
of black money held in cash comes into the banking system, the government will
be able to utilize the resultant trail to boost tax collections in the longer
run. As per one reliable estimate, demonetisation could lead to disclosure of 1
– 2% of GDP.
But, some economists
point out to some short-term risks, particularly including a dip in the
December quarter GDP growth and corporate performance. In the first policy
review on post demonetisation, the Reserve Bank of India has already lowered
the GDP growth forecast to 7.1% from 7.6%. Moreover, if money supply declines
temporarily because of the demonetisation, then assuming no immediate change in
velocity of circulation, we would see either some deflationary tendencies or
lowering of real demand (economic activity). The demonetisation could rewrite
some macro parameters.
However, largely the
economists believe that the demonetisation is likely to have several spin-offs
for Asia’s third largest economy. It could lead to lower interest rates, lower
inflation, improved tax to GDP ratio, rising public investments and healthy
public finance. In fact, it could change the face of Indian economy; improve
the government’s fiscal position and tax compliance. According to rating agency
Crisil, the size of the cash economy will significantly shrink, as will black
money generation avenues because of better trails of money flow.
Once the size of the
parallel economy shrinks, the tax base will automatically widen. This will
allow the government to reduce rates and boost consumption. A World Bank
estimate says that the parallel economy was made up of about one-fourth of the
total economy. According to Department of Economic Affairs Press release, “the world Bank in July 2010 estimated the
size of the shadow economy for India was at 20.7% of the GDP in 1999 and rose
to 23.2% in 2007…. A parallel shadow economy corrodes and eats into the vitals
of the country’s economy… It generates inflation, which adversely affects the
poor and the middle classes more than others. It deprives Government of its
legitimate revenues which could have been otherwise used for welfare and development
activities.”
It is significant part of
economic activity lies beyond government’s size, an unfair burden is imposed on
honest tax payers. Therefore, the demonetisation can catalyze long-term reform
and gains.
Against this backdrop, our
Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley also says: “This is a big reform as it expands the GDP and makes it cleaner. It
pushes revenues, pushes economy, pushes money into banking systems, curbs
parallel economy, boosts Tax compliance ….. and is an effective way to make
this country cashless…. Tax collections would increase, deposits will increase
in banks and their capacity to support the economy will increase.”
As such, success of
demonetization is being seen as the key to a more progressive and vibrant
Indian economy. And the government and its various agencies are sparing no
efforts to block all escape routes for the tax evaders. Large scale seizures of
unaccounted money, necessary amendments to the Income-tax Act, 1961 through the
Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the alternative scheme to
disclose black money namely Pradhan
Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana 2016 are all oriented to that cause.
The forthcoming GST
regime also impedes generation of black money in view of the enhanced
transaction trail. Let us continue to be an effective partner in nation
building and conscience keepers of national economy.
*****
DEMONETISATION
On
November 2016, the Government of India announced the demonetisation of all ₹500
and ₹1000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series. The Government claimed that
the action would curtail the shadow economy and crack down the use of illicit
and counterfeit cash to fund illegal activity and terrorism. The sudden nature
of the announcement — and the prolonged cash shortages in the weeks that
followed — created significant disruption throughout the economy, threating
economic output. The move was heavily criticized as poorly planned and unfair,
and was met with protests, litigations and strikes.
Prime
Minister of India Narendra Modi announced the demonetization in an unscheduled
live television address at 20.00 Indian Standard Time (IST) on 8th
of November. In the announcement, Modi declared that the use of ₹500 and ₹1000
banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi series would be invalid past midnight, and
announced the issuance of new ₹500 and ₹2000 banknotes of Mahatma Gandhi series
in exchange for the old banknotes.
The
BSE Sensex and NIFTY stock indices tell over 6 percent on the very next day
after the announcement. In the days following the demonetization, the country
faced severe cash shortages with severe detrimental effects across the economy.
People seeking to exchange their banknotes had to stand in lengthy queues, and
several deaths were linked to the inconveniences caused due to the rush to
exchange cash.
Initially,
the move received support from several bankers as well as from some
international commentators. It was heavily criticized by members of the
opposition parties, leading to debates in both houses of parliament and
triggering organized. Protested against the government in several places across
India. The move is considered to reduce the country’s GDP and industrial
production. As the cash shortages grew in the weeks following the move, the
demonetization was heavily criticized by prominent economists and by the world
media.
20th January, 2017
****
Science and Technology
The insatiable thirst for
knowledge never ends and inexhaustible. Man is never tired of finding out what
he fails to know once. His efforts have been expanded to the horizons of
knowledge. Sky is the limit in triumph of modern man.
The modern age challenges the man
with its complexity although he achieved a lot. It is eternal quest for
knowledge makes man more optimistic than pessimistic to find out the remedy for
every riddle in his life. The world has become smaller than before due to
tremendous inventions and developments in every dimension of progress such as
communications and travel facilities. But man does not satisfy with what he
accomplished.
The western world achieved
incredible development by passing through two major Industrial Revolutions
while India trudging for its existence from its futile multi-facetted lingual
and communal problems. The Industrial growth and economy brought change in
every walk of life in European community. Hence, India relegated to centuries
of backwardness of both Research and Industrialization.
However, the young Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi, who came to office in 1985, dreamt for India’s 21st
century prospectives and challenges and tried to lead the country to step into
the future century by welcoming the third Industrial Revolution Known as
Computer Revolution. This bold decision minimizes the gap from centuries to
decades and decades to a few years between west and east. India is, however
stepping forward rather slowly towards maturity in every dimensional progress.
India is, in fact, trying to
develop indigenous world-class technology rather than import. ISRO’s successful
INSAT-2A is the landmark of India’s matured capabilities in satellite building
for multi-purpose applications, which launched in July 1992. IRS-IA is the
first successful satellite, which preceded INSAT-2A with total indigenous
capabilities orbited in March 1988; spread wings of Indian Technology Mission.
Rightly said ISRO’s chairman Prof. U.R. Rao that Indian satellite technology
has reached maturity.
The other successful stages of
accomplished development like atomic explosion at Pokharan in Rajasthan on 18
May, 1974 headed by Dr. Raja Ramanna; launching a Centre for Development of
Telematics (C – DoT) in Delhi led by Sam Pitroda; BHEL’s and Development Centre
in Hyderabad are worthy to note.
India’s Defense Research and
Development Base – Hyderabad has just crossed three milestones by successfully
testing highly sophisticated computerized missiles in recent years. ALH
(Advanced Light Helicopter) which adds another feather to the plethora of
successful achievements of India by HAL – Bangalore by the joint venture with
Euro-Copter – Germany. Though we achieved a great deal is less than what we
achieved, a great deal is less than what we need. India is many miles to go to
meet the needs of the people.
24.2.93.
Adieu:
Adult Education
Man is no better than a beast
without education. Education is light, which illuminates all dark corners of
human brain. It is not merely learning three R’s, i.e., Reading, Writing and
Arithmetic. It is a change from good to better and better to best. Thus and
educated person is one who grows creatively, without change in creativity life
remains dull and drab.
India lives in her
villages. There are millions of uneducated people live in her/our villages.
These people do a number of jobs to earn their livelihood. As a result of
illiteracy of these millions, nation is relegated to backwardness. Education
gives them, new skills and talents and it increases their efficiency.
India, with its lofty idea of
education to rural millenium, launched National Adult Education Programme
(NAEP) in 1978, followed by the State Adult Education Programme (SAEP), which
accounted rather modest results. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi government, which took
office included literacy as one of its Technology Missions, and on May 5th
1988 the Prime Minister launched the National Literacy Mission (NLM). All these
programmes took shape into Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) proved outstanding
success in Ernakulam district, by the then collector of Ernakulam shaping into
fully literate district by over 20,000 volunteers involved to educate more than
1.5 lakh illiterates. Each volunteer had put in around 240 hours over a
six-month period to achieve this Herculean task. By February 4th
1990, the date which, the Prime Minister V.P. Singh declared Ernakukam the
first literate district in the country.
Thus, today the Government of
India (GoI) is spending millions of rupees on Adult Education. Though Adult
Education Programme gives Education to the countryside adult agriculture
labourer and it dispels his idleness. Farm labourers by the help of their
education they may put his leisure in productive way but the achievements of
AEP are not satisfactory. Let us wish Adult Education Programme should be a
successful one though it is an image of gold with feet of clay and hope for
golden harvest.
13.2.1993.
Secularism
Secularism is not atheism
but it is dedication to the core of all religions. Secularism is more a social
ideal than a political policy. Every religion believes in the essential dignity
of every individual irrespective of creed or clan. Secularism is the direct
continence of humanism. It clearly demonstrates the peaceful co-existence of
all people belonging to various clans and communicates.
India is a land of unity in
diversity. It is the land where a number of different languages and religions
are existing. Despite all these India ought to secure Unity, Harmony and
Tolerance among people. Though, people belong to various faiths and religions
ought to live together at peace. Thus, millions of people have to contribute to
the rich treasure of culture and heritage of India.
Above all, all religions preached
love, compassion and tolerance albeit through different ways. God or no God,
rebirth or rebirth, one must live as a good human being, helping and not
harming fellow citizens. Harmony and friendliness are the basis for peace and
Prosperity – it does not happen by miracle – we have to work for it.
Growing Hindutva and its
fanaticism is a trauma of secular ideology of Indian constitution. The 464 –
year – old Babri Masjid has been razed to the ground and led to serious
repercussions of killing and looting – Secularism is at stake.
Ours is an ancient country and
hence our history is ancient. There is a great deal that has come down to us as
a legacy. It is both varied and rich and has the happenings of the time’s woven
into it. We need not only respect this heritage but also to hand it down to
posterity. What was bequeathed to us is
the bonding between successive generations and communities. We must also
remember that our national heritage knows no religion.
Let not our people are killed for
the sake of futile political gain for a few. Secularism is a living idea that
strengthens the base of unity of humanity. Though the Republic of India and its
secular constitution received the biggest blow in its 45 years existence when
the mob of vandals destroyed the 16th century monument.
18.2.93.
The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games have become so
much a part of our lives that we are no longer curious about its beginnings. We
talk of legendary sportsmen and their exploits at the games but a few of us
know the legends behind the games. The first Officially recorded Olympic Games
was held as far back as 776 BC. But the Games are believed to have begun as
early as 1370 BC.
According to legend, the games
were conducted to commemorate the victory of the Greek God Zeus in his battle
with a rival God Tronous for possession of the Earth. The battle was believed
to have fought at Olympia in Greece, said to be abode of Gods, and the games
were held periodically in Olympia. And there are many legends, which explain
the beginning the legendary Olympic Games.
The Olympics in ancient Greece
began in a small way with a few games, and few competitors from nearby regions,
but soon grew to be a mammoth festival. Participants came from every corner of
Greece, and a sacred truce was declared during the games to enable warring
states to partake amicably and to ensure safety of all participants and
spectators.
The ancient Olympics were not
merely spectacles of physical prowess. The Olympic festival continued for five
days and there was big fair. The Greeks, who believed in the harmonious
development of the body and soul, included in Olympics, Competitions for poets,
dramatists and orators. The Games became so popular that in later years even
the Romans participated in them. In 65 AD Emperor Nero of Rome took part in the
chariot race at the 211th Olympiad. He was awarded the prize
although he did not complete the course!
There were, in all, 293 Olympics
spread over 1,168 years. The games
finally came to an end in 393 Ad when the roman Emperor Theodesius banned them.
The reasons for the ban are not certain.
Exactly 101 years ago, in 1892,
the Baron de Coubertin, French founder of Modern Olympics, gave his clarion
call for the resurrection of the games. French aristocrat and educationalist
who wanted to restore the glory of sport and promote Global Peace and
understanding through medium of sport. In 1893, he was instrumental in calling
an in international conference at Paris in which 13 nations were represented
and unanimously adopted the Coubertin’s proposal of holding the Olympic Games
every four years. Accordingly, the first modern Olympics were held, quite
appropriately, in Athens in 1896. The Baron also introduced the Olympic Flag,
with it five colourful interlaced rings, at the Antwerp Olympics in 1920. The
five rings represent the five continents and their colours include colours from
the flags of all partaking countries, which supports the spirit of
international good will.
17.2.1993.
Integrated
circuits/ Microchips
Electronic devices – including
computers, portable stereos, calculators, microwave ovens or cookers and
digital watches – are all around us, making modern life more convenient. In
spite of their many differences, these devices all rely on the same invention –
the integrated circuit (IC), also known as the micro chip – which can
calculate, process, send, receive and store information faster, more cheaply
and more accurately than any other machine ever made.
A microchip or IC is a collection
of thousands of electrical circuits, all of them tiny and laid out on wafers of
silicon about the size of a fingernail. Information enters as pulses of
electric current. These chase along the pathways of the circuit, picking up
other pieces of information, changing it, working on it, keeping some bits and
rejecting others, and producing a new set of information at the other end
within a flash of time.
The speed and the potentiality of
a microchip or IC are really amazing. For example, predicting the world’s
weather condition is a complex business. The computer of the British
Meteorological office can make up to 80 billion calculations in a second,
although it usually operates at 1 billion calculations a second. A six-day
global weather forecast takes it about 15 minutes to work out.
The smallest IC of the world is
called a Tiny mite. It is surrounded
by its electrical connectors and total microchip is designed on its panel is
the size of a human fingernail.
As we know, the computers are
digital machines, chiefly working on integrated circuits. The means of storing
and processing all information like words, music, pictures and sounds – as long
strings of numbers, or codes. Computer programmes, also known as software, tell
a computer how to process its information by breaking down every task into a
series of simple steps. These are carried out at amazing speeds. Some home
computers or personal computers can deal with 400 million codes per second;
bigger machines are considerably faster than this.
These microchips are applied in
various activities of our lives, particularly where human eye failed to judge.
For instance, some tennis players can serve a ball at 200 km/h, which is too
fast for the eye to follow the ball clearly.
In professional matches, linesmen and umpires rely on an electronic eye to tell them if a service
of the ball has crossed a line or not. The system sends an infrared beam along
the service line, about 15mm above the ground. If the service of the ball
crosses the beam; a microchip activates a warning beeper and a red light in the
lineman’s box.
Thus microchip or IC has become
an indispensable object, which continuously making our lives more easily and
more efficient than ever before.
14. 11.2003.
Communalism in
India
National Integration is a
psychological process. It means a well-knit society in which all are loyal to
their country. It means that every Indian irrespective of caste, creed,
language or religion belongs to India and is proud of his country. National
Integration is very important for the all round development of the country. In
fact, its existence depends on it.
Despite the feeling of oneness,
unity and commonness in India, BJP a political wing of Sangh Parivar and RSS,
decided to come into power by hook or crook even going to the extent of
enchasing the sentiment of the people at the cost of National Integration. The
party started opposing everything that is related to the particular section of
people in the country. BJP has taken up many issues and utilizing every
opportunity time to time to gain political popularity.
The Sword of Tipu Sultan:
Early in 1990, in Bombay, the BJP
sought a court injunction to prevent the screening in India of a Television
serial entitled The Sword of Tipu Sultan.
The programme contained material, which in the volatile and deteriorating
climate of communal relations on the sub-continent raised the ire of certain
orthodox Hindus. The case itself generated both controversy and debate and was
symptomatic of a growing school of thought within India, which no longer
regarded Tipu as the great hero he had once been.
Hubli Idga Maidan:
The sensitive issue is hoisting a
National Flag at Hubli Idga Maidan. Local Muslim community initially opposed
it. BJP made it a national issue and tried to split the community into two in
this connection. Many innocent people had been victimized through out state
through provocation of some leaders. We all aware the Sessions Court of Hubli
issued an arrest warrant to MP CM Mrs. Uma Bharathi on the charges of coaxing
the people. Mrs. Uma Bharathi sent her resignation to the party president on
21.8.04.
Ramjanma Bhoomi Vs Babri Masjid:
Ramjanma Bhoomi, is one of the
major issues to BJP, which yielded unusual results to grow its popularity to
national status. BJP succeeded in building national consensus on the sentiment
of the people. It has persuaded Ramsaveks across the country to demolish the
controversial construction Babri Masjid and planned to construct Ram Mandir on
the site. It was demolished on December 6th 1994. This incident
sparked a virulent communal violence not only across the country in
neighbouring countries also.
Godhra Incident:
The Sabarmathi train, in
which Ramsevaks returning after the demolition of Babri masjid, was attacked
and torched by some fanatic miscreants. There were 54 Ramsevaks were burnt to
death. This incident raised unusual communal violence in Gujarat. According to
Arundathi Roy, a social activist, a member of the Fact-Finding Committee, ‘It
is terrible to live in Gujarat as a Muslim’.
The Govt. supported violence claimed innumerable lives of innocents.
Supreme Court in this connection of carnage called the Chief Minister, Narendra
Modi, a Nero.
Best Bakery Case:
The nation was stunned when
Zaheera Sheika, a key witness in the Best Bakery Case in Gujarat publicly
started in July 2003, that she had lied in court under threat to her life.
Earlier, the Judge of the fast-track court that tried the case had acquitted
all the 21 accused, relating to the murder of 14 Muslims in the communal
violence in Vadodera on March1, 2002. The Judge said that the evidence was
inadequate and criticized the police for shoddy investigation.
Zaheera, 19-year-old girl, whose
relatives were burnt to death in the family-owned bakery, had earlier
identified the prime accused. But once inside the court accompanied by a BJP
MLA, of the total of 73 witnesses, as many 40, including Zaheera’s mother, two
brothers and a sister, turned hostile.
Zaheera’s statement served as a
rude wake up call that raised serious questions about how fair all other
post-Godhra case trails will turn out to be. There was a chorus of protests
from human activists who accused the Gujarat Government of conspiracy to bail
out the killers. They called for
re-opening of the Best Bakery Case. Alleging that the key witnesses in this and
other riot cases were living in fear, they asked that all cases be tried
outside Gujarat.
NHRC Chairman, Justice A.S. Anand
termed the Best Bakery Case verdict as a ‘miscarriage of Justice’ and urged the
state government to appeal in the High Court against it. As state government
showed no signs of doing it, the NHRC approached the Supreme Court seeking
retrial of the case. However, on the day before the NHRC’s petition came up for
hearing in the Supreme Court, the state government filed an appeal in the High
Court. Later in September the Supreme Court flayed the Gujarat Government for filing
‘eyewash’ of an appeal in the High Court and asked the Government to ‘quite if
you can not prosecute the guilty’.
Conclusion:
In spite of all the disturbances
and political turmoil, the country unites one. There is a character in the
blood of Indians to be united to keep the National Integration undisturbed. It
is the country where people live with pride in unity diversity.
17.8.2004.
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