MY VIEWS IN ECONOMIC TIMES ON CASH TRANSFER & ON MONETARY POLICY

Economic Times Story on 30.10.12: How Congress may use cash transfers as the main weapon in the 2014 elections

Comments of MILAN K SINHA (PATNA) 
30 Oct, 2012 12:03 PM

It is always welcome to make & effect an action plan to help mitigate the economic hardships of the disadvantaged section of society, but if it is aimed only to project one political party or the other as the messiah of the poor masses by spending thousands of crore of tax payers money, may be in the name of direct cash transfer through Aadhaar route will not be going to strengthen the AADHAAR (Base) of the doer. The problem in this country is: the political masters think and believe too, that the Mango Masses(Aam Aadmi) can be taken for granted and so for a ride too as and when they so wish, but they fail to read the writing on the wall and acknowledge the fact that the complexion of electoral college is fast changing with growing inclusion of educated youths as new voters, who will not take the things as it is. Moreover, the Kejriwals and Hazares are there to make genuine protests against all such ill motivated moves attracting attention of many in the country.

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Economic Times Story on 30.10.12: RBI Q2 monetary policy review: Subbarao's accountability is to people of India, not just his masters

Comments of Milan K Sinha (Patna, India) 
30 Oct, 2012 06:15 PM

When a senior functionary of the central government like RBI governor says that his accountability is to the people of India and their welfare, and not just to his masters.., it reflects the high level of commitment of a man who is otherwise too, duty bound to act only for the good of the country, come what may. Unfortunately, even though there are still many upright and efficient officers in all government departments, yet they are not showing the minimum courage of saying a spade a spade for any and many reasons, personal, professional or otherwise. Undoubtedly, the flow of investment is not marred by the reported high interest rate regime alone. It is mainly because of the polluted political environment in the country which has deteriorated fast in recent past with so many bigger scams coming to light involving important political persons. Corporates who make hue and cry often disproportionately, in the media on rate related issues must first follow the principle of corporate governance, if not in letter & spirit but at least on a reasonable level because they too have an accountability towards their fellow countrymen.

                                        Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

MY VIEWS IN ECONOMIC TIMES ON POWER PROBLEM & ON RAIL MINISTRY

Economic Times Story on 29.10.12: Jyotiraditya Scindia takes charge of Power Ministry; calls it daunting challenge

Comments of MILAN K SINHA (PATNA) 
29 Oct, 2012 03:05 PM

It is good that a young and relatively performing and non-controversial minister took over the reigns of power ministry at the centre at a time when power has been regarded as a major area of concern - not only for ensuring faster economic growth but also for social development of the country. In our country, interestingly but unfortunately, as the political power is in the hands of the privileged few, so is the electric power being enjoyed by a limited section of society. Lacs of villages are still without electricity, though promises have been made by all political parties in their election manifestos time and again. As things stand today, there is a great mis-match between the demand & supply in this sector and no body can ensure huge generation of power in short span of time. So, the present problem can be addressed by putting in place a system whereby the distribution issues are taken care off properly in consultation with state governments, the power theft at all levels be stopped forth with, the requirements of cities are looked into afresh to make available some power to the villagers, encourage use of alternative sources of energy wherever feasible and try to increase the generation gradually. All these can be done provided the new team takes a SANKALP to do this within a set time frame. Let us hope for a better power management by a more powerful minister.

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Economic Times Story on 29.10.12: New Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal hints at fare hike

Comments of Milan K Sinha (Patna, India) 
29 Oct, 2012 08:45 PM

Is the minister so intelligent and analytical to make out within 24 hours of his getting the Rail Ministry that only by increasing the passenger fare, the health can be improved. Mr. Minister must first spend some time, understand the whole mechanism of functioning of railways , try his best to find solutions within the resources available and then come out with his prescriptions explaining the real compulsions of increasing the fares. As we all know, many things are not well in railways and there are many areas where things can be improved perceptibly through administrative measures alone.

                                                Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

MY VIEWS IN NEWSPAPER ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION & ON FALL IN PROFIT OF BANKS

Economic Times Story on 27.10.12:  RTE: Time for government to create an environment for private schools to thrive

Comments of Milan K Sinha (Patna) 
27 Oct, 2012 03:30 PM

RTE is definitely the basic human right. But, if we see the education scenario in the country, we find to our dismay and anguish that Govt. has not taken up this issue on priority so far thereby letting as many as one fourth of its population remaining still illiterate. There are many ifs and buts even for ensuring 100% primary school education. Most of these one lac plus private schools were allowed to exploit the guardians as these schools charge hefty fees etc. but do not guarantee better and value based education to the students even in their formative age. Instead of letting the private schools mushroom further and be money minting organisations, as it has happened during last few years, Govt. must first regulate the basic fee structure and the basic curriculum vis-a-vis the basic infrastructure such as library, laboratory, playing space etc. and simultaneously try its best to upgrade the standard of more than a million Govt. run schools in all respect on highest priority. To say, basic school education must maintain the basic quality benchmark and more importantly is made affordable to all sections of society.

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Comments of Milan K Sinha (PATNA) in 
The Times Of India dt. 27.10.12

Dear Reader,
Your comment on the article ''Indian Overseas Bank’s (IOB) net falls 24%'' is now displayed on timesofindia.com.

''Banking experts and industry watchers will not be surprised by this development in IOB as NPA has been proving to be an uncontrollable demon in India's Banking space. And the reasons are not unknown to the well known people who are at the helms of managing the Banking system. Actually, more or less all the banks are facing the NPA music as quality of credit has been a matter of concern and discussion in the inner banking circle. Rules, regulations, guidelines and above all prudence in sanctioning, disbursing and ensuring compliance of sanction terms & conditions are not taken seriously atleast on practical ground particularly in bigger loans. More over, various aspects of credit monitoring system, though in place on paper, are not adhered to strictly in practice. So, we will have more banks in this queue to declare higher gross NPA and lower profits in coming days. RBI, in consultation with CEOs of Banks, must act decisively to arrest this trend without further delay.''

                                          Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

कविता : कारों में भीड़ नहीं

                                                                                               -मिलन सिन्हा

        लहूलुहान सड़कें 

             कारों में भीड़ नहीं,

          कारों की भीड़ है

          पक्षी सब सहमे से

          सहमे से नीड़ हैं

          सूखते उजड़ते पेड़ हैं

          लहूलुहान सड़कें हैं

          सूख रही धरती है

          फटी फटी परती है

          सूखे नदी ताल हैं

          घर घर अस्पताल है

          गाँव नगर सोये से

          जागता श्मशान है I

                     Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

HEART ALWAYS MATTERS, ISN'T IT?

                                                                                     - By MILAN K SINHA

            Its a common knowledge & experience too, that in human body, the Head is positioned higher than the Heart. But, why then constant conflict goes on between the two. To discuss  the interesting  issue  let  us  first go through  the  dictionary  meaning  of Head and Heart:

Head :  It is the uppermost or forwardmost part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the brain and the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and jaws. It also has other meaning as seat of the faculty of reason, intelligence, intellect or mind. 

Heart:The chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.The other meaning goes as repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs,the seat of imagination...

            So, as the physical position is,  the head always tries to behave like a head which carry its ego bag always  on its head. On the other hand, the Heart-our innocent, child like, 24x7  enthusiastic worker, not only pumps blood in the body but also differentiates us from an animal as an entity who has emotions, feelings, expression, compassion etc. तभी तो किसी ने सही कहा है, 'दिल तो बच्चा है जी, ज्यादा सच्चा है जी, पर थोड़ा कच्चा है जी।  It seems  Robert Bulwer-Lytton vindicates this point by saying, "A good heart is better than all the heads in the world."

          Now, if it is so, I am really tempted to put the question which the Hindi film singer asks all of us in a beautiful song from a Hindi film, 'Tanu Weds Manu':

 कितने दफे दिल ने कहा,

                           दिल की सुनी कितने दफे ...!                       

        Before moving further on this emotive issue, let us enjoy some truly heartfelt quotes from renowned personalities:

• It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come. -Dalai Lama 
• Wherever you go, go with all your heart.-Confucius
• The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand.-- Robert Valett
• Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions,then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart. - Unknown
• Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. -Eleanor Roosevelt 
• The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.--Benjamin Franklin
• There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those.--Michael Nolan
• One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.-James Earl Jones
• The heart has reasons, which the reason cannot understand.--Blaise Pascal
• Know in your heart that all things are possible. We couldn't conceive of a miracle if none had ever happened.--Libbie Fudim
• In life when you get into trouble, don't get nervous, just close your eyes and listen to your heart; because, the heart may be on the left, but it is always right. - Unknown 

       The authors of "Be the Change" Ed and Deb Shapiro  writes, "..  your heart is so much more than a vessel for romance. It has been described as the king, with the mind as the king's adviser. When faced with a decision, the king may ask his advisers for advice, may even send him out into the world to gather information, but ultimately it is the king that makes the final decision. Even though the advisers do not always agree with the king's decision, the king is invariably right, because the king's view not only sees the bigger picture but is also aware of the needs of others. In the same way, when faced with a decision or conflict, your mind may come up with numerous, different and quite logical reasons why you should act as it advises, but if you listen to and trust your heart—however illogical or irrational it may seem—it is usually right and you are happier as a result".

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition". --Steve Jobs 

                                          Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

हास्य व्यंग्य कविताएं : संकट, योजना

                                                                                                  - मिलन सिन्हा
संकट

नेताजी से जब 

एक पत्रकार ने पूछा ,

महाशय, तेल  संकट  पर 

क्या हैं आपके विचार ?

तो कहा  नेताजी ने हँसते हुए ,

 कहाँ  तेल संकट

जो करें सोच विचार .

अरे , हमारे  घर  तो  रोज 

हजारों  लोग आते हैं 

और हमें लगाने के लिए 

भर-भर टीन तेल 

साथ लाते हैं !

योजना 

मंत्री जी ने कहा,

अगले पंच वर्षीय  योजना में 

गावों  से 

गरीबी  हटायेंगे .

ऐसा लगता है 

जैसे कि  वे उसे (गरीबी को)

शहर में ले जायेंगे !

                                   Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

FAILING TO PLAN IS NOTHING BUT PLANNING TO FAIL

                                                                             - By MILAN K SINHA
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail"- Benjamin Franklin

Absolutely true. Planning has been at the  core of all projects, big and small, particularly in our professional world, where everyone is  beset with plethora of assignments to be completed within a time limit and as per the quality specifications. Even in our domestic matters, planning plays an important & comforting role. We also know and appreciate, where there is inadequacy of resources, be it time, money, energy, goods, minerals, machines or whatever, vis-a-vis its requirement - management of resources comes into play and with management, planning runs parallel as an integral component. 

Thomas Alva Edison emphasized this in these words very clearly,"Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing".

For stressing the point further, we may see what some other famous personalities have to say:

• “Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” --Warren Buffett
• “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” -- Gloria Steinem
• "Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort". -- Paul J. Meyer 
• “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now”-- Alan Lakein 
• "Goals are dreams we convert to plans and take action to fulfill". -- Zig Ziglar
• "Have a plan. Follow the plan, and you'll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don't have a plan. That's why it's easy to beat most folks".-- Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach.
• Good plans shape good decisions. That's why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true. - Lester Robert Bittel

Yes, planning in itself is a unique and thoughtful task which requires lots of inputs  as it is regarded as one of the important time and event/task management technique. In fact, it prepares the road map with requisite details for reaching to the desired goal. The planning process incorporates various strategies such as organising, deputising, supervising, recognising, rewarding etc. with necessary check & balances to be reviewed periodically in totality. Moreover, every planning process  does have cushion for effecting last minute changes, if at all warranted. It also keeps alternatives ready in case some course correction becomes imperative, because we know absolutely well that  every time everything does not go strictly as per the planning due to its dependence on both controllable as well as non-controllable variables. 

To say, perfect planning takes care of unforeseen and unplanned as well, in such a  fashion that for onlookers it looks like a very smooth and  planned activity. Undoubtedly, planning is basically a proactive & dynamic process full of suspense and certainties, which we all experience and enjoy in our life in varying degrees.

          Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.