Category: Economy & Recession

Mr. Prime Minister , you must go now !


28th November 2010,  via Email

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister of India

New Delhi.

Dear Dr.Singh ,

Over the last few weeks, we have seen that that our hard earned money ( about 40 % of our hard earned money goes to government as direct and indirect taxes ) was been looted more blatantly by our own politicians under your leadership than  by Moguls or Britishers  !!

We are ashamed of your leadership, more so, because you are a highly educated Prime Minister . It was hoped that a highly educated person has become the PM , the politics & governance would be without compromise and would improve , but seeing the massive loot of the our money in IPL, Rotting of food grains ,  naxalite problem , unchecked inflation , CWG , 2G & 3G , MCI expose , Adarsh’ & now LIC , it seems that the game of looting the nation will continue unabated . I still recall that you were the first one to back A .Raja last year , when the issue of 2G allocation was raised , you have stood beside him . Now that post the Supreme court intervention , Raja is gone , what are your thoughts ?

This is the first government in the country where the supreme court had to intervene many times and express shock ( remember the supreme court questioning CBI in Mulayam & Mayawati case , telling the government  to give grains free rather than letting them rot !! & now the silence or patronage of the 2G minister !! ).

Dr.Singh, do not forget that the media reaches till the last man in this nation , and when they hear that the Prime minister lead government has looted lakhs of Crores , the reply in 2014 is going to be worse than Bihar.  Over 400 million poor people do not even get one full meal a day & more than 5 million kids die every year of malnutrition !!

Dr.Singh , in history , you will go down as the most ineffective Prime Minister  . You are the only Prime Minster, who was blatantly used & his position repeatedly abused by the Gandhi family . No wonder, Sonia came to your rescue saying that you are 100 % above board, and that your honesty should never be questioned . Dr.Singh , can you raise your hand and say that you are honest and you lead ministers like Sharad Pawar,  A. Raja , Shashi Tharoor etc………..Your integrity and Honesty is just a matter of your ‘ being an educated & learned person’ and nothing beyond. In the last 7 years that you have lead this country , you have denigrated the government institutions & investigative bodies to mere puppets, and systemically allowed the loot to happen just to retain your chair .  Dr.Singh . It is high time that you resigned and moved on and start writing your memoirs ‘honestly’.

I think it  was  a clever ploy to make you the Prime Minister , so that you could share all the blame for the planned loot  , and when it comes to taking credit for NREGA , food security bill or women reservation bill , it would be the NAC headed by Sonia . ……………You should keep this email for your record . Post your stepping down( whenever it happens ) , you will be the first one in the line of fire from the Gandhi family for your inept handling of security , inflation and corruption . They will be the first one to say that could not understand managing a coalition and became morally flexible and allowed the loot of the nation !!

I also urge the opposition ( BJP ) to work on a program to educate the common man, that we must ensure that the congress is out of power for the next 10 years to get this nation back on track ………from 2014 till 2025 we do not need congress at all .

I am sure that all marked in this email will understand the anger of the common man and act as per our wishes !!

A common man

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Healthy Foods – A must have


Rajendra Pratap Gupta

President

Dated: October 22nd, 2010.

  1. Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad

Hon’ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare

Government of India

Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi -110108.

2. CEO’s of the industry

Subject: An important appeal

Dear Shri Azad ji & CEO’s ,

This appeal needs your esteem, kind and personal attention.

Disease Management Association of India (DMAI ) – The Population Health Improvement Alliance is thankful to the Ministry of Health & Family welfare for taking action on its recommendations for health reforms appeal sent last year ( dated November 23rd 2009 ). Members, associated organizations and the Board of Directors of DMAI – The Population Health Improvement Alliance, are highly appreciative of the steps that the current government is taking to tackle the healthcare issues concerning our nation.

One area where DMAI feels that the Ministry & the industry have to draw its focus and attend urgently is:

  • Issue guidelines & standards  ( and enforce them ) with regards to the food served in airlines , railways , other public transports, government canteens, private dining establishments, School canteens &  packed foods ( all forms )
  • All such foods / foods items must carry the calorific intake for each serving
  • The customer must be given a choice of low calorie, low glycemic index, and zero cholesterol options rather than forcing them to eat unhealthy foods that adds to the disease burden of this nation.
  • Above all, all packaged food companies must carry tips for good health on the individual packs – at least a one liner if not more!!

It is proven that Indians are genetically susceptible to circulatory disorders , and that we can only fight it by inculcating healthy eating habits by educating the public on healthy foods,  promoting healthy foods ,and at last , giving them an option to eat what is good for their health .

I have personally experienced that all the airlines, Indian railways, public transport and eateries are serving foods that have a high glycemic index, high in fat content and are loaded with calories that remain in the body as excess fats. Such foods are a slow poison for consumers!!  This is the main cause of India becoming a diseased nation, and the alarming rise in the obesity amongst children in addition to diabetes and hypertension.  DMAI had conducted a random Health Risk Assessment with 2000 people in association with IIHMR, Delhi.  The revelations have been shocking!! We have an abnormally high incidence of diabetes, hypertension and obesity. It’s a call to action.

We have to aim at keeping the BMI of Indians below 23, and today, it is shocking that about 50 % of Urban Indians are either at the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension or joint pains or suffering from it.

By the time Indians reach forty years of age, they become patient of one form of illness or another. It is high time that we all get together and put efforts to make India a healthier nation. We cannot just blame the government for the healthcare issues and leave it to handle this issue alone!

Through this appeal, we expect all the airlines, public transport and eateries to ensure that they serve healthy food and carry the total calorific intake for each serving.

It is also expected that that all the concerned will take the  health of Indians as a top priority in all the offerings when it comes to foods intake , and give options like brown bread , sugar substitutes , low calorie and low fat meals as an option and not force the passengers & customers to eat high calorie meals.

DMAI is committed to working with all the major stake holders in the entire continuum of care to bring about a population health improvement through actionable steps

We expect the government to formulate definite guidelines on this issue, and the industry to take a proactive approach. Work place wellness must be focused on by the HR captains and CEO’s of all the ‘responsible’ corporations.

DMAI appreciates the proactive approach of the government to ensure healthcare for all. Should the government agencies need any assistance in drafting guidelines or in the implementation plan, DMAI would be more than happy to volunteer for the same

In hope of the needful

Sincerely

CC:

Dr.Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister

Ms.Sujatha Rao, Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, GOI

Shri Dinesh Trivedi, MOS, HFW

Dr.K.Srinath Reddy, President, PHFI

Health Minister of States

CEO, Jet Airways, King Fisher Airlines, Goair, Indigo, Air India, Spicejet

Minister for Railways

Ministry of HRD / Ministry of Labour / Ministry of Civil Aviation

Koutenya Sinha, Editor Health, Economic Times

Sonal Shukla, Hindustan Times

Priyanka, DNA news

Rajdeep Sardesai

Barkha Dutt

CII, ASSOCHAM, FICCI & CIAT to circulate this to all its members

Government ( MP’s ) , Government employees & the Common Man !!


A few days back, the members of Parliament got a raise ( Over 300 % ) . Today,  the government employees got 10 % increase in their dearness allowance , and the “poor” Common Man gets to read the headlines that,  the inflation for food items has crossed over 15 %. But Pranab says that , the  economy will grow at 9  % next year

This is the government (of ) MP’s,  (for ) government employees, and  (at the cost) of the common man !! This is what happens when there is “democracy”  for a population that is either illiterate or unemployed or both …………Votes count and voters don’t .

Democracy will function effectively in a population that is literate and employed. Else dictatorship or democracy mean the same !!

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Email : office@rajendragupta.in

US increases VISA fees and Bans outsourcing


It is quite natural for any country into recession to resort to protectionists measures. So for sure , that Indian IT / BPO companies will face a flack and lose business . So what to do ? How to counter the threat ?

Improve & increase the current offering , slash prices and force the US firms to come over to you…………..this is the best way for Indian companies to help US based companies to lower costs and increase profits …and ensure that Indian IT companies are more compelling value proposition for US corporations hungry for profits . Let’s see what works better – Business over politics or Politics over business ?

Rajendra

An Open letter to the Prime Minister


13th September 2010

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister

Government of India

7, Race Course , New Delhi-110011

An Open letter from a common man

Dear Dr.Singh,

Namaskaar

I wrote you a letter on 14th February this year asking about creating wealth and employment ( available on my blog www.rajendragupta.wordpress.com ). Post that letter , i did hear Pranab da stating that we need to create wealth ……..but as always, i have not seen a concrete action plan post that “loaded statement”

For the past few months , i have been wanting to communicate to you what an ordinary Indian thinks about the current state of affairs, so that you can take appropriate action. Since so many things have happened, i will just randomly start than prioritizing any particular issue

Wastage of Food grains : In India , it has been a tradition of not wasting food on the plate . But we are wasting more than 50000 of tons of food grain and on the other side , we are having unprecedented and unchecked inflation. Conditions are revolting for the common man. If i was born in a deprived family , i would have become a ‘Civilian with a gun, out there to seek revenge’; what you can call as a naxalite !! But i have a very decent corporate job , i live with my family in Mumbai and i have a more sophisticated way to vent my anger with this note ( i presume that is the reason why we say that the Pen is mightier than the sword ! ). Else , for sure , i would be a more dreaded naxalite that Koteshwara Rao !! My social & financial standing prohibit me to think on those lines for moment  …………

Back to the point of the wastage of food grains , i am quite surprised that supreme court ( knowing well , that our courts are the most inefficient & corrupt  ). Still they felt that the government should distribute grains free than letting them rot and even passed an order . Not just the citizens but the court also believes that the government is a laggard when it comes to addressing the issues of the common-man & So it had to pass an order !)

What are the steps you are taking to ensure that this wastage does not happen again ?  Have you taken the FCI & Ministry of agriculture to task for a poor job on forecasting the production , planning storage and facilitating distribution of grains or exporting them rather than letting them rot when the country is facing a double digit inflation ? If i were in your position, i would sack the minister , the secretary of the Ministry & a bunch of senior officials responsible for the criminal waste and start the legal proceedings to penalise them & disqualify them from holding any post ever . So that no one would ever repeat this even for one KG of food grain, leave alone 50,000 tonnes. You seem to be enjoying as a silent spectator !!

Dr.Singh , how would you feel if your children or grand children slept hungry for a few days or just had one meal a day ? Do not forget that , 4 lac of children have their first birthday as their last  & 56 % of the women suffer from anaemia . All this is easily preventable . I wish your children were malnourished and then you became the Prime Minister

Honesty , inefficiency & Corruption : Dr.Singh, i sometimes wonder why people call you honest ! In my view , you are not  honest at all . Yes you might have some integrity ( though you have become morally flexible to a large extent ). Let me quote your silence on ministries handled by Mamta , Lalu, Raja,  Sharad and others……..if you were honest , you would never tolerate their incompetence and corrupt practices ! You are the patron ( rather the Head ) of this gang of inefficient ministers  . CBI has become ‘Congress Blackmail & Bachane ka institution” . When there is a show of strength in Lok Sabha or there is a need for support  , CBI goes to the Supreme court to withdraw cases against Mulayam , Maya and Lalu etc .  Whenever these people take congress to task , CBI starts knocking the door with charge sheets. Which honesty are you talking about Dr.Singh or are you selectively blind ?

Leadership abilities : You had once remarked that the history will judge you & not the opposition . Let me tell you that history would judge you as the most incapable leader who moved with the tide & sometimes it worked ( like in 1990’s ) and most of the time you failed miserably

Your party always projects you as the person who modernized India. Totally wrong !! In 1990’s , you were pushed against the wall with foreign exchange left for just a few days . Dr.Singh, you had no choice but to let the rupee devalue , and let the foreign investors bring money , and that too, was envisioned by PVNR ( who will never get his due share as he is was not from the Gandhi clan !! )

If you are such a great economist ( Look at your team: Finance minister is an economist , Home minister is a past finance minister , Montek is a finance man , In addition to this , you have Kaushik Basu, Raghuram Rajan etc….bunch of economic advisors ) . Then, why the hell are you all floundering !! You are all simply clueless about inflation and its solution!

I heard Pranab da saying yesterday that he was worried with inflation rising again !! He actually meant that he was failing ! I know that sometimes it is hard to put the right words, but public is not a fool Dr.Singh . We can make out what is underneath your statements .

Here is what historians would actually consider while rating you :

  1. Allegiance to the Gandhi clan and not to the nation
  2. Sharm-Al Shaikh & your love for Bush ( the residents of America hated the man and you loved him , i always fail to understand this one )
  3. Double digit Inflation ( You even failed as a astrologer here )
  4. Common Wealth Games fiasco
  5. Kashmir violence ( Worst thing to imagine is that house wives are on the streets pelting stones & Omar & you are on the same boat !! )
  6. Naxalites
  7. Relations with China ( Visa row clearly indicates that relations are at an all time low )
  8. US sanctions against outsourcing and increasing the VISA fees ( you just get flattered by Barack’s calling you ‘Guru’ , and you have gone overboard to get the nuclear deal through . Look at India’s past, and you will see that whenever India has faced sanctions , India has come out with its innovative research and developed the capabilities . Agni & Chandrayaan were built by Indian scientists. I don’t think that we should have surrendered our ‘Nuclear Sovereignty’ by signing the nuclear deal with a lot of riders and opening our sites for inspection to foreign powers …..You have let us down & undermined the capability of our scientists Dr.Singh ! Long term prospects of India of being the nuclear giant is gone with the deal . Without the deal , we could have taken longer but become stronger
  9. Relations with Pakistan , Nepal & Sri Lanka have gone at an all time low during your regime
  10. Farmers suicides are a blot to this nation
  11. Andhra Violence
  12. You are the only Prime Minister who has appointed & tolerated incompetent & disobedient ministers like Mamta , Sharad , Raja , Tharoor et al.

Under your Prime Ministership the political health, Social health & Economic health of the nation has touched a new low . I am not a fan of Advani , but when i see what Mani Shanker Aiyer did recently w.r.t. the Common Wealth Games or what Tharoor did a few months back or what Digvijay Singh has been saying about the Home minister or your own M.P’s criticizing the Kapil Sibal or Jagan defying congress and continuing with its Odarpu Yatra , i think Advani was right in saying that you are a weak Prime Minister . This is the worse government we have ever seen . The things have gone so bad that people curse you and your team . Even those who are well to do, are revolting in conscience and criticizing you …………you should be ashamed Dr.Singh  of still sticking in your chair . Media calls you night watch man !! I feel ashamed to mention the language common man uses for you .

Dr.Singh , you represent the ‘political culture’ of this nation . If you are silent ( or helpless  ) seeing  the corruption and inefficiency of the ministers who report into you , how can you expect the citizens of this nation to stand up against corruption and inefficiency ? You are leading by a wrong example . Please change it immediately or do not give talks that calls the people to stand up & raise voice , when you are silent and blind to acts of corruption , inefficiency and nepotism !!

Seeing what you have done , i can put here that you never could become a politician and failed , and also that the professor in you died as you could not convince your colleagues of looking after the nation as per the mandate given to your government .

Every minute you stay in office or every inch you move is financed by my taxes ( read common man’s tax money  ), and i have every right to question you about your indecision and decisions both . Please do not ignore the concerns of the common-man . Change your style of working , make changes in your cabinet , let the corrupt ministers go …….and do not do the mistake to pass off Rahul as a representative of youth for the nation ………He does not represent the youth , he represents the Gandhi’s

I expect you to act on this ……………you already have a detailed note sent out to you on Feb 14th about the steps you could consider to take in the interest of this nation . Else , resign and go. For sure , we will get a better Prime Minister ……..

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Email: Office@rajendragupta.in

President@countryfirst.org

Don’t try to copy and Chase China


One of the most important ( and expensive ) learning’s out of common wealth games experience has been that we should stop following China !!
We hoped  to repeat the Beijing Olympic games at Common Wealth Games , and are very close to mess up with the much smaller games event than Olympic Games ( CWG )
It is time for our politicians to wake up and stop dreaming of making Mumbai like Shanghai or aping China in terms of double digit growth. India can never do a “China story”.
We tried to copy SEZ’s model from China , and today we know how many SEZ bidders have walked away from their signed deals for setting up SEZ’s
We have to come up with our indigenous model of growth rather than making references of China, and trying to bench mark our growth numbers with China’s milestones !
Rajendra

Food Inflation – the real issue is of planned production & storage


Pulses – the pulse of the nation : Pre-dominantly , Indians are vegetarians , and so the protein requirements are met through consumption of protein rich – pulses

We have always been worried about high food inflation charging the government for inefficient handling of the prices. Often we quote the high price of pulses . Let’s do a little digging on why pulses cost more when 65 % of our nation is engaged in agriculture ?

Pulses production in India is 12-15 million tonnes , and the requirement is 18-20 million tonnes .  Looks like pulses production have never been planned by the ministry of agriculture or the planning commission ; this is when we have celebrated 63 years of independence recently !!

Second issue is that despite poor production , even storage has not been attended to .

FCI- Food Corporation of India has 60.5 million tonnes of food grains ( all kinds of grains & not just pulses )  . This is good enough of quantity to give 21 KG of grain every month to people below BPL .  Sadly enough , 30 % of the 60.5 Million tonnes gets wasted every year due to storage conditions

Issue is very simple , and the policy makers need to plan production and storage to address the gaps . Once this is done , we should never have issues related to irrational prices of food grains

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Email : office@rajendragupta.in

Security or Surveillance ?


Since our last major terror strike at Mumbai two years back , one of the major developments have been about security .  I feel strongly that since a lot of VIP’s died at the TAJ Hotel , a lot of ‘high octane’ drama was enacted both in the parliament , media and other public places .

Let’s do a quick check of what happened post our 9/11 ?

Where do we see most of the surveillance ? Airports , stations , five star hotels etc.  I have stayed in Taj Hotels in Bangalore to CROWN plaza in Delhi and many others. I visit a five start hotel every week to meet friends and visitors who stay in such hotels . Here is what i feel about the so called “over hyped’ security

We have been working for the elite who stay in hotels and travel by air . But still , security issues have not been addressed . Let me walk you through the security processes at display in all major locations

  1. You will find a metal detector ( by default ) at all major public places , and it beeps every time you walk past though it . You are required to take out your cell phone , keep it outside and then walk through it . I has asked at a five star hotel security person in Delhi . If my cell phone was having a bomb what can you do ?? You do not even scan it in the metal detector , i have to keep it in the tray outside the metal detector . The poor guy was doing what his security company had told him. He was blank and answerless.
  2. In every airport , the process is the same .
  3. Interestingly , i was at HYATT regency at Mumbai a day before yesterday. A person came , asked my driver to open the door , bonnet etc wiped the steering with a plastic and went back to the machine to read the plastic . Imagine , i was a terrorist , would i not get enough time  ( while the security guy is reading his plastic wipe !! ) to run my vehicle into the hotel and shoot or blast anything i wanted ?  can you call it security ?
  4. In the hotels , well dressed security chaps will say Namaste to you with folded hands , ask you to open the doors or frisk you. No one  even understands what the hell bonnet of the car looks like or does it have a bomb ?  i bet you that even if i carried an explosive , it would get in well past the entry point ! Like a convict who carried a pistol in Delhi court last week despite all the security !!

So the point i am making is that due to this security scare , dogs have got employment  ( my friend who is President with a reputed five star hotel  had once told me,  that these dogs can work with accuracy only when deployed for 20-40 minutes , but they are made to work for hours ).  So the point is that, it is all show of surveillance and not security . Intelligence and pro-activeness is lacking totally in our system. People standing at the security points are ill equipped , and there is no way that these guys can be alive to resist the attack, if terrorists strike !!

Last week , i took the security officer of Mumbai airport to task for allowing the so called VIP vehicles parked at the exit gate no 2. I informed him that the gate no 2 has only pick up and drop and is not meant for parking, and that the VIP parking had been created specifically a few meters away , but our arrogant VIP’s have taken it as their birth right to flash red light beacon  or VIP numbers and park vehicles posing a big security threat to Mumbai airport. I asked Asst. Police Inspector , Mr, Mane why he did not tow the vehicles parked on the gate 2. He was speechless , he tried to explain that the VIP’s don’t listen . There were at least 6 vehicles blocking the exit , and not a single driver was in the car …………….I wrote the same to the Chief Minister and the Home Minister …..i do hope that these guys act before a strike !!

We have as a nation failed before naxalites and we will continue to fail against terrorism , till we address technology proactively and pre-empt strikes . Current vigilance in the name of security is a farce wasting money and delaying the check-in in the hotel & airports

Hope the policy makers take the note and act

I have marked this to our Home Minister

Mumbai airport – A true reflection of India


When you land at Mumbai next time , do peep below to get the aerial view of Mumbai- A true reflection of India .  On one side , you have dozens of aeroplanes , and the other side hundreds of Slums . That’s India .

The government will remove the slums shortly, but the poverty will not go ,it will be shifted from the eyes of the viewer. You will have swanky buildings coming up on the slums- may be a new runway or another terminal etc. So after a few months, if a visitor lands in Mumbai and sees that there are no slums , he or she will imagine India growing much faster , slums disappearing …. Poverty vanishing off fast , faster than China .

Think before you imagine the real India . We are doing cosmetic changes and these do not impact the health of our nation

We need change at the grass roots .

We are still far – far away ………….

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Email : office@rajendragupta.in

3G & the high speed downfall of the Telco’s


3 G spectrum has been over-sold . Keeping in mind the fact that,  the average yearly penetration of 3 G users has been highest at 5 % in developed countries like Japan. It took them 7 years to increase the penetration of 3G services to 35 %. India is a country with 150- 220 million middle income people , and not everyone requires 3G !!

In India , do we need high speed internet in our daily lives ? We are pretty okay with Blackberry,  emails and voice calls- Just 70 million internet users !!

Industry has perhaps gone overboard to pay “Obnoxious” sums for 3G spectrum.

To ensure profitability , 3G players will have to invade few sectors to make it viable ( trust me , it is a big challenge for immediate future  ). The sectors that need to be invaded are HEART ( Healthcare , Education & Entertainment , Agriculture ,  Rural India & Travel & Tourism , Telemedicine )

People have wrongly understood the first wave of telecom revolution . The first wave came because of the following

  1. Before the cell phones were launched , getting a land line from the government “monopoly” ( BSNL /MTNL ) was difficult – wait times was uncertain & services pathetic even after bribing the lineman the things would not work !
  2. ‘Rich’ people could afford the luxury of a ‘Cordless’ phone, that would have a coverage of 10 or 20 Feet . Suddenly , with a cell phone , people could roam with a phone across India or the world !! I think people in the telecom sector have believed that the craze for 3G would be the same as the first wave for cell phones !! But believe me , it will never happen . I have used cell phone since 1996 , when it was launched and paid an “Airtime’ of Rs.16.40 per minute + normal call rates !!
  3. The actual number of cell phone users are still as per what i call  the 1/3rd Rule ( we just have approximately 200 million cell phone users and not 654 Million, what the Telco’s & the government talk about  )
  4. Handsets to use the features of the 3G are not evolved as yet

Overall, paying and bidding for 3G was a lot easier than to manage the profits out of the networks using 3G. This will leave only two players doing something worthwhile ( Vodafone & “may be” , Mukesh Ambani ). Rest will have to work hard to avoid “Consolidation” of the industry

May be , some players will use 3G airwaves to enhance the voice quality

MNP ( Mobile number portability ) : MNP was delayed for obvious reasons !! But once the system is operational, it will crash due to the overload of the people applying for the same . There is a lot of anger amongst users for poor service quality . People will change the provider not for better service but to vent out anger at the existing service provider.  Some Telco’s will lose millions of users in months ( who gains in the long run is going to be a billion dollar question )  Time to wake up and take corrective action,  and innovate the services !!

Two big challenges 3G & MNP – Head ache of CEO’s of all Telco’s

3G might become the high speed to downfall – Thanks to the myopic government policies and over excitement of the bidders. May be , that’s the reason why MNC’s stayed out of the bidding. Perhaps, they will wait for some companies to bleed, and then, buy them out

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Email : office@rajendragupta.in