The Jan LokPal Bill is supposed to be the answer to India’s massive endemic corruption which strikes daily in the form of a new scam or scandal.The government has proven to be woefully inadequate in taking on the corrupt politicians,bureaucrats and businessmen.This corrupt nexus has been repeatedly exposed and its structure exposed through the Nira Radia Tapes.The Indian administration has shamefully failed to take action only promising to do something without doing anything worthwhile.The Indian Judiciary has also castigated the government numerous times for its abject failure in the 2G Telecom Scam,Black Money Scandal etc.However the government instead of strengthening anti-corruption measures has only put obstacles in the way.Its no wonder when the committee meant to look after the Bill comprises of ministers tainted with a number of scams themselves.Anna Hazare has held a fast unto death to put pressure on the government to pass the draft bill but the Minister appear unconcerned.Here is a short summary and guide to the main points of the Jan LokPal Bill which IMHO deserves the support of the whole Indian civil society.
Nuclear Power has come under assualt in the aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident with Nuclear becoming a four letter word.However Nuclear Energy cannot be ignored becauses its benefits are unique in some applications and cannot be substituted by any other means.Nuclear Power also cannot be replaced in the short term from its most widely used application of generating Electricity.Note Nuclear Power accounts for almost 15% of the Global Electricity and in some countries is the major source of energy.For example France which has 80% of its power coming from Nuclear Fission,its impossible to think of shutting down nuclear plants like Germany which gets around 20%.Note even for USA which has the largest installed base of nuclear reactors shutting down almost 200 GW of Nuclear Capacity is quite unthinkable.Besides Nuclear Energy has massive uses in medical and other applications.This cannot be substituted by other means at all.For example its possible to replace Nuclear Electricity by other means like Solar,Wind even Coal and Gas though its costs will be astounding.But you can’t replace Nuclear Energy in Medical Applications like Scanning and X-Rays.Here is a list of the main uses of Nuclear Energy.
The massive dumping of radiation seawater by TEPCO into the Pacific Ocean has triggered outrage amongst various stakeholder groups.Fishermen are angry at is will massively affect the marine life who are bound to get poisoned by the 11,500 tons of radioactive water which is 100 times over the legal limit.A fishing industry group in Fukushima prefecture has asked Tepco to stop releasing toxic water into the sea near the power plant as Radioactive iodine and cesium were found in fish caught off the coast of Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.The Fishermen are already facing a bad time are bound to get hit even worse from this.Green Groups are protesting this deliberate ejection and say that it might be unethical to dump the water if not illegal under international laws.Green Groups are protesting the fact that more efforts could not have been made to store the water in ship tankers or overland facilities instead of taking the easy way out and dumping it in the Pacific.Note the radioactivity spewed from the Japanese Nuclear Plants is affecting nations globally.South Korea which lies very close to Japan has expressed concerns over the toxic water being dumped into the ocean.
Note none of the Indian automakers has a decent EV or a Hybrid selling in the Indian market.Foreign markets on the other had are seeing fierce competition amongst major auto makers to gain a first mover advantage.GM,Nissan,Toyota are the leader in this market with other car makers also in the process of getting in.Hectic alliances and JVs are being forged as this market segment promises to be the fastest growing as the governments give massive subsidies and push.It remains to be seen whether the government in India can push given its record.
Increasing Oil Prices is the biggest Achilles Heel of the Indian Economy heavily dependent on imported oil products.The government will have to either raise the prices leading to adding fire to the already high inflation or compensate the badly bleeding half privatized Oil Companies like IOC,BPCL and HPCL.These companies generally make massive losses despite having private investors apart from the government.Compensating these losses would lead to a higher fiscal deficit which would add to the inflation pressures anyway.Note a recent survey revealed that the Indian Middle Class has cut its expenditure on shopping,eating out and entertainment by a whopping 65% due to the high inflation.However the Indian Stock Market has seemingly discounted all these factors going up by 10% in 10 days on the back of a global rally.Bernanke Fueled Cheap Money is Circulating Hungrily across the Globe and currently India seems to be the fashion trend of the month.Note these hot money flows can reverse equally quickly leading to a sharp market crash just like the Jan-Feb one as fundamentals hardly support this kind of rally.With government intervention and distortions becoming the overriding factor in the stock markets,Free Markets and Fundamentals have taken a backseat.
India has been rocked by a number of scams and scandals in which the ruling Congress Party members have invariably involved.The Adarsh Housing Scam,Commenwealth Games Scam,2G Telecom Scandal etc. the list of corruption goes on and on.Despite this the ruling Congress Party does not want a stringent anit-corruption bill to be passed.Note the party in […]