The Oil Scam in India?

The Global crude oil prices are soaring. Which means the Indian petrol/diesel prices will also increase substantially over a period of time. Petrol is already very costly here - around or more than 50 Rs. a litre. If these fuels' price increase, so does the inflation. And then it leads to an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor.

I was really surprised on reading one article in the newspaper Sakal. It said that if we remove all the central tax, state tax and excise duty from the Petrol prices, the rate per litre will come down to half! Isn't it amazing? It leads to the obvious question - Is it justified to tax the most sensitive commodity so heavily? That too in a predominantly poor/developing country?

I am not an expert economist. But I still think that taxing almost 100% of the petrol price is just way too much considering the spiralling effect it has on the overall prices/inflation. Agreed that the government needs money and taxes to run the nation. But should it come at the cost of every citizen including the poorest of poor?

And now, some state governments are claiming fame by not taxing the increased amount of 4Rs per liter of Petrol. But what about the 25 Rs or so that they are already taxing? Add to that the chaoitc handling of the issue by all state governments! Some states want the citizens to bear this additional burden. Why is there no central control of the state taxes especially for such an important item like oil?

I really think that the government should look at other ways to earn money rather than taxing the common man in such a rampant manner. If the inflation goes out of hand, the poor will become poorer. The rich keep getting richer anyways.

Let me know your thoughts.
- Ashutosh

Ind - WI One day series

It was a very closely fought contest. At the start, India had the edge. But the West Indies came back well and had the nerve to win all the close games. Fielding was the a key area that made the difference, but as always on the foreigh tours - Indian batting IMO was the main reason of the loss. The batsmen went from being over confident in the first few matches to being frightened in the last two. It was nerves, nothing else. Especially in the two games, when India had a number of wickets in hand at 40th over or 35th, but they just couldn't up the tempo. They were so low on the confidence at that time, they couldn't put away even the bad balls. Part time bowlers likge Gayle and Sarwan and Samuels were giving just 3 runs an over. No doubt India carried a lot of weight of expectations and burden on their shoulders and crumbled under it. Not that they did not have the opportunities, not that they did not have good players.

It has been a real problem with the Indian team. They are chokers outside the sub-continent. They have improved in the past few years before which they were plain losers on the away soils. Take the Australian test match - the farewell match of Steve Waugh - or the world cup or these one dayers. they have consistently created situations of strength and then just as they had promised a lot, failed to deliever the knock-out punch.

In this series, they were so close to puling off miracles - Yuvraj in the 2nd match and Sreesanth in the third - but they gave it away. Yuvi got bowled on a slower ball and Dravid misfielded when 4 were needed of 3. Its a perfect example of choking.

The blame should not be taken away from the top order batsmen and the big problem was that of No.3. India does not have a good enough No.3. Pathan was tried there but with no luck. If Dravid batted in that position then the middle order became weak. Raina was tried too, but not good enough technique. Which takes you back to two oldies - Laxman and Sachin. Honestly, either of them have to play if India is to perform well on foregn soil in ODIs. But Dravid and Chappell are not willing to compromise on age and fielding.

Another factor was the five-bowler theory. It worked wonders on Asian pitches but failed to impress in West Indies. As said earlier, it is still a good ploy, we just need an even better all rounder to take its advantage. I think the time is right to give another chance to Reetinder Singh Sodhi. Or Piyush Chawla.

All and all, I was sad with the Indian performance but not completely disappointed. Powar bowled well, Yuvraj batted beautifully and Sehwag came back to form. But one thing is clear, unless India sort out their top order selection and the all rounder problems, it will not be such a big force to reckon with when the great show starts next March in the Caribbean.

Cheers,
- Tosh

R e s e r v a t i o n s

It's been long since I have not posted anything. Have been pretty pre-occupied with work (for a change!) in the office, so didn't get much time for all such time-pass.

I have thought long and hard about the issue of reservations to OBCs in institutes of higher education. I have changed my stands a couple of times (or more) after taking a look at different angles, talking to different people etc. And finally I arrived at a conclusion. I oppose the move initiated by Arjun Singh. And here are my reasons:

1. I am not against the idea of reservations, and not even against the idea of reservations based on caste. However, which castes to reserve for, how much to reserve for them and so on is, according to me, a very important topic which is being missed in this debate. There are extremely conflicting numbers coming from many government agencies regarding OBC contribution in the total Indian population. Firstly, there has to be a consensus on this number. And then only should we finalize the quota. Its a topic which has not been given enough research in the controversy, which is sad.

2. If we apply the rule x% of the population then give x% reservations, then this rule must be strict. I mean, if x% is reserved for caste Y, then no institute should admit more than x% from caste Y. Even if those additional students can get admission in the general quota by virtue of merit. This is a point very few people are discussing but it is a very vital one. If you want to give someone x% representation then restrict it to x%. Otherwise you are doing grave social injustice to other sections.

3. There must be a limit to the whole issue. There should be a limit to max % of reserved seats per college. There should be limit to which places reservation applies. e.g. Why is their not enough debate on restricting reservations to graduation level? There should be limit to which fields - e.g. reservation in Defense, higher medical education, and other such hyper sensitive fields must be less than the other fields. There should not be a blanket rules saying x% reservation everywhere. There should be a limit on the number of generations for which the benefit is applicable. There should be a limit on the number of times the same individual gets the benefit. e.g. If a benefit (+ scholarship) is given at graduation level to a student, it should not be given at post graduation level to the same student. Why is the government not considering these alternatives?

4. The decision to increase the number of seats is impracticable. If institutes are forced to do so, their quality will degrade. The goverment should focus on why there are not enough teaching staff available to handle the increased load? Why does India have only 6 IITs and IIMs? Why is their number not increasing?

5. There must be a comprehensive study of reserved category students' performance and its trend over the past few years. This is the only measure of effectiveness of this policy. Why is the government not taking any step to measure that?

6. If the poiticians are so damn serious, why noone dares to speak about reservations in parliament?

If we try to find answers to these and many more such questions, we will agree on one thing. Social justice is not the only objective the government is trying to achieve. It is clearly playing a dirty game of populist vote bank politics. A game which has the potential to divide the nation. Recently, some reserved class scientists have made protests to increase reservations in Scientific domains. The fire once started is very hard to extinguish.

So much so about the problem. Now - how can it be solved? One solution - All higher caste citizens MUST vote. There is not much else that can be done. As one of my friends wrote to me - This is one disadvantage of democracy.

- Ashutosh

Stock Markets: Is the SEBI doing enough?

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/25bull.htm makes an interesting (and scary) reading. Especially the sections about PNs and FIIs are important. In my opinion, it may not be safe to invest in the secondary market. Mutual funds might be a good option as they keep booking profits.

Meanwhile, I got 50 shares of Emkay Shares and Stock Brokers. It will get listed on Friday. Looking at the latest IPO Listings, it might list on a premium. I am expecting a close of at least 150 (for Shares issued at 120). Lets see.

I am also planning to invest in DS Kulkarni's FPO.

Cheers,
- Tosh

Applied For an IPO...

Yesterday I applied in the IPO of Emkay Shares & Stock Brokers. I applied for 250 shares, each for Rs. 120. Hoping that I get some allotment and then some profits :-)

Cheers,
- Tosh

The Five Bowler Theory

This Saturday, NDTV showed an interview with Rahul Dravid, the Indian Cricket captain. The interview was very interesting. It started with a question to Dravid - whether he wanted to be remembered as the captain who won India the Rare Test Series outside the sub-continent. That question pretty much sums up the mission that captain Dravid and coach Chappell have been running for the past few months. Dravid's answer was the diplomatic No as usual but it is quite clear that this has been one of him main objectives.

The most controversial issue doing rounds right now is the five bowlers theory that Dravid and Chappell have introduced. The obvious de-merit is that if the top order collapses, there is a good chance that we might end up scoring a very small total. That happened in Mumbai and we lost the Test. But I am personally for this 5-bowler-theory. The reason is this. If you play only four bowlers, you are essentially being defensive even before the match starts. If we want to WIN test matches -abroad or at home- we have to play five bowlers. Sure, that will weaken the batting a bit. But then, there is no free lunch! You have to loose some to win some. Dravid's argument was that the current team has many mini-all-rounders in it. Dhoni, Pathan, etc etc. They have been given opportunities and they have flourished. With these players building a very strong lower middle order, India can take the risk of playing only 5 specialist batters. Dravid also spoke about the Ashes and how England won it because they had five regular bowlers. And about why Australia was playing Symonds &/or Watson.

The determination on his face looks amazing. One thing is pretty clear. The Dravid of the past has changed. Somewhere, the positive mind has woken up inside him. The monster who hit Allan Donald for a six over long on has now risen with full passion. He has gone through many ups and downs. At some times, he could not pinch singles. Then he could not hit boundaries in one-dayers. Sometimes he was made to keep wickets in order to retain his place in the team. He never complained. He took everything in his stride and kept performing exceptionally well. And he is now leading the Indian team with a vision to succeed. With the Ganguly saga over, and with Chappell extending full support, there is no reason why the dreams can't be realized. In the young team of today, India has the makings of a world-beating setup.

In the meanwhile, the golden run in One-dayers continues. India now lead the series 3-0 and I won't be surprised at all if they win it 7-0. They are on a roll. They cannot believe that they can loose, and when that happens, a team becomes dangerous. They have many top order problems to sort out, but even with that, they are coming out on top convincingly in each game they play. Its a dream dream run and one that we hope will continue as long as possible.

Meanwhile, my favorite-Raina has come back with a bang and Ajit has also made a surprising comeback. Harbhajan's return to form is heartening and it is important to note that Dravid supported him Fully during his poor run. One thing is sad though. Virendra Sehwag, I think, is taking his place for granted. I watched him live today. He was laughing after every ball. Playing careless shots, many of which he missed. And when he finally got out bowled, it was downright embarrassing. He must be sacked - at least temporarily, just to show to him that he needs to be a bit more serious. And remind him, that there is always someone who would be more happy and hungry to grab his place. Watch out for Gautam.

In the interview Dravid also spoke with great respect for Sachin Tendulkar. He said that Sachin is much more valuable to the team that just scoring runs and bowling a few overs. The way he prepares for a game, the way he carries himself, inspires and teaches others was very essential. That makes him an invaluable asset of the team. This was a clear indication that Sachin will not go the Ganguly way and will retain his place in the team, even if his poor form continues for some more time.

Cheers,
- Tosh

A small but adventurous trip around Pune

On this Sunday, we had some guests in our house. They had come to Pune from Roha via Tamhini ghat in the morning. They wanted to visit a place in Chinchwad along with me and my wife. After that they planned to start back for Roha via Lonavla by the 5 pm bus - and reach Roha by 10 pm.

To give some background, there are two routes to Roha from Pune. One is through the beatiful Tamhini Ghat. This is a short-cut. The longer route is through Pimpri-Chinchwad-Lonavla, which is a longer one. The only bus on this long route from Pune in the noon is at 5 pm which reaches Roha at 10 pm.

So we all started from my house in Kothrud at 12.30 pm and surprisingly reached Chinchwad in just 25 minutes. The roads were near empty in the hot noon and so it was a very easy and pleasant drive via the highway. Luckily, our meeting at Chinchwad ended in an hour and a half, so we had plenty of time in our hands before the visitors could catch their 5 pm bus. It was then that we all decided to change the visitor's plans.

According to the new plan, all four of us (The two visitors, me and my wife) would start immediately (@ 2.30 pm) from Chinchwad towards Hinjewadi. From Hinjewadi, we would take a road towards Pirangut. Pirangut is located on the Pune-Roha road about 30 KMs away from Pune. But the big advantage is, there are many buses from Pune that go towards Roha from this route at that time of the day, as compared to the only 5 pm bus on the Lonavla route.

So off we went from Chinchwad - back towards Pune on the Bombay Banglore bypass. We left the bypass at Hinjewadi, showed our guests a number of cool IT buildings in Hinjewadi. And then crossed Hinjewadi to travel towards Pirangut. It was around 2.45 pm. We knew that a bus from Pune would start towards Roha via the Tamhini route at 3 pm. This bus was expected to reach Pirangut at around 3.30 pm - 3.45 pm. So our target was to reach Pirangut before 3.30 pm at any cost so that the visitors could catch this bus at Pirangut. With so much of time on hand, we were more than confident that we would make it in time.

Then the shocker. With 5 KMs. still to go, we stopped at a place known to the visitors. They had an acquaintance working in a plant on this road. When we met that person, he told that the road ahead had a bridge before Pirangut which had recently fallen off! So according to him, the only way out for us was to go back to Hinjewadi, take the bypass, come to Chandni Chawk and catch the bus. But that would have taken us more that half an hour at least, and we would have surely missed the bus at Chandni Chawk. Disappointed that all our optimizations had fallen apart, we began our drive back. On the way back, about 5 kms still away from Hinjewadi, we saw a (kind-of-kaccha) road to Pirangut. We stopped a vehicle on that road coming from the other side and confirmed that the road was accessible right through to Pirangut and had no broken bridges :-) However, this road was severely damaged and kind of risky. We still decided to take the risk as the distance was only 10 Kilometers.

As we moved ahead, we realised that the ride was very bumpy but equally beatiful. This road goes through hills and rivers with lush green fields on both the sides. It was really enjoyable but scary. We had almost no other human being visible in the near vicinity. The road condition meant the car could break down or catch a puncture anywhere and we would have no help at hand! After a long wait, we reached Pirangut at sharp 3.30pm. The bus reached there at 3.45 pm and the visitors were only too happy! They reached Roha at 7 pm whereas via Lonavla they could not have reached before 10 pm.

It was a bit tiring, but the beauty of the nature generally over-rides such exhaustion. And so we had a wonderful drive. The sudden and un-expected changes in plans right throughout the journey made our day really memorable. Looking forward to many more such trips in the future.

Cheers,
- Tosh

Current Reading...

Autobiography named Samidha by Mrs. Sadhana Amte, the wife of Baba Amte. Baba Amte is a legendary social worker. SadhanaTai, his wife has supported Baba's work throughout her life. It is said that behind every successful man, there is a woman. And SadhanaTai has played a critical role in the service rendered to the society by Baba Amte.

More on Baba Amte here: http://www.rediff.com/freedom/amte1.htm

SadhanaTai married Baba Amte when he was in very initial stages of his service to the nation. His main project of Leprosy patients was launched a few years after the marriage. The book has two main parts. One, their initial days, when they faced many problems related to health and budgets. Once they started getting the finance from the government and others, they really created big projects of social service in which thousands of poor and affected people were nurtured, cured and developed.

One cannot help but get a strong urge of doing some or the other service for the society after reading such books. The other obvious realisation is that the comfort which we enjoy everyday is in complete contrast with the difficulties faced by the poor living in villages. This gap between the rich and the poor must come down if India has to become a Developed nation.

The book makes excellent and though-provoking reading. Highly recommended for all those who can read Marathi.

- Ashutosh

Related Links:
http://www.spcollegepune.com/DEPART/deptenglish1a.htm
http://www.dkpdindia.com/Samidha.htm

Catches Win Matches

What a match! Come the morning of the fifth day, and all the three results seemed possible. Curator's dream come true.

All the Indian dreams were shattered by an impressive England performance. After dominating the first two days of the match and holding on ever so slightly in the next two days, England produced a killer performance on the last day. Something that they missed so much in the earlier two games. Well played Colts.

I would say that India lost the match (And could not win the series) more because of their poor top order batting & catching than because of England's good bowling. In my opinion, the decision to go in with 5 bowlers was correct. Howeer, the decision to bowl first was not. If you are gonna play five bowlers then you must believe that the 5 batsmen will be good enough. If you don't believe that, they you pick 6 batsmen. Its as simple as that.

Anyway, it was a good cricketing series I feel, with almost all matches getting decided on the last day and that speaks tons about the quality of pitches. Andrew Flintoff was the star performer and he really relished the captaincy. India found two exceptionally good talents in Munaf Patel and S. Sreesant, both of whom bowled brilliantly. The Indian (mis)fielders dropped more than ten chances in a match, and no team should expect to win after that. There should be no excuse for missed chances. Add to that, the top order failures meant that we were expecting just too much out of our bowlers and so the end was inevitable.

Another impossible thing happened in Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar was booed. The man tipped by many as the best to play the game was hooted on his home ground. What a surprise! It just goes on to show that Cricket is a game of consistent performances and not just past track records. [Feel free to think about Saurav Ganguly if you wish to :-) ] Tendulkar is probably at one of his worst patches in his career and he has only two options. Score or Go. It will be interesting to see how the champion reacts to the pressure.

In the meanwhile, kudos to the Indian sportsmen who are winning so many medals in the Commonwealth Games.

Cheers,
- Tosh

Current Music...

1. Rang De Basanti -> Rehman rocks as usual!
2. Taxi No. 9211 -> My Ishtyle. Ajama Le is my favourite!

Cheers,

- Tosh