Elections: Give me the right to say “Anyone but not …”

A news item says that nearly one percent of voters in Tamilnadu exercised their right to say None of the Above in their ballot slips, presumably showing their disgust of the choice made available to them. 

Over 5.55 lakh Tamil Nadu voters opt for NOTA,
By IANS, Thursday, 19 May 2016

The NOTA option has earned more votes than at least four of the political parties in the fray. Further, the NOTA votes cast are probably more than 50% of the difference between the votes earned by the two major parties. If there had been no NOTA, the results could have been different. A simple idea has shown its teeth!

In the light of this, I have a suggestion for another step forward. We have politicians who exploit hatred and instigate violence. Many voters would like to ensure that such elements don’t get elected, leaving the field open to other candidates. The choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee may not matter to them, as long as criminal or corrupt elements are kept out. I believe that we should get the right to say ABUT (Anyone but …)! If I vote against a candidate marking the ABUT box, it should reduce his/her vote count by one without affecting the vote count of other candidates. It will increase the chances of the ABUT candidate losing the deposit. Hate mongers, candidates put up to make mischief, etc., can be stopped easily by this process, making the election process a little better. For instance, it might make a party think twice before giving a seat to a known criminal or a corrupt politician.

What does it cost to recognize young talent in science and technology?

Science Talent Search (STS) in the US has been sponsored by Westinghouse from 1942 till Intel took over the responsibility in 1998. The organizing agency is the Society for Science. Visit https://www.societyforscience.org/intel-science-talent-search

Between 1942 and now, STS has recognized 3000 finalists, given away $13 Million in scholarships. Not surprisingly, twelve of the awardees went on to earn Nobel Prizes and two earned the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics.

The question is whether countries like China and India should not set up such systems to identify and encourage young talent. Of course, they do have science fairs, science talent searches, etc. The question to be asked is if what they have is adequate.

Intel will serve as the exclusive sponsor for the Intel STS through 2017; what exactly will happen after that we have to see.

I do think that programs like the STS offer a great way to spend Corporate Social Responsibility funds. Big companies can run such programs, maintaining the highest standards, serving a great purpose. Funds available will decide the scale on which the program can be run; but, scale is not the most important factor. Respect for young talent and quality of program management will be the factors deciding the outcome.

Tell the world that the corrupt pay a big price in India

India has had a bad name for the corruption that prevails here. The ways by which netas and their pliable bureaucrats grab resources of the country are well-known. It is rarely that we get a chance to tell the world that this will not go on, that we are changing. Sending a message like that in a loud and clear manner is very important.

Now the Mumbai High Court has given us a judgement that is priceless. Visit 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bombay-High-Court-orders-demolition-of-Adarsh-Society-building/articleshow/52040562.cms

All we have to do is to obey the orders of the court, when the appeal process comes to an end. If the judgement is upheld during the appeals that will surely follow, the illegally built building should be demolished by men who fought side by side with the Kargil martyrs in whose name the building was conceived and then diverted. We should announce a date and time and then an army unit should carry out the demolition using explosives, with minimal damage to neighboring structures. World media should be invited to record the spectacle. It is very likely that this will be the loudest message any country has ever sent about its determination to rid itself of corruption. Every TV channel in the world will carry a clip of the demolition and every newspaper will carry a photograph. What better way to tell the world that we are no longer a soft state?

Lathi charging students and others you don’t like

 There is a 'quaint' word – "caning"; the practice is sometimes referred to more bluntly as lathi charging. “Caning” had the nice ring of the “Raj”, but you may not agree if you have been at the receiving end of the treatment. A lot of people wearing khaki in India seem to have the fundamental right to beat up others using sturdy sticks possibly weighing a kilo, about four feet in length and approximately an inch in diameter. Authorities seem to have set a limit of six men for beating a student at a time, because of their concern for the younger generation.

You see the practice being liberally used in different parts of India when you turn on TV news. This is a barbaric practice unworthy of a democracy. I wish that someone would consider using the public interest litigation route to have our courts civilize the men in khaki.

I suggest an alternative way for police to disperse people who have assembled against legal prohibitory orders by using indelible ink. Color sprayers used during Holi could be used by the police to spray members of the “mob” with this ink. Firstly, this will cause consternation because the spray would need to be removed by multiple washes. Secondly, it would stain the skin as well, providing proof the person’s involvement in a prohibited assembly. All that police would have to do would be to catch a few “stained” persons and prosecute them.

I guess I am not going to be a very popular inventor! Let me assure you, however, that I publish this only to save you from having your bones broken by angels in Khaki! 

A word about indelible ink. I don’t think anyone has done research on possible risks of putting this on people’s skin. The election ink used in India is said to contain silver nitrate. Before the angels in Khaki adopt the practice suggested above, they should get some research done to develop an ink that will cause no harm to the eyes and no permanent harm of any type to the victim. Further, I would hate to see any "indelible" permanently ruin someone's clothes. An ink that does not go when washed in water, but can be removed by dry cleaning would be ideal.  

For information on the hazards associated with silver nitrate, visit

http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1672.pdf

Regulating the Pharmaceutical Industry

Jug Suraiya’s blog post titled “Sick Industry” makes very interesting reading (March 25, 2016, Jug Suraiya in Juggle-Bandhi, Times of India). Visit

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/sick-industry/

What should be an indicator of a person being diabetic? Fasting sugar level? Yes, but who decides the threshold? Jug Suraiya says that “experts” redefined the threshold a couple of times during the last two decades and have caused the world to think that the number of diabetics is now more than 200% of what it was earlier.

There are lots of interesting reports about how uncontrolled commercialism can endanger public health. For, an example, visit

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/09/21/how-an-obscure-drugs-4000-price-increase-might-finally-spur-action-on-soaring-health-care-costs/

We need the media to be alert to all kinds of dangers. Governments can subvert institutions like Lok Ayuktas as and when they wish. Media have become our only hope for demanding high standards in public life. Society needs to worry about commercial interests and corrupt members influencing professional bodies. The “reputation” the Medical Council of India enjoys is an example of what can happen. Visit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Council_of_India

In this context I should share a joke about world of telephone companies – landline as well as mobile. What happens if the percentage of calls landing on wrong numbers increases? Profitability goes up!  

Why can’t we be more efficient?

I did a trip by car recently from Bangalore to Neyveli and Thanjavur and came back via Tiruchirappalli. In one place, Bangalore, I paid the toll electronically. Everywhere else the car had to stop and the toll had to be paid manually. I paid a total of Rs 619 at 11 places. The whole trip was about 1100 km long. This made me read up on reports of such inefficient practices elsewhere in India. This country prides itself on its software export earnings, but its own domestic economy is often a decade or more behind adopting simple technology to save its people time and money. It is a bit like the case of workers in the construction industry, who build huge multi-story apartment complexes for others. But they and their children usually live in the buildings under construction, often without drinking water, lighting and access to toilets. Sometimes their toddlers wander around such buildings, fall down and die.  

The Centre for Internet & Society has done us a service by republishing in its February 2016 Newsletter an insightful article by Shyam Ponappa in the Business Standard of Feb 3, 2016 http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/shyam-ponappa-bottled-up-national-assets-116020301314_1.html

Ponappa points out that the Indian Highways Management Company was tasked in 2012 to implement Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). He also reports that a study by IIM-C and Transport Corporation of India in 2012 reported an annual loss of Rs 87,000 Crores due to delays of the Delhi-Mumbai truck traffic. The study is reported to have indicated that the average speed of the Delhi-Mumbai truck traffic to be 21 kmph! It would be worth reading up the basis for these loss calculations; they seem to be of the order of 2% of India’s GNP in 2012!

ETC is reported to have been introduced in 2014, but the goal of having it implemented all over India remains a dream as of now. The transportation sector contributes over 5% of the GNP and the road sector handles over 60% of the freight movement (these numbers are based on relatively old information – visit http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/EXTSARREGTOPTRANSPORT/0,,contentMDK:20703625~menuPK:868822~pagePK:34004173~piPK:34003707~theSitePK:579598,00.html )

While doing research for writing this article I came across this website of ICICI Bank

http://www.icicibank.com/Personal-Banking/cards/prepaid/fastag/list-of-active-toll-plazas.page?#toptitle

It says that an electronic tag can be bought for use on the Bangalore-Chennai route at Hosur, but the publicity for this has been very poor. I have travelled on this route several times but have never seen a sign advertising this tag. I am a Bangalore customer of the ICICI bank but I have never received an email about this.

There are many other examples in the Indian economy, as readers can guess, of poor management causing huge losses. Major reforms pose their own problems, but a concerted effort to identify easily addressable problems could speed up the growth rate of the GNP by one or two percent. There was a time when productivity was given national attention, but now we hear little about productivity in general. The Niti Aayog seems to be concerned with agricultural productivity, but we do not hear about attempts to improve productivity in other sectors of the economy.

Public Sector Banks – fight the disease, not merely the symptoms

A lot of noise is being made of a businessman being given questionable loans. Is this the first such case? Or is it going to be the last such one?

The basic problem is that netas can always influence public sector banks to give loans that no one else will give. That is why netas will keep these banks going, even when they are inefficient. The bank staff are not inefficient; it is the leaches that bleed off the banks that make them weak.

The solution seems to be partly in bank staff serving as whistle blowers – protecting public interest by alerting the media in early stages of scams.

It is partly in the public taking their deposits out of public sector banks. It is also in selling off shares in these banks. We need to vote the only effective way we can vote – vote with our feet!