Dr Subramanian Swamy at IIM-B on 21stFeb 2016 Black money Part I

Where to Invade Next Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Michael Moore Documenta...

Microsoft AI RUINED By Terrible Humans - Weekly Weird News

Pub adm qa

indo germany

But that is where the similarity between Germany and India ends. How the two nations are likely to relate to each other will depend on how they deal with an important dissimilarity. Post-World War II Germany, like post-War Japan, chose to shy away from geopolitics and rose, instead, as a geo-economic power. It is only recently that both Germany and Japan have tried to leverage their geo-economic power to recover geopolitical influence in their respective regions.

This is happening precisely at a time when India is pursuing a more aggressive developmental agenda, giving greater importance to geo-economics over geopolitics. While old-fashioned analysts bemoan India’s inability to get its neighbours to ‘behave’ — look at Maldives, Nepal and, till recently Sri Lanka — the more forward-looking thinkers take the view that for India to play a larger geopolitical role in Asia and around the world, it must first become a more competitive and productive economy.

There is a common strategic view that economic and social development on the domestic front and the provision of livelihood security to people are the only routes to national security and global influence. Therefore, India’s natural partners would be countries that, on the one hand, do not compete with it either in the marketplace or in power politics, and, on the other, have something to offer India that it lacks. By assisting India in the quest for development and geo-economic growth, Germany and Japan have the opportunity to bolster their own rise in geopolitical terms.

For all these reasons, Japan and Germany are India’s “natural allies”. They have surplus capital, modern technology and a demographic deficit. India has a deficit of capital, lacks modern technology and has exportable human capital. Unfortunately, language has remained a barrier in both cases, as Indians have mostly preferred to deal with the English-speaking world.

Ms. Merkel’s message to India next week will be that language is no longer a barrier. Searching the Internet for information on how Indians living in Germany feel about the country, one discovers a whole new world of growing compatibility. Answering questions on what it feels like to live in Germany on the website www.quora.com, most Indians draw attention to how Germans have become more welcoming of Indians.

Some of the views exchanged on Indo-German relations on the Internet show that a new generation of Indians and Germans are, in fact, approaching each other with very little knowledge of or baggage from their past. This is not entirely for the good, since India and Germany have much to celebrate in their past. German Indologists, Max Müller the best known among them, have been important contributors to the Western appreciation of Indian culture and history.

A shared view of the world will unlock many doors. It can help breathe new life into the negotiations on an India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA). Germany should encourage its European partners to give up their defensive and narrow approach to an FTA with India and adopt, instead, a more strategic view based on an understanding that an economically stronger India and a competitive EU can only help realise their shared agenda of creating a multi-polar global power system.

chabahar

It is probably one of the masterstrokes of Modi and even the staunchest anti-Modi media are singing praises of it. India’s $500 million port deal with Iran is a masterstroke—and a tough balancing act

It is not new and has been in the works for a long time and has been finally greenlighted by the United States [US backs India-Iran Chabahar port deal despite residual suspicion over Tehran].

In one stroke, it does the following for India:

1. Be a part of the North–South Transport Corridor and help directly connect with Europe. Russia, China and US are all trying to build their own dedicated trade routes in Asia. This deal will allow India to connect to the Russian route, while keeping its option open in other two blocs.

1. Reestablish its strong relationship with Iran at a time when India’s overtures in Israel is creating flutters in the region.
2. Open a route into Russia and Central Asia. Russia is another old friend that feels ignored by India these days and this will allow India to build on some of the old friendship, while it continues to deepen its US relations.
3. Get into Afghanistan without needing Pakistan’s help. India is among the biggest allies of Afghanistan and the problem is that India & Afghanistan had to go through their mutual foe that sits between them. The new trade deal will allow India to sidestep Pakistan to do business with Afghanistan. Indian, Iran and Afghanistan sign trade corridor deal

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana

sucess of shg shows that social capital can triumph physical capital. or that trust in the society leads to prosperity

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana - Short Film

ethics an exercise in crowd funding

PATTADAKAL

difference between ellora and ajanta

Period of construction
The Ajanta caves date from 200 BCE to about 680 CE. These were built in two phases of time periods : the early Buddhist Hinayana phase (100 BCE-100 CE) and the later Mahayana phase (460-680 CE). 
In comparison, the Ellora caves are younger, built between the 5th and the 10th century CE. Among these the Buddhist caves are the oldest (5th to 7th century), followed by the Hindu caves (6th to 8th century CE) and the Jain caves (6th to 10th century CE).

Location and structure of the complex
The Ajanta caves are situated at a site 104 kilometres from the city of Aurangabad. These are laid in the scarped side of the amygdaloid trap rock, in the shape of a great crescent/arc cut by the curving course of the Waghora river. 
The Ellora caves also called Verul, Elapura or Elura are at the archaeological site 29 kilometres northwest of Aurangabad city. These are spread across a distance of 2kms and in no particular formation

The two sites are 98 kilometres away from each other.

Patrons and Sponsors
The Ajanta caves were sponsored by various dynasties and donors but the majority of the donations came from the Satvahana dynasty in the Hinayana phase and the Vakataka dynasty in the Mahayana phase.
The Ellora caves were primarily built under the rule of the Kalachuri, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties.
For a detailed explanation, see: Tushar Sadhu's answer to Who built the Ajanta and Ellora caves?

Architecture
Rock-cut architecture reached a high degree of perfection in the region as Western Ghats provided suitable sites for excavation and carving. However, this is a marked difference in the style of architecture in the two cave complexes.
The Ajanta caves have been excavated out of the basalt cliff by penetrating into the perpendicular rocky face. Thus these caves only house Viharas and Chaitya halls. Also, these are famous for the murals and paintings which have stood the test of time.
The Ellora Caves are unique because the visitor can see three styles of architecture at one place, 12 Buddhist, 17 Brahmanical and 5 Jain caves being located here side by side. Unlike the Ajanta cave temples, they are excavated in the sloping sides of a hill and not in a perpendicular cliff. These have Viharas, Chaitya halls, temples and edifices.

Discovery
The Ajanta caves were discovered in 1819, by John Smith, who was a British officer of the 28th Cavalry for the Madras Presidency. This was a serendipitous discovery during a hunting expedition in the forests. The first cave discovered under the undergrowth was Cave 10 and subsequently the others.
In contrast, the Ellora caves were never “lost”. There are several written records and documentations that show the caves were regularly visited. The 10th century Arab geographer Al-Mas’udi has left accounts of these cave temples in his writings. In 1352 CE Sultan Hasan Gangu Bahmani (the founder of the Bahmani Sultanate) camped at the site and described the caves in his travelogues. French traveller Jean de Thévenot wrote about his Ellora visit in 1667.
 
The differences aside, both cave complexes are a monumental example of the artistic and architectural expertise of their times. 

msme reform

question is we know that msme are labour intensive and crucial for the economy; but if we keep them protected by means of reserved items, tax , subsidy benefits, easy credit etc then how do we make them grow into MNCs of tomorrow; further it is claimed that MSMEs have the potential to grow but it is these gvt regulations that inhibit/incentivise them from growing large and attaining economies of scale.

Recall gandhi--gvt interference leads to fraud, suppression of truth, intensification of  black market and artificial scarcity. Above all it unmans the people and deprives them of the initiative of self help

1. Create a website with all the rules and regulations applicable to businesses across states and the centre.
2. Department of industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) implement “E-biz” module under National E-governance plan. We can utilized it for this purpose
3. Minimize human interaction. Shift reporting/data submission to an online-only mode whenever possible, e.g. for routine registration, repeated filing and reporting of information.
4. Ask State Governments to share best practices on business regulations- and adopt it at national level.

# less interference

1. Strengthen grievance redressal mechanisms against inspections- with clear norms and deadlines.
2. Give extension time to companies, to correct their fault instead of penalizing them immediately.
3. System for self-certification and third-party certification.
4. Review and remove outdated regulations
5. Reform the Apprenticeships Act of 1961.
6. Amend MSME act to help financially distressed companies
7. Long term: completely revamp Indian laws governing taxation, labour, environment, and safety.
8. Setup a productivity commission similar to Australian Productivity Commission. It’ll serve a knowledge base, and champion for business change.

# Land availability

1. Permit mixed use of residential and commercial properties. Otherwise, given the real estate inflation- the MSME entreprenurs cannot expand.
2. Ask PSUs and departments to sell away their “Surplus / unutilized” land to MSME. The government could institute a ‘use it or lose it’ policy to free up this locked land.

#social security

1. Give wider social security and health benefits like New Pension Scheme (NPS) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY).
2. Coupon system for casual workers- which grants them social security benefits.

Npm and nws

Prez discretion

NPM analysis

the fact that NPM techniques that were borrowed from management couldnt be successfully applied to public sectore both in developed and developing nations shows us that public and pvt are different

The first criticism of NPM involves a paradox of centralisation through decentralisation. To illustrate the point, Kaboolian (1998), and Maor (1999) pointed out that giving public managers more authority to manage programs may result in concentrating decisions making in them. 

Thus, NPM may lead to centralised decision making by public managers, rather than encouraging decentralization in public organizations as it claims.

The second criticism concerns applying private sector management techniques to the public sector. While NPM has encouraged the use of private sector management techniques, there may be risk associated with adopting some private sector practices. Many academic commentators such as Pollitt (1990) and Armstrong (1998) argued that most areas of public service and administration have distinct political, ethical, constitutional and social dimensions and these factors make the public sector different from the private sector.

A complementary view is provided by Savoie (2002) and Singh (2003), who argues that NPM is basically flawed because private sector management practices are rarely adopted into government operations. For them, NPM is inappropriate for the public sector as it has more complex objectives, more intricate accountabilities and a more turbulent political environment than the private sector. 

Moreover, the relationship between public sector managers and political leaders is of a different order to any relationships in the private sector. In support of the above mentioned argument, Painter (1997) contended that there is danger in using private business models in the public sector because of the contextual differences.

 Additionally, Cheung and Lee (1995) noted that NPM ideas have limitations in terms of using private techniques for the public sector. They argue that in the public sector there is not the same degree of freedom as there is in the private sector. They provide an example of Hong Kong where private companies lay off staff in times of recession and restructuring while in the public sector, the government gives careful consideration to staff morale issues 

Even though NPM provides transparency for the public sector, it can nonetheless lead to corrupt practices argued along the same line that in rich countries, NPM can undermine ethical standards and lead to corruption. To illustrate the point,Minogue (2001a) also noted that increased managerial autonomy has brought blurred accountability and higher risk for public managers to become corrupt, while Ormond and Loffler (2006) contended that increased freedom of management within public sector organisations allows more opportunities for unethical behaviour.

 Another ethical issue about NPM involves contracts. Hughes (2003) pointed out those contracts are supposed to offer improvement in accountability; however, contracts with government are often kept secret for reasons such as commercial research. Thus, there is no transparency in terms of practice

UNDP in 1997 pointed out that some items of NPM are not useful for developing countries since NPM ideas have derived from a few countries of the OECD. The ideas have been designed and implemented to suit the conditions in those countries rather than in developing countries.


Did the 6th pay commission recommendation of PRIS ,, a technique of NPM affect the performance--NO.

 Firstly, Polidano (1999) argued that the NPM does not suit developing countries since governments in these countries may lack the necessary expertise and have unreliable information systems. Polidano (2001) and Caiden and Sundaram (2004) noted along the same line that developing countries have lacked the resources and managerial capacity to adopt rather sophisticated NPM reforms, although countries like India have supported the reorientation of government role and menu of options for providing various functions and services, often extending beyond the original vision of NPM. Thus, it can be said that a state’s capacity is a precondition for successful implementation of NPM in developing countries.

For NPM to succeed it needs its very enemy ie a strong weberian state.. NWS


In developing countries, Manning (2001) noted that rather than a single option, NPM provides a menu of choices. NPM is compared to a menu of techniques and developing countries are experimenting with some items on the NPM menu (Andrews, 2003; Batley and Larbi, 2004;Caiden and Sundaram, 2004; Turner, 2002; Polidano, 1999; Manning, 2001; Schacter, 2000).

In relation to developing countries in Southeast Asia, Turner (2002) provided degrees of NPM adoption in order to demonstrate divergence and a variety of NPM initiatives within a particular region. Turner utilizes the metaphor of three contrasting diners faced with a menu of NPM dishes to characterize the countries in Southeast Asia. He identifies an enthusiastic diner, a cautious diner and one unfamiliar with the menu. Singapore and Malaysia are classified as enthusiastic diners since they have long term experience in producing public bureaucracies capable of learning and adapting from success elsewhere; while Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are linked to cautious diners because decentralization and privatization are evident in these states but only minor changes have occurred within the central agencies and performance regimes are little developed. These states are willing to experiment with only a few selected items from the NPM menu. The final category of the diner who is unfamiliar with the menu consists of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. These states have not built capacity and systemic processes to initiate NPM and are reluctant to experiment although all have public administration reform programs. From these degrees of adoption, a similar metaphor sees NPM as ‘a shopping basket’ and developing countries as the shoppers. Each country may choose different items from the basket for different reasons (Pollitt, 1995). Implementation in variousdeveloping countries shows that these countries may build on national and local circumstances, taking into account the organizational diversity within their countries. Thus, a certain reform concept might work in one policy sector but not necessarily in another, due to difference of organizational structures and cultures

 A classic example of informality subverting contractual mechanisms in Ghana is provided by Christensen and Laegreid (1998). The country attempted to improve the performance of its state-owned enterprises through contracts which proved ineffectual, owing, among other things, to the political connections of managers.

Fourthly, Hughes (2003) argued that it is difficult for the government in developing countries to move to contractual arrangements for the delivery of service because the necessary laws and the enforcement of contract are not well established. If informal norms have long deviated significantly from formal ones (with regard to personnel practices, for example), simply introducing new formal rules will not change much. Where specialized skills are in short supply, performance contracts and other output based contracts for complex services may absorb a large share of scarce bureaucratic capacity to specify and enforce them (World Bank, 1997). It seems difficult for developing countries to move away from the bureaucratic system. Hughes (2003) pointed out that this old model of organization allows favoritism and patronage.

. 

this also proved riggs ecological model .

8888888

jab ye aasaman hoga bedaag
ek masoom shi shaam ko deep jalega

Voh afsaana jise anjaam tak laana na ho mumkin -2 
Use ek khoobsoorat mod dekar chhodna achchha 
Chalo ek baar phir se


ju ye hota to wo na hota
jo na hota to ye hota
hota to wahi hai jo hona hai

AArushi talvar-- social divide--police insenstivity--media ethics-- and a failing cbi

Aarushi Talwar was on the cusp of turning 14, when she was killed in a murder that continues to grip media attention five years later.

Days before a CBI court in Ghaziabad is to announce its verdict on the controversial murder case (The CBI court will announce its verdict on November 25, 2013), Dr Rajesh and Dr Nupur Talwar, who are the prime accused for the murder of their daughter, find solace in relating anecdotes from her life and looking desperately for some meaning in what they have been subjected to over the past five years.

A few days before the fateful night in April, 2008, when she and the family’s middle-aged housekeeper Hemraj Banjade were murdered in their Noida home, she had been reading her father’s book on the condition of women in Iraq. “How fortunate we are to live in a democracy”, said her father to Aarushi as they discussed the book.

“And this is how a democracy treats you”, says the 48-year-old Rajesh Talwar, sitting under a large framed portrait of Aarushi in the living room of their apartment on Aurobindo Marg in Delhi where they moved in a year after her death. For Rajesh and Nupur, charged for the murder of their own daughter by the CBI, the country’s premier internal investigative agency, there is life before Aarushi and life after Aarushi – and it doesn’t really feel like it belongs to the same set of people. “We had the perfect life, full of happiness and laughter”, says Nupur, 47. “And then after Aarushi, it’s like the thread of our lives has gone unravelling – it’s all just downhill from there. It seems surreal.”

Their living room in fact has several other large framed photos of Aarushi at different ages. “People would remark on Aarushi’s pretty looks, and I would tell Nupur, let’s put some teeka on her to ward off the evil eye”, says Rajesh. There also hangs a large painting copied from Aarushi’s photograph published in the newspapers – there is gentleness and peace in the painting. The Talwars don’t know who made it. “Someone left a package at our doorstep when we were out; it was this painting. Out of all those people out there who judge us and hate us based on what the police and media have said, there are still a few good souls who care about what we’re going through”, says Nupur.

Rajesh and Nupur met at Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi and married in 1990. Aarushi was born four years later. Rajesh had no interest outside of his work and Nupur was happy to balance her career as an orthodontist with childcare duties once Aarushi was born. In a sense, their after-work life revolved around her activities. “On Saturdays, Rajesh would never work after lunch. He’d take Aarushi to the movies, for shopping, for playing something somewhere”, says Nupur. “We took a conscious decision to have only one child and give her the best of what we’d got. Aarushi was our biggest achievement”, adds Rajesh. “She was my life. After her, my life is finished.”

There is the grief of losing one’s child in a horrific way, and then there’s the grief of being accused of it. After a chaotic few days of disorganised investigation, botched evidence, uncontrolled public access to the murder site and a cremation dictated by the elders in the family, Rajesh was arrested for his daughter’s murder. “The Noida police told us, ‘Don’t speak to the media’, so we didn’t. But then a week later when they came to arrest me, we realised the media had blindly believed what the police said, without hearing our side of the story”, says Rajesh.

The tale only got murkier and murkier. Rajesh spent two months in prison before getting bail. Nupur spent five. The Uttar Pradesh police, led by Meerut Zone’s Inspector General Gurdarshan Singh, held a hasty press conference to announce that Rajesh Talwar had been arrested for killing his daughter as she had found out he had been having an affair. “(Rajesh) found Aarushi and Hemraj in an objectionable, though not compromising, position. He killed her in a fit of rage even though he is as characterless as his daughter was”, said IG Singh. This last judgment appeared to have been reached because the child was active on social networking sites and used a cellphone.

A major part of the problem the Talwars faced was in the wide gulf in perception between the modern and the conservative Indias that coexist uneasily. “Aarushi had been reading Chetan Bhagat’s The 3 Mistakes of My Life on the night of her murder. I told the police to take it with them in case they could use it for fingerprinting purposes or whatever. They found the title very suggestive and gave each other looks, asking me if it meant she had made three mistakes”, says Rajesh.

“Aarushi had a sleepover planned for her 14^th birthday on May 24”, adds Nupur. “But when I mentioned this to the CBI officer assigned to the case, he was scandalised. ‘What’s a sleepover? What do they do? Are there any adults?’ What can I tell him? That the girls put on music and dance crazily and raid the fridge while we wait for them to fall asleep?” In the old world of the UP police and the CBI, there is no room for Orkut, Facebook, endless phone conversations and teenage sleepovers. It seems that anyone who goes there is suspect.

While the authorities played their part in creating this image of a murderer father, an extramarital affairand their “characterless” daughter, the media was equally quick to catch on. “It’s all about TRPs”, says Rajesh vehemently, sharing that his lawyer was offered Rs 2 lakh by a reporter for an exclusive interview with the Talwars – to be televised no doubt with much advertising. “Even when the first CBI team handling the case (led by Arun Kumar) got evidence that Krishna (a former employee at Rajesh’s dental clinic and Hemraj’s friend) and two others were responsible for the murder, the media only sought to highlight the UP police’s theories of the ‘monster parents’”, he says, referring to reports including anarticle and tweet by columnist Shobhaa De at the time. “She (De) actually suggested that Aarushi was not our biological child!” he says. “The doctor at Ganga Ram hospital who had delivered her called us up the day the article was published and asked, ‘Eh ki (Punjabi for ‘What is this’)? I have delivered her, I know whose daughter she is’, she said. But no one checked the truth before jumping to such conclusions.” he says.

In 2010, the CBI closed the case due to lack of conclusive evidence, but the Talwars insisted they continue with their investigation and find the murderer. A new Lucknow-based team led by AGL Kaul was assigned to the case, but instead of pursuing the previous team’s theories they reverted to the UP police’s version of the story and appeared hell-bent on proving that it was the Talwars who were the killers. Forensic experts changed their testimonials, a pillow cover with Hemraj’s blood found in Krishna’s bedroom – something that in any other circumstance would have been enough to clinch the burden of guilt – was written off as a typing error, crude comments were made in court to explain the enlarged penis on Hemraj’s corpse and new theories of a sexually active teenager were floated in the media.

And while the investigation was going on its own skewed path to nowhere, all attempts by the Talwars for better efforts to find the murderer fell on deaf judicial ears. Their pleas to the CBI to have a whisky bottle found at the scene with Aarushi’s blood on it sent to an FBI-approved lab in the US for testing were written off. Their appeal for 13 witnesses, including those listed by the CBI themselves, to be interrogated in court was turned down. Aarushi’s and Hemraj’s missing cellphones led to a dead-end, with the CBI showing no interest in further investigation.

Even the biggest media houses insisted on taking only the CBI’s point of view without checking facts for themselves. A January 2011 cover story published by India Today suggested that the Talwars had manipulated the crime scene and were feigning ignorance: “The parents of Aarushi, Nupur and Rajesh Talwar, seem to have slept through an incredible amount of activity in their small flat. They claimed their bedroom door was shut and the air-conditioner turned on.” The story had accompanying images of the child’s dead body – pictures that were police property and should not have been published at all. An advocate filed a PIL against the sensationalist media coverage but the case did not lead to any conclusive outcome.

“All ‘media ethics’ went flying out of the window when it came to Aarushi”, says Nupur. “In other cases (such as the December 2012 gang-rape), they were all very ethical about not using the victim’s name or pictures. In our case, no such discretion was followed. On the contrary, there was blatant character assassination on all fronts”, she says, adding that what pains her the most is the way the police and media stripped her daughter of all dignity. It only added to growing animosity and public anger against the parents. So much so that Rajesh was attacked with a meat cleaver by a crazed man outside court.

But there was also support from unexpected quarters. A 14-page chapter in Patrick French’s book India: A Portrait was dedicated to Aarushi’s case, one of the first few to present the Talwars’ side of the story. The Toronto Star carried an article by Nupur’s cousin, supporting the family. Tehelka ran a large cover story in June this year in which senior journalist Shoma Chaudhary went into every file and sentence that was part of the case and declared the Talwars’ situation to be “Kafkaesque”. Top lawyers represented the Talwars in court pro bono. Family chipped in with finances since their dental practice was down to negligible, having to scurry between courts across states. Old patients stoically stood by them. Neighbours offered condolences and expressed shock.

“It is only by the grace of these people that we are still here and able to have this conversation”, says Nupur. “That, and our complete faith in God.” The Talwars took to prayer and studying the Bhagwad Gita, looking for meaning in their excruciating experiences. “People say there’s something to learn from all this – endurance, patience, something. But I can’t see the learning or meaning in any of this”, says Nupur. “We were a normal, happy family one day, and then overnight, it’s become a living hell.”

Rajesh credits his wife for being the rock in the relationship. “She gives me strength, even when I become weak and falter.” Nupur, on her part, says it’s all for Aarushi. “I just remind myself of her and that is enough to give me the courage to push through all this, without losing our sanity or breaking down.”

What will they do if the court rules in their favour? “We’ll continue to seek the truth”, asserts Rajesh. “Until we find the real killers, there is no closure for us.”

What if the court rules against them? They both shrug, their lips tight in determination. Nupur responds after a pause, as if the answer is obvious, “We will keep fighting. Even if the whole world is against us, we have the truth on our side. That’s what keeps us going.”

kautilya and transparency international

When kautilya says corruption is hard to detect -- same way as one cannot find out if one is tasting  the honey and not eating it and the same way revenue officers are like fishes inside water, one cant tell if they are actually drinking the water.

In the present age the problem remains fundamentally the same despite all technological progress. Talk of e governance to the rescue and you have VYAPAM, talk of PC act 1988 and u have amendments waiting 13 D.

Corruption is notoriously difficult to track because you are essentially trying to measure something that is itself trying really, really hard to be hidden and not to be measured.  As I discuss in another Quora answer, even institutions that earnestly try to measure corruption such as Transparency International rely almost entirely on opinions from sources that are at best, not representative and thus skewed.  True to its name, its Corruption Perceptions Index is based on measuring perception, which does not necessarily sync with reality, and does not do a good job differentiating between the different types of corruption