Friday, April 18, 2008

Inflation... so what?


It has become a fad in news channel nowadays to talk about inflation. And people are taking it as a just another masala news. I too did not see much repercussions of inflation figures flashing every week as 'breaking news' other than the protests of opposition party in different forms like dharna , havans, etc ... but now as the time goes on, I have been observing steady rise in crimes. My cousin was robbed off his Ipod shuffle, another woman being held at point blank gun range for her gold chain, and one of the guys in our servant maid's colony killed for 200 rs! Now that's what you call the effect of inflation. People are feeling the pinch of their inability to buy basic necessities which is making them to take the paths of earning money which are rated as illegal in the books of law. I normally think about a solution to a problem but in this case, I don't really know how exactly we can change things around (In fact, if I had known, I would not have been here in Infosys).
If we refrain from spending leisurely what we earn*, we might help in reducing the demand and then supply and demand balances out a bit, which in turn checks the price rise. But then 'not spending' is like discouraging manufacturing sector and hence growth. So the point is we can not really check inflation by sacrificing on development. Inflation goes parallel with development** and we can avoid ill effects of inflation only by achieving inclusive growth, making it a point that even people at low level get the share of what growth India is getting :) .. I know its easier said than done, and one step approach towards that is education and hence generation of quality employment!.. simple?! .. nah, not at all... that's a pretty big step to achieve in Indian circumstances but somehow, I feel there is no other way out.. or is there?!

*almost every IT employee ends up getting at least around 20 k at the end of month, with not much responsibility towards family when it comes to bachelors and females (spendthrifts ;-) ), so they spend freely and there must be at least 4 lakh IT employees in India, which is quite big number.

**China's GDP growth as on March 'O8 is more than 10% YoY with Inflation 8.3% YoY! ( China's inflation in prices of vegetables during same period is 21 % !! )

Sunday, April 13, 2008

SC questions effectiveness of quota policy

source : TIMES OF INDIA (report on 11 apr 2008)

This is the first time that i am copy pasting a blog from a source other than my brain :)

NEW DELHI: Even though the Supreme Court allowed 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs in Central educational institutions, it has raised questions on the effectiveness of such a policy for bringing equality in society. "There is no deletion from the list of other backward classes. It goes on increasing... is it that backwardness has increased instead of decreasing? "If the answer is yes, as contended by the respondents (Centre and other pro-quota parties), then one is bound to raise eyebrows as to the effectiveness of providing reservations or quotas," Justices Arijit Pasayat and C K Thakker said. "The inequalities are to be removed. Yet the fact that there has been no exclusion raises a doubt about the real concern to remove inequality," he said while pointing out that since the concept of OBC came into picture there has been no deletion of any caste from the category. The SC asked the Centre to deliberate whether the reservation policy followed since Independence had been effective in achieving the desired result. "If after nearly six decades the objectives have not been achieved, necessarily the need for its continuance warrants deliberations," the Court said. "It is to be noted that some of the provisions were intended to be replaced after a decade but have continued. It directly shows that backwardness appears to have purportedly increased and not diminished," the judges said, adding that the affirmative action had got somewhat complicated in India on account of caste politics.