Analysis of Indian news dated 16-Jul-2012
July 16, 2012
A KPMG study finds that most (unpunished) frauds occur at the top. It is most difficult to prosecute these criminals because they have wealth and influence. They can hire the best lawyers to defend themselves.
In India, Ramlinga Raju roaming freely on bail after Satyam scandal, Kalmadi is roaming freely on bail after CWG scandal, A. Raja is roaming freely on bail after 2G scandal, etc. For petty crimes like a girl being labelled as a a boy rapist, molestation of a girl in public by a rowdy group, etc; the accused is usually punished.
YSR (Andhra Cheif Minister) died in an “accident” when he refused oil and natural gas contract to Reliance and yet Mukesh Ambani was not prosecuted for the same. The media did not discuss this connection. How then can we say that the media or police is free?
In India, it does not matter whether we vote for Congress or BJP. Both are controlled by the same big business houses like Reliance. If BJP was honest, at the time of YSR’s death, it would have launched a nation-wide agitation to protest. We don’t need more laws; we want existing laws to be implemented sternly for the big criminals.
I say, therefore, don’t vote in any elections. If no one votes, what is the legitimacy of election? Soon, we will get party / people who is NOT controlled by big business. Demand better from your elected representatives. Have self-respect.
In Chattisgarh, Indian government allows only ex-Army officers coal transportation contracts. In realty, the Mafia operates the coal transportation business. On paper, army officers and Jawans are employed. Army officers / Jawans are paid Rs 2,000 per month per truck. The Mafia earns about Rs 20 lakh per year on each truck.
In 2007, the scam was the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry which demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. But till date, little seems of changed on the ground.
I say, remove all such subsidies. Allocate contract to the business, who gives the best deal. All subsidies are meant to steal from tax payers.
If I purchase Rs 1,000 of products and pay by cash, the seller keeps the full Rs 1,000. If I pay the same amount by credit card, the retailer gets to keep about Rs 970. The rest is taken up by the credit card company. The retailer is not allowed to charge more for credit card usage, so he cannot give a discount of Rs 30 for cash purchases. This is now illegal in USA. In USA, retailers will charge extra for using Visa / MasterCard. People who pay cash, will not have to pay this extra charge.
I support the use of cash over cards because cash cannot be easily tracked by governments. The lesser the government knows, less is the harassment for citizens.
India’s balance of Trade is worsening, in the big picture.
The main reason is fuel subsidies on imports. Subsidies hurt the economy but the benefit politicians, who can dole out favors to businesses and voters.
India needs to remove all fuel subsides and reduce taxes to minimize impact on citizens.
Obama is right in his words when he says that India needs more reforms. Obama is wrong in his actions because even USA needs reforms; USA has high taxes and lots of subsidies / exemptions like India.
Unemployment is rising in India.
To raise employment, the government should reduce taxes and bureaucratic hurdles for businesses. But Indian government is not interested. Indian government is more interested in giving subsidies to the poor. This way the poor are dependent on the government and continue to vote for it. So government can continue to grow. If Indian government was honest, its primary goal would be more employment and not more subsidies.
Buy physical gold and silver to protect yourself. If you cannot touch it, you don’t own it. Exit all paper investments including ETFs, stocks, PF, PPF, NSC, etc.
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