Libya-Obama-Manmohan-Japan

http://www.caglecartoons.com/

Tax Information Exchange Agreement

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/147908/india-cayman-islands-ink-tax.html

India, Cayman Islands ink tax information exchange agreement

New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI)

India has entered into an agreement with tax-haven Cayman Islands for exchange of information, which will allow the two countries to check tax evasion and money laundering.

"India and Cayman Islands have signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement," an official statement said today.

This is the fifth Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) -- as it is known in the parlance of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- signed by India. The last such agreement was inked with the Bahamas in February this year.

Besides, India has inked TIEAs with Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man in the recent past.

Under the agreement with Cayman Islands, there is a specific provision for providing banking and ownership information and the requesting state has to provide some minimum details about the information requested.

"Information must be foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes and tax matters covered by the agreement," the statement said.

However, information is to be treated as secret and can be disclosed to only specified person or authorities, which are tax authorities or the authorities concerned with the determination of tax appeal, it added.

The agreement was signed yesterday by Mohinder S Grover, High Commissioner of India to Jamaica and accredited to the Bahamas, and W McKeeva Bush OBE, JP Premier and Minister for Finance and Tourism Development from Cayman Islands, the statement said.

On Fukushima..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12789749

18 March 2011 Last updated at 17:04 GMT

Japan nuclear progress as toll up
By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News

As it was almost bound to do at some point, Japan's nuclear safety agency has uprated its assessment of the Fukushima power station incident from a level four to a level five.

These are categories on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events Scale (INES), which runs from zero (nothing happened, essentially) to seven, a "major accident".

So far, Chernobyl is the only seven-rated incident in nuclear history.

Level five is defined as an "accident with wider consequences".

So what is the worst-case scenario for those "wider consequences" at Fukushima?

What clues are there either from that level five rating, or from the situation on the ground, as to how things might transpire - whether it will in the end prove to have been a disaster or a distraction from the serious and widespread impact of the tsunami?

"The worst-case scenario would be where you have the fission products in stored canisters or in the reactors being released," said Professor Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics and clinical engineering at Royal Berkshire Hospital, UK.

"Radiation levels would then be very high around the plant, which is not to say they'd reach the general public.

"And we're definitely not in the situation where we're going to see another Chernobyl - that possibility has long gone."

Distant advice

The level five rating applies specifically to the nuclear reactors in buildings 2 and 3 at Fukushima, rather than to the spent fuel cooling ponds that have lost water and where the stored fuel is heating up.

That implies that the regulators believe the main source of radioactivity coming from the plant has been the reactors.

Certainly, one of the the spikes in readings earlier in the week appeared to co-incide with damage to reactor number 2, believed to be a crack in the containment system - the symptoms being a sharp release of steam and an abrupt drop in pressure.

On Thursday and Friday, radiation levels around the plant appeared much more stable.

And although elevated readings have been noted in some locations 30km from Fukushima, there has been nothing outside the 30km protection zone that has appeared to pose a danger to health.

Despite this, a number of governments have advised their citizens to stay much further away - or in the case of the UK, to consider doing so.

However, when the UK's chief scientific adviser explained the reasoning to BBC News on Thursday, he was still painting a worst-case scenario that appeared some way short of apocalyptic.

"The worst-case scenario would see the ponds starting to emit serious amounts of radiation, with some of the reactors going into a meltdown phase," he said.

"We put that together with [a possible scenario of] extremely unfavourable weather conditions - wind in the direction of Tokyo, for example.

"Even in that situation, the radiation that we believe could come into the Tokyo area is such that you could mitigate it with relatively straightforward measures, for example staying indoors and keeping the windows closed."

Local issue

Fukushima now becomes the third level five incident in half a century of nuclear power.

The Windscale fire could have been far worse if filters had not been installed at the tops of the chimneys. The first was the Windscale reactor fire in the UK in 1957 - the second, the partial meltdown of a reactor at Three Mile Island in the US in 1979.

Richard Wakeford from the Dalton Nuclear Institute, a visiting professor in epidemiology at the University of Manchester, recently re-assessed the effect of radiation released at Windscale.

Using data and computer models, his scientific paper concluded that the release could have caused about 240 cases of cancer, half of them fatal.

However, inquiries into Three Mile Island concluded it probably caused no deaths.

That raises the question of why both are in the same INES category, given that Three Mile Island did not, in the end, have more than a local impact.

"The reason why Three Mile Island was rated a five is that there was major damage to the reactor core and there was potential for a widespread release of radioactive material - it didn't happen, but that potential is built into the event scale," said Professor Wakeford.

In terms of material released, he said: "Fukushima is somewhere between the two - clearly there have been releases, and you have a possible breach of the containment system - no-one really knows."

Slow Down

As time passes, the reactors should in principle become less dangerous.

The rate at which they pump out heat decreases quickly, and by now the rate should be down to about one-thousandth of what it was a week ago, just before the Tohoku earthquake triggered a shutdown.

Prospects of exposure to perhaps the most dangerous radioactive substance, iodine-131, also diminish rapidly.

It decays quickly through radioactivity - after eight days, half the atoms present initially will already have decayed away.

There should be very little left in fuel rods that have been in storage ponds since November.

In addition, the continuing efforts to keep seawater flowing into reactors 1, 2 and 3 appear to have been relatively successful on Thursday and Friday.

If the reactors have been cooled, fuel rods will have been degrading at a slower rate, again curbing the release of radioactive substances.

On Friday afternoon, radioactivity readings had reportedly declined to less than 500 microsieverts per hour on site - below the level at which operators have to sound the alarm.

Some governments have advised their nationals to keep well away. Nevertheless, computer simulations by the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) indicate that harmful levels of radioactivity could have been experienced close to Fukushima but outside the 30km protection zone - though not further afield.

Greenpeace, with a long history of opposition to nuclear power, is not convinced that the time has come to declare that the risk of a major accident has subsided.

The group's nuclear campaigner Jan Beranek outlined a scenario where radioactive material was dispersed through fires or gas explosions of the type we saw earlier in the week.

"The mechanism could be destruction of the cladding around the fuel rods and fire - leading not only to the relase of radioactive iodine and caesium, but also opening fuel rods to the air," he told BBC News.

"With the fuel ponds, there is no barrier to further release.

"With the reactors, you could have a steam or hydrogen explosion if they try to pour water too quickly, and another explosion could give the final blow to the containment."

Hooking up

The cure for the plant's immediate problems could be the restoration of electrical power.

A grid connection was hooked up on Friday, although technicians were clearly struggling to power up systems around the site given that some of the plant's internal circuitry had been damaged by the tsunami or the gas explosions.

The nuclear safety authority outlined a timescale that would see power restored in reactor buildings 1-4 by Sunday.

If this all works, the prospects of the Greenpeace scenario should recede.
Then it will be time to take stock. And it may turn out, said Richard Wakeford, that no deaths at all will be attributable to the Fukushima incident.

"If you take one of the workers who's been exposed to 100 milliSieverts (mSv), that's not going to have any serious short-term effects," he said - "certainly nothing like the situation facing the Chernobyl emergency workers that killed 28 of them.

"The risk of a serious cancer arising from that kind of dose would be less than 1% in a lifetime - and you have to consider that the normal chance of dying from cancer is 20-25% anyway.

"As for people outside the plant - I can't see any chance of picking out the effect of the Fukushima releases against the general background of cancers."

--------------------------------------------------


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5165736.stm

World's worst nuclear incidents

• Level 7: Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986 - explosion and fire in operational reactor, fallout over thousands of square kilometres, possible 4,000 cancer cases

• Level 6: Kyshtym, Russia, 1957 - explosion in waste tank leading to hundreds of cancer cases, contamination over hundreds of square kilometres

• Level 5: Windscale, UK, 1957 - fire in operating reactor, release of contamination in local area, possible 240 cancer cases

• Level 5: Three Mile Island, US, 1979 - instrument fault leading to large-scale meltdown, severe damage to reactor core

• Level 5: Fukushima, 2011 - tsunami and possibly earthquake damage from seismic activity beyond plant design, leading to...?

------------------------------------------------

Libya, UNSC Resolution (1973) and India

~ Uddipan Mukherjee

India has refrained from voting in the UNSC resolution to establish 'no-fly zones' over Libya. The resolution refers to Chapter VII of the UN Charter in order to stop pro-Gadhafi elements in their assault over the rebels. Chapter VII authorises “action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.”

India's deputy permanent representative Manjeev Singh Puri said India could not endorse the drastic steps called for in the resolution without hearing from the UN secretary-general’s special envoy, Abdel Ilah Al-Khatib; former Jordanian foreign minister. Though his visit is over, the Special Envoy's report was not available. 

In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs of India asserts that on 17 March at New York, Puri had said : "The resolution that the Council has adopted today authorizes far reaching measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter with relatively little credible information on the situation on the ground in Libya. We also do not have clarity about details of enforcement measures, including who and with what assets will participate and how these measures will be exactly carried out. It is, of course, very important that there is full respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Libya."

India, along with China, Brazil, Russia and Germany abstained from voting. It needs to be mentioned that India is presently a non-permanent member of the Security Council. And it is evident that India does not subscribe to the direct use of force against Libya. 

Moreover, New Delhi indicated that the UNSC resolution could impact, directly or through indirect routes, ongoing trade and investment activities of a number of member-states thereby adversely affecting the economic interests of the Libyan people. Also, India expressed concerns that the perceived measures might exacerbate an already difficult situation for the people of Libya. 

On the other hand; though Gadhafi declared a unilateral ceasefire on Friday (March 18), there are reports that even on Saturday, at least 26 people were killed and over 40 wounded after forces loyal to Gadhafi pounded the rebellious city of Benghazi in Eastern Libya (as per Al Jazeera).

The Voice of America reports that at the crisis summit on Libya at the Elysee Palace in Paris (March 19), major world leaders have concurred to use 'force' against Muammar Gadhafi. French war planes pounded Libyan targets Saturday evening, the first foreign strikes enforcing a United Nations "no-fly" zone over Libya, 

Is the world going to witness another Balkanisation as was seen in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s? Will Libya be divided into rebel held east and pro-Gadhafi west? Or shall we see another Iraq? The UNSC resolution however categorically mentions that 'no occupation force' would be stationed in Libya. 

Nevertheless, in this scenario, India's actions are what needs to be analysed. Was this a BRIC + G-4 effect? Interestingly, apart from Japan, which is at present not within the Security Council, other nation-states of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and G-4 (Group seeking permanent membership of the Council) unanimously abstained from voting. 

By so doing, India has definitely exhibited its independent foreign policy stance and to a large extent has tried to eradicate the prevailing notion of its pro-US tilt. However, at the same time, such an [in]action on India's part may not be very encouraging for its prospects of bagging a permanent seat in the UNSC with American help. 

The upshot of these developments may be summarised as under:

Notwithstanding a resurgent Russia and a strong China, neither could risk pushing the UNSC architecture to the brink by applying their veto power in the Libyan case. 

India is yet to frame a robust and uniform foreign policy, especially during international crises situations. Furthermore, in case of pariah states like Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Libya, India's posture remains unclear.

After evacuating around 15,000 of the 18,000 odd Indians from Libya, safety of its people must not have weighed on the minds of the Indian policy makers. Similar rationale could be ascribed for China. 

Brushing aside intra-group differences, BRIC and G-4 seem to hold ground, at least as far as this Security Council decision was concerned. 

Reference:

http://meaindia.nic.in/mystart.php?id=190017431

Cash for Vote ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12781912

Indian PM Manmohan Singh denies bribing MPs for votes

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has said no member of his Congress party or government bribed MPs to survive a crucial vote of confidence in 2008.Continue reading the main story

A diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks says a party aide showed a US embassy official "chests of cash" to pay off MPs ahead of the vote.

Mr Singh said there were doubts about the veracity of such cables.

The leak heaps further pressure on the embattled Mr Singh after a string of corruption scandals.

The vote took place after the government's left-wing allies withdrew their support over a controversial nuclear deal with the US.

But the Congress party narrowly survived the vote despite substantial opposition.

The leaked cable, reported in The Hindu newspaper, has caused uproar in the Indian parliament with the main opposition parties saying that Congress had "brought shame to the nation" and calling on the prime minister to resign.

Mr Singh told parliament that "no one in the Congress party or the government indulged in any unlawful act during the [confidence] vote".

He said a parliamentary committee had investigated the allegations of vote buying in 2008 and had "concluded that it had insufficient evidence to draw any conclusion".

Mr Singh said people had voted the Congress party into power in the general election in 2009 despite the opposition parties "repeating their allegations of bribery in the confidence vote".

The prime minister criticised the contents of the cable, and doubted its veracity.

"It is unfortunate that speculative, unverified and unverifiable communication can be given dignity by the opposition to revive old charges that have been soundly rejected," Mr Singh said.

Earlier Mr Singh told a conclave organised by India Today magazine that he had "no knowledge of any such purchases of votes" ahead of the vote.

"I have not authorised anyone to purchase any votes. I am not aware of any acts of purchasing any votes. I am not at all involved," Mr Singh said.

'Malicious'

The cable by US official Steven White said that the embassy employee had met Nachiketa Kapur, an aide of senior Congress leader Satish Sharma.

It says that Mr Kapur told the embassy employee that "money was not an issue at all, but the crucial thing was to ensure that those who took the money would vote for the government".

The embassy employee said he was shown "two chests containing cash and said that around $25m (£15.5m) was lying around the house for use as pay-offs".

Nachiketa Kapur rejected the report, saying: "I vehemently deny these malicious allegations. There was no cash to point out to."

Satish Sharma told a news channel that he did not even have an aide called Nachiketa Kapur.

Mr Sharma is described as a "close associate of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi [and] considered to be a very close family friend of [Congress party chief] Sonia Gandhi".

The cable said that Mr Kapur also claimed that MPs belonging to regional party Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) had been paid 100 million rupees ($2.5m; £1.5m) each to ensure they voted the "right way".

RLD leader Ajit Singh has denied the charge and said that he was "opposed to the nuclear deal" and his party MPs "voted against the government".

If the government had lost the vote, India could have faced early elections. A defeat would have also put the nuclear deal in doubt

Development Studies@TISS

The following is a description of my 2nd interview at Tata Institute of Social Sciences for Development Studies [ the first was for Social Entrepreneurship, also posted in Indian Policy ].


15th March, Tuesday:


I reached at 9.30 am but my turn came at 1:15 pm. Was completely exhausted of waiting and hunger. The call came...there were 4 people – Mr. A [South Indian - above 60s ], Mr. B [ Bengali, mid 40's ], Mr. C [ North East - mid 50's ] and Ms D [ wearing a beautiful violet saree, may be mid 40's ].

[ All smiling .... ]

IM: Good Afternoon ... [ trying to look at everybody ...]

A: Indira Mukherjee ?? Sit ..

IM: Thank you..

A: So Indira, what do you do ?

IM: Sir, I am a computer engineer.. working in Tata Consultancy Services.

A: Your subjects are all in abbreviation in the form ? Tell me about you subjects ?

IM: The first year is common to all streams - Physics, Chemistry, Maths. From 2nd year the departmental papers start where we learn Basic Electronics, introduction to Computers. The third years includes circuit theory, Software engineering while the final year is mostly project work.

A: Tell me about your project ?

IM: Sir, we developed an inventory system for a school wherein, the administration can log in all details related to the school infrastructure, say chairs, boards, computers etc and manage the system at the click of a mouse.

A: TCS...hmm....So Indira why TISS ?

IM: [ not again ..Repeated the same story told in SE last day ] ..

A: Why DS ?

IM: [ puro dhop .. ] Sir, this might sound bizarre...but the driver for DS is a quiz contest...TCS Kolkata is very active in Quizzing and a year back, we had a India Quiz. The event was a shocker for me as I was unable to answer very basic things. I did not even know, the number of states in India...I asked myself...what am I doing...I soon realized that the measure of being a responsible citizen is not merely paying taxes but something more. In search of the answer, I started reading a lot about India and gradually my interest grew. But studying over the net only will not help me much in the process of channelizing my aspiration and urge to make a difference to my society. So, I decided to take a step forward.

[ A and D looked at each other - I guess, after a long time they came across a different answer to a very common question ].

A: There is not end to learning right ?

IM: Truly Sir, it is a continuous process.

B: Tell me, you are in IT - how can you contribute to the society after DS ?

IM: IT is something sir, which has revolutionized the lives of millions. Just imagine, few years back, we used to go to the reservation counter to book our tickets. Now, we do it sitting at home, logging on to IRCTC. Can we imagine lives without Broadband ??? No... Such is the importance of It that even the Government has ventured into its concept of e-governance. Even the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Mr Verappa Moily has one report exclusively dedicated to E governance alongside Terrorism and RTI.

ICT is something which is much talked about in studies related to Indian Development. I am confident that my experience in IT will help me to initiate and skillfully drive any such initiative. At least I will know where to start and what will follow. Rest is joint effort and dedication.

[ B, C and D seemed happy .... ]

C: Tell me, what do you want to study in DS ?

IM: Before filling the form, I read about the semester wise electives. Most topics were very pertinent but 2 of them grabbed my special attention :

1) Democracy, State and Civil Society [ D saying to B - "That’s your paper.." ]

2) Women, culture and Society [ B saying to D -"That's yours" ...and they had a laugh ]..

I really want to study these and explore more on them.

D: Bengal has a real good connection with Tata's ...tell me your views on it ?

IM: I believe, you are pointing towards the Tata Nano episode.

D: Yes, tell me, is WB developed much under the Left rule ?

IM: [ ei re.. e to shoja laal r sabuj proshno .. ] Well Ma'am, if we compare with other states...no..but yes, we have made a slow start and are picking up fast.

D: Tell me about the growth under the left Government?

IM: [ You have to praise...bujhe gechi ... ] Last few years, WB has seen development, especially in the infrastructural domain - the number of SEZ's has also gone up. This has reduced unemployment to a measurable extent.

D: Most people who support the left, say that caste based politics is not present in West Bengal ? You agree ?

IM: The state elections are due in a month. There is a party for 33 years [ told them a line about Operation Barga ] while there is another which talks about change.

I would say, both yes and no to your question. No, because, there is no visible attempt like that of distributing colour TV set etc based on caste. But Yes also, because there have been incidents very recently, where conducting a puja on a site claimed by muslims led to the death of few people. This was used by both the parties in WB and debates were conducted instantly. Recently, Muslins were given a 10% reservation in Government jobs. This compels the common man on the street to think that whether to stick to the current and stable or give the "new" a chance. Only, time will say.

[ this one, I believe was the worst answer that I gave to anybody in a long time…I could have answered this better…don’t know, what went wrong then … ]

D: Do you know the percentage of SC and ST in WB ?

IM: [ thinking... ] Sorry Ma'am, I can tell you about India as a whole not for WB separately.

B: You draw a very good salary. After DS, your salary will not be this high. Do you know about that ?

IM: I took 4 long years to decide upon finally changing my career track. It is an extremely conscious decision. I understand that money is important but at the end of the day, you will have to love what you do. If that does not happen, it is better to earn less but be happy.

[ A, B and D telling C to asking something...]

C: I have 2 questions - why is your pic in black and white ?

[ All laughing ...even I laughed .. ]

IM: No Sir, I was late in submitting the form and this was the only one which I had at hand. Moreover, I am a fan of Michael Jackson ...

[ All laughing ...D said – “B/W shows she is from Bengal”..  ]

C: 2nd, you have mentioned your experience as 4.3 years. Does that mean 4 years and 3 months ?

IM: Yes, Sir. Actually there was not enough space to write down years and months separately.

C: But is that representation correct ?

IM: [ grinning ...] Its kind of a norm sir..but I understand your point...and will definitely find out why we write like that ..[ no point in arguing ..]

B: Are you aware of any rural development schemes launched by the GOI ?

IM: In our budget, Pranab da has allocated a lot of money to Bharat Nirman, more than MGNREGA. It is a program which encompasses 6 areas of rural development namely, Housing - Indira Awas Yojana; Roads - Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana; Telecom - Telephone/Broadband; Irrigation and electricity – Grameen Vidyutikaran yojana.

[ C nodding his head ..I wanted to talk about PURA and NREGA but he cut me short ..]

C: OK Indira, it was nice talking to you.

IM: Thank you..

[ All smiling ... ]

Today I met students from all parts of India - Ranchi, Assam, Delhi, Karnataka - there were students from St Xaviers, St Stephens etc. I assume my chances of clearing are very slim with only 20 seats open. However, this was a big learning experience and I have truly realized how much of a challenge, an interview of this sort can be. It is very important to stick to known topics and not mention any single word which can be picked up by the interviewer to grill you.

Looking forward to my trip back home tomorrow.

Social Entrepreneurship@TISS

The following is a description of my Mumbai visit and the first interview at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences-TISS, on Social Entrepreneurship, SE. It was fun, interesting and was a big learning experience as well.

14th March, Monday:

Boarded the bus-382 at 8:37 am sharp and reached Deonar by 9:30. The conductor took special care of me by giving me a window seat in the overcrowded bus :-) Reached the institute after talking either to the traffic police or constable or paan walas !!!

I had to report at the new campus at 12:30 but I was 3 hours early. I marked my attendance in the "Chehra" list and thought myself to be in Alauddin Khilji's reign :-) There were around 10-12 candidates and I was at number 7. Spoke to 3 other candidates - all who did not clear the interview for SE last year. People were rummaging through notes, books etc. Some said, the total seats were 35 and out of them 19 were reserved. All that gave me jitters; just wanted the interview to start and finish, as it was close to lunch time ....sorry....can't think of any thing without food!!!

I entered the room at 11:10 am and gave a smile saying -"Good Morning". There were 3 of them - one Mr X [mid 50’s], Ms. Y [early 40’s] and Mr. Z [difficult to say, his hair cut was like Sai Baba, and he only observed].

X: What is your name?

IM: My name is Indira Mukherjee. [Not "Bond...James Bond”]

X: OK, she is a computer engineer [gave my form to Y, Y quickly scanned it]

X: So Indira, what are you doing currently?

IM: I am working with Tata Consultancy Services [I usually avoid saying TCS in an unfamiliar crowd].

X: What do you do?

IM: Sir, my designation is that of an IT Analyst and my role is that of a Solution Designer. I am in the same project for the last four years. My job basically involves gathering requirements from our client, which is a telecom major in UK, and breaking it down into smaller stories so that the developer can code.

X: So, why TISS?

IM: [Ah!! that question...the cooked up story begins  ...]

Actually Sir, I am not a computer engineer by choice but one by force. I wanted to pursue a course in humanities but that did not happen due to multiple reasons. Thankfully, I found interest in my subjects and was able to get through TCS. The initial 2 years were spent madly and badly in learning work but soon after I realized that striking keyboards is not what I want. That’s when I started to re-evaluate my options and TISS happened.

X: [Understanding completely] Why SE?

IM: [Another short Story..] Well Sir, TCS as an organization is very active in its CSR initiatives via its arm called "Maitree". Even amidst hectic schedule, I have always followed its programmes. That kept the spark alive which was lit 4 years back when I joined a NGO as a volunteer for 4 months, before TCS. That was an extremely moving experience for me.

I might not be able to give you a proper definition of what SE means but I will try to explain what I make out of it. Entrepreneurship is basically coming up with an innovation for the purpose of economic good. Now, the entire construct of an entrepreneurship, cannot and should not solely be making money because entrepreneurship also means making a difference to lives of people.

For e.g. - I am a sweeper and I sweep the floors of a MNC. Probably, my salary does not permit me to give a good education to my children. However, if the MNC thinks about me and many more like me, and comes up with an educational policy for its housestaff, probably, my children can become LIC agents, not sweepers and their children can become call centre agents and the next generation can actually get a job in the same MNC. So you see, how that policy makes a difference to multiple lives and in effect leads to socio-economic growth.

[Y staring at me...]

X: What do you think is the biggest problem in India?

IM: Well, to be honest - my view keeps on changing from time to time, based on newspapers [what a stupid answer...]

X: No, newspapers do not reflect the real problems of the society. Tell me...what in your opinion is the biggest problem?

IM: [took 2 seconds and showed them that I understood his point and was thinking] I would say, Corruption...

X: What kind of corruption?

IM: [ei re ...] Well, I would say that despite we having laws and acts and broad civil machinery, the implementation of schemes and policies is not proper. Corruption disallows the benefits to reach to the people at grass root level.

X: Forget the Government; can you give me an example?

IM: On NREGA, there is an ongoing debate on minimum wages. There are numerous cases and places where NREGA is either not implemented properly or is biased – much of it due to corruption. People do not receive stipulated wages, wages on time...

X: What is the minimum wage as per NREGA?

IM: Rs 100 /- per day

X: Are you sure?

IM: Yes...

X; How can it be 100 INR? Do you think 100 INR in Mumbai is equal to 100 INR in Assam?

IM: I understand the point Sir...

X: [ cutting me short... ] Why is it 100 INR?

IM: Hmm..I will still try to work it out. Definition of Poverty is 2$ per day. That translates to roughly 90 INR. So, I think the limit is 100 INR.

X: Why dollar? Why didn't you think in INR? 

IM: [issshhh... ] No Sir, actually, UN keeps on saying its 2$...so was just trying to translate. 

[ Y smiling...]

X: Who fixes the amount 100 INR in India?

IM: The Government, though its act...

Y: Why SE? What will you do after 2 years studying SE?

IM: [Again…puro psychometric test…] Not sure whether I can, but I would like to start on my own venture. [kono din o naa….chakri korbo na to ki korbo…entrepreneurship niye interview..e shob to bolte e hoy…but r koto dhop debo !!!!! ]

Y: Not a job?

IM: No...

Y: What kind of venture?

IM: [eta to bhabi nee..grinning... ] you want to give me 4 options [ the UPSC rog ] ?

Y: No...you tell me, it’s your venture...

IM: Maam, as I was mentioning earlier that I worked in a NGO for 4 months and this NGO fights against trafficking. I assume, 2 years in SE will definitely involve a lot of field work and it will help me channelize my thought processes. Thereafter, if I have adequate resources, I would embark on that route and add value to the society by developing a venture on a similar cause.

[Y’s eyes came out of her zygomactic arch…]

Y: Tell me, you consider yourself to be a worker or a labourer?

IM: [After thinking for 3 seconds] Well, Both to be honest. When I see that I cannot return home for 3 days due to work pressure, I think I am a labourer and on days when I can return home for dinner, I feel I am a worker.

[Hidden smiles and glaring eyes]...

Y: Do you know about the concept of wages?

IM: Yes Ma’am, the story in India begins with The Minimum Wages act, 1948 which says, that every person is entitled to a minimum wage which covers his/her daily needs. In fact, our Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 38 also talks about the concept of fair wages.

Y: Should be minimum wages be same throughout India?

IM: Ma’am, I guess the answer to your question lies in the statement sir made few minutes back. Yes, it cannot and should not be the same.

[Y smiling at X...X is unnerved, scanning my form…]

Y: What is the biggest social issue in West Bengal?

IM: Well, if I may be allowed to recollect my NGO experience, I was extremely unaware as to how big of an issue is trafficking, especially in WB, which borders Nepal and Bangladesh. This is aggravated due to porous borders between the nations. In addition, this gives a leeway to anti- social elements.

[X and Y nodding their heads..X and Y point towards Z...finally - "Thus Spake Zarathustra...” err Mr Z  ...]

Z: Do you know about NREGA?

IM: Yes Sir. It is actually the MGNREGA - the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Act. It was passed in the Parliament on 12th September 2005. It is a fallout of Article 41 of our constitution - the Right to Work. It says that the State will provide employment to its unskilled labourers for a minimum of 100 days in a year. And that work includes mostly infrastructural projects i.e. wells, canals, roads etc.

Z: Which is the state which has implemented NREGA in the best possible manner?

IM: I was reading an article in Frontline last month. If I can recollect it correctly, it said that Kerala is the state with best results on NREGA. In terms of expanse, Andhra Pradesh also is not far behind but the recent cases of suicide might lead us to revisit that. Not sure whether the position of Kerala has changed since, but I would still stick to Kerala.

[Z nodding his head and looking at X and Y ..]

Y: We will not give you a job [smiling…] and we cannot offer you an accommodation in our hostel as it is full but we will help you find paying guest in the vicinity.

IM: That’s heart breaking news to me on my first trip to Mumbai [chuckling…]. However, if that’s the way it is, I will go ahead with it.

X, Y, Z: OK, Indira...

IM: Thank you…

Took the same 382 bus to Hiranandani, had my lunch at Subway and found the nearest cyber cafe to share this experience with you.

The final list will be out sometime in mid-April. Tomorrow is another interview - on Development Studies. Let’s see, what unfolds...