Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Thursday 20 February 2014

Arvind is an Anarchist !



He did not ,



-  Spray black pepper in Lok Sabha


-  Take off shirt in UP Assembly


-  Slap a marshal in J&K Assembly


-  Shout in the well of Delhi Assembly


-  Snatch papers / Threw chairs / Broke mikes in Rajya Sabha





Nor did he ,


-  Accept cash donations for AAP ( with or without receipts )


-  Buy out Congress MLAs


-  Give in to own greedy party-men


-  Ride with red beacon flashing


-  Appoint Chamcha Ministers





Neither did he ,


-  Give out contracts to cousins


-  Forgot to file Income Tax returns


-  Refuse  to vacate government bungalow


-  Go on foreign junket at govt expenses


-  Appoint toll agencies for a " consideration "





All that he did was ,


-  Made minor honest mistakes and apologized


-  Started audit of power discoms


-  Filed FIR for corruption in Jal Board / CWG / Reliance / Central Govt


-  Sat on a peaceful dharna when stopped by police


-  Try to pass a Jan Lokpal bill ( subjecting himself )


-  Resigned - rather than compromise with his principles



 

But Congress-men and the BJP-men and the TV Anchors  say :



"  Arvind is an Anarchist


   Arvind is an Escapist


   Arvind is an Opportunist


   Arvind is an Egotist

 
   Arvind has no experience  "




I  am glad,



Arvind has no experience of the kind they talk of  !


His lack of " dirty political experience " is our best hope



*  hemen  parekh  (  20  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )

  

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Darkness at Noon !



Some 70 years ago , when Italian scientist Enrico Fermi succeeded in exploding the first atom bomb ( Project Manhattan ) , the secret message sent to the President of America read ,


"  The Italian Navigator has landed  "


American government did not want its citizens to know that it has mastered the deadliest weapon ever invented


Yesterday , closer home , on the shores of India , another Italian Mariner landed


She did not want the people of India to know , how Telengana Bill got passed


So , the live telecast of Lok Sabha was " blacked out "


According to eye-witness , Dinesh Trivedi ( MP - TMC ) ,


>  Army was deployed all around Lok Sabha building


>  MPs had to park their cars outside and walk down


>  Everyone started shouting when bill got tabled


>  No MP could argue for or against the bill


>  18  Congress MPs ( from Andhra ) were suspended and prevented from
     participating


>  3 Congress Ministers ( from Andhra ) rushed into the well , shouting


>  Doors of Lok Sabha were closed shut ( - to prevent walk-out ? )


>  Live telecast was stopped




To top it all ,



>  Division did not take place using Voting Buttons on MP's seats


>  Speaker Meira Kumar suddenly turned a Maths-Wizard , and within a
     matter of seconds , counted how many of the 542 MPs stood up in favor
     of the bill - obviously many more than 272 , according to her maths !




All thru the pandemonium , Mauni Man Mohan Singhji and Madam Mariner ,
sat in stoic silence  !


Now , people of India know why , over the last 3 years , Kapil Sibal , Salman Khurshid etc kept telling Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal ,


"  Laws cannot be enacted on the streets . Lok Sabha is the proper forum "


Of course   !


If you enact the laws on the streets , how can you stop ,


>    People from watching the  " Riot of the Rotten Rats "  ?


>    People from asking you to resign  ?



Now we know why Arvind Kejriwal wanted to pass the Jan LokPal Bill in the Ram Lila Grounds - out in the open - in front of the people


Poor chap  !


He resigned because he could not pass the bill , even inside Vidhaan Sabha


No such compulsion for Man Mohan Singhji


For him , it was as easy as switching off the telecast to create ,



DARKNESS   AT   NOON 



No need to resign , Man Mohanji,


Lok Sabha elections are just around the corner


And , even if people cannot " See " , they are " Listening " !


One suggestion,


As a last straw ( on Democracy's  back  ? ) , in the next 6 days ( before Model Code of Conduct kicks in ) , get the President to sign Ordinances , covering those six , pet  anti-corruption bills of Rahulji


Although , I suspect , Pranabda will refuse to sign these  !



*   hemen   parekh  (  19  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )


Sunday 16 February 2014

Needed - some Simple Answers !



This is with reference to the controversy surrounding the pricing of KG-6 gas of Reliance , which started with $ 2.4 , is currently $ 4.2 and slated to rise to $ 8.4 / unit , from April 2014


Writing in yesterday's Times of India , ( Swaminomics ) , eminent economist , Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar , made following points  :



>   Reliance ( KG - 6 ) accounts for only 10 % of the gas production in our
     country . Balance 90 % is by Public Sector Companies such as ONGC etc


>   Hence , any increase in selling price will mostly benefit government itself

     ( Any idea , what will government do with this windfall  ? )


>   Price - hike envisaged is recommended by a committee headed by Mr C
     Rangrajan  ( - implying , infallible / sacrosanct  ?  )


>   By introducing price control on gas , " India's name is mud globally , and
     top exploration companies now avoid India "


>   An economic rule of thumb is that " traded Commodities " should be
     priced on par with the import price ( my question : irrespective of the
     actual cost of production in India ? )


     The Rangrajan price of $ 8 / unit , is well below the import price



Not being an economist , I am confused  !


May be Mr Aiyar can dispel my following doubts  :


#   By taking out of our own soil ( or sea ) , does gas become a " traded
      commodity "  ? - even if entirely sold in India ?


#    Is KG-6 gas a " Natural Resource " which belongs to the Nation - and
       not to Reliance  ?


#    Is Reliance the " Owner " of the gas or a mere " Contractor "  ?


#    Would Mr Aiyar , want the Central Government to extend the same logic
      to other " Natural Resources " ( belonging to the country ) , being dug
      out from the earth ( by private companies ) , such as :



      *   Oil / Coal / Shale Gas etc  (  Fossil Fuels )


      *   Ores of Iron / Copper / Zinc / Aluminum etc


      *   Trees ( timber ) that grow in our jungles


      *   Any number of minor minerals / chemicals



      Should these too , be treated as " Traded Commodities " , whose local
      selling prices must be same as Imported prices ?



#    What about the air / wind that blows freely over our land  ?


      Does it belong to the Nation or not  ?


      Or , does it belong to the Companies setting up  WIND FARMS  , to
      generate electricity  ?


      Should such power be " Price Controlled " or not  ?




#    What about the Sunlight that falls on our vast land  ?


      Who does it belong to  ? To our government or to the companies setting
      up mega Solar Power Projects  ?


     Should there be a price control on such power - produced , using a  National Resource  ?




#    What about the hydro - power generated by private sector companies
     from the water flowing in our Country's rivers  ?


     Does - or does not - that water belong to the Nation  ?


     Should not such power be price - controlled  ?




#   Tomorrow , if a private sector company ( or a consortium of Indian
      Companies , in joint venture with foreign companies ) , invest Rs 1 Lakh
      Crores , to build the 22 Km long Kalpsar Dam across the Bay of Cambay
      in Gujarat , and generate 10,000 MW of power from Oceanic Tides  , -
     can they be allowed to set any selling price  ? At International price  ?


     I suppose , it would be next to impossible for them to " Export " such
     power beyond the shores of India  !



#   Incidentally , what about the Airwaves ( the 2G / 3G Spectrum )  ?


     Is that also a Natural Resource which belongs to the Nation ?


     Having " licensed " it from the Central Government  , can Mobile
     Phone companies , set any selling prices for their services  ?


Even with a combined debt of around Rs 2 Lakh Crores , how are these
    Mobile companies , able to deliver ( nearly ? ) cheapest mobile phone

    services in the entire World ? May be at 10 % of international price  ?




#   In ALL of the above - mentioned cases , should Central Government
     carefully calculate / frequently audit , the " Cost of Production "  ? Then
    link the " Local / Domestic , Selling Prices "  to such " Cost of Production "
    allowing certain  pre-determined " Return on Investment "  ?



#   Even as we agree that " Export prices " of gas are governed by prevailing   
     international prices , how come the " Domestic Prices " of gas are vastly
     different in different countries , ranging from under $ 1 to $ 5 / unit  ?


     Does this itself , not prove that , in each country , domestic prices are
    linked to their own local " Cost of Production "  ?



#  Very often , have we not exported , food grains , at " Below the Cost " ?




Mr  AIYAR ,



You will be doing a great service to millions of ignoramus like me , by offering your own " Views " on the points raised above


And , I suppose , since the fall in production from KG - 6 , is purely and entirely , due to " Technically Sound " reasons , raising of the selling price to
$ 8 ( or even $ 16 / - ! ) , won't result in any increase in production !



Time alone will tell  !




*   hemen  parekh  (  17  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )  

Friday 14 February 2014

A Tale of Two Houses



*   DELHI  VIDHAAN  SABHA  :



Even though, with their combined strength of 42 ( in a house of 70 MLAs ), Congress + BJP could have easily defeated the Jan LokPal Bill after debate , they did not allow the bill to be tabled


These MLAs shouted , broke mike , tore up papers - nor allowed Kejriwal to speak for past 2 days


As promised earlier , Kejriwal resigned as CM and said
 ,


" I did not become CM to hold onto my chair at the cost of my promises to people  "





*   LOK  SABHA  :




Even though,


-  UPA government had numerical majority 


-  BJP claimed to be supporting a separate state of Telangana ,


Congress MPs ( both , pro-Telengana and anti-Telengana ), did not allow Telengana Bill to be discussed


They shouted , broke mike , tore up papers , sprayed black pepper powder and did not allow anyone else to speak , for past 3 days


Pretending helplessness , PM Man Mohan Singh watched the tamasha of his own MPs in silence , muttering , " I am pained " !


But he would not resign


What did he leave unsaid ?


"  I will hold onto my chair. Who cares for principles  ! "




PEOPLE  OF  INDIA  :



Again and again , you have watched in silence , the moral depravation of UPA , over the past 5 years


These people claim to be " Moral Successors " of late Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri , who resigned , taking moral responsibility for a train accident  !


Oh , what a fall was there , my Countrymen  !


Again and again , you have watched with sheer , silent disgust , the shameless collusion of BJP , desperately trying to come back to power , using means , fair or foul  !


These people claim to be moral heirs to the legacy of stalwarts like Pandit Deen Dayal , Jai Prakash Narayan and Morarji Desai , for whom principles were more important than power !


But , now at least , it is no more a question of having to choose  between the " lesser of the two evils "  !


In April , at many polling booths , you will have an alternative in  a  AAP candidate


When you look at those names - and party symbols - on that EVM ( Electronic Voting Machine ) , two months from now , remember ,


YOU  WILL  GET WHO  YOU  DESERVE  TO  GET  !


Before pushing that button , ask yourself ,


"  Who  ( which candidate )  do I deserve  ?  "


And , if you find none , push that NOTA button ( None of the above )


For another 5 years , this will be your only chance to express your ANGER , in a manner that will count  !




*   hemen   parekh  (  15  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Gastro - nomics ?



May be India is suffering from Gastro-nomics


Or , from , Gas - to - Economics


Call what you may , the disease seems deadly  !


Minister Veerappa Moily , responding to Arvind Kejriwal's FIR , said :


" I sympathize with Arvind's ignorance. Gas pricing is a very complex issue "


What he would NOT say , is :


"  How dare you , Aam Aadmi , try to unravel in a few weeks , what took us years of hard work to complicate  ?


   To increase gas price from $ 2.34 to $ 4.20 to $ 8.40 , involves complicated calculations , - worse than sending a man to moon


   Couldn't you appreciate that all the odds were stacked against us  ?  "


Moily , Murli and Mukesh , would like us to leave it to the lawyers , the experts and the Supreme Court to decide what ought to be the FAIR and REASONABLE ( - please , don't ask , " to whom ? " ) , price of KG gas


But Aam Aadmi would like these experts to compile - and publish - some statistics re: the prices at which , companies around the World , produce and sell gas


As a aam aadmi , I would like to see a COMPARATIVE TABULATION of gas selling prices being charged all over the World , under following scenarios :


#   A



Domestic Companies which " extract " gas from the " Domestic Fields " of their own countries on a " Contract " basis ( deploying labor / management / technology / capital ) , on a " Production Sharing " basis


   At what prices do they sell that gas to ,


*   Their own local government / local companies


*   Overseas governments and companies



#   B



Companies which extract gas from " Foreign Fields " under a license from each foreign government or thru outright " Owning " of those fields


At what price do they sell gas to ,


*  Other companies of the host country


*  other companies world - wide


*  Companies in India




#   C



Purely " Trading " companies ( which do not engage in drilling / exploring / production )


At what price do they sell gas world - wide  ?  To India  ?


How much do their selling price to India differ from their prices world-wide ?




Experts will , no doubt , come up with other permutations / combinations


And they must


Because , we must try and get , as much of  " An Apple for an Apple " comparison , as possible , to arrive at meaningful conclusions


Other important questions that the Supreme Court will , no doubt ask , are :



>  World over , is there a definite co-relation between the " Cost of Production " and the " Selling Price " ?
    Or , is it just in India ?


>  What role does " World Market Price " play in determining the local selling price , all over the World ?

    Do gas selling prices in most of the countries , get determined by the world market prices ?  Or , is that a myth  ?


>  World over , what is the range of the " Rate of Return on Capital Employed " for companies like Reliance's " Petroleum business " ?


>  Would Reliance suffer massive losses if current price of $ 4.2 were to continue for a few more years ?


>  Will price of $ 4.2 , fail to attract foreign investments ?


>  Are  there sufficient grounds to suspect that the past - including recent past - decisions in regard to gas selling prices , were dishonest ?


>  Is there a clear case of collusion between Reliance and individuals occupying high positions in Central government  ?


>  Is there a clear case of corruption  ?



Don't expect answers to these questions , any time soon


There is no doubt , at least some answers are bound to embarrass some people  !


In any case , the mouse has dared to roar  !


And Aam Aadmi is cheering  !



*   hemen  parekh  (  12  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai )




Monday 10 February 2014

Run Out of Issues , Rajat Sharma ?



Dear Rajat Sharma ,


Last evening , on your India TV show , you spent quite a few minutes talking about the refrigerator , the air-conditioner , the micro-wave oven , the sofa set etc


You normally don't talk about such mundane things  !


So , why this sudden importance to items of necessity  ?


Surely , India TV was not airing a " Commercial "  !


Only because , some 3 ministers of AAP government had asked these items to be installed in their homes  ?


From the tone of your voice , it seemed you had stumbled upon some dark , corrupt practice of AAP ministers  !


A " corruption " of some Rs 10 lakhs in all , between 3 ministers  !


Items that belonged to the Delhi Government and which , these ministers will need to leave behind when they vacate their government-owned flats in the next 3 days  !


(  Since , AAP government is most likely to resign in next 3 days )


Now , you don't want to waste your time telling the viewers about


>  Dozens of Ministers / MPs / MLAs , who continue to occupy their official
     residences , months / years after their tenure - without paying rent


>  Scores of Ministers who owe various agencies , crores of rupees for use of
    water / electricity / telephone etc , after demitting office


>  Equal number of ex-Ministers / MPs / MLAs , who enjoy one or other kind
     of perks / benefits from State coffers  ( and of course ,from  Air India )


>  Ministers ( including some ex-presidents ) who travelled abroad on what
    was described as " Official Visits " - with friends and family vacationing


>  Planning Commission spending a few crores of rupees to renovate toilets


>  Ministers spending crores of rupees to re-furbish their bungalows


>  Ministers / MPs / MLAs who " forget " to declare all of their assets while
    filing their nomination for elections


>  Ministers who " forget " to file their Income Tax returns for a few years
     ( Babu Jagjivan Ram forgot to file , for 10 years in a row ! )


>  MPs / MLAs who spend ( of course , on government expenses ) 15 days ,
    holidaying at exotic foreign locations , to study " Empowerment of Poor "




RAJAT ,



That you are anti-AAP , does not stop me from remaining glued to your 9pm
show every evening - and I urge , all AAP ministers to do so  !


It is only critiques like you who can keep reminding them of the lofty
principles that they stand for


By and large , you have conducted yourself without bias towards any political party


You have been balanced and respectful of the people you interview


And the best part is ,


You allow the participants to speak , without interrupting them or trying to put words in their mouth - a rare virtue amongst TV anchors / editors  !


Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill  !


In future , please ignore non-issues


After all , India TV is ,  " Aap ki Awaz "  !





*   hemen  parekh  (  11  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )