The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
Sometimes major events completely disconnected may be data points for the plans of the different powers around the world. The challenge is to discern what purpose they serve? More critically, what are we moving towards?
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
Innovation comes handy when nature, Government and wealth generation in the society diss you. We Indians are known for a unique characteristic called “Jugaad“. Which means that instead of having the commonly used tool for a situation, we will innovate and make do. It will work, although its a contraption, but things obviously could have been better had the real thing been used.
The same evidence came from UP – where Munnavar Khan, from Nai Sarai area used a combination of “Frying Pan” and the engine of a two wheeler scooter to put together a motor boat. Interestingly 10-15 people can be ferried in the boat at the same time. The total expense for this – Rs. 12,000-15,000.
In an area that could be ravaged by floods and government help not so easy to get, such local contraptions are very useful.
And that brings us to the main question – is it something to be proud of?
Good is the enemy of the best – so goes the saying. Simply because we can make do with a contraption, that has no precautions for the safety of the flood victims or travellers across a river – which it may well be used for by some overzealous “businessmen”, if they get hold of it – should it be used? Because we are happy to use it, we will not feel overly anxious if the Government never provides any support to the poor during the floods!
Heck, even worse, no one will sit down in a Dharna anytime soon in front of Parliament House or PM’s House and ask the parliamentarians and the PM a simple question – why in the world do we have floods every year? And droughts?
When will the linking of rivers be completed? When will we use the water we get properly?
When the history of India is written 200-300 years from now, when we have all but finished our water supply; that generation would be aghast at the way we misused our waters. They would not be able to believe that India had such rich rivers and feeding mountains and YET, we destroyed everything and were not able to provide water to everyone? And when water overflowed, we couldn’t get people out in time.
I just hope that generation has reached a level of intelligence where they can even ask that question. For, the last 4 generations and the coming ones haven’t asked those simple questions.
The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
This visit of India left me with many questions. Many observations and inputs from different people and sections. Food for thought that I have tried to contemplate on and make sense of. Sharing all that with you.
When you analyze the last 60 years of the economic miracles of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia versus the continued impoverished Indian economy, you get very interesting lessons. Can Indians have the wherewithal in them to do in one generation so that the coming generations may rise?
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