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Showing posts from December, 2010

Rapes committed in Indian States/Cities

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Introduction The recent increase in the rapes have made me just do a survey on the performance of various states/cities about the crimes committed in them. A comparison of Rapes that have happened in various states in 2008 is tabulated below. The summary of the table is: a)     MP has the dubisous record of highest number of rapes committed b)     AP is the worst performer in the Southern states which on an overall basis seem to be secure places for women c)     Mizoram has the highest per capita rapes i.e. the number of rapes per million women population. Many North Eastern States have fared bad. d)     Delhi, has more rapes than the states which have almost 4 times its population. Before I jump to any conclusion on the best place to reside, rather the worst place to reside, I thought it would be fair to judge the performance of various cities and then get an overall idea. Here is the performance of various cities The summary of the table is: a)     Delhi & Mumbai have the mos

What can one derive out of money!!

I was just trying to understand the various numbers that came around in news. So, I put some of them in descending order, and the results are in the table below: Scenario Amount (Rs) USA Fiscal deficit (FY10) 92,500,000,000,000 China's reserves (FY10) 90,000,000,000,000 US bail out package (FY08) 40,500,000,000,000 2G Spectrum scam (FY10) 1,750,000,000,000 India's defence expenditure (FY10) 1,433,440,000,000 Compensation paid to BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico - Till Date 135,000,000,000 Mukesh Ambani's home (FY10) 80,000,000,000 Compensation paid to Bhopal Gas Tragedy (FY01) 21,150,000,000 Loss due to power procured from dabhol power plant (FY01) 10,806,555,000 Profit of Reddy brothers per day (FY11) 170,000,000 Bonus to a typical i-banker in Wall Street (FY11) 40,000,000

Some facts about Natural Gas

Do you know that prior to Reliance KG basin gas discovery, ONGC has once declared that India has no more potential for gas? After the Reliance KG basin discovery there is a new found enthusiasm about India having huge gas reserves, and hence the justified hype about gas. But do you know the following: Similar to electricity, gas is not stored and has to be consumed right away. If only there is consumption, gas is produced otherwise it is shut If one has to store gas, permission needs to be taken from Petroleum & Explosives Safety organization (PESO) No gas based power plant in india can be a viable option at the existing electricity prices? City Gas Distribution (CGD) Schemes, where each household would be connected through gas pipelines will not be successful at the existing LPG prices? And if CGD gets deployed, do you know that whenver you move your stove you will have to take the permission from local authorities? Gas pipelines in India are ~12,000 Kms, while Pakistan has

Novel way to fight corruption!!

Did you know that AP government has infact implemented a scheme where individuals can audit the government schemes? This audit is termed as Social Audit. Individuals, are trained on how to audit and monitor the progress and execution of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Bureaucrats and contractors are supposed to explain the deviations, if any in the schemes being executed.  So far ~5000 cases of fraud have been identified and works to the tune of ~Rs 60 cr have been given back by the fraudsters. Though the size is not huge, it certainly is a fresh beginning to the fight against corruption.  I came to know about this from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/world/asia/03india.html Infact to ensure that even these social audits themselves do not become a major expenditure, Government of AP has passed an act to ensure a cap on the amount of expenditure per audit conducted, this includes a max. cap on the expenses to be bourne by the auditors, the share of equipment that

Way to go!! Deficit Reduction in USA

Do you know the deficit of USA. It is ~$ 5 Trillion. Just so, one understand what that figure means, India's budget is around $1.3 Trillion and USA's defence budget is almost  as big our own GDP. There is a desperate need for USA to cut down its deficit. Diplomats have been trying vehemently to implement policies that will ensure reduction in this. But, as usual the Republicans oppose any of these policies...Guess, what they are seriously contemplating putting Sarah palin in the forefront for Presidency in 2012 elections. Getting back to the topic; Republicans are proving now and again that they represent the Rich and the media which is strong supportive of Republicans is strongly supporting their ideas. The tax benefits to the rich which are expected to expire this month are most likely to be continued, owing to the pressure of Republicans. So, what are the measures taken by Obama to cut the deficit?? Freeze the salaries of Federal employees..lol !! This freeze will save

For once 5 lac crore investment halted for Right reasons!! Hail the Minister

This is the amount of investment halted due to the strict norms imposed by our Existing Environmental Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh.  Rs2 lac crore wasted by Mr. Raja and all that he does is get back and sleep at peace in his own constituency. Now here is one minister who is working day in and day out to ensure that the environmental laws are adhered to but he is being booed all around. In-fact Wall Street Journal lambasted him for concentrating too much on environment than on development. All that Mr. Ramesh is asking for is to ensure that the laws are followed. Being in the industry, I know that many corporates do not follow much of the environmental laws. It is only under the reign of Mr. Ramesh that people started worrying about environment. Earlier the biggest threat for the completion of a power plant was fuel, land availability etc. Now the biggest concern is getting Environment Clearance. Companies used to get the clearance quite easily, but now when the voices of the local re