How not to fight corruption.

How not to fight corruption.

One has to thank K.Subramaniam for his sober analysis of the corruption (IE, 30/1) in the body politic in India which has seeped into all spheres of life and sapped the will of the people. AAP and its supporters seem to be in a hurry to establish their credentials as the cruseders against corruption. There is no quick-fixes for India's many problems incuding corruption. As has been pointed out by the writer, the only way it can be controlled, if not eliminated, is to identfy sectors which enable corruption to emerge and survive. In most of the cases corrution is speed-money. Can we not evolve methods to expedite processes, reduce human contact and computerise response ? E-governance been used by many states to curb corruption. Stings and traps cannot be the solutions to corruption, and they may be used to settle personal scores. They cannot be the state policies.May be AAP has not read Mahatma Gandhi and understand Anna Hazare well. You cannot get good ends with wrong means.

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/how-not-to-fight-corruption/

January 30,2014.

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Mumbai needs a Transport Authority.

Mumbai needs a Transport Authority.

Your report, Bumpy road ahead for Best & the article by Darryl D'Monte (DNA,30/1) highlight the need for a Transport Authority for Mumbai to co-ordinate the bus, taxi, auto-riksha, goods transport and private behicles to use the roads network for the maximum benefit of the travelling public.Now the roads cater to the needs of the five percent of the people who travel by private vehicles. It is a revelation that only three out of 502 bus routes are profitable to the Best.Just now electric supply division of the BEST subsidies the bus transport. This burden needs to be passed on the private vehicles which commandeer most of space of the road network. Goods transport should be restricted during the day, all vehicles parked on the roads should be levied a fee, air-conditioned buses should be increased to wean away car users. Mumbai does not need sea-link or a coastal road but a fast-moving Mono-Railway and Metro Network. Mumbai can be saved from vehicular and noice polluition when most of the government and private sector offices and commercial centres are relocated to Navi Mumbai or other parts of MMRDA.

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=59067&boxid=32511&ed_date=2014-1-30&ed_code=820009&ed_page=7

January 30,2014.

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Mess in defense.

Mess in defense .

The edit, Firing Blanks, and the report, Saint Anthony leaves army weaponless (DNA, 3/1) exposes one more failure of the UPA. India which is surrounded by hostile neighbours should always be one step ahead of them to defeat their nefarious designs. However, UPA has messed up the modernisation of weapons and equipments of the army, navy and airforce by " a labyrinthine bureaucracy, replete with overlapping jurisdictions, lack of planning and lach of transparency" as pointed out by you. The decision-making in defense ministry is stymed by the procurement process with layers of bureaucratic committees and lobbying by various defense equipment manufacturers from Europe and USA.This is a fertile ground for commissions and bribes. The government seems to meet this problem by adding more committees and banning the firms involved in bribing. While bribe giving and receiving should be punished, India cannot afford to give up latest weapons and equipments which will serve our forces well. The time has come for India to build a strong defense manufacturing industry by inviting private sector and collaborating with manufacturers in other countries. India would not be strong without it. 

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/editorial-dna-edit-structural-problems-and-lack-of-transparency-continue-to-plague-india-s-arms-procurement-process-1944429

January 3, 2014.

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