Thinking Indians

Restoring Investor confidence

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:48:00 -0600

Recent financial fraud in Satyam has spooked the investor community and people are afraid to invest. Investment is based on a lot of trust in the accuracy of the financial statements. The auditors are the custodians of these valuable documents. If I cannot trust the auditors, what value can I attached to these documents. How do I value the company ?

Govt. needs to take speedy action to restore confidence in the system. The guilty should be brought to justice . New laws should be enacted to deter such events from happening.

Where are India's philanthropists ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:22:00 -0600

Indians have stormed into the "Richest in the world" list but will they find a place in the "Most Generous" list. U.S is known for so many things but one thing which is overlooked is that it has the most generous people. The Warrens and the Gates of the U.S give away billions of dollars every year for various good causes.

How about the Ambanis ,Tatas and the Mittals of India ? I am not talking about giving to charity to cut your tax bill. They have made so much money but how much have they given back to the community? Some of them got their degrees in the U.S but conveniently opted out of the Humanity course.

British used our natural resources and exploited us. Today the Ambanis, Mittals and Tatas are doing the same.

Election Comission litmus test

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 20:09:00 -0600

A private television has released footage of Stalin receiving money during campaigning which is against election rules. First, the authenticity of this tape has to verified and circumstances under which this incident needs to validated. Second, will the EC have the courage to take action if found guilty. EC is one office which is not under any political power. Will they set a precedence in handling such high profile cases with a strong hand ?

Our trust in the election process is in question and we await answers.

What should India do about the PAK troop build up across the border ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:36:00 -0600

Pakistan has been repositioning its troops close to the Indo-Pak border in response to the recent tension between the two countries. What should India do about it ? I think we need to reposition our troops also. We need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. India should not start the war but be prepared to defend ourselves.

War is expensive and will stunt our country's economic growth. Pakistan is in a very bad economic crisis and cannot afford the war and so they will be not start the war. They are just trying to distract the world community from their responsibility to deal with terrorists in their country.

India, don't fall prey to PAK's tricks.

Why is Mayawati afraid of a CBI enquiry ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:04:00 -0600

The recent murder of a goverment official by politicians in Uttar Pradesh is shocking. The Mayawati govermnent is suspected to be involved in the matter and various fractions have asked for a CBI enquiry to ensure a free and fair trial. I don't understand why Mayawati has rejected the need for a CBI enquiry. What is she trying to hide ? If she is innocent what is she afraid of ?

Her dismissal of a need for a CBI enquiry makes me suspicious. A CBI enquiry is the need of the hour to ensure justice is done.

Should India continue with the Iran gas pipeline project ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:45:00 -0600

India,Iran and Pakistan are part of a gas pipeline deal to bring gas from Iran to India. I don't think it is a good idea to continue with this project. This pipeline goes through Pakistan to get to India. Pakistan is a reliable partner in any deal. Pakistan militants can blow this pipeline at anytime. Pakistan govt. can threaten to block this pipeline . Having said this, how can to build any projects around this unreliable gas supply.

Going to bed with an untrustworthy partner is not a bright idea.

You will be judged by your words

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:30:00 -0600

Politicians & people in power are the face of the nation . You need to think before you speak . A.R Anutalay recently publicized his conspiracy theory on the slaying of the ATS chief and is stirring a hornet's nest. He can have his own theory but without any proof he cannot make such public statements. People like him try to get mileage by creating controversies . The public should not fall for it .

At a time when the nation is united, such comments cause rifts among the different communities. He needs to go and should never be elected to power again .

Irresponsible Satyam promoters

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:22:00 -0600

The recently cancelled Satyam acquisition of an infrastructure company was a big blow to Satyam computers . As a shareholder, I am irritated and disappointed with the management team . At a time when credit is tight, they were going to use up all their cash to buy this company. Not only that, they were investing in a company which is not related to their line of business. There was no information on how they valued this company and best of all the promoters had vested interests in this target company

Public pressure resulted in the deal getting cancelled and the govt. has announced an investigation into the whole episode. I would like to see the promoters kicked out of the board. They only hold 8% of the shares and it shouldn't be hard to kick them out. Investors lost Rs 3300 crores in one day. These kind of events, tarnish the image of our country and reduce the foreign investor confidence in the Indian financial system. I hope govt. comes out with some regulations which will prevent such events from happening in the future.

Should a lawyer represent Kasab ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:15:00 -0600

Indian Constitution guarantees everyone the right to a lawyer. Shiv Sena forced the one lawyer who was willing to represent Kasab to withdraw. What to do think about it ?

I condemn the Mumbai attacks and the perpetrators need to pay. That being said every accused needs to have a representation .Kasab is going to the gallows for sure after what he has done so why not give him a fair trial ? Let us hear what he has to say. If not for him, let us at least respect our Indian constitution.

It we Indians don't follow our own laws/rules, who else is going to ?

Should India go to war with Pakistan ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 6 Dec 2008 14:14:00 -0600

Indian public are outraged and calling for an all out war on Pakistan . Is this a sensible option ? I really don't think so. Going to war is a big drag on the Exchequer and will derail our economic progress.

We need to take the diplomatic route . If that fails we need to send our strike squads to take out criminals in Pakistan . If this is not an option, we can target and take out terror camps but this can eventually result in Pakistan declaring war. Each option and its ripple effect needs to be analyzed and then a decision needs to be made. Not doing anything is not an option and going to an all out war should be the last resort.

Cool heads prevail.

Where are India's "James Bond"s ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 6 Dec 2008 13:45:00 -0600

Every advanced country has its own strike team to go into hostile countries and take out terrorists. USA ,Israel,France,UK have sent their strike teams to capture or take out wanted criminals . I have never heard India do it . It is high time India sets up such an unit.

We claim to know where Dawood Ibrahim and lots of other criminals are in Pakistan but what have we done about it. All we do is beg Pakistan to hand them over and they are not going to do it. RAW is a intelligence unit and not a strike/mission unit. Attack is the best form of defence.

Being Indian FM is not a part time job

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 6 Dec 2008 13:35:00 -0600

I don't understand why Chidambaram was move to Home ministry ? They could have found someone else for that portfolio . The more surprising thing was the PM took FM as an additional portfolio . Leave alone in good times, we are now in unprecedented credit turmoil.

India in a major economic power in the world . We are part of G20 and FM position is definitely not a part time job. I hope they find a worthy replacement real soon.

A politician without heart

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 14:10:00 -0600

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanadan made some outrageous comments against the slain NSG commander's family. What the family did was not appropriate but they were hurting from the loss of their son and were not thinking straight. A good leader would have kept quite respecting the situation the family was in . By making such atrocious comments, the CM has insulted our nation's brave forces.

After much public pressure, he made a public statement saying "If my comments hurt the commando's family, I am really sorry" . Any person who uses if and sorry in the same statement is not really sorry for what he did. We don't need such leaders.He needs to go.

Are our commandos ill-equipped ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:49:00 -0600

In the recent rescue operations, one of the comments made by the MARCOS commander was that the terrorist used darkness to their advantage. This being said do they not have night vision goggles ? These are necessary equipment for any force which needs to combat terrorists. We should empower our commandos will all the equipment which they need.

Lets not put our brave forces at a disadvantage by not providing the basic necessities required for urban warfare.

PAK needs to be held responsible

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:26:00 -0600

This attack was not carried out by the Pakistani army forces but by the militants who have their bases in Pakistan . Having said that, Pakistan cannot say they have nothing to do with it. It is the responsibility of every country to root out the evil forces in their country. If you cannot do it then you need to get help from other countries and root out the evil.

What efforts is Pakistan taking to hand over wanted terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim ? They are living a luxurious life in Pakistan cities funding all these terrorist operations. India and the world at large need to apply pressure on Pakistan to first hand over the people(terrorists) who live in their cities funding terrorist operations.

ISI chief coming over to help investigation is a good start but you better start being serious about dealing with these militants. Our paitence is running out!!!!!

A tribute to the rescue forces

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:49:00 -0600

I salute all the forces who did a great job in handling the unprecedented situation. I was happy to see all the different units working together to address the situation unlike the politicians who are squabbling like teenage girls. Politicians don't disgrace the sacrifices made by the forces by blaming each other and not doing anything to avoid such a situation in future.

I would like to express my condolences to all the fallen forces and the families who have lost their dear ones. I don't want to mention names as I might leave someone out. Their sacrifices will not go in vain.

We will prevail.

Lying politicians

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:36:00 -0600

Army sources say that they had intelligence and passed it on to the center and the Maharashtra government. Maharashtra CM says that they didn't receive any such report. Someone is lying . They think the Indian people are stupid . If these were employees in a corporate office, there would be an investigation and the guilty fired.

Shouldn't the politicians be held accountable ? If we don't voice our opinions when we have elections then how are we going to hold them responsible.

Opportunistic Gujarat CM

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 01:17:00 -0600

I don't understand why the Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi was at the conflict site. It is very irresponsible of him to come to a place where there is already a big security concern and security personnel are stretched to the limits. Besides coming there without being invited, he was accusing the PM of not doing enough. At a time when we all need to unite together, this person is taking cheap shots at the PM .
Outrageous!!!!

Irresponsible journalism

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:02:00 -0600

I am sick to my stomach with kind of reporting which was done by CNN-IBN . I didn't follow any other channel but as the events unfolded, the whole operation was shown live. There was no disciplined journalism. All the terrorists needed to do was to switch on a TV to find out what operation was being planned. They were even predicting what was going to happen based on the things which were happening around them. It was like they were trying to analyse the whole situation for the terrorists.

There should be some responsible journalism. There was one guy who talked to one of the foreigners who was caught inside the Taj Hotel . This journalist is asking him where his room is in the hotel (live on TV). Will not the terrorist holed up in the hotel know where this person is ? Are you not putting his life in danger ?

Should we reduce petrol prices ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:47:00 -0600

Government increased the prices of petrol when crude was more than $100 per barrel . Now that the price of crude is below $50, should government reduce the price of petrol ?
I don't think so. Inflation is coming down and reduction in price is not necessary. The public sector oil companies need a break. We need to help them reverse the losses which they incurred during the last one year. Additionally LPG and Diesel are subsidized. Crude will not remain low for a long time. Once world economy recovers, crude price will start their upward march.
If government wants to plan for the long term, they can start building an emergency crude storage and start storing crude with extra money they are charging. This way when crude goes up eventually, they can have greater stability in petrol prices in future.

Too much noise about Sri Lankan battle with LTTE

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:30:00 -0600

I am so sick of Tamil Nadu politicians making a big fuss about the civil war in Sri Lanka .It is definitely a concern that people are getting displaced and innocent people are affected. As a neighbour, we need to help them resolve their conflict otherwise it will start affecting our country in the way of refugee camps,trade loss etc .

Sri Lanka is dealing with this civil war for a long time and they want to put an end to it. India as a country has taken a particular stand and TN needs to accept this stand. There are so many issues in TN that they need to be more concerned about than meddle with another country's internal policy . Them resolving their internal issue will actually help us in the long run . Tamil people can engage in good dialogue with the Sri Lankan government but LTTE carrying on a guerilla warfare is unacceptable.

Will India allow such a situation in our country ? How about Kashmir or Naxalites in the north east or Andra Pradesh? How is the LTTE situation any different ?

What happened to all the recent bomb blast probes ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:35:00 -0600

In the last month, I have only heard about Malegaon bomb blast probe but what happened to all the SIMI linked bomb blast probes. Have we shifted focus to the Malegaon probe and forgot all about other bomb blasts ?

I have seen this happen way too often. As soon as we find a new issue, we drop the current one and move on. Time and again we have seen that it comes to bite us later. We need to continue probing the other blasts with the same importance we give to the Malegaon case .

Electricity, the lifeline of a growing nation

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:15:00 -0600

Recently there has been a lot of power cuts in Tamil Nadu. It is a fast growing state and needs electricity to power its growth. We have a finite source and we need more and more power. What is the plan of action to address this acute shortage of power? I haven't heard one from the Chief minister .How irresponsible ?

Govt. should come out with a short-term and a long-term plan . People are left in the dark with all these random power cuts. Here are some things which Govt. can do.

1. Govt. has to first manage expectations and share their plan with the people.
2. Govt. will have to look at their consumption and start making changes to reduce their power footprint. e.g change street bulbs to more energy efficient ones
3. Enact laws which will encourage/enforce more energy efficient products.
4. Review the power transmission lines to make them more efficient.
5. More than 25% of electricity produced is lost to power theft.
6. Govt should encourage use of solar water heaters, energy conversion devices of waste to energy etc
7. Long-term we need to look for more sources of energy . e.g solar, nuclear, wind etc.

Lawyers or gangsters ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:36:00 -0600

Did you see the footage of the Chennai law college students conflict ? These students are supposed to be the ones who will protect the justice system. They were beating fellow students with sticks & iron rods mercilessly with policemen as spectators .

Are these the types of lawyers we are developing for the future ? I hope they take strict action on all who were involved . They have suspended police personnel and arrested some of the students. Hope the victims get justice.

I am not sure why the policemen didn't take action. Any political pressure not to get involved ? If the students had a heart , they wouldn't have acted this way . If the cops had a heart, they wouldn't have allowed this under their watch.

How can we prevent scams ?

noreply@blogger.com (johnakd) — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:21:00 -0600

In the recent past there has been a lot of scams in Tamil Nadu. The gold quest scheme is based on the pyramid scheme which is banned in a lot of countries. Most of the people who were duped are simpletons, people who are greedy and people who are in desperate situations. How can the authorities protect these people ?

When an enterprise is established, they need to obtain a license from the government. As part of the documentation, a description of the company scope should be submitted. This should be displayed at the office and the company should not operate in anything outside that scope. Public should be educated of this documentation. The licensing officer should be held accountable for the licenses issued by him.

This will help the govt. weed out the setup of bogus companies . The public can request this document and make sure the offered scheme/service is authentic.