Monday 10 August 2015

Indira Sawhney :The most controversial judgement in india...

Here, I am writing the Landmark judicial decision which changed the Constitution as well as everyday life. Their impact still echoes:
            Recently The Supreme Court Of India has called a complete overhaul of the reservation system in india.Ofcourse the most important change will have to happen in Tamil Nadu, the forerunner of the social justice movement in India.
           Tamil Nadu is the only state which is in perpetual violation of the Indra Sawhney judgment given by a nine-judge bench.

So What is the Indira Sawhney v. Union of India judgement by SC in '92? (Before my birth :-) )

Under this judgement , The Supreme Court upheld caste based reservations in public services. The Supreme Court also stated that the reservations should be not more than 50% of the available seats. The Supreme Court also recommended that the creamy layer from the relevant castes be excluded from the benefits of such reservations.

Every year, the state government is challenged in court and every year the government is forced to create additional seats to compensate all those who lose out because of its flawed policies.

Any reservation related issues raise a lot of hackles. I am honestly on the fence about the issue. As with everything, I believe that the implementation of the system has been unfortunate with those who truly need it not getting the advantages of it. As a consequence, the status and opportunities of those sought to be covered has not significantly improved. Affirmative action is an emotive issue and I see the merits and demerits of arguments every time.      

P.S:I am apolitical (geolibertarian actually, but its not in vogue😊), I am not a beneficiary of reservations, and I'm not even very passionate on the topic of reservations.I wrote this article to satisfy my thirst of knowledge only there is not any political motive behind it.


Thursday 6 August 2015

How Two Cows Made Me a Better Politician...

Economic Models Explained With Cows:

SOCIALISM; You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbor.

COMMUNISM; You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM; You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM; You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other and then throws the milk away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

DEMOCRACY: You have 2 cows. Your neighbor has none. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay for the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous.

AMERICAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

FRENCH CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

GERMAN CAPITALISM; You have 2 cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

JAPANESE CAPITALISM; You have 2 cows. You redesign them so they are 1/10 the size of an ordinary cow, and produce the milk of 20 cows. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called cowkimon and market them worldwide.

ITALIAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

SWISS CAPITALISM; You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

CHINESE CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

RUSSIAN CAPITALISM; You have 2 cows. You count them and learn that you have 5 cows. You count them again and learn that you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn that you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of Vodka.

INDIAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You worship them.

BRITISH CAPITALISM; You have two cows. Both are mad.

IRAQI CAPITALISM; Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. Nobody believes you, so they bomb the crap out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows but at least you are now a Democracy.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

NEW ZEALAND CAPITALISM; You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

GREEK CAPITALISM; You have two cows borrowed from French and German banks. You eat both of them. The banks call to collect their milk, but you cannot deliver so you call the IMF. The IMF loans you two cows. You eat both of them. The banks and the IMF call to collect their cows/milk. You are out getting a haircut.OCIALISM; You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbor.

COMMUNISM; You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM; You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM; You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other and then throws the milk away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

DEMOCRACY: You have 2 cows. Your neighbor has none. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay for the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous.

AMERICAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

FRENCH CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

GERMAN CAPITALISM; You have 2 cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

JAPANESE CAPITALISM; You have 2 cows. You redesign them so they are 1/10 the size of an ordinary cow, and produce the milk of 20 cows. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called cowkimon and market them worldwide.

ITALIAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

SWISS CAPITALISM; You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

CHINESE CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

RUSSIAN CAPITALISM; You have 2 cows. You count them and learn that you have 5 cows. You count them again and learn that you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn that you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of Vodka.

INDIAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows. You worship them.

BRITISH CAPITALISM; You have two cows. Both are mad.

IRAQI CAPITALISM; Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. Nobody believes you, so they bomb the crap out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows but at least you are now a Democracy.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITALISM; You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

NEW ZEALAND CAPITALISM; You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

GREEK CAPITALISM; You have two cows borrowed from French and German banks. You eat both of them. The banks call to collect their milk, but you cannot deliver so you call the IMF. The IMF loans you two cows. You eat both of them. The banks and the IMF call to collect their cows/milk. You are out getting a haircut.

Sunday 2 August 2015

Why do I blog ? : A FAQ

 Now I elucidate my personal stance on blogging. I blog because I feel, rather than wasting my leisure time thinking unnecessary things or laying like log on my bed, why can’t I do something that is both productive and joyful? By the word ‘productive’ I do not mean to say that I earn something by blogging. No. It has got nothing to do regarding monetary benefits. It is productive because I get to express my views on a colossal platform rather than staying reticent.  A lot of things come to my mind when I start thinking. My thoughts belong to a wide range of categories- lifestyle, struggle, society, politics, human psychology, way of life, religion, music, photography, food and a lot more. Thoughts come and go. A hectic life prevents me from keeping in mind everything that comes to my mind. And a few months back felt, why not pen down my thoughts and write them out some time later? Writing on a diary would mean to keep my thoughts all for myself and blogging would mean to share it with the world. I made up my mind to take up blogging as a hobby last year.  And then, having made blogging my hobby, I opened up this blog and have been trying my best to post my views frequently. But being occupied with work, I am not able to post on a regular basis. Albeit I have not set any goal for my blogging activity, I try to write something whenever I get time amidst my busy schedule. My blog is not concentrated on any topic. It is random; it is me.  Now this is what blogging means to me. And if you too feel the same, create your own blog and start blogging!

Saturday 1 August 2015

Why I Love FRP Composite Materials ? (And You Should, Too!)

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) or Glass reinforced Polymer (GRP) is an extremely versatile material. FRP composites and their properties can be specifically tailored for the end product. This is accomplished by adjusting the :
1.Resin matrix (epoxy, polyester, vinyl ester, etc)
 2.Fiber reinforcement (carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar, etc)
3.Amount of fiber reinforcement used 4.Orientation of the fiber (Unidirectional, woven, 0/90, etc)
5.Fabrication process (Hand laminating, closed molding, pultrusion, etc)
6.Fillers or additives (Fire resistant materials, UV blockers, etc.)
These many variables allow engineers and designers to manipulate the FRP composites depending on the application. This also makes FRP composites an ideal material for a wide range of applications such as in aviation and automobile industries.

By writing above 100 words on this topic i am able to earn 10 marks in GS. 
Cheers!!!

Friday 31 July 2015

Not So Smart Idea !

       Smart City:A Pipe Dream

                  The utopian concept of smart cities that gripped parts of the world for a decade and captured Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s imagination seems to have finally broken ground in India. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has earmarked Rs.7,060 crore in the Union Budget to brainstorm the creation of a 100 “new” smart cities.
                      Across the world, the stride of migration from rural to urban areas is increasing. By 2050, about 70 per cent of the population will be living in cities, and India is no exception. It will need about 500 new cities to accommodate the influx.
Interestingly, urbanization in India has for the longest time been viewed as a by-product of failed regional planning. Though it is inevitable, and will only change when the benefits of urbanization overtake the costs involved, it is an opportunity for achieving faster growth.
With increasing urbanization and the load on rural land, the government has now realized the need for cities that can cope with the challenges of urban living and also be magnets for investment. The announcement of ‘100 smart cities’ falls in line with this vision.
                 A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced interms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate,
communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. The buzz among architects, bureaucrats, engineers and planners is palpable with the expectation that India will finally have its own version of Barcelona of Spain, Songdo of South Korea, PlanIT Valley of Portugal and Masdar City of the United Arab Emirates soon.
                 When the entire world was facing one of the worst economic crises. In 2008, IBM began work on a 'smarter cities' concept as part of its Smarter Planet initiative. By the beginning of 2009, the concept had captivated the imagination of various nations across the globe.Countries like South Korea, UAE and China began to invest heavily into their research and formation. Today, a number of excellent precedents exist that India can emulate.
                  Under the smart city
Concept, the pyramid is upturned, where first the infrastructure is built and then people are invited to come and adapt to those spaces. This top-down heavy-investment-driven process typifies a city-in-a-box approach and throws up two important questions: who is going to build these cities? And who is going to live in them? In Bangalore, Cisco, in association with the Electronics City Industries Association, announced the transformation of Bangalore’s Electronics City.
              Clearly, too much is at stake for big businesses as far as smart cities are concerned. Most of the smart cities in India are being envisaged as business and IT hubs which will invite Fortune 500 companies from all over the world to set up shop. The entry of international banks and insurance companies is expected to boost the economy, while goods and services pushed by fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies will feed consumerism and drive retail growth. The large-scale presence of foreign investment may render the Indian economy vulnerable in the long run. Public-private partnership is the magic wand for making these projects viable. As the fruits of development reach an increasingly large number of people, the pace of migration from the rural areas to the cities is increasing. A neo middle class is emerging which has the aspiration of better living standards.
                     I dont understand that are we moving towards a paradigm where only the affluent have a right to better lives and citizenship in smart cities, and are regulated cities in the hands of corporates socially or economically plural?

Brochure : Basic Infra: Assured water and electricity supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens.

Smart Solutions: Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery, citizens’ engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy, efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system.
                       
               For now, the smart city dream exists only on promotional papers of the marketing teams of big corporates and government. Smart cities hardly seem like a turnkey solution to solve the problems of Indian cities as they exist. According to me, “Rather than promising bullet trains and smart cities, if the resources are properly utilised to improve the infrastructure for all the people, for example, basic things such as cleaner toilets in trains, it would make more sense.”

P.S - I apologise in advance if I have inadvertently offended anyone. This is just my viewpoint and not something that I believe to be an absolute truth. I would also like to apologise if this just seems like a rant. I assure the reader that I have attempted to look at the topic as objectively and analytically as possible.

Sunday 26 July 2015

One india, one time !

India Time Zone (UTC+05:30)
                 
Everyone has heard that joke:Yo' Mama is so fat, she wears a watch on each arm -- one for each time zone she's in.Well, it was abt to describe hefty nature of her by today I am going to reveal you that why
IST actually meaning "Indian Stretchable Time." Everything from climate to social structures have been blamed for why a lack of punctuality seems as essential to the Indian experience as butter chicken. But there is one thing that might help explain the fluid way Indians choose to experience time: How does one country with 3,287,264 sq mtr of area in length adhere to just a single time zone?
The sun appears in North-east India much before dawn breaks in Western India and ends up extending or shortening the work day, often in uncomfortable ways. It's not as if the issue of different time zones in the country hasn't come up before but it has never gained much traction for the government to consider it seriously. The debate flared up once again last year when Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi pitched for a new time zone for the state by moving all clocks in the region 60 minutes ahead of the IST arguing that an early daybreak in the northeast would increase productivity and help in saving time.
According to him they need a local time for Assam and the other northeastern states which will be ahead of the Indian Standard Time  by at least an hour to 90 minutes because they have an early daybreak in the northeast compared to other parts of India and if they have a separate time zone then it would undoubtedly be very productive for all of them and would also help in saving energy. Though much wasn't achieved from Gogoi's campaign, the debate continues to turn up. And this below map illustrates just why that happens. Pretty much the only large country that is entirely recognisable in this map, which divides the world up by timezones, is India. The same also applies to China, which also uses just one time zone for a massive landmass.

What would happen if India was divided into two time zones? :For example,

There are people in ahmedabad who start working at 8 am i.e. one hour after sunrise
There are people in Kolkata who start working at 8 am I.e. two hour after sunrise.

Here timeline is same. Time is same. But the synchronisation of time with sun will not be present. Talking in vague sense.

People in western side might wake up to darkness.while people in eastern side wake up to proper sunlight.
Same thing can be observed in evening.

Even though there's not much hope in the near future of having more than one time-zone in India, it's always an interesting comparison with the rest of the world.
At last I can thank god that India has only one time zone..else politician will start dividing people based on time zone also 

Author's Own Disclosure

Hello world, I am incredibly happy to finally have a personal website and blog up and running. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. But things - primarily procrastination - often get in the way.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* Things I Take Responsibility For 
-Content:
This is a personal blog. All opinions expressed here are my own and not those of anyone else. I am responsible for the content – not anyone else.
-Mistakes and Stupidity:
I may make a mistake or say something stupid. Actually, chances are pretty good that I’ll do both at some point. I’ll do my best to refrain from stupidity (It’s ironic that I had to retype “stupidity” three times to get it right) but I don’t make any promises. I’m only human and make mistakes just like everyone else – probably more than everyone else. Waaay more. Just for the record; any mistakes belong to me and me alone. Not that I want to claim them but since they’re mine I’m kinda stuck with them.
-Changing my Mind:
Over time my thoughts and opinions may change. In fact, Teacher will tell you it’s a sure bet that I’ll change my mind – often. Posts are intended to give insight into my life at the time the post is written, but not necessarily forever. Current posts may express different opinions than earlier posts. We do the best we can with what we know at the time, and as we learn more we do better. Right?
-Copyright:
Since most everything in the blog comes from my brain, it belongs to me. It’s still all about me. But if you like a post feel free to link to it! You may use a portion less than 1/3 if you’re going to be picky of a post as long as you link to the original post and give me credit. If you want to use more than 1/3 of a post please contact me to request permission. I’ll probably say “Sure, go ahead!” Thank you for respecting my intellectual and the not-so-intellectual property.
------------------------------------------------
* Things I’m not Responsible for 
-Eternal Accuracy:
The information in this weblog is provided “as is” with no warranties, and confers no rights. I’ll do my best to make sure all the information, including links, are accurate at the time of posting but there’s no guarantee that information posted today will still be valid or accurate in the future.
Incoming Links:
I can’t control who links to me. If I could you can bet I’d be setting myself up for some major PR juice! If you see a questionable site linking to my blog take it up with them, not me. I don’t submit my blog to “link farms” or directories so if they find me it was all on their own.
-Personal Offense:
I promise to try my best not to not knowingly injure, defame, or libel anyone. Posting that Aunt Mabel’s puce sweater is hideous doesn’t count cuz that’s my opinion. Please don’t tell Aunt Mabel! If content matter, bad grammar, slang or punctuation translates or is interpreted into something bad in your country or culture it was certainly not my intent and I will not be held responsible for it. If you’re bound and determined to find insult where none was intended feel free to close the window and not return.
-Bad Decisions:
My intention is to do no harm just like the witches in my favorite Nora Roberts books but without the whole power thing. I’m not a doctor, lawyer, therapist, trainer, chef, or any other type of trained expert so what I write is not to be taken as fact nor absolute. Use your own brainpower instead of mindlessly making decisions based on what I write. You won’t be compensated in any way if you suffer a loss/damage/inconvenience because of something written in this blog.
-Comments:(very imp)
Feel free to disagree with me or tell me I’m completely crazy in the comments section of each blog entry. Please be polite because my feelings are easily hurt. I reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason whatsoever – like abusive, profane, rude, anonymous comments, and spam. Once a comment passes moderation I won’t be held responsible for the contents of blog comments. And I’m not responsible for any laws that may be broken in any country through the content, implication, and intent of blog comments. Don’t bother commenting just to spam your site cuz I’m on to you and will delete your comment. I’ve heard that Viagra doesn’t work anyway. But if you’re leaving an honest-to-goodness comment please link to your blog or site – I’d love to see it!
I hope you enjoy all my ramblings

Find PDF Here:    (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3mBAUDxijSlUDRVb1NMZzJ1ejg/view?usp=docslist_api)