Capping price on essential drugs:

It’s a good news! The Government of India has since taken a decision to put a price cap on essential medicines in the country. This good step is reportedly the first one of the kind in India. The step so taken is supposed to benefit several thousands of the patients in the country like those suffering from AIDS, cancer, besides giving relief to those who use drugs for TB, pain killers, sedatives, lipid lowering agents and steroids. The decision prescribes necessary maximum as a retail price of the respective drugs at the level of the consumers. The drugs so earmarked are being brought under the control of DPCO (Drug Price Control Oder) after which no dealers shall be permitted to charge any extra amount beyond what is fixed by the government as retail price. The essential drugs so covered under the scheme are the ones needed most by the patients in respective areas. Serious ailments require heavy expenditure on different other items besides medication and this becomes difficult for the patients to afford it. If they can get atleast the relaxation so prescribed by the government in retail prices of the drugs, this is certainly a big relief to them. There are establishments which give their employees full or part reimbursement of their expenses on medicines, but there are many who have no such practice, and it obviously causes enormous difficulties to the patients. In fact the way the soaring prices in general are affecting the people in the country, what the government is supposed to do is to apply necessary control on other essential commodities, say like food items, besides the drugs, and this shall be the step to extend relief to the people in general.

Technorati Tags: health,medicines,drugs,patients,cancer,aids,tb,relief,contrl,people in general

Market incentives for higher eduction in India:

Reportedly, the 12th Five Year Plan has okayed that the market be permitted to provide higher education earning necessary profit on it. This is obviously with a view to providing the required incentive for a competitive education at the higher level. There appears to be nothing like any big difference between what is proposed to be done and what is already obtaining in full swing in education market resulting into a large scale mushrooming of private schools, colleges and universities, more so during the last one decade. No doubt that there is a cut throat competition, but the private educational institutions are quite able to manoeuvre their sumptuous profit margin at every level callously unmindful of the price factor it costs to the parents of boys and girls pursuing their studies. There is none to highlight the voice of the guardians for every now and then increase in fee and other charges at an exorbitant rate. In fact, what is proposed in the 12th Five Year Plan is only to result into boosting up the avenues for a much bigger a profit margin to the so called education providers, and it has hardly to do any thing with the interest of education seekers at both the lower and higher levels. It hardly makes any difference for those who are having enough of black money, which is not  scarce in our country,  with them to procure necessary education for their wards, but the sufferers are those who have only a fixed income to support their boys and girls. Factually speaking, the real need is to extend some positive measures through which the parents are able to derive some relief instead of the government creating bigger channels to make the rich people more rich flourishing by leaps and bounds.

Technorati Tags: education,highereducation,college,universities,schools,parents,ward,blackmoney,difference

Large scale pollution all around!

You visit a  market, some other public place or go any where else, one thing that you get every where without fail is pollution. In India it is a common feature, with a few exceptions here and there, every where. In a city like Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh, India), the situation is just worse. Pigs moving in herds in different streets is a common feature and if you venture to dispute such a movement, it takes no time for their owners to take cudgels collectively against the people who do so. Crude dust and filth flies in the air like a spray, and howsoever best you do to cover up your face as a protection, it hardly works. There is labour engaged by the respective health divisions of different organisation to clear the garbage, but nothing is done in practical terms. Besides this, there is another menace called noise pollution. Forget surroundings of your home where there are bursing explosives used even if it is nothing like a festive occasion, say like Diwali. During such a festive occasion, the situation gets further worse. A nuisance of this type causes great problems for the children who attend to their home work at home as they just are unable to do it on the face of bursting noise. Even if you go to some local park to escape from such a nuisance, there too you find herds of boys indulging into cracking of the explosives which are so loud that it looks like they are piercing your ear drums. If you run away from the park too like you did by leaving your house, you just can’t find an alternative to this. A friend of mine was telling me that when he is fed up with such a nuisance, he opts for going to some picture hall to have at least three hours of away from noise pollution, but then what after that. Pollution of all kinds is the order of the day, and there seems no sign of any relief against this even in days to come, like the problems on all counts in our country. Like corruption and soaring prices, the noise pollution too is one of the many evils which our country suffers from.

Technorati Tags: pollution,noisepollution,environment,health,pigs,filthanddust,common man,country,india

What do the cheaper goods in the market mean?

It’s okay to go for cheaper goods available in plenty in the market, but the question is whether they affect our country’s economy. If they do, what could be the alternative to the goods procurable only at a high cost. If black money is set aside, India continues to be a poor country where the common man just can’t afford higher price tags particularly when it comes to routine consumer needs, say like food items. Supply of different items from outside, mainly including China, is at a very large scale making them available in the local markets in plenty at considerably much cheaper a rate. The very element of competition such a supply generates is something in the interest of the buyers as it results into reduction of standard prices in the market . This bumper supply is also on account of an abnormal reduction in import duty as per the government’s policy. Import duty in India in early 1990s which was 300% stands steadily reduced to only 10% presently. Patriotically speaking, one should not go for imported/ foreign items as against what is available on a desi pattern, and such an approach emerges from what was known as swadeshi in tune with the call given by Mahatma Gandhi long back. Ideally, it sounds very good, but the question here is again centred on affordability and availability. As against khadi and handloom products, the supply otherwise available in the market is cheaper, and a consumer may not go for it on a mere slogan of desi/ swadeshi, as is the cult of thinking at the level of the present day generation. This is wrong to go for a chinese brand of a mobile phone just for the reason that it is much cheaper compared to other standard models available in the market, but after all a buyer can’t go beyond what his/ her pocket permits. The option left open to a consumer is either to go for a purchase of an item he/ she needs, or not to go for it at all. Here again, the solution revolves around the economic policy of the government by evolving policies that adjust import duty and increase the local level of production enabling the market to withstand the competition at the global level.

Technorati Tags: affordability,consumers,soaring prices,market,rates,patriotism,competition,global,country

What Do You Use? Discuss All Blogging Platforms Here

What Do You Use? Discuss All Blogging Platforms Here

 I am a freelancer handling about half a dozen blogs including the ones with blogspot.com and wordpress.com. I have been writing on culture, society, marketing, politics, family, art of living, love, industrial relations and legal  matters. Problem with Wordpress is that they are currently not permitting third party ads or other services, but I have no difficulty on this count with the blogspot.com. I am devoting about 8 hours a day on my laptop daily with my interest in writing and reading. I am prepared to accept any challenging assignment, if given an option for the purpose.

Dove, the bird of love:

 

Known as the bird of love, a dove is indeed the one bird that remains engrossed in love all the time except for the timings it is out in search of food. Look wise too, the doves are most beautiful amongst all their fellow birds. It is one of the solitary cases where a dove is shown in the above picture as single, as normally they are the ones who move all around as a pair, say as a couple. The picture above is an online impression pasted here , which temptation I just could not resist.

This move on my part is just to create a diversion of the routine topic in this blog from marketing, politics and business to some thing that deals with most tender a topic like love for which there is nothing like an alternative to this bird of love, the dove.

Technorati Tags: dove,birds,birdoflove,temptation,pair,couple,beautiful

 

He bites a bread by earning hard every bit of it:

Toiling so hard the whole day, rather till late in the night, he works indefatigably to earn some livelihood for himself and his family. A rugged body, wrinkled face, white hair fluttering upward, wearing a spec with heavy glasses indicative of a blurred vision and tough bones bulging outside the body, he is a live picture of hardships.  He labours so hard unlike those who don’t work at all but are lucky enough to lead a comfortable life with plenty of luxuries at their command. In fact they are the ones who only enjoy the fruits of the so hard a labour this man, or others like him, put in by undergoing so much of pain and fatigue not affordable by every one. There is no dearth of people in our country, who enjoy their meals just in haraam without themselves doing any work. Our humble salutes to this man, or men like him. 

The photograph above is by courtesy to Vedbrat Gupta, a friend of mine on the facebook, whose work I have used while writing this post.

Technorati Tags: labour,worker,fatigue,haraam,bread,life,cursory

More the surplus money, more the problems at the consumers level:

The theory of demand and supply, as envisaged in the literature of Economics, has direct impact in money matters. If the money in currency in a particular country is more in supply and is incompatible to production based demand for it, the prices of different products are bound to rise sky high. May be, the great pundits of economics give some other name to this phenomenon in a better pronounced terminology, but what I am talking is simply from the point of view of a consumer trespassing the subject as a layman. If a basket has, say 100 points, in it as supply with another basked of production based demand having, say 75 points, the prices are obviously high, and both these factors taken conjunctionally, whatever occurs as a matter of fluctuations, determines the ratio accordingly. Production factor is subordinated by the economy measures adopted by the government, which are time taking. Fluctuations in money ratio are determined by sources like this:

Budgetary allocations decided by the government

Deficit financing by way of false money declared by the government.

Black money in circulation

Artificial currency in circulation through illegitimate measures

The kind of money like enumerated above is in abundance in the country and there is no dearth of it. The government is just helpless in taking measures to curb illegal money in the country with the result that those earning it through nefarious means are flourishing by leaps and bounds. They have the capacity to purchase more than what is available in the market. There are thus hardly any chances to recover from this colossally ghastly scenario. The only alternative against such a malady lies in the hands of the government, which is just a flop on all counts including the cost factor.

Technorati Tags: soaring prices,cost,consumers,market,government,scenario,alternatives,flop

A shameless move yet once again!

Only the other day I talked about rise in fuel prices. As if this was not enough, another big blow has come up in the shape of increase by Rs.5/ a litre in diesel followed by reduction to 6 subsidised cooking gas cylinder per family. No question of any reason or rhyme, every thing is done shamelessly without giving any heed to the worst affected consumers cries. It is something now beyond any comprehension as to why the central government of India is hell bent upon increase after increase in fuel prices. They are doing all this so arrogantly with a stubborn mind to give the public hits after hits totally unmindful of the fact that such moves are not only making the life of the people in general, particularly the middle class and the poor, abnormally miserable, it is demoralising them too. May be the collision government of UPA at the Centre see their winning prospects in the next elections as bleak, and such a weak point of theirs gives them courage to play in any manner they like, as if they have fully reconciled to whatever eventuality that may occur as a consequence of all these doings –a major defeat in the coming elections. They are virtually shameless and ungrateful too to the electorate who gave them the opportunity to rule.

Technorati Tags: prices,fuel,cylinder,gas,market,consumers,people in general,electorate

Brand items versus the ones available in the local markets:

It’s a typical phenomenon that the very branded items, although being costlier, are more popular a choice for consumers compared to demand for the items of goods in the local market. What is the reason? One is obviously the quality followed by a better after sale service. The difference of the cost between the two is at times very high. As I have seen very often in Mumbai, a briefcase, I mean a branded one, is available in the road side show room against the price tag of Rs.2500/, the same can be purchased from the vendor just sitting in the front of the show room for as cheap a price as Rs.1000/ with only a difference of the look –the one kept in air conditioned show room glitteringly shines much better than the one available through the vendor or other smaller shops locally. What looks to be very surprising is that despite this much gap between the two types of price tags, demand for costly brands is bigger. The possible reason behind this is that with developmental growth in the country, there is no dearth of the people who have grown much bigger wealth wise. Then there is no dearth of black money too, it is there in graver proportions but is available in abundance. This is the real cause why costlier items of goods are given more preference by the people compared to the items with smaller price tag. It is the black money that contributes much making rich people more rich, and the poorer ones further remaining still poor.

Technorati Tags: market,prices,developments,growth,blackmoney,poor,rich,costly

New magnetic therapy to give relief to the patients of depresseion!

This one is a golden news for the people who are the victims of severe depression that the new magnetic therapy has since been made available for such a horrifying disease. This magnetic stimulation therapy is called rTMS. As per news brought out by the media, this therapy started being practiced in Mumbai around two years back but now it is gaining momentum. One Sonawalia running her clinic at  Trans Mag Well-being Clinic on Peddar Road, Mumbai, has successfully treated around 65 patients with good to excellent results. The exact modus operandi relating to this therapy is not yet available but the reports are that it is gaining a bigger prospect  and there is already a large number of people getting themselves registered for their treatment at Well-Being Clinic at Mumbai. The facility is likely to be extended to different other centres in the country in days to come. Many a chronic cases of depression where patients were not able to respond to Allopathic treatment and other alternative remedies, have got fully cured at the said clinic. It can well be expected that this therapy shall prove of a bigger mode of relief to the people soon. Let us hope for the best.

Technorati Tags: rtms,magnetictherapy,stimulating,medical,depression,allopathic,alternatives,relief

Fuel prices on the rise like incessant rain strokes!

One can understand some increase some where in prices with necessary gap time wise, but the way it occurs every now and then in India is unbearably intolerable at the level of consumers. It is like rains in monsoon season, not the first monsoon shower which is pleasant but the one that is incessant and boring occurring for days together as strokes one after the other knowing no stop. Fuel prices rising once in a blue moon, like it used to happen earlier, can be termed as something unavoidable due to global situations changing and as a matter of an exception, but exceptions generalised are no exception at all, they are rather deliberate. The man in silence occupying the top chair in the country as the Prime Minister is enjoying his status as a mute spectator. Well known as an economics pundit with a doctorate on the subject to his credit, he only flopped on the economy front in the country. I don’t think there was ever a position this much worst in India in the past. In the political history of the country, it is difficult to trace any example of such a weak Prime Minister, limping and speechless. It is not the question of fuel prices alone, on every front the present government at the centre under his leadership is on the brink of a collapse, and if such a position still continues further, it is no surprise if the people in general go for a revolt.

Technorati Tags: prices,prime minister,india,front,economy,mute,spectator,leadership,revolt

Time constraint–a real problem or just an apology of it?

People are busy, rather very busy, unable to spare any time for several other matters of equally an important nature. True it is, particularly in to-day’s atmosphere of run and chase for every thing round the clock. Once Gerald Ford, one of the American Presidents, was asked a question by the media as to what sort of any problem he felt after joining office as such, he replied telling that his biggest problem was that he was unable to spare time to timely join his family at dinner. This might have been a very natural problem for a gigantic personality like an American President. There are instances too in contrast to this. A friend of mine, Dr. Sainani of Mumbai, who was also a top rank consultant to the then President of India, told me that even if heavens fall or the doom occurs, “I am the last man to miss my dinner with my wife sharp at 8pm”. These are of course exceptions, but by and large people use busyness as a tool for an excuse. This is in fact a clash in priorities. How much importance you attach to an issue is the matter. If you are not interested to do a particular job, you pretend to be busy, or if you take the task assigned to you seriously, you are the one to extend necessary priority to it and then you are at it instantly. In majority of cases, being otherwise ‘busy’ is an excuse and an apology to cover up your lack lustre and a limping interest in the job concerned. Attending to a task is a matter of will, and if you are interested in it you can very well manage your time for it; if not, you don’t have any time at all at your disposal. This is what I am fully eligible to say having meticulously followed a schedule of working 20 hours plus a day for several decades.

Technorati Tags: timing,time,schedule,will,busy,excuse,apology,lacklustre,limping

My Russian readership:

I don’t know who they are individually, but the readers of this blog from Russia have been very valued a lot to me as they so frequently top the list of my viewers even in comparison to India. Such a list, as per Google Analytics, runs in a cyclic order like some times it is India on the top followed by Russia and America, then Russia followed by India and America, and yet then at times America followed by India and Russia, of course with several other countries, but most often it has been Russia with highest readership. Some time back I felt some what disappointed to notice that my geographical location of Russian readership almost showed blank on the map, and this position continued for nearly two weeks plus. I wish I had personally known them to know from them if there was some thing I wrote otherwise which detracted them from showing their usual interest in my blog. And then just the other day, I was amazed to see them back on the map and statistics in the same measure they did it earlier. I extend to them my sincere regards through this post of mine, of course also to my valued readers in different other countries. How quixotic it sounds to be that I love the people I don’t know personally, be it Russia, America, United Kingdom, Brazil, China, Germany or any other country on the world map. Blogging is such a mystical phenomenon after all where people so closely inter-act without personally knowing each other.

Technorati Tags: russia,china,america,india,blog,blogging,readers,audience,phenomenon,mystical,mydiary

Maruti Suzuki suffers a set back!

Maruti Suzuki, known till the other day as the biggest car producer in the country, has resumed functioning, but it has not yet come out of the set back it suffered due to strike by its employees  followed by the lockout the company declared as covered in one of my posts in another blog titled as Lockout in Maruti Suzuki. It appears the company will have to strive further hard to recover its old record. The company’s production level, as per news appearing in the press. is currently for the month of August 54,154 units as compared to what it was a year back at 91,442 units. It amounts to a colossal loss to the company. The company already has tough competition to face with other car producers in the country and this set back has dragged it much backward. The company hardly had such a situation to face, excepting slightly of course, when Tatas introduced their Nana to the market, as mentioned by me in an earlier post in this very blog titled as Nano comes in, Maruti800 goes out. May be it takes a little more time, but the company with its talented human mechanism at their command is likely to recover soon by taking the concerned workmen unions into confidence.

Technorati Tags: maruti,strike,lockout,loss,recovery,unions,management,setback

How to get rid of ads?

You go through some news paper, some magazine or view the TV, the whole of it is full of ads. Even when you are surfing your own laptop, you are, in a way, forced to have a glance over things in which you are not interested at all. Search engines too are no exception in this regard; you ask for some thing by way of search, you have to come across some advertisement or the other before you reach your requisitioned point. While watching TV, the most embarrassing stage which you get confronted with is a break at a point when the relative story passes through most suspense full a climax laden with extreme anxiety. This is worse when necessary broadcast of an announcement is in the pipeline and there is abruptly a break. This is in fact a trick of those running the show by which they exploit the viewers the most cashing on their anxiety for the story in the offing, as the viewers can’t leave the TV unless the residual comes out. Remedy only lies in calling it a day to the media and sit at ease, which in to-day’s atmosphere of bumper technological advancement on all counts, is just not affordable. One has to be conversant on what is the latest on different counts in the world, and to cope with that every one has to tolerate ads as an essential evil.

Technorati Tags: technology,tv,ads,exploitation,cursory,evil,anxiety,climax