Swaeroes Commandments

R.S. Praveen Kumar is the wind beneath the wings of students at Telangana’s social welfare hostels

SW in SWAROES stands for social welfare

AROES refers to the sky, suggesting that the sky is the limit

Dr. RS Praveen Kumar, Secretary, ( IG cadre IPS Officer)
Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society

Does India need a bullet train?

Owning a HSR network has become a status symbol for nations. This project will only enable our flamboyant politicians to tell international audiences on overseas platforms that in India we too have 'bullet trains'. Nothing more and nothing less. But costs of this exuberance are Rs.110,000 crores in capital expenditure and another Rs. 20,000 crores recurring maintenance expenditure. The project cost will go up by about ₹40,000 crore. This project cost partnered with Japan is front loaded to the extent of 59% to 97% is another matter. This is a wasteful project which only serves to deliver an illusory feel-good perception among the wealthy. But in the process some unscrupulous fellows will rise from rags to riches. That is another story. This is not our priority! Modi is singularly responsible and accountable for this insane act of national wastage which otherwise would have gone into healthcare, education, welfare of lower classes of Indian people. There are 15 countries worldwide in the exclusive high-speed rail fraternity. All bullet train companies are incurring huge losses and are supported by governments. While intangible benefits of bullet train are imaginary and unquantifiable the losses burdening the economy are frightening. 

Yashwant Sinha's exemplary courage and patriotism

By questioning his own party's government and its powerful people for their willful wrong acts leading to nation's economic distress and state of joblessness, Yashwant Sinha not only exhibited exemplary courage but also demonstrated that he is real patriot.

• He has put nation above the party's interests.
• He has rightly said that while many in BJP agree with him but are afraid to speak out.
• Needless to say Modi & co has systematically subverted national media, barring few, only to do 'praising' even for his 'worst acts'.
• In social media, BJP's troll brigade ensures all false stories praising Modi all the times and spreading falsehoods on Congress especially Rahul Gandhi.
• Yashwant Sinha might not be saint of all times, he joined the elite club of very few who dared to question powerful rogues. Kudos.
• At his age 80+, no question of any ambitions or aspersions. Even if any, still his acts valiant are appreciable.
• But for the truthfulness of Yashwant Sinha's remarks, the resistance offered by his son and Modi's minister Jayant Sinha that all is well, faded away. 
• While Jaitley's response was unbecoming of his qualifications and position he his holding i.e. FM and Modi as PM was compelled to give a lengthy 90 minute reply quoting all unconnected things that everything will be fine in future, which any will be.
• Instead of blaming FM Jaitley alone for all the economic ills of today, Yashwant Sinha would have blamed PM Modi as well. In fact Modi's responsibility is much bigger than Jaitley's in this matter or in any other matter given the fact that nothing moves in Delhi without instruction from PMO.
• Some accuse that he is speaking up is settling of grouse against the PM, FM and BJP president. Even if it is true, what Yashwant Sinha has done is in the best interests of the nation.
• Finally it is better to accept that Yashwant Sinha is driven with the passion to save India’s economic misfortune exhibiting exemplary courage to stand up and point out not compromising on ideals and spoke what he believed as truth.
• If Modi has any sense, he should accept truth as truth and appoint an expert panel to suggest ways & means for economic recovery in the shortest possible time frame in the best interest of nation and its Aam Admi and Kisan.
• Finally, the mess created by Modi and Jaitley with demonetization and mangled GST roll out without adequate preparation resulting in GDP growth falling for six consecutive quarters, joblessness etc is likely to stay and normalization is at least 4-5 years away.

You cannot fool all the people all the time ... Abraham Lincoln

I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, 

and part with him when he goes wrong ... Abraham Lincoln

In 2004, BJP's Vajpayee govt lost polls for following Congress model of ruling the nation with arrogance. LK Advani’s advice to attack issues and not people because “speaking on persons and then bypassing the issues is something which is very easily done” was forgotten by all. Today Modi is doing exactly the same. Jaitley missed an opportunity to accept the fact that GDP growth has fallen for six successive quarters and explain reasons and remedies being implemented and solicit suggestions. This would have effectively disarmed and silenced critics. He should have answered all issues raised, point by point. How far he will run away from truth?  Jaitley attacking Yashwant Sinha is height of insanity. Of course Modi often does it on Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh even in parliament ignoring the issues. Very soon Modi's ratings will fall below that of Rahul Gandhi and that surprises no one. If PM and FM tells lies to people of India all the times, they are unfit to stay in their positions any more.

Cockroach Theory for Self Development

Sundar Pichai - CEO, Google

A beautiful speech by Sundar Pichai - an IIT-Stanford Alumnus and Global Head Google Chrome and now CEO of Google.

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but …it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story: “Do not react in life. Always respond.“

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress or hurry.

A beautiful way to understand LIFE.Person who is HAPPY is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life.He is HAPPY because his Attitude towards Everything in his Life is Right!

Life doesn’t always throw at us pleasantries, but also disappointments. How we deal with these disappointments is what will determine whether our lives will be chaotic or whether it will be under control, and finding a solution to it. Many people try to blame other people for their problems. A good advice is that you should remain calm in times of stress. This helps you see the problem in a different perspective and helps you think of ways of dealing with the problem. It is much better to respond to life stresses instead of reacting to them. In this way, you will develop the right attitude in enriching your life, despite the challenges that come your way.

One nation, one poll

• There is no question that 'One nation, one poll' will save lot of money and grant freedom to elected representatives to behave or misbehave as they like for next five years. But there is much more beyond that. It is something synonymous to 'One nation, one language' and 'One nation, one religion', with very dangerous undercurrents that threatens unity and integrity of India.
• If Lok Sabha and Assembly elections happen to coincide, it is a natural process. But if it is imposed only to reduce the number of elections and cut costs, it is highly undesirable, because it privileges monetary concerns over democratic principles.
• Frequent elections provide momentary employment, boost domestic consumption, as also prevent transfer of power to a single entity due to a popularity surge that could help annexe both the state and central rule through the dual election filter.
• There is a provision in the Model Code of Conduct for the government to consult the Election Commission to take any useful policy decisions, without interfering election outcome, which is hardly used by any of the governments for political reasons.
• The slogan “one country, one election” is misleading. The Constitution recognises the existence of 29 States which have a constitutional status of their own in matters of elections and government formation. But this slogan deprives both centre and states to go in for mid term polls even for genuine and valid reasons.
• The seeming intention is to force all states, and all local bodies & panchayats, not only seems impractical but also a step in the direction of moving the country towards becoming a unitary state rather than a federal one that the constitution envisages.
• If in a state election, result is hung, definitely president's rule can't be imposed for next 5 years since next elections are that much far away and no chance for mid term polls. If that state goes to mid term poll, the new elected state assembly will have truncated term of less than 5 years till the date next general election. This is gross violation of constitutional provisions which is undesirable.
• There would be no interim option to overthrow if the incumbent under performed, as voter power is limited to being king-for-a-day in the lustrum. On flip side, frequent elections or bye polls deter the incumbent ruling parties from under performance and misbehavior.
• The issues influencing voting pattern for parliament, assembly and local body elections are vastly different and simultaneous polls will only blur the issues and the party having advantage in national arena also gets voted in state & local body elections which is fundamentally misleading & undemocratic.
• If simultaneous elections were to become a reality, it would go against the political diversity which is essential for addressing the social diversity of India.
• The total cost saving of about Rs.10,000 crores, once in 5 years, for central government with an annual budget of over Rs.20,00,000 crores is not a problem at all.
• Like earlier Modi's adventures, this one too might not work for Modi simply because the intention is not for doing any public good but is for narrow minded self aggrandizement. 

In a democracy, every issue has far reaching effects and unintended consequences that hurts lower classes most. Nothing can make a rich man bankrupt or a beggar. Demonetization and GST hurt the poorest most. Rich will sustain just by spending some bucks. By oath PM Modi must rule the nation within the framework of constitution and existing laws. During first two years, he went on roaming the world delivering passionate speeches and our economy was reasonably good. He initiated reforms with selfish intention of 'name & fame' and the nation plunged into economic distress and there is no way it can be halted. He would have done a great service to nation had he not done anything in the past three years. Anyone, including Rahul Gandhi or Manmohan Singh, will do better than Modi. That is what Modi has proved to the nation in the past three plus years in no uncertain terms.

Before You ... William Arthur Ward

Before you speak, listen. 

Before you write, think. 

Before you spend, earn. 

Before you invest, investigate. 

Before you criticize, wait. 

Before you pray, forgive. 

Before you quit, try. 

Before you retire, save. 

Before you die, give.

Poor people don't work. Why?

• Poverty is not just life below the poverty line, its living under financial stress, where it is difficult to maintain quality of life. A life in poverty means living deprived of sufficient food and nutrition, education, proper shelter, sanitation, clean water and so on. This points to the need of seeing poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon.
• We are all children of one and the same God and, therefore, are absolutely equal.
• Poverty in India is attributable to (i) social inequality leading to exclusion and marginalization (ii) illiteracy (iii) population (iv) gender inequality (v) unequal distribution of wealth (vi) faulty economic reforms (vii) corruption and (vii) colonial rule.
• India has more than 400 million (30% of total population) people under the poverty line. In 1947 when colonial British left India, they left 70% Indians in deep poverty. Seven decades later, poverty is down to 30% despite the multi fold increase in population. Despite the progress, even 30% poverty means a huge headcount in a country of 1.3 billion people. 
• UNDP in its 2017 report estimated India’s poverty at 41% i.e. 528 million.
• There are lazy poor people just as there are lazy rich people and laziness is not the only cause of poverty. There are many factors such as economic instability, cultural discrimination, physical or mental disability, or familial problems. 
• Many people ignore the poor, justify their dislike of the poor, or view their poverty as deserved because they think that those in poverty could come into wealth if they just worked harder. 
• Working harder is an useless advice and an even more ridiculous mindset. In a free market society, people are rarely compensated for hard work. They are compensated for valuable skills and smart working.
• Poor people may be born poor, but they don't have to remain that way. They choose to remain poor. Coming out of poverty is neither easy nor hard. External helping hand is essential to come out of poverty quickly.
• A poor person can't think or plan his old age years. Poverty restricts forward thinking and planning. 
• Work is a pillar of our society. It supplies income that enables families to thrive, fosters a sense of pride and belonging, provides dignity and purpose. For these reasons vast majority of prime-age people work for pay. 
• Few of poor don't work, which robs them of this sense of purpose, affects their families’ prospects for prosperity.
• The presumption is that poor don’t earn enough or work hard enough.
• The reasons poor not working primarily is females with children citing family and home responsibilities, and others citing disability and illness.
• To meaningfully reduce poverty, public policy must focus on improving the health of poor, decrease work disincentives and providing work supports to poor parents such as disability assistance.
• But when a lack of employment leads to poverty, it raises important questions about the role for government. Government can make poverty less painful through income transfers etc, but the question is whether government can encourage those who prefer not to work.
• We can either accept the status quo of leaving millions of people in poverty, or continue funding large government programs that transfer income from working taxpayers to the nonworking poor.
• In India, the labor force participation rates* among prime-age workers have declined over the past three years from 48% to 43% suggesting that India is facing a work problem. China's labor force participation rate is 71%, in USA it is 64% and world average is 63%.
  *The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either employed or unemployed.
• The children growing up in a poor family just need to work hard to escape poverty.  Poverty has been proven to be a leading contributor to a child’s social, emotional, and behavioral problems. For children, poverty is an extremely difficult situation to overcome; and even if the children overcome it, they run the risk of being damaged by it for life. Children living in poverty are at an extremely high-risk for mental and physical disorders, due to lack of nutrition, physical stimulation, and emotional development.
• In USA, the reality is that one in six Americans lives in a household that is “food insecure”.
• The rich are great beneficiaries of poverty. It is very cheap to be rich in India. In a poor nation, the social elite can pass through life without facing any competition. The less democratic a nation, the safer it is for the rich.

Poverty is easy to spot, but hard to define.

Those parts of India which have been longest under British rule are the poorest today ...  Nehru

India is a rich country inhabited by very poor people ...  Manmohan Singh

As opposed to the western ‘trickle down’ capitalism India needs a comprehensive “human development” plan in order to really crush the widespread poverty. The present economy based on GDP growth, India is only promoting inequality that sustains by keeping the poor in poverty. It needs an economy that supports millions of small and medium enterprises that are suitable to employ low skilled poor people. Agriculture must be made sustainable and remunerative. Focus on good governance to root out corruption. Promote women empowerment through education and healthcare to deal with population growth.