Public Distribution System and Corruption
Corruption in the PDS Can't Be Stopped
A recent news article by the Times of India (Feb 15, 2011) reported that 57% of the population in India still live below the poverty line. Members of the legislative assembley are prepared to make corruption of the PSD a "top priorty".
Two days later (Feb 17, 2011) the Times of India reported that corruption in the PDS was "inevitable" and that "nobody could run a PDS shop profitably if he was honest,"
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/25/india-pakistan-talks-terrorism
This link is to a very recent article about India/Pakistani talks on terrorism. It would appear however that both sides have entrenched themselves quite fiercely and have not been able to concede or reach across the isle, even on some overlapping issues. India blames Pakistan for quietly abetting terrorist attacks geared against India, and doing little to prosecute/investigate the Mumbai attacks. On the other hand Pakistan blames India for supporting Afghani militants pouring into Pakistan, and threatening to disrupt and destabilize Pakistan.
It is sad to see these types of talks reach the same inconclusive results. It slows down any potential progress that can be made between the two states and solidifies negative preconceptions which each state has against the other.
This link is to a very recent article about India/Pakistani talks on terrorism. It would appear however that both sides have entrenched themselves quite fiercely and have not been able to concede or reach across the isle, even on some overlapping issues. India blames Pakistan for quietly abetting terrorist attacks geared against India, and doing little to prosecute/investigate the Mumbai attacks. On the other hand Pakistan blames India for supporting Afghani militants pouring into Pakistan, and threatening to disrupt and destabilize Pakistan.
It is sad to see these types of talks reach the same inconclusive results. It slows down any potential progress that can be made between the two states and solidifies negative preconceptions which each state has against the other.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
"Pakistan has created the Frankenstein. They will have to deal with it. The sickness is there. They have to cure it. They have to root out this evil"
Nirupama Rao blames Pak for failing to curb terror
Here, in this article from the Times of India, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao was reported to have rehashed the events of the Mumbai attacks in 2008 ahead of a scheduled meeting of foreign service officers between the two countries. While she laid blame on Pakistan, she did include an anecdote that notably dismissed the notion that Pakistani citizens were to blame. However, her rhetoric and train of thought made me think about the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when it emerged that most of the attackers had been Saudi Arabian. With Saudi Arabia being a 'friendly' nation in the eyes of the U.S., no blame was placed on the government and little mentioning of the nationalities of the hijackers took place after that. Here, the Foreign Secretary blatantly waves citizenship in the face of the media, as if by identifying those guilty of the heinous crime as Pakistani passport holders would somehow further legitimize her case.
Here, in this article from the Times of India, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao was reported to have rehashed the events of the Mumbai attacks in 2008 ahead of a scheduled meeting of foreign service officers between the two countries. While she laid blame on Pakistan, she did include an anecdote that notably dismissed the notion that Pakistani citizens were to blame. However, her rhetoric and train of thought made me think about the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when it emerged that most of the attackers had been Saudi Arabian. With Saudi Arabia being a 'friendly' nation in the eyes of the U.S., no blame was placed on the government and little mentioning of the nationalities of the hijackers took place after that. Here, the Foreign Secretary blatantly waves citizenship in the face of the media, as if by identifying those guilty of the heinous crime as Pakistani passport holders would somehow further legitimize her case.
Food Security in India
A video I found that shows that no matter how India trumpets itself or is modeled in the international community as being sufficient in food production, the problem remains more complex. Food production, coupled with poverty and unemployment create the greater problem of malnutrition, and Indian self sufficiency alone will not put a stop to it.
"...the growth in the number of middle class households will translate into huge demand for the products such as cars, televisions, computers, air-conditioners, microwave ovens and credit cards, he added."
India's middle class population to touch 267 million in 5 yrs
This article I found interesting in regards to India's exponential growth and expanding consumer base. With this expanding base, one will expect to see India needing an impressive amount of raw material to keep this middle-class satisfied. Food security is not explicitly spelled out in the article, however, I find it implied in that India cannot simply sustain such growth without either making large-scale changes in its food production supply chain, or increasing its imports from other countries.
This article I found interesting in regards to India's exponential growth and expanding consumer base. With this expanding base, one will expect to see India needing an impressive amount of raw material to keep this middle-class satisfied. Food security is not explicitly spelled out in the article, however, I find it implied in that India cannot simply sustain such growth without either making large-scale changes in its food production supply chain, or increasing its imports from other countries.
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