Sthitapragna

STHITAPRAGJNA 
Thiru Dr. M. S. SWAMINATHAN


Imagining this great scholar 

Is no more with us, And

This architect of Green revolution

Found his place in Heaven,

Left me in grief unmeasured.

Glory and glitter,
Simplicity and grandeur
Thine inner chambers
Even in charming greens.

Knowledge you inhale
Research you exhale
Thou art breathing farming fresh
Benevolent thou, beckon
Nation’s Farm Policy.

Bright in looks
And long in titles
Only short of ‘Nobel’,
Sweet and warm
Your gesture unforgettable.

Penning ‘Foreword’ for
Agricultural Banking:
Getting the perspective Right
Thou art conferred a great honour unto me.

‘Files drive Right to Information
Farmers drive Right to Food’
Who else but thou can short-script thus.
Recalling my humble offering,

Tears rolled down

Hearing your sad demise

May your soul rest in peace

With Gods holding a bouquet

To welcome you.

B. Yerram Raju
28-10-2023

Financial Inclusion - Full of Sound and Fury

Financial Inclusion is full of sound and fury:

As India faces General Elections in the next four months it is time to look at the Financial Inclusion efforts as it is a barometer for poverty reduction. The CRISIL Financial Inclusion index showed a marginal improvement of around 2.2 between 2010 and 2011. The RBI's composite analysis recently put down by its Executive Director, P. Vijay Bhaskar says that from the NSSO 59th round (Jan-Dec 2003) reflecting a financial exclusion of 51.4 percent farmer households there is considerable improvement but fails in its own study to make exact comparison where it mentions in of all the rural households having access to financial services from the banks. This chart depicts from 1951 to 2002 the course of debt from the formal and informal sources. The formal sources increased by just 4.2% between 1991 and 2002 - the initial years of reforms in the banking sector while the informal sources of debt increased by 13.8% during the same year.

VITALINFO: RBI's Joshi on the bank's wide-ranging strategies to raise financial awareness

VITALINFO: RBI's Joshi on the bank's wide-ranging strategies to raise financial awareness
While RBI's Joshi rightly highlighted the current efforts of the Central Bank on financial awareness, the snail space at which such efforts are moving only expose the lack of interest on the part of the actual players: even the FLCs are not functioning the way they should. In fact their creation happened with lot of drive and push from the RBI. If such efforts do not internalize in the organizations for effective delivery, they remain cosmetic. The opportunity cost of monitoring from the central bank would be quite high. It is desirable that an external monitoring group be set up by the RBI where region-wise, a representative of reputed academic or training institution, a representative from NGOs, a representative from the RBI regional office as members who can oversee the outputs of the FLCs at the ground level.

Ten measures to mitigate valuation risks in real estate

Valuation Risks Need Recognition and Mitigation

Not a day passes without the realty sector hitting the headlines; and not always for right reasons. A realtor kills his mother in a car and also makes believe that he was dead and gone only to surface after two years – a case reported by the media extensively during the third week of November 2013 in Andhra Pradesh. Campa Cola Compound had to face demolition after the property owners were served notice of demolition for violation of FSI five years back just during the second week of November 2013. Hiranandini Construction Company received a Court verdict of Rs.76crores leading to liquidation while its prime properties in Chennai and Panvel are close to completion. Raheja Constructions received a huge penalty and punishment handed down by the Supreme Court in October 2013 for not handing over the promised flats to the investors. The Adarsh Housing Society of Mumbai is still under CBI investigation. Many more violations are awaiting court verdicts in different parts of the country. There is governance risk, reputation risk and market risk. One may ask: where is the valuation risk in all these deals? It is hiding deep in the skin of the sector. The reader may recall that the raison de ‘etre of recession was the subprime lending led by credit rating exuberance and inflated valuations. The resultant global recession is still staring at us.

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Seeking Opportunities in Adversity

Seeking Opportunity in Adversity

Adversities could be opportunities for cleansing the system. The ghastly bus accident on the Bangalore-Hyderabad Highway has exposed the vulnerabilities in implementing the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules.

Have mobile phones of the passengers’ added fuel to fire when the diesel tank caught fire?

Each accident may have its own tale to tell but the latest has many tales of distress. Earlier also buses fell into the gorge or had hit the pavements and got into fire accidents. But never it was so instantaneous flame that left no passenger spared except the lucky five. On earlier occasions, several were able to jump out to safety and had burn injuries or fractures and a few died while undergoing treatment due to the intensity of burns on the body. Not this time.

VITALINFO: BRAKES ON BANKING BY POST OFFICES

VITALINFO: BRAKES ON BANKING BY POST OFFICES
While the spread may be attractive argument for financial inclusion agenda its ability to be part of mainstream is rightly suspect in the backdrop of poor financials and inefficient financial management.  It has proven abilities in postal delivery although its savings portfolio touted by its minister Kapil Sibalas a platform for entry through bank license route. It would have caused systemic risk as well.