"The world, we are told, was made
especially for man - a presumption not supported by all the facts. A numerous
class of men are painfully astonished whenever they find anything, living or
dead, in all God's universe, which they cannot eat or render in some way what
they call useful to themselves."
Word
for the day
Lacuna (n)
A gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument;
hiatus.
Malice
towards none
Last Sunday, the
people in South Delhi were so engrossed in French elections, that they forgot
to vote in MCD election.
First random
thought this morning
There are stark similarities between the relationship of
ruling party & opposition today and the relationship of ruling party &
opposition in 1970s.
The incumbent government perhaps also enjoys the public
support, similar to what Mrs. Gandhi enjoyed post 1971 war to liberate
Bangladesh.
The key ponderable is — whether this re-release of
history show continue for next 10yr or a new era shall begin soon!
Water & electricity
Water and electricity have traditionally constricted India's economic
growth in a significant manner.
The electricity supply
conditions have improved materially in past 10years, as the effort to engage
private sector in generation and distribution of electricity have started to
show results. From a total installed generation capacity of 1,05,046MW in 2002,
the capacity had grown ~3x to 3,19,606 MW by the end of FY17. Out of this
almost one third capacity is non-thermal (Nuclear, Hydro and Renewable).
During March 2017, on all India
basis, the country suffered a peak demand deficit of only 1.6%, where this
deficit used to be normally in the range of 11-15% just a decade ago. Most of
the current deficit lies in northern region.
Similarly, the electrification
of villages has gathered speed. Technically over 98% of the total 6lakh odd
inhabitations have now been connected to the national grid. Though the regional
disparities do exist, and not all homes in the claimed electrified villages get
electricity, but still it is a big leap in past 10years. The spread of rooftop
of solar panel in rural areas is also showing good results.
The current merchant power rate
of rs2.5/unit and average plant load factor of 60%, suggests that presently
there is no shortage of electricity for industry in the country.
The size of consumer durable
(appliances etc.) market in India has grown almost 5x in past 15years, and it
is still considered to be one of the most underpenetrated markets amongst
peers.
Availability of adequate electricity
supply (quantity and quality) adds materially to the productivity at all levels
- industry, household and individual. These gains we have already seen
beginning to accrue. There is sufficient evidence that the rate of accrual of
these gains shall accelerate exponentially in next decade or so.
However, unfortunately, the
same cannot be said about the water.
The per capita availability of
water is diminishing almost every year. The average annual per capita
availability of water in the country, taking into consideration the population
of the country as per the 2001 census, was 1816 cubic meters which decreased
to1545 cubic meters as per the 2011 census. The ground tables of water are
receding at alarming pace. Even a well irrigated state like Punjab is
witnessing severe water crisis. Many regions in southern and central India are
facing frequent droughts.
From my personal experience I know that in rural areas of
developed states like Maharashtra, people spend 4-5hours a day to fetch
drinking water from far away sources. Many children, mostly girls, cannot go to
school or study properly, because they need to fetch water for the family. To
make the matter worst, the water they get is mostly contaminated and inflict
serious diseases on the family.
The most impactful reform is
therefore needed in the area of water...to continue
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