Oil crisis

The doubling of crude prices to $ 140 a barrel within a year, and with no signs of easing in the near future has serious ramifications for most of the non OPEC countries, as it threatens to derail their development process
totally. Notwithstanding the pronouncements of the OPEC, regarding the expected price levels of $170 dollars or more in the near future, and its inability or otherwise to firm up an action plan to arrest the price rise, coupled with the escalting tensions between Iran and Isreal, the fact of
the matter remains that there is a reasonable level of optimism for the oil prices to cool down substantially latest by the year end.

For one, OPEC itself would stand to lose if its major customers are forced to cut down the demand of oil, and instead give a fresh impetus to the development of non conventional sources of energy in collaboraton with each other. Certainly, such kind of a development would ultimately be detrimental to OPEC itself in the long run.

And secondly, being an election year in the US, it will ensure that the oil prices are reigned sooner than expected, going by its moves to control the spectulation in oil futures at its commodity exchanges. And most
importantly, all attempts would be made to defuse the tensions with Iran, and certainly, Israel would not be allowed to launch a military offensive as it would only worsen the oil crisis, which in turn would harm the
fortunes of the Republicans in the coming elections. Witness the friendly overtures being made to North Korea by the US, as precusor for such things to come.

Are Indian Communists Really Patriotic ?

In his article "Red Star Over South Bloc" in Times of India dated 9th June, Mr. G. Parthasarthy has excellently portrayed the antinational character of our communists, who have virtually held the UPA government to ransom, besides of course doing an excellent job as the unofficial representative of China, in the Indian establishment. While of late there have been other distinguished writers such as K. Subrahmayam etc., who have very convincingly argued through such columns in Times of India, about the necessity of concluding the Indo-US Nuclear deal, and ignoring all those who are hell bent upon sabotaging our national interests just to please their masters in China, the sad part is that the UPA itself is yet to muster that courage to go ahead and bite the bullet.

Well, given a choice PM Manmohan Singh would like call the bluff of the communists, but the real tragedy is that, he does not have the support of his allies who perhaps do not wish to face the elections earlier than scheduled, thus harming their selfish interests, and in the process to hell with our national interests anyway.

Who could miss the irony of Indian politics, when before the Karnataka election results were declared, messers Mulayam Singh and company began cosying up to the Congress, and even hinted at supporting the nuclear dewal, but after the results were announced, they did a U turn and went back to the communists to 'kiss and make up'?

Thus, God forbid, it would not be unrealistic to imagine that the next government the centre may also have the blessings of our communists, notwitstanding their patriotic credentials.

Navneet Dhawan

New Delhi

Importance of Caring Attitudes

Hi All,
I wish to share my thoughts with all of you, on a topic which has been a kind of obssesion for me since quite some time:

Please consider the following :

Given a choice, would you like to deal with a government agency, corporate entity, commercial establishment or an individual whom you don't perceive as caring ? In all probability, your answer would be a big NO.

The caring attitude begins with the environment around us in the form of basic amenities, the traffic, transportation systems etc. The courtesies, politeness of the people, work ethics, culture of the people can not only make a world of difference to those who live in that city, but can also positively influence the perceptions of people around the world. These then act as catalysts in the overall progress and development of the community.

A caring attitude is the prerequisite for success in any venture. We may be a government organization, a public sector undertaking, a multinational company, a private enterprise, a practicing professional, or even a common individual striving to make a mark in life. Through a caring attitude, if we are able to make a positive difference to the everyday lives of our fellow citizens and others, we would benefit not only by better social recognition and self esteem, but also through tangible returns. Furthermore, this would lead to the overall progress of our organizations, our communities, and in the ultimate analysis of our nation as a whole.
Our fellow citizens could be our present or prospective employees, customers, shareholders and colleagues who all have a vital role to play in ensuring our success in this fiercely competitive world.

Apart from inculcating and reinforcing the caring attitudes within ourselves, projecting the same effectively to people at large is equally important. Perhaps, it is the realizaton of this fact that not only corporates, but also some of the government agencies and undertakings which were earlier synonymous with indifferent attitudes are now attempting to project a caring image through press releases. This marks a new beginning.

To be cared for, is one of the basic emotional human needs, which unfortunately has become a premium commodity in this fiercely competitive world.

Should we not strive for that comptetive edge in the world, by inculcating and promoting caring attitudes, in each and every aspect of our lives ?

Would love to see your responses.

Best Wishes

Navneet

Fuel Price Hike

The hike in the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG were not unexpected. While this hike is likely to stroke inflation even more, and exert further strain on the monthly budgets of several households, there are two things which merit attention:

a) As this hike was less than what the Oil Marketing Companies require to make decedent profits, and as the government had its hands tide up because of the forthcoming assembly elections, and general election next year (hopefully) , then would it be unreasonable to predict a price of Rs. 100 per litre of petrol by 2010, assuming that the international price of crude remains above $100 per barrel for another year or so? and

b) It is now time to seriously devote our energies into alternate renewable fuel technologies which can power the automobiles of tomorrow. Let the premier engineering institutes like the IITs take over this challenge, and help us reduce the percentage of crude oil imports from over 70% to less than 30% of the total import bill, within the next five years at the most. How come none of our political leaders including those from the left parties, who have been opposed to the fuel price hike, have not thought on these lines ?

Let's ponder on these two points.

Best Wishes

Navneet.