FRIEND, IT IS JUST MY DREAM

Hi friends,

I am not an Economist from Stanford or MIT. I am a layman, a pebble on the seashore, a bubble on the whirlpool. That does not mean I should not have any ambitions, wishes, and dreams. I have lived in this great country for 72 years. It is more than 70 years since we got our Independence. We have to go a long way to reach the levels of developed countries. I would like to list out 12 areas where our Govt can initiate steps to improve the standard. I know it may be difficult to implement or it may not be even feasible. FRIEND, IT IS JUST MY DREAM and  I wish to place it before you for your information. They are:

1. EDUCATION: The Govt should provide free education for all people until they wish to study. Education is the backbone of the country. There should be no reservation of any kind. Literacy leads to many benefits. The crime rates, poverty, terrorism, etc. will come down. Good libraries, free of cost, should be opened everywhere for everyone.

2. ROADS: The roads must be developed smooth and hustle free. It must be maintained, top class. Any damage should be rectified within 24 hours without hindrance to the traffic. We have plenty of cement to be used. The person laying the road should be made responsible. This will reduce oil imports considerably, saving foreign exchange.

3. RIVERS: Most of the rivers in our country remain dry for the most part of the year. When the rains come there is flood damaging people and property and the excess water goes into the ocean as waste. Individual states construct dams obstructing the water from going to other states. All the rivers should be interlinked so that there is no suffering due to water shortage.

4. WATER: Most of the villages are suffering a lot due to the non-availability of good drinking water. People drink poor quality water and get all types of diseases. Waterborne diseases are plenty. Poor people are forced to spend a lot of money on medicines. Schemes should be developed to provide uninterrupted good drinking water free of cost to all the villages.

5. AGRICULTURE: There is suicide every day in large numbers by the agriculturists due to poverty, water shortage and failure of crops. Agricultural scientists like Mr. Swaminathan and others should be consulted or entrusted. Drip irrigation, compulsory training should be imparted to all engaged in agriculture. The Govt should cover insurance for crop failure and also fix a minimum price for all agricultural products. It should control the middlemen and should come forward to buy in case of need.

6. SENIOR CITIZENS: The senior citizens are the suffering lot. Their blessing for the country is the need of the hour. When the income for retired Govt servants is linked with the cost of living,  for other senior citizens it gets reduced due to a lower rate of interest on their investments. For them, the rate of interest must be 1% more than others. They should be given free medical treatment and free travel as their children are no longer looking after them. Old age homes should be controlled and made affordable to them.

7. DISCIPLINE: There should be compulsory military service for 2/3 years for all men and willing women after attaining the age of 21. Without this training, there should be no employment for them. This will develop patriotism, discipline, good health, reduction in defense expenses, knowledge of different people, places, languages, culture and above all unity and concern among all people of the country

8. TAXES: The accounting year starts in April. But people pay taxes casually till next March or even later or do not pay at all. Due to this, the income for the Govt gets delayed and also the implementation of schemes. People should voluntarily come forward to pay their taxes. There should be an incentive for people who pay taxes promptly in April. Then tax collections will be made early in the year and it will earn interest also.

9. JUSTICE: Most of the people who want justice spend their entire life in the halls of the courts. Experts are there to get a case postponed life long. Civil cases take generations to get settled. Even then, their problems remain unsolved. The rules should be suitably amended and the courts sufficiently staffed and the cases should be cleared within 3 months maximum.

10. CORRUPTION: There should be no corruption in Govt offices. It is the cancer of the country. It affects the economy in every way. The punishment should be made very severe, like death sentence when caught. All the areas, where the public has to get any benefit or approval, should be made available on line without the need to meet any one in the office.

11. AADHAAR: Aadhaar is a good scheme. It should not go waste. It should be made on par with the Social Security Number in the US. The citizens should be graded A to E, representing very good, good, very fair, fair, and bad. It should be based on their "conduct" as citizens. Any violation of law or any good act done should be recorded and the grade up/downgraded. For all benefits, incentives, concessions, employment etc, the preference should be based in the order of the grades.

12.CINEMA: Cinema industry should be controlled. There is wide disparity in remuneration. While the actors are paid a fortune others get peanut. The Govt should streamline the pay structure by grading all artists with minimum pay, increment and bonus on profits. This will reduce cost of production and ticket rates. In India, people worship the actors like Gods. It is one of the wonders of the world. They are also like other humans without make-up. Kerala shows the ways due to its 100% literacy. People must be educated on these lines.

I PRAY TO GOD TO BLESS THIS GREAT COUNTRY.

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