If it is up, it is out

How secure are banks?

                                                           

OPEN PAGE (March 18, 1986)

How secure are banks?

(By C.S. Krishnamurthy)

"Armed men rob bank", "Rs.14 lakh stolen from bank", "City bank manager murdered".  Dailies greet you with such pungent headlines.  Crimes in general are on the rise.  Banks are potential treasure chests for criminals, since currency is obviously more tempting and less traceable than other valuables.

The daring hold-up of the Karnataka Bank in Madras some time ago with the diabolical murder of a bank official, still green in memory, showed that such offences are not exclusive to the north.

Socio-economic and political reasons alone with the negative application of technological innovations have abetted organised crime.

Statistics put the number of  robberies/dacoities at only three in 1973.  It has mounted at least 20 times annually in recent times.

"Modus operandi"

It is interesting to know the modus operandi.  A gang of bandits loot at gun-point during banking hours or prior to opening or soon after the business time.  They lock up the entire staff, often in the strong room, and use the keys obtained to rummage the lockers and flee with the booty.  Some vanish after extracting currency bundles from the cashier.

Bank funds are robbed while in transit from one bank to another on public roads, the looters at times killing the driver and security guard in the vehicle.

Removal of money from cashiers or customers by diverting their attention, using a blade to cut the wallet, or stealthily throwing some "itching" powder on the victim and suggesting that he go for a wash are other tricks of the trade!  While distracting the attention, the culprit flicks the cash and passes it on to his associates though he himself may still be present, consoling the victim!

How do they plan and execute it?  Dacoits mostly in the 20-25 age group, work overtime to accomplish their target.  Frustration in life, failure in securing jobs, glorification of horror,  settling political vendetta are the usual reasons that make a delinquent.

Ninety to ninety five per cent of the crimes are successfully carried out, says a security official of a leading bank.  Their preliminary planning dwells on how many are to operate.  The number is kept to three or four.  To draw a detailed plan, they spot the target and closely study the bank's mode of functioning, for which even neighbouring premises may be hired.

The time of operation: bandits prefer minimum staff and no customers.  The vulnerable time: around 11 a.m. when the staff go in groups for tea/cigaratte; lunch-break when other staff leave and the cashier is alone to close the counter; or evening, when the deposit is removed to the "safe-room".  The duration of the operation: An average of 10 minutes; most masterly loots are over in seven to eight minutes.  The operating time is minimised as the chances of their actions being observed are greater.

After looting, they flee using a vehicle, often stolen with changed number plates.  Vehicles, preferably two-wheelers in immaculate condition, are spotted ahead.  The local law and order situation, alternative routes against the blockade (like a procession) are considered in their escape plan.

The post-nationalisation period had witnessed a high rate of branch expansion and functional diversification, with emphasis on rural and urban areas.  There are over 40,000 branches as against 8,262 in 1969.  This swift expansion, however, is not reflected in the infrastructural base.  Some branches are sadly located in lanes where even an auto cannot enter.

Another reason relates to the flouting of norms and procedures.  Cash remittance from one branch to another, or to the Currency Chest or the RBI must be transported only in an enclosed vehicle.  Strangely, remittances are effected even by cycle-rickshaws! While cameras are banned in many public places, they can easily be brought inside the banking premises during busy hours - a vulnerable prelude indeed to a hold up!

The conspicuous absence of armed guards make "late sitting" of officials more hazardous.  Blind faith in colleagues, negligence in properly latching the cashier cabin door from inside and accepting cash after business hours are often over-looked.  White-collared bank staff often invariably deal with white-collared customers.  Criminals, on the other hand, are well trained to challenge the staff, with violence if necessary, to  hit their target.

A joint-custodian of  the Currency Chest of a nationalised  bank observes: "As long as the currency in the banks is insured against robberies, bankers will continue to be lethargic.  Insurance companies, more business-oriented, do not even insist that certain norms like provision of armed guards, ensuring safe and secure premises, etc. to be observed".  He is outraged that culprits, after being nabbed, are imprisoned for a year or two before being released to resume their activities, instead of being dealt with sternly.  He cites the Emergency period when the miscreants were aptly dealt with and the crime rate was negligible.  It is the intervention of political pressure that obstructs the punishment process, he deplores.

Comments an executive with three decades of experience: "As bankers, our role is limited. The government has a greater responsibility in controlling the menace.  A hot line between the branch and the nearest police station is essential".

Effective aids

A senior inspecting official says: "Police personnel report daily at all Calcutta banks at the opening hour and remain till the cash is taken back to the strong room.  All branches have a siren and the panic buttons are concealed in three places - one each in the manager's and cashier's cabins, the third at some other desk.  Access to any of these during a hold-up will the raise the alarm".

A bank officer reveals that a new electronic alarm is being devised, which sets off panic signal when a key is pushed to unlock the "safe-room".  A former chairman of a primary bank suggests making in-depth studies of ten cases and analysis of the weaknesses of the system.

What is to be done after a hold up?  Apart from contacting the police control room (in a  city) or the nearest police station, note the vehicle number of the escape vehicle, its make, type, prints, etc.  The crime scene must be left intact to help sleuths trace clues.  Forensic experts confirm even  cigarette-buds and sweat stains help identify the blood group.  Blood stains, voice, eyes, feet, vaccination marks, scars, height, weight, colour, hair (in a comparitive manner) are effective aids for follow-up.

Laments a Director General of Police: "When crimes are committed against individuals the victims provide a continuous source of motivation that helps in the pursuit of clues.  Crimes occurring in public institutions, however, lack such individual and enthusiastic sources of inspiration".

What can be done? Armed guards should be posted before every bank door and secure premises selected.  Shutters should be unfailingly pulled down after banking hours.  A half-closed door is as good as open.  Alarm bells and emergency lamps should be fitted inside the strong room, and access to cash vaults must be strictly confined to authorised personnel.  Surplus cash (cash in excess of sanctioned limit) must be scrupulously remitted to the bank's Currency Chest, the Reserve Bank, or needy banks.

Joint-custodians should not leave the keys of the strong room in their table drawers overnight.  The location of the manager's cabin must ensure his visual supervision of all the departments, particularly the cash counter.  The training curriculum of staff should include lectures/group-discussions/ and role-play on this subject.  Checking unauthorised loitering and prominent display of warning notices to alert the public must be observed.  Arrangement of cash counters in such a manner that movement towards the exit door is delayed, is worth pondering.  Finally, the Police should be trained to nab culprits with minimum identity data.

======

Food: Waste, not in good taste

A recent UN report highlighted that “an estimated one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, amounting to 1.3 billion tons per year”.  If the world is to feed its seven billion inhabitants – a population predicted to climb to over nine billion by 2050, the wastage number looks more than alarming, the report added.

My grand father (an amazing soul!) used to impart that each grain as  God’s gift. “Athithi Devo Bhava”,  is a tribute paid to Annalakshmi, the Goddess of plenty. Wasting food is scoffing the deity.  We are, ironically, ‘modernised’.  Sip  half cup of  tea, leave the rest,  probably that is deemed ‘etiquette’.  Food courts  are renowned for lavish wastage of food. I used to wonder at Dubai, where I lived for about a decade, for so many reasons, except when it would be depressing and  painful to sight at the volume of food wasted at the food courts, specifically in the huge malls.

Back home in Bangalore, I have known of  a local mutt (a term used for religious establishment of Hinduism and usually more formal and hierarchical), probably there may be many, where during lunch (blessed food), heaps of rice would be served, nay pushed on the plantain leaf without ever looking at the person , adult or child, leaving a despicable display of huge left-overs. When queried the manager, he  laughed it off as a non-event! We see a few, in  extravagant parties, fill their plates like there is no tomorrow, and throw major portion of it away, cautioning a need for a social movement to curb the desire of ostentation.  Food is an integral part of our culture. Be it a wedding, an informal get-together or even someone's death, Indian ceremonies and customs are intrinsically tied to the concept of organising lavish feasts.

At the first World Food Conference (1974) at Rome, Henry Kissinger made a laudable pledge. “In ten years’ time, no child will go to bed hungry”.  A reason for optimism.  For years, global food production increased faster than the rate of population growth.  Still, by the mid-nineties about half a billion reported as undernourished, only to revive the “hungry” war again.

Consumers  in the West waste lots of food, which speaks of western hypocrisy about the Third world.  No wonder, you and I are witnesses to the legacy of  Haves and the  Have-nots.  In developing nations, lack of transportation, inadequate storage and processing facilities leads to losses. Government allowing food stocks to rot is one side.  On the other, it is  sad that hungry children beg on the streets for a morsel, competing with stray dogs in garbage bins!

At times, it takes  efforts to keep the produce fresh.  Spinach, for instance, must be dipped in cold water or it quickly wilts.  Where the infrastructure doesn’t exist, the situation is worse.  Our friends toss out everything from bananas that have turned brown to last week’s ‘Chinese’ left over. Half the loaf of bread goes stale, because no one wants to eat sandwiches "today". “Why should I care? I paid for it” seems the attitude. Is it wrong to infer that obesity in the opulence is proportionately related to the malnourishment among the poor? When you drop the food-waste in the bin, it is like contaminating the world.

How do we organise our lives to minimise the food waste?  When it comes to food, we do weekly shopping. Often people buy food to cook, when their life style has become eating out most of the week.  Many eat more than the physical needs, again a significant life-style problem. Affluence is ignorant of famine? Why  not restaurants  impose a penalty on the left-overs, especially where buffet meal is served.  Isn't it true that we often fall for malls’ marketing gimmicks? Proper education would reduce this malady. Children should be trained to finish all the food on their plates. Pause for a moment, think if you would actually need that many, before you do grocery shopping.  Always, carry a plastic bag or food container so that you can pack unfinished food. Food courts have a big potential in terms of raising awareness.

If you consider the galloping food inflation, your overshopping habits probably needs to be pondered. Why buy two bags of tomatoes, when your need is one? When you go to a supermarket without a proper shopping list, it is very much possible you end up piling up your trolley with whatever items catch your eye.  Write a food diary to see how much you eat and  how much you throw away.  Over a week you will know what food you need when you head to a shop and what in your fridge might be going waste. Food saved is food produced, true?

At schools, students, parents and staff should be inspired to pack a waste-free lunch.  Promote a sale in which waste-free lunch vendors are invited and sell their products.  Students can sit next to the vendors with waste-free ideas.  They can create a display that compares the economic, health and environmental costs of a waste-free lunch vs. Other types, and show an example of a waste-free lunch and a waste-ful lunch.

Overall, the remedy warrants a human disposition. Charity begins at home. It doesn’t require a religion to preach; just be ordinary to realise it.  We send rockets to the space, produce IT wizards .... Is it that hard to put an end to the food wastage?  Wasting food appears a curiosity of modern life. It is one of the issues on which the universe is in agreement – bad.

Happy World Food Day!

Your feedback is welcome at: krs1957@hotmail.com

                                                     

Me....... without coffee?

Sorry, I couldn't resist telling you that coffee is a big part of me (may be, you as well).  The caffeine kick .... wow!  My laptop is not just supported with the mouse, but along with my work, a cup of coffee adds to my working ambience.

"Drinking coffee lifts my mood, or a mood triggers me to drink coffee", I was sharing my views with my family circle in a domestic function recently.

I continued: "My coffee should have that golden brown color or I loathe drinking it.  I like the strong smell, the brew, the bold taste, the flavour.  I never liked drinking coffee in big quantity in one go; rather, sip in small  measure with  regular intervals.  There is nothing like freshly roasted coffee. I don't prefer the mug or the cup-n-saucer (may be okay for tea); but the steel cup ( baitu- filter-kaapi in typical Bangalorean lingo)".

My sister, just then, interrupted: "The coffee beans should be ideally the big ones; grind the beans as close to the brew time as possible;  use a coffee filter; don't use  a percolator or  clothes to filter. When you pour boiling water, make sure the coffee decoction drips very slowly, literally drop by drop .  A drop of decoction when touched with the right thumb and point finger should have a sort of semi-solid feel.  The coffee powder should have a blend of Plantation A and B".

Joining the conversation, my wife: "You  can add a small percentage of chicory and a pinch of salt for achieving the strength.  While the hot decoction is extracted, boil the milk simultaneously.  Add half-a-tea(coffee?)-spoon of sugar for a cup of coffee.  Importantly, to have a better taste, sip the coffee in steel cup."

"Most important thing, before I forget, NEVER RE-HEAT COFFEE" , your moods become insipid; also coffee poured from a flask will not give you a grade-1 aroma, at times it even renders a stale taste"  raising  her voice, she dutifully scored a point.

"Anybody can drink coffee anytime for any reason" my brother-in-law opined, adding that "if you are a good coffee drinker, it is difficult to accept mediocre quality".  True. I reckon many a time  that it was safer to compromise to drink tea, than to gamble with second-grade or poor quality coffee.  It is hard, at the same time, to resist  good coffee. In some restaurants and homes, you get light anemic colour coffee, milk diluted, coffee decoction carelessly or ignorantly prepared, with heaps of sugar mixed, -  all makes you feel ' why at all I asked for the beverage'. Bangalore, by and large, is the best Indian destination for coffee-lovers, while there may be good coffee-joints in patches elsewhere. It may not be overstating the fact that coffee and  South Indian (Bangalore and Chennai, in particular) are made for each other!

It is a pleasure to use all our senses to enjoy the coffee.  Even if your eyes are closed, the aroma will entice you to the beverage. Once the coffee is served, the frothy golden brown color is visually perceived. Hold the cup towards your lips, gently slurp (don't swallow straight away!),  mix with the taste-buds and the flavour reaches all areas of the tongue. Observe the mood. Now let the coffee gently trickle down the throat to complete the true spirit.  The quality of the coffee is also determined by the duration of the lingering of the flavour; the longer the better.  I have seen some people gulp it as if a ritual, without appreciating the art of sipping good coffee.

A characteristic Bangalorean will easily teach you how to have a bite of dosa and alternate it with a sip of coffee.  Agreed. That is the way you should enjoy your breakfast to be experienced!

A recent study claims that drinking coffee can help one live longer, though too much  caffeine is not advised.  I also learn that those drinking 2 - 3 cups a day were 10 per cent less likely to die from ailments like heart disease, respiratory disease, injuries, diabetes, infections ....., those drinking 4 - 5 cups per day were 12 per cent less likely to die, than non-coffee drinkers.

Why take a chance, go and grab your cuppa, right away!

Your feedback is welcome:  krs1957@hotmail.com

Respected Dr. Manmohan Singh,

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

New Delhi

Respected Sir,

Please accept my hearty greetings on your 80th birthday. Each birthday means exercising extra care.  I will still admire you no matter what others say about you. You have reached the top  slot among many of your political colleagues who have not even entered the school gates.

Sir, you are personally respected for the credentials of your technocracy.  Not many can boast of  a “Padma Vibushan” award (1987) in one’s Resume*, which is the most impressive list of awards and accomplishments.  While many economies around the world crashed, we are still relatively strong, fairly because of the economist, Dr. Manmohan Singh.  At the same time, “the load of degrees and awards is enough to be a good leader?” – a frequently echoed query.

Sir, the country is passing through a very critical phase.   It was disturbing to read a news item recently reported by “The Washington Post”: “An honourable, humble and intellectual technocrat (who) has slowly given way to a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government”.  It is open that we are suffering through a period of corrupt rule. It is sad that you have to extend kindness to kleptomaniacs.

Sir, doing a crime is punishable, but abetting a crime and/or being a mute spectator is much more severe, true?  The anguish is that a good, simple and honest man is regrettably restrained by the most corrupt and greedy. And, now acting as a shield to all the powerful backstage actors.  By the time we could arrive at the figure of 2G license scam of Rs.175,000 cr. (around USD 33 billion), the “Coalgate” popped up with an even more a staggering figure of Rs.185,000 cr.(around USD 37 billion)

Is that all? In one of the lectures I recently attended, the speaker, former Lokayuktha, Justice Santhosh Hegde  said that “in 2008, Govt. of Switzerland made a public statement that banks in Switzerland has US$1,456 billion of Indian deposits.  Interest on this total deposit alone can wipe out Indian budget deficit plus all our foreign debt, in 24 hours. Supreme Court directed  the Government of India to take the money out, noting nothing much happened after it”. That is on the enormity of the stash money.

Sir, we are concerned as to why you don’t directly speak to the people as often as you can. We are not interested if you are not a great political orator, but the nation believed that you carry conviction of the contents you convey.

Sir, your recent speech betrayed the hope when you failed to make any candid confession about the series of scams accounting for a mammoth loss to the exchequer – the financial resources much needed for the developmental activities plan.  Probably a student would say: “We know, 'money does not grow on  trees'.  Instead, you could have referred to the monstrosity of  corruption that are steadily eating into the vitals of the economy”.  The quantum of scams is seriously and severely threatening to slit your image, whose integrity was never dared to be questioned hitherto, while it is public knowledge you are the architect of reforms initiated in 1991.

Recently, I received a joke, courtesy social media: “A dentist advising the PM ‘ At least in my clinic, please open your mouth”. Another one: “ Attendees in meetings were urged to put their phones into Manmohan Singh mode”.  It pains that you have been used as an object of rididcule.   Sir, you have never been questioned of involvement in allegations.  “Silence is golden” is an outdated adage.  Silence is also inferred as consent- consent to the dealings and happenings around you.

Sir, can we expect that with your profound wisdom and meaningful  experience you will accord top priority to the most pressing problems like corruption and inflation?

What is to be done?    You know!

Why it is not done?     We don’t know!

Wishing you sound health, peace and success in your responsible work in the days to come,

Yours respectfully

C.S. Krishnamurthy

*http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/09/resume-of-dr-manmohan-singh.html
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/07/say-no-to-corruption-says-justice-hegde.html

Resume of Dr. Manmohan Singh

Resume of Dr. Manmohan Singh

http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/09/respected-dr-manmohan-singh.html

DR. MANMOHAN SINGH

PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

                                                   

                                                  ACADEMIC RECORD 

  

1962

D. Phil., Nuffield College, University of Oxford.  Topic: India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth.  [Published by Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1964]  

1957 Economic Tripos [First Class honours], University of Cambridge  

1954  M.A. Economics, Panjab University – First Class with first position in the University

1952 B.A. Economics(Hons.), Panjab University – Second Class with first  position in the University  

1950 Intermediate Panjab University – First Class with first position in the University  

1948  Matriculation, Panjab University – First class  

                                                  PRIZES AND AWARDS 

   

2000  Conferred  Annasaheb Chirmule Award by  the W.LG.  alias  Annasaheb Chirmule Trust setup by United Western Bank Limited, Satara, Maharashtra  

1999   Received H.H. Kanchi Sri Paramacharya Award for Excellence from  Shri R. Venkataraman, former President of India and Patron,  The Centenarian Trust  

1999 Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi.  

1997  Conferred Lokmanya Tilak Award by the Tilak Smarak Trust, Pune

1997  Received Justice K.S. Hegde Foundation Award for the year 1996  

1997  Awarded Nikkei Asia prize for Regional Growth by the Nihon 

Keizai Shimbun Inc. (NIKKEI), publisher of Japan’s leading business daily  

1996   Honorary Professor, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi  

1995  Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science 

Congress Association for 1994-95  

1994 Asiamoney Award, Finance Minister of the Year  

1994  Elected Distinguished Fellow, London School of Economics, Centre  for Asia Economy, Politics and Society  

1994 Elected Honorary Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, 

Oxford, U.K.  

1994  Honorary Fellow, All India Management Association  

1993    Euromoney Award, Finance Minister of the year

1993   Asiamoney Award, Finance Minister of the Year  

1987  Padma Vibhushan Award by the President of India

1986 National Fellow, national Institute of Education, N.C.E.R.T.  

1985  Elected President, Indian economic Association

1982   Elected Honorary Fellow, st. John’s College, Cambridge,

1982  Elected Honorary Fellow, Indian Institute of bankers

1976 Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

1957 Elected Wrenbury Scholar, University of Cambridge, U.K.

1955 Awarded Wright’s Prize for distinguished performance, &

St. John’s college, Cambridge, U.K.

1956  Awarded Adam Smith Prize, University of Cambridge, U.K.  

1954  Uttar Chand Kapur Medal, Panjab university, for standing first in

M.A.(Economics), panjab University, Chandigarh

1952 University Medal for standing First in B.A. Hon.(Economics),

panjab University, Chandigarh  

Recipient of Honorary Degrees of D.Litt. from :  

- Panjab University, Chandigarh  

-  Guru Nanak University, Amritsar  

-  Delhi University, Delhi  

-  Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi  

- University of Bologna, Italy  

-  University of Mysore, Mysore  

-  Chaudhary charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (D.Sc) 

- Kurukshetra University  

-  Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, patiala (D.Sc)  

- Nagarjuna University, Nagarjunanagar  

-  Osmania University, Hyderabad  

-  University of Roorkee, Roorkee (Doctor of Social Sciences)  

-   Doctor of Laws by the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada  

- Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University (formerly Agra University) - Doctor Letters degree  

- Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Deemed University)  D.Sc. (Honoris Causa)

- Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur  

                                  WORK EXPERIENCE AND POSITIONS HELD

       

May 22, 2004 – till date:   Prime Minister of India

March 21, 1998 – May 22,2004: Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha (Council of States) Parliament of  India

June, 2001:  Re-elected as member of Rajya  

Sabha for a Term of six years  

August 1, 1996 - Dec 4, 1997:  Chairman, Parliamentary Standing

Committee on Commerce, Rajya Sabha 

June 21, 1991- May 15, 1996:  Finance Minister of India  

June, 1995:  Re-elected Member of Rajya

Sabha for a term of six years  

September, 1991:     Elected Member of Rajya Sabha    

March 1991-June 1991:     Chairman, University Grants Commission  

Dec 1990 – March 1991:    Advisor to Prime Minister of India on

Economic Affairs

August 1987 – Nov 1990:       Secretary General and Commissioner,

South Commission  

Jan 1985- July 1987:      Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission

of India  

Sept 1982 – Jan 1985:        Governor, Reserve Bank of India

April 1980 – Sept 1982:       Member-Secretary, Planning

Commission, India  

Nov.1976 – April 1980:           Secretary, Ministry of Finance  

Dept. of Economic Affairs,  

Government of India  

Member [Finance], Atomic Energy  

Commission, Govt. of  India

Member [Finance], Space 

Commission, Govt. of India  

1972 – 1976:          Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of

Finance, India    

1971 – 1972:        Economic Adviser, Ministry of

Foreign Trade, India  

1969 – 1971:        Professor of International Trade, 

Delhi School of Economics,

Delhi University, India    

1966 – 1969:        UNCTAD, United Nations Secretariat,

New York  

Chief, Financing for Trade  Section

1966 : Economic Affairs Officer    

1957 – 1965         : Panjab University, Chandigarh 

 1963-65 : Professor of Economics

 1959-63 : Reader in Economics 

 1957-59 : Senior Lecturer in economics

     

                                                  OTHER ASSIGNMENTS

                                                 

Leader of the Indian delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Cyprus (1993)  

Leader of the Indian delegation to the Human Rights World Conference, Vienna (1993) 

Governor of India on the Board of Governors of the IMF and the International Bank of Reconstruction & Development (1991-95)  

Appointed by Prime Minister of India as Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (1983-84)  

Chairman, India Committee of the Indo-japan ;Joint Study Committee (1980-83)

- Leader, Indian Delegation to :  

Indo-Soviet Monitoring Group Meeting (1982)  

Indo-Soviet Joint Planning Group Meeting (1980-82)  

Aid India Consortium Meetings (1977-79)  

- Member Indian Delegation to :  

South-South Consultation, New Delhi (1982)  

Cancun Summit on North-South Issues (1981)  

Aid-India Consortium Meetings, Paris (1973-79)  

Annual Meetings of IMF, IBRD & Commonwealth 

Finance Ministers (1972-79) 

Third Session of UNCTAD, Santiago (April-May 1972)

Meetings of UNCTAD Trade & Development Board, 

Geneva (May 1971 – July 1972)

Ministerial Meeting of Group of 77, Lima (Oct.1971)

- Deputy for India on IMF Committee of Twenty on  

  International Monetary Reform (1972 – 74)  

- Associate, Meetings of IMF Interim Committee and Joint  

  Fund-Bank Development Committee (1976-80, 1982-85)

- Alternate Governor for India, Board of Governors of   

  IBRD (1976-80)  

- Alternate Governor  for India, Board of Governors of the

  IMF (1982-85)  

- Alternate Governor for India, Board of Governors, Asian

  Development Bank, Manila (1976-80)  

- Director, Reserve Bank of India (1976-80)  

- Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (1976-80)

- Participated in Commonwealth Prime Ministers Meeting,   

  Kingston (1975)  

- Represented Secretary;-General UNCTAD at several  

  inter-governmental meetings including :  

       Second Session of UNCTAD, 1968  

       Committee on Invisibles & Financing Related to Trade, 

       Consultant to UNCTAD, ESCAP and Commonwealth 

       Secretariat  

- Member, International Organizations :  

Appointed as Member by the Secretary-General, United Nations of a Group of Eminent Persons to advise him on Financing for Development (December, 2000)  

        PUBLICATIONS

(i)         Author of book “India’s Export Trends and Prospects

            for Self-Sustained Growth” 

            [Clarendon Press, Oxford University, 1964]  

(ii)        Have published a large number of articles in 

            economic journals  

            S/o. Shri Gurmukh Singh  

            Born on 26th September, 1932  

            Married in 1958 to Smt. Gursharan Kaur  

            Have three daughters

http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/09/respected-dr-manmohan-singh.html

Money and Happiness-Friends or Foes?

At an all-you-can-eat-buffet dinner in a star-hotel,  the resplendent  sight of dishes – the display of the quality, quantity and variety – psychologically  puzzles and we end up eating  less than we had mentally mapped.  Similar was the state when I stumbled upon the caption “Money and Happiness”, the main article carried by "Deccan Herald" (13/09/2012).  My instant thoughts were abundant to dabble with, but, for a moment, just drew a blank.

Check it out; if there are  a million volumes and materials on “Why money makes you happy?”,  even more are there on “Why money makes you unhappy?”  Internet imparts you good and bad  information according to your choice. A knife can chop the vegetable,  ladies’finger,  as well as  the finger of a lady.  You also know money can be used for giving charity as well as abetting crimes.

The two words, money and happiness – the spice and soul – should always be refreshing and inspiring.  While economists have given different definitions of money, the one I remember from my college days is the easiest and comfortable one: “Money is what money does” (Prof. Walkar). True?

You need money from cradle to the graveyard. If anyone says “I don’t want money”, the whole world  will be one  in dubbing him a “macro-mad”, or he is the biggest liar of the universe.  But if you have more money, you are more happy?  If there is no money, will  there be less corruption?  If some one says money may not buy happiness, I would sure like to try.  Even God gives “special appearance” only if I buy a special entrance ticket.

How much is too much?

Or how much is “enough” to attain happiness? If you specify a figure, do you have the courage to stop it at that?  Or if you don’t achieve the mark, will you be endlessly chasing the target? Finally, when you give up, you may wonder “OMG! I forgot to live”.  If a person is pessimistic and/or neurotic, no  amount of money will help him/her to be happy.  Happiness is probably a feeling you get when you are doing what you really want to  do.

Also, it is part of our psyche to always compare ourselves with others.  Thus, if I make a few hundred dollars more than my nephew or neighbor, I pretend to be happy.  But there will always be somebody who makes more than I do, and I will always find a reason to be unhappy.  May be chasing money for its own sake is destructive, but isn’t it equally damaging to have such a powerful instrument in your hands while pretending it has no importance?

Again, can money buy happiness?  Well, it can help put the right conditions in place. Is it easier to be happy if you have food to eat, clothes to  wear and a home to live in?  Name any valuable goal in your life, and a little imagination will tell you that money might help.  So earn money in a healthy, satisfying way, and spend it wisely, and you have a better chance to be happy.

I wish to share a passage from an article appeared in “Business Insider”:

“As an illustration of the striking disconnect between money and happiness, the average life satisfaction of Forbes Magazine’s 400 rich Americans was 5.8 on a 7-point scale.  Yet the average life satisfaction of Pennsylvania Amish (a religious community which shuns the conveniences of modern society to live a simpler life) is also 5.8 despite the fact that their average annual salary is several billion dollars lower”.

Happiness is, the cliché-ridden “state of mind”.  Tempted by the sight of something, we create a desire within, which in turn disturbs our otherwise calm mind.  When the desire gets fulfilled, the mind again becomes calm, not durable, but  lasts only as long as the next desire springs up.  However, since we don’t have a fixed list of wants, we can’t decide how much money is enough.  The wild goose chase goes on ……………

As some one said, "Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love can make it wag its tail".

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/278318/money-happiness.html

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Your thoughts are welcome:  krs1957@hotmail.com