Present scenario of Current Account Deficit (CAD) has placed India in a difficult position reminiscent of economic crisis of 1991. Simply put imports are more & export are less causing the Deficit. This is akin to my pension budget going haywire near month end when beer & chips evening is reduced to chips only evening!
Major component of imports that causes a distortion in CAD is petro products or oil as production in India is less than demand. As any layman would suggest production should be increased to ease supply side Well production of petroleum has obvious limitations & can't be increased so lets examine the ways & means of reducing the oil demand so as to reduce CAD. Here are some suggestions / points to think over.
All India 5-day week
All of us feel pleased to see lesser traffic on roads on weekends. Most of the offices are closed for the weekend & people are relaxed & wait for a TV show or a match, movie or social visits. In India the weekend is not a Saturdays+Sundays weekend as in developed countries. It differs in states, institutions & various organisations like banks etc. We have 0+Sunday weekend, 1/2 Saturday+Sunday weekend & we also have Saturday+Sunday weekend in some set-ups. Logic of having half working day in banks etc is not understood for it is neither here nor there. Why not declare all India services & all India establishments closed for Saturday+Sunday weekend? Pressure on fuel consumption of govt & public shall come down drastically I am sure. And one fine morning Bharat Sarkar will have to do it!
Divide India - In time zones
India is a large country in fact seventh largest country in the world by area with a maximum breadth of nearly 2000 km. The eastern state of Arunachal gets day break earlier than the farthest western point of India by nearly 40 minutes. Considering the size, India can have 2 or 3 time zones. The daylight could be utilized for saving energy & thus saving oil / electricity. It is interesting to note that time zones in India were set in 1884 - Bombay Time & Calcutta Time & difference was 39 minutes! Later on Indian Standard Time IST came in 1905 which is GMT + 5.30 hrs. It can be seen that Dhaka is 30 min ahead of India & Lahore 30 min behind. Many countries have Day Light Saving policies India has none. Lets give a thought to it.
Hail the Shale
Shale gas is a natural gas found trapped in shale formations. US pioneered with the exploration called fracking - short of hydraulic fracturing- couple of decades back. In 2000 it was 1% of US natural gas production, in 2010 it was 20% & in 2035 it is expected to be 46% as per their Energy Commision estimates. China is reported to have the largest reserve of shale gas. It may be a game changer for Oil Sheikhs! US Energy Info Admn estimated that India held 38 trillion cubic feet good enough for the energy needs for 29 years! But govt policy in this regard is awaited & actual production may take five years time. Scientists have identified 28 basins in India as having shale gas. Policy guidelines & auction process may be hidden in files like gas in shale! Hurry up Babus!
Lord Surya & the Solar Power
Indians have been sun worshipers since ancient times & now have to be reminded of his power! 80 to 90 % of India is under the sun for over 300 days in a year with enormous potential. Recently Germany came top in solar power production & it is not having that much of sunshine! India till Mar 2013 had grid connected solar power over 1600 MW as per newspaper reports. Expected to reach 10,000 MW by end 2017. As of now Charnaka Solar Park, Gujrat is the Asia's largest solar power producer with 221MW. Rapid increase in this field is order of the day. Solar powered gadgets need to be subsidized.
Wind Power is Clean Power
Here some good work has been done. India is placed fifth in Wind Power capacity in the world with Tamil Nadu topping the list of states producing wind power. Indian coast line stretches over 7500 km & southern India presents a huge potential of wind power waiting to be exploited. Hurry up folks!
Use IT Power to reduce Petro Bill
Yes use internet to order grocery & household goods, operate your bank account, pay utility bills, book tickets, book hotels, cinema shows, video conference, take up complaints on emails & get compliance on emails. No need to take your vehicles for such jobs & jam the roads. Save petro bills & help reduce CAD! Work from home be also allowed freely wherever feasible.
Cycle Days
In all metros every month or quarter or half-year there should be a cycle day in such places like Marine Drive in Mumbai, MG Road in Bangalore or Connaught Place in New Delhi. No vehicles be allowed on that day in that area. This should be fun & shall create awareness & emphasis on saving oil bill.
Let me have evening break now. Those keen on figures mentioned above may please Google it as these are mostly from newspapers.
Major component of imports that causes a distortion in CAD is petro products or oil as production in India is less than demand. As any layman would suggest production should be increased to ease supply side Well production of petroleum has obvious limitations & can't be increased so lets examine the ways & means of reducing the oil demand so as to reduce CAD. Here are some suggestions / points to think over.
All India 5-day week
All of us feel pleased to see lesser traffic on roads on weekends. Most of the offices are closed for the weekend & people are relaxed & wait for a TV show or a match, movie or social visits. In India the weekend is not a Saturdays+Sundays weekend as in developed countries. It differs in states, institutions & various organisations like banks etc. We have 0+Sunday weekend, 1/2 Saturday+Sunday weekend & we also have Saturday+Sunday weekend in some set-ups. Logic of having half working day in banks etc is not understood for it is neither here nor there. Why not declare all India services & all India establishments closed for Saturday+Sunday weekend? Pressure on fuel consumption of govt & public shall come down drastically I am sure. And one fine morning Bharat Sarkar will have to do it!
Divide India - In time zones
India is a large country in fact seventh largest country in the world by area with a maximum breadth of nearly 2000 km. The eastern state of Arunachal gets day break earlier than the farthest western point of India by nearly 40 minutes. Considering the size, India can have 2 or 3 time zones. The daylight could be utilized for saving energy & thus saving oil / electricity. It is interesting to note that time zones in India were set in 1884 - Bombay Time & Calcutta Time & difference was 39 minutes! Later on Indian Standard Time IST came in 1905 which is GMT + 5.30 hrs. It can be seen that Dhaka is 30 min ahead of India & Lahore 30 min behind. Many countries have Day Light Saving policies India has none. Lets give a thought to it.
Hail the Shale
Shale gas is a natural gas found trapped in shale formations. US pioneered with the exploration called fracking - short of hydraulic fracturing- couple of decades back. In 2000 it was 1% of US natural gas production, in 2010 it was 20% & in 2035 it is expected to be 46% as per their Energy Commision estimates. China is reported to have the largest reserve of shale gas. It may be a game changer for Oil Sheikhs! US Energy Info Admn estimated that India held 38 trillion cubic feet good enough for the energy needs for 29 years! But govt policy in this regard is awaited & actual production may take five years time. Scientists have identified 28 basins in India as having shale gas. Policy guidelines & auction process may be hidden in files like gas in shale! Hurry up Babus!
Lord Surya & the Solar Power
Indians have been sun worshipers since ancient times & now have to be reminded of his power! 80 to 90 % of India is under the sun for over 300 days in a year with enormous potential. Recently Germany came top in solar power production & it is not having that much of sunshine! India till Mar 2013 had grid connected solar power over 1600 MW as per newspaper reports. Expected to reach 10,000 MW by end 2017. As of now Charnaka Solar Park, Gujrat is the Asia's largest solar power producer with 221MW. Rapid increase in this field is order of the day. Solar powered gadgets need to be subsidized.
Wind Power is Clean Power
Here some good work has been done. India is placed fifth in Wind Power capacity in the world with Tamil Nadu topping the list of states producing wind power. Indian coast line stretches over 7500 km & southern India presents a huge potential of wind power waiting to be exploited. Hurry up folks!
Use IT Power to reduce Petro Bill
Yes use internet to order grocery & household goods, operate your bank account, pay utility bills, book tickets, book hotels, cinema shows, video conference, take up complaints on emails & get compliance on emails. No need to take your vehicles for such jobs & jam the roads. Save petro bills & help reduce CAD! Work from home be also allowed freely wherever feasible.
Cycle Days
In all metros every month or quarter or half-year there should be a cycle day in such places like Marine Drive in Mumbai, MG Road in Bangalore or Connaught Place in New Delhi. No vehicles be allowed on that day in that area. This should be fun & shall create awareness & emphasis on saving oil bill.
Let me have evening break now. Those keen on figures mentioned above may please Google it as these are mostly from newspapers.
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| Wind power is clean power |
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