I AND MY WORDS

I had attended a workshop on REC mechanism on June 17, 2011 in Delhi organized by the National Load Despatch Centre, which is supposed to be the nodal agency for this mechanism. Having started in 2010, it was indeed a unique learning experience to hear first hand from people involved in the process including people AB Power Infrastructure, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and National Board of Irrigation and Power as well as the representatives of Indian Power Exchanges (yes, we have two of those as well!) talk about the policy, the teething issues and listening to people clear their doubts and give their suggestions, which were duly noted. Any typical trade mechanism in the world is based on Coasian economics, about which I had discussed briefly here . In the case of the REC mechanism, the tradeable property or externality identified is the environmental credential associated with green energy, and it is a trade in this benefit which is surplus in some states while non-existe

Debate over the method to tackle environmental issues has been under debate since the eighteenth century, when Adam Smith came out with the Bible of Capitalism "The Wealth of Nations" whereby he argued an absolute free hand to markets with the firm belief that the markets will find the solution to every problem. This can be argued to be a novel position with respect to environmental issues, as till then laws were passed in England for curbing pollution (or at least the visual aspects of it). Though Marx and Engels did believe in the absolute control of the State, a middle path alternative to incentives and State control really turned up in the nineteen twenties, with A.L. Pigou coming out with arguably the Socialis't Holy Book, "The Economics of Welfare". He argued consistently for both aspects, saying that while it is okay for enterprises to make profits, to tackle problems arising due to industrial activities, profits must be taxed and the monies turned around

What should India's energy policy look like? There has been endless debate and countless number of posturings people on every corner of this quadrilateral have adopted. However, we all fail to miss the woods for the trees. History is a great teacher, and we should certainly look back at world history to look at the curious case of Denmark to understand where it succeeded while others failed. I remember sitting in class when Mr. Benjamin Sovacool was passionately discussing Denmark's conscious shift towards renewable energy that started way back in 1973 after the oil shock caught them with their pants down. I confess to not having thought too much of it then. Since then, however, a lot of water has flown under the bridge, and looking at things as they stand now, Mr. Sovacool stands vindicated. One should look at the Denmark model of energy self reliance and how they consciously moved their national grid from being dependent on fossil fuels towards being one dominated by renewabl

I am a fool for believing that people should care about each other. Truth is, we always were a selfish lot of creatures, and will always be. Helping each other is of no use, as we all look for ways to benefit from each other and go our separate ways. Being an idiot to believe that people can be good to each other, can come forward to help each other is just loads of bullshit.

What is the idea of India? I have been struggling with the idea for a few years now. I talked to people who think on these lines, who themselves, being of the same age group, have been grappling with the idea of India, and what it means to us, to them and to me. And yet, none of us have been able to find a definitive answer to it. It is almost like the Hindu philosophy of the Upanishads, which keep saying ‘Neti, Neti’ (‘Not that, not that’). The only answer to each clue that cropped up in our investigations was that this is not it. Is India the idea of geography? Maybe; maybe not. People from other countries said it must have been really difficult to attend school geography about our country, with so many states, cities, towns, climates, vegetation types. We all eat different varieties of rice, and yet all of us eat rice! We seek maize for different purposes, and yet it is inescapable that we eat maize. We seek barley and wheat for different purposes, and yet the fact that we eat them

What really is a nation? There is no standard answer. You only have an idea of what constitutes a nation. But the idea varies depending on your demography, your geography, your language and culture and a million other factors that exist, and will continue to exist as long as humanity exists on this planet. My favorite author, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore had written in his most political novel ever, Gora "The idea of the Nation is one of the most powerful anaesthetics that man has invented which is individual and spiritual, and is untainted by racialism or religious orthodoxy." A nation is much greater than me or anyone else who reads this long boring monologue. A nation is a collective of consciences, of people who come together and unite against the ills of society; who unite to fight discrimination, who address grievances of their own and who move forward together while attempting to ensure that no one is left behind. A nation is much bigger than just a race, a culture or

Experts scratching their heads, said one 'expert' from Singapore on Times Now, when asked about the Annual Union Financial Budget 2011 and what one should make out of it. This perhaps was a good way to sum up what was going on in the ramble of a speech that Pranabda (my favorite politician by far) dished out for three hours on a stretch, where he barely drank a drop of water, and bravely marched on, reading out page after page of absolute garbles (not to be mistaken with garbage, for Pranabda's accent makes it difficult to understand what he really means to say). Social spending remains nearly the same, especially for NREGA, but taxing hospitals restaurants with AC? Seriously? What are you trying to achieve? Rob the poor people further? Naina Lal Kidwai pointed out that the budget sends a green signal. The only green that I saw was the green of money that is being robbed from my pockets all the time. SO many taxes, and yet there is no improvement on services. In fact, India