Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
DIGITAL TRANSACTION
Digital transaction: ___ ____ Prologue: History of banking dates back to 2000 B.C. Archaeologists believe that depositing and lending have always been human way of business and economy during renowned Roman, Chinese, and Indian empires. In fact, if we really think about it, there can actually be no trusted way of keeping earned money safe to be used when required other than a trusted group that also provides interest on such deposits. From that time banks and their ways have evolved tremendously. Computing revolution has been the biggest step forward here. For what was confined to signatures and psychical presence, has now been replaced by plastic money and virtual presence. John Shepherd-Barron, the Scotsman is credited with inventing the world’s first automated cash machine. Shepherd-Barron said once that he came up with the idea of the cash machines after being locked out of his bank. Plastic bank cards had not […]
Development of Nation
Development of Nation: _____ _____ Prologue: When evolution of human species occurred, all humans all over the world were same. Most people have lost sight of the fact that a short time ago—very short in terms of the life span of the earth—people were nomadic food gatherers, garnering an existence as best they could from what nature threw their way. It has been only about 10,000 years since the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, when people changed from food gatherers to food producers. Throughout most of subsequent human history, civilizations have been based on a comfortable life for a privileged minority and unremitting toil for the vast majority. Only within the past two centuries, ordinary people are able to expect leisure and high consumption standards, and that only in the world’s economically developed countries. The total major countries of the world are 188 out of which only 32 are developed and remaining […]
NET NEUTRALITY
NET NEUTRALITY: _ _ I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s remark: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty. We all declare for liberty, but in using the same word we do not mean the same thing.” Substitute ‘net neutrality’ for ‘liberty’, and that’s where we are today. The Internet has unleashed innovation, enabled growth, and inspired freedom more rapidly and extensively than any other technological advance in human history. Its independence is its power. Net neutrality means internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all data on internet equally. The ISPs have structural capacity to determine the way in which information is transmitted over the internet and the speed at which it is delivered. And the present internet network operators, principally large telephone and cable companies—have an economic incentive to extend their control over the physical infrastructure of the internet to leverage their control of internet […]
Economic Development vis-à-vis Environment:
Economic Development vis-à-vis Environment: _ _ Prologue: “When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money,” Native American saying. A quote by Richard Wilkinson describes economic development as a development of more intensive ways to exploit the natural environment. We hurt the environment in more ways than you could possibly imagine. Misguided construction, irrigation and mining can deface the natural landscape and disrupt important ecological processes. Aggressive fishing and hunting can deplete entire stocks of species. Human migration can introduce alien competitors to native food chains. Greed can lead to catastrophic accidents and laziness to environmentally destructive practices. Will our children and grandchildren live in a better world, or will economic and social conditions decline? Every culture has worried over this question—often for good reason. One would think that modern man, living amid ever-rising material comforts […]
GREED
_ GREED: _ ____ Prologue: Some years ago, they asked convicted bank robber Willie Sutton why he robbed banks. He answered simply, “Because that is where the money is!” I believe that in all too many cases; if you examined the motivation of many of the politicians for seeking public office, the answer might well be: “Because that is where the money is!” The IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal has put India’s cricket establishment in the dock and left fans wondering whether the sport will ever regain its lost image as a gentleman’s game. Many international cricketers have gone to jail for match/spot fixing and anything on cricket field can be orchestrated by bookies for whom the smell of money and more & more money is more fragrant than all the legendary scents. Robert and Edward Skidelsky, in their book, ‘How much is enough?’ hold the view that wealth is […]
