Transaction Charges waived off till 31st December 2016 on RuPay cards

Yesterday RBI announced waving off of RuPay Credit and Debit cards transaction charges. This step was required to remove conflict of interest with bank disbursing money because they were not disbursing cash to promote electronic transactions on which they get commission. I don't know if this decision apply to VISA, MasterCard and American Express cards also. This decision should be enforced on all banks and cards.

13th Day of demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee notes

Today 21st November 2016 is 13th day of decommissioning of 500 rupee and 1000 rupee notes. Today I went to Kailash Hospital, Noida to see a doctor. The OPD charge was 500 rupee but they refused to take old 500 rupee note. Although hospitals are required to take old 500 rupee notes, Kailash Hospital( A private hospital) refused to take it. Luckily they were accepting payment by credit card and I paid by credit card. It is not like that Kailash Hospital is an isolated case. Refusal of private hospitals to accept old currency notes is in news also.

After visit to hospital I went to Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-18, Noida to withdraw 10000 rupee from my saving account. I reached the bank at 12:00 PM and I found that no one with withdrawal  request was being allowed inside the bank because bank did not have any cash to dispense. None of the ATM were working. This place have more than 20 ATMs but none of them was working.

Banks are not dispensing the cash they are having with them to force people to use online transactions and debit card/credit card payments. Banks are charging commission to merchants as high as 5% for accepting credit/debit card payments. Banks are having conflict of interest with dispensing cash from bank for which they don't get any commission. Banks don't dispense cash so that they can make money by commission from electronic transaction merchants.

Today online wallet company Paytm has waved off transfer to bank account charge which was 4% till 31st December 2016. It is a welcome step but it came 13 days after demonetization. Government should make a law which prohibit banks and online wallet companies from charging commission to merchants. The merchants who are accepting credit/debit cards have increased price of the commodities because other shops who don't accept credit/debit card are not in competition. The merchants who have started accepting credit cards recently have increased price of commodities to cover for commission they need to pay to banks for transactions.

I was lucky enough to withdraw 2500 rupee from ATM from my two account because luckily I found one ATM which was being refilled and I happen to be a earlier few customers. After that I am not able to find a working ATM or a bank with cash to dispense. I am left with 200 rupee with me now. 

Currency change in India

On 8th November 2016 8:00 PM prime minister of India Narender Modi announced that old 500 rupee and 1000 rupee notes will be discontinued in 4 hours. I checked my wallet and found out that I had one hundred rupee note, a fifty rupee note and five 10 rupee note. So only 200 rupee with me. The banks and ATMs were shutdown for next day 9th November 2016 so I need to survive on 200 rupee only. Although patrol pumps, Hospitals and Medical Shops were allowed to accept 500 and 1000 rupee notes till 11th November 2016.

Luckily Mar car had enough patrol for next few days not everyone have a car to commute. Many people travel by auto and taxis for them 200 rupee will not be sufficient even for a day. This step of government was necessary for curbing black money and counterfeit notes so I thought that it is right step even if it create some inconvenience to people. Banks opened on 10th October 2016 but ATMs were closed. Banks were exchanging up to rupee 4000 per person. I asked my wife to go to bank and get the money exchanged but she could not go to bank due to heavy rush in the bank. I still thought that banks and government are doing their best to serve people and at least some people are getting money. But later I came to know that banks are giving two 2000 rupee notes for 4000 rupee. A 2000 rupee note is too big a denomination to bring liquidity into market. 500 rupee notes are already out of market and for converting a 2000 rupee note to change 20 hundred rupee notes will be required. If a person buy 200 rupee products from market he will get 18 hundred rupee notes in return. Shopkeeper will not be having that much change. So 2000 rupee notes are bringing no liquidity to market.

For first few days government should issue only 100 rupee notes and new 500 rupee notes in market to restore liquidity into market but it is doing opposite of it. This is wrong and government should have planned better. It is issuing 2000 rupee notes into market. 2000 rupee notes should be issued later on when government raises withdrawal limit on bank accounts. Some people are saying that great economists have taken this decision and I don't understand economics so I should not criticize decision of great economists. But I feel that these economist who feel that 2000 rupee note with curb black money and 500 rupee note will encourage  corruption are fools. Economics is not rocket science which only few people know and kept a top secret. Economics is something which everyone understand. Issuing 2000 rupee note for first few days is a bad decision and it is producing liquidity crunch in market.

Now few thing on how I am surviving with 200 rupee. I borrowed 600 rupee from my son's piggy bank. One of our neighboring shopkeeper is still accepting 500 rupee note and we are buying milk from him. This might be illegal but it is necessary for maintaining liquidity in market. I support government's decision to change the currency note but government should infuse liquidity in market by issuing 100 rupee and 500 rupee notes instead of 2000 rupee note.  

Suicide by ex-army man and OROP row

Retired Army man Ram Kishan Grewal committed suicide on November 2, 2016 because he was getting less pension. 

The 70-year-old ex-serviceman was involved in a protest for implementation of the promised OROP scheme. He was leading a protest and reportedly reached Delhi on Monday to meet the defence minister with an application stating that despite the implementation of the OROP, the soldiers have not received the increased pension as per the sixth and seventh pay commission along with the due arrears.

He committed suicide by ingesting “Sulfas”, a pesticide, while he and 10 others were returning to Jantar Mantar on Tuesday after failing to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and defence minister Manohar Parrikar over the non-implementation of OROP. He died later that day at RML Hospital.

Grewal was working for social welfare and had won several accolades for his contribution to social service and for changing the face of his village ‘Bamla’ in Haryana. He was also awarded the ‘Nirmal Gram Puruskar’ by the then President, Pratibha Patil, in 2008.

Bamla village became the first few ‘Nirmal Grams’ in Haryana. The government of India had launched this award for fully sanitised and open defecation-free Gram Panchayats in 2003 and gave away the first awards in 2005 as a component of its flagship scheme ‘Total Sanitation Campaign’.

It is difficult to believe that such a man will commit suicide without fighting for his rights. His suicide shows that he lost all hopes for getting his dues. Government is coming up with excuses that it was calculation error on part of State Bank of India. But why did it happen? Why was error not corrected even after repeated requests from ex-serviceman? Why was bribe demanded from ex-serviceman for correcting calculation error? Why did ministers of Modi government refused to meet ex-serviceman? Why have government not taken any action against officials responsible for calculation mistake? These are some questions which needs to be answered. Why should we not hold prime minister responsible for this calculation mistake which took life of an ex-serviceman when we give credit of any street being cleaned by sweepers? We don't say that street was cleaned by sweepers and PM have nothing to do with it, we say that PM has put all procedures in place to force sweepers to do their duty instead. Now if PM has not put any check on corrupt officials of government and State Bank of India and allowed them to get bribe from ex-servicemen by doing deliberate calculation mistakes and correcting them only after getting bribe then why should he not be held responsible for it. 

Terror attacks and call for boycott of films by Pakistani actors

Now a days debate is going on issue of call to boycott of Karan Johar's movie "Ye dil hai muskil" featuring a Pakistani actor. Some people  are saying that cultural exchange with Pakistan should not stop because of terror attack on Army camp in Uri, Kashmir. Same people were saying that India should wage a war with Pakistan when some tax payers were killed in terror attack on Taj Hotel in Mumbai. Are soldier's life less valuable than life of a tax payer's life?

We Indian's need to learn from USA in terms of respect for life of a soldier. USA people consider soldiers life more valuable than tax paying citizens. They don't let artistic freedom come in the way of their patriotism. I was in USA when second war of USA with Iraq started. One famous singer of USA commented against the President and people all radio channels stopped playing her songs, people stopped buying her CDs and she was forced to apologize to people of USA for her comments.

We Indian people don't care for our brave brothers who are fighting for our protection. We think that since we are paying them salary it is their duty to die for us and we don't have any duty towards our soldiers. This mentality must change. Soldiers don't die for salary but for honor of mother land and for protection of us and we shameless creature can't even afford to miss a movie produced by our enemy.

It is not a coincidence that Karan Johar picked a Pakistani Actor for his movie. The Pakistani actor was chosen because Dawood Ibrahim put a precondition for financing Karan Johar's movie that he should take Pakistani Actor for his movie. People ask me how do I know that and I should file a case against Karan Johar if I think it is true. I would like to say that I know that more than 80% of policemen are corrupt and they take bribe from Auto driver, road side vendors etc. and I have still not filed even a single case against any of the policeman. Does it prove that all policemen are honest, just because I have not filed a case against them? Same way if I have not filed a case against Karan Johar it does not prove that his movie is not being financed by Dawood Ibrahim. You can see the movie script and make out who is financing the movie. If Indian people boycott the movie "Ye dil hai muskil" it will be a big blow to Dawood Ibrahim and his agents like Karan Johar. I will not watch any movie of Pakistani Actor even if it is a master piece. 

India takes revenge of killing of 17 soldiers

Today India carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir to destroy terror camps in reaction to killing of 17 Indian  soldiers by Pakistani terrorists. Pakistan has denied this news and is saying that there had been a case of cross border firing only. This is expected from Pakistan because they can't admit that they were running terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

I fully trust Indian Army's press conference in which they said that they carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. I am proud of my Army and Government today. I am even ready for a war between India and Pakistan if tension escalates further. I am ready to pay 5% extra tax to finance cost of war. A nation can survive only if citizens are ready to make sacrifice for the nation. A nation where citizens are interested only in there selfish need can't survive. Indian public should raise above there selfish need and support our soldiers. Soldier's life is a precious as life of a income tax payer's life. How can we let soldier's die and protect the tax payers? Why should we be afraid of paying extra tax if war brake out when we try to revenge killing of 17 soldiers? Why can't we pay extra tax when we expect soldiers to give there life in protecting us?

My decision not to send my children to Christian school

Today I am writing about my decision not to send my children to any Christian school. I took this decision despite fact that fee in Christian schools are lower than other private school. I did never apply to any Christian school for admission. I have two children one boy who is studying in class 4 and a girl who will start going in Nursery class from April 1st next year.

Reasons for this decision:  I took this decision based on examples of discrimination against Hindu student and misinformation given about Hindu religion in these schools. I am listing few of these examples here:

1. Hindu gods are not capable of helping their devotees but Jesus is: I heard from one of my colleague whose niece  was going to Don Bosco school Delhi that one day school bus broke down on the road and the driver of the bus asked children to pray to their God to fix the bus. Children were asked to pray to Bhagwan Ram but the bus did not start. Children were asked to pray to Wahe Guru but the bus did not start. After that they were asked to pray to Jesus to fix the bus and the bus started after that. Impressionable mind of children got an impression that Hindu gods are incapable of helping them but Jesus is capable of helping them. These kind of stories I have heard from many people and sometimes these are even published in newspapers also. I can't close my eyes and hope that these kind of things will not happen to my child if I send my child to these schools.
2. Misinformation about Hindu religion: Somerville School Noida few years back staged a play on Ramayan  in which Bagwan Ram, Sita and Lakshman was depicted as characterless and Ravana was as good character person. People objected to it when they came to know about it from their children and even a FIR was registered in this case and this news was published in newspapers. This school is still running under same principal and no action is taken against people who staged the play.
3. Misinformation about Hindu Religion St. Xavier School: When I was in my collage one of my classmate from St. Xavier School told me that in Vedas it is written that incest is recommended for good citizen. I was shocked and amazed that Vedas are in curriculum of a christian school and not in my government school. I inquired about in which classes Vedas are being taught in St. Xavier School. He told me that this information was given to him by his English teacher and Vedas were not in their curriculum. How come nothing about Vedas were being taught in the school but this kind of misinformation which will cause hatred for Hindu religion was being taught in the school.
4. Children are taught things which are not suitable for their age: One of my classmate from a christian school told me that they shown video of how abortion are carried out and how unborn baby is killed and taken out from womb of the mother. Does it help in stopping abortion to show in gory detail how abortion are carried out? If they want to campaign against  abortion they can just say that killing a unborn baby is equal to killing any other human. Why this gory details were being shown to children.
5. Christian schools are center of corruption: Christian school fees are lower than other schools and it is projected that these schools don't make money but education is being subsidized by donation of christian charity organization and that is why 50% seats are reserved for christian children. It is not true, One of my colleague went to Somerville School Noida and he was asked to pay 50,000 rupee to a Christian Charity to get his daughter admitted to school. This is nothing but corruption they are forcing parent to pay bribe to Christian Charity to get admission for their children. The amount paid by Hindu parents to this charity will come back to school as Christian Benevolence. These schools are running on Hindu money and working against Hindu religion. Fee in these schools are low because these schools are getting subsidized land and other aid from government. On the other hand schools run by Hindu organisation don't get any subsidy or aid.
6. It is not as if there is no discrimination with poor christian: The schools which are forcing Hindu parents to donate money to Christian Charity are also forcing christian parents to donate money to Christian Charity. One of the christian student who was denied admission in St. Stephen College under quota for christian filed a case in court because he was denied admission on the bases that he was not member of a particular Christian society which charges annual subscription fee. Any poor christian who can't afford to be member of these societies don't get admission. St. Stephen Collage gets crores in grant from collage and still discriminates against majority who pay taxes for the grant received by this collage.

I am OK if I do need to spend few thousand extra on education of my children and I am also OK if they get 5% less marks in their 12th class exam. But I am not OK with my children's mind being polluted by these Anti-Hindu schools.