Mr. Jaitely sits on the cusp of one of the greatest stories, which could be told about Indian financial myths. The myth is that India is a great nation, a golden bird, and the reality is that it can become one, only with the greatest effort. The latest Socio-Economic census reveals a rural nation mired in dire poverty, and that one out of three families living in villages, is landless and depends on manual labor for livelihood. Furthermore skills and education are severely lacking as 23.52 per cent rural families have no literate adult above 25 years, suggesting a poor state of education among rural masses. Housing needs herculean work as 23.7 million (13.25 per cent) families in villages, live in houses of one room, with ‘kaccha’ walls and roof.

The employment and opportunity index is super low as only 4.6 per cent of all rural households in the country, pay income tax. This is mainly due to landless labor seeking subsistence level living, seeking for sources of income, 91.6 million households (51.14 per cent) depend on manual casual labor, followed by cultivation (30.10 per cent), often unirrigated, and off the grid, and depending on the vagaries of the monsoon. This is what I would call, an opportunity of a millennium for growth and development. Mr. Jaitely now holds the reins of discipline and liberalization, for the success of what has always been a soft state economy; where more opportunities have been lost and squandered, than conquered and scaled.

To have the capability and financial wherewith all to successfully lead, the next revolution in Independence and democratization, of the people of India; is to raise the plight of these 100 million households, to a lower middle class urban standard. These people are landless and suffer from disguised employment, in a poor agrarian economy, which will provide the massive wave of labor; required, for the service and industrial society, which India needs to become. The gypsy has laid out the cards on the forecasting table, and the wise will read the tea leaves, and give their opinions and prophesies of doom and gloom, at this grim reality.

I on the other hand say that this can be converted through education, training, empowerment and political will, into the next big wave of development of humanity. By pulling these poorest of the poor by their bootstraps, and micro funding and settling them into the role of individual craftsmen, he can raise them from poverty. By increasing spending on the new smart cities, and infrastructure required, these workers are readily available to labor on the modernization of India projects. The scale of the need is tremendous, and at the same time, the demands on finance will be the only boost, that can bring respite to these unfortunate souls.

The myth will go that once upon a time India was so poor, that this census came out after seven or eight decades; and the government was embarrassed by the data, but now the data is leading us from strength to strength. If the target is financial development of India, then I think sir, that you have found your real target, and focus on these 100 million households for their financial inclusions. Indian GNP can only go up, if GDP goes up, and by investing heavily now on inclusion, education, empowerment, you will raise the plight of over a billion people. The opportunity has never been brighter and the path more clear, that only liberalization of trade and the economy, can take India forward.

You already have their digital accounts or can create them, and can start the greatest Keynesian distribution of income to these households directly. Guide, enable, fund, trust, empower each household, and a million stars will emerge, on the Indian economic map. Subsidize them, provide scholarships, skill training funds and schemes, anything to get them moving, higher up the economic scale. The world needs good healthy teachers, scientists, healthcare, services and social workers and these millions can be that future generation. The youth of India is its greatest gift, and should not be squandered on the anvil of economic backwardness. digitize, modernize, include and then set free should be the motto for the future to be rosy.

As income and taxes grow, more can be done with the same initial investments, as the money grows in the famous multiplier effect, as it spreads through a productive society. Just unleash the animal spirits of the markets, and sit back and let nature takes its course, as human ingenuity and perseverance will prevail. Give the money of the people, back to the people, and let them decide where to invest and fund their livelihood, if you cannot provide the employment. The past may have failed us, but the future is ours to shape; and opportunities like this come rarely, and must be seized with grim reality. Take the radical steps to fight poverty at its root, which is the ignorance, isolation and total dependence of these household on external help. Take the first steps to help them directly, and you will be pleasantly surprised, that they will help themselves faster; than the experts can say’ Socio Economic and Caste Census of India’. Create the double digit growth model that is on your paper, into a reality that blooms from the depths of their despair.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/47921972.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Today I take stock of my wonderful life and find that there were so many opportunities when I could have let my inner fires blaze up and shine for the entire world to see. Each of us has a unique perspective to life and each one of us has our own universe to live in. It is up to each one of us to find ones life’s purpose and then use it to leave our mark on everything around us. Artists do it through their art, philosophers through their world view and authors through their writings. Each of us has his or her own unique gift and it is up to oneself to feed this inner fire or to let it be blanked by our circumstances.

Those of us who can stay true to our inner calling can still make something out of our life. It is not up to others to define our life but only we have this mastery. The safest route is the one society shows where you follow its norms and stay within its limits. The boldest path is to strike off on one’s own and follow the path that no one else sees and to hack our way to where we want to go irrespective of what other may say or do. The middle path is where we confirm to society, but still do not lay down your soul to it; and stand tall in our own beliefs as nothing says it is me, till I square my shoulders and face up to society, and fight its ills.

When I arrive at my chosen place, what I want to see or do is entirely up to me. I can walk along the shore of the beach and wade into the water of the ocean, and dwell in the life of the eternal waves and count my blessings. I can hike the mountain trails and admire the vistas and the forests, and seek higher knowledge. I can enter the dark night and awaken to beautiful dreams, as who is this dreamer and what is this reality, but only a figment of our imagination. I can enter a relationship and make one’s companion the most beautiful and cherished one, as after all I was put on this earth only to admire your loveliness warts and all.

This journey I realize is not a destination to eternity but only a path to oneself. Where do all the beings go once they have completed their journey and why do we not sit with them when they want us and share the warmth of their inner glow. I know some who gained the world and still lost themselves in the stiffness of what they had become. I know other who lost everything and yet were rich beyond measure as their beliefs did not dessert them. The true being is the one who blossoms in his own light and needs no other. We seek their strength and need their love for in them we find the spark that we know we each had. Sometimes this spark is all we shelter in the storm of our life as we know if we lose it than all is lost.

Do not despair when the spark is weak as I give you hope that you can rekindle it and let it grow. I give you faith in yourself as there is strength in you that can mold the universe around your little finger if you try. Reignite that fire and your life will become meaningful again, as there is nothing holding you back but yourself. Shine on as the glow inside is the power of life, that all of us possess. I sit alone yet I contemplate the ever expanding universe, and see it clearly in my own way. No one else can come and sit with you and see the same view, so contemplate and smile as this was all made just for you.

Be happy as what is ours none can take away and that which is not ours does not factor into our happiness. Meditate on the now as the past and future are irrelevant and only a maya of karma or an illusion that distracts from the eternal truth. This I know, so pray Om shanti as peace is ours to have and to give. Do not expect others to understand your fire or appreciate it. Be blissful that it is only I who act, and only I who succeeds in this glory that is my life.

One may have a blazing hearth in one’s soul, and yet no one ever comes to sit by it. -Vincent van Gogh, painter (30 Mar 1853-1890)

In our everyday existence it is often easy to forget that we are humans and as such have certain dreams and hopes that we internalize. As desire for betterment lies within each of us, we strive in our own ways to achieve the fulfillment; of these desires. It is when we get obsessed with these outcomes, only then we start to face problems. When we start clinging to our lover not for pleasure, but for filling some unfilled desire; then the relationships are bound, to get into trouble. Our subconscious mind creates phobias and neurosis where we get trapped into doing actions, which continue to take us away from our desired results.

The masculine force comes up against the female libido and it is bound to fail, as the female is the stronger of the species and can reject the advances and live happily. We cannot make a woman happy; as it is not a happiness that we can provide, as it has to come from inside her. She has her survival skills honed in, and has a support system from her fellow survivors; and they form a formidable network, which men can try to influence, but can never rule. A woman creates her own space and if we are lucky then she allows us into it, and for that we should be eternally grateful. It is the male that needs the female, and not the other way around, and as such we men can never understand, what makes a woman happy? We can only learn to live in the moments, when we come upon a space where we can interact; and enjoy the desires, that a true union creates.

So a new year is approaching and as H D Thoreau pointed out “Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.”

Let us awake to a new day where we are truly aware and ready to use our knowledge for compassion, love and peace. Whether it is the freedom of expression, or the equality of all beings; we owe it to our reality, and strive for only that which is good.  As a New Year’s resolution we can try to give up one of our phobias or neurosis and try to align with our innermost consciousness, which allows us to create hope. Hope is that quality that can raise our aspirations, and make us strive; against unbeatable odds and win. Life is to be lived fully and with all our might. If we lose a series of battles, then instead of despair; we need to relight the beacon of hope, which will lead us to victory in the war of an idealistic existence.

As each one of us looks back to 2014 remember not what we have lost, but what we have gained. We have lost loved ones and loved possessions, but it should not make us weak. We need to strive to renounce all these false realities and cravings, and learn to live with ourselves. Our vast joy comes from the narrowing of the gap between our desires and their fulfillment. The alcoholic cannot just not drink, but needs to get to the root cause of the reasons that are driving him\her to drink. The battle is in the mind and not in the physical world, as a drink is just a crutch we use. To blame others for being the root cause of my unhappiness is a mindset, I need to go beyond. For a true awakening I need to take responsibility for my own actions, and only then everything else falls into place.

Come take this first step with me on the coming new day. Give our women space to live, and then request a place in her created space; and all our happiness and fullfillment of desires will flow from there. Live in this moment and do not let the past rule your actions, as each one of us is a new being, and can take a new road. Open our heart to compassion and give up our clinging to our needs, and become one with our current reality. When the future approaches, face it fearlessly; as the only constraint we have on our achievements, is our self. Learn to lift our spirit as the sun is only a star, but when we say the Gayatri Mantra, we meditate on its life giving force, and then we can strive to be; like it, and bring life to those around us. May we shine like the sun and may the year bring us all that our heart truly desires!

In celebration of the Press Release from Abbott Press, I am happy to announce the giveaway of 10 books for my US fans. Those of you who have read it have given me an amazing amout of 5 star reviews; and I request those of you who are reading it now, to please add your reviews and comments. You can post them on Amazon, Goodreads and Google, or any other site thatyou prefer, to get the word out to your friends. Please join me in celebrating the release of Lights:Despair, Faith and Hope on Broadway by clicking on the following link; to get the free copy and enjoy the tale of New York and Vera Lights, and her family’s hopes, dreams and universal aspirations for a better life!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/109008-lights-despair-faith-and-hope-on-broadway

On this day: 1920 – A bomb in a horse wagon exploded (aftermath pictured) in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38 people and injuring 400 others.
It is now rumored that we are fast approaching or have already passed, the income inequality that existed in the roaring 1920’s, in New York.The robber barons ruled the markets; in a frenzy of railroad, property and kerosene; that led to speculative roller coasters in the markets. J P Morgan became the banker of last resort, when the great depression hit a decade later on Wall Street, destroying many of the the barons, and bringing untold misery worldwide.

Unless we reverse course and take political action, and right this direction soon, we are headed for trouble. We have to start to provide education and employment to the many; at fair wages, or, we may be heading for anarchy in the streets again. We had a taste from the protestors after the great recession;and if we do not raise the minimum wage, solve immigration issues, and have a more equitable distribution of income, the problems will only increase. There is no economic reason for a 300 times disparity; between the President of a corporation, and his associates. We have to alter course, or we may be headed for an urban jungle; where states can’t raise enough taxes from the long suffering and dwindling middle class, for essential city services. When the fabric of society starts to rip; it can have very unintended consequences, as seen in the fall of past cities.

Today we have billionaires and then a lower level of society; living at, or slightly above, the poverty line. Who will provide them solace and comfort and a warm place to stay, if they cannot make a living wage. We have the means to reduce poverty; as per the UN, and just the political will is lacking. New York is capable of changing and showing the way, to a more just and equitable society, as it has done in its history before; when the unions were strong, and labor productive.We just need to have the political will to move forward.

In the early morning, the light danced on the waves; and though the towers are gone, there is a strange magical quality in the air. Hoping that time has made me whole again, I come to say goodbye to the past, from across the Hudson. The froth from the waves is a delight; as it ebbs and flows, to nature’s rhythms. The waves hurl themselves on the rocks; where I stand in glee, reaffirming life. I smile at their constant lapping on the shore, as if challenging me to join them in their eternal dance, to the joy of life. The Hudson looks beautiful; and the city is bright in the clear September day. I am happy to turn away; to move on to better things in life, and leave this past behind. There is a spring in my step and the day has just begun!
I return at night to walk Casper, but now in the darkened city the mood is different and more somber, and the glee is gone. We know the towers are gone, but why do I see the reflection in the water of the North and South towers, from where they had stood? My mind is playing tricks on me I know, so I take a photograph to reaffirm the dark mood it lights. I realize that I may have tried to walk away but my subconscious will not let it go, and will not let it pass, and even the camera remembers. I say goodbye to my colleagues again, and turn away; but it clings to my memory, like a faded photo. I realize that even though I may be whole now; a piece of me, will remain here in these grounds forever. I walk away slowly; as Casper looks at me sadly, and know that life is not always, what it appears to be. Our Hope and Faith may be sorely tested, but we must gather our strengths and move on, as time waits for no one. This night is going to be a long one I know, and all I have to do is await the dawn. Surely my conscience will raise the light in the morrow, from this dark despair…

https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/940336-meet-author-rajiv-kapoor
Neighborhoods meet and greet the author Rajiv Kapoor of the literary fiction book called Lights: Despair, Faith and Hope on Broadway. Light refreshments, Pizza and drinks.

Over 470 fans requested my book Lights: Despair, Faith and Hope on Broadway and the 5 winners will be getting their copies soon.
Please buy your copy at Amazon or Abbott Press and enjoy the tale of Vera Lights and her family as they grow up in a decadent and depressed New York. Please share, add your ratings, and reviews; to encourage its sales and distribution!

Looking at the stranger in the mirror, I looked back at the journey that had brought us to this separate reality. I looked hard to find the young boy, looking at the world from behind his mother’s sari, in amazement at all the wondrous things around him. I tried to find the young school boy; who was the first to raise his hand in Mrs. Hala’s class, eager to answer the questions, on obscure geography topics, and couldn’t see him. I looked for the singles tennis champion of his college; who was fit and healthy and could not recognize this stranger, who stared back at me old and greying. I look for myself and find a hollow fragment instead.
Life is full of change and we remain trapped in our old reality, while everything around us has moved on. We become strangers to ourselves; as what we are, is not what we believe we are. Slowly the journey over the years shreds us of our innocence, and our enthusiasm for life. There is no more the wonder of it all; but just the need to get on with it, and to survive another day. Slowly a cynicism builds up; that repeated blows from our family, friends, co-workers and society, have caused to harden our hearts, and lose our souls.
Relationships change and the people we love are lost in time, and people we hate are constantly in our face. We allow ourselves to remain trapped in this deep well of unhappiness and despair, when a single step could take us away from it all. The will to build new loving relationships, becomes too overwhelming; as the energy to start a new one is dormant, and we do not even bother to repair the ones, which we already have. The love we wish to receive has vanished; as we no longer are ready to give, the love that others around us deserve.
Mother Nature has nourished us and given us life; and we see her destruction all around us, and walk on with bowed heads, ignoring her pain and anguish. We look up to the heavens at night and do not see the magnificence of our universe, but just another sleepless night, as we wander alone. We walk past ancient life forms and in our greed, slowly cause the mass destruction of species and environments, that are only there, for our own evolution to succeed. We do not bow down to the laws of nature and defy the only one, who can wipe us out in a moment of wrath.
My journey is not new and the stranger has not become so, in one day. We look at each other and realize that a life has passed between us, and we have slipped into its cracks. We are no longer relevant to the scheme of things; not because we are ignorant, but because we have allowed our base nature to take over. The journey of enlightenment has been short circuited by our own weakness, and our lack of trying and following the easy path traveled by others around us. We measure our success and failures against a measuring stick of what others have achieved, and often find ourselves wanting. We become distant from our own reality, till one day we look at this hollow stranger peering back at us in the mirror.
It is time now to rekindle the hope that we had as the eager young kid; peering around his mother’s legs, and show our world that not all is lost. It is time now to raise the hand and become that teacher, who allows young brains to think and flourish at the wonder of it all. It is time again to become physically active, as a health body and mind are our birthright, and we must shine the light for others. Reinventing our story; we will reinvent our stranger, and we can become kindred spirits again. As I turn away he winks and a joy rises from deep within me, as I know that all happiness is not lost, but just a mindset away. We have to discipline ourselves as life is never easy; but with a little effort, it can become fruitful again. See yourself as powerful and strong; and you will be able to harness the forces of nature, to become what you think.
Unleashing our energy for the truth; will lead to a renaissance; which will benefit this strange relationship, between us and our alter ego. As we walk a step in the right moral direction, the universe will become more in harmony with our march. As we study the mysteries of this universe; more will be revealed to us, than we can imagine. We only have to live in a pure, unsullied, trained mind, and all else will fall into place. The heart will blossom with love for our fellow creatures and relationships will become enjoyable again. I beseech you to look closely at that stranger in the mirror; and then see, what only you know him to truly be. I assure you that then all our dreams will come alive again, and we can take our first step towards an ideal life.

IBM has reported that its super computer Watson can now transform, Healthcare, Financial and many other industries by gathering huge terabytes of data, and use its computational power to do analysis. Health benefits company Wellpoint saw an opportunity to apply IBM Watson in a way that could improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare decisions. Memorial Sloan Kettering trained Watson to synthesize vast amounts of data, such as physicians’ notes and reports, lab results and clinical research, to help community physicians identify treatment options for cancer patients
Anthem Blue Cross (another subsidiary of WellPoint) and Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company, California’s largest health insurance companies, announced yesterday, that they will be creating a large health information exchange. This exchange will be called the California Integrated Data Exchange or Cal Index and is expected to be launched at the end of the year. It would contain medical records of about nine million Californians acquired from claims data held by the two companies.
The objective of Cal Index is to give health providers immediate access to patients’ medical histories. About $80 million is expected to be invested by the two competitors on this project to keep it running for three years. They will provide data integration assistance to 30 large provider organizations.

Today — the National Healthcare Expenditure (NHE) for the USA is $3.5+ trillion per year (about 18% of our GDP) and it’s growing at about 5% per year (for as far as the eye can see). The system we have is optimized around revenue and profits — not safety and quality. That safety and quality is best highlighted by what’s known as “preventable medical errors” inside hospitals. That number? Somewhere between 210,000 and 440,000 – per year. Please see the chart which shows the results of the OECD survey.

The US is off the charts and I had a tough time fitting the costs of over $ 8,000 per capita and further it is growing at 5% annually for the foreseeable future. It is not if; but when will the baby boomers take it over $ 10,000, and become a crushing burden of 20% of GDP. The disparities in income are now so extreme; that we will have to increase our contributions for basic healthcare for the poor and disabled drastically, or bring about a more equitable tax policy to encourage a more consumer oriented healthcare. Increased consumer engagement, innovative solutions, EHRs, Analytics and universal access will lead to success, and there is no other path but to increase our focus on doing and not sermonizing. For a just society, we must try harder; to become again the beacon on the hill for the world’s health!.