ESSAY ON CAUSES OF CORRUPTION AND ITS REMEDIES

Gangster "I'm thinking of getting back into crime, Luigi, - legitimate business is too corrupt"

CORRUPTION:

An act done with intent to give some advantage inconsistent with official duty and the rights of others. It includes bribery, but is more comprehensive; because an act may be corruptly done, though the advantage to be derived from it be not offered by another. Sometimes corruption is understood as something against law; such as, a contract by which the borrower agreed to pay the lender usurious interest. It is said, in such case, that it was corruptly agreed, etc.

CAUSES OF CORRUPTION:

The causes of corruption are many and complex. Following are some of the causes of corruption.

µ Emergence of political elite who believe in interest-oriented rather than nation-oriented programmes and policies.

µ Artificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy.

µ Corruption is caused as well as increased because of the change in the value system and ethical qualities of men who administer. The old ideals of morality, service and honesty are regarded as an achronistic.

µ Tolerance of people towards corruption, complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over people.

µ Vast size of population coupled with widespread illiteracy and the poor economic infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life.

µ In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials compel them to resort to the road of corruption. Graduates from IIMs with no experience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw.

µ Complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for any help from government.

µ Election time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialist fund politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times’ meal.

REMEDIES OF CORRUPTION

Is it possible to contain corruption in our society? Corruption is a cancer, which every Indian must strive to cure. Many new leaders when come into power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth.

Many People become materialistic and money oriented, there is no important of ethics and morals in business dealings. Many people thinking that money which coming to their pocket is good, same way many thinking that money which going out from their pocket is bad, but they don’t consider the way money traveling.

This is because these kinds of people have no moral accountability to anybody; and these kind have people have full trust on money, they strongly believing that money can hold big role in their life, they believing that money can solve their current and future problems, they believing that money can give them life without problems. Some of the remedies are given below:

µ What can be remedy of corruption? It can be only possible if people can understand and start to believe the values of ethics and morality in their life. People will start to believe that their life is accountable if they really start to believe in GOD, in oneness of GOD and if they really start to live life on the way which GOD has chosen for mankind.
GOD has given the wisdom to each and every human being, heart of everyone telling him/her that the way he/she following to get money is good/bad. The most important thing is person should listen and follow the good part of his heart.

µ Foolproof laws should be made so that there is no room for discretion for politicians and bureaucrats. The role of the politician should be minimized. Application of the evolved policies should be left in the hands of independent commission or authority in each area of public interest. Decision of the commission or authority should be challengeable only in the courts.

µ Cooperation of the people has to be obtained for successfully containing corruption. People should have a right to recall the elected representatives if they see them becoming indifferent to the electorate.

µ Funding of elections is at the core of political corruption. Electoral reforms are crucial in this regard. Several reforms like: State funding of election expenses for candidates; strict enforcement of statutory requirements like holding in-party elections, making political parties get their accounts audited regularly and filing income-tax returns; denying persons with criminal records a chance to contest elections, should be brought in.

µ Responsiveness, accountability and transparency are a must for a clean system. Bureaucracy, the backbone of good governance, should be made more citizen friendly, accountable, ethical and transparent.

µ More and more courts should be opened for speedy & inexpensive justice so that cases don’t linger in courts for years and justice is delivered on time.

µ Local bodies, Independent of the government, like Lokpals, Lokadalats, CVCs and Vigilance Commissions should be formed to provide speedy justice with low expenses.

µ A new Fundamental Right viz. Right to Information should be introduced, which will empower the citizens to ask for the information they want. Barring some confidential information, which concerns national and international security, other information should be made available to general public as and when required. Stringent actions against corrupt officials will certainly have a deterrent impact.

CONCLUSION
Corruption is an intractable problem. It is like diabetes, can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. It may not be possible to root out corruption completely at all levels but it is possible to contain it within tolerable limits. Honest and dedicated persons in public life, control over electoral expenses could be the most important prescriptions to combat corruption. Corruption has a corrosive impact on our economy. It worsens our image in international market and leads to loss of overseas opportunities. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world have to confront, solutions, however, can only be home grown.

I used the sentence “we the common man are the solution” because we are the only reason why corruption is so popular in INDIA. We are the persons who are motivating corruption to be successful. We support corruption that is why it exits. Since we are the only person who elects ministers that are supporting corruption in INDIA. Common citizen of INDIA let us start working from now onwards with common goal of removing corruption from INDIA. Think the day when we will achieve our goal and whole world will say “INDIA IS AN DEVELOPED COUNTRY.

Essay on Vigilance and E-Governance

Essay on Vigilance and E-Governance

CONTENTS

1. What is Vigilance?

2. What is E-Governance?

3. What is E-Governance?

4. E Governance Plans:

5. Online Delivery of Land Titles in Karnataka, India

6. Computerized Interstate Check Posts in Gujarat

7. Online Indian Railway Train Status and reservation System:

8. Work Progress Monitoring System:

9. Conclusion:

What is Vigilance?

A very simple meaning of vigilance is watchfulness or to bring awareness. But here when we are talking about vigilance, it means we are talking about how to fight against corruption .corruption includes misuse of power, money and misuse of government property etc. we want to bring corruption at zero level. This can be ensured by watchfulness, caution and vigilance or we can say in others words it can be achieved by E governance. Because E governance provide access to information to empower citizens, enable their participation in government and enhance the awareness, watchfulness or vigilance.

What is E-Governance?

It is the use of various modern Information and Communication Technologies such as Internet, Local Area Networks, mobiles etc. by Government to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, service delivery, promote democracy and minimize the corruption. Or we can say e Governance means electronic controllership and electronic management.

E- Governance Plans:

As we now vigilance is required for ensuring the effective, proper and corruption- less functioning of any private, public or government organization/group/individual. For same purpose government has implemented various online services under National E-Governance Plans.

Following are the examples of online service under National E-Governance Plan Income Tax

A. Central Excise

B. Passport/VISA

C. Road Transport

D. Property Registration

E. Pensions

F. Gram Panchayats (Rural)

G. Agriculture

H. Municipalities

I. Employment Exchange

J. Land Records

K. Company Affairs

L. Police

M. Railway Reservation

N. E-Courts

Here we will discuss some examples and we will see how they are proven effective tools of vigilance for not only fighting against corruption but also improving effectiveness, efficiency and comfortness of public.

Online Delivery of Land Titles in Karnataka, India

Previously(i.e. Before the computerization of The Department of Revenue in Karnataka), farmers had to seek out the Village Accountant to get a copy of the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) -- a document needed for many tasks such as obtaining bank loans. There were delays and harassment. Bribes had to be paid.

Land owners find it difficult to access the Village Accountant, as his duties entail traveling. The time taken by Village Accountants to provide RTCs has ranged from 3 to 30 days depending upon the importance of the record for the farmer and the size of the bribe. A typical bribe for a certificate could range from Rs.100 to Rs.2000. If some details were to be written in an ambiguous fashion, out of selfish motives, the bribe could go up to Rs.10,000. Land records in the custody of Village Accountant were not open for public scrutiny.

But Now (i.e. after the computerization of The Department of Revenue in Karnataka) for a fee of Rs.15, a printed copy of the RTC can be obtained online at computerized land record kiosks (Bhoomi centers) in 140 taluk offices. Without delaying and any bribe.

The Bhoomi software incorporates the bio-logon metrics system, which authenticates all users of the software using their fingerprint. A log is maintained of all transactions in a session. This makes an officer accountable for his decisions and actions. The government also has plans to web-enable the database to make available to the farmer a copy of the land record locally through an Internet kiosk -- although without signature such a copy will only have an informative value.

This scheme also useful for preventing lands-scam Due to availability of all the data related to land is at a common server.

Computerized Interstate Check Posts in Gujarat

Gujarat has an extensive road network, which carries a large volume of commercial traffic. Major highway systems link Dehli to Mumbai and provide the principal link to the Kandla sea port on Gujarat's west coast. Gujarat's 10 check posts are positioned at the border with three neighboring Indian states. Nearly 25,000 transport vehicles enter daily through these check posts.

Trucking companies want to maximize their earnings from each vehicle. Often this has prompted transporters to load their trucks beyond permissible axle load, creating a serious safety hazard.

Previously (i.e. before the computerization), a suspect vehicle is flagged to a stop, and then weighed on a weigh bridge located away from traffic. The legal penalty for overload is Rs 2,000 per ton. However, any fine often has been (illegally) negotiated

The problem of corruption was particularly difficult to attack as the corrupt were backed by politicians. In the absence of any systematic inspection of vehicles, the transport companies also adopted various illegal practices. Duplicate copies of a single registration book from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) have been used for many different vehicles, using fake license plates.

In the computerized process, all the check posts are monitored at a central location using video cameras installed at every check post cabin. The video camera captures the registration number of all trucks approaching the check post. (There are flood-lights and traffic lights which make the check posts appear like a runway at night.) Software converts the video image of the registration number to a digital form and the details of the truck are accessed from a central data base. An electronic weigh bridge captures the weight and the computer issues a demand note for fine, automatically.

Through the use of computers and other electronic devices at 10 remote interstate border check posts in Gujarat, India, a team of savvy public officials have reduced corruption and significantly increased the state's tax revenue.

Online Indian Railway Train Status and reservation System:

Before the computerization system it was very difficult to know the availability of seat and getting reservation without paying additional money. Passenger has to pay additional money inside the train also.

But after computerization availability of seat are known to all also passenger can himself book ticket online, it reduces the money handling (dealing) in other words we can say its reducing the corruption. Also auto up gradation of passenger tickets increases the revenue to Indian railways and decreases the additional income (bribe) to TTC.

Work Progress Monitoring System:

This software is intensively used in all type of industry to monitor the work progress of company/ section/ individual. This is not directly relate with money corruption but it is dealing with monitoring corruption which include delaying of projects/works which leads to increase hidden cost of company also leads to inefficient work.

Conclusion:

Now we can say vigilance and e governance are complementary to each other.

To prevent or minimize the corruption we have to have transparent system which can be achieve by deploying E-governance in all sector and everywhere.

But the biggest challenge of deploying e-governance is not technology but change management. Change management is important not only in terms of cultural change but also in terms of changing operations and processes workflow that the automated environment will introduce.

"E-governance, however, is not really the use of IT in governance but as a tool to ensure good governance. E-governance does not mean proliferation of computers and accessories; it is basically a political decision which calls for discipline, attitudinal change in officers and employees, and massive government process re-engineering

ESSAY :FIRE SAFETY AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

FIRE SAFETY AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Most of the time, we are inclined to think that fires only happen to other people...not to me, not to my home. Most people may not be concerned with fire safety until it is too late. The best way to fight fire is to prevent it in the first place

Before discussing about fire safety at NPP first of all we should understand what is fire and type of fire

What is fire?

Fire is a form of combustion. Most typically, the word fire refers to the combination of the brilliant glow and large amount of heat released during a rapid, self-sustaining exothermic oxidation process of combustible gases ejected from a fuel. The flames are a body of gas that releases heat and light. Fires start when a fuel is subjected to heat or another energy source, e.g. a match or lighter, and are sustained by the further release of heat energy until all the combustible fuel is consumed.

Type of fire

F Class A: Fires that involve flammable solids such as wood, cloth, rubber, paper, and some types of plastics.

F Class B: Fires that involve flammable liquids or liquifiable solids such as petrol/gasoline, oil, paint, some waxes & plastics, but not cooking fats or oils.

F Class C: Fires that involve flammable gases, such as natural gas, hydrogen, propane, butane.

F Class D: Fires that involve combustible metals, such as sodium, magnesium, and potassium.

F Class E: Fires that involve any of the materials found in Class A and B fires, but with the introduction of an electrical appliances, wiring, or other electrically energized objects in the vicinity of the fire, with a resultant electrical shock risk if a conductive agent is used to control the fire.

F Class F: Fires involving cooking fats and oils. The high temperature of the oils when on fire far exceeds that of other flammable liquids making normal extinguishing agents ineffective

What is fire safety and why it is important at NPP

Now let’s understand what Fire safety is and why it is important at NPP? Fire safety is a component of Building Safety. It concerns safety measures to prevent the effects of fires and is the result of proper use of fire protection measures.

Fire is an important concern at nuclear plants, because it has the potential to impact critical systems needed to safely maintain and shut down the reactor. Let’s discuss about one fire incident occurred at Browns Ferry NPP.

On March 22, 1975, workers at the Browns Ferry plant in northern Alabama were using a candle to check for air leaks at openings in a wall where trays of electrical cables passed from one room to another. As a worker held a candle near one of the openings, the flow of air drew the flame toward polyurethane foam used to seal the openings. The foam ignited and spread fire along the cables. As the cable insulation burned, the fire eventually shorted out the plant’s backup safety systems.

Workers tried to extinguish the fire and notified the control room. Shortly afterward, a municipal fire department arrived at the scene. Operators manually shut down both reactors and kept the plant in a safe condition throughout the incident. However, several factors hampered firefighting efforts, including a shortage of emergency breathing gear and plant operators’ reluctance to use water in electrical areas.

Four days later, the NRC(Nuclear regulatory control) appointed a panel to study the incident. Its February 1976 report identified a number of needed improvements in fire protection programs. Citing “the defense-in-depth” approach toward plant safety, however, the report found that public health and safety were protected during the incident, despite significant shortcomings in fire protection.

The report established that the three hallmarks of nuclear plant fire protection are to:

F prevent fires from starting

F quickly detect and extinguish fires to limit damage

F design plants to minimize damage to essential functions and ensure safe shutdown.

Fire safety at NPP: for preventing fire at Nuclear power plant we are following the defense in depth philosophy.

Defense-in-Depth philosophy: there are multiple approaches to fire protection at a nuclear plant. Prevention programs, such as plant design, administrative procedures, inspections and employee training, ensure the safe control of combustible materials and ignition sources. Detection and suppression systems and trained personnel are ready to control and extinguish quickly any fire that might occur..

Plant design: fire prevention program start from design stage it self.

Some examples are as follows:

F Providing proper fire exits and maintaining proper signage of them ( exit signs pointing to them that can function in a power failure)

F Placing fire extinguishers and fire alarms in easily accessible places.

F Providing sophisticated fire protection system for detecting the fire and extinguish the fire.

F Plant design such that it minimize the effect of fires on essential functions, using combustible-free separation, fire barrier, and fire detection and suppression systems between one set of systems and its back-up set.

Maintenance: Routinely inspection and preventing maintenance should be carried out to insure:

F Proper function of fire alarm control panels for quick detection and warning of fire.

F Properly storing/using of material , that may be needed inside the building for storage or operational requirements

F maintaining a complete inventory of fire stops

F Good condition of fire fighting system and equipments.

Administrative Controls for maintaining a facility and conducting oneself in accordance with the provisions of the fire code, from the moment that the plant construction started. This is based on thorough knowledge of the code by the administration and ensuring that the employees or operators of the plants are fully aware of the currently applicable regulations, including supplementary documents that may be applicable, which are referenced in the fire code.

Administration should limit the introduction of combustible materials into safety-related areas of the plant, strictly controlling their handling, and storage.

Training: Employees receive mandatory fire prevention training that begins with the administrative controls that govern their particular line of work. This includes training for:

F general fire protection

F fire watch

F fire department and brigade

F Maintenance.

Fire Watches Plants use fire watches when normal fire protection equipment is not functional—while being serviced, for example. Employees receive special training that includes the location and use of fire extinguishers and other fire protection equipment. Either fixed or roving fire watches are used, depending on the situation.

Sharing Industry Experience: The nuclear power industry places great value on sharing lessons learned from experience. Experience People share the knowledge on removing the bottle necks and solution to unseen emergency crises.

Conclusion: As we Know that “prevention is better than cure”, if we follow the defense in depth philosophy we will be able to prevent fire at nuclear power plant.

“INVEST IN FIRE SAFETY IT IS BLUE CHIP”

The End