छठ पूजा !

कार्तिक के  छठे  दिन,

हम सभी चले नदी की तरफ ,

या फिर किसी तालाब की ओर!

काफिला कुछ ऐसा बनाये,

जिसमे हो सभी शामिल!

आदमी उठाये सर पर 'दौरा',

कुछ अपने को नापते हुए,

ज़मीन पर लकरियां खीचें,

कुछ बस बच्चों के साथ  मस्तियाँ लुटें!

औरतें गाते हुए गीत,

करके नहाय खाय और खरना,

जल में उतरकर करे अराधना,

अरघ चढ़ाये भक्ति के साथ,

सोते हुए  हुए सूरज की!

फिर डरते नहीं अंधेरों से,

उमँग ही उमँग हर चेहरे पर, 

फिर हो कुछ ऐसा माहौल 

चारो तरफ  बस हल्ला-गुला,

मंत्रो का कुछ ऐसा असर,

रात में  'कोसी' जलें ,

पांच तत्वों का होवे  मिलन!

जागे फिर सूरज सुबह को,

औरंतें चढ़ाये एक और अरघ।

प्राथना येही की सूरज,

हर साल बस ऐसी ही उजाला,

लाये हम सब की जिंदगी में!

फिर हम सब खाए ठेकुआ,

बहुत खीर और पुरियां !

ले मजे फिर केलों का,

गन्नो से निकाले रस,

मुंह तो मीठा होवे ,

मन भी ऐसा होए!

हम सब फिर करें कामना,

जब आए अगला  कार्तिक,

छठे  दिन फिर हम करें छठ  !

बिहार में दिवाली

आज है दिवाली का पर्व, जब हम करते सफाई ,

जितना करो घर के अन्दर, उतना ही बाहर भाई,

करो उजाला चारो तरफ, दूर करो अँधेरा,

रहे न कोई दुखी, सबके लिए हो सबेरा,

सुख, सम्पति, और मन की शांति,

हर घर, हर वर्ग, हर व्यक्ति को हो प्राप्ति,

बिहार के हर शहर, हर गाँव में  हो  बस प्रगति,

अब न कर इंतज़ार, आजमा अपनी शक्ति,

इस दिवाली में हो अपने प्रदेश का कुछ ऐसा मंजर,

लोगों को मिले इतनी ख़ुशी के झूमे धरती, अम्बर,

चलो करे हम सब आज यह प्रण ले लक्ष्मी का नाम,

कोशिश करें इतना की सभी को मिले कोई काम!

दीपावली की बहुत सारी शुभकामनाये !

Can energy be the harbinger of good times in Bihar?

The answer to the above question is an emphatic "Yes". Providing energy across the length and breadth of Bihar will have many positive externalities which will put the state in the virtuous cycle of growth, development and high income. The recent move (on November 1, 2012) by the Bihar government to unbundle Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) into 5 different companies is a welcome move towards getting the state into that mode. The objective should be to provide electricity to those who are willing to pay for it. The power sector authorities must realize that providing power at cost plus is more in the interest of a common man including poor than at zero or near zero price. The latter approach  only sickens the sector and slowly kills the electricity availability all across. This is exactly what had happened over the years in Bihar where BSEB had been highly inefficient and incompetent in all its activities (generation, transmission, distribution and collection). To further complicate the matters, the state had always considered 'power' as a social good and had run the power sector like a social program. They all must realize that power is a private good and must be priced accordingly. 

"BSEB has been broken into  (i) Bihar State Power Company Limited (the holding company), (ii) Bihar State Power Transmission Company, (iii) Bihar State Power Generation Company, (iv) South Bihar Power Distribution Company and (v) North Bihar Power Distribution Company. Bihar State Power Company Limited will own the shares of the newly-incorporated four other companies. Assets and liabilities of BSEB would, thus, be transferred to these 5 companies. Employees of BSEB will also move to these companies on unchanged service conditions. It is to be noted that BSEB currently has a close to 17,000 employees. The state government will spend an estimated Rs 14,099 crore (1 crore is 10 million) in the next five years on the financial restructuring plan." 

All the above are fine as long as the move is to make these companies viable both in medium and long term. Viability will only be ensured if bad assets are disposed off smartly and good assets are maintained in order to have a positive return on the capital invested therein. Electricity supply, as a natural monopoly, has three distinct functions and they are generation, high-voltage transmission and low-voltage distribution. The idea of unbundling has theoretically come up in natural monopolies in order to identify those operations in the chain which are not natural monopolies. For example generation is definitely not a natural monopoly, and thus by unbundling, an element of competition is intended to be unleashed to ensure efficiency. The other important factor in unbundling is to  divide the operations into three distinct entities such as in asset owners, asset managers and service deliveries and thus introduce elements of efficiency through specialization (This ensures the identification of a core activity and core competence needed for that). Therefore, it is important that each company realize their core activity and core competence and always stick to that.

I am sure that the recent government move is focused on making electricity supply as a profit making activity in the state, based on existing demand and paying capacity of consumers. In order to bring long term benefits to  the energy-starved  Bihar,  the unbundling must have the following purposes:

A. To introduce competition  into generation: Currently, the in- state generating capacity of BSEB (or Bihar) is 549.2 MW, which includes 310 MW at Barauni Thermal, 220 MW at Muzzafarpur Thermal and 19.2 MW of Bihar State Hydel Power Corporation (Koshi). Allocation from power plants of Central Government (NTPC, NHPC and DVC) accounts for 1261 MW. Therefore the available energy within the state is close to 10000 mln kwh (eq. to 1810.2 MW) and perhaps is not enough to meet the needs of the entire state. [It is generally believed that there is no power outside Patna]. Per capita power consumption in the state is very low at 110 kwh per year, one-tenth of the national average. One estimate shows that the energy deficit in Bihar will soon be more than 50 percent.  So, there is definitely a need to enhance the generating capacity within the state by enhancing not only the generating capacity of Bihar State Power Generation Company, but also others including private players. Various new projects such as at Barauni, Muzaffarpur, Aurangabad,  and Independent Power Plants (IPP)  at Buxar and other places in Bihar have to be completed well in time so that they are available for transmission and distribution within the state. Hydro power in Nepal must also be encouraged for this, which may have twin benefits, the other being water management.

B. To reduce the transmission and distribution losses (T&D losses): To cut down the  T&D losses by making the transmission as a specialized activity and thus ensuring efficient transmission. One estimate suggests that in India, the power loss because of transmission and distribution (T&D losses) is more than 40%. In Bihar, where transformers and other high voltage infrastructure are in the immediate need of maintenance, the T&D losses are much higher. I hope Bihar State Power Transmission Company is able to bring down those losses and pass on the benefits through Distribution Companies to final consumers.

C. To ensure efficient distribution and service delivery: Distribution involves 2 key activities: efficient distribution and quality service delivery. For that the infrastructure needed for quality distribution has to be revamped and also the mindset among the officials of the 2 Bihar Power Distribution Companies (South and North) must change. The mindsets must switch from a 'bureaucratic' one (the erstwhile BSEB) to a 'reasonable profit-driven' one. Power is a sector which can survive in the long run only if they are run on commercial lines. 

D. To ensure right pricing: I hope that the above move will ensure the right pricing of electricity in Bihar. I dont think the problem in Bihar is the paying capacity of the consumers. In the state, people are already paying exorbitantly high price for privately-run generator-based electricity. I feel that if one can pay that much, why would they not pay for the units they would consume if an assured power supply is made available to them on a sustained basis. The problem in Bihar, in my view, is incorrect pricing, too many price layers (metered, unmetered, kutir etc) and poor recovery of charges. In order to remove those deficiencies, Distribution Companies have to charge appropriately not only to recover costs but also make a reasonable profit. The correct pricing should be anywhere between Rs. 4-5 per kwh and once that done,  money that would be generated out of the currently available 10000 mln kwh  would be Rs. 5000 crores per year. With this much revenue, power sector may start generating extra money for the state to be invested in other sectors as well. It must be realized that by adopting a right pricing mechanism, the power sector, even at the current availability, could generate at least Rs. 20000 crores over the next 5 years, more than enough of the currently announced Rs.  Rs 14,099 crore for the financial restructuring plan. So the correct pricing is the key.

Having said all the above, the real challenge confronting the above 5 companies will be generation of electricity within the state, reduction of T&D losses, correct pricing, and full recovery of the electricity bill. For that, I would once again like to reiterate that the mindset in the employees of the 5 companies must change from the previous one. Till now, they were not bothered about the financial health of the BSEB and did not have much incentive within the organization to take initiative for innovation. In the long run, the Bihar government must try to introduce competitive elements  in this sector so that these employees must always perform. And that is not a difficult task at all! However, one must compliment the state government for having made, at least, a beginning in reforming the power sector in the state. But they must always focus on the following:

I. Power is a private good. Therefore, it should never be run like a social program. Market is the correct mechanism. Therefore, the state government must focus on creating enabling environment for this market to develop.

II. Competition is the key to ensure efficiency. The state government must try to introduce competitive elements in all the activities running from generation, transmission, distribution and  collection so that these activities are run on a self-sustaining basis.

III. All the companies involved in power supply must be professionally run. Performance must be made the only criteria for judging one's effectiveness in the company.

IV. The average consumer in the state does have the paying capacity. So the focus should always be on availability, rather than paying capacity. If at all, the state wants to have a social program in this sector, it may do that by creating a common place for the community for the free use of power, but it (the state) must pay for that use on commercial lines.

V. Correct pricing is the key for the financial health of a company. These companies must ensure that they are not only charging the correct price to a consumer, but also collecting them regularly. No waiver, whatsoever, must be given.

VI. Since power is a private good, too many differentiation of pricing is a bad policy. There must be at most three prices (one each for residential purposes, agriculture purposes and commercial purposes respectively) and cross-subsidization among them, if any subsidy element is to be built in pricing.

VII. In order to inculcate high motivation and morale among employees, these companies must promote 'competition' among them for reaching to the top. These companies must be run in such a way that each employee within can dream of reaching the top. No outsider should be allowed to come on top as it lowers the motivation and morale of the employees.

VIII. Each one of these companies must ensure that their financial health is always good.  If at all it goes bad for a considerable period of time, the direct accountability must be fixed at the top by replacing them with a newer team.

Flocks of Birds

In billions they all fly,
Do their best as they try,
One goes here,
While the other goes there,
Chaos everywhere.
Yet they remain connected,
The one without,
May not know,

The one within,
But as a whole,
They create,
A majestic pattern,
Beautiful to those eyes,
Who have souls,
To look beyond.
And for them,
They all fly.
They may travel,
Many years in time,
Many miles in space,
Yet they will never collapse.
The contradictions within,
Will make them expand,
Yet keep them together,
As some in them know,
Together they look beautiful.

- Rajeev

Rains in Rome

The air is damp,
The light engulfed,
In dark clouds.
Listen!
The clatter of drops.
Outwitting each other,
To kiss the mother,
What if they can not claim the sky as their own?
What if they can not dazzle in the Sun?
What if they can not dance on the chirping of fleeting birds?

Water as they are,
They know the music is unleashed,
The Jupiter is on the eagle,
To guide,
Through the sounds of many thunderbolts,
To soothe,
Through free fall,
Onto the fecundity of the Earth,
In this nightfall of the Roman love.

- राजीव की कलम से 

एक कहानी

एक था राजा एक थी रानी,

दोनों की थी कुछ ऐसी कहानी,

राजा था बस  सीधा साधा,

रानी के कहने पे चलता बिना बाधा,

पर रानी थी एक चतुर सैयानी,

करती हमेशा अपनी मनमानी,

राजा को थी चिंता प्रजा की,

सोचता हमेशा उनकी भलाई की,

लेकिन वह कुछ कह नहीं पाता,

चाह कर  भी कुछ कर नहीं पाता,

रानी के थे कुछ ऐसे शिकंजे,

चारो तरफ थे उसके ही बन्दे,

मचा राखी थी उन लोगों ने लुट मार,

प्रजा के सामने बस होती राजा की ही हार,

बस राजा इस उधेर बुन में रहता,

काश रानी को किसी तरह बस रोक पाता,

बीते दिन- महीने और बहुत सारे साल,

चुप रहा राजा लेकर मन में यही मलाल,

काश ना की होती ऐशी शादी,

जिसमें थी  प्रजा और उसकी  दोनों की बर्बादी,

बस होते रहे सारे वो लोग आबाद,

जो थे अन्दर से कुछ  ऐसे जल्लाद,

सबके सामने वे बस खून करते रहते,

राज के नाम पर बस बचते रहते,

प्रजा से उनको  ना ही था कोई लगाव,

यह मंजर फिर लाया कुछ ऐसा सैलाब,

बह गए सारे और उनके साथ बेचारा राजा भी,

पर आया न दाग रानी पर एक फिर भी, 

और ना ही परी उसको कुछ चुकानी,

क्योंकि रानी जो थी कुछ ऐसी सैयानी!