Time Pass

One of my guru once said, 'Time never passes it always fails you.'

The time wheel keeps rotating and doesn't stop ever. History has witnessed lots of ambitious humans who tried their best to out pace time but got buried in the history.

Those who blame time for their loss gets lost forever.

Time is never good or bad. It's all in your mind which keeps labelling or removing the labels of good or bad.

When nothing works Time heals.

Time never turns backward even if someone conquers the world.

Time brings back balance in the world.

Time flows like a river. You can't win if you try to swim against the flow.

Time is colourful when you are happy.

Time is curse when you lose everything.

Time is a boon when you get what you have asked for.

Time can save or kill based on your deeds both past and present.

Time has number of names. Those who are fond of looking back calls it as Yesterday, those who are focussed and live in the present call it as Now, those who are living in a dream world that may become reality call it as future.

Time is rhyme when you know how to sing.

Time is love when you are together.

Time never dies.

Avoid Over thinking

Thinking is natural to all human beings. We have millions of thoughts in a day. We can't hardly sit idle. Most of the time we wander in the virtual world. We get thoughts which can help us to achieve good things in life. At the same time we are affected by negative vibes all around and may have thoughts pointing to destruction, chaos and end of the world.

You should always capture good thoughts either by writing it down or speaking it out to those who can understand and retain.

Destructive thoughts should be wiped out from your memory immediately.

There are times when thought process goes in top gear leading to overthinking. Avoid this stage as it can be fatal and may result in mental imbalance.

Over thinking can be avoided by getting engaged in meditation or activities which can stop the chain of current thought. Getting close to Nature can also help.

Visiting and know new places and people can help to divert from over thinking. Your mind needs rest for you to function effectively.

Avoid over thinking at any cost. Live in the present.

* Sandeep Ravidutt Sharma

Jangal Banao Jangal Bachao

Go Green should be our mantra if we want a habitable future for our next generation. With growing urbanization more and more green land is getting diverted for building houses and industries. The demand for energy is on the rise, again adding pressure on the limited coal, oil and related resources. Some of these when used leads to putting the environment at risk due to the Carbon emission.

Mass transportation and housing also leads to change of land use. The focus of the rulers are more on industrialization rather than agricultural growth.

We hardly plant trees and even if want to, we don't know where to plant. We need a massive program driven by all of us through out the country to plant trees targeting creating a forest or a green cover regionwise so as to offset the carbon emission and create additional cover to protect the future.

As we are moving at a snail pace in this regard we are experiencing floods, uneven rainfall and water scarcity.

Apart from creating new green cover we should focus on how to safeguard the existing forests and other green assets.

Remember we are responsible to provide safe and livable habitat for our future generation.

Plant trees. Don't encourage or minimise  consumption of goods which leads to depletion of green cover.

Inspiration helps

Inspiration helps a lot when you face situations beyond your control. Look for inspiration all around. Elements of nature and the universe is ever ready to draw inspiration.

Get inspiration from the Sun.
For billions of years, Sun has never stopped shining and lighting the world. Dark forces are wiped with just the first of the Sun.

Get inspiration from the Moon. Whenever Sky is thwarted by dark forces and Stars play hide and seek. Moon holds forte.

Get inspired from tiny oil lamp which is ready to attack darkness with all its force.

Get inspiration from the Ant who is not losing hope of lifting and moving the grain even if it falls number of times.

Get inspiration from the Birds who don't hope of feeding their new born.

Get inspiration from the man on the street who starts his day with the hope of earning at least a meal for the day.

Get inspiration from the soldiers who stand on the border in the alert mode fighting the weather, terrain and the cruel enemy throughout.

Get inspiration from the child who doesn't know anything about this world but believes in whatever is told to him.

Get inspiration from books written and words spoken by men of integrity and excellence.

Inspiration is available in abundance. All you need is the will and zeal to draw inspiration.

Also don't just think of getting inspiration but inspiring others by becoming an achiever.

-Sandeep Ravidutt Sharma

AB KI BAAR KHA MODI KI MAAR

Delhi reeling under power crisis. Mumbai rail fare hike is like torturing poor souls travelling in Mumbai locals. Lots of announcements are happening. Retail investors are getting trapped in the share market. Gas prices hike is imminent, just the formula was tweaked. 

Within two months the most popular election slogan has changed

AB KI BAAR MODI SARKAR

has now become

AB KI BAAR KHA MODI KI MAAR

AB KI BAAR KHA MAHENGAYI KI MAAR

AB KI BAAR BIMAR SARKAR

The politicians and parties will never change. When they are not in power, they will promise you the world. Once they assume power they don't remember their promise.

The fact is India lives and rises mainly due to the constant and dedicated efforts of the middle class. The government makes schemes either for poor or the rich section of the society. All obligations and burden has to be borne by the middle class. The recent rail fare hike in the Mumbai suburban locals will add more stress to the middle class household budget.

In the name of amenities, Indian railways is hardly offering worth the price paid. Speed is the key to ease out commuting pressure, but the railways are moving at bullock cart speed in Mumbai. People are tortured on a daily basis while commuting in the Mumbai locals. All your body organs are likely to be crushed when you take a Mumbai local during the peak hours.

Instead of hiking the rail fare, the Government of India should compensate the common man travelling in Mumbai local for the increased expenses on the healthcare issues caused due to the suffocating atmosphere and unhygienic train conditions provided by the Indian railways. The Indian Railways should set aside a part of the rail fare paid by the common man as Insurance premia because the life is at risk when we travel in Mumbai local.

As there are no alternative available, we would keep travelling in the pathetic condition.

Now with the increased rail fare, we'll still travel with the hope that someday ACCHE DIN AAYENGE JAB HUM KHUSHAL HO JAYENGE unlike ACCHE DIN AANE WALE HAIN...read for the party and its ministers who have come to power.

The art of reading is alive

I just happened to attend third anniversary of a local library close to my residence. Generally i don't participate in events, but here i was because of my love for books. Before attending this event i had thought of writing this blog with the title ' The art of reading is dying' but when i saw small group of people who are die hard book lovers taking out their time in this age of twitter, google plus and facebook. My outlook changed about the reading habits of the young generation.

While commuting in Mumbai suburban locals i'm witnessing a trend shift in the social behaviour. People nowadays are pre-occupied with tablets, smartphones and laptops. The online social media has taken over our day-to-day social interaction with each other in physical form. No body has time to talk to their fellow commuters and the bonding has become virtual.

People are found to be watching movies on their smartphones, sending or receiving smses, searching or surfing the net. Hardly few of us in the compartment are reading books. While witnessing this on a daily basis, i was of the opinion that one day 'The art of reading will die down'.

My perspective got changed when i got invite from my local library to attend their 3rd anniversary function. Here i could see readers of all age, caste and religion. Each of them wanting to keep 'The art of reading alive'. The person who is running this library is also doing it out of his passion for books. It's almost not for profit enterprise. Readers shared their experiences. Elders talked about their concerns, Teenagers demonstrated their flair for reading, writing poems and essays. I could see the glow of reading still intact and wish our creativity will not be lost due to television and other multimedia devices.

The Government of the day is busy with finding new tricks to extort money from the masses by levying 'n' number of taxes on everything we buy or do. The businesses are already set up to earn profits. They won't leave any opportunity to raise prices and extract more from the masses.

But hardly very few of us are thinking of setting up libraries, hospitals, old age homes, feeding the poor. I wish things will change the way my perspective changed about the reading habit.

The fact that you are reading this blog gives me the hope that 'The art of reading will never die'.

Happy Reading....

Challenges before the power sector and recommendations to solve power crisis in India...

Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Ltd (GETCO) was set up in May 1999 and is registered under the Companies Act, 1956. The Company was promoted by erstwhile Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) as its wholly owned subsidiary in the context of liberalization and as a part of efforts towards restructuring of the Power Sector.

Surinder Kumar Negi, Managing Director, Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Ltd (GETCO) shares his views with Sandeep Sharma about the challenges faced by the power sector in India and recommends solutions to solve the power shortage situation in India. Edited Excerpts....

What are the challenges before the power sector in India?
Sustained growth of the Power Sector is the key parameter to drive the country’s economic development. Today, Indian Power Sector is witnessing a tough phase and last year’s blackouts that hit the country have marked a dark patch in the history of the Indian power sector (although this has happened for the first time in this decade). Prolonged power cut in different states across the country is a routine phenomenon. Today, it is partially in the sleeping mode, because investments are suspended due to poor financial health of DISCOMs and partially in the paralyzed mode because of the fuel and environmental issues.

In generation sector, we had good success in 11th FYP and similar capacity is planned for 12th FYP. However, this could be reality only when we expeditiously provide environmental clearances and fuel linkages. Financial institutions are hesitant to take risk without the bankable PPAs and fuel linkages. In the power plant operation, CEA data is showing reduction in the PLF due to shut down of gas projects. We have to find out the ways to deal with this peculiar issue of fuel cost for these gas based projects. It is a setback that not many orders are getting materialized and manufacturing capacity put up in recent times is going unutilized in our Country. In the transmission sector, Grid collapse on 30th and 31st July 2012 provides us opportunity to focus on network development and grid operation technologies. Our challenge is to have grid operation technologies and support the operator in load dispatch centre with State of Art pre-warning and monitoring systems like PMUs and WAMS. An automated IT based transmission grid control would be a better choice than mentally and manually control system.

Renewable Energy has a paramount influence on grid operation due to its inherent characteristic of variability, uncertainty and intermittency. Renewable Energy ownership belongs to different states and when it comes to circumventing the challenges of such inherent characteristics of Renewable Energy, the conventional generation of the state are the first casualties. It is difficult for them to back down and ramp up generation, when the Renewable Energy is given “must run status”. Central generating stations are not given such affect. We have to bring parity here to back-down generation uniformly. This issue assumes larger prospective, when RE will go up to 20% by 2020. We need to put Renewable Energy Control Station with forecasting and scheduling solutions and tools. Other challenges for transmission section are inadequate Inter-regional corridor, short term Open Access, Transmission network for Renewable Energy (RE), Modernization of Load Dispatch Centres and adoption of Smart Grid Technologies. Further, Right of Way issue and forest clearances are the major bottlenecks for the timely completion of transmission projects.

It may be necessary to think innovative solutions like use of existing line with high ampacity conductor to save corridors, monopole design, narrow base towers and compact switchgear technology for up-gradation in existing and new substation. In the Distribution sector, high AT&C loss in the range of 28% to 30% is a major concern and challenge to curtain. Solution to this chronicle problem will change the fate of electricity sector in India. Technology intervention and minimum human interface in energy accounting are the two key elements to check and cutdown commercial losses.

Lack of IT based information system is also a major bottleneck for the distribution utilities as the data credibility is questionable for a timely decision making. Implementation of smart metering looks like a never ending project in absence of knowledge, skills and IT infrastructure.

What are your recommendations to solve power shortage in India?
As per CEA report, energy shortfall and peak deficit of 8.5% and 9% for FY 2012-13 compares to the last year’s figures of 10.2% and 11.1% respectively, shows a marginal improvement in power supply position. It may be prudent to solve power shortages in India through improvement within the existing inventory and status known to us. We must resolve fuel linkages issues and environmental clearances for the ongoing projects, wherein substantial investment have been made. Policy framework and strict administrative measures are needed to deal with huge commercial losses of DISCOMs. It is recommended to deploy smart metering infrastructure to have foolproof energy accounting and it may be worthwhile to have exclusive investment plan for all major towns and cities. The curtailment of AT&C loss itself will solve the problem of power shortage in many states. In many parts of the states, it is not easy to access villages and a long transmission and distribution line does not provide them reliability and quality power supply. The interruptions and breakdowns are very common. They are in fact the first casualty under the power shortage condition. The RE power from wind and solar would be a viable solution to supply power locally.

We have to adopt the simple principle of “Energy Saved” is “Energy generated”. It is also called as Negawatt. We nearly waste 15 to 20% energy in our day to day life. A very comprehensive and thoughtful planning and strategy is required to implement energy saving measures whole heartedly. While, we may deal with lighting, electrical appliances and air condition load at individual level, the major contribution of saving shall come from industrial, commercial and infrastructure power consumption.

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This Q&A was first published in Power Infobank 2013 and Project Reporter, November 15, 2013 issue. To read more such articles by Sandeep Sharma, visit www.ProjectReporter.co.in

Email your views about this interaction to Sandeep.Ravidutt @Gmail.com

About Project Reporter:
Project Reporter is a B2B Project Magazine available both in Print & Electronic Format. Project Reporter covers more than 100 projects every fortnight from India which are in Conceptual and Implementation Stage along with Project Updates, Commissioned Projects, Contract Awards. It is published on 1st and 15th of every month. Read More