Ambiguity
is Bad !
Where
?
*
Health Ministry wants warning images on cigarette packs to cover 85% of the surface
, against earlier rule of 40%
*
A Parliamentary Committee had recommended 50 %
Reaction
:
*
From friday ( 01 April 2016 ) , all cigarette factories have shut down in
protest ,
According
to Tobacco Institute of India , this will cause,
# Daily revenue loss of Rs 350 Crores
# Threatening livelihood of 45.7 million people dependent on the Industry
# Increase in trade in illegal cigarettes ( which already causes an
annual
revenue loss of Rs 9,000 cr to the exchequer )
What
should Government do ?
Negotiate
with the Industry and reach Agreement , using my suggestion as under :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source
: My Blog dt 18 Aug 2013
Going
Up in Smoke ?
Yesterday , Times of India
reported :
India's tobacco industry supports 38 million people ( 380 lakhs )
Every year , some 6 million ( 60 lakh ) people die in India thru use of tobacco ( mostly cigarettes )
Of these , some 6 lakh die by inhaling smoke of other cigarette smokers
So what can we do to save these 60 lakh ?
Immediately close down entire tobacco industry ?
And jeopardize the lives of 380 lakh ?
Obviously , we cannot adopt a mutually exclusive solution !
We must find a solution that , not only saves those 60 lakh but also continue to provide livelihood to 380 lakhs
That cannot be done in one - or even five - years , but it is entirely possible to solve this problem over , 20 years , as follows :
* Thru appropriate legislation , phase out tobacco industry by 2033
India's tobacco industry supports 38 million people ( 380 lakhs )
Every year , some 6 million ( 60 lakh ) people die in India thru use of tobacco ( mostly cigarettes )
Of these , some 6 lakh die by inhaling smoke of other cigarette smokers
So what can we do to save these 60 lakh ?
Immediately close down entire tobacco industry ?
And jeopardize the lives of 380 lakh ?
Obviously , we cannot adopt a mutually exclusive solution !
We must find a solution that , not only saves those 60 lakh but also continue to provide livelihood to 380 lakhs
That cannot be done in one - or even five - years , but it is entirely possible to solve this problem over , 20 years , as follows :
* Thru appropriate legislation , phase out tobacco industry by 2033
* Immediately stop expansion of existing units
* Do not allow new units to come up
* Place a recruitment freeze in tobacco industry - no fresh hiring at any level
* No replacement for retiring employees , after 2018
* Provide incentives to industry to redeploy capital / manpower in alternate industries - especially those industries with large scope for creation of new jobs
* Give generous tax-breaks to industry to remain profitable , even as they wind-up operations
* Provide incentives to put up new-industry projects in less industrialized regions
* Provide incentives for re-training existing workers in new skills in demand by others
* Subsidize Voluntary Retirement Schemes of industry
This is just a partial list . I am sure , if there is political will , experts will come up with many more viable suggestions
Hint :
If Shri
Piyush Goyal can plan on banning all petrol / diesel driven vehicles on roads from
2030 , then banning cigarettes from 2036 , ought to be a " Child's Play
" !
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hemenparekh.in / blogs
03 April 2016
hemen
parekh
Marol
, Mumbai , India
(
M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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