It is such a cliche that we often say – ” Failure is part of Success”, but it is true.If it is true, then how so ?
Prelims results are out.While we sincerely congratulate those who qualified,at the same time we are with you if you could not make it this time.
Come to think of it , one often wonders what the author tried to imply when he wrote :-
“Ever Tried, Ever failed, Try again, Fail again, Fail better !!!”
Does it glorify failure or does it have any deeper meaning.To contemplate it, is to contemplate the reality and abstract at the same time.No matter what we perceive and what we conclude, at the end of it we will never know on what context , and especially what chain of thoughts led the author to write so.
The quote has profound meaning , yet we can not fathom everything about it, we can not know depth of it, we can not know the subtle implications of it, in its entirety.
And So is failure, sometime we know how it happened, yet we will never be sure why it happened.We keep on trying to find reasons , we find some, we don’t find some.
The real difficulty is introspection, how can we judge ourselves and judge objectively and judge in every step of the way.
Introspection has and always will be the most difficult one.Buddha took more than a decade, and so is everyone else who tried to find the answer to the questions such as- “What is the meaning of life ?” or “Who am I ?” or “What is my purpose in this life ?” or “What am I doing on this earth ?” or the more entertaining one – “What everyone else is doing on this earth ?
Eating, Sleeping,Doing things,Making love, Chasing Money , Trying to find god,Getting angry etc, etc and endless etc .
Most of the time and most of us, doing meaningless things for meaningless purposes.But when one tries to enter civil services , in some part of our subconscious, all of us are trying to find better purpose in life and lead a meaningful life.
That is why it is often so difficult to answer the question – “Why do you want to become a civil servant ?” .All the answers we have or we give to this question are manufactured, partially or completely.
A deeper contemplation reveals that ,there is some part of us which still has some attributes of “humane” in it. It is that “humane” part of our personalities, that compels us to find a better job where we can do some good for the society , get some honor and lead a life of dignity so that, at the sunset days of our life , when we look-back , we should be able to exit this world with a smile on our face and a satisfied soul.
Of course, everyone has their different versions and different settings about the above reality.
Those who succeeded this year , might have endured failure at some part of their life.It is part of parcel of life, again a cliche, but true.
Failure , is the sun set of hope and it is the sun rise at the same time.It is a contradiction in itself.
It is raw,it is brutal,it is enervating,it is disgusting, it is depressing, it is the nastiest of all.
It has a dark , depressing and nasty aura about it.It is indeed sunset of a ray hope.
It makes us bare, puts a mirror before us, and mocks us.
Yet
It has some raw energy about it, it pushes one to do better, it makes one to be down-to-earth, it makes one stronger, it puts faith in us , it is the sunrise of another beginning, it gives us a new day, it turns a new page in life, and yet again -in its trademark signature of nastiness , mocks at us asking – “What are you going to do about it ? “
In that , it exposes our fragility and frailties about us, it makes us humane.
The question is not what did happen and why it did it happen, the question is what are we going to do about it ?
A toddler fails a thousand time before he/she can walk.If we did it as toddlers, we can sure do it now.It is inherent in us.
Failure does not know the resilience of human species.It has always mocked us and we kicked it each time.
Failure is always there and success is always around the corner.Thus never lose hope.
So “What we are going to do about it ?” is the real question that should bother you now.
The days ahead are going to be dark, the sunlight is going to be dim, the cold will get to your nerves.Yet , you have to put your guard on, polish your armor and sharpen your weapon, becasue PRELIMS is coming.
Failure will fail this time to fail you.Thats should be your conviction.
We leave you with this poem that kept Mandela alive in his 27 yrs of imprisonment.We hope this gives you some kind of hope and makes your day, becasue tomorrow will be another day.
We conducted Prelims 2016 last year, albeit little late , however we saw some positive results.
The success is not ours at all and it would be wrong to steal someone’s hardwork and make it ours.Every candidate who cleared is due to his/her hardwork and perseverance, we were just the carpet on your steps to success – to smoothen your way and push you to the cliff. But it is the candidates who successfully jumps the cliff , not us.
We will soon be launching our Prelims Program-2017.We are not yet very good at promotion or self-praise , so if you really think we will be of help ,kindly spread the word and help us help you.
The details and the approach and question setting philosophy will be revealed in our next communication.
The Poem:-
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Recent Posts
Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.